"The world is doomed."
"That's an odd way to open a conversation," Grant said.
Marcus took off his glasses and polished them on his sleeve. "Obviously that's not how I usually open conversations. But you're here because you've been touched by the invaders."
"And how do you know that?"
Marcus had been about to put his glasses back on, but he paused and lifted them up instead. "These. These glasses can see the traces they leave. The... magic, for lack of a better word. I saw it on you. That's why I asked you to come here. I knew you must have encountered them." Now he did put the glasses back on. "How much do you know?"
Grant smiled. "All right, I'll play along. Yes, you're right. I have seen some of the... invaders, as you call them. I mean, not in their original forms. I've seen them in human form."
"Human form?"
"Some of them can pass as humans. Didn't you know that? Well... mostly as humans. There are signs if you know what to look for."
Marcus frowned. "Maybe in some ways you know more than I do. But do you know what they're after?"
"I didn't ask."
"They're... draining power from this world. Draining... again, for lack of a better word, magic. But they're harming the world by doing it. If they keep at it..."
"The world is doomed," Grant said.
"Doom," Marcus agreed."
"So what kind of doom are we talking here?"
"That's... hard to say. But the magic... it leaks. It's causing changes. They're hiding it. For now. But it's building up. Eventually, the whole world could be transformed in unpredictable ways. Or destroyed."
"Well, you know what they say. You can't make an omelet, and so on."
Marcus stared at him blankly. "What?"
"Okay, say you're right. Say the world is doomed. I'm sure they're not going to stick around to be doomed with it. They'll move on, right?"
"I'm sure they will. But those left behind—"
"Yeah, but those who've agreed to serve them... they won't leave them behind."
"Those who... those who what?"
Without warning, Grant suddenly stood and swung his fist at Marcus's face. Marcus's glasses went flying as his chair toppled and he fell to the ground.
Grant walked over to the glasses, raised them in front of his eyes, then put them in his pocket. He walked over to the unconscious Marcus.
"Nothing personal, but I think the bosses are going to want to know about you. Probably best I take you to them for a chat."
He leaned down and hoisted the limp body onto his shoulder.
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