This long-awaited sixth chapter in the sequel to No Obligation holds a few unexpected meetings, surprising discoveries, and a welcome rescue from the horrors of higher mathematics.

 

by Randalynn

###

“The quality of mercy is not strained;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.”
— William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Act IV, Scene 1

“All the great things are simple, and
many can be expressed in a single word:
freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.”
— Winston Churchill

“A little bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just.”
— Pope Francis

 

I was home in time to make it down to breakfast without anyone noticing my absence, except for Heather of course. She covered for me at the breakfast table, as sisters often do, and as we waited for the bus to school that morning, I filled her in on everything that had happened the previous night.

“Three tails?” Heather shook her head, keeping an eye on my brother the entire time. Not just because she loved him, but because this wasn’t a conversation either of us wanted to share. “I was just getting used to you having one once in a while. What does that feel like?”

“Strangely enough, it feels completely natural,” I replied, “although I’m not sure how they work, exactly. When I was there, I didn’t even think to look at how they were … connected? Attached? Part of me feels a little embarrassed about checking out that part of my anatomy, even though the kitsune inside me can’t figure out why the human is embarrassed at what is, after all, just a part of her.”

“And the chaos thing in Evans Falls?”

“I think Chao’s new champion needed to try out his or her power, and the town was a soft target.”

The bus pulled up, and we began moving towards the still-opening door.

“But why there?” Heather lowered her voice as we got closer to other students. “There are a lot of small towns out there, Becca. Why choose that one to play with?”

“I don’t know, but it’s a fair question.” She left me to sit with Jeremy, and I sat down in an empty seat, wondering what had happened to Amy. I started thinking about why that name of that town sounded so familiar. Where had I heard it before?

Just before the bus doors closed, Amy pounded up the stairs and pulled up short just before slamming into the bus driver. I caught her eye and smiled, and she made her way down the center aisle as the bus pulled away from the curb.

“Hey, Ames!” She threw herself into the seat next to me and pushed some hair out of her face.

“Hey, Becca! Hi, Heather!”

“Why so late? If there was a Miss Punctuality contest, you’d be wearing a tiara every day.”

“Funny! No, I just slept through the alarm. Weird dreams all night long. Not nightmares, exactly, just … odd.” She shook her head. “I don’t know why.”

“What kind of dreams? What was so odd about them?”

“I couldn’t tell you,” she replied. “In fact, I barely remember them. There were a few glimpses of flying foxes, and a small town at night, lit by giant torches. A gingerbread man and a giant cow. Other than that, it all sort of blurs together.”

Behind her back, Heather shot me a questioning look. I felt a shiver run down my spine.

“How could she do that?” she asked mentally.

“Some kind of magical leakage,” I replied. “Or maybe it’s a hidden talent that’s just begun to manifest.”

Heather thought for a moment. “Maybe it’s because she hangs with you? Could powerful magic be sorta like radiation?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ll ask Mrs. Graymalkin.” I snuck a look at Amy as she looked out the windows on the other side of the bus.

“If she has skills, she could be part of the team.” I could hear the excitement in Heather’s mental voice.

“We’ll keep our eyes open, but I’d like to keep her out of the fight if we can.”

“Why?”

“The problem with building an army of friends is that eventually you’ll have to take them with you into battle.” I sighed. “And when armies go to war, soldiers die.”

“Is that why you keep what you do away from the rest of the family?”

I sighed. “Part of it. Would you put Jeremy in a magical conflict if you could avoid it?”

The bus pulled into the school, and everyone rose from their seat and headed for the door. I started to try and filter into the line when my purse slipped off of my shoulder and fell onto the bus floor. A few things spilled out, and I went to pick them up. By the time my bag was back where it belonged, almost everyone was off the bus, and I was the last person in line to leave.

I took the steps carefully, but when it came time for me to step onto the pavement …

… I found myself falling forward, tumbling down through a vast empty space, plummeting from an incredibly ridiculous height towards a floor that I knew would feel just as hard as it looked when I connected.

If I connected. Which, of course, I wouldn’t. After all, what kind of magical super girl would I be to just go splat after an entrance like that?

With a touch of concentration, I turned the tumbling into a controlled fall — my legs together, my arms outstretched and my hair streaming up behind me. My magic lifted me and slowed my descent, and eventually my toes brushed the rock floor and my feet settled, taking the weight of my body as they were designed to do. I wound up in a crouch with my hands up and fingers spread, ready to throw whatever I had at whoever brought me here.

