Chapter 21

  Snow drops, tennis balls, and a gliding chair

  Alex woke up from a deep slumber, and a dream he could barely remember.

  It was both happy and sad at the same time. He laid on the strange bed for a while with eyes barely open, trying to remember; and for some unknown reason, wishing he could go back.

  He opened his eyes wide. Judging by the ceiling, he seemed to be in an unfamiliar, but normal-looking bedroom.

  A generous amount of sunlight bathed his face from the large window to his left, and he had to squint.

  So much sun, this time of the year?

  It wasn’t that much, actually, thought Alex once he was able to focus a little. Perhaps it felt stronger than usual because all he’d seen in the last few days were gray skies and strange, dark clouds.

  Pfft, what was all that even about?

  He was glad the nightmare was over.

  Extraterrestrial monstrous demons invading Earth, yeah sure.

  An AI superhero saving humanity from an extinction-level event caused by the aforementioned demons; sure, sure.

  Oh, and then of course there was the ape.

  And then… the fire.

  It’s crazy what the mind can dream up sometimes.

  Welp, time to head to work. There was just so much work pending. And he was running out of excuses to give his boss regarding why he wasn’t filing his reports, despite the fact that he was playing all the games assigned to him for bug testing.

  Must see through it today. It’s been delayed enough already.

  Alex turned to his right to get off the bed, when—

  Oh shit.

  It’s that dude, isn’t it?

  And suddenly, it all came rushing back to Alex.

  The dream was, in fact, reality. And the nightmares were far from over.

  Kairin’s friend, the frost archer—what was his name again? Jovar! He lay on an adjacent bed, unconscious. There were a few bandages on his cheek and forehead, and a large one around his neck that went all the way down his torso. His arm seemed to be fractured; the thick white cast around it though seemed a little out of place.

  Magic cast? Perhaps.

  But what happened to him? Alex remembered now that he wasn’t with the knights when they ambushed them.

  And where were they, anyway? Some kind of a hospital? The room did somewhat look the part; what with the white curtains and the hospital beds.

  Futuristic hospital beds…

  He must find out what’s going on.

  Alex tried to put his feet to the ground. To his surprise, he had regained significant control over his limbs, but it was still a painful struggle to move them.

  However, fortunately, he could stand. Finally.

  Slow and steady, he dragged his heavy feet to the door, supporting himself against the wall across the two beds.

  He reached for the door knob with considerable struggle, but to his surprise, the door suddenly swung open, almost knocking him off balance.

  A slender man in casual gym wear, with thin, long hair falling on either side of his face like dark gray curtains, burst through.

  Alex was taken aback. He had no idea who this was!

  Wait. The gym attire was a stark contrast to the robes or the knight armor he had on before. But Alex knew the face.

  “Whoa whoa whoa,” said the medic knight, Malti, dropping a fresh set of bandages on a table by the door, waving both his arms at Alex. “You’re not supposed to be walking yet. You’re not supposed to be walking any time soon! Back to bed you go.”

  Malti reached out to grab him by the shoulder, but Alex stopped him. “Wait,” Alex told him weakly; his voice was coarser than ever, like he had the worst cold of his life. “I can do this.”

  Malti gulped. “Okay… I… I can trust you, I guess. They did tell us that the patients know their bodies, and we as healers should learn to listen, so... Just let me hold you.”

  “No!” said Alex. “Let me try…”

  Alex let go of the wall and took his first real steps forward.

  “All right,” said Malti with cautioned optimism. “Wait, where are you going?” He asked nervously, seeing Alex walk right past him and exit through the open door.

  Alex had barely turned the corner when he ran head first into something fast coming right at him.

  “Aw!” yelped the platinum blonde-haired woman slapping her hand to the spot where Alex’s head had collided with hers. She wore a cropped tank top and low-waisted gym pants. She switched from mild surprise to instant panic the moment she noticed whom she had just headbutted. “Oh gods, what are you doing out of your room?!”

  “I told him to get back to bed,” said Malti emerging out of the bedroom that now doubled as an infirmary. “But he’s stubborn.”

  “Malti, you are a mage!” Kairin reminded him.

  “I’m sorry, I thought it’d be rude,” said Malti. “Besides, look at him. This amount of progress is pleasantly surprising.”

  “You think you can make it all the way across the hall?” Kairin asked Alex with newfound hope glittering in her eyes.

  “I can try,” said Alex, sounding like a veteran of throat singing.

  Alright, Alex. Slow and steady.

  He put his right foot forward, without holding on to any wall.

