Taka's heart pounded so hard that it felt like the ears Zirko had recently given him were no longer there. Looking down the hallway, Taka saw the guards he had heard screaming after he used his BURROW skill, or what was left of them. Their bodies lay still on the ground, blood pooling under them. The echo of new footsteps drew nearer, and the weed minion continued to glow a luminous, blinding white.

  Taka used telekinesis to lift the disc he and the weed minion stood upon in the air up as close to the ceiling as he could manage. With the golem gone, there was no immediate way to disguise his wormy form. Taka tried to reach out to Zirko with TELEPATHY, but to no avail. The commotion had broken his concentration and along with it their link, and Zirko was not near enough to sense.

  Taka scanned the hallway from his high vantage point. The guards would be there in seconds, and he had to hide, fast. Burrowing into the ground was an option, but the 5-minute cooldown window hadn't passed... Think Taka, think. What can you do now? It was just a hallway, barren besides the unconscious body of Fusha and the two guards. The footsteps grew louder; time was running out. It was too big a risk to remain in the hall without knowing whose footsteps were coming. Taka quickly flew the disc through the door into the lab, then up right above the door.

  The footsteps stopped.

  "What the... what is this?"

  "Who's the civilian--"

  "--commander! Two men down."

  "Check their vitals. Kecks, go to the Ambassador's office, tell her directly. Don't let that freaky satyr of hers get in your way."

  "Ay, commander."

  The sound of a man running rang through the hall, presumably the one called Kecks.

  "Well?"

  "They're gone, sir."

  "Dammit. The civilian is still breathing, but in bad shape. We need to take her to the med bay before--"

  A swishing sound filled the air, cutting the commander off.

  "Oh fu--"

  The zing of a sword slicing through the air sang once, then again, followed by the sound of bodies crumpling to the floor.

  Silence seemed to slow the world around Taka. Despite the fear making his body tremble, he lowered the disc ever so slightly, just enough to steal a glance through the top of the door.

  Two sets of wings greeted him: one a soft pink, the other a milky white, just like Fusha's, minus the fur. They were turned away from the lab toward Fusha, examining her unconscious body.

  "Someone did a number on her," the fae with pink wings said, their voice feminine and soft.

  "Yes," the other said.

  "Might have your blood, but bastards are never as strong. Especially when they're Groundies."

  The other fae let out a grunt of disapproval as he hoisted Fusha over his shoulder, "No more wasting time."

  "Shoulda just let me do the job. Now we're gonna have to grab the doc ourselves, which is exactly what we were trying to avoid, remember? Gonna be a headache."

  The fae with pink wings did something, and Taka felt a strong release of mana that brought him back to the attack on Kronkswell; it was just like the shadow magic the bird and Daldrus had used. Do something, do anything!

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  But Taka couldn't move. He had sat there as the two fae killed more guards because as soon as he sensed their presence, he knew he didn't stand a chance. They didn't have the same ridiculous amount of mana that Vanz'goran did, but they were as strong as Daldrus, and the aura of violence that surrounded them was suffocating. It felt like something out of a horror movie, and Taka was paralyzed.

  DO SOMETHING!

  The weed minion stopped glowing and saluted Taka before jumping off the disc and diving right toward the fae. Before Taka had the chance to react, they were gone, leaving Taka alone.

  "Is that everything?" Ambassador Reika said as she paced the length of her office.

  "Yes, Madam Ambassador," Taka said, still in a daze.

  After the fae left, the Ambassador had come to the scene of the... incident. As undignified as it felt, Taka stowed away in the Ambassador's pocket to flee the scene. The room quickly became littered with guards and forensics teams, led by Len, as they looked for any sign of the attackers. Reika had taken Taka directly back to her office, and he filled her in on everything that had happened. Everything, except for how he transferred most of Fusha's life force to a plant minion that followed the fae through their shadow portal. Sharing that would force Taka to reveal more of his skills as well as his ability to use raw magic, which was one of the few things he still had control over.

  Zirko had been smart enough to go directly to Jambo, and ensured that Syla and Maeve were both safe as well. Taka's companions, along with Dr. Quinoth and the kid, Theo, were in their rooms, guarded by men the Ambassador had handpicked. Taka wanted to go see his friends, but Reika wouldn't let him until she was through with him.

  "Is there anything else you can tell me about this woman pretending to be Fusha?" Ambassador Reika asked. "Anything besides the wings."

  According to Reika, Fusha really was Theo's aunt, but the woman Taka had met was not the real Fusha. She supposedly looked just like her, and Dr. Quinoth couldn't even tell the difference, having met the woman before. Dr. Quinoth possessed the ability to spot changelings, and this woman was not one, according to him, so how she was able to disguise herself so well or take over the real Fusha's body remained a mystery.

  "No, I'm sorry I can't be of more help," Taka said.

  The Ambassador let out a heavy sigh, "Thank you, Sir Filo. We do not know what else may still arise, so please be prepared."

  "And the mole?" Taka asked, wary of overstepping, but not so wary as to ignore the obvious.

  The Ambassador grimaced, "Soon, we hope. Stay vigilant."

  As if on cue, Jambo opened the door and held out a hand for Taka. Taka looked at the Ambassador one last time for any further clues about what she might've been thinking, but the woman had quite the poker face. Taka inched his way onto Jambo's hand to be returned to his party's rooms.

  Zirko, Maeve, and Dr. Quinoth sat in the main room of their quarters while Syla and Theo talked in the bedroom, though it seemed like Syla was doing all of the talking.

  "But you're alright?" Maeve asked after hearing Taka's story.

  "Yes, I am," Taka said. "But I am worried about our future here. Things seem to be heating up."

  "I'm sorry to drag you into my mess," Dr. Quinoth said. "The device was only meant to help children with--"

  "--too late now," Zirko interjected. "But what were they hoping to achieve by having their spy bring the child here, just to speak with you and for you to do repairs?"

  Dr. Quinoth stayed silent. There was much more to the story, but it seemed he didn't trust Taka and his companions enough to say it aloud, or perhaps not in these rooms.

  "What about Theo?" Taka said, shifting the conversation without much regard for tact. Zirko would be annoyed for not pushing the doctor for more answers now, but Taka understood how the doctor felt. The fear.

  "Theo's always been a quiet child," Dr. Quinoth said. "But something certainly seemed different this time. He has yet to say a word to me today."

  "Not since we met him," Zirko added. "Does that mean..."

  The silence spoke volumes. Of course the fae did something to Theo, but exactly what remained to be uncovered. Theo didn't have the same strange mind control seed that had been implanted in Zirko, nor did Fusha. Even thought Taka knew that the Fusha he met wasn't the 'real' Fusha, he couldn't help but think of her as Fusha... and Theo didn't show any signs of discomfort around her, and based on how everything had played out thus far, it seemed like the wolf boy was just another pawn. Taka recoiled at the thought of what the fae could've done to a child, but he knew that using children as pawns and sacrifices was part of the creationist church's MO. But there was so much that didn't make sense regarding the kid and the doctor and what roles they played in the bigger picture. For now, Taka thought, get Dr. Quinoth to trust you, and help Theo.

  "So what do we do now?" Maeve asked the room.

  Taka waited for Zirko to answer with a clever sentence to inspire them to keep moving forward, but nothing came. The lizard man looked lost in thought. Taka had no idea what they could actually do, so he stayed silent, too.

  The four of them sat in an uncomfortable silence, not knowing what came next.