Page 11

11

LEO

M y lungs were burning, but I forced myself to go a little bit farther, my arms cutting through the water until finally, I saw the shimmering light above my head I’d been waiting for. Angling myself upward, I kicked hard until my head crested the surface. I glanced around. I’d made it to my target. The fish hatchery.

I drew in a deep breath, fighting the urge to cough. I didn’t want to draw any unnecessary attention to us. Hopefully, the majority of the staff would be too distracted with Alicia and Ven’s group to hear us. I’d been skeptical of the plan when it was first proposed, but the two mercenaries in our group assured us we needed a multi-prong attack. We’d completely lucked out with Chadwicke, which was perhaps a bit ironic, and if it hadn’t been for Ven’s spontaneous manifestation of plant powers, we wouldn’t have survived the auction. Given those facts, I wasn’t exactly keen on arguing with the experts.

At least I could take solace in the fact that my mate was safely on the bus, about as far from danger as she could be while still being involved with the plan. Honestly, I would have loved it if she’d stayed home, reading and taking care of her cats, but I’d long since learned that wasn’t an option. Ven wouldn’t stand by while others put themselves in danger. Considering how powerful she could be if she could access plants again, it would’ve been selfish of me to ask her to stay behind.

I sensed someone rapidly ascending beside me before I saw them, but a bit later, America burst through the surface of the water. Almost instantly, she started coughing, and I clapped my hand over her mouth quickly. It had been no small feat to swim that long to get through to the hatchery, but we had to do our best to be as stealthy as possible.

Once I felt her breathing slow beneath my palm, I let go, and she gave me a rueful look.

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

We didn’t need to say much else, because by then multiple of our allies were also popping up around us. The small area we’d come up in was becoming crowded, so I swam over to the edge and pulled myself up onto dry land. And just in time too, because suddenly, a dark shadow filled the depths of the pool, and a few seconds later, none other than a giant moose head broke through to the surface.

Right. I’d forgotten moose were somewhat aquatic creatures, and that killer whales were legitimate predators of theirs. It was wild to think about, and it didn’t get any less wild as Chiga shifted out of his animal form so he could clamber onto the bank with us.

Jeez, I wasn’t a small man, but standing next to the giant of a shifter made me feel that way. Thank God he was an herbivore, otherwise the rest of us would have been done for.

As more hauled themselves onto the bank of the hatchery, I couldn’t help but wrinkle my nose at the rather intense smells. We were lucky the brothers weren’t shifters, because there was no way they wouldn’t be able to pick up on the pungent stench wafting from my team.

Still, it could be worse. I wasn’t on the team infiltrating from a septic truck. After my experience with the compost truck at Chadwicke’s, I figured I’d earned the reprieve. Although fish filth wasn’t exactly what I would normally call a reprieve.

“We ready?” Marco, one of America’s cousins, asked softly.

I shook my head, listening carefully. Thanks to Alicia’s scouting, we’d found out about the septic repair our second-strike team was going to take advantage of. It was the type of opportunity that wouldn’t come again so easily, and I didn’t want to ruin it by jumping the gun. While both the properties were in different areas, I should be able to pick up the rumble of the pump once that was started, and that would be our cue.

“I don’t see any security,” America said, peeking out the window she was crouched under. “Looks like our distraction drew plenty of them away.”

“Don’t let your guard down,” I cautioned. “Alicia said this place is enchanted to the gills, and they have some pretty nasty mercenaries along with their normal security detail.” I shot Chiga an apologetic glance. “No offense meant.”

“None taken. My profession collects bastards and assholes like my fiancé collects trading card games.” He cracked his knuckles, his pleasant smile turning far more serious. “I’ll take care of them, though. I know how they operate. That’s why I’m on this team, after all.”

That, he was.

Our plan had three parts, each dependent on the other. There was the distraction team with their broken-down bus full of loud noises and even louder personalities. Then there was my team. We were about to change into employee uniforms that would hopefully be waiting for us before we infiltrated the manor proper.

I wasn’t quite sure why it was necessary for the estate to have a fish hatchery, especially since, according to our scouts, the two staff members who worked there only attended it at dawn and dusk. Something about fish not being the biggest fans of broad daylight. It had to be a rich people thing.

Finally, there was the septic team. They were essentially the cavalry. Hopefully the last thing the brothers would expect. If they were anything like their siblings, once the fight started, the brothers would tip their hands almost immediately, likely thinking my group was the big surprise. If everything went according to plan, that would be the mistake that sealed their demise.

