“I always tell you to think these things through!” stantine listeo his sister rant at him as usual. “Seriously, you expect us to chase down more i rumours that are clearly nonsense? By God and all his Angels, you really are an idiot, stantine. Why ’t you just get a proper job, like all our friends? Don’t you know how embarrassing it is when I meet people that know us and they ask about you?”

  “Hése mas, sister, don’t be a bitch about it.” No wonder she’s never made a retionship work. Sophia is always such a nag, so overbearing. Her name doesn’t really match her, she should be called Tyrannos instead, as she rules the roost like a particurly shrill dictator. “I know what I’m doing. This time, it’s for sure! We’ll make it big!”

  “Don’t you tell me to fuck off, you worthless yabout!” Sophia ranted. “Get a real job! This spirad mystery website crap isn’t earning you anything! You even had to have me pay for the flights to Germany! I’m sick of ing up after your mess!”

  “Peace, Sophia. I’m sorry, all right?” stantine ceded, unwilling tue further. It never gets me anywhere, and we are attrag attention. The people oreet in Berlin were watg them curiously as they passed, and that wasn’t improving his sister’s mood. Seriously, my twin sister is such a pain. We look so simir, so why are our temperaments pletely opposite? With dark brown hair with some lighter highlights, olive skin, dark brown eyes and a voluptuous, curvy physique, Sophia had always been popur all through school and uy, at least until she opened her mouth. “Though you have to admit, I’m onto something here! I’m going to break the secrets of this world right open, and then we’ll be rich!”

  “I would be less surprised if you were on something, but you don’t have the guts or the money.” She sighed. “Fine. I don’t like the stares. Let’s get off the main street.” She pulled stao a side jun.

  “Careful. From my research Luisenstadt and the surrounds doesn’t have the best reputation. A pretty girl like you should be careful here, Sophia.”

  She gave him a withering look. “Too te to ftter me, little idiot. Besides, won’t my big strong twin brother protect me? Oh, I fot, all you do is sit on your arse all day, scrolling through crap. Not all of them for your stupid website either. Learn to clear your browser history, creep. That fetish is why you’re single. No, one reason.”

  “Skatá, you have nht to be snooping through my stuff, Sophia! I don’t pry into your life, do I? Even though half the guys you’ve dated I know, I never ask about…” he trailed off at the intense look in her eyes, his voice falling. “… well, just give your brother some privacy, okay?”

  “Don’t use such filthy nguage with me. God’s grace, you suck. Well, maybe I went a little too far with that…” she apologised, at least half-sincerely, which was unusual for her. “But I have a right to check up on you! After all, it’s me who is subsidising your … career.” She said the word as if it was dirty. “I have a real job, you know, and I’m taking time off to e chaperone you so you don’t get fooled or scammed, stantine.”

  Damn it, my sister trusts me about as much as she trusts politis. I mean, I get it, but still, it hurts my pride. “Look, I’m hardly going to be fooled so easily. It isn’t like I’ll… uh, well, never mind. Look, we o find somewhere to sit where we talk to the locals. The rumour I’ve been chasing is a solid one, and this pce is the epitre. I get a really good feeling about her.”

  “I’m sure you do, judging by your search history.” Sophia said coldly.

  “Enough about that. Look, there’s a bar over there. It’ll do for now, it’s in the right neighbourhood.”

  “Are you sure? It looks a little shady.” Sophia muttered. “Well, I guess this whole suburb is dodgy. I read the tourist advice. We o keep our wits about us.”

  “I always do, sister!” he boasted, only for her to sniff, unvinced. Look, I’ll show you! This time it’s the one, I know it. Too many other ces and leads all point to something big happening. This time, I’ll uhe hidden truths of the world! Leadio the bar he opehe door, and perhaps due to the early hour, there were only a few men drinking rge gsses of beer at a scattering of tables. The patrons looked up when stantine and Sophia eheir gazes showing a slight i in his sister, but they soo back to their drinking. Sitting down, stantine didn’t fet to pull a chair out first, which his sister took gratefully.

  “Thanks. My feet hurt already.” Sophia pined.

  “Well, I told you not to wear heels. This isn’t a shopping trip, this is an iigation!” he pulled out his old ptop and ope up. Turning it on, he waited for a server to e over, before realising his mistake as the bald, entleman said something in German. Ah, I don’t speak German, an ht. After some awkward fumbling in broken English and some gestures, a couple of beers were pced oable. Taking a sip, stantine smiled. I guess German beer holds up to the hype.

  “Not drinking, Sophia?” he asked, only to recoil at the look on her face.

  “So, idiot brother of mine, even if you find this mysterious magical girl, how will you talk to her? You don’t speak German!”

