Snake in the Grass

The moment Mike stepped through the portal, a sinking sensation hit him in the gut. He pushed open the closet door and looked at the room he was now in. The nearby bed was far larger than a king mattress, making him wonder what sort of person or creature used this room. He moved to the side to allow Ratu, Leilani, and Ingrid to come through behind him. Leilani eyed the portal with suspicion, while Ingrid leaned in to study it.

“I should have guessed,” she muttered, running her fingers along the edges of the portal. “You’ve been one step ahead of us the whole—”

Lily shoved her way through. “If you think I’m going to stand around in some abandoned shack in Oklahoma, you’ve got another thing coming.” The portal from the cabana had been routed through a second location to avoid any of the Order following it back to Di’s location.

Mike reached out mentally to Kisa. He only picked up a few pieces of information, but they were enough. “The Captain is here. He came for Beth to get to me.”

“That fucking squid.” Leilani clutched her trident. “I’ll stab him myself.”

“It might not be necessary.” Mike was already moving toward the exit. He stuck his hand in one pocket and pulled out his bracelet. It had a soft glow to it. “Looks like we arrived just in time. Leilani, you need to get to your people and let them know the Captain betrayed you. I can’t imagine anyone will stop you from speaking with your mother.”

“Got it.”

“Ingrid, you’re with me. We need to find the Director and convince him that I’m still on the level, and then—”

“Murder him!” Lily held up a knife and grinned.

“No, not that.” Mike frowned. “Maybe that. We’ll see. Ratu, we’ll probably need your magic to get there.”

The naga bowed her head slightly. “I shall be at your side.”

“As for you.” Mike tossed his bracelet to Lily. “Since they’re tracking me through that bracelet, I’m afraid I must ask you to sow some chaos.”

Lily cackled and transformed into a copy of Mike. She did a pirouette before exiting the suite, and the others followed. Lily and Leilani moved together while Ingrid led Mike and Ratu in a different direction.

Down the hall, he heard his own voice singing “I want to be an airborne ranger!” followed by the sound of breaking glass.

“Daisy, Cerulea, Olivia.” He waited for the three fairies to emerge from his shirt and hover in front of him. “Go find your sister. Run interference for Beth and Kisa.” He held up a hand, and all three of them landed on his outstretched fingers. “No mercy.”

The fairies shot off like tiny rockets, leaving colorful trails behind as they entered the HVAC system. Their giggles vanished moments later.

“Somehow, those two words are the scariest you’ve ever said.” Ratu covered her mouth with one hand and laughed.

“I’m the guy who left Jenny in charge of my house.” Mike took one last look at the vent. “They can burn this place down for all I care.”

“Ahem.” Ingrid gestured toward the nearest stairwell. “The Director has a private elevator we can access near the lobby. I assume he’s in his office monitoring your current location and feeding it to the staff along with the Captain.”

“Well at least we’ll know where to find him.” Mike allowed Ingrid to take the lead. “I don’t suppose we’ll get to take a secret tunnel to get there, will we?”

Ingrid pushed open the door to the stairwell. “What are you, twelve?”

“Secret tunnels are like wine. The older they are, the better they get.”

“Until they turn into vinegar and fall apart,” added Ratu. When Ingrid gave her an exasperated look from the next floor down, the naga shrugged. “Tunnels are sort of my thing.”

When they got to the bottom of the stairwell, Ingrid opened the door and stepped outside. Mike passed through the opening and threw himself forward, tackling Ingrid to the ground. A trident flew over both of them from behind, embedding itself into a nearby concrete pillar. Two merfolk were standing next to a hot tub, and one of them was still armed.

“Hey, wait!” Mike put up his hands. “Leilani is alive, she’s headed—”

The second merman lifted his trident and cocked his arm back. A fireball struck him in the face so hard that he flipped over backward and landed in the hot tub. When the remaining assailant tried to flee, Ratu stomped a foot on the ground, causing the decorative cobblestones to shudder beneath him. He tripped and fell on his face, then went motionless.

“Guess he didn’t have his land legs yet,” Mike said. When Ratu gave him a dirty look, he shrugged. “What? I knew you weren’t going to say anything.”

“How can you joke at a time like this?” asked Ingrid.

“Oh. That’s easy.” Mike stood and helped Ingrid up. “It’s either make stupid jokes or vomit from sheer anxiety. One way or another, something’s coming out of me.”

“That hardly explains the rest of the time.” Ratu narrowed her eyes at him, then smiled. “Or do you always experience anxiety?”

“Maybe it’s so bad in the future that it reaches back in time and affects my current behavior?” He looked at Ingrid. “Where to?”

“That way.” Ingrid pointed across the deck. “If there are merfolk here, I’m guessing they’ve got people all over.”

“Of course they do.” Ratu coughed into her hand. “That’s because there are plenty of fish in the sea.”

“Oh, that was a good one. How did it feel?” asked Mike.

“Regrettable. Like I have given something up that I can never regain.”

“That would be your dignity,” Mike explained. “It’s why dads make those jokes. We have already paid the price, so we may as well cash in on the investment.”

Ingrid groaned and started running. “C’mon, let’s find some of my people.”

There was the sound of breaking glass up above, followed by two members of the Order falling through the sky and landing in the pool with a splash. Lily-Mike stuck her head out the window.

“The windows are too breakable,” she screamed in his voice, then disappeared inside. “I’m going to leave this place a bad review! None of the furniture is nailed down! Zero stars!”

The people in the pool scrambled for safety as a couch got shoved out the window. It tumbled gracefully, shedding its cushions before landing in the pool, one of the arms breaking off.

“We really were out of our depth,” muttered Ingrid as she took them toward a side door. “I still can’t believe she’s a succubus.”

“Living with her is never dull,” said Mike. “But she has a good heart. Don’t tell her I told you that, though.”

“Why?” Ingrid opened the side door and they all stepped inside.

“She’ll take it out on all of us.” Mike chuckled. “How much further?”

“We just need to get through the…” Ingrid trailed off, her eyes on the group of people up ahead. Sitting in the plume of the lobby fountain was Princess Kailani herself. She was surrounded by her council and some soldiers, all of whom readied their weapons. The princess narrowed her eyes immediately at Mike.

“So, Caretaker—”

“Your daughter is alive,” Mike said, cutting her off. “She was heading out into the bay to tell you that the Captain is the real enemy.”

“You lie.” The princess sneered at Mike. “My daughter may yet live, but she is likely under your thrall. For that’s what you do. Francois explained it all to me. You seduce, you manipulate, you—”

Ratu sent a wave of fire forward, which was captured by a rising wall of water from the fountain, summoned by one of the merfolk. The naga’s skin rippled, revealing gemstone scales that pulsed with power. On her kimono, the dragon circled hungrily in excitement.

“We don’t have time for diplomacy,” she said. “You two go! I’ll try not to kill her.”

“Be careful,” Mike said. Ingrid led him through the lobby as tendrils of water formed above the conflagration and crashed down onto the tile.

Ratu casually stepped to the side and summoned a jet of fire that turned the tendrils into steam. A determined grin appeared on her face and Mike watched as her magical aura expanded. A sphere of fire formed around Ratu, driving the merfolk further back into the fountain.

“C’mon!” Ingrid yanked on Mike’s arm and the two of them ran. They circled back behind the lobby toward a nondescript wall. Ingrid put her hands against the smooth stone and sent out a pulse of magic.

“Simple illusion,” she said just as the wall shimmered in Mike’s vision. Suddenly, the outline of the elevator door was obvious, and a keypad on the side was now visible. “Once you know it’s here, you can find it whenever.”

