Pun? Pun. What pun? When did we open a—oh! Oh.

  Arggggggh…

  It was those stupid bears! The giant diamond… cut from their chests… overflowing. Not the sort of overflowing I had been talking about, but that was the joke.

  And there was no need to wonder what the ‘cavern steeped in mystery’ might have been. Damned pervert.

  Yes, okay, the fair lady doth protest, etc. But we both knew She was out of my league in about the most literal way possible. She could afford to cool her jets.

  But what was that crack about getting my feet wet? Hmm…

  “Hey, look!” Lynnria pointed down yet another of the many side paths we had come across. “A statue.”

  My head jerked upright. “Statue?”

  I immediately hurried forward. This was different. We had seen nothing so far to break up the monotony of flowers, hedges, and murderous bunny rabbits. Certainly no statues. Not even a garden gnome.

  This stank of a trap.

  “Any of you ladies smell water, by chance?” I asked. “Rumbles under your feet? That kind of thing?”

  It was obvious the statue was a simple depiction of the Demon Queen herself, and even with its finer details obscured by distance, nothing about it should have evoked such a question. So it was no surprise when four pairs of eyes turned to stare at me.

  “Nay…” Jax replied, confused. “Be there some human-folk superstitions about statues and floods I should know about?”

  “No, nothing like that.” The timing on this was too coincidental. There had to be a connection. What else did she say? Something about… tradition? Like a Dungeon tradition? What would that be? “Fekinell, do you sense any light coming from that statue?”

  She did not bother to look. “Forgive me, your lordship. I do not.”

  That had sounded pretty definitive, but that did not mean she was right. There were loads of ways to trick the senses—even magical ones.

  “Could still be a mimic,” I muttered. “With some kind of shielding, maybe? Or camouflage.”

  Mia narrowed her eyes and stepped close. “You’re acting strangely paranoid. That’s unlike you.”

  “Sommat’s got his hackles up, that’s sure,” Jax agreed. “Before he even laid eyes on that rock.”

  I grunted. Guess there’s no use in hiding it.

  “Sorry. Xhinn was in my ear a minute ago, taunting me for sure, but you know how she is. There must have been some clue or hidden message mixed in.”

  “Xhinn was in your ear?!” To my complete surprise, Mia snatched me by the collar, and snarled, “How dare you! Get out of there this instant! That is my private home and sanctuary. I’ll not have you snooping about uninvited!”

  “Who is Xhinn?” Fekinell asked from one side.

  That’s your first question? I would have thought Mia homesteading in my ear would have ranked slightly higher.

  “The Demon Queen.” That was Lynnria.

  “Curse you, answer me!” Mia shouted, unperturbed. “If you’ve tracked mud onto my carpets…”

  “Is his lordship on a first-name basis with all the Five?”

  “Three of them, at least. Maybe four.”

  “The Maiden did nay introduce her ownself yet, did she?” Jax wondered aloud.

  “Not to us, she hasn’t. But you never know.”

  “Denman?! Denman!” Mia yelled. “Bark if you can hear me, girl. Are you alright? Did she hurt you?”

  “Hold up,” I said over the background gossip. “There’s a Denman now? Who is Denman?”

  My questions cut through Mia’s tirade like a knife, and she refocused on me. Then blushed.

  “My hairbrush,” she replied, suddenly all dimples, long lashes, and nibbled lower lips.

  “There’s a hairbrush in my head named Denman,” I said, “and it barks?”

  Mia shivered like I had just run a finger up her spine, and I suddenly found myself with a Dolilim plastered to my body.

  Oh. Hello, there.

  Purely by instinct, my hands sank into the plush yet firm muscle of her backside.

  “Yes, my liege,” she cooed appreciatively. “The name was written on her label. And it’s less of a bark than a squeak. It’s so cute. She follows me around everywhere.”

  She started nibbling my chest.

  “What is happening?” Fekinell asked.

  “Mia starts to dripping with the questions,” Jax replied shortly.

  “I thought questions made her swear.”

  “That too.”

  Fekinell’s eyes unfocused. “I’m confused.”