  But when the time came to put his left foot ahead, it smashed at the heel of his right foot and Alex tripped forward.

  “I got you.” Kairin reacted just in time and caught him before he would slam his face on the wooden floor, supporting Alex’s entire body weight on hers.

  “Easy does it,” she said as she lifted him up and set him straight with his back against the wall. “No walking for you for a while, it seems.”

  “His anatomy is really weird,” said Malti. “I mean, of course, it’s because—”

  “Why don’t you get the gliding chair out, Malti?” Kairin cut him off.

  “Oh, right.” Malti bounced back into the room.

  “Please,” Alex begged Kairin, “No more ice beds.”

  Kairin chuckled. “Don’t worry, it’s not mine. Your android said we can use it if we need it.”

  “My android?” Alex scratched his chin, mentally. “Do you mean Clark?”

  “Yes.” Kairin nodded. “Clark. He’s got a funny name. Sounds like Clerg.”

  She eyed him as if he absolutely knew what she was talking about.

  “Clerg?”

  “You don’t know Clerg the frosty bun?”

  As Alex’s eyes narrowed in confusion, Malti returned with an advanced, mechanical wheelchair. “Here we are,” he said cheerfully.

  Alex made a strong mental note to not refer to it as gliding chair.

  “Have a seat,” Malti told him.

  Alex tried to lean into it but failed. His spine wouldn’t curve, and he felt like he’d snap it if he forced the issue.

  “Let me help,” Kairin said and dug her hands under each of his shoulders, firmly gripping his chest from behind and gently easing him into the chair. “Sorry, you said no magic.”

  “It’s fine,” said Alex. “Thank you.”

  “Come on,” said Kairin. “Let’s go say hi to the others.”

  Others?

  Was she talking about Lucy, Aiden, Clark, and Blob?

  Or was she talking about the kidnapper knights?

  Somehow he felt like his money should be on the kidnappers. And he should be on guard.

  Pfft, yeah right. As if him being on guard would make any difference at this point.

  Kairin bid thanks to Malti before pushing Alex through the hallway, who grunted dismissively and rushed back into the makeshift infirmary.

  “He’s still mad at me,” Kairin said to Alex in a low breath. “He’ll only talk nicely if it’s about something relevant to his work. Otherwise… well, it’s not like I blame him.”

  Alex grunted awkwardly. It was for him that Kairin had betrayed her friend, after all, which made him feel a little uneasy. But it’s not like he wanted to be kidnapped. There wouldn’t be any need for betrayals or escapes if they hadn’t held them prisoner in the first place.

  Alex noticed that the futuristic glidi—wheel chair had what looked like a touch panel, and an omnidirectional joystick. It also did not have wheels. The chair levitated over the floor using some strange tech Alex had no idea about.

  Huh. Perhaps it was indeed a gliding chair, then.

  It could not be magnetic levitation, because the floor was wood!

  What then?

  Mental note: Ask Clark about this too; amongst the several hundred other things he could no longer keep track of.

  “Here we are,” said Kairin the moment they were out of the hallway.

  Alex finally breathed easy. They were in fact in Clark’s mansion. And the kidnapper knights were nowhere to be seen.

  Except the ones who were already here. Kairin and Malti, they were the friendly ones. And Jovar, who was not so friendly, but he was very much unconscious.

  Alex wondered what happened to him; he looked pretty beat up. Did the robot blob finally lose it and lay him out?

  Wouldn’t surprise him, especially if he made a move against Aiden, or so much as looked at him funny.

  Alex could see past the living room and through the tall windows that it was indeed a bright day outside Casa de Androids today. Much too bright for late December.

  Maybe whatever magic darkened the skies over Sol City was somehow messing with the weather. It did make the city feel unnaturally cold. Maybe that made the immediate surroundings unnaturally warm?

  Who knows. It’s not like he had any understanding of any of this space demon magic.

  And right now, looking at the blinding sunlight pour through the massive windows, he wasn’t complaining.

  Outside, a few meters away from the mansion and on the green front yard gently sprinkled with snow, he spotted a familiar face. A young man stood to the right in what Alex could only describe as a Hulk-holding-his-breath pose.

  Aiden.

  At a fair distance behind him was one edge of the L-shaped cliff upon which Clark’s mansion rested, overlooking the east side of Sol City. The other edge—the one behind the mansion from which Alex, Clark, and Blob had jumped off of—was south-facing and overlooked the northern woods outside the city’s north exit.

