Nexus Challenge [Chps 18-19]

Hey peeps!

Nexus Challenge will be officially released Nov 29th (so a while from now). You guys will have seen it all by then, lol

I wanted to set it far out because of big news I have. Stay tuned for the update.

Shami

—Chapter 18—

—The Quiet Storm—

Sen grabbed Sophie’s shriveled ankle with both hands. Then his fingers slowly slid into her flesh, disappearing beneath the surface of her skin. Sophie didn’t bleed, nor did she cry out. And despite the fact Sen had commanded her to close her eyes, Sophie did no such thing.

She stared, her eyes wide, her glasses slowly slipping down her nose. The girl seemed too transfixed to adjust them, though.

Sen worked her lower leg like it were made of clay. He molded her ankle, ran his hand through her flesh up to her knee, and seemingly cleared away the discoloration.

At one point, Sophie sucked in air.

“You’re fine,” Sen stated. “Don’t worry. I’m just making sure your blood flow has returned to normal. You should feel a prickling sensation and nothing more.”

Sophie said nothing.

As Sen worked, he added, “The human body is quite resilient. When damaged, it creates ways to function. In some rare cases, arteries can even create their own natural bypasses to avoid blockages.”

While Kellan had no idea if that were true, he was inclined to believe Sen. Nothing seemed to make the man-child happier than talking about bodies. For whatever reason.

Sen finally withdrew his hands from Sophie’s leg. His flingers slipped out of the skin without breaking anything or even drawing blood. When he took a step back, he examined his own work.

Her leg seemed healthy.

It was smaller than the other—as though missing muscle—but overwise it was the same tannish color as the other leg and wasn’t shriveled or misshapen in the slightest.

The inbred Nexus resident, Otho, widened his crooked eyes at the sight. “Can you do something like that for me?” he asked as he touched his face.

“I would need some flesh crafting clay to alter you,” Sen said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Your deformities are genetic. If I altered your flesh, your body would attempt to correctmy work. This girl’s leg was broken by her father, apparently, which means her body will happily take my corrections.”

“You can change someone genetically?” Kellan asked.

Sen waggled a finger. “Oh, I could. I just need the clay, like I said. If I had Langarren Clay—which is the best, of the best, of the best—I could even permanently change someone’s sex andmake it so they could reproduce.”

“Interesting.”

Sophie slid off the couch mattress and stood with her weight distributed to both legs. For a long moment, no one moved or said anything. Kellan gritted his teeth, surprised by how much he wanted her to like her new leg. He hated the idea of a child being permanently maimed by the poor choices of their parents.

Children didn’t get to pick who they were born to, after all.

After a few cautious steps, Sophie jumped and landed on her feet with a loud stomp. Although her fixed leg was a little weak, she maintained her balance afterward. And then—with a smile that could chase away the night—she turned to Sen.

“Thank you!”

Sophie threw her arms around Sen’s neck and held him close.

“Thank you! Thank you!”

Sen’s face turned red. At first, Kellan thought it was because Sophie was cutting off circulation to his head, but then he realized he was just blushing. Sen gently patted Sophie on the back. “Yes, well, I’m glad you’re enjoying.”

“You’re so cool and amazing and awesome!”

“I am amazing,” Sen said, still awkwardly patting her back. “But you needn’t be impressed with what I’ve done today. It was actually just some C-rank abilities that allowed me to rearrange your flesh. I didn’t even use my B-rank or—”

Sophie tightened her grip, cutting him off. “Thank you!”

Once she had finished hugging the air out of him, Sophie let go and proceeded to run around the house. Kellan thought she had a destination in mind, but he was clearly wrong. The little girl circled the couch, leapt onto the flat mattress, bounced her way across, and then dashed down and up the hallway.

“You did a good thing,” Kellan said to Sen.

The smaller man huffed. “We should be focused on finding more orbs.” After a short moment of silence, he added, “But… I did enjoy that. I studied at Norticum University specifically to learn medicine. I wanted to help people.”

Kellan hadn’t known that. He rubbed at his chin as he realized that all of Sen’s magics were helpful. He could shield people from damage, heal damage, rearrange flesh to repair permanent damage…

The perfect magical doctor.

“Listen,” Kellan muttered, “I’m going to speak with Ysa. After that, we should try to find the source of this storm.”

As if to emphasize his point, the winds outside howled, and the windows rattled in response. A clatter across the roof told Kellan that the wind was strong enough to carry objects, and it wasn’t afraid to throw them.

“An excellent decision,” Sen stated. “I’ll prepare everyone as best as I can.”

“Thank you.”

Ysa had yet to exit the hall bathroom. Kellan had waited long enough. He walked over to the door—careful to dodge out of Sophie’s way as she dashed by—and then knocked. Ysa didn’t reply. Kellan knocked again. When she refused to answer a second time, he tried the handle.

Locked.

“Ysa?” he asked.

“I’m in here,” she snapped. “Leave me alone.”

“I need to speak with you.”

No response.

“Ysa,” Kellan muttered. “We don’t have time. I just need to ask you a few questions.”

“Heh. Men really don’t like being told no, huh?” Ysa unlocked the bathroom door, but she didn’t open it. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Kellan opened the door and stepped inside. Ysa stood in front of the sink, leaning over it so she could get a better look at her face in the mirror. She poked around her eye and even tugged at her cheeks, checking every inch of visible skin.

Ysa had thrown her oversized jacket in the bathtub. She wore a thin tank top and a pair of short. Her knee-high boots were still on, but the sides had been unzipped. Kellan had never seen someone truly embody the career of hooker quite like Ysa. She had no shame about her appearance and didn’t even stop her odd self-grooming as Kellan walked over.