The elevator was made primarily of glass and looked out toward the ocean. Mike followed Ingrid inside. There were only three buttons, and Ingrid pushed P for the penthouse. The elevator whirred to life and climbed slowly toward the top of Paradise. Down below, merfolk and Order personnel ran toward either the lobby or the tower building where Mike’s master suite had been. Out in the bay, Captain Francois’ ship sat at the end of the dock, eerily devoid of life.

“That thing is probably packed full of skeletons,” he said with a frown. “After we speak with the Director, we’ll probably have another fight on our hands.”

“But Francois won’t have the element of surprise this time.” Ingrid pointed down below. “And once Leilani speaks with her mother, we’ll have the advantage of numbers. I know my people won’t stand for an undead invasion, no matter how much they hate you.”

“I hope you’re right.” Mike turned toward the door of the elevator and frowned. “Why is this thing so slow?”

“Protective wards.” Ingrid tapped on the glass. “This elevator isn’t visible from outside and is shielded against attacks of all kinds. We don’t want our VIPs worrying about their safety.”

Mike studied the magic swirling around the compartment. “I call bullshit,” he said.

Ingrid laughed. “Okay, fine, you got me. It’s slow on purpose. Gives people a chance to look down on Paradise, but we’re told to tell them the other thing.”

“Can’t believe you tried to feed me the company line,” he muttered, but wasn’t angry. In fact, he noticed that Ingrid’s smile was genuine.

“Old habits die hard,” she admitted as the elevator stopped.

When the doors opened, it was to the sight of a circular room that was about thirty feet in diameter. A bank of monitors was installed on one wall with a desk beneath it. A man in a three-piece suit stood under the monitors, his hands behind his back as he studied a video feed of Ratu down in the lobby. The merfolk were trying to use the water from the fountain to diminish the naga’s flames, but she was shifting her fire wall in such a manner that the merfolk were now targeting an area about fifteen feet to her left.

“Sir.” Ingrid stood at attention next to Mike. “It’s urgent that we speak.”

“Such a simple deception,” he said, his gaze never wandering from the video screen. “Yet profoundly effective. A tactic you seem to be fond of as well.” The Director looked over at another screen which depicted Mike launching himself down the hall utilizing a rolling chair and a fire extinguisher. A knight attempted to intercept Lily, but the ensuing melee was lost in the extinguisher’s foam. When the foam settled, the knight was on the ground, unconscious.

“It was necessary,” said Mike. “We need to speak with you about the Captain.”

“Hmm.” The Director turned his gaze toward a screen with Captain Francois and a merman. They were running toward a stairwell when a sparkling blue light shot across the floor in front of them. Both of them slipped on a glittering fluid and crashed into the door itself. “I must admit I expected him to be far more competent. Is it hubris that causes him to hold back? Fear of retaliation?”

“Sir, he’s the enemy. Captain Francois ambushed us up in the mountains and—”

“I’m aware.” The Director sighed and looked down at something in his hand. “Your partner testified to this late last night.”

“Wallace?” Ingrid blinked rapidly, stunned. “He’s alive?”

The Director turned to face Ingrid and nodded. “He and a few others have been in the infirmary under a strict quarantine since last night. I can only keep their story under wraps for so long, which necessitated allowing the Captain to come onto the property and take one of yours, Caretaker.”

“You knew.” Ingrid’s features hardened. “I don’t understand.”

“Humans typically don’t.” The Director turned to face the monitors once more. “The rarest of gems are forged deep beneath the earth in a crucible of fire and pressure over the course of hundreds if not thousands of years. The most precious things in the world are worth waiting for, and I have waited far too long for this moment to allow that which is most precious to me to slip through my fingers once again.

“And so I deceive, much like she did. Unlike her, I seek to repair that which has been broken and I have been a patient man. Last time we met, I faltered. I was weak in a moment when I should have been strong, I lacked commitment to my ideals. I believe you Americans have a saying for this. I choked at the finish line. It was a matter of poor planning on my part. I needed to be better, to be stronger the next time we met. How could she respect me if I wasn’t even strong enough to bring her home?”

“Sir, that’s—”

The Director made a slashing gesture with one hand and Ingrid clutched at her mouth. She moved her lips, but no sound emerged.

“Such a simple spell,” he said, turning to face them once more. Beneath his chin, dark scales rippled as a smile crossed his face. “To nullify the vibrations of the air itself before it can travel further than the lips. It is a more precise version of a spell we use to prevent earthquakes.”

“You’re a naga.” Mike blinked and shook his head in disbelief. What was a naga doing running an entire branch of the Order? Did the organization itself know?“I still don’t understand why you’re doing this.”

“It should be obvious, Caretaker.” The Director sneered. “After so long, I finally meet you face-to-face, the man who stole my beloved treasure from me.”

Ingrid looked at Mike in exasperation, but he shrugged.

“No, seriously, I have no idea what he’s talking about.” Mike held up his hands. “I haven’t stolen anything from anyone.”

“Don’t play dumb!” The Director held up the object in his hand. It looked like a Polaroid photograph of Ratu and Yuki at a restaurant. “But since I have to spell it out for you, perhaps my name will ring a bell. I am Mohan.”

“Um, okay.” Mike narrowed his eyes at the picture. “Wait, is that Taco Palace?”

Mohan, the Director, blinked twice, his eyes turning yellow. “That’s right. My name is Mohan.”

“Okay, Mohan.”

“THE Mohan.” The naga’s voice was magnified now and a heavy presence filled the air.

Mike winced. “Okay, THE Mohan. My ears aren’t broken.”

“Surely she’s mentioned me.” The Director gestured over his shoulder. Ratu was now moving across the lobby, her kimono sweeping out behind her as she danced with the flames. Two of the merfolk were lying just outside the fountain now, steam rising from their bodies.

“Nope.” Mike crossed his arms. “Never once has she mentioned your name.”

The Director opened and closed his mouth like a fish and his eyes flashed. “You’re…not lying. She never once mentioned me?”

“I’ve never heard her say your name.” Mike pointed at the picture. “Where did you get that?”

Mohan snorted. “My people spent weeks looking for you. Imagine my surprise to discover that someone in your household used your credit card to order something called a Royal Feast. And even though it is but a photo, naga recognize their own. It was serendipity that brought us together, you see, and so I altered the plan. ”

“So that’s what this is about? You wanted…Ratu?”

“She hasn’t told you her true name?” Mohan chuckled. “But of course not. Though your relationship has been…carnal in nature, this is further evidence that you are little more than a fling, a distraction.”

Mike heard footsteps behind him and turned around. Eight men and women now stood there, swords and wands in hand.

“Wait. Let me get this straight.” Mike pointed at the screens up top. “You want her back, whatever. That’s between you and her. But what about what’s happening at my house? You’re threatening my family because of it?”

Mohan snorted. “It is a matter of honor, Caretaker. You have dishonored me by consorting with my betrothed. For that alone, I would take everything from you.”

“Holy…fucking…shit.” Mike’s jaw hung open. “You’re doing all this just to get back at me? Because you’re petty?”

The Director narrowed his gaze. “This is hardly petty, Caretaker. She was my world, and you stole her from me. To let this injustice go unpunished—”

“Seriously, you guys too?” Mike looked at the knights and mages behind him. “This naga just admitted he’s putting your lives and mine at risk because he’s mad that I live with his ex-fiance.”

“SHE IS STILL MY BETROTHED!” The Director’s fist balled up and his face shifted, scales dancing all along his sharpened features. Mike averted his gaze as a powerful gust of wind struck him. Mohan hissed, his tongue flicking out.

Mike sighed. “You’re pathetic.”