  To Alex’s left, and about twenty meters across Aiden, was a tennis ball machine aimed straight at the miniature Hulk.

  What in the world was going on here?

  Kairin pushed him out through the glass windows in the living room, which opened automatically once they were near enough. Saying that they opened would be a slight mischaracterization though, thought Alex, because they vanished upon approach and reappeared once Alex and Kairin were through.

  As soon as he was rolled—nay, glided—out of the vanishing glass window-doors, he spotted another familiar face, seated on a lawn chair to his immediate right, immersed in an iPad-like device.

  “Look who’s here,” Kairin announced softly.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “No way.” Lucy put Kairin’s alien iPad aside. “Didn’t Malti say he won’t be awake for a couple days at least?”

  “Not gonna lie, his estimations are generally on point,” Kairin explained, “but something about Alex’s human body seems to be throwing him off his game.”

  Alex found it weird that Kairin felt like she had to specify his body was still human.

  Was it though?

  Do humans generally trigger spontaneous combustions and body slam giant demonic monkeys?

  “How’re you feeling, Alex?” Lucy asked.

  “I can… talk… with some struggle,” said Alex in his now signature growl. “I cannot walk.”

  “Malti!” Kairin shouted, facing the room that Alex had been resting in. “MALTI!”

  “What?!” He screamed, running out of the room, frustrated on being interrupted.

  “Can we do something about his voice?” Kairin shouted.

  “What?!”

  Kairin stepped through the vanishing glass windows that reappeared once she was inside. Her shouting was now muffled. “Can we do something about Alex’s voice?”

  “I’ve already repaired his vocal cords,” Malti shouted back. “He just has some mucus clogging his trachea. You can fuse them onto thin ice threads and pull em out.”

  “Gross!” said Lucy, cringing. “I am not watching that.”

  “Sorry,” said Malti. “I would’ve done so myself if I hadn’t been working two patients at once!”

  “Alex,” said Kairin, hopping back outside. “Open wide and hold still.”

  Alex’s eyes popped wide in terror. “Don’t bother, I can mana—aaaa!” He had no time to think. As soon as he opened his mouth to speak, thin threads of ice shot straight into his throat.

  “Okay…” said Kairin, her eyes stared blankly upward while the tip of her tongue stuck out as she focused. “Cough when I tell you to.”

  “Aim the other way, please!” yelped Lucy.

  Kairin spun the floating chair around with a swish of her hand. Then, she yelled, “Okay, now!”

  Alex coughed as hard as he could. The threads of magic ice pulled out what they were supposed to pull out and flew far away from them, disappearing into the distant woods.

  “Better?” Kairin asked him, her eyes wide with excitement.

  “Better,” said Alex in his normal voice, rubbing his throat. “Much, much better.”

  “Malti, I did it!” she announced to the mansion’s interiors, proud that her ‘surgery’ was a success.

  “Great!” came Malti’s muffled, disinterested response.

  “And this is why I will never be a doctor,” said Lucy.

  “A doctor?” Kairin looked confused. “Of what?”

  “Just, a doctor, you know.” Now Lucy was confused. “You don’t have doctors on your planet?”

  “Oh we got scholars,” said Kairin. “And they doctor a great many things like, ten thousand-word treatises on the most acceptable practices of telling a cantor fish from an octosaur.”

  “A what from a what now?”

  “You know, cantors… and octosaurs?” Kairin asked nervously. “You don’t have those?”

  Both Alex and Lucy shook their heads.

  “Nevermind, then,” said Kairin. “I’ll show you pictures later. My point is: They ramble on about problems that can be solved in a second. It only takes a couple seconds to tell a cantor from an octosaur. You’ll see why when I show you the pictures. If it takes you any longer than that, then, well, back to Winter School, my friend.

  “Damn scholars…” Kairin seemed to have a really bad taste in her mouth. “Useless old fools. They’re the real k-words, if you ask me.”

  “I was referring to more like a medical doctor, you know? Like Malti.” Lucy clarified. “Also, k-word?”

  “You don’t wanna know,” said Kairin dismissively. “And oh, you mean healers! Sure we have those. Cahrim has some of the best healers in the galaxy. If they are battlefield medics, well, then we call them battlefield medics. Or just medics. That’s what Malti is. Or, rather, what he wants to be.”

  Kairin seemed to be sad about them. “He should remain a simple healer. He is in his element when he’s nursing someone back to health. He enjoys it, very much. It would also keep him away from all this… craziness.”