  With a growl, Mia tore herself away.

  “Never mind! It’s all a lot of nonsense I have no control over.” She glared at me. “And you should know better. Getting me all worked up… Just wait until the next time you fall asleep. I’ll teach you who’s ranked above who.”

  “Now, I am extremely confused.”

  “Later, Fekinell,” I said, waving her off. “Mia, I—”

  I had the passing thought to assure her she did not need to prove anything… or wait. But that would have flung whatever momentum we had going right off the tracks and into the canyon—explosions soon to follow.

  Down, boy.

  “I don’t think Xhinn was in my head,” I said instead. “It didn’t feel the same.”

  “You’re positive?”

  I hesitated. The goddess had read my mind, but it was not as though she needed to be inside of it to pull that off. Right?

  “Call it… eighty percent?”

  Her ears wilted.

  “Oh, curse my hubris. I should have known better than to abandon my duty—even for an instant!” She had taken up an anxious pacing while she fretted, but then she noticed the unconscious hop in her step. “And for such a ridiculous body. What was I thinking?!”

  “I’m thinking ye was horny,” Jax replied dryly.

  I guess we’re skipping the tracks, anyway. Damn it.

  “We needed your help with the bears, Mia. And it’s not ridiculous. You’ve got this jackalope… goth-reaper vibe going,” I said. Okay, maybe it’s a little ridiculous. “A couple extra points in Charisma, and you could get a guy hard with a sideways glance.”

  I was being generous. She was an easy 7… which was fine—enough to get my engine revving when she turned up the charm, at least—but it was not like she was making the podium when her next-closest competitor was a 9.

  That excluded Fekinell, of course. Even with the recent improvements, the former soldier was a… 6? Nah, a fit 5. But that one had shown zero interest, so she did not count.

  “Which I cannot achieve without a new body!” Mia exclaimed. “I should have foreseen this. What a ludicrous, misguided spell. I cannot believe I created something with neither a method for advancement nor a means of shielding to protect our minds from unwanted occupants. You’re completely right, Jax. I was thinking with my… my… y-you know.”

  “Ooh, I got lots of words fer that.” Jax started listing off on her fingers. “Gash, muff, yer booted fud, stab wound, dripping hole, er…” She switched hands. “…fanny…”

  “Fanny!” Mia interrupted quickly. “Fanny will do. Thank you.”

  “…roasted leg-wich—” Jax looked up. “Oh, aye? As ye please, then.”

  I gave Jax a side-long glance. And then another. “Well… I’ve got a new skill point. Can’t we… fix it?”

  “Perhaps.” Smiling again, Mia thoughtlessly began tracing her claws up and down my chest. “But we would need to return to the… bed… to spend it. My lord.”

  Hmm… It seemed Mia’s ability to resist my questions fell off severely the closer we were standing. I would have to remember that.

  “In that case…” Smiling, I delicately brushed her claws away. “…we’ll have to put a pin in it. For now, everyone takes a shot!”

  “What?!”

  “I ain’t never—”

  “I wasn’t even a part of this conver—”

  “What are we talking about?”

  “Excellent question, Fekinell. What are we talking about? The last thing I remember, Lynnria had spotted a statue.”

  Mia stamped her foot. “And whose fault is that? None of this would have happened if the Fif—”

  I raised a finger hastily to her lips, eyes wide.

  “—if I hadn’t gotten us side-tracked,” I finished for her. The Watcher help us if She got involved in this game. “But I said ‘everyone,’ didn’t I? I’ll take my licks.”

  “Licks?!” Jax growled, marching forward. “Now see here. The rules was that ye got one lick, in order, starting from the tippy. Ain’t no one getting a lick ‘sides me. Not this time.”

  “Not much of a punishment,” Lynnria muttered.

  “My point exactly,” Mia agreed.

  “Them’s the rules!” Jax shouted. “No backsies.”

  “You were the one who made up the rules!” Mia countered.

  “And I gotta explain every little thing? Bloody rich coming from ye. But alright, ye clinking bag of spoons—it be a punishment because his lordship’s got it in his wee noggin there be a time and place for such, when he should be bending us over after every fight!” She flung her arms wide. “What is ye even complaining about? Yer telling me don’t want the Master’s tongue in yer muff?”

