The Fantasy Trove

“It looks like she left down this hallway,” Shlee said, sniffing the air. They were walking down a long corridor towards the exit of Angela’s volcano home, and Eldon had a sick feeling in his stomach.

“Why would she leave without saying anything?” Sonia asked, fear and worry lacing her tones. “I thought we were doing so much better… You don’t think she was kidnapped, do you? Again?”

“No,” Shlee shook her head. “She was alone. There are no other smells in here that are the same age as hers.”

“Then where—” Sonia started, but Eldon cut her off.

“This is my fault. I should have talked to her before walking away.”

“Drive women off a lot?” Megan asked with a delicately plucked arched eyebrow.

“She wasn’t happy that we aren’t going after Jessica,” he told them, ignoring Megan. “I should have taken the time to talk to her, but when Jen said there was someone to see me…”

“You thought I was this Gloria woman,” Megan completed for him.

“We’re not going after Jessica?” Mandy asked.

“Sorry, with everything else that happened, I forgot to mention it,” Eldon grimaced. “When we go to talk to Shlee’s fiancée, we also need to make a detour to the Pillar of Darkness, and convince him to help us restore Areth to her body.”

“Whoa!” Megan said, and Eldon realized she’d stopped walking.

He turned to face her and waived for her to come along. “We don’t have time to stop. We need to find my sister.”

Megan caught up in two long strides, then matched pace with him. “Your girlfriend has a fiancée?” she all but spat. “And you’re okay with that?”

“Not really my choice,” he replied, not in the mood to go into the intricate details of what happened between Gloria’s leaving and forcing Shlee to love him.

“Not…?” She fell behind for a second and then caught up again. “You’re really not the jealous type, huh? Is that because you don’t really care enough, or because your heart is that big?”

He glanced at her, but kept his mouth shut. He didn’t have to explain himself to her, and if she was with them long enough, she’d see the answer for herself.

“We’re really going to see Dimitri?” Shlee asked him next. She remained in front of the group, leading them with her nose. Eldon couldn’t tell if that was excitement in her voice, or fear.

“Yes,” he said and kept his eyes on her back. “We need to get that cleared up before our relationship can progress.”

“Cleared up?” Megan asked, but Eldon continued to ignore her.

“How are we going to bring Areth back?” Mandy asked next. They passed out of the ground level entrance to the volcano into the bright light and heat of the Pillar of Fire’s demesne. “I thought she was stuck as a statue forever.”

“Statue?” Megan asked.

“So did I, but apparently Oberon knows a way to restore her, and told the Pillar of Air, who then told us. It won’t be easy, though.”

“You know the Pillar of Air?” Megan asked, then, “Wait, Oberon, as in King of the Faeries?”

“Yeah,” Eldon sighed, “and Keeper of the Cup, Lover of Ladies, and Soulkeeper of the Fay. Look, if you’re going to keep asking questions, we’re never going to catch my sister.”

“Don’t be rude, Eldon,” Mandy snapped at him. “I know you’re stressed about Shelly, but we’ll catch up to her. Then we’ll get everything else accomplished, but you should be nicer to Megan. It’s not her fault she doesn’t know everything you do.”

“Is he always such an ass?” Megan asked as she walked up next to Mandy.

“No, not normally,” Mandy replied. “I think we wore him out earlier, screwing his brains out, and his regenerative abilities haven’t restored his grey matter yet.”

“Restorative… Yeah, I saw him heal pretty quickly after our fight,” Megan said, apparently happy someone was answering her questions. “Is that because he’s a shape-shifter? And can he change into whoever he wants to? Could he change into me?”

Mandy laughed, but Eldon ignored them as she started answering the newcomer’s questions.

“You pick up girlfriends like shit does flies,” Sonia glared at him.

“I don’t appreciate that analogy,” Eldon informed her. “And she’s not a new girlfriend.”