Then I saw the smile.

Like the Cheshire Cat from Alice In Wonderland, the teeth appeared out of the darkness, and I suddenly knew where I was and who had taken me.

araNyamArjAra.

She was an ancient Cat Goddess, and my first real test as the Advocate. She had taken a group of teenagers to remake them as her children, and I had to get them back. This involved a personal duel that earned her respect and convinced her that humans were more than they appeared to be. In the end, we parted amicably — not exactly friends, but no longer enemies. I rose slowly to a standing position, as she moved forward into the shaft of light that came from above.

“Greetings, Advocate,” she purred at me. She sat on her haunches, her head tilted to one side, and looked at me through cat eyes in an overly large human face.

“I greet you, araNyamArjAra,” I replied. “This is an … unexpected pleasure, to be sure. Although my entry into your domain was a significant part of the surprise.”

“I have learned of something your human world calls nostalgia. Fond memories.” She smiled at me again. “I wished to evoke your memories of when we first met.”

‘When she snatched me from my home without warning,’ I thought, keeping myself well shielded. ‘I remember very nearly getting killed before I pretended to be a kitsune and accidentally bonded with Akomachi. Yes, fond memories.’

“Thank you for the thought,” I said diplomatically, giving her a smile in return. “What brings us together today, goddess?”

“I need your help.”

‘If I knew how, I’d raise an eyebrow. Not a very diplomatic response, but still something to look into. Maybe there’s a spell …’

Aloud I said “Of course I will help if I can, but I’m not sure what I can do. How can I help you, exactly?”

“As a teacher,” she replied, “as you have done in the past. I need to understand the concept of mercy.”

“I am not exactly an expert, goddess.”

She laughed, then, and shook her head. “Still so modest, and polite. Rare qualities for one with such power.”

“I try to keep who I am apart from what I can do,” I replied. “My magic is a tool, a means to an end, that’s all. Understanding that keeps me in control of the power, as opposed to the power controlling me.”

araNyamArjAra smiled. “That kind of wisdom is the reason I brought you to me today. After you won our duel, you could have taken my life or trapped me as a human girl. You did neither. Instead, you showed me that I still had all of my power and allowed me to use it. Then you restored my true form, even though you were not obligated to do so. I believe you know more about mercy than you think, Advocate.”

“Perhaps.” I nodded slightly, acknowledging her train of thought.

“I have been thinking of those pain demons, the ones who betrayed me.” She looked at me, her face emotionless again. “When I punished them, I acted out of anger and created an eternal hell for each of them. After … considering how you treated me, and my own regret at how I had treated your champion, Leander, I began to wonder if I should have been more … merciful?”

“Are you asking me, araNyamArjAra, or yourself?”

“Both. As a human who has shown me mercy, you are the closest thing I have to an expert on the subject. I took human children under your protection and turned them against the people they loved, intending to make them mine. Was mercy an appropriate response to the crimes I committed against your people?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“There was no reason to punish you for a mistake. You thought you were giving those girls a gift. You believed humans were weak — easily defeated, manipulated or controlled. I showed you that we were better than you thought. As a result, you agreed to show us the respect powerful beings owe to each other as a courtesy. I chose to do the same.”

It was my turn to smile. “And of course, it is always better to make a friend than it is an enemy.”

The expression on her face never changed, but I sensed her thinking about what I had said. “And what of the demons who feed on pain? In your judgment, was what I did to them ... wrong?”

I shrugged. “It was a different situation. They tried to destroy you after agreeing to protect you. They all broke their word, so they deserved to be punished.”

She kept looking at me, and I sighed.

“But yes, I think it was wrong. When it happened, I still had a grudge against the pain eaters, so I didn’t think much about it. But even before you punished them, I was starting to believe that anything that thinks and feels has the capacity to learn from its mistakes, goddess, even magical creatures like the pain eaters. You took that possibility away from them, just as you did with Leander. By putting each of them in a position from which they can never escape, you made the ability to learn and grow impossible. They can never be better than they were before, or are now.”

The Cat Goddess looked away, and I could feel her discomfort even as she tried to hide it. “What do you think I should have done? What do you think I should do?”

I pretended to think for a moment, although I already had an answer I thought she might like.

“Well, there is something you might try …”

###

I took that last step to the ground beside the bus and continued to move forward as if everything was as it should have been.

Heather grabbed my arm.