Finally, I heard the faint sound of a gate opening and the rumble of a heavy truck entering. That had to be them.

“I think they’re here. Let’s get dressed.”

Thankfully, the fishery and landscaping jobs seemed to be quite messy, because there were five lockers all stocked with multiple staff uniforms of different sizes. They were simple: plain white polo shirts, black pants, and a thick, khaki work apron that felt like it was made out of canvas. It had plenty of pockets, as well as a leather flap that offered extra protection for the midsection and groin.

We cleaned out the entire collection, with most of the fifteen in my group finding things that fit them. Naturally, that wasn’t in the cards for Chiga or America, who were on two very opposite extremes of the height chart.

We’d accounted for that from the get-go, and the four of my team who didn’t have uniforms knew they needed to hang behind and stick to the shadows as best they could. If possible, we wanted to get all the way to the brothers before they knew something was up.

I wasn’t delusional. I knew that would be difficult, especially since the brothers were on high alert. I could only hope that their hubris, as well as the bus full of fake tourists, would be a sufficient enough cover for us.

Sure enough, the rumble of the septic trucks pump starting up was indeed audible from where we were, so I gave the signal to move out. Alicia had supplied us with pretty accurate drawings of the layout of the place, and public records had allowed us to suss out a bit more, so we had a good idea of where we were going. Still, it was nerve-racking. We were quite literally going into the lion’s den, as it were.

Or lions’, rather, considering there were two of them.

Our group moved in an interesting formation, those of us in uniform spreading about, walking along as if we were headed to our next task. I noticed a few of my allies farther away had managed to pick up some tools, which made them look even more authentic.

As for those in our group who weren’t lucky enough to have a disguise, they crept along in our wake, using buildings or large plants as cover. It was much slower going for them, but that was fine with me. It made it that much easier for them to watch our backs.

As I strode along like I belonged here, I couldn’t help but think that if the brothers had banded together from the beginning, we never would have stood a chance against them. After all, that’s how they had defeated my pack the first time. But they’d become so divided, all chasing their own personal desires, that a simple gardener and an amnesiac shifter had started a domino effect that took them out one by one.

Perhaps there was a lesson to be learned there. Maybe shifters needed to adapt and dash our petty squabbles over minute differences in order to move forward. After all, humans were becoming more and more powerful by the day.

I was the first one to make it to an actual entrance of the manor—a nondescript door on the southern side that led into a storage shed, which connected to their indoor grotto and sauna. Apparently, while the exterior of the mansion went back quite far, whoever had bought it in the eighties had turned it into a wannabe-Playboy-mansion paradise. Definitely not my style.

No, my style wasn’t too dissimilar to Ven’s cabin. Maybe a bit bigger, with a half-bath for guests and a whole lot more land to run across, but that was about it. My daydreams weren’t of grottos and five floors of way too many rooms with marble ceilings. It was cats purring when I first woke up in the morning, vocalizing their need for food. It was looking out of the back windows and seeing Ven working in her massive garden and finally getting those chickens she always wanted. It was my pack, united and finding their way in life once again.

Memorizing the manor had been one of the most difficult parts of our prep. So many rooms, hallways, and closets. I’d thought it wouldn’t be too much of a challenge since we’d had to do the same for the auction, but it turned out that the older the estate was, the less its architecture actually made sense.

It didn’t help that we were all entering at different points of the truly expansive manor, because no matter how slick we were, a group of fifteen shifters all arriving through the kitchen door was bound to raise eyebrows. But if just one of us was caught? It was much easier to bullshit some story about being lost or that we were a new hire.

It was such a tenuous balance to find as I strode along, picking my way toward the center of the manor. I needed to walk confidently enough to look like I knew what I was doing, but not so assuredly that I looked like a wolf on the prowl.

Which I very much was. I could practically taste the blood of the last two brothers on my tongue. We were close. Closer than I ever thought was possible.

According to our reconnaissance, there were three major areas where the brothers tended to spend their leisure time. The billiards room where, apparently, they had a whole setup for off-track betting. What warlocks found interesting about waging human money on horse races, I had no idea, but apparently it was a thing. The sitting room, where they had a TV that Jack and Rose could have used as a life raft off the Titanic, and then their greenhouse. Although, from my understanding, that last one was only for one brother. That would be the least convenient space for him to be, as it was a giant glass building attached with a single glass hallway on the western side of the manor. Way too hard to sneak up on, and the idea of fighting a plant-controlling warlock in his own conservatory was most certainly not an appealing one.