  Lynnria tilted her head back, reconsidering. “When you put it that way…”

  I rolled my eyes. “And now Mia gets a lick.”

  Jax whirled. “What?!”

  “Unnecessary rules argument,” I proclaimed, presenting an imaginary yellow card. “That’s a shot.”

  “Oh, sod off!” Jax kicked at the gravel. “What kind of shite-arsed—”

  “And don’t think I missed that crack about my noggin,” I said over her. “That should be worth a personal foul right there.”

  Jax bristled. “Ye know bloody well I did nay mean that!”

  “Wait a minute!” Lynnria yelled. “So now we have to flick ourselves twice?! And I don’t even get anything?”

  “It’ll be three times if you keep this up,” I warned her.

  “I might as well!”

  “Um…” Fekinell raised a hand nervously. “Forgive me for interrupting, my lord… Mistress… but am I expected to take part in… whatever this is?”

  “Yes!” Jax snarled. Then brought herself up short. “Er, actual-like, now yer mentioning it…”

  “Yeah, no. No, no.” I shook my head with horror. “That… No, that’s a terrible idea.”

  “Now that would be a punishment,” Lynnria agreed.

  Three sets of hips shifted uncomfortably while Fekinell looked on, thoroughly mystified.

  I clapped my hands together, dismissing that line of thought. “Alright, line up. Let’s get this over with.”

  Grumbling, the Dolilim nevertheless arranged themselves according to the current pecking order. Fekinell was still confused and took a hesitant step toward them, but I motioned her to stand by my side.

  “Over here. You can be my second.”

  My second? I winced inwardly. What, are we having a duel?

  But apparently, I had said the magic words, because she snapped to attention and saluted me.

  “Sire!”

  She then marched to her spot, performed a smart about-face, and proceeded to pat out a death-march cadence onto her stomach.

  Rat… Ta-ta-tat… Ta-ta-tat. Tat. Tat.

  Rat… Ta-ta-tat… Ta-ta-tat. Tat. Tat.

  My mouth fell open, trying to form around words, but nothing came out.

  What. The fuck?

  Slowly, my head rotated to the line of Dolilim, but they were no help. The lot of them were twitching like someone had just ripped a gigantic fart in the middle of a funeral.

  Welp. When in Rome…

  Taking a single stride forward, I thrust out my chest and, like the Officer-in-Charge at an execution, barked, “Present… tits!”

  My command was met with gales of stifled laughter, but what tops were present were dutifully lowered.

  I held up a hand, staring down the line of quaking breasts. This is so dumb. And weirdly hot.

  “Flick!”

  As my hand descended, claws cascaded against nipple, and the wind left their sails like Johnny Knoxville and crew taking a mob-suppression round to the nuts.

  “Oh, you son-of-a—”

  “—gaping whore—”

  “—and crackers with… porridge!”

  My hand came up again for the second salvo, but they were in no condition to notice. “Whenever you’re ready, ladies.”

  “Oh, fek off!”

  “This is not okay, Donum.”

  “Ow… ow…”

  I sighed. “You all agreed to this.”

  “No… no!” Lynnria waved an accusatory finger from within the protective basket she had made of her arms. “You all agreed to this. I wasn’t there.”

  “Feking… bawbag, look at this. I’s bleeding!”

  Mia looked at her, aghast. “How are you bleeding? Did you use the tip?!”

  “I used the tip.”

  “Don’t use the tip, Jax!”

  “Maniac!”

  “I thought it’d feel better,” she wailed. “I likes pain, but the Master said only bad girls hurt theys ownselfs. It don’t work no more when I does it… aaaahhh…”

  I turned my head slightly to see what Fekinell was making of this. There were doubtlessly vorpal bunnies hidden all around, just waiting for one of us to step wrong, and here we were, acting like clowns. It was completely normal tabletop behavior, mind you, but I had never expected it to be so true to life.

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  However, her face was as impassive as always.

  Gonna to have to take this one gambling sometime. Girl would clean up!