“What?”

She leaned over and whispered in my ear. “What happened to you?”

I could hear the tension in her voice. “The Cat Goddess wanted a word.”

“I could feel reality blur around you for an instant,” she said, “and even though it was so short that no one else noticed, I was still worried.”

“I love you too, Heather,” I replied, giving her a hug while we walked. “But stuff like this is going to happen from time to time. It’s probably part of the job description, if one was written down somewhere.”

“Maybe.” She leaned into my hug and sighed. “But you’re the first person who ever gave a damn about me. Just thinking you might be taken away without a warning and never come back … I don’t know if I can not worry about you when you disappear like that.”

I stopped and turned her to face me.

“Listen,” I said softly. “You know I’ll do my best to always come back, no matter what. That’s all I can offer, and I think it’s pretty good as guarantees go. So far, I haven’t run into anything I can’t handle.”

She nodded, and I continued. “But if, one day, my best isn’t good enough, I’m going to need you and Leander to defend the people we love, and maybe even the rest of the world. You need to have faith in me, and in yourself, because a lot of people are counting on us both. Okay?”

Heather thought for a second, and I could feel the tension in her shoulders ease.

“I’ll try,” she replied. “And like you always say, I’ll do my best ‘cause it’s the best I can do. But I don’t know if you get that most people aren’t like you. We don’t have your … I don’t know what it is. The thing that makes you keep going.”

We started walking again towards the school, still hugging.

“It’s just optimism, really. I refuse to admit that an intelligent person can’t find a way to win, if he or she thinks hard enough. Watched too much MacGyver as a kid, I guess.”

“MacGyver? Oh, wait, that guy with the mullet and the nice smile from the eighties?”

“Yeah, the one with the Swiss Army knife. They ran it a lot on cable for a while. One of the streaming services has it now, I think.”

‘Of course, when I first watched it, it was in first-run syndication,’ I thought, ‘but Heather never has to know that.’

“Whenever he got into a tight spot, he used his head to get out, along with whatever was around.” We walked into the school and down the hall towards our homerooms. “I think it’s part of what makes us human, and why we survived when other species didn’t.”

When we reached my locker, I started spinning the dial. “Cheetahs are faster, gorillas are stronger. Dolphins can swim … well, like a fish. Talented mammals.” I grinned, popped the door open, and took out a few books.

“I think humans are just like Swiss Army knives. We’re flexible, with the tools to handle situations with more than instinct and luck. Plus, we care enough about other humans to put ourselves in danger for them. I’d like to see a cheetah do that for another cheetah.”

“Not everybody does that,” Heather countered.

“True.” I shrugged and slammed the door shut. “Humans aren’t perfect. I never thought they were.”

“But after everything you’ve seen, how can put yourself out there the way you do? How can you still believe people are worth saving?”

“I have to. I am one, remember? If all humans suck, then so do I, and I’m not willing to admit that yet. So I’ve got to give everybody the benefit of the doubt.” We started walking again.

“Besides, look at you. Underneath all the anger and fear you used to carry around when you were Hunter, you were really a good person. You just needed a little saving, and a little love, and now here you are, helping me save others instead of hurting them to ease the pain.”

Heather stopped short, and her jaw dropped, just for an instant. I had to giggle, and when she heard that, her mouth snapped shut and formed a perfect pout.

“Sometimes, I hate you.”

“No you don’t,” I threw back over my shoulder as I walked through my homeroom door. “Not ever. And I love you too.”

###

“So, Chaos has chosen a champion. Not unexpected, but surprisingly efficient for a being dedicated to confusion and anarchy.”

Mrs. Graymalkin talked as Heather and I stretched that afternoon in her studio. I could almost hear her thinking through the ramifications of that statement.

“I do wonder how He chose this individual.”

“For … strong … magical ability?” For some reason, stretching took more effort than usual, but my mind was more on conversation than exercise. “That would be the logical way, but we both know Chaos shouldn’t be using logic at all.”

“That is true, Becca,” my teacher responded. “Under normal circumstances, a strong mage would be a formidable foe. But for Chaos, choosing a strong magic user would be a hindrance rather than a help.”

“Because Chaos magic is different,” I said. “It’s based on discord randomly woven into complex spells instead of a well-established structure.”

She nodded, a touch surprised. I shrugged. “I learned that in Evans Falls. It made each spell stronger and harder to undo at first, but even chaotically woven spells fall into patterns based on the world in which they are cast. By the time we were finished fixing what had been done, I became much faster finding the essential flaw in each spell.”