Bit by a bit, I made my way, maintaining an easy pace so as not to arouse suspicion, but also not looking lost. I was just an employee, headed to… somewhere. If someone took the time to think, I was sure they would be confused as to why a grounds employee was so deep within the estate. But if there was one thing I had learned since Ven had snuck onto Chadwicke’s gardening crew, it was that staff were basically invisible.

It wasn’t until I reached a stairway that led to the sitting room—which was basically a stupidly fancy word for a living room—that I finally caught the scent of the brothers. While I didn’t know what their personal smells were, there was a certain scent of brimstone and sappy sweetness to their magic, like it was trying to entice me and warn me to go away. Locking on to that scent, I knew I was heading in the right direction. I couldn’t smell any of my allies, but that was all part of the plan. We were slathered in all sorts of scent-blocking sprays and lotions, applied far more heavily than usual to make up for our swim. The septic team didn’t need nearly as much prep, but that’s because what they smelled like wasn’t exactly something the warlocks would want to take a deep sniff of. Maybe dogs were on to something when they rolled in their own shit.

Keeping the layout at the forefront of my mind, I drew ever closer. As I rounded a corner toward one of the last hallways, I picked up my allies’ footsteps marching ever closer. They were all coming from different directions but homing in on the same place. I allowed myself a single smile, until a voice startled me. I actually jumped, feeling a bit chagrined at myself, but I calmed down quickly when I realized it was the voice of a guard a ways over. I must have heard him through the room separating the parallel wings.

“I’m sorry, who did you say hired you?”

“Sorry, no… understand?”

That was America. Although we hadn’t spent a lot of time together, she had a very distinctive way of talking. Trying to be as quiet as possible, I stepped through the door to my right and quietly made my way through what appeared to be a fancy study, with several marble statues in it. Who had marble statues in their home? It was one thing to have them outside in some hoity-toity garden, but it was another thing entirely to have them as interior decorations.

I really wasn’t cut out to be a rich person.

But class differences or not, I had an ally to help. Cautiously, I picked my way to the other door and listened intently, waiting to see if America could de-escalate the situation before I lunged in. Ven had taught me quite a lot, but one of the biggest things was that a little bit of caution in battle could very well be a good thing. I didn’t always need to go in guns blazing.

“Nah, don’t give me that shit. Everyone here is supposed to be able to understand basic English. “

“I understand some, yes.”

“I ain’t buying this. Come with me. We’re going to go get this straightened out with the head of staff.”

That was my cue. As fast as I could, I threw open the door and grabbed the guard on the other side, slapping my hand over his mouth and yanking him backward into the room with me. He struggled, but only for a moment, because then America was on him, leaping onto his front and head-butting him about as hard as I’ve ever seen anyone crack skulls together.

Was that a coyote thing I wasn’t aware of?

Whether it was or not, he slumped in my arms, unconscious. America jumped back on her feet, the bruise on the middle of her forehead already beginning to heal.

“Thanks for that,” she said with a grin. “Was worried I’d have to get up to some very noisy shenanigans.” She was speaking in a low whisper—one I wasn’t sure non-shifters could even perceive considering it partially used the subharmonics our animal sides often communicated in. Maybe I would test it out with Ven one day if we weren’t too busy.

Thinking about having an idle day with my love reminded me that we were a breath away from truly having peace. I still had to find the rest of my pack, sure, but that would be a whole lot easier if I could get information out of the remaining brothers.

I had a feeling I could be very convincing.

“Wouldn’t want that, now, would we?” I asked, ripping off the sleeve of the man’s standard black suit and tying it around his head as a gag. Then his other suit sleeve went to tying his wrists together, then a shirt sleeve to tying his feet together. Would it hold him long? Not likely. Even though I could smell that he wasn’t a shifter, there was a hint of magic about him that told me it was better not to assume he was fully human.

It only took about two minutes to get him tucked away in the corner of the room, but once we did, America and I both stood there for a moment. I wasn’t quite sure what was on her mind, but I was contemplating the reality that the brothers who had been tormenting us for so long were likely a couple of rooms away.

“We’re so close,” she murmured. “It’s hard to believe it.”