  “Ha! I knew there was something fishy about this. You thought you’d gotten one over on us, didn’t you,” Mia jeered, then deepened her voice into a parody of Jax’s brogue. “‘Her-her-her, I can take a thump to me paps easy. Two rewards in one, that is.’ Well, jape’s on you!”

  My First took a breath, doubtlessly preparing a blistering salvo of her own, but I spoke up before she could.

  “The sooner we get your punishment out of the way, the sooner we can get to mine.”

  Undeterred, Jax glared at me. “Ye expect me to let her yap and say nothing?”

  “Is she wrong?”

  Her glare intensified, but there was no denying it. And she soon averted her eyes.

  I sighed. “This is getting us nowhere. I know this is a punishment game, but it’s still a game. It’s supposed to be fun! And… keep things moving. Honestly, why did I ever think this would work? If you guys are going to get all upset every time you have to take a shot—”

  “Here!” Jax jerked upright, her bloodied nipple forgotten.

  And she was not alone. Apparently, the option to stop halfway through the first round was not a popular one.

  “Don’t be thinking ye can back out of this shite—”

  “—hurts, Donum! And now you think you can just—”

  “—should have to lick each of us, at least!”

  I took a step back, trying to address each of them at once. “I’m only giving you the—w-well, yeah, I know, but—now, wait a minute! I don’t lick anybody unless—”

  Fekinell raised a hand, fingers pinched in mimicry of my earlier gesture. “Unnecessary rules argument. That’s a shot!”

  And that was when the situation devolved into utter chaos. Needless to say, it took us a while to get back to the statue.

  *

  I worked my tongue over my gums, outwardly examining the Demon Queen’s likeness with total concentration. But on the inside, my thoughts were a turmoil.

  Mia tastes like eldritch carrot cake.

  And no. I could not be more specific.

  Every atom within me was devoted to the task of deciding just where that flavor was coming from or what it might have resembled—be it ozone, a fermented quality, or… prunes?—but I was coming up short. The only reason I could even give it a name was because of a certain… distant undertone that reminded me if Xhinn’s essence. It was a bit like the distinction between radishes and potatoes. They tasted nothing alike, yet there was that certain note that, if you were paying attention, let you know you were eating a root vegetable. Which made a kind of sense—Mia was the Demon Queen’s… cousin. Or something.

  But carrot cake? That was so on the nose!

  Lynnria stepped up beside me. “What do you think, Donum?”

  “We’re gonna have to catch more monsters.”

  She looked at me. “Huh?”

  “Nothing.”

  Shaking my head, I let out a sigh and refocused on the statue. Briefly.

  Why would she remind me of Xhinn? Xyn didn’t remind me of Xhinn and they practically share the same body! My first taste of Her had even come from Xyn. Was there some kind of glamor in play, intentionally drawing me off the trail?

  A glamor for her vagina?! Are you insane? That’s nuts!

  I was going to have to eat Xyn out again. That was all there was to it.

  “Look, Donum,” Lynnria tried again. “Mia and I have been talking and we agree: the point of a drinking game is to—”

  Watcher’s hairy man-tits. Seriously? I gestured with frustration toward the statue, but her mind was elsewhere.

  Not that I could fault her.

  “—to punish you with something you wanted to do anyway, but with the potential to go too far.” She rubbed at her reddened flesh. “None of us get anything out of flicking ourselves.”

  As she turned her face to mine, my eyes jerked away guiltily. “Maybe you don’t,” I mumbled.

  “What?”

  “Huh? Nothing.”

  Okay, focus… focus. Looks like there’s an inscription here.

  The Demon Queen had replicated her likeness down to the encrusted jewels adorning her horns. She had reptilian wings, a gossamer robe, skin that somehow managed to look soft despite being carved from marble… truly excellent breasts… and that… that waistline… I worked some moisture back into my mouth. Chebs, but she was sexy… even if she was usually quite a lot taller than this. And I could not remember her ever wearing an amulet, least of all one with such obvious writing on it.