“I recognize her vocal patterns as belonging to the woman on the phone before we left Earth,” Sonia replied. “Does she know she’s not your girlfriend?”

It took him a few seconds of taking slow breaths to calm himself down. Sure, he might not have treated Megan the way he was raised to treat women, but he was being treated like the bad guy. All that mattered to him right then was finding his sister.

Then it occurred to him that Sonia would be worried also, which would be part of her bad mood.

“We’ll find my sister,” he promised the android. “She’ll be fine. She can defend herself.”

Sonia looked at him like he was an idiot.

They walked on, Mandy explaining their history to Megan, Sonia pointedly ignoring everyone but Shlee, and the werewolf’s nose leading them all.

That is, until Megan asked, “Who else are we following?”

“What do you mean?” Eldon asked.

“I may not have the nose of a werewolf, but I know how to track. Didn’t take me long to figure out which prints were your sister’s, but a while back another set joined hers. Either your sister isn’t alone, or someone else is following her.”

“I didn’t want to say anything until I was certain,” Shlee said with concern thick in her voice. “Something started following her. Its scent is newer than Shelly’s is, but not by much.”

“Do you know what it is?” Sonia asked, almost in a panic.

“Got any good water guns in your arsenal?” Shlee asked back. “Because whatever it is, if it’s from this area, we’re going to want some water.”

“We’re headed for the lake dad made during the Chaos War,” Eldon noted as he looked around. “Shelly was probably headed there for water, before heading to Gaia’s demesne. Do you think whatever is following her is doing the same?”

“I hope so,” Shlee said, but didn’t sound convincing. “That lake should be right over that hill, and we’ll have an idea.”

They had their answer before they reached the crest. The two sets of tracks became tangled, and it was obvious to everyone that there was a scuffle. It was also obvious who won, as the unknown tracks continued on, dragging something after it.

“There’s no blood,” Shlee commented as she stood up from the dusty ground. She brushed off her knees and looked to the north, where the tracks led.

“Any idea what took her?” Eldon said. Fear made his heart pound, but a lack of blood was a good sign that whatever it was, wanted her alive. At least, for now.

“Definitely something that uses fire,” Mandy said, pointing to a spot on the baked ground that looked scorched.

“There is something odd about these tracks, though,” Megan said as she squatted over the spot where the marks left the scuffle.

“And you know this from your vast experience with magical beings?” Eldon asked her, unable to keep his voice level.

“Eldon!” Mandy snapped at him at the same time one of her hands slapped the back of his head. She struck with enough force to knock him forward half a step and make his headache even worse. Before he could retort, her two left hands gripped his right arm and hauled him a short distance away.

“What is wrong with you?” she hissed when they were out of earshot of all but Shlee.

He opened his mouth to say he didn’t know what she meant, but closed it before the lie had a chance of coming out as some other truth. He knew he was treating Megan unfairly, but he was stressed out about his sister, and everything else going on. Adding Megan to their group put more weight and responsibility on his shoulders that he didn’t care for.

“You’ve been acting like a spoiled little brat ever since you ran into her, and she doesn’t deserve it,” Mandy continued when it was obvious Eldon wasn’t going to speak. “Is it because she wasn’t Gloria, like you hoped?”

The accusation stung him, but not as much as the pain in Mandy’s brown eyes. She swept her dirty blonde hair behind one ear as she met his gaze. He was the first to look away.