  “Well, I’ve thought of that, ho! Look, sometimes we have to take risks, right? You’ve already seen some of the data. Just look at the videos.” He opened a series of YouTube videos while drinking his beer, including his favourites, from an anonymous Australian tent creator. Sadly after the first few, there had been no more, and the eions were alight with spiracy theories that the big special effects panies had clubbed together to have them kido steal their teology, or that it was all a guerril marketing campaign for an unknown uping film.

  “Oh yes.” Sophia agreed, finally taking a drink of her beer, watg. “I’ve seen that. Everyone has. It’s really clever. But let me guess, you think it’s magic, right? That’s stupid. Occam’s razor, ever heard of it? The simplest solution is usually the corree.”

  “e on, I’ve watched a ton of videos going over this and a few others. Nobody tell how it’s done.”

  “Yes, but I heard that there are a few areas where it’s fwed, showing it to be a clever fake.” Sophia objected.

  This is why you don’t have it in you to be a seeker of truth, Sophia! With a superior smile on his face, stantine eborated. “Yes, that’s the clever part. If I was going to throw off those looking for the truth, I’d drop a few clever hints to make it seem fake. It’s genius, really!”

  “Right.” She sighed. “Well, at least someone is, you certainly aren’t, my gullible brother. But so what? You think that miracles and magic has bee hidden for thousands of years, and then some magus just drops all secred reveals it on YouTube of all pces? Don’t you see how ihat sounds?”

  “It sounds reasoo me. Have you seen the views? Hundreds of millions. That’s a lot of advertiser revenue. I’m jealous.” I don’t have any advertisers ied in my website. For now. That all ges today!

  “If someone could really trol water like this video, I don’t think they’d o resort to advertiser revehey’d be a celebrity. But I don’t believe in any of that. The only miracles e from God.” Sophia protested logically.

  “It isn’t just this. Sure, I’ll cede that maybe orahing like this might be a hoax or clever trick. But it’s not just that. There was that Nordic weightlifter, who said he was blessed by Thor…”

  “Thor is a heathen god, a work of fi.” Sophia snorted, her face a little red as she had finished half her beer. “He was clearly s.”

  “Maybe, though the fact he broke the world records the missing is undeniable. There’s a lot of chatter on my forum about it. Look, one or two things might be ce, but over the st few months so much as been happening. Everyone is talking.”

  “Yeah, all just you and your loony spirauts.” Sophia signalled for another beer. “Really, it’s o dream but the world isn’t that fun. Why ’t you just knuckle down a a real job? I may be harsh with you. But you’re not that stupid, stantine. Look, I’ve scraped together the money for this. If it doesn’t pan out, it’s time to quit and face the real world, all right?”

  “Skatá. All right, I admit, it’s been years. But don’t you dream of anything wondrous, of somethiing?” stantine shook his head as twsses of strong German beer arrived. “Look, all right? I have a lot more…” he opened up a clip of a young Asian b out, bleeding, wounded and distressed. “See? This loaded retly. There’s definitely something going on here, I know it.”

  “Disgusting.” Sophia pursed her lips, upset. “If that’s real, it shouldn’t be online. Poor boy. But look at the ents…” she pointed, and stantine held in a wihat’s my sister, sharp as ever. But…

  “I know it says that there have bees of it being a terrorist group attag. But I’m not so sure. Do you know how many religious figures have been seen in Kyoto over that weekend? It stretches credulity that it’s a ce!” he decred fidently.

  “No it doesn’t.” Sophia disagreed. “Occam’s Razor. Remember? Does it seem more likely that a group of madmen attacked, or that the Gover is c up something so clumsily?”

  “Well, true, but… it’s not just that. There was the i in Brazil, and the US has had several unexpined disappearahat have been well doted, all with strange circumstances, and then…” He brought up a series of poorly shot videos and grainy images taken by some low-quality phone cameras. They did seem to detail a number of strange phenomenon, such as people moving faster than was humanely possible, or shrugging off being shot.

  “They could easily all be fake. There’s never ao huma, and hoaxes be pretty ving. That’s the point of a hoax.” Sophia dismissed them. “You think that the Gover has been able to cover up this stuff for years? Ours ’t even cover up their own mistresses and bribery sdals. If there were superhumans among us, we’d know.” She had almost finished her sed beer, and stantine decided they needed some food.

  “Look, I know all that. But here.” He brought up some charts. “All of the stras started spiking around the same time period. The end of July and into August these hoaxes, as you call them, started up, and the rate of them has been rising steadily sinow, numbers don’t lie, right?” he had a versation with the barman as best he could, and soon more beers and a pte of steaming sausages and cabbage was oable. He bit into one, surprised it was so good, while his sister was examining the s, her expression pensive.