  Alex and Lucy remained silent as Kairin’s thoughts drifted off. Then, she shook her head and was back. “I’m sorry, I digress. I’ll get around to changing his mind about this soon enough.”

  “Or he might surprise you,” said Alex. “By excelling as a battlefield medic.”

  Kairin chuckled. “Yeah… yeah he might just do that. However…”

  Kairin turned away, gazing absent-mindedly at the tennis ball machine. “For all his prowess in repairing a broken body, he has no threat-assessment skills when in battle, or a sense of self-preservation. He just needs some extra help, you know, when it comes to keeping himself safe. Just someone looking out for him when things get rough.”

  “I know what you mean,” said Lucy, turning her gaze at Aiden.

  “He’s your younger brother you said, right?” Kairin asked Lucy. “How old is he?”

  “I don’t know how it translates for you,” said Lucy. “But in Earth years, he’s nineteen.”

  “Nineteen?” Alex was shocked. “He looks fifteen.”

  “Yeah, he… gets that a lot,” Lucy said. “The doctors, well—healers of our world—” she explained to Kairin, “—said he’s got issues with his growth hormones. Either he’ll go through puberty late… or not at all.”

  Alex looked at Aiden still in his Hulk pose. So that’s why he looked so young and frail.

  However weak his body may be, his spirit was unmatched. Alex could tell that about him, from his years of fighting competitively, and from Ojii-san’s teachings on how to read his opponents.

  Aiden was a fighter. Through and through.

  “Again!” came Aiden’s shout from the distance, and the tennis ball machine whizzed playfully.

  Oh, thought Alex. That was Blob.

  The tennis ball machine shot its shot, heading straight for Aiden’s inflated chest. “Oww!” he yelped as his chest immediately deflated upon impact.

  “I’ve been meaning to ask,” Karin turned to Lucy awkwardly as Aiden tanked yet another direct hit, this time aimed at his abdomen. “What in the world are they doing?” she echoed Alex’s thoughts.

  The blob seemed to be having the time of his life, as though a dog playing inverse-fetch—instead of fetching the ball, he was hitting his owner with it.

  “We think,” Lucy began, “well, Aiden and Clark think, at least, that he’s got the power to phase objects through his body, or phase his body through objects. I don’t know, it’s all the same to me.”

  “Again!” yelled Aiden at ball-machine blob, barely recovering from the previous hit.

  “And they are trying to replicate… something that happened recently.” Lucy’s voice broke off. She was clearly thinking back to the events of that evening in the alley with the dead end, when Aiden was shot five times in the chest with a long-barrel revolver, which was definitely firing powerful magnum rounds.

  And yet, he was completely fine. No wounds. No sign of the bullets connecting with his body.

  Phasing through objects… that might just be it.

  “Again, Bloop!” yelled Aiden. “And this time, really mean it! I need to believe I can die!”

  “Aiden!” Lucy shouted.

  “What?!” he shouted back, annoyed at being interrupted.

  “Look who’s not dead,” she said pointing to Alex.

  “Alex!” Aiden dropped the Hulk pose and jogged to them, panting. “What the hell? He said you’d be out for days.”

  “Got lucky again, I guess.” Alex shrugged. As their eyes met, Alex could tell that they were both thinking about that moment, when Alex emerged from the magic igloo and punched the demon-ape cannonball out of the way.

  Which was pretty awesome when you think about it.

  “Come on,” Aiden gestured to him. “I could use some powerful throws. I asked Lucy already but she won’t budge. And Bloop refuses to increase power because he thinks he’ll hurt me, which is just crazy.” He nervously rubbed his belly, which was obviously hurting. “Oh, wait…” He had just noticed the gliding chair.

  “Yeah,” Alex nodded. “Can’t walk yet.”

  “Did Malti say how long it’ll be until you do?”

  “Malti’s estimates aren’t exactly accurate,” said Kairin, “when it comes to Alex. So we don’t actually know.”

  “Shame,” said Aiden. “It’s so sunny out here. Who knew Decembers could get this hot, huh? Wait. Do you have something to do with this?” he asked Alex.

  “I doubt it,” said Alex. “I can barely talk.”

  “You’re not… um… feeling particularly hot today, are you Alex?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Shame!” Aiden repeated. “Hard tennis balls are good and all, but if they were also on fire…”

  “I guess I can try,” Alex began, but—

  “Don’t even think about it,” said Lucy.

  “But… Lucy please!” cried Aiden.

  “No.”

  “Dammit, come on!”

  “Suck it up,” said Lucy. “Also, bloop?”