“No… Yes… I-I don’t know,” he confessed, confused. Not even Mandy’s talent for forcing the truth could get him to know the answer to her question. “My sister has been abducted, again, by who knows what…. The world seems to be crumbling around me. I’m worried about you and Shlee, and we have to go meet up with Shlee’s fiancée…. Not to mention dealing with the Pillar of Darkness himself to try and restore Areth back to her true form. Of those last two, I don’t know which one scares me more, but I owe it to Areth and Shlee, both. And the Pillars help me, I love Shlee. I know it was forced on me by Gloria, but it doesn’t change the way I feel. Yes, I love you too, and no, that wasn’t forced on me. I don’t think I ever stopped loving you. Even after we deal with the three things right in front of us, we still have to chase after Jessica—who, by the way, thought she was my sister, and still gave me a blowjob and was sleeping with my actual sister, as if that’s not messed up enough—and we need to stop her from whatever she’s trying to do!” He took a moment to catch his breath before looking at the group over the scuffled area, who was trying so hard not to look at him, that they might as well have been staring. “And yes, I know Megan hasn’t deserved the way I’ve been treating her, but I didn’t ask for one more thing on my plate. I tried to drive her away, and you brought her back.”

He looked back to Mandy’s eyes and saw tears streaming down her cheeks, making him feel even more wretched. He wasn’t prepared for her response, though.

“You love me?” her voice was soft, but he heard the hope and fear behind it.

“Isn’t it obvious?” he asked. “I said it in your presence.”

“No, you idiot!” She slapped him in the chest with the back of her upper right hand. “That’s the first time you’ve said it since before you left me.”

“One more way I’m screwing up,” he said the words, and regretted them immediately. They sounded whiney, even to his ears.

Mandy pulled him into a powerful hug that he was certain cracked a few of his ribs, and rendering him unable to speak or even gasp.

“You’re not a screw-up, Sheldon Shemhazau Lance. You’re a good man, with a big heart, and I love you, too.” She hugged him tighter, and he heard his back pop. Some noise must have escaped him, as she released him and let him down. He stumbled for a moment on legs that were momentarily numb before standing back upright and catching his breath.

“Sometimes I forget how strong you are,” he managed when he was sure his voice wouldn’t crack.

“I love you, Eldon, but I have to ask…” Mandy waited for him to nod. “Could some of your issues with Megan be because she kind of rejected you at the end? I mean, she was all hot for you, and then she walked away. You’re a good man, Eldon, but sometimes your ego…”

He wanted to argue with her, to tell her it was everything else, but stopped. Her accusation stung him again, and stung deep, but he knew she was being honest with him. He was being rude to Megan, but to no one else. Was there truth in what she said? Was his ego bruised because Megan no longer wanted him? He already had two girlfriends, and really didn’t want another. Was the fact that Megan had turned away from him, causing him to lash out at her?

He found he was staring at the redheaded woman, and she was looking back at him. She wasn’t afraid of him, despite the way he’d treated her. And no wonder, since she managed him with ease. He waived for her to come over, and while she raised one of her eyebrows at the request, she still started in their direction.

“Thank you Mandy,” he told his four-armed half-elf girlfriend. “I think I owe Megan another apology.”

“I’ll leave you to it, then,” Mandy stated, and gave him a solid kiss on the lips. She nodded to Megan as they passed each other, but if she said anything, he didn’t hear it.

“So, now you think I’ll just waltz over here on your command?” Megan opened, still with that delicate eyebrow arched up.

“I’m sorry,” he told her, meeting her challenging stare. “I’ve treated you unfairly. I’ve been rude, and you don’t deserve it. I didn’t ask for you to come along, but I would be an idiot not to recognize your worth as a fighter.”

“A bigger idiot?” she pressed.

“It’s hard to be much more of an idiot when I’m in my ogre form,” he confessed with half a smile.

“And you stunk pretty badly, also,” Megan rejoined.

His smile grew bigger. “There is a lot of history you’ve missed, and I can’t promise to keep you safe, but I will promise to treat you better.”

“You’ll be my big cowboy?” she asked in a suddenly sultry voice. “Or perhaps my knight in shining armor, considering the world we’re in now?”

“Something tells me you don’t need either of those,” he said, knowing she was testing him.

Her lips cracked into a smile as she gave him a sharp nod. “And don’t you forget it! I can take care of myself. I’m not asking you to fight for me, but to let me fight next to you.”

“Deal,” he said and held out his hand.

