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other, I needed to seek out the latest pawn in Tom Hush’s
murderous undertakings, this Joshua Link. Marvin would
come to me eventually, seeking to strike my name from his
list, so it seemed a waste of time to reverse my course to
find him. Therefore, I reasoned, Tom Hush must garner my
strictest attention.
When I learned the occult slaying had taken place on the
outskirts of Nighthead, I realized the delicate, imperceptible
pull of the Shepherd’s Game. It had blended itself into my
very thoughts, masquerading as free will, causing me to
believe I’d chosen to visit the City of Many Shadows of
my own violation. Had it not been for the lure of unnamed
possibility, I would have quit the game then and there. But
I was an artist, and the chance to change the world was too
great, both as an obligation and as a passion.
Tom Hush was a strange addition to the game, though. I
had no doubt the demon was killing in accord with its own
inscrutable designs and not at the behest of the Shepherd,
so I failed to see the reason for his inclusion. That is, unless
he functioned as a test to further demonstrate the mettle of
those who had been chosen. Or perhaps he was a rival of the
wolf-herder, and the Shepherd’s Game served as an effective
means to eliminate him—provided of course that Tom Hush
didn’t eliminate all the competition first. Regardless, he was
on my list, and now that I knew Nighthead was predestination
rather than a mere destination, there was only one place in
the city fate would offer a straightjacketed lunatic.
Moving through the plentiful back alleys and sunken
gutters, I drank heavily from the city’s conviction to mystery,
trying as best I could to collapse the distinction between the
secrets within and without myself. I would need to be nearly
invisible to have any real chance at surprising a secret-
eating god. Yet I could not repress my desire to turn over
certain memories, knowing full well the consequence of
such attempts. Not only would their mystery give me away

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