The Watcher of Tiros looked over her notes, and found them acceptable. Then she looked into her bucket and found it empty.

  Unable to procrastinate longer, she went to the Void and began summoning her Chosen Ones.

  From the Llama Kingdom, Taz, an elf boy with earth magic.

  From the Kingdom of Place, a hobgoblin girl with psychic magic by the name of Kate.

  From Bestest Empire, a changeling princess. Currently she was in the form of an elf with lightning magic, and Bonnie didn’t know what name she was going by.

  From the Raddish Republic, A treant guy named Jeff with poison magic.

  From the Broccolian Theocracy came Jasmine, a fairy girl with shadow magic.

  And from the Whatever of Owonyan, the two nekos Luke and Maeve.

  Bonnie watched their reactions to having been ripped off the planet. Taz stood tall, ready for orders. Kate looked at everything, and focused on the planet beneath them. The princess crouched, her hand going to a dagger on her belt before she realized where she was and relaxed into a standing position. Jeff watched the other people with bored curiosity. Jasmine shrank into herself, her magic turning her half-invisible against the grey of the Void. Luke flinched in a “not again” manner, and Maeve once again automatically reached for his hand.

  A good mixture of reactions, although Bonnie once again half-regretted choosing Jasmine. But she’d needed to make a statement, and that fairy had been the only one available at the moment.

  Bonnie clapped her hands, getting the group’s attention. “I’m sure you’re all wondering why you’re here. Well. The continent you all live on is about to break, and I need you to warn people.”

  “Is that why there’s been an increase of earthquakes lately?” Jeff asked.

  Bonnie pointed at him. “Yes.”

  “I haven’t felt any earthquakes,” Taz said.

  The Watcher of Tiros nodded. “That’s because the eastern coast is where it’s gonna break. You and…” she waved at the princess, “are on the west coast. The ones most affected will be you three.” She pointed at the treant and nekos.

  “Wait, so Cali was right?” Maeve asked. “There is something bad going on with the ground?”

  “Yes,” Bonnie said.

  Kate raised her hand. “How do we warn people?”

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Excellent question, I’m glad you asked,” Bonnie said. “I need you all to start traveling around. Get into as many churches as possible and tell everyone that there’s gonna be a huge earthquake and lots of new volcanoes in two months. Sixty days. And if you happen to speak to any kings or queens, tell them about it, too.”

  This alarmed Jasmine and the princess, but for different reasons.

  “Why would anyone believe us?” Luke asked.

  Bonnie snapped her fingers, and everyone’s hair and eyes began glowing gold. “Because of that.”

  “This is a temporary effect, right?” the princess asked, obviously trying not to panic.

  “Yes,” the goddess assured her. “It’ll turn on automatically when you enter a church, and turn off when you leave. I’ve added a button to turn it on and off manually to your stat screen. Just in case you need to convince anyone.”

  Taz looked at who he thought was another elf. “Well, it looks pretty on you…”

  Bonnie shook her head at him. “Don’t. Your odds with her started at zero and have just gone down.”

  The princess ignored all that. “Watcher, I can’t. If I’m discovered-”

  “Your empire will be the least affected in all this,” Bonnie told her calmly. “Just make sure people in authority get reports about lots of tectonic activity outside their borders, that’s all I ask of you specifically. Everyone else, in countries where going to one of my churches isn’t a crime, can warn people directly.”

  The treant raised his hand. “Can I leave the gold on all the time?”

  Bonnie shrugged. “Sure, go for it.” She stepped back to address the group. “If I don’t think you’re getting the word out to enough people in fifteen days, I’ll call in a few more people to help. Especially in the areas where I expect lots of people to die.”

  “Why don’t you just stop it?” Luke, the deserter spawn, asked.

  “Yep, you’re just like your dad,” Bonnie told him. “So! Everyone clear on what you have to do?”

  A general sentiment of agreement came from the group.

  “Wonderful! I’ll be sending you back now. Get to work.” A snap, and they were all gone.

  Except Luke and the princess.

  “You two should meet,” Bonnie said, summoning a chair and flopping into it. “Luke, Echo. Echo, Luke. Son of a fallen god, daughter of my archnemesis. They met once, at a party. I don’t think they remember that. But whatever. Kids, I’m just doing my job within the rules I was given. If I start breaking those rules, then I might start breaking the rules about not killing half the population of the planet on a whim, or not turning everyone into mindless slaves for my entertainment. No, I’m not omnipotent or perfect, as your parents have correctly told you, but I’m doing my best and you’re gonna help me, ok?”

  They shrank back, muttering agreements.

  “Good. Luke, never question me in front of other people again. Echo, I know your situation, trust me to not put you in danger. There are no churches in your city, so there’s no chance of you entering one and being obviously chosen; I did that on purpose, for you. If you’re ever discovered, I’ll pull you out of there and send you to Luke’s group. Ok?”

  They looked at each other before nodding.

  “Good. Now goodbye.” She snapped again, sending them to their respective countries. “Kids these days…”