“Deal,” she agreed, taking his hand in a firm grip. “That doesn’t mean I’m letting you right into my panties, though. Sonia told me what kind of a man you are. I don’t disapprove, exactly, since I can tell you don’t force them. You’re cute, even if you act like an asshole at times, and you can kiss like nobody’s business, but that doesn’t mean I’m just going to jump into your harem.”

He stared at her, lost for words for a few seconds before managing to splutter, “I-I wasn’t going to ask you to.”

“Good!” She flipped around, her unbound hair whipping out, and headed back to the scuffled tracks.

Eldon cursed, as he’d completely forgotten about his sister. How could he have been so stupid? Why was he so easily side-tracked? He ran back to the group.

“I still don’t understand what’s wrong with the tracks,” Shlee was commenting.

“Look at the way they move,” Megan told them. “Here, the pads of the foot are bigger than over here. And what are these little squiggly lines here? Also, as they walk, you would expect there to be variations in the prints as it drags Shelly away. They should be a bit deeper, but they aren’t. Instead, they look the same as before meeting up.”

Eldon squinted at what she was pointing at, anxious to take off after the creature, but also knowing that it was important to understand what they would be going up against.

“I’m running a simulation of the tracks now in an attempt to figure out what might have made them, but my internal databases don’t have enough information. Being cut off from the classified servers is hampering my effectiveness.” Sonia replied, glaring at Eldon. It wasn’t like he’d meant to get her fired. And it wasn’t like she would be able to access servers on Earth while they were in this world. “If my simulations are correct, and there is a ninety-eight percent probability that they are, then the reason there is no alteration to the tracks after dragging Shelly away, is because the creature is strong enough that it barely even notices her weight. Unfortunately, that doesn’t narrow down our list of possibilities in the Shadow World.”

Megan gave Sonia an odd look, until Shlee whispered, “She’s a super advanced android. Isn’t it the coolest?”

“Something that strong should leave behind bigger tracks, though,” Megan replied.

“If the creature was natural, yes,” Mandy said. “You’re forgetting about magical creatures, and you’re forgetting that it can change the size of its footprint.”

Megan acceded the point and flicked a bug off her leg.

Eldon’s heart froze. “Don’t move!” he warned everyone, his panic rising. Everyone looked at him, but no one argued. He looked again to where Megan had pointed out the squiggly lines, then around at the bare ground. It only took him a second to find what he was looking for.

Ants.

“No. No. No, no!” he repeated, realizing who now had his sister.

“Eldon?” Shlee asked. “What is it?”

Water… He would need water, or something aligned with that element. But why would it take her, instead of killing her outright? It didn’t make sense. He had to be missing something, but what?

“Eldon!” Mandy shouted as Megan jumped to her feet and tackled Eldon to the ground in one quick movement.

Fire coursed through the air in the spot he had just occupied. If not for Megan’s tackle, he’d be recovering from third degree burns.

The two rolled away from each other and got to their feet in fluid motions. Eldon faced the creature that had either taken his sister, or was another one of its ilk.

The Myrmidon grinned at him, fire burning in the back of its throat. Small red and black ants formed its body, making the creature’s skin look like it was moving and shifting in a sickening manner. When it spoke, its voice was deep and yet raspy. “Children of Lyden. My liege has a huge bounty on you. Today is my lucky day. I caught two!”

Movement out of the corner of Eldon’s eye caught his attention, but he was too slow to stop her. Megan’s hand came up and fired three rapid shots into the creature’s chest. Ants, and pieces of ants exploded from its chest as her bullets ripped through its body, but it didn’t even take a step back.

Instead, it chuckled at Megan’s shocked face. This time it was Eldon’s turn to tackle her, before it blew a cylinder of molten flame at them. The heat was almost unbearable, and he was grateful to catch the outside of it, instead of the full brunt of the attack.

“Daddy always said not to trust anything that didn’t go down after the first shot,” he heard Megan mutter as she pushed Eldon off of her.