“Let’s see it through, then,” I said, giving her a grave nod. I knew there was merit to not counting our chickens before they were hatched, but it was hard not to let my mind drift to all the way our lives would change by ending the bloodline that had hurt so many of us. I wanted all the stupid things that separated us to be forgotten so we could be a loose-knit community no one would take advantage of again. I wanted to wake up every morning to Ven’s sleepy face and never have to worry about powerful magic users going after her. I wanted to spend my days catching up with pack members, helping my love in her garden, and learning more about everything. Ven had mentioned there were schools on the internet now. Maybe I could go to college? I’d never really considered it to be a possibility for myself, but if the brothers were truly gone, and if I managed to reunite my pack, then why not? Being with Ven had taught me that no person had to be just one thing. I could still be an incredible alpha while taking night classes. They were not mutually exclusive. Ven, with her gentle words, her fierce determination, and the way she loved on her cats, had opened up worlds and experiences I thought were forever locked away.

“All right, then.”

I headed to the door first, holding it open for America. She gave me a silent tip of her head. Although the brothers didn’t have enhanced senses like we did, it was best to be cautious.

At least that was what I told myself as my heart pounded in my chest while we walked down the hallway. As we drew closer to the doors of the main sitting room, I couldn’t help but think that even a human would be able to hear the thump - thump - thump emanating from my chest. If they had any shifters in their security detail, we were cooked.

Perhaps it was all in my mind, but I had noticed a solid decline in their luck ever since we’d killed Chadwicke. Even when we’d gotten the drop on the first two before everything went to shit, it hadn’t been so easy. Not that it was particularly easy now, but things did seem to work in our favor more often than not. It seemed like the universe was correcting itself after a warlock had abused his powers for far too long. Who knew, maybe his patron thought it a fair comeuppance.

Whether balance was restoring itself or not, after a few minutes, America and I reached the door of the sitting room. Sure enough, I could hear two sets of heartbeats and smell that familiar scent of their family’s villainous blood. My inner wolf responded instantly, baring its teeth. Bloodlust surged up in me, but I tamped it down. Not because the brothers didn’t deserve it or because I planned to go easy on them, but because I couldn’t afford to lose my cool right now. There were too many things in motion, and I was sure as soon as we attacked, guards would come running from everywhere. Sure, we had our threefold plan to help us, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t be a hard-fought battle.

America and I exchanged one last look, then I opened the door.

I probably shouldn’t have been, but I was a bit surprised when I was greeted by a large, well-decorated landing rather than an actual living room. Was their sitting area really two floors tall? Why would that ever be necessary?

Leaning in, I looked one way, then the other. There was indeed stairs on either side. I couldn’t see all the way down the stairs, but I could make out the tops of a couple of heads that had to be more security. Well, I hadn’t exactly expected to find the brothers completely on their own, but it would have been a lovely surprise if that had been the case. I hadn’t sensed or heard their heartbeats, so they had to be on some sort of magical suppressant. Or perhaps they were creatures that didn’t have an audible biological rhythm. Granted, I had never heard of any like that, but I’d also never heard of lovely gardeners spontaneously gaining the ability to control plants, and that had already happened.

Crouching, I crept closer to the banister at the end of the landing, peeking over it. One of the brothers were in the room, but where was the other one? The heartbeat I had picked up close to him was actually one of his security, meaning we’d have to fight different species, and I would have to figure out on the fly what they were. Not exactly surprising as that was how it had been at the gala, but it would have been nice to be able to scent most of them like I could with other shifters. But with only one of them present, did we strike now, or wait for the other brother to arrive?

America and I exchanged yet another look, and I could tell she was wondering the same thing. She had a very expressive face. Or perhaps I’d gotten to know her well enough in the time we’d spent together.

Before either of us could decide, the brother spoke. It took me a few seconds to identify him from my position, but I realized it was Millicent, the one who insisted on being called William.

“Fuck! I’m out of wine. Where is that serving girl?”

“Most of your personal staff has been split up amongst your residences to make sure they couldn’t all be freed en masse in case there was an attack,” the security guard with the heartbeat murmured next to him. “That’s the same reason we’ve taken most of the enthralled shifters down to holding cells and only have loyal ones currently active on staff.”