Mohan made another slashing motion with his hand. Mike felt the spell take hold around his face, saw how the air shifted and weaved in front of him. With a slashing motion of his own, he sliced the spell in two.

“So I take it this means you’re not going to call off the people in my yard?” Mike asked, turning his attention back to the Director.

“That reminds me.” Mohan pulled a phone from his jacket and tapped the screen. It rang once before somebody answered. “I have the Caretaker in custody. He won’t interfere. Proceed with the mission.”

“You’re a piece of shit!” Mike’s magic boiled up within, ready to break free. He took a deep breath and addressed the men and women behind him. There was some uncertainty on their faces, but they had been conditioned since childhood to obey the chain of command. That wasn’t something he could simply undo, no matter how fucked up the situation was. “I want you all to know that I’m sorry. If you have any friends or family at my house, I can’t guarantee their safety anymore. It never had to come to this.”

They barely reacted to his words, but looked a little nervous.

“Ah, but it did.” Mohan adjusted his tie, his features suddenly more human. “Sister Ingrid, you will be taken to quarantine for your safety and properly debriefed. As for you, Mike Radley, this is the end of the line.”

One of the knights stepped away from the group to stand behind Ingrid.

Mike nodded. “It sure is. I came here to help, even after learning that you intended to screw me over. I gave some of your people the benefit of the doubt, like Ingrid here. She’s a good person, even though she works for a shit company.”

“Take him to Captain Francois, please.” Mohan turned back to watch the monitors. “I will ask him to meet you all on the docks.”

“What, you’re not even going to take me out yourself?” Mike actually laughed as the remaining knights and mages formed a circle around him and guided him toward the elevator.

“Of course not, Mister Radley.” Mohan turned to look over his shoulder with a smile. “To do so would acknowledge that I see you as my equal. Frankly, you are beneath me, and the Captain has promised he would cooperate with the razing of your home once he has taken possession of it. After all, he has no use for the property. His love is for the sea.”

Ingrid took a step toward Mike, her hand going for her wand. Mike made eye contact and shook his head.

“Well, guess this is the last you’ll ever see from me,” he said. “Boy, oh boy, you got me good.” He took a deep breath and cycled his magic, the hairs on the back of his neck rising. Someone jabbed him in the side with their weapon. “Is that a wand, or are you just happy to see me?”

As a group, they filed into the elevator. Mohan looked over his shoulder, a wry smile on his lips. The door closed, leaving Mike alone with his escort. Down below, the poolside bar was on fire and a merwoman was using pool water to put it out.

A mage tapped the bottommost button, labeled B.

“It’s weird that this place has a basement,” Mike said. “Or is that where you’re keeping Bigfoot?”

“Shut the fuck up.” Someone pressed a wand into the small of his back.

Mike snorted. The Director couldn’t be reasoned with, which was a relief in some ways. That meant he no longer needed to waste his time trying to be nice. He looked at the men and women to his left and right and smiled when he saw how tense they were. He didn’t know if they were afraid of him, of the situation, or were displeased with the orders they had just received. Ultimately, it didn’t matter.

He had maybe fifteen seconds, which was about ten seconds more than he needed. Mike cleared his throat and tried to keep his face straight.

“So before we begin, is there anybody who wants to get off?”

It was in that single moment that he found bliss. At least three people turned in his direction, either in recognition, disbelief, or curiosity. Somebody actually scoffed. Weapons were pressed against him, to remind him that he was, in fact, their prisoner. Mike dipped his head and closed his eyes, a beatific smile plastered on his face as he released his magic.

The elevator cabin hissed with energy as hundreds of blue and purple streamers of light burst free from him, spreading outward like tiny spiders. They vanished immediately upon skin contact with his captors, the men and women of the Order gasping in surprise as their entire bodies were suddenly overwhelmed with erotic energy. When the magic attempted to jump back into Mike, he forbade its entry and commanded it to move in a cycle.

As one, the occupants of the elevator came. The cabin filled with screams and moans of pleasure as the knights and mages stumbled back and forth, many of them dropping their weapons. Someone tried to stab Mike, but he took a casual step backward to dodge the strike, then grabbed a mage by her elbow to point her wand at the ceiling as it went off, causing the ceiling of the elevator to freeze over. Eventually, the men and women of the Order sank into a pile of bodies on the floor, clutching at the railings and each other for support. Just as the moans died down, his magic cycled again, starting the process anew.

Mike pushed the Lobby button and the elevator slowed to a stop. The doors opened wide and he stepped forward, careful not to stomp on someone’s outstretched hand. The people in the elevator groaned as his magic finished its tenth cycle. Mike turned to look back and was surprised to see a tiny mote of golden light hovering just in the doorway. Out of habit, he held out his palm and the light fell onto his skin and vanished like a melting snowflake.

“What did you do to them?”

Mike turned to see Aurora standing there, nervously clutching a wand. Her hands shook wildly as if she might blast him at any moment, but his magic told him the truth. She was frightened, true, but certainly not any danger to him.

“Some asshole hit all the buttons and they had to get off on all the floors.” When he realized that Aurora didn’t get the joke, he cleared his throat and continued. “Honestly, they’ll be okay. It’s nothing that some chocolate and maybe a Gatorade won’t fix.” Mike stepped toward Aurora and pushed the wand away. “How do you get to quarantine?”

“Quaran—” Her dark eyes sought out his own. “How do you know about quarantine?”

“Your boss is sending Ingrid there. There are also a few people from the mountain expedition locked up as well, including Wallace. They got in late last night and the Director hid them away. He didn’t want them telling everyone the truth about what happened on the mountain.” There was a dull thud, followed by a groan. Mike looked back to see that someone’s arm was preventing the door from closing. “Excuse me a second.”

Mike pushed the hand into the elevator which allowed the door to shut. “Say hi to Bigfoot for me,” he said as the door closed completely. When he turned back to face Aurora, she was pointing the wand at the ground. “Is there a way to get there that doesn’t involve the Director’s office? I’d rather avoid him, if I could, he seems grumpy.”

“There are…secret tunnels throughout Paradise.”

“I fucking knew it,” Mike muttered.

Aurora stared at him for several long seconds, then nodded her head. “I’ll go get Ingrid and the others. You go ahead and…um…”

“Thanks.” Mike walked past the hostess and narrowed his eyes as he pulled out his phone and texted everyone at the house. Up ahead, the sounds of battle in the lobby had died down. When he stepped out into the rotunda, it was to see Ratu sitting on the edge of the fountain, her hair and kimono soaking wet.

“Well?” she asked.

“It went poorly,” he replied.

“How poorly?”

“The Director is a naga named Mohan.” Mike felt the temperature in the lobby escalate rapidly as Ratu’s eyes dilated. “He’s apparently been looking for you for quite some time and got real excited when he learned you lived at the house. However, he got pretty butthurt over the fact that we’ve been holding hands, and the whole situation at the house is about getting even with me.”

“Is he still alive?” she asked.

He nodded.

“Not for long.” Ratu rose and stormed off toward the elevator. “Leave him to me.”

“The elevator’s enchanted!” he shouted at her back. “You might have trouble finding it!”

He heard the loud rumbling of stones being broken apart, but Mike wasn’t concerned. Ratu was one of the most powerful people he knew, and this was her fight. Well, for now anyway. He needed to find Beth and Kisa first, then go rescue Ingrid. After, they could all beat the Director’s lanky ass together if needed.

Using his mental link with Kisa, he jogged in her direction.

---

Across the world in front of a different bank of monitors, Eulalie Weaver sat in a web sling hammock of her own design, made just this morning in fact. Supported from below by so many gossamer threads, it was easy for her to shift positions along the massive bank of keyboards and screens in order to maintain watch on the exterior of the house.