“Only water and a big can of Raid can kill that thing,” he told the woman.

“Well, these aren’t water pistols,” she complained back while brandishing her Magnum .45s, before turning her head towards the Myrmidon and spitting. The saliva landed on the monster’s foot, and it jerked back with a howl of pain.

“You don’t happen to have a way to expel any water at it, do you Sonia?” Shlee asked, but didn’t sound too hopeful.

“Not in any way that would do any good,” Sonia replied. “I estimate our chances of defeating this creature at less than ten percent.”

Eldon feared she was being optimistic.

“You smell wrong,” the thing said to the android.

“You’re ugly,” Sonia replied in an even tone. “Tell me what you did with Shelly.”

“Anyone know any water spells?” Eldon asked before the creature could respond. The thing would never tell them where his sister was. It was too loyal to King Aeacus.

Megan snorted, then sucked in some air, and spit at it again. It dodged, and drew in breath to blow fire at her again.

“This is going to hurt,” Eldon complained as he charged the Myrmidon. It felt mostly solid as his weight slammed into it from the side, and the gout of flame that was headed for Megan went wide. The thing squished as he landed on it, spreading out on the ground like a puddle of ants, before coming back together, its hands around Eldon’s neck and sitting on top of him. He knew the creatures could form up fast, but had underestimated their speed.

“Burn,” the ant monster hissed in sadistic glee. Eldon saw the glow in its maw a split second before his world was washed in burning agony. He could feel his hair sizzle away, and the flesh of his face and skull melting as the thing cooked him alive.

Unfortunately, instead of dying, he had to endure the torture, as his body worked to restore itself, even as it was destroyed.

He didn’t know how long he lay there, unable to breathe, even if the thing hadn’t held his throat closed, endlessly burning and regenerating, and burning again. He couldn’t even scream. He knew he was thrashing around on the ground, but couldn’t think past the mind numbing torment. The burning went deeper than bone, all the way to his soul.

On instinct, his body started changing. He wasn’t in any kind of conscious control of it, shifting from form to form as he continued to roast. Anything to get away from the agony of feeling his flesh melt from his skull.

When he grew into the ogre form, his neck became too large for the Myrmidon to crush. Now when he thrashed, the Myrmidon was too small to hold him. Some of it was smashed as Eldon rolled to the side, torment searing his nerves. Even as his flesh knit back together, sans hair, he could still feel the pain of the fire.

Rage burned through his tiny mind, nearly as hot as the Myrmidon’s blaze. His eyes reformed and focused on the creature. With a snarl of utter hatred, Eldon lifted two meaty fists, and brought them down with his considerable strength.

The sound of thunder bounced through the cloudless atmosphere as ants were pulverized, and even the dry ground cracked under the impact of his fists.

Not all of the ants were killed, and they reformed into a smaller version of the Myrmidon, belching even more flame at Eldon. The remains of his clothes smoldered and dropped away as he swung and pounded, trying to destroy this little nuisance that caused him unending pain. It didn’t even look good enough to eat, but was more than worth killing.

The thing moved with speed though, and somehow managed to remain outside his grasp. Try as he might, he couldn’t catch the beast and put a violent end to it.

Something screamed overhead, drawing Eldon’s gaze upwards. A large bird, even bigger than Eldon, circled overhead. It gave another raucous cry, but it was too high for him to reach. It looked tasty though, if it came down lower.

Eldon returned his gaze to where the Myrmidon was, but it was no longer there. With an annoyed grunt, he searched, and saw it running away.

With a third cry, the bird overhead dove, and in an amazing display of acrobatics, managed to snap up half the Myrmidon in its beak. The other half crumbled into ants and spread in all directions.

“No fair,” Eldon pouted as the massive avian flapped hard and rose back into the sky, once again out of reach. Not only did he not get to destroy the annoying bug, but he couldn’t catch and eat the yummy bird either. He sat hard on his rump and planted his fist into the ground.