“Still, I can’t see Chaos choosing someone with random, chaotic thoughts to do His bidding.” Mrs. Graymalkin motioned for both of us to rise. “He could never be sure an insane Champion would work towards his goals.”

“Maybe He is counting on it, ma’am” Heather said, taking her position next to me. “I remember hearing about a chess master who lost to a brand new player because the newbie didn’t really know what he was doing. He knew how all the pieces moved, but not how to use them to play to win. The master didn’t know his opponent was new and kept trying to find a plan that wasn’t there. Maybe Chaos thinks Becca will be less able to fight someone if everything they do comes outta nowhere.”

“Out of, dear,” the teacher admonished as she walked around us, checking our posture. “Not ‘outta.’ The colloquial contraction may be more expedient, but enunciating properly helps others see how smart a young woman you are. And that observation of yours was very intelligent indeed.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” Heather blushed.

“Still, I don’t believe Chaos would choose a Champion that had nothing to offer but the same unpredictability He already possesses.” Mrs. Graymalkin pursed her lips, then shook her head. “I am sorry, child, but I can’t see it.”

“I agree,” I said, walking it through in my mind. “I think He chose the opposite of an insane newcomer. He chose His Champion to give Him something He doesn’t have — knowledge of how we play the game to win. To Him, strategy is alien, an undiscovered country. Also, He is nothing if not contrary. He chose a grand master because it’s the exact opposite of what He should do as Chaos.”

“He chose an organized thinker to be true to His nature? To be … chaotic by choosing order?” Mrs. Graymalkin smiled. “Be careful, Becca. You’re starting to think like Him.”

I shrugged. “Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.”

“Sun Tzu.” The older woman thought for a moment. “It is true, as far as it goes, but keep in mind the strategist also put knowing yourself before knowing your enemy. Often, people fall to overcome a challenge because they either overestimate their skills or doubt their abilities and motives.”

“Or they miss something they could have done that was staring them in the face the whole time,” I replied. thinking of the Cat Goddess and our conversation that morning.

“Also true, Becca. However, let us turn our minds to lighter pursuits. Today we will be exploring jazz dance …”

###

The little girl huddled under her covers after her parents had tucked her in. That’s how it had been ever since she arrived in Nairobi months ago. It had been months now, but even now she couldn’t sleep without a night light. Every time she tried, all of the many horrors her new brain could imagine would come slithering out of every shadow. She would often cover her face with a pillow and scream into it to keep anyone from hearing. The new girl did not want to maker her human parents angry, because she was afraid they would grow tired of being supportive and toss her into the street or the foster system.

‘Just another thing to be afraid of, to add to everything else in this miserable life,’ she thought, trembling at the idea of being alone in the darkened streets, prey for humans and demons alike. She shivered as visions of the many dangerous creatures she had met over the centuries rose up to taunt her.

‘Breaking an oath to a goddess ... What was I thinking?’ She had lost track of how many times she had regretted what she had done. ‘If I had known what was waiting ... how powerful she still was after she was changed, I would never have thrown in with my brothers, and would never have found myself here, like this.’

A lion roared in the Nairobi National Park, many miles away from her home, and the girl froze, imagining her fragile human body being ripped apart by the giant cat. When nothing pounced on her from the dark corner where her night light couldn’t reach, she slowly relaxed.

‘I don’t think I can bear too many more nights like this. Not that there’s anything I can do to stop it. She made it impossible for any of us to die.’

“That is no longer true.” A voice came out of the darkness. “You are now fully human, and can age and die, as they do.”

It was the Cat Goddess. The girl recognized her voice, and waited for the next spike of fear to overwhelm her. But it didn’t come, even though she knew she should be frightened.

“And you will no longer spend your days and nights afraid, child. I have taken that fear from you, and will never restore it.”

The African girl sat up slowly, to find a smaller version of araNyamArjAra sitting at the foot of her bed.

“Th ... Thank you,” she whispered, her eyes wide as she gazed at the goddess.

araNyamArjAra nodded once, her tail waving gently in the air behind her.

“I have a … proposition for you,” she said. “It will be difficult, but if you succeed, the rewards would be beyond the limitations of your dreams.”

In spite of herself, the ex-demon was intrigued. To deal with this goddess again would be tempting fate, but at the same time, She had ended at least part of her punishment, and that meant her anger had lessened over time.