  “So, what do you think?” he asked.

  “Well, okay, statistically speaking, you’re right. Though there are always outliers. The upsurge, assuming your data isn’t pulled out of your behind, it’s what…” she trated, w numbers on her phone. “… Two Sigma certainty, at best?”

  “You always were good at mathematics, Sophia. Shame your job doesn’t use that much of it. Well, maybe when I strike it rich, you get a job you like more…”

  “Oh, so you’d make your sister work, even if you were wealthy? sidering all the money I’ve lent you, never expeg it back…” she shook her head, tipsy. “No, there’s no point listening to your pie-in-the-sky nonsense. Look.” She said, a serious expression on her face. “Even a Two Sigma probability means five times in a hundred, it’s just ce. And when you are trying to tie together so many differes and data points, well, garbage in, garbage out, right? I still think it’s ce, or just pattern reition. redisposed to identify false positives. Basic biology.” She sighed. “Thinking you see a tiger and being wrong, is far better than thinking you don’t see that tiger and being wrong.” She bit into a sausage savagely, and stantine was a little embarrassed by the looks his sister was getting. Yes, another reason she’s single, she be rather tomboyish at times.

  “Well, that’s why we are here in Germany, right?” he flicked to the remaining videos, which were shot of a young-looking blonde girl, clearly beating the hell out of what looked like a gang of German skinheads. This was well-shot footage from a det phone, and it had been passed to stantine by a regur on his website. It had been uploaded to the i a few times, but each time it disappeared quickly. Very suspicious. “This girl here, see that? Her moves shouldn’t be possible.”

  “It could still be a movie promotion, or footage leaked from an uping project. By the Lord, yullible, stantine.” She offered the most reasonable expnation. “The reason the video keeps getting scrubbed is likely cht, okay? Always go with the logical solution.”

  “Maybe so, but… filming in these infamous parts of Berlin? The video was located to here, as were the still shots and other less detailed footage. Geolocators take their craft very seriously, and several of the images were defiaken from around here.”

  Before his sister could protest. A shadow loomed over them. Looking up, stantine could see a massive man, with muscur arms stig out of the torn-off sleeves of a faded denim jacket. He had an angry scowl on his stubble-covered face, atled off a quick sequence of angry-sounding German, pointing at the s.

  “Uh, stantine, what do we do? This is why this was a stupid idea! Now he seems angry.” His sister said, suddenly scared by the overwhelming aura of aggression from the big man.

  “Aha!” stantine decred triumphantly, though he too was uneasy at their visitor. “I have thought ahead. Transtion apps have e a long way.” He clicked on a few links, and soon the angry German was being transted into passable Greek.

  “Why are you here looking for her? Who do you work fover? Police?” the software spat out. The other patrons of the bar were looking on, and one was reag for a pool cue, which was leaning against one wall. Sweat dripping from his forehead, stantine ged the nguage settings.

  “No, we aren’t any official people! I’m a journalist! I!” he decred. “I want to know about the girl. She’s special, right? If I could just prove os…”

  “Selfish.” The man smmed down his gss of beer, and panig, stantine operated the ptop. “She just wants to be left alone. You are not wele here!”

  “So… she’s real?” Sophia asked, puzzled. “This isn’t a film shoot or anything? No, this must be some sort of hustle, pig on gullible tourists…”

  “Go home.” The man said, and those in the quiet bar echoed him. “She is the Rachsüchtiger Geist, our vengeful ghost. Many have e looking. The wise left empty-hahe foolish tasted her vengeance. I suggest you leave. While you still .”

  I k! There’s something going on, the secrets are out there! Why else would they be worried about the gover and the police? If this girl do what the videos show, then so the others. It’s true! It’s all true! His excitement rising, stantine couldn’t stop himself from talking. “So, why are you all so ed? Do you know her?”

  “Stop asking questions! We should go!” Sophia hissed.

  “There’s no way I back down now! This is the truth!” stantine shot back.

  “Yes, we know her now.” The man agreed. “A lost child, buffeted by the storms. ing to rest in our neighbourhood, seeking shelter.” The man lowered his voice, ashamed. “There are mahat are not good people. She had it hard. But those who sought to abuse her realised that she is not for them. Now go back. The ination of the Furies has little mercy.”

  “The Furies?” Sophia, who pressed by the atmosphere, perked up a little at that, her curiosity piqued. “You mean the Erinyes? Well, obviously they never really existed, but to think we’d hear about Greek culture here…”

  “Is this really the time for that?” stantine hissed, knowing she could be curious about the strahings. “We o vihese people to tell us what they know.” And not beat us up and toss us out into the streets. Or worse.

