Eternity's Wheel by Neil Gaiman

was the rest of my team aside from J/O: Josef, twice my size and built of thick, dense muscle, and Jakon, my sleek, furry wolflike cousin, and others who weren’t on my team but had missed me anyway. J’r’ohoho, the centaur from a primitive world who’d nevertheless excelled in his science classes, and Jaya, with herred-gold hair and sweet voice.
    They were all here, all glad to see me. It was a homecoming, of sorts, the kind I hadn’t yet had at InterWorld. No one here had been glad to see me before, had given me hugs, or said they’d missed me. It was nice, not just for myself, but because Josephine was watching with a quiet understanding. I was glad she could see the camaraderie we felt for each other firsthand.
    â€œHow did you get here?” I asked finally, raising my voice to be heard above the chatter.
    â€œThat’s something you and I should discuss,” said a new voice, firm but not unkind, and a few people stepped aside to reveal Joeb.
    â€œHey,” I said in greeting, another wave of relief washing through me. It wasn’t just that I was glad to see him. He and Jai were both senior officers, which meant I wouldn’t be the only one making decisions now. I didn’t have to do this all on my own anymore.
    â€œCome sit,” he said, gesturing to a few travel cots that were set up around a portable heater. It was warmer now that we could actually feel the sunlight, but I imagined it got cold up here.
    Joeb and I sat down on a cot. All the others followed, some also sitting on cots and others on the ground, leaning against one another and otherwise getting comfortable. Apparently, it was story time.
    â€œThe Old Man pulled me into his office six days ago,” Joeb began, his brown eyes serious. “He said there had been a security breach, a leak he’d just discovered.”
    â€œIt was Joaquim,” I said. A murmur went through those listening.
    â€œIt can’t have been,” someone said.
    â€œWe’d’ve known,” someone else insisted, and a few other voices rose up in agreement.
    â€œIt was Joaquim,” Joeb said clearly, his voice rising once again above the chatter. He let that sink in for a moment, glancing out over the faces of those assembled. “Captain Harker confirmed it before we left.”
    I looked out at them, too, seeing the same disbelief I had felt, the same betrayal that had been twisting at me for days. “He’s dead,” I said, and Joeb looked at me. “He was a creation of Binary . . . and HEX,” I said, and another murmur went through the crowd. “They’re working together now. They used a combination of science and magic to create what they call FrostNight, and they used me and Joaquim to power it. Acacia helped me escape, but Joaquim was . . .”
    â€œKilled?” asked Jo, when I faltered.
    â€œUsed up,” I said, unable to look at her. I couldn’t look at anyone; I kept remembering Joaquim’s face, still contorted into a mask of fear and anger, no emotion or depth or life left in his eyes at all. “He was powered by magic. And us, of the essences that are stolen when we’re caught by HEX.”Now I did look at her, and all of them, my gaze roaming over the faces of these comrades who were just like me. They all looked as sick as I felt.
    â€œFrostNight,” Joeb said, after a moment of silence. “What is it?”
    I took a breath. “Basically? A self-perpetuating supercontinuum that rearranges all of time and space in its path.”
    A short silence followed my statement. Those who’d had any manner of basic classes at InterWorld Prime looked appropriately concerned. Others, such as Jari and Josephine, looked like they had absolutely no clue what the hell I’d just said.
    â€œOkay,” said Joeb, who was one of the ones looking concerned. “What is its path, exactly?”
    â€œEverywhere. It’s a self-aware