  But to get a closer look at the thing, I would need to slip between her outstretched arms, and that knowing grin on her face was nowhere near as inviting as she thought it was.

  “Anyway, Mia and I talked it over with Jax, and we’ve agreed to switch to edging.”

  I blinked. “Huh?”

  “Edging, Donum,” Lynnria said again. “Teasing us, but without ever—”

  “I know what it means, Lynnria.”

  “Oh, lovely.” She nodded with relief. “Then we want you to edge us for our shots.”

  My face went through several expressions before finally settling somewhere between confusion and intrigue. “And this would be a punishment… how, exactly?”

  “Well, it isn’t,” she explained. “Until it is. Get it?”

  I had to suppose there were certain parallels between this and slamming hard liquor, and it was not as though there would be much argument over a quick jolt of pleasure. Maybe there was some merit to this proposal after all. So I gave a slow nod.

  “Fair enough. And what would my punishment be?”

  “Making us come, of course,” she replied, suddenly aloof. “Exactly the same as before.”

  I worked at the residue between my teeth again, remembering. That had not been what I was supposed to do, but… well, when you can. Why not, right?

  Still, this was not a perfect one-to-one setup. Nor would I want it to be. Edging me would take way too much time without an appropriate skill, and while I was not opposed to one of them eventually taking something like that, it was not a luxury we could afford right now. Then there would be the arguments over who would get the skill first, the proper turn order once everyone had, and so on. It would be a whole thing.

  But their proposed alternative was not much better. Watching them convulse around my tongue would always be a highlight, so I would definitely enjoy taking my shots. It was just that the downside would not be in overindulging. It would be in not earning my licks. Not indulging. Effectively, rewarding me for wasting time. My aura already pushed their thoughts constantly toward sex. Edging them would only make that frustration worse, and who would they take it out on? Me, that’s who. My only recourse would be to break down and satisfy them.

  Which was not such a bad thing, per se, but the entire point of this exercise was to keep everyone’s head in the game and leave the bedroom for the bedroom.

  …which was precisely what Jax had been complaining about.

  Ah, so that’s it. Well, allow me to riposte.

  “Fine. But no complaining or begging allowed. If I hear a word about how pent up you are, that’s an immediate penalty shot. Make a note, Fekinell.”

  “Sire.”

  For a moment, it looked as though Lynnria wanted to argue, but then a speculative gleam appeared in her eyes. “So… nothing verbal?”

  I met her gaze and a slow, yet mutual, grin spread over our faces. Saucy minx. Lynnria might not have enjoyed showing that side of herself around other women, but I knew the raging slut lurking behind those eyes.

  “Very well,” she said, playing it cool. “But I’ll have to take it up with the others.”

  “Of course,” I agreed. Then, as I turned my attention back to the inscription, I sent a last flirtatious quip for her inner slut to chew on. “You taste a lot better now, by the way.”

  Okay, let’s see here. Is that… Latin? That could not be right. Squinting, I tried getting a better look. Necturant… floryntes… uh… milli? Molli… something?

  Sadly, however, my quip only bounced off Lynnria’s protective shielding and hit me right in the face.

  “Keep your voice down!” she hissed. “I swear, Donum. You know how Jax is. She’s already hounding me for a sample of my… my liqueur. If she catches wind of something like that, I’ll never hear the end of it!”

  Fekinell tugged at my sleeve. “Sire?”

  This statue is going to be the death of me. I know it.

  “And that would be such a bad thing? It’s not as though you’d be sampling her goods,” I returned. Then under my breath, “Not that you’d need to.”

  “What is that sup—?” She stiffened, apparently having figured it out. “I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Aw, don’t give me that. With the number of times you’ve gone down on me right after?”

  Another tug. “Sire, a moment?”

  “That—” Lynnria cut herself off again, head quivering and completely flushed. “That is something we can discuss in private, Donum. I’ll not spread gossip among the servants.”

  I glanced at Fekinell. “Who is she going to gossip with?”

  “That is not. The point,” Lynnria pronounced, then whirled away.

  “Your lordship?”

  I sighed. She was nude; the taste of her vagina was fresh on my tongue; we had just had a whole talk about edging and this was what she got upset about? Were all women this confusing, or just mine? “What is it, Fekinell?”