“What would you have me do, Goddess?” She spoke softly, not wanting to wake her parents. “You know the limitations of this human form. What can I do for you, like this?”

“Learn what it means to be truly human,” araNyamArjAra replied. “Become the girl you are now, and grow to be the woman you could be. Embrace the best of humanity and learn from it.”

“Learn? Learn what?” The girl tilted her head, confused.

“Love. Kindness. Friendship. Compassion.” The cat goddess captured the girl’s gaze with her own eyes and held her. “Duty. Honor. Commitment. All the things that make humans worthy of being seen as more than prey. That is all I want. For you to become the best human you can be.”

“Why?”

“Because it is your first step on the path to becoming more than what you were. To becoming worthy of what I offer.” araNyamArjAra padded around to the side of the bed, and sat again. “Before, you preyed on humans, living off of the pain of their existence. Now, as a human, you have the chance to experience more than the selfishness and hunger that was all you had as a demon, and explore the pleasures and obligations these other qualities bring.”

“This sounds like both a goal and a reward for me,” the girl said slowly, her mind spinning. “Forgive me, but how does this benefit you?”

araNyamArjAra blinked, and paused for a moment.

“I have no children,” she replied, the barest hint of sorrow in her voice. “I am alone, and as things stand, my people will not continue beyond me. I wish to change that. If you truly become the kind of human I wish you to be, you will have learned enough to be worthy of becoming my child. When the time is right, I will transform you and raise you as my own, and you will one day become a goddess like myself. You will have both power and the wisdom to wield it properly, and I will have a child to love and care for. We will both benefit ... if you agree.”

“And … the others?”

The cat goddess smiled and shook her head. “I have lived a very long time — long enough to know not to place all my faith and trust on a single chance when the future of my kind is at stake. No, little one, all of those I punished will be given the chance you are being given. I do not expect them all to embrace this goal. I only expect them to try. I do, however, hope that you will succeed.”

The little girl shook her head. “Goddess, I am nothing special. Why place your hopes on me?”

“Because of your name, child. The name the universe chose for you when it placed you here.” araNyamArjAra nodded as she began to fade. “Good luck ... Mercy.”

###

Byers sat in a Starbucks off the Vegas Strip, sipping on a beverage she wouldn’t have touched only a few weeks before. It was a drink so sweet and foamy she could barely recognize it as coffee, but after trying it black the way she used to drink it, she settled on this corrupted version. She had to. Her new tastebuds seemed to enjoy it, even if the rest of her didn’t.

‘Damn this body,’ she thought, delicately sipping through a tiny straw. ‘It’s almost more trouble than it’s worth, even if it is infinitely better than the bitch those women turned me into. I need to figure out a way to regain my manhood. If only the Chaos minion wasn’t so hard to manipulate.’

“Hey, that’s quite a frown,” a voice came from above her. “Why are you so mad at such an innocent little latte?”

She raised her eyes upward to find a tall, well-built stranger looking down at her. He seemed to be in his mid-twenties, with tousled back hair and a muscular body that made parts of her body react in a way that made her squirm in her seat. Trying to master her unwanted lust, she was just about to shut him down and send him away when part of her paused, sensing an opportunity.

This had possibilities. He had possibilities.

“The drink is only part of it,” Byers replied slowly, shaking her head as looked up into the stranger’s grey eyes. “I’m upset about a larger problem, and I’m not sure how to solve it. Or even if it can be solved. You wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me. You might be surprised. I’ve got a few minutes, and I hate to see a damsel in distress. Besides, troubles shared are troubles halved, as my mom used to say. May I?” He touched the seat across from her, and she nodded, her mind racing. “I’m Paul.”

“Rey … Rachel.” She threw him a smile. It was close enough to her old name, and it would do for as long as she needed it.

“So what’s wrong, Rachel?”

“It’s … it’s my body, Paul. I hate it!” She spoke with such disgust, but it was easy to do. It was true. She did hate it.

“Hate it? Why? You’re beautiful!”

“No I’m not. My hips are huge, and my chest is so big, I feel like a cow sometimes. And the rest of me … my legs are so long and my arms so skinny, I’m like a stick figure. I feel so weak!” She looked down, and her lower lip quivered, as if she was about to cry.

‘About time some of these absurd reflexes started working for me,’ she thought.

“Hey, don’t talk like that!” He reached out and touched her hand. “You’re perfect, just as you are.”

