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I turned to the guys, ready to do battle. “Listen, if we can summon ourselves back together, that means we can bring others to this location, right?”
Chance rubbed his chin. “Theoretically, but to what end?”
“To take away what Giulia loves most in this series.”
Jackson gasped in horror, holding his hand over his mouth. “You want to get rid of Cap?”
“Precisely. If we’re going to win this war, we need to hit her where it hurts most.”
Gabe looked uncomfortable as he shifted from one foot to the other. “I don’t know. You’re asking us to risk our lives over a side character.”
“She’s my destiny,” I spat, slamming my fist on my chest. “Who am I without her? I’m…nobody.”
“Spoken like a true warrior,” Chance nodded. He clapped his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “We will stand beside you, no matter the cost.” He glanced away, looking off into the far distance. “This land is our home. We will fight with everything we have, for the land, the people…our brotherhood.” He thrust his fist in the air and shouted, “We will fight to the death against this evil foe!”
He closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath through his nostrils, then opened his eyes and frowned. “What was that?”
“I…think you’re actually a medieval warrior.”
He nodded, his lip turned up in a smile. “Then I will lead you through this treachery until we’ve defeated this scribe. We will wash our hands in her blood and scorch her innards as we feast on the glory of victory!”
Jackson slowly started clapping, but stopped at my glare. “What? I thought that was our cue to cheer.”
With Chance still standing with his hand thrust in the air, I moved on. “This is going to take everything we have. We’ll need to summon everyone here. Let’s get to work.”
Gabe shifted uncomfortably again.
“What is it?” I asked in irritation.
“Nothing. It’s just…Chance’s speech was better,” he said, flushing bright red. “I think maybe this calls for a little more fanfare.”
I slapped him across the face. “Pull yourself together, man. This is war.”
“Right, sorry.”
“Our first priority is finding…my jungle love. When we find her, Giulia won’t be far behind.”
“Or,” Jackson hedged. “You said you want to get rid of Cap. There may be a way we can bring the jungle woman here without having to do anything.”
“What do you mean?”
He grinned. “Summon Cap here, like you suggested. If you hold Cap hostage, she’ll show up. If she really loves him as much as she says she does, she won’t allow him to be murdered.”
“That’s not a bad idea.” I was a little ashamed I hadn’t thought about it myself. I closed my eyes and thought really hard about bringing Cap to this location. I wasn’t sure it would work, but if I was able to stitch myself together through thought, then this had to work.
I heard a pop and cracked open my eyes. Cap was standing in front of me, staring around in confusion.
“Rob? Where am I? What happened?”
“I brought you here.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Really? Last I remember, I had a face the size of a melon.” His hand prodded his face. “That’s weird. Shouldn’t I still be all blown up?”
“You’re not in Giulia’s story anymore.”
Sighing, he thrust his hands on his hips. “Seriously, I don’t know why my name is on the books. Everyone does whatever the hell they want.”
“Cap, I’m really sorry about this.”