
by firecat not fat
Jack Sterling has always trusted machines more than mysteries. Machines fail for a reason. The dull grey ring tied to two dead women, an impossible wartime archive and the missing seconds in his own memory refuses to be so cooperative. When a disaster in orbit forces Jack to use a power he cannot explain, Sparks Industries gives him the chance to investigate the impossible on his own terms. The trail leads from a ruined clinic beneath the Caribbean to an ancient salt cave and a city drowned under the Atlantic. It also brings two dangerous women into his life. Seraphina is a sharp-tongued dragon who would rather break a problem than discuss it. Nerissa is an ocean witch who notices every secret people hope she will overlook. They distrust each other immediately. Unfortunately, Jack needs them both. Each discovery makes his machines stranger, his enemies harder to identify and his apartment considerably less peaceful. Every clue points to Stonehenge, where a doorway has waited thousands of years for the grey ring to return. Opening it may be the only way to learn what Jack is becoming. It may also tell something on the other side exactly where to find him.
| # | Title | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chapter 1 — Two Screws Left Over | — |
| 2 | Chapter 2 — The Robot That Came Back Sideways | — |
| 3 | Chapter 3 — The Test That Did Not Touch the Ring | — |
| 4 | Chapter 4 — Five Boxes, None Prechecked | — |
| 5 | Chapter 5 — The Number That Passed Inspection | — |
| 6 | Chapter 6 — The Version That Escaped First | — |
| 7 | Chapter 7 — The Margin Left Empty | — |
| 8 | Chapter 8 — The Mission That Included Coming Back | — |
| 9 | Chapter 9 — The Cost Printed Last | — |
| 10 | Chapter 10 — The First Thing He Was Allowed to Touch | — |
| 11 | Chapter 11 — The Room That Stayed Clean | — |
| 12 | Chapter 12 — The Job That Did Not Need a Secret | — |
| 13 | Chapter 13 — The Flight That Refused to Be a Shortcut | — |
| 14 | Chapter 14 — The Door That Required a Badge | — |
| 15 | Chapter 15 — The Clock That Was Not Allowed to Guess | — |
| 16 | Chapter 16: The Package With a Return Label | — |
| 17 | Chapter 17: The Robot That Asked Before It Moved | — |
| 18 | Chapter 18: The Route Through the Dark | — |
| 19 | Chapter 19: The Workbench With Three Locks | — |
| 20 | Chapter 20: The Hand That Would Not Let Go | — |
| 21 | Chapter 21: The Voice That Waited | — |
| 22 | Chapter 22: The Drawer Under the Bench | — |
| 23 | Chapter 23: The Room With Real People | — |
| 24 | Chapter 24: The Record That Stayed Open | — |
| 25 | Chapter 25: The Spoon Beneath the Chair | — |
| 26 | Chapter 26: The Name on the Wrong File | — |
| 27 | Chapter 27: The Demonstration Table | — |
| 28 | Chapter 28: The Checklist With a Missing Line | — |
| 29 | Chapter 29: The Arm Above the Waterline | — |
| 30 | Chapter 30: The Letter From the Cooperative | — |
| 31 | Chapter 31: The Handoff at Four Thirty | — |
| 32 | Chapter 32: The Target That Drifted Sideways | — |
| 33 | Chapter 33: The Frame That Was Missing | — |
| 34 | Chapter 34: The Note in the Margin | — |
| 35 | Chapter 35: The Fault Jack Wrote | — |
| 36 | Chapter 36: The Argument at the Whiteboard | — |
| 37 | Chapter 37: The Second Look | — |
| 38 | Chapter 40: The Shadow That Moved | — |
| 39 | Chapter 41: The Silence Window | — |
| 40 | Chapter 42: The Signature Line | — |
| 41 | Chapter 43: The Message That Came Early | — |
| 42 | Chapter 44: The Door That Was Still Closed | — |
| 43 | Chapter 45: The Battery That Said Enough | — |
| 44 | Chapter 46: The Spare Seat | — |
| 45 | Chapter 47: The Model That Agreed Too Easily | — |
| 46 | Chapter 48: The Badge With a Blue Stripe | — |
| 47 | Chapter 52: The Lamp Above the Sink | — |
| 48 | Chapter 53: The Five-Minute Review | — |
| 49 | Chapter 54: The Call During Dinner | — |
| 50 | Chapter 55: The Long Shift | — |
| 51 | Chapter 56: The Note From Rosa | — |
| 52 | Chapter 63: The Form That Required a Second Name | — |
| 53 | Chapter 64: The Test That Did Not Need a Crisis | — |
| 54 | Chapter 65: The Water With No Owner | — |
| 55 | Chapter 66: The Chamber Behind the Salt | — |
| 56 | Chapter 67: The Seal That Did Not Open | — |
| 57 | Chapter 68: The Room That Kept Working | — |
| 58 | Chapter 69: The Sample That Needed Witnesses | — |