  “Yeah, Bloop,” said Aiden. “That’s him.” He pointed at the tennis ball machine spinning in place like a dog chasing its tail. “He is a blob of metal, when he wants to be. And he is a dog no matter what he transforms into. And what do you do to a dog’s nose? You boop it. So… what happens when you boop the blob?”

  He gazed at everyone expectantly, sure that they would figure it out.

  “I still don’t see it,” said Lucy.

  “Bloop the blob!” said Aiden. “It’s perfect.”

  “Okay!” Lucy said dismissively.

  “What do you think, Alex?”

  “Uh…” Alex had no personal stake in this. “Sure.”

  “I think it’s adorable,” Kairin jumped in with a genuine smile on her face. “What is he though? I’ve never seen a creature like him.”

  “Thank you!” said Aiden. “And really?”

  “Yeah, I mean,” Kairin struggled to explain, “We do have bots and droids, just like any other advanced planet in the galaxy. But they aren’t anything like that.”

  “Yeah,” said Alex. “I’m willing to bet there’s none like Clark either.” He was thinking back to everything that The Chancellor had said during his epic showdown with Clark. About how Clark’s species had been the scourge of the Old Empire. Did that also indicate that there may not be many of him left?

  Was he, like his namesake, the last of his species?

  And then there was the Old Empire… What did The Chancellor mean by that? An old Demon empire? Alex had not stopped thinking about that ever since.

  “Definitely not,” Kairin responded to him. “He’s like a… person, you know what I mean?”

  “Yes,” said Alex, Lucy, and Aiden together.

  “I’m still shocked to know that there’s no artificial or robotic life forms as advanced as him in the whole wide galaxy though,” said Aiden. “I thought you guys would be more advanced than us!”

  “Well…” Kairin thought carefully before continuing. “Cahrim—” she emphasized on her planet’s name so as to distinguish it from the rest of the galaxy, “—is definitely more advanced, way more advanced than Earth, no offense—”

  “None taken,” said Aiden.

  “—But, as I said, we still don’t have any androids that behave like these two. Maybe in some distant planet, far away in the galaxy, there is a civilization where beings like them are commonplace.”

  All four of them wondered in silence about the sheer vastness of space and the unimaginable variety of life that it must contain; and also about what a planet full of Clarks and Bloops would look like.

  “Where is Clark anyway?” Alex asked Aiden.

  “On a smartwatch wrapped around the tennis ball machine,” said Aiden. “I better get back to it. It’s nice to have you back, Alex.” He said nervously, probably thinking back to the night when Alex had snuck out, which he now felt guilty about.

  Alex nodded and smiled at him kindly.

  Aiden jogged back to his designated spot facing the tennis ball machine, ready for more.

  A couple more minutes of fire-free, tennis ball-tanking later, three figures emerged out of the northern woods and headed toward the mansion. Alex could recognize all three, but… what were they wearing?

  “Yeah, it was me who strongly suggested that they don’t roam around dressed like renaissance-fair enthusiasts,” said Lucy, noticing Alex’s confused expression. “They wanted to explore neighboring towns.”

  “This is insane,” said Kormac in a red frat jacket as he got close, leaving the twins behind who seemed to be arguing about something, licking on an ice-cream cone. “I love everything about it.”

  “You don’t have ice-cream back home?” Lucy asked him.

  “We do,” said Kormac. “But it’s not served like this. Oh hey, you’re up!” He said noticing Alex. “Listen man, I know we were trying to smuggle you off-planet and all, but we’re past all that. Sooo, no hard feelings, right?”

  “Um…” Alex wasn’t sure how to respond. Were they all friendly now? How?

  “Oh right,” said Kormac. “I forget that you missed the truce since you got all hot and then went out cold.” Kormac made a couple gestures with his free hand, one indicating Alex getting all riled up, and the other showing him falling flat on his face. He then scratched his chin with his fist. “What a weird power to have, though. Get all fired up for a few minutes, then lose both your body and your consciousness. Beats me. But hey, you took a beating from that monster of an ape and lived! So you got my respect. Friends?”

  He threw his arm out with his palms open, as though inviting Alex to an arm-wrestling match.

  “He still can’t move very well, Kormac,” Kairin told him.

  “Oh shoot,” said Kormac, retracting his hand. “Whatever, you’ll get there soon enough. Don’t listen to Malti. He’s been consistently wrong about your recovery.”

  “I’ve been told,” said Alex. “And yes, friends.” He nodded at Kormac, who smiled and nodded back in acknowledgement.