Her drones had been shot down over the week, but small cameras and microphones had been easy enough to install pretty much everywhere with both Tink’s help and the rats. There were almost no gaps in coverage, and she stared at over ten different monitors at once with her arachnid eyes. Sure, some of them were no good for the visual spectrum, but she would at least detect movement on the screens.

Over her ears, she wore a special headset that Tink and Dana had designed. It had some sort of 3D audio and a chipset that took in all the separate microphone inputs from around the home, filtered them, and recreated the audio as if she was standing near whatever camera she had selected.

She grabbed a handful of Cheetos and shoved them in her mouth. Down below, a rat shook its head in frustration at the amount that tumbled free from her lips. Still, waste not, want not. It picked up the crumbs and put them into a bowl that the rats would share later.

“And here we…go…” Eulalie did her best Heath Ledger impression as she watched five different tactical teams emerge from the command center, guns, swords, and wands at the ready as they circled around the house. She tapped the mute button on her microphone and spoke.

“Here they come,” she said. “I count thirty on the north side and forty on the south. Twenty are hanging back. They’ve got guns trained on the roof. I have yet to identify explosive ordinance.”

A sinister voice chuckled through the headset, creating feedback on the line.

“Cold front to the North. Round up those cowboys!” Jenny giggled and took in a deep, rasping breath. “Let’s get a three for one sale for those fellas by the greenhouse!”

The garage door opened slowly as the mercenaries arrived. They fell into a defensive formation, briefly revealing a man carrying a large munitions box toward the rear.

“Designating a priority target by the garage.” Eulalie sent a screenshot to everyone’s phone. “This one is carrying explosives.”

“I’ve got him.” Yuki’s voice was calm and collected as the garage door lifted high enough to reveal a small grouping of homunculi. They were created by her tarot cards, a collection of men and women built from wood and metal. As one, they crouched down and charged forward toward the mercenaries.

“Contact,” one of them shouted as six of them took a knee and opened fire. The homunculi cared not for bullets, and likely would have cut down the firing squad if not for the knights who suddenly swapped positions with the gunmen. Yuki’s summoned creatures initiated attacks with swords and staves that were quickly deflected by the swords of the Order.

Yuki stepped forward from the garage, her tails whipping behind her in defiance. The SoS didn’t know it, but this was little more than an avatar created from ice and snow. The false kitsune raised her hands and sent forth a horrible frost that clung to the assailants like glue.

Screams of alarm came from the south side of the house, and Eulalie turned her attention to the appropriate monitor. The SoS had just made contact with Cerberus in their human form and had immediately opened fire. The hellhound wasted no time transforming, letting out a triple-throated howl that actually caused three of the men to flee in terror.

Hellfire rained down on the attackers, but the mages were there to intercept. Magical shields were raised to divert the flames, but a couple of them burst immediately. The damage was instantaneous as smoldering mercenaries screamed and tried to crawl away. One even ran for the safety of the greenhouse, ducking inside the front door as if the glass would somehow protect him.

“Never had a chance,” Eulalie muttered, noting that the injured people were already being carried to safety. Though Jenny had been gung-ho to annihilate the SoS along with the Order, they had taken a vote as a family and elected to avoid killing them outright. Not only would killing the mercenaries leave a huge mess for them to clean up, but they risked starting a long term feud with both the Order and the Sons of Sin.

That, and the activity around the Radley house had already raised some suspicions. While monitoring the chatter of local authorities, Eulalie had heard Mike’s name dropped more than once, and she was fairly certain the Order was the only reason the cops hadn’t come to investigate. The official cover story on record was that this was an advanced training exercise for the military, but some of the higher-ups were starting to suspect something more sinister. If the police did decide to show up, there was a very real fear that innocent lives would be at risk.

Eulalie turned the volume down. Some of the screams were threatening to blow out her headphones. She looked at the men and women by the garage. While they had isolated several of the homunculi, it seemed like they weren’t making very much progress.

“I expected more.” Narrowing her human eyes, she studied the monitors. Yuki’s ice clone was on top of the garage now, sending a cascade of ice down on her attackers. Cerberus had successfully routed the other squadron, who were piling up against the wall at the edge of the house.

Something was off. The moment she thought that, Yuki’s ice clone exploded, followed shortly by the crack of a different gunshot. The homunculi were suddenly tackled to the ground and hacked to bits with machetes. Out in the front yard, the third team was using ladders to get up to the roof.

“Frosty is down. There’s trouble up top. Can somebody topple those ladders?”

Cecilia burst through the front wall of the second story, shrieking at the top of her lungs. One of the mercenaries jerked backward, causing the ladder to tip away with him. Shots were fired at Cecilia, but they passed harmlessly through her to pockmark the siding of the house. The group at the garage had entered through the open bay door and were making their way through the structure toward the fountain. When they shoved open the side door that led to the backyard, it was to see Sulyvahn standing there.

“Yer not welcome here,” he said just as they opened fire. The bullets hit the dullahan, but had no effect. Chuckling, Suly grabbed the top of his hair and yanked, pulling his head clean off his body. The mercenaries flooded out of the door as Suly reached into the hole of his neck and pulled out his own spine. “And now I’ll flay the flesh off of ye.”

They opened fire again, but not before Suly caught a man with the spine whip, tearing both the mercenary's tactical vest and the flesh of his arm free. Mages moved ahead and somebody shouted, “Switch to silver!”

To the south, Cerberus harassed the assailants there, playfully chasing them into corners and swatting them with massive paws that broke bones. Even though the retreat looked chaotic, Eulalie spotted a pattern early on.

“Can somebody check on Cerberus?” She frowned when she noticed someone drop an iron stake in the ground. “What the hell is that?”

Shadows crept across the ground, breaking free of the mercenaries and grabbing hold of the iron stake. It was only now that Eulalie saw the other stakes that had been planted in the area. Cerberus growled and chased a man away from the wall only to slam into an invisible barrier and fall on the ground. The iron stakes glowed white hot once the spell was completed. Flames licked along the ground as a massive sigil constructed of fire and shadows appeared.

“Fuck! Cerberus is trapped. We need somebody to break the sigil.”

“I’m on it,” said Sofia through the headset.

At the command center, a second wave of people appeared, all of them establishing a perimeter around the tent. Sulyvahn was busy attacking the group out back, but they had superior numbers and several passed right by him. The wall of ice halted their progress, but the group was prepared. They took cover behind a massive shrub and then tossed some grenades at the frozen structure.

Eulalie turned the headphones down for a moment to mute the explosion, then raised the volume afterward. “We have a breach by the garage.”

“MINE.” Jenny’s voice was filled with static.

“Not yet.” Eulalie cleared her throat. “Let’s see if we can scare them off first.” That had been part of the agreement, after all.

“NO FAIR!”

“I am on it.” Abella stepped out from her hiding place nearby and grabbed a man by the back of the neck. He let out a yell as she picked him up over her head and slammed him into the ground. When his buddies turned around to see what had happened, she threw him. Guns were lowered to avoid shooting their comrade, and Abella folded her wings up and stepped around the nearest ice wall to avoid the counter attack. By the time they came around the corner, it was to see a statue that Tink had carved this morning depicting Abella hiding behind her wings like a shield. A mage ran forward and strapped a collar around the stone statue’s neck.

“Cease fire,” she shouted as she ducked beneath the extended wings and slapped what looked like a weight-lifting belt around the statue’s waist. “Gargoyle neutralized!”

