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“Where the shitty sense of death is?”

“Yep.”

“I might be overstepping, but has…”

“No, the link I share with the Clan Leaders has never been so hollow and dark,” Hopper answered, knowing precisely what his Cousin was about to say.“It feels like someone severed the connection.There’s not even a spark of their inherent Magic or that of the Dragons with whom they share their soul.They’re just… not there.”

“So, heigh-ho, heigh-ho, up the mountain we go?”

“Yeah, up the mountain we go, thanking Auntie Uni and Mo Nat that our legs are a helluva lot longer than the Seven Dwarves.”

“Ha!For sure,” Pat chuckled.“I hadn’t thought of that.”A single step later, he added, “And we’re not using our talents because…?”

“Because I have the sneaking suspicious that whoever or whatever stinks like Lucifer’s armpits after an especially lengthy workout, wants us up there.Even more, wants us to ‘unwittingly’ fall into the most obvious trap in the history of traps.”

“And since we know it’s a trap, we’re gonna walk right into it?”

Chuckling despite the situation and for Pat’s benefit because he was trying so hard to lift his spirits, Hopper snorted, “Yes, exactly.We’re gonna walk right into it because (A) We’re Omnipotent Beings, (B) They’re not Omnipotent Beings, and (C) I am pretty sure whoever or whatever lured us here never imagined we’d happily do what they wanted us to do.They were all prepared for a fight where they could launch into some major villainous monologue and bore us into submission.”

“Oh,” Pat mused with a slow, emphatic nod.“See?I told Faye and Desi that you weren’t just watching every superhero ever made to waste time.I assured them that there was a method to your madness.I knew there had to be more…”

“Pat.”

“Yeah.”

“I hate to burst your bubble, but…”

“But you watch superhero movies because you like superhero movies?”

“You got it in one,” Hopper nodded, moving closer to the side of the mountain as the winding trail narrowed.“But thank you for covering for me.”

“Oh, I wasn’t covering for you.I was merely using you as an example when the girls started bitchin’ about my obsession with cooking shows.”

“Ha!”Barking a single laugh, he nodded.“At least, we’re always there for each other.”

“You know it, Bud.”

Walking in silence for the next few minutes, Hopper tried to come up with at least one person or being who had the nerve to lure him to the island, the wherewithal to capture, hopefully, not kill or harm, three Clans of Amazonian Dragonesses, and more to the point, had the ability to penetrate the Magical protection he and Pat had created and maintained for centuries.Whoever or whatever they were about to face had to be packing some gumption, but what bothered him the most was that the closer he and Pat got to the pinnacle of the mountain, the more familiar the Mysticism felt.

Stopping mid-stride, he held up his hands when Pat was about to speak and stood perfectly still.Inhaling deeply, Hopper let his eyes slide shut.Clearing his mind of anything but the Sorcery nipping at the exposed skin of his arms, he searched for the Mystical thread that all Magic–Light or Dark–possessed.

Deeper and deeper, he delved into his mind’s eye.Slowly floating through his own consciousness, Hopper was just about to give up when he spied a dim, dull, flickering beam the color of a pumpkin left on the vine too long, grapes that were well past their sell by date, the gray of dreary, London morning, and totally out of place, the bright green of a fresh blade of spring grass.

Careful not to touch the tiny shaft of Sorcery, he focused on the latter.If Mother Nature had taught him anything, it was when solving a mystery, one had to find the piece that didn’t fit, and there was no doubt that the gorgeous, brilliant green hue did not fit with other more dingy and depressing ones.

Skimming along the interlaced strings, it took only a few seconds until an image emerged in his mind.There he stood, tall and regal with flaming red hair and eyes the color of emeralds, wearing the armor of Asgard and holding Lævateinn, the Flaming Sword of Destruction.It was Loki, the Trickster god of the Norse Pantheon, and the father of Hopper’s Mate.

But that couldn’t be.Something simply was not right.He’d seen Loki with Hel.Witnessed the Trickster god’s love and devotion to his daughter.Hopper was also sure that over the centuries, Loki had heard, or simply knew, that he, the Omnipotent Being known as Hope was Hel’s One True Fated Mate, and vice versa.

“That just can’t…” He uttered the words aloud, opening his eyes as he turned and looked at Pat.“Did you see that?”

“I did.”

“And what do you make of it?”

“I think you’re right.There’s no way Loki would do anything that would remotely hurt Hel.”Holding up the index finger of his right hand, he continued, “Don’t get me wrong, that Trickster god will never be a favorite of mine, but I do know that he loves his daughter and would never intentionally do anything to hurt her which means that by extension, he would never do anything to you.”Moving his outstretched finger in a semi-circle, he added, “And this whole… Well, whatever it is, has ‘somebody wants to kick Hopper’s ass’ written all over it.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Hop nodded.Facing forward, he sighed, “So.Shall we get on up there, and see meet our not-so-gracious host.”