  Apparently, they didn’t want to smuggle him off-planet anymore, which is all that Alex cared about. They were Kairin’s friends, they helped take down the ape, and now, they weren’t acting antagonistic toward him; although he still didn’t know why. What changed? He’d ask Lucy about it later.

  So, yeah. No point holding a grudge. Besides, they needed all the allies they could get in this bloody war against the demons.

  War against the demons? Was that what this was?

  And was he part of it now?

  “He’s still at it, huh?” Kormac looked at Aiden admirably. “I’m going to help.”

  As he jogged off, the twin knights, each wearing gym clothes, caught up to where Alex and the rest were seated, still not finished with their argument.

  “I am telling you, man, that is not how you take down a Gront!” the one named Dale said to his twin brother, punching his fist into his palm.

  “I would love to see you try your way,” said Chet. “I should be done with the funeral prep a day in advance, in case we find what’s left of you.”

  “I am not a wuss!” said Dale. “Where’s the fun in all the baiting and waiting? That’s a wussie way to do it. Oh hey, you’re up!” He said noticing Alex. “Have you laughed at Malti’s face yet?”

  “No he hasn’t,” Kairin answered for him. “Because he is not a moron like you.”

  “He deserves to be mocked when he’s wrong,” said Dale. “Because he’s unbearably cocky when he’s right about this stuff, and that is most of the time. Which sucks. This is Chet, by the way.” Dale told Alex, pointing at his twin.

  “Hey.” Chet waved at him, and Alex acknowledged with a nod. “Are you feeling at all… you know… fiery?”

  “Not at the moment,” Alex told him.

  “Where’s Master Korne?” Kairin changed the subject.

  “Still meditating,” said Chet. “He should be out of it soon, though.”

  “What did the council say?” asked Kairin. “Of the new… direction?”

  “Don’t know yet, but what do you think they’ll say?” Chet asked rhetorically. “We’ll get the details soon enough.”

  Kairin sighed. “I don’t expect them to be thrilled about it.”

  “Oh no,” said Chet. “That they certainly won’t be. I’m just holding my breath to find out whether they exile us for one lifetime, or two.”

  “Relax,” said Kairin. “I’ll make them understand. Once we get there.”

  “You’re the boss,” said Chet. “Or, well… you know.”

  “What truce?” Alex whispered to Lucy while Kairin continued to convince the twins to trust her with handling matters with their Council.

  “I’ll tell you later,” she mouthed.

  Then, Aiden, Kormac, and Bloop walked toward them, with smartwatch Clark resting inside a basket over Bloop’s back.

  “I thought you said you were going to help them,” Kairin asked Kormac.

  “I did,” he said. “By suggesting he take a break. Kid’s wearing himself out. Chairs, please.”

  Lucy got up to grab a few from the garage, but Kormac stopped her. “No, no, not yours. Kairin, please.”

  She swooshed her hands and cold chairs made of glowing magic ice conjured behind each of them.

  “Much better,” said Kormac as he dropped his huge body into it and sighed.

  Aiden looked at the ice chair behind him doubtfully. “I’ll just get the normal one,” he said and ran toward the garage.

  “You caught up on everything I asked you to watch?” Kormac asked Lucy, pointing at Kairin’s iPad-like device in her hand.

  “Of course not,” she said. “There is so much to get through. Cahrim’s terrain is so bizarre. And these videos are packed with knowledge.”

  Kormac and Dale looked like they couldn’t hold their laughter. “And… um… shit!” Kormac found his breath again. “Did you get to the end?”

  Lucy eyed them weirdly. “No…?”

  “I skipped that one for her,” Kairin declared with a victorious smile.

  “NOOO!” Both Kormac and Dale cried in disappointment and slapped their palms to their respective faces. “How can you do this to her, Kairin? To me?” Kormac looked heartbroken. “The ending was the best part!”

  “What am I missing here?” Lucy looked around, confused.

  “It was a sick practical joke,” Kairin told her. “And I saved you.”

  “Damn you, Kairin! It’s fine that you skipped, but at least don’t ruin it!” Kormac’s shock and disappointment quickly waned into nostalgia. “Ahh, I still can’t believe it was Jovar who came up with this one,” he reminisced. “Oh mighty Thoros, I wish I had my special snow drop. I’d drink to his good health.”

  “While ruining yours,” Kairin snapped. “Snow drop’s a popular, completely harmless drink on Cahrim,” she responded to Lucy’s confused look, “but his special snow drop is nothing but—”

  “Quiet, the kid’s back,” said Kormac.