  “Apologies, my lord,” she began in a blithe tone. “I thought I should warn you: there is a great deal of light gathering around this statue.”

  “Light?” I looked from her to the inanimate stone, but there was no hint of what she was describing. If it was coming to life, it was being awfully circumspect about it. “You’re sure?”

  “Yes.” She made a gravelly sound in her throat. Contemptuous laughter, perhaps? “They think themselves clever, but they cannot hide from me.”

  Frowning, I turned to her again, but she was not looking at the statue. She was watching the flowers.

  The lightbulb clicked. “Ah ha… And how many lights would you say are gathering?”

  “Fifteen,” she returned. Then, “Sixteen.”

  A bead of sweat dripped down my collar. That was a worrying number. Either the bunnies had been drawn here to defend this place, or we had tarried too long.

  My body settled into complete stillness without conscious thought. “Can you handle so many?”

  There was no need to ask whether they planned to attack. The question was when. And potentially how. We were not about to step into the flowers, so perhaps there was a trigger here we were unaware of. That or there was a critical bunny mass they needed to achieve before they were allowed to swarm us.

  Fekinell’s head twitched just so, evidently thinking it over. “Yes, with help. Most of us should survive.”

  “Oh. Great.” I could have done with a touch of grievance in her voice, but that was our Servant for you.

  How she was estimating our strength was a mystery, but I did not doubt her conclusion. Jax was the only one with a hope of resisting the damage these things could put out on her own, and while Mia and Lynnria had the offense to keep up, their defense was nonexistent. We needed a plan.

  “Let’s go.”

  Turning, I headed back to the group, Fekinell trailing uncertainly behind. “You’re done with the statue, Sire?”

  “No. But if it’s important, we’ll have to come back here, anyway. And if not, then there’s no harm in skipping it. All you need to do is keep your eyes peeled on those lights.”

  “Most of them are following us, Sire.”

  I did not look back. “Most is better than all.”

  The Dolilim trio had stayed at the intersection while I examined the statue—they had said to discuss new skill picks, but from the conversation a moment ago, their talk had strayed to other topics. Doubtlessly, to the great chagrin of Lynnria. However, their hushed murmuring died at my approach.

  Jax took in my mood in an instant. “Master?”

  “We’re leaving. Now. Jax, you take the lead. Fekinell needs to guard the rear.”

  She looked down the path we had just vacated uncertainly. I had no doubt it was as empty to her eyes as it was to mine, but she trusted me.

  Nodding, she took up a brisk pace while the others fell in beside me. “Ye wanna tell me what this be about?”

  “You didn’t touch anything back there, did you?” Lynnria asked.

  “No, nothing like that.” I brought them up to speed as quickly as I could, ending with, “To handle so many at once, we would need a protected vantage. We don’t have one, so the best alternative I could think of on short notice was to thin them out. If we can keep them from swarming us, we might have a chance.”

  Damn it. This would be the perfect opportunity for a good fireball!

  “What about the statue?” Mia asked.

  “No go. There was some kind of writing on it, but I would have to stand in its embrace to read it properly.”

  “That sounds unwise.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Some of the ones we’re passing are following, Sire,” Fekinell informed us.

  “Shit. Can you pick up the pace, Jax?”

  “I ain’t got the reaction speed to catch them bawbags out from the air, Master,” she called. “Any quicker, and I’d hit the flowers dodging.”

  That was going to happen eventually, regardless. But on our own terms would be preferable.

  “Just do your best.”

  Lynnria ground her teeth. “This won’t work, Donum. I haven’t a single weapon and less armor!”

  “I know that, Lynnria. Right now we need cans, not can’ts.”

  “Ye got yer claws, girlie. That ain’t—”

  A rabbit shot from the underbrush straight for Jax mid-sentence, only to pass harmlessly through her as she puffed into a cloud of brackish smoke. We tensed, preparing for the tidal wave, but apparently, it had been just another ambusher. The rest had not worked up their confidence yet.