“E-Eldon?” something called to him.

He looked over and saw a creature with multiple arms looking at him. At first he thought it was a giant spider, but somehow knew there weren’t enough legs, though he couldn’t count that high. He thought he should know this creature, but couldn’t remember if it was tasty or not. At its side was a large light red colored wolf, baring its fangs, but not quite growling.

“Thing hurt me,” he told the creatures as he held his head. “Pain, owie. Ant thing bad. I wanted to smash it. Nummy birdy took it. I’m hungry.”

Two other two legged creatures, these with the proper amount of arms and legs, joined the first two. He could all but smell the fear coming off the one with dark red hair, though she didn’t act afraid. The other one smelled like… something he couldn’t identify. She looked tasty, but didn’t smell it. It didn’t even smell alive.

“I know, love, but it’s gone now,” the many armed one spoke. “Will you change back now?”

“No,” he told them. “Thing hurt me when small. Thing can’t hurt big me.”

“It’s gone now,” that one said again. “It can’t hurt you anymore.”

He thought about it for a long while before asking, “Promise?”

“With all my love.”

Love… That meant something to him.

“Okay,” he said after another moment’s hesitation. He could feel his IQ rising as his body shrunk. “I’m making progress on that form,” he said when his normal form was complete.

“Holy shit!” Megan exclaimed. “Cover that thing up! How do you walk around with that bat between your legs?”

Eldon looked down and realized that all of his clothes were gone. He knew it was pointless to try and cover up, and just turned his back slightly to her.

The bird gave one final cry, and winged its way north. “Thank you,” Eldon stated, no longer upset that the roc took away his kill. At least it was one more thing he knew that could kill the Myrmidons. Or at least slow them down.

“Sorry I’m late,” Lysa’s voice sounded a moment after the air around them shifted. It wasn’t exactly windy, but neither was the air stagnant. “I saw you were under attack, so I hope you don’t mind that I called the Roc in.”

“Thank you, Aunt Lysa,” Eldon told her, meaning it.

“But our princess is in another castle,” Shlee muttered right afterwards.

Eldon looked at her for a moment, and realized she must have changed back when he did. His heart plummeted as he realized what she meant. The Myrmidons had Shelly. Which meant that she was already dead, and it was her corpse that was dragged back to their nest, regardless of the lack of blood.

“We have to hurry and rescue Shelly,” Sonia stated. She hadn’t realized the obvious part yet. “If we talk to Angela, I’m sure we can get an army to get her back.”

“Shelly is… gone,” Eldon said. Even his voice sounded dead as he spoke.

“No she’s not,” Lysa said. “I’m watching her right now.”

Eldon jumped to his feet before he even knew he was moving. “What? Where?”

“Where dad killed the Outsider,” Lysa said in solemn tones. “In the home of the creature that hates him most… At least, the one that is still living.”

She could only mean one person. “But no one knows where King Aeacus is hiding…” He trailed off as he realized that apparently Lysa knew. “But that spot was dad’s greatest triumph. Why would Aeacus hide out there?”

“Who would think to look for him there,” Lysa replied. “I’m sure Gaia knew, but she refused to ever tell us, preferring to remain neutral.”

“I’m assuming that there is a lot of information I’m missing,” Eldon heard Megan mutter to Shlee.

“You’ve heard the stories about Lyden Snow and how he defeated the Outsider, right?”

“Yeah, of course,” Megan said. “That’s taught in middle school history. But, I mean… Some of it can’t be true, right? Some of it has to be exaggerated? Lyden Snow isn’t dead, so he couldn’t have sacrificed himself. And how does a person make a cave made of the elements rise up out of the ground to trap a being of light that can control minds? I just figured they were stories, like in the Bible. Great lessons to learn from, but they couldn’t actually be true.”