“What do you want?” she asked as she tugged at her lower lip.

“I just need to know a couple things.” Kellan crossed his arms and kept his attention on the mirror, meeting her gaze in the reflection. “What would you say is the most important thing in the world to you?”

Ysa froze. She glared at him, but after a short moment, she smiled. “That’s what you wanted to ask me? What is this? A mental health check?”

“I just need to know.”

It would be far too complicated to explain the situation. Kellan was certain that if he could get a few answers from her—like her favorite thing in the world, and perhaps her least favorite—he could narrow his questions into something useful. Since Kellan and Other-Kellanhad several things in common, it stood to reason that Ysa and Other-Ysa would as well.

Kellan lifted an eyebrow. “Well? Most important?”

“Sophie.” Ysa returned to her odd work. She plucked a few hairs from her eyebrows. “She’s the most important thing in the world to me.”

“And you would do anything for her?”

“Yeah.”

“Even kill someone?”

Ysa narrowed her eyes. “I guess. If I had to. Yeah. I’d kill lots of people to protect her.”

That might be Other-Ysa’s motivation as well, Kellan reasoned. Perhaps she’s serving the Flestiss Dominion to protect her sister from the alien’s heinous abuse.

After a short sigh, Kellan asked, “What would you say you’re most afraid of?”

“Sophie dying,” Ysa stated.

“Besides Sophie. Do you have any personal fears? Like snakes? Or spiders? Or heights or something?”

Ysa stopped messing with her face and turned around. She frowned as she jump-sat on the bathroom counter, her eyes searching his like she couldn’t piece together the puzzle. Finally, she asked, “Why do you need to know, asshole?”

“I’m making a haunted house for next year’s Halloween, and I want to make sure you’re really scared.”

His sarcasm was met with a deeper frown.

Kellan shrugged. “I just need to know. I have some theories.”

“And it has something to do with your wizard magic? And the attack on the city? And the hurricane outside?”

“That’s right.”

It wasn’t exactly right, but it was close enough. Kellan just needed answers.

“I’m afraid of the dentist,” Ysa said. “I hate when they search around my mouth. Or not knowing what they’re doing.”

“Anything else? That’s not helpful.”

“I dunno. I just… I don’t like being out of control, ya know? Helpless? I don’t like airplanes—not because of the heights, but because I can’t do anything. Can’t escape.”

Kellan relaxed a moment. Then he half-laughed. “Wait, you don’t like being out of control but you’re a streetwalker?”

Ysa leaned back against the mirror and smirked. “Uh, yeah. Believe it or not, I have a lot more control in those situations than if I was pickin’ a guy up in a bar. I control what we’re doing, what price it’s happening for… And if the guy doesn’t like it, I’ve got friends to call, and I’m not talkin’ about the cops.”

“Huh.”

Kellan didn’t have more to say about that. He wasn’t sure how he was going to use that to his advantage against Other-Ysa, but he would mull it over.

“So?” Ysa asked. She leaned forward and gave him the once over. “What else?”

“That’s it for now.”

“Nothing else?”

Kellan reached for the door handle. “Nope.”

Ysa leapt down from the bathroom counter and then slammed her hand on the door before Kellan could open it. She glared up at him, her expression more heat than ice, like she was genuinely irritated.

“Well, I have questions. First—how do you get magic, huh? What kind of back-alley academy do I have to attend to get my wand?”

“I’m not sure,” Kellan stated. He didn’tknow how people received magic. From what he knew, some people got it for crossing dimensions, but it was a random chance. Could it be taught or given away?

“I want magic.”

“I think everyone does,” Kellan quipped.

Ysa leaned against the door and crossed her arms. “Okay, well, if you don’t know, who does? Because I’ll do anything to get it.”

That sounded more like the Other-Ysa. She was ruthless and did whatever it took.

Kellan wasn’t sure it would be a good idea to give this Ysa the same kinds of powers.

“I need to go,” Kellan said as he pulled the door open.

Ysa attempted to stop him, but she wasn’t as strong. Kellan suspected she had a two in strength category, but he wasn’t certain. It didn’t compare to his four.

“Tell me who to speak with!” Ysa demanded.

“Look, how about, in four days, after the storm has blown over, and everything is settled, we’ll sit down and have a long talk about everything I know.”

“Promise?” Ysa lifted an eyebrow.

“As long as I haven’t died or been teleported to another dimension.”

He didn’t mention the fact he wasgoing to be teleported, but he didn’t know for sure. What if they found all twelve orbs here?

Ysa moved away from the door. “All right.”

“Just like that? You trust me?”

She brushed back her hair with her fingers and smiled sweetly. “Hey, in my line of business, you know how to spot the trustworthy ones. Plus, when they fight werewolves and Dracula people to protect you, that’s also a pretty good sign.”

Kellan snorted back a laugh. He hadn’t thought about that.

“Also, most guys would’ve sauntered up in here, and then mentioned how they rescued me and my sister. They would’ve talked about how they need a reward for all their good deeds.” Ysa rolled her eyes. “Then they would’ve touched me, ya know? Put a hand on my shoulder. On my leg.”

“You don’t like that?”

“They think my little outfit is permission to do whatever, but it doesn’t matter if I’m butt naked—it doesn’t give them the right to fuckin’ touch me.” Ysa sighed and relaxed her posture. “But you… You just walked in, asked your questions, and tried to walk out, barely even lookin’ at my t--s.” She adjusted them and frowned.

“I like to keep things professional,” Kellan quipped. “I really am busy right now.”

Ysa half-smiled. “Yeah, yeah. Get out of here. I have things to do. Just remember your promise.”

Kellan gave her a slight nod and