“Clever,” muttered Eulalie, watching in interest as the statue was left behind. Cyrus had gone over potential capture protocols involving the different cryptids, but hadn’t known what mechanism they might use mid-battle with so many different factors. She would have to ask him what sort of enchantment they had on those belts. “Fake Abella has been captured. We need token resistance.”

“MINE!”

“Not yet.”

“I’ve got her.” Yuki stepped out of the iron gates, the hot winds of the underworld at her back. She summoned an icy sphere into her fingers, then fired it at the men nearest Abella. When the magic struck, they cried out in agony and fell to the ground, ice climbing over their bodies.

By the greenhouse, Sofia sprinted forward, sword in hand. Her purple eye flashed like a strobe light as she shifted and dodged out of the way of attacks, moments before they came. A mercenary got up to point blank range and aimed his shotgun, but when he pulled the trigger, all that happened was a click instead of a bang.

Sofia smirked and punched him in the face so hard he crumpled. She picked up the shotgun and pumped the action hard, ejecting a jammed shell. Once she got to the first iron bar in the ground, she grabbed hold of it with her free hand and yanked. The sigil brightened in an attempt to hold together. Without looking, Sofia pointed the shotgun over her shoulder and fired, causing a man with a rifle aimed in her direction to duck.

The sigil burst, and Cerberus hopped over Sofia, sheltering her from further gunfire as they ran back toward the house together. Sofia shoved open a window and crawled inside, gun still in hand. Cerberus leapt away, tail wagging and eager to resume the fight.

Out back, Yuki continued to protect false Abella while another squad navigated the ice walls and made their way to the fountain. Massive roots burst from the ground, tripping them up as they drew near. The SoS retaliated with phosphorous rounds that caused the roots to pull away.

Up on the roof, the third group took position and opened fire on Yuki. The kitsune summoned walls of ice to protect herself from blades and munitions alike, then backed toward the underworld. A group of knights came in from the sides, swords drawn and spectral body shields blazing. Behind them were a pair of mages and some mercenaries. When they drew near, Yuki stepped through the iron gate. Her attackers followed.

“Can’t be helped,” Yuki muttered through the comms, the connection across dimensions making her cut in and out. Already, screams of panic were followed by gunfire through her headset. “Was hoping they wouldn’t follow me in.”

Cerberus howled on the lawn, then made their way toward the command center. Eulalie smirked as the hellhound got within range of the tent and blasted the structure with hellfire. The surrounding area turned to ash, but the command center remained intact.

“Guess the old man was right about the enchantments on that thing.” Eulalie grabbed another handful of Cheetos and stuffed them in her mouth. She wondered how Cyrus was doing. Ever since losing contact with him, she had pored over property records in the area he had disappeared, but supposedly all of it belonged to either the government or the Bureau of Land Management. Satellite photos of the area revealed nothing, and her attempts to get recent data from government satellites had been rebuffed. The tracking bracelet they had given him was perfect for pinpointing his location, but only worked if he was within a mile of either the home or Yuki.

Somebody on top of the house screamed. Eulalie checked the cameras and saw that Cecilia had reached through the roof to grab someone by the ankles. She was dragging the man toward the edge of the roof, causing his teammates to chase after in an attempt to save him.

Gunfire ricocheted along the outside of the house, but the bullets wouldn’t penetrate to those inside. Someone hit the front door with phosphorous rounds, but the flames soon petered out and the scorch marks faded away. The home’s magical defenses easily held up to the abuse, but it was still unnerving to watch.

Three figures stepped free of the command center and fired on Cerberus with large, modified squirt guns. The water burst into white fire on contact with the hellhound, causing them to retreat. The attackers continued firing at the hellhound as more people stormed out of the tent and set up another sigil around them.

“Looks like things are about to heat…” Eulalie trailed off as the SoS signaled for an immediate withdrawal. Order and SoS personnel alike fled back toward the command center in full retreat. There was silence over the comms, eventually followed by a single voice.

“NOOOOOOOO!”

“What the hell happened?” Eulalie looked at all the monitors again. “Did they just…give up?”

“I doubt it,” said Yuki. Out in the backyard, two mercenaries stumbled free of the iron gate and ran for it. The kitsune came out later and threw on the padlock. “Do you see anything?”

“I don’t.” Eulalie chewed at her fingernails and pondered. Something was going on, but what? “This was too easy.”

“Isn’t this what we wanted?” asked Reggie. “They’ve run away already.”

“Yes, but…” Eulalie studied the monitors again, replaying some of the footage. What had just happened? Had the Director called them off? Or was it something else? She didn’t know why, but she had a really bad feeling that they all had just been played.

---

“Up, up, up!” Kisa sprinted up the stairs ahead of Beth, leaving behind a blood trail from a cut on her paw. The cat girl had received it from a piece of broken glass, but the wound didn’t seem to be slowing her down at all.

Beth, on the other hand, was already winded. The adrenaline rush of escaping from her room and climbing down the balcony had worn off. The sudden drop in her blood sugar had taken the wind out of her sails.

“Are you…sure we…going…” Beth couldn’t even finish her sentence.

“Yes!” Kisa paused by one of the doors and cocked her head. “This way,” she declared, pulling open the door. A mage stood on the other side, his hand outstretched as if to grab the handle.

“Wha—” was all he managed as Kisa smashed the top of her head into his face. He cried out in pain and dropped his wand on the floor. The cat girl picked it up and shoved him down.

“C’mon,” she said, then tossed the wand to Beth. “Use that if you need to.”

Beth caught the wand and studied it. “I have…no…fuck it.” She pointed the wand at the injured man and channeled her magic through the device, hoping for the best. A pulse of blue light sent him sliding across the floor like a hockey puck. “Good…enough.”

“We’re getting closer. He’s this way!” Kisa froze in place, then crouched next to a trash can just as a merman turned the corner in the hallway.

“Hey!” The merman charged at Beth, but tripped over Kisa’s outstretched foot. Beth blasted him with the wand, too, causing him to crumple into a ball. Kisa kicked him in the ass, making him flinch and scoot aside so that Beth didn’t have to step over him.

“I don’t think they were expecting this much resistance.” Kisa led Beth down the hall to an exterior stairwell that looked over the property. Beth let out a sigh of relief when the catgirl went down instead of up. If she could just catch her breath, she would be fine.

They descended two flights of stairs, but Kisa hissed and slid to a stop on the landing. She turned tail and ran back in Beth’s direction as a blast of magic barely missed her. The landing filled with Order personnel, their faces tense as Beth waved her wand and sent a blast of magic in their direction. An opposing mage deflected it, but Beth had already turned around to follow after the catgirl.

“Halt!”

A bolt of ice caught Kisa in the back and she slipped before tumbling onto the floor. Beth slowed to a stop and held her hands up, the wand loosely dangling between her fingers.

“Turn around, slowly!”

She turned to face them. There were six of them, three Order teams. One of the mages had stepped back from the group and was speaking into her walkie-talkie.

“We’ve got the lawyer and the intern over in 4D, but…I don’t think that’s the intern.” The woman narrowed her eyes at Kisa. “Copy.”

“4D?” The man on the other end of the line made a sound. “Shit, he’s almost on top of you! Copy!”

“Who?” The mage suddenly looked concerned.

“Mike Radley. You should have a visual to the south about…now.”

The men and women of the Order spun on a dime just as Mike stepped around the corner, holding an umbrella over his shoulder. He gave the group a large grin, then held out his hand.

“Looks like it might rain,” he said, then snapped his fingers. The Order tensed up, but nothing happened. Mike frowned and looked down the hallway he had just come from. “I said, it looks like it might—”

A trio of colorful lights shot around the corner along the ceiling. Cerulea, Olivia, and Daisy ripped the heads off of the sprinkler system, spraying the hallway with water.