“I knew you couldn’t understand,” she said, putting a touch of sadness in her voice. “You’re a man. You just don’t know.”

He looked confused, and Byers remembered something she’d overheard one of the chorus girls ranting about in the dressing room a few weeks ago. It was perfect – just what she needed.

“Nobody spends millions of dollars telling you what you’re supposed to look like,” she went on, looking down into her cup. “All the fashion magazines … the TV commercials …” She waved her arms vaguely. “The whole world has been yelling at me for years, belittling me, making me feel like there’s just too much of me to be … perfect. And they’re right. Everybody says so.”

Paul’s hand wrapped itself around hers and squeezed. “Well, don’t listen to them, Rachel. You’re a beautiful woman. Embrace it. Own it. And don’t let anyone tell you anything different.”

Byers looked up, her eyes glistening with tears. “You think so?”

Paul nodded. “I know so.”

She stood up suddenly, pulling him to his feet. Moving to the side of the table, she stepped forward and pressed her body into his, ignoring the heat that rose when she felt his warmth against her skin. His arms rose reflexively and surrounded her.

“Do you really think I’m beautiful?” Byers whispered into Paul’s ear, laying her head on his shoulder. She felt him nod, even as his erection pushed against the fabric of his jeans and into her thigh, and she moved her leg just a bit to stroke it suggestively through the cloth. “Do you really like my body?”

“Oh, yes …” He half-moaned, his arms tightening slightly around her.

“Do you …” She bit her lip to keep from laughing. “Do you want to be inside me?”

He nodded again.

“Really?” Byers surrendered to a small smile, tilting her head back so she could see his face. Paul looked back, the desire pouring from his eyes. He nodded a third time.

‘The rule of threes,’ she thought happily. ‘Makes a spell that much stronger. Not that Chaos magic needs it, I suppose, but old habits die hard.’

“Well, I love your body, too,” she purred, savoring the triumph. “Let’s trade.”

She felt the Chaos demon’s joy rush through her an instant before Byers found himself looking down at his former body from a new perspective. The desire in Paul’s eyes quickly gave way to confusion as she realized something had changed, and she tottered for a moment trying to get her balance on those absurd heels.

‘Wha … what happened?” Byers took a step back as Paul reached up and touched her throat. Her arm pressed against a breast and she looked down, shocked.

“We traded, baby. You wanted that body, wanted to be inside me. Well, now you are.”

“But .. but I … I didn’t … I don’t want this. I don’t want this!” Still looking down, Paul started to tremble all over, and tears started to fall. Byers reached up and touched her chin, pushing her head back until she faced him.

“Shhhhh, girl. It’s okay. Remember what you told me?” Byers grinned widely. “You’re a beautiful woman now. Embrace it. Own it. And don’t let anyone tell you anything different.”

He looked at Paul’s watch, then looked back into her eyes. “Got to run, tits. Worlds to conquer, empires to build. You know the drill. Or maybe not, not anymore. After all, they say it’s a man thing.”

The magician turned and left the coffee shop, not looking back. The woman looked after him, tears running down her cheeks, crying silently.

###

It was just after dinner and I was doing my best to untangle the kind of math I had never had to deal with the first time I was in high school, all those years ago. I have been told that mathematics uses logical rules, like magic, but I still haven’t managed to figure out what they are — at least not well enough to get a decent grade in calculus.

“Becca.”

I looked up, recognizing Leander’s mental voice.

“I have been running the globe program since I woke up, looking for Chaos magic. There was a flare a few moments ago that looked the same as the spell working we found in Evans Falls.”

“Where was it?”

“Las Vegas.”

I had an epiphany, and all of the pieces suddenly snapped into place. There was one person I had recently punished, a powerful and experienced sorcerer. When I had delved into his memories to determine his crimes, I had brushed past his birthplace with scarcely a pause, since his magical abuses began long after he had left it for parts unknown.

Evans Falls.

Reynard Byers. That was his name. He had become the champion of Chaos, and naturally, being a ego-driven malevolent jerk, the first thing he did was go back to his old home town to show them how the local boy made good — and get in a little target practice. Now he was back in Las Vegas, with power to burn and a score to settle. With me.

I had to face him again, on his home turf.

And this time, I was pretty sure that what was going to happen in Vegas wouldn’t stay in Vegas.

© 2013-2016 as a work in progress, all rights reserved. Posted with permission of the author.

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