Two times two times two times two times two times two times two equals one-hundred and twenty-eight.

Three times three times three times three times three times three times three equals two-thousand, one hundred and eighty-seven.

Four times four times four times four times four times four times four times equals sixteen thousand, three-hundred and eighty-four.

So what, do you suppose, is the product of infinity to the seventh power?

Troy could tell you. Granted, your head might explode to hear the answer explained, but he knows.

Annis could have done the math, but I don’t think she would have been able to communicate the answer. At least, that’s what I would have told you before. Now I think she might have been able to, but would choose not to. But I get ahead of myself.

Me, I could not only tell you, but I could show you so that it would make perfect sense. If you could hear me sing, anyway. Some can hear me with no help, some can only hear me if someone points them to me, and some couldn’t hear me if I was right in front of them.

You seem to be one of the former, don’t you? It’s nice to get to sing to someone. I’ve been alone for what seems like forever. But maybe it has only been a few minutes. Things have gotten awfully hard to figure out.

Troy left not long ago to find another cipher. Or maybe it was centuries ago. Anyway, he came back with Anastasia. Annis, she asked me to call her. She could hear me right away, just like you. But she was afraid of me at first.

Power does that to some. To others it provides nothing but temptation and lust. That is what it does to Troy. He thrives on the channeling.

How it works is pretty simple, really. He uses me to open the doors, and the cipher picks which ones to go through. There are seven sets. The path chosen through the seven sets determines the prime. The prime is what those without the ability to see past it would call “reality.”

There is something different about Annis, though. She was afraid of me not for the same reasons the others were. She wasn’t worried that I would hurt her, or that Troy would use me to hurt her. She was afraid that I’d be able to unlock in her something that would harm the world.

And she was right, but I didn’t know that then.

For the first set, she chose a Candle. Light, illumination, the ability to see in the dark. Lighting one’s way amidst a world of darkness and confusion. It was a good start.

For the second set, she chose a Compass. Continuing her theme from the first turn. Troy was so impressed he made love to her right then and there. Direction, guidance, defining a purpose. She was a natural. None of the questions most ciphers had about how it was all supposed to work. I thought maybe this time we’d found the one.

For the third turn, she chose a Quarter. Currency, something to exchange for something of worth. It was a strange turn, but I though I understood where it came from. Once you have direction, you must have power to move in that direction. Something to bargain with in order to get the power you need. Troy wasn’t sure, but I told him it was going to be fine.

Fourth came a Chess Knight. Physical power incarnate. Protection of that which is precious. The ability to move between obstacles. Annis had seemed so meek; I would have never expected such a bold choice. After the set, I could see that Annis was changing. She seemed darker, and I feared that she understood just how much was at stake and was not afraid. Sometimes fear is a good thing, you know.

Number five was a Mask. Safety in anonymity. Concealing that which lies beneath. Unexpected revelations. And so it came that Troy and I realized that Annis was a shell within which hid a deep and unfathomable power that far surpassed anything we could have anticipated. Troy tried to stop her, but he had fallen in love with her, and so he could do nothing but continue playing his part and hope that she would spare him. Though I too was fond of her, I did not have the weakness of the human form, and so I was sure I could stop her. But nothing I did could dissuade her from moving on to the next set. She never attempted to harm Troy or myself, but neither did she stray an inch from the path she had choosen.

The sixth set was something I never could have anticipated; a Dreamcatcher. Capturing fantasy and giving it physical form. A conduit for the impossible. Placed in the path of a writer, nonetheless. How could she do this? The sacred power we had protected all this time opened up for anyone to manipulate? It was too much for me to even fathom. I thought that I had experienced the ultimate insult.

Until set seven. She chose me. And compelled me to take the form of that hideous old woman. I can still sense the stench of her on me. Me, the Key, forced to hand over the power of infinity to a human! And I could do nothing but obey. I looked to Troy for assistance, but he was gone. Whether she sent him away, or he fled, I may never know.

When the deed was done, Annis revealed her true form, that of Queen Chaos. She smiled at me, sitting there in my heap of rags of cotton, and spoke.

“Chaos is not evil, my dear Key. Nor is it random. It is the patterns that we each choose, as we wander through the realm of infinite possibilities. No one should have the right to control these patterns save those individuals who choose them.”

And with that, she was gone. And here I sit, in the Horn and Ivory Curio Shop; hoping desperately that I will survive until Troy finds his way back to me.

So if you see him, can you tell him I’m anxious to be around his neck once more?