Glitch by Curtis Hox

so that they manifest themselves in whole but are in your complete control. They’re satisfied and will perform a task, in return.”
    “I don’t have a body.”
    “I know.”
    “So?”
    “Your mother will give me an earful for this but ... since you’re a ghost and don’t have a body, you have to make a deal with the devil. As a ghost, you must have a special relationship with whatever entity arrives. This entity will be disappointed it doesn’t have a body, but it can be made happy, and it will, for a time, allow itself to manifest, even without tasting your flesh in a complete transformation.”
    “ Taste my flesh ?”
    “Whatever they are, they like our physicality. Sometimes, I imagine them to be digital sun-sized incorporeal intelligences floating in the voids of Cyberspace, and we give them an exquisite experience. We are their caviar.”
    “Fish eggs? Gross.”
    “Exactly!”
    “What about the rest of the psy-katas, Dad? Can you tell me what they do? Please?”
    But he just smiled, glowing a soft cobalt. “They go beyond summoning, honey. They let you do wonders. First things first. Let’s see how the entity reacts. Once you’ve convinced it to work with you, you’ll have to repay it after every time you summon ...”
    “How?”
    “My first entity wanted me to run through the mountains ... for a month . Don’t make that mistake. Give it a single night.”
    “God. How boring.”
    “Not at all.” He chuckled, as if she had so much to learn. “Be prepared to make that sort of deal. It’s one of your main drawbacks as a ghost. You’ll want to always bargain for the best deal. In the end, if you’re to succeed in the arena—and you must because each contest tips the balance—your entity will need to bring provisions. Make it come prepared. It’ll cost you, but pay the price.”
    “Clothes?”
    “Armor, weapons, this sort of thing.”
    “I’ll have to bargain for them ...”
    “Every time. Remember, it’s a deal with the devil. You’ll have to pay. Just make sure the payment is acceptable. When you’re both in agreement you can allow it the manifestation that it wants, but only after you have made the arrangements for payment.”
    She wanted to ask him if he was happy with whatever past arrangements he’d made, but she kept her mouth shut.
    “It’s time for you to bind your entities.” He stood. “Watch and learn the steps.” He left the rocker and began to move through the katas five feet off the ground.

FOUR

    “BINDING. THAT’S WHAT EACH OF YOU must learn if you want to master your entities.”
    Hutto ignored Consortium Agent Yancey Wellborn’s voice. He sat on the mats, as he had since lunch, eyes closed, mumbling the same words over and over again. He had to admit he felt relaxed as he followed her instructions, but memorizing phrases and dancing around like some epileptic break-dancer with chiggers in his ass-crack wasn’t fighting. He understood glad-fighting, and this wasn’t it.
    His family was in the game, and today his father would make a surprise visit to Sterling and set them all straight.
    Hutto couldn’t wait for everyone to witness his father’s arrival. It was one thing to join a Glad Club and pretend at fighting or even talk about it as if any of them—besides himself—ever had a chance in the arena; it was another thing to see a real gladiator walk into a room and hear him converse about the art.
    Agent Wellborn paused in front of Hutto. “You have each learned the mantras and katas of centering.” That was true. He had memorized the words and said them while moving through the silly dance steps that had made him blush the first time he’d tried. The idea his father would see him prancing about made him wince. She continued. “They’re the entrance to the other katas. You don’t have to move through them in order.” She stepped away.
    He looked to his right and saw the hulking form of Beasley. She appeared to be half asleep, but he could tell