  Jax summoned her axe, but I held out a hand before she could use it. “Don’t.”

  She flashed her teeth as the thing vanished back into the flowers. “I could’ve made the throw.”

  “Or you could have killed us all!” Lynnria growled.

  “Sire.” Fekinell was still watching the path behind. “They are catching up. Over twenty now.”

  I whirled. “Go!”

  Grimacing, Jax sent a shadow running ahead, hoping to draw out any more hidden menaces before they could trip us up, then quickly followed in its wake. Which she should have done in the first place, but hindsight was often cruel that way.

  “I can kill anything if I have a clear enough shot,” Mia offered, hopping along as she struggled to keep pace with my long strides.

  “Yeah, in straight lines,” I countered. “I guess if you can hit more than one at a go… go for it, but we won’t be able to help you if you go crashing into the bushes again.”

  “What about spells, Donum?” Lynnria asked. “Can’t you come up with another of your miracles?”

  “Miracles?”

  That was a word for it. I preferred bullshit shots in the dark personally. However, a quick review of my Words sparked one possibility, and I already knew the sod between the flagstones would readily take an Engraving.

  “If we can get some distance on them, I could scribe a circle to Conceal us inside… maybe. But we would need to break their line of sight first.”

  Even a dog would check the spot if somebody vanished before its eyes.

  “A good thought, but to truly draw them away, we would need a distraction,” Mia said, then to herself. “Straight lines… straight lines…”

  She cast her eyes toward a rapidly approaching turn for a moment, then glanced over her shoulder. “I have a plan.”

  I risked a look behind us as well, but all I saw was Fekinell and the well-manicured garden maze we were leaving in our wake. That and flowers gently swaying in the completely nonexistent breeze.

  “Why do I feel like I’m not going to like this plan?”

  She snarled at me. “You will once you’re between my legs tonight!”

  My eyebrows shot up. That was uncharacteristically aggressive.

  “At least thirty now,” Fekinell called.

  Jax swore at something ahead of us, then cast out another pair of shadows. “I be voting fer Mia’s plan!”

  Damn it! “Mia…”

  “No time,” she interrupted. “Lynnria, grant me luck. Donum, I’ll need accuracy.”

  “Mia, at least tell us what—”

  “Do it, my liege!”

  I snarled back at her, mainly in frustration, but I had little choice but to bark out the Words to the spell. Lynnria just jogged to her side and tapped her shoulder. “Good luck, Mia… with whatever you’re doing.”

  She nodded. “Fekinell. Which side of the track has the most light?”

  I don’t like where this is going.

  “The left.”

  “Excellent.”

  Some paces before we got to the turn, she whirled and summoned her scythe.

  Oh, I definitely don’t like where this is going!

  “Mia!”

  “Do not fear for me, my liege. Only work your magic.” She lowered herself into a three-point stance just as Fekinell was passing her. “Guard them well, creature. They will need your eyes.”

  Fekinell nodded solemnly. “I will… Lady Bline.”

  Mia looked back at her, eyes blazing. “I am not that bitch. Mine is the Power that remained loyal!”

  With that, she darted forward.

  The last I saw of the jackalope girl was her scythe reaping through rows and rows of flowers in a dead rush while fountains of blood sprayed behind her, dozens of rabbits springing from the opposite side, hot on her trail. And then we were around the corner.

  Lynnria gasped, heartbroken. “Mercy’s hands… Mia.”

  I swore in complete agreement, but I did not yet have the time for sorrow. “Fekinell! Are we clear?”

  “Yes, my lord! They have taken the bait.”

  Not even taking the time to nod, I dropped to my knees and drew out a wide, rough circle to encompass us, scribing a quick Conceal every few feet. It felt like hours, but the whole thing probably took me less than a handful of seconds. Once the ring was complete, I jumped to my feet and clapped three times.

  “Powers, hear and obey! Conceal us from sight. Conceal us from sound. Conceal us from smell!” At each utterance of a sense, I touched the corresponding part of my body.

  Then, for no apparent reason, all three of the remaining girls clapped in complete unison, just as I had done.

  Clap, clap… clap!

  And we vanished.