Champagne and Sky-Highs

The second limousine—the backup "Phantom" unit—was a fortress on wheels.

The interior was lined with cream-colored leather that smelled of new money. The air was climate-controlled, warm and dry. The windows were bulletproof glass, tinting the grim reality of Veridia into a sepia blur.

Ren sat on the plush seat, careful not to touch anything more than necessary. He was shivering, partly from the cold, partly from the shock of having successfully hijacked the plot of a novel.

Sebastian sat opposite him. He had removed his ruined jacket and was pouring amber liquid from a crystal decanter.

"Champagne," Sebastian said, handing a flute to Ren. "Vintage. 1998. It costs more than the building you were sleeping behind."

Ren took the glass with trembling hands. The bubbles fizzed, golden and bright.

Sebastian poured himself a glass and leaned back, crossing his long legs. He watched Ren with the intensity of a collector who had just found a rare, dirty artifact at a garage sale.

"We are going to the Onyx Penthouse," Sebastian announced. "My tailors will be there in the morning. My chef will have a steak waiting when we arrive."

Ren took a sip of the champagne. It tasted like sunlight and apples. It burned his empty stomach in the best way possible.

"Why?" Ren asked quietly. "You could have just given me cash and walked away."

"I could have," Sebastian agreed. He swirled his glass. "But you were right. I was bored. Perfection is tedious, you see. It’s predictable. But you..."

Sebastian leaned forward, his blue eyes gleaming.

"A beggar who tackles a Don? A boy who knows secrets that don't exist yet? You are a glitch in the system. An anomaly. And I have always had a weakness for broken things that work better than the shiny ones."

Ren looked out the window. The car was climbing the ramp to the highway, leaving the grime of the lower districts behind. The lights of the city spread out below them, a galaxy of neon and shadow.

He had done it. He wasn't Beggar No. 3 anymore. He wasn't dead in the mud.

He looked at his reflection in the dark glass. He saw the dirt, yes. But he also saw the grin spreading across his face.

"To the gutter," Sebastian said, raising his glass in a toast.

Ren met his gaze. He clinked his glass against the billionaire’s.

"To never going back," Ren replied.

Sebastian drank, his eyes locked on Ren over the rim of the glass. "Indeed. Welcome to the empire, Ren. Try not to break anything expensive."

"No promises," Ren said, taking a gulp of the expensive wine.

The Phantom limousine sped toward the skyline, carrying the god and the glitch toward a future that wasn't written in any book.