“Fuck, you’re right,” the whining warlock groaned, dropping his head back onto the couch like he was truly put out. It struck me as such an odd thing to do for a grown man who was anywhere between fifty and a hundred-and-forty years old. I could never remember the order of the brothers or their ages. Especially since they all looked like they were in their late twenties. I was well aware that in addition to their boons they’d gotten from their patrons, they all had an unnaturally long life similar to that of shifters. Granted, it was nothing like their mother, who had been alive multiple centuries, but it was far more enhanced than it should have been for simple warlocks.

“It’s fucking disgusting that my siblings’ incompetence means I have to live like a barbarian in this cesspool!”

Cesspool? That was rich.

Literally, actually, as it turned out.

“Open the door and tell the first staff member you see to get me some fucking wine! If I’m going to live like a peasant, I at least want to be drunk for it!”

The security guard nodded, then I heard footsteps beneath the landing. I was so focused on the conversation I didn’t realize the possible ramifications until the door opened and I heard the now invisible guards speak.

“Who the hell are you?”

“Oh, uh, I was trying to find the bathroom.”

That was when I had to grit my teeth. It seemed our good luck had run out, because I instantly recognized that voice as Chiga’s distinctive, impossibly deep timber.

We were definitely made.

“Oh, great!” Millicent said, throwing his hands in the air like he was a Broadway actor. Maybe he was already drunk. It was a shame warlocks couldn’t succumb to alcohol poisoning. Or maybe they could if I tried really, really hard, like jamming a wine bottle into his throat and drowning him with it. It was always good to have options. “Another idiot! This is what happens when you take away all of my trained staff! We’re left with these incompetents!”

“We’re trying to protect you, sir.”

“I know that, but it doesn’t mean it sucks any less. Go on, you idiot! I’m sure you’ve got enough brain cells in that giant skull of yours to find the wine rack in the old larder beneath the kitchen and fetch me a bottle. I trust you’re at least literate enough to read the label?”

No way. Were we actually going to get away with it? I thought for sure the moment they saw the hulking giant that was Chiga they would instantly know something was up. But it seemed that taking all the shifters and his enthralled subjects from him had really hampered Millicent and his security detail. Maybe if he wasn’t so whiny, he wouldn’t be distracting the head of his team from a very suspicious situation.

Or maybe this security guard wanted something to happen to his boss. It certainly was an interesting theory, although one I couldn’t explore at the moment.

“I can read,” Chiga said almost uncertainly, and bless him for leaning into Millicent’s assumption of his intelligence. I shouldn’t have been surprised, considering he was a professional mercenary and likely had gotten into some awkward situations a few times in his career, but still, I appreciated it.

“Prove it. Wine now. Chop, chop.”

“Yes, sir.”

I heard Chiga take a step away, and maybe one more step, before a different door on the lower floor burst open and what had to be the very last brother strode in.

“I swear to Bacchus the water quality—” He froze almost instantly, not even finishing his sentence. “Who the fuck is that?”

“What do you mean? Oh, one of the useless buffoons we have keeping the grounds?”

I saw the new brother’s face cloud instantly, and in a flash, he lifted his hand, sending a blast of magic out the door. America and I jumped to our feet. “You’re such a fucking idiot, Millicent.”

It looked like the fight was on.

Gripping the banister, I launched myself over it, shifting into my wolf form in mid-air. It hurt to do it so rapidly, flesh tearing and joints breaking, then reforming, but I figured we could use the steam to help obscure our onslaught.

Because there was most certainly an onslaught. I heard Chiga shift behind me, the unmistakable, haunting bellow of a moose filling up the room like the howl of something entirely alien. I always tended to forget how creepy the giant animals sounded.

But Chiga wasn’t the only one barreling in. Pretty much every door except the one the brother had come through burst off its hinges to let different members of my team in. Within seconds, we were all in the room, attacking the last two members of the warlock bloodline.

I went for the one who had sussed us out. I had hoped to get the drop on him quite literally, however, I never quite touched ground. A moment or two before I was about to land, the potted plant next to Millicent rapidly grew in size. The next thing I knew, two giant leaves wrapped around me and flung me across the room.

Ah, that had to be Frederick, the plant user. If the tricks Ven had pulled at the manor were anything like the plant user in front of me, no wonder she’d thrown Alric for such a loop. There was something particularly uncanny about foliage coming to life and acting like a sentient creature. Like it was breaking all the rules of our world and how it was supposed to work.

I recovered quickly and found my footing, only to have two security guards run in with guns. If I had to guess, those weren’t as benign as the ones I had tangled with at Chadwicke’s manor. Meaning, they most definitely had silver bullets.