  Another man came over and addressed the first man, in rapid, quiet German, too fast for the software to decipher. Watg their expressions anxiously, trying to determine whether they o run, he was surprised when the sean grabbed the ptop.

  “Hey, that’s mine…” stantine began, but a gre froze him, and a bit ashamed of his cowardi front of his sister, he watched as the man looked at the other open windows. The two men then had a versation, before the man handed back the ptop and said something to the barman. Moments ter more beers arrived, and the newer gestured to several of the images. “I am curious. What are your names, fner?”

  “stantine Nikoou. This here is my sister, Sophia.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you all.” Sophia said timidly. “Uh… my brother is an idiot, but he means her no harm, I promise.”

  “Well, you call me Karl.” The man said, giving no surname. “So, a journalist? Oh… iing… views. Well tell me, Herr stantine, why should she reveal herself to you? After all, if she hides like a ghost, clearly not wanting to be found, isn’t it rude to seek her out? Besides…” the man said, this time not through the transtion, but in tolerable Greek. “… these images. The people in them disappeared, didn’t they?”

  “You speak Greek?” Sophia asked, surprised.

  “English and Russian too. Ba the day, I was quite the important man. As to how I ended up here, that is a story I do not care to tell.” Karl decred. “Now, is your truth worth putting a girl at risk, Herr stantine?”

  “Hang on, you are talking like all this is something real. It’s a hoax. It has to be!” Sophia objected, and the man gave her a pitying look, which was riling her up.

  No, this is a bad time to get angry. “Calm down Sophia, we don’t want to cause trouble. Gamóto, this is tense.” At his words, Sophia kept her silence, grabbing her beer and taking a long swig. “So, you said that the polid the gover and fners have been here looking for her? That makes sense, if I was able to find out, well then so could others.” As he talked about it, his enthusiasm returned. “But how did she evade capture? Wait… were you helping her?”

  “The ghost does not need our help, but we still choose to offer it.” Karl said. “After all, she is vengeful, but does not fet those who show her kindness. Even for the Gover, Berlin is a big city. They ot cover it all. And there are many pces to hide.”

  “Well, what about surveilrag her phone or some such? I know that it happens. That’s not a spiracy, it’s established fact!” stantine procimed.

  “She does not use them. After all, who would a lost runaway call?”

  “A runaway? That’s sad.” Sophia said, her tense expression being more passionate. “You must be kind people, helping her.”

  Karl looked ashamed at that. “Hardly. Those who were not kind were many. But the ghost is not so easy to prey upon. Now go. You have what you o know. The Rachsüchtiger Geist exists. Let that knowledge be enough. So go. Do not return here again!”

  “But I o know. There are others! Others like her! The weightlifter, whoever was doing the YouTube videos, many others. Why is it secret, what is happening? If…”

  “Enough.” A young voice said, and the transtor app, left on Germaed it back. “Karl, I’ve been listening. I admit to being curious about what he knows.” The speaker was ihe girl in the video, though her appearance had ged, her hair pulled into a ponytail, and she was wearing a long duffel-coat, hiding her figure. “Besides, it’s a problem that he mao find this pce. I’d like to know how. I’m sick of having to hide. I don’t want to leave, not now I’ve found a fortable pce to live.”

  “But are you sure?” Karl asked, and she nodded.

  “If they try anything, well… Alecto’s anger will surely fall upon them. Besides…” she reached out and effortlessly hoisted up a heavy table one-handed, bigger than her own small body. “They don’t look so tough.”

  Sophia was gaping open-mouthed at the dispy, but all stantine was feeling was triumph. That’s not natural. No, I’ve found it! The impossible, I k! Two Sigma, Sophia says. Well, what does that make this now? If this girl is the real deal, then are all the others? No, maybe not all, but it’s impossible that none of them are. His breath ing fast, hands sweaty, staood up and greeted the girl. “Greetings. I thank you for showing yourself to me. I promise I mean you no harm. I simply have to know more about you, and any others like you! The world o know, but…”

  “What is he saying?” the nguage app interpreted her words and her fused look to Karl made stantine wince. Oh yes, the app. I o ge the settings. It’s only Karl that speaks Greek…

  “He says he wants the world to know about you and those like you.” Karl transted, and her cold blue eyes made staremble, his sister Sophia shaking like a leaf in a storm. I feel it. It’s like her anger has a physical presence, a chill. No, if I was to anger her, who knows what she could do to me? Even so… he looked at his scared sister. “Sophia. I was right, see? But… what should we do? Now that the truth is in front of me… Gamóto, what in God’s name do we do?”

  ShipTeaser