“I can’t speak for the Bible, but the stories about Lyden are true,” Mandy piped in. “I heard it from my mother, who was pregnant with me when it all happened. Eldon’s mom was pregnant at the time also, and was there. Lyden was dead for six months before he was resurrected. I was never told how he was brought back. My mom always had this haunted look on her face when she spoke of it, but she couldn’t lie to me about it. Lyden took the Outsider into himself, then ordered Captain Jewkes to kill him, while my father used magic to hold him in place. The six months was used to ensure the Outsider wouldn’t survive when they brought him back.”

“Wow,” Megan muttered. “I… Your parents were there also? I didn’t realize the company that Eldon kept.”

“Would you all be quiet?” Eldon snapped. “I’m trying to come up with a way to get in to save my sister. Give history lessons later.”

“You’re being rude again,” Shlee chided him.

“I’ll apologize again later,” Eldon said. Didn’t they understand what it meant that Aeacus had his sister? To say the king of the Myrmidons hated his father would be like saying the Pillars of this world had a little power. A gross misunderstanding. If Aeacus had Shelly, she wouldn’t live long, and what life he allowed her would be tortuous. “Come up with whatever punishment you like later, but right now, saving my sister is more important.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Shlee grinned and licked her lips.

“How can we get in?” Eldon turned back to Lysa.

“We don’t,” the Pillar or Air stated in a tone that brooked no argument. “You and Shlee need to head to talk to Shlee’s fiancée. I recommend taking Megan with you. Mandy, Sonia, and I will free Shelly, and get her to you in time to talk to the Pillar of Darkness.”

“But—” Eldon tried to argue, but a piercing cry from overhead interrupted him. Looking up, he saw his roc circling overhead once again.

“Don’t argue with me about Megan,” Lysa stated, misinterpreting Eldon’s argument. “You didn’t get to see the way she tried to fight that Myrmidon as it melted your face. She might be only human, but she could teach you a thing or twenty about how to fight.”

“She’s my sister, damn it!” Eldon cried as he was buffeted by the wind of his roc’s landing. “I need to save her.”

“She’s my sister also,” Lysa told him. “I promise I won’t let anything happen to her. Now go, before I decide that the respect I have for your courage is all a show, and you’re too afraid to meet Shlee’s fiancée.”

“That’s low,” Eldon muttered, but he let Shlee guide him over to the giant bird.

“Wow, that bird would make a damn fine barbecue,” Megan whispered as she followed after.

“Don’t let her hear you say that,” Shlee spoke from Eldon’s side. “She’s just as likely to eat you.”

“She can try,” Megan puffed out her chest and grinned. “Never met a horse I didn’t like, or could tame. I suppose this will be close enough.”

“Except that if you fall off, the landing will hurt a hell of a lot more,” Shlee teased her. Their attitude grated on Eldon’s nerves, but he kept his mouth shut. The last thing he wanted right then was another discussion on his behavior.

Mandy caught up to them and pulled Eldon and Shlee into a tight embrace with all of her arms. “Don’t worry, my loves,” she said, emotion thick in her voice. “I’ll bring her back to you. I promise.”

He knew she meant it, but still he worried. The Myrmidons were tough enemies, and she was about to walk into their den. Even with Lysa, the Pillar of Air, for backup, he didn’t know if they stood a chance.

“You’d better,” he found the words to say. “And make sure you come back, also. I love you, Mandy, and don’t want to lose you.”

They held each other for a few more seconds, before Mandy released them, and turned in the direction that Shelly was being held.

“She said, loves,” Shlee muttered under her breath, but Eldon still heard it.

“Wow,” Megan’s voice held a note of surprised incredulity in it. “Y’all are really close after all. I thought there’d be a little back stabbing, or jealousy, but it’s obvious y’all are really close. I wish—”

Whatever she wished was drowned out in another cry from the roc as she screamed her impatience.

Eldon turned to look one last time at Mandy before he climbed onto the massive bird, but she was nowhere in sight. The ground was mostly flat with nowhere to hide, but the other three women were nowhere in sight.