That certainly wouldn’t do. While not everyone in my group were wolf shifters, and therefore didn’t have the silver allergy we did, a majority were. I pivoted my attention from Frederick and focused on disarming the new pair, hoping that if anyone else had run in from other directions, my allies would choose to do the same.

I leaped at the first one, closing my jaws around his wrist. I bit as hard as I could, appreciating the crunch of bone as I jerked his arm back and forth. If he survived, he would never have use of that hand again.

Good.

He screamed. I let go of his bleeding limb and head-butted him in his chest for all I was worth. He toppled backward and didn’t get up. Old Leo might have taken the time to stop and chomp on his throat right then and there, but I’d learned that I didn’t always have the time to make sure every single enemy I faced had a completely satisfying end. What was important was that he was out of the fight, and I could focus on the brothers.

Oh, and also all of the plants in the room.

Never in my life did I think I would have to have a showdown with some foliage, but that was exactly what was going on. Vines burst from the floor and broke through the windows, trying to grab whoever they could, while the tree and other plants were tripling or even quadrupling in size, their leaves turning into limbs.

A quick glance told me Chiga was most definitely being our MVP. His truly mammoth animal form was too big for most of the vines to pick up and fling around, and his mouth was especially suited for destroying plant matter within seconds. After all, moose had the ability to dive down in the water and rip out mouthfuls of hearty aquatic greens all in one breath. I never thought a battle could be influenced by someone being really good at eating salad, but, God, was I grateful we had Chiga on our team. His teeth weren’t just meant for ripping and tearing flesh.

However, I couldn’t leave it all up to the moose. I charged at the plant that had tossed me aside, ducking this way and that beneath each swipe. It was strange how they moved, almost like they were a second delayed. It made it harder to predict their movements. It was probably because they didn’t have a nervous system that could send signals to their muscles, so the way they were moving was so completely foreign to what I was used to. However, I still managed to get close enough to the ornate pot. I immediately started digging in the dirt.

I nearly laughed. Here I was, in a battle for pretty much all shifters in a multi-state area, and it was suddenly very important how fast I could dig a hole.

I was so focused on the dirt that I lost track of the fight. Suddenly, I felt a white-hot slice on my thigh. Jerking around, I saw a security guard wielding a giant thorn, magic crackling in his other hand.

He didn’t smell like a warlock, which meant he was likely a witch. I’d dealt with witches before, and while they were certainly powerful foes, they were nothing like the brothers. I could work with that.

But before I could whirl to face him, two smaller, tawny figures jumped on him, one going for his extended arm, the other for his throat. He screamed, but not before both coyotes tore into him. The two shifters jumped off the man as he crumpled, and I realized it was America and one of her cousins. I gave them the shortest, most appreciative nod before getting back to digging.

It took maybe two more seconds before I found the root ball. I hadn’t even known what a root ball was until I met Ven, and I sent up a prayer for her love of info-dumping about plants. Eager to get a heavy hitter out of the way, I dug my teeth into the root ball and ripped with everything I had.

I swore the plant squealed, which was something truly uncanny, but I didn’t let go. Even when one of its leaves suddenly slammed into me and lifted me off my feet again—a mistake on the plant’s part, because I didn’t let go of its root ball as I flew through the air.

I knew Frederick would simply heal the plant, but from how Ven had described things, it was less him controlling the plants and more giving them a sort of magical half-life. Hopefully, he wouldn’t even notice the plant was gone until he saw it, and then he would have to waste time and energy bringing it back to life.

So, I bit and I tore, even using my paws and claws to tear away chunks of densely packed roots. Sure enough, once I got down to the heart of the root ball, the leaves finally stopped moving and fell to the floor.

Massive footsteps sounded behind me, and I whirled around, ready for another fight. Instead, I saw a giant moose smiling at me. I had no idea what he could be so happy about, but then he nodded at the mess I’d made of the plant.

Oh! Well, bon appetit .

While he hoovered it up to make sure it truly couldn’t be used again, I spun to go for Frederick again. But once more, I was thwarted as a geyser of water burst from the floor and spun up to the ceiling. For a split second, I was completely baffled, until I smelled the distinct rust of an old pipe. Millicent had used his powers to summon the water from below the marble floor. That was clever and far more resourceful than I thought he would be. It looked like the battle had gotten that much more complicated.

We needed to end it, and fast, before Millie and Freddie got any more creative. Otherwise, we might not survive.