Mike twirled his umbrella and jumped into the air, kicking his loafers together. There was a brief moment of confusion, but a knight stepped forward, holding her sword out.

“You’re coming with us,” she said.

“Not this time,” Mike replied. “But maybe later, if you’re good.” He looked past the Order and winked at Beth. “Am I making you wet?”

Beth snorted. This was absolutely Lily. “You’re late.”

Mike gasped and held a hand to his chest. “If I am, then the baby must be yours!”

“What the hell is up with this guy?” asked one of the Order, but then Mike spun his umbrella and lobbed it playfully toward them. The knight in front of the group slashed it out of the air, only to reveal that Mike was right behind it. He slammed his fist into the woman’s jaw so hard that everyone heard the crack, then slid beneath a ray of fire from the mage behind the knight. Another knight leapt forward to stab Mike, but he stepped to the side and grabbed the man by the back of his neck and shoved his face through the stucco of the nearest wall. The knight went limp, his body dangling from where he had been planted.

Beth sent her magic into the water from the sprinklers and created a geyser that blasted up from the floor and blinded the group. Mike laughed, his eyes closed as he continued to dodge and weave between his assailants. One mage went over the railing, only to catch himself at the last second.

Once the Order was taken out, Mike grinned and grabbed Beth by the hand. He bent down and kissed her hand.

“Your chariot awaits,” he said.

“You’re a drama queen.” Beth looked over her shoulder at Kisa, who sat with her back against the wall. She rolled her eyes at Lily-Mike.

“Perhaps.” Mike took her by the hand and led her to the stairs. “But we can discuss my good qualities later. This place sucks. Let’s go.”

“Let’s.” Beth snatched her hand away to go back for Kisa, then the three of them went down the stairs together. They made it all the way down to the first floor and were headed for the lobby when the Captain stepped around the corner, a flintlock pistol held casually in his hand.

“There you are,” he declared, his features twisted with malice. “You were quite the adversary, Mike Radley, but your time here is over.”

Mike grinned. “That gun’s a lot like you. Blows its load once and—”

The Captain pulled the trigger. Beth screamed and plugged her ears as Mike’s head jerked back and the smell of sulfur filled the hallway. Mike fell to the ground, his body going limp.

“Enough with the hysterics.” The Captain holstered the flintlock with a smug look on his face. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got—”

Mike’s body spasmed, then went completely stiff. The Captain froze as Mike rose from the ground much like Nosferatu from his coffin, his dark eyes suddenly wild.

Mike spat out a bloody musket ball, which clattered on the floor.

“What are you?” asked the Captain, incredulous.

“This isn’t even my final form,” Mike whispered, then reached for the front of his shorts and pulled. The fabric ripped away, leaving Mike naked from the waist down, his soft cock hanging to his knees. “Now, c’mon. Let’s have a proper duel, see who the bigger man is once and for all.”

Captain Francois sputtered, his eyes suddenly fixed on Mike’s lengthening member. “This is outrageous! You seek to humiliate me?” he demanded with a squeak in his voice. The man cleared his throat and drew his blade. “Thousands have stood between me and eternal life, Caretaker. You are just one more obstacle to be buried.”

“Suck my dick,” said Mike, and then he charged forward. The Captain brought his blade down on Mike’s cock, only for the member to dodge out of the way and stab upward into Francois’s chin. Lily’s tail spike emerged, stabbing Francois several times in the face before he pushed the succubus away.

“Wretched creature!” Francois whipped his sword across Mike’s torso and, with a dramatic flourish, speared him through the heart.

“Ooh, balls deep,” grunted Mike. “I barely feel—”

Francois slammed his fist into Mike’s head with a sound like cars colliding. The succubus exploded into a cloud of yellow smoke.

“Ah, a shame,” said Francois, choking on the fumes. He coughed and waved his hands. “I knew something felt wrong. It will take more than… a demon’s parlor tricks… to stop me.” He stumbled toward Beth and then clutched his head. “Dreaded…miasma…”

“C’mon,” said Kisa. She grabbed Beth by the hand and the two of them ran toward the lobby. Beth looked over her shoulder at Francois, who was clutching a nearby pillar for support. A dark fluid oozed from his eyes as he let out a scream, forcing Lily’s venom from his body.

Okay, that’s really fucked up. Clearly, the Captain had a few secrets of his own.

Kisa helped Beth sneak past a group of people trying to put out a fire that had spread to the restaurant by the pool. They were almost to the lobby when a figure stepped free of the chaos, casually moving around a wet spot on the concrete. When their eyes met, Mike grinned and gave them a wave.

“There you are.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Ratu’s on her way, she’s just having a word with the Director. We need to get home, they—”

Mike frowned, his gaze settling behind Beth. She turned to see Captain Francois standing about thirty feet behind her, his pistol in one hand and the sword in the other.

“There you are.” Francois sneered and raised his blade. “You shall elude me no longer.”

“Ah, right. This asshole.” Mike sighed and stepped to the side so that Beth and Kisa were no longer between the two of them. “No skeletons today?”

“I have no need of them.” Francois aimed his flintlock pistol at Mike. “And the world has no need of you.”

“Before we kill each other, why the old pistol? Why not something modern, or even a gun that holds two bullets?”

“Because I rarely need more than one.”

“Guess I’m living proof of that.” Mike smirked.

Francois grinned. “An annoyance to be sure, but it does mean I shall have the satisfaction of shooting you a second time. Also, to answer the rest of your question, I’m sentimental. It was a gift.”

Mike nodded. “So there’s no hashing this out? You don’t want to talk?”

Francois tilted his head to one side and then aimed his pistol upward. “I’m not entirely unreasonable,” he admitted. “Your death is only a means to an end, you know. I have no desire to play the Great Game, or whatever you call it. I also have no use for your home or whatever other properties you lord over. The only thing I crave is immortality, and those eggs are my ticket to it. If you have a way to grant me that which I seek, no matter the method, then I would be more than happy to, as your generation is so fond of saying, fuck off.”

“I see.” Mike looked at Beth. “Do we have anything like that in the Vault?” he asked. At the same time he spoke with her, he used his hands to sign something else in ASL.

I need you three to disable the gun.

Francois was too busy looking at Beth to see her response to notice the fairies hovering above him. Beth scrunched up her face as if in concentration to hide the fact that she had looked at them.

“Um…” She looked at Kisa. “What do you think? Anything in the Vault we could use?”

Kisa shrugged. Francois actually blinked in disbelief upon noticing the catgirl.

“Um…maybe the…no, that wouldn’t work...we got rid of that…” Kisa eventually shrugged. “No, I can’t think of anything.”

Francois smirked. “A pity.” He looked back at Mike. “While you may not have any other methods of achieving my goal, those eggs will do quite nicely. The alchemical value of the creatures inside would be enough to ensure my survival for another thousand years if necessary, which would—”

“Fuck off.” Mike crossed his arms. “You’re right. We are fond of saying it.”

“Indeed.” Francois aimed the flintlock pistol and pulled the trigger. He stared in amazement at the colorful trio who had landed on his weapon and removed the hammer. Cerulea mooned the Captain as Olivia yanked the last screw out of the side of the gun, causing the weapon to fall apart in Francois’ hand.

“Pests!” Francois swiped his sword at the fairies. Cerulea and Olivia scattered, but Daisy remained behind, a fierce look on her face as she darted in at Francois and stung him in the eye. He cried out in pain and fell backward, swinging blindly as he clutched at his wounded eye.

“If you want to keep the other eye, you should probably get back on your fucking boat and start rowing.” Mike took a step toward the Captain. “I’m not in a very forgiving mood right now.”

Francois held his blade out at shoulder height in Mike’s direction. “I shall have your head,” he hissed.

“Mike, be careful!” Beth took a step away from the two of them. “He’s freakishly strong!” She looked around for a potential weapon, the wand in her hand felt like it would be useless. Spotting a hot tub nearby, she sent her will into the body of water and commanded it to rise.

“I’m not afraid of how strong he is,” Mike replied, sticking his hands in his pockets. “After all—”

Francois leapt forward, his body leaving the ground as he crossed the distance between them in an instant. He brought his blade down as if to cleave Mike in two, but his momentum was halted by the explosion of blue slime that shot out of Mike’s breast pocket. Opal appeared, both of her arms wrapped tightly around the blade.

“He’s just one man.” Mike looked past Opal at Francois, who was trying to pull his blade free. “Meet Opal. She’s pretty pissed about that time you almost killed me.”

The slime girl winked at Francois, then engulfed his arms. The Captain cried out in pain, but was only able to yank one arm free. Opal stood there, her body twisting as both the sword and the arm inside were wrenched violently about, the bones snapping in multiple locations. Francois fell and clawed at the concrete as Opal attempted to engulf him properly.

“Even a captain of the sea will fall prey to fluid dynamics.” Mike moved to stand with the others. Beth relaxed her hold on the massive sphere of hot tub water that had started to levitate out of its basin. Francois groaned in agony as Opal shifted her weight onto his torso, determined to end the man’s life.

Up above, the top floor of Paradise exploded.

---

Ratu didn’t bother watching Mike leave. She could feel his presence like the heat of the sun, his warmth moving across her skin no matter the distance. However, now wasn’t the time for thoughts about the Caretaker or her place in his life. She studied the smooth wall where the elevator was supposed to be, narrowing her eyes in disgust.

With a clenched fist, she used her magic to rip the stone facade off the wall, revealing the elevator shaft behind it. With the illusion now broken, the security keypad next to it was revealed. As Ratu pondered how to bypass the keypad and call the elevator to the lobby, she watched with arched brows as the car lifted up from below and stopped. The doors slid open and two people fell out, clutching their swords. The elevator car was packed with Order personnel, all on the floor and reeking of sexual fluids.

Ratu smirked. This was absolutely Mike’s work.

“We need to…” The knight who had crawled the furthest looked up at Ratu’s feet, then craned his neck up to see her face.

“Going up?” she asked.

The knight groaned. “Are you going to kill us?” he asked. “I’m not sure what answer I want to hear, honestly.”

“I wasn’t planning to.” Ratu stepped past them and into the car. “But I am heading upstairs to kill your boss.”

A mage on the floor raised her wand. “Not if we stop you,” she said, her voice hoarse.

Ratu covered her entire body in fire. The occupants of the car screamed in panic as the oxygen was quickly sucked out of the small space. When she released the spell, everyone looked up at her in terror.

“Out,” she said, her facial features rippling.

The men and women squirmed out of the car either of their own volition or with help from the others. Ratu pressed the P button and crossed her arms as the door closed. The elevator hummed to life and carried her up.

How many decades had it been since she had last seen Mohan? She closed her eyes and took a steadying breath. Ratu honestly didn’t know. The last time she had left him behind, she had run, content to take every day without his loathsome presence as a gift. And gifts were something a gracious recipient should never count.

She did know that it hadn’t been long enough. It would never be long enough. Down below, she felt the presence of a fire out by the pool. Looking over her shoulder, she spotted members of the Order trying to put it out.

“How fitting,” she muttered, then closed her eyes and remembered.

She had seen the smoke from her home atop the mountain. Her shrine was built down by the waterfall, but her actual abode lie within a hidden valley above that she had sliced from the mountain itself. Even if the villagers had known where she lived, it would have been a hundred foot trip straight up the sheer cliffs.

Puzzled by the sudden surge of activity, she had stepped away from her house, never once looking back. Perhaps if she had known it would be the last time she saw it, she would have at least paused to admire the beautiful Javanese home. Intricate reliefs had been carved into the wood by the villagers who had brought them as tributes to her shrine, some of the designs even telling stories about her own arrival. She had meticulously installed them in her home, even going so far as to expand the walls to make room for more potential additions later on.

In truth, she enjoyed the simple joy her presence brought to the people below. In times of famine, it was no chore to find an untapped aquifer and water their fields. And in times of plenty, they brought her food and gifts. Her saree was plain, unlike the beautiful silken garments she had worn beneath the earth with her people. But it had been a gift of gratitude from a family who had nearly lost their son to the mischievous spirits of the river. Many of those spirits had moved further downstream to avoid incurring the naga’s wrath.

She felt needed, and it was the biggest gift they could have given her. so when she saw the ominous smoke over the village, she decided to investigate. Opening a hole into the earth, she casually tunneled through the rich minerals and granite of the mountain and emerged from a secret opening behind the waterfall. Sliding into the water, she transformed into a massive serpent and allowed the current to carry her downstream.

As she neared the village, she sifted through the rumors that had been carried along the wind to her little shrine. She had heard stories about distant villages being attacked, sometimes even leveled by troubled spirits, or possibly demons. It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence in this part of the world. With so much scientific innovation spreading throughout the mainland, many creatures similar to herself had come here as refugees. The natural pecking order had been disrupted, and trouble often followed.

It was a good thing she was considered the top of the food chain. Her serpentine features curled into a smile as she rode the currents, shifting her coils to act as a rudder. In places, the rocks were sharp, and she’d prefer to keep all her scales intact. Last year, she had been playing in the river and knocked several loose. While the wound had been painful, the smiles of the children who had found her prismatic scales on the bank and used them for tiny hats had somehow been worth it.

She surfaced upstream, just above where the fishermen threw their nets, and shifted back to human form as she stepped ashore. There were rumors about the dragon who lived in the river, and so she avoided letting them ever see her serpentine form on land. Misdirection was easy when it was someone else making all the assumptions.

The path into the village was only a few feet wide. She held her hands out to the side, allowing the foliage to caress her fingertips as she walked. The world above was so soft, a feature she was still getting used to. She had long ago exchanged the glittering of fire-lit gems below for the starry skies above, but had never truly appreciated just how many colors could be seen in the lands of man.

Humming a sweet tune to herself, mostly so that she wouldn’t surprise any of the villagers. She stopped when she realized she didn’t hear the gentle chatter of the fisherman. This was the first bend in the river where they caught their breakfast, yet nobody was to be seen. Puzzlement became concern when she passed the next two spots and still saw no one. Up ahead, the smoke rose in a giant column. What had looked troublesome from a distance had suddenly become ominous. The wind shifted and she tasted the air, hoping for answers.

It tasted of death.

She broke into a run, her bare feet kicking loose gravel into the tall reeds. Now that she was closer, she could hear the wailing of human misery, their cries shattering the stillness of the woods. She regretted not riding the river all the way to the village now, but what had been done was done. What came next would be up to her.

Bits of hot ash fell from above as she entered the village and paused to stare at the devastation. Villagers milled around in confusion, staring in shock at the massive stones that had spiraled up from beneath the soil, many of them penetrating structures. Based on what she could tell, a cooking fire had likely been overturned, the fire quickly spreading to some of the nearby trees and other buildings. People had been trapped beneath the rubble, many of them perishing in the flames. Gasping for air, she placed a hand over her mouth and wept.

The villagers didn’t see her at first, too busy were they with their grief. She moved around the perimeter, sending pulses of magic into the ground in the hopes of finding someone who had survived, somebody that she could save. These people would rebuild, sure, but even a small victory would help them sleep a little bit better tonight.

She used her magic to push aside the stones, the villagers looking to her for guidance. The soul of the village had been broken, but for what purpose? The scent of magic was strong, yet there was no culprit. Mischievous spirits, at best, may claim the life of a human, but there was usually a purpose, even if it was just spur of the moment cruelty.

“Over here!”

The naga paused, her lips thinning out. Who was speaking English? She chanced a glance over her shoulder and saw a group of men emerge from the forest. Some of them wore leather armaments and carried swords at their waists. The others had staffs, and all of them carried backpacks. They were being led by islanders she didn’t recognize, likely acting as guides.

“Looks like our quarry has struck again.” One of the men carrying a staff knelt down by a woman whose face was covered in burns. His hands filled with soft light as he attempted to heal her. “These people need our help.”

Oh. She knew who these men were. Clicking her tongue in disapproval, she started moving toward the outskirts of the village. Though she had never met anyone from the Order in person, it would serve her well to abandon the area for a few days. Technically, she was the village deity, but she didn’t feel like enduring their scrutiny. They were outsiders at best, and couldn’t be trusted.

Still, their efforts were appreciated. The people of the Order moved quickly, offering support to those in need. It was only by chance that she noticed how intently they searched the faces of those they helped, how they studied the dead as if afraid they would rise. She wanted to flee into the woods, but could sense them hiding in the grass, lying still and waiting. If their hearts hadn’t been beating so hard, she never would have sensed the tremors in the earth. There were more of them out there, watching. Waiting. Hunting.

Though the fires were out, water was being hauled up from the river by bucket to make sure the smoldering remains were properly extinguished, and it was there that she found her exit. Kneeling in the cool water of the river, she slid forward into the current, allowing it to pull her under and away. Transforming into a serpent once more, she was about a hundred feet downstream when the trap was sprung.

A massive net engulfed her, ripping her free of the water. She thrashed about, hissing in surprise as a pair of mages levitated her out of the water while knights hauled her onto the shore.

Back in the present, a similar hiss escaped Ratu’s lips as she opened her eyes. She forced the memories down into her gut, feeding it to the fire that was building within. The village had been so many decades ago, yet the pain was still fresh. Just like before, Mohan was waiting at the end.

She tapped her foot impatiently. Why was this elevator so slow?

At last, the car stopped and the doors slid open. Ratu stepped forward into the luxurious suite just as a door along the edge of the room clicked shut. She could hear Ingrid’s muffled shouts from beyond, but the well-dressed figure standing in the center of the room and staring up at the monitors was all she had eyes for. He studied a replay of her fight with the merfolk in the lobby, watching as she bombarded the royal court with fire that could crack stone.

“I remember the first time I saw you summon fire, back when we were young.” Mohan’s voice was wistful, nostalgic, and clearly rehearsed. “It’s a special moment in every naga’s life, when we first resonate with magic. For you, it was always fire. I’ll never forget how your eyes sparkled like emeralds, wide with wonder as you held that ball of flame in your hands. That afternoon, we sat at your father’s feet and you spoke for hours about how it felt, being so close to a power that could bring comfort, yet also destroy. It was in those moments that I first found my feelings for you.” Mohan straightened his suit and turned in place. The scales on his face rippled as he adjusted his cufflinks. “Surely you remember—”

Ratu hit him with a fireball that caused the monitors behind him to spark and melt, the swirling torrent of fire cracking the marble beneath Mohan’s feet as the impurities crackled and burned. Both hands extended, she demanded nothing less than for his entire body to turn to ash before he could do any more harm.

“I see you’re still impulsive.” Mohan tsked her from within the fire. Even now, she could feel the swirling barrier of air he had summoned. “And here I thought we could at least be cordial.”

“I have nothing to say to you.” Ratu twisted the fingers of her left hand, commanding the marble at his feet to break. Once it had done so, she clapped her hands together, causing the shattered masonry to collapse inward on top of Mohan with the intent of crushing the life from him.

“And yet, I have plenty to say to you.” Mohan the Director snapped his fingers and the marble shattered into dust, which got caught up in the swirling vortex around him. He blasted the remnants of the floor outward, and Ratu summoned a wall of fire to drive them into the air. The air conditioning system kicked on, the air return rattling as it sucked up marble dust. “So perhaps you can stop trying to kill me for a minute and hear me out.”

“No.” Ratu remembered the last time she attempted to hear him out, her thoughts going back in time once more to the village.

Mohan stood at the edge of the village, a triumphant glare in his eyes. He was dressed as a guide and leaning against a tree. He spoke to her through the wind blowing across her ears, meaning the Order couldn’t hear.

“One last chance,” he said. “If you come home with me, all will be forgiven. But if I have to drag you home, these villagers will pay.”

“NEVER!” she shouted through her serpentine lips, causing the villagers and Order to recoil in shock. Flames licked at her eyes and nose as she attempted to burn away the protective runes of the net.

“So be it.” Mohan’s body began to melt as he moved toward the villagers, his body stretching out as scales sprouted across his flesh. By the time someone saw the massive snake and screamed, Mohan was already slamming his jaws shut around them.

Mohan sighed in disgust. “I went through a lot of work for this, you know.” He gestured at the broken monitors behind him. “I thought you’d appreciate all I did to find you.”

“All these years, and yet you still don’t understand.” Ratu channeled the fire, the temperature of her skin heating up. “You still think of me as a lost belonging, or worse, an escaped slave.”

Mohan waved dismissively. “I had hoped your time with the mortals would have tempered your hysterics, but that was wishful thinking on my part.” He loosened his tie and then shrugged out of his jacket. “You’re a lot like fire, you know? Wild, powerful, capable of great things. But just like fire, you lack discipline.” He undid the cufflinks on his sleeves and then rolled them up. “Imagine how strong you would have been if we had been together all this time. I didn’t waste all these years obeying the whims of mortals, my dearest. It was time spent honing my abilities, learning to better channel my strength, to become one with the wind, all those things we spoke of when we were children.”

“I want you to imagine how happy we could have been if you would have just trusted me!” Ratu’s eyes were now brimming with tears. “I was prepared to spend my entire life by your side, but then I saw how ugly you truly were beneath those scales. If your jealousy hadn’t claimed you, if you hadn’t lashed out at me, struck me with your fists, we could have been together! I was in love with you once, Mohan, I truly was. You were the center of my world, and then you fell out from beneath me. You broke my heart!”

Mohan cracked his knuckles. “You were the one who left. If anyone is allowed to complain, it is me. I am the one who suffered, after all. That man you adore, your Caretaker, he will blame you for what is about to transpire, you’ll see.”

“That man is everything you are not.” The air around Ratu ignited.

Mohan snorted. “Oh really? If that’s true, then why have you given him a false name? What is wrong with your true name, hm?”

“I hate that name,” she hissed. “But only because I heard it spill from your lips so often.”

He chuckled, the air around his body now circulating so fiercely that the fabric of his pants made a flapping sound. “You’re coming home,” he said. “Whether you like it or not, my precious Upala.”

“My name is Ratu!” The air exploded, and Ratu threw herself forward, her body changing as fire spiraled around her. Mohan rose to face her, transforming into his serpentine form as well. They were nearly full sized by the time she struck, her fangs seeking his flesh, and the two of them crashed against the closest wall, causing the building to groan and shudder beneath their combined weight. The storm of fire raged inside the penthouse suite, melting everything that didn’t simply ignite, and the two of them crashed together into an exterior wall. It collapsed, and they tumbled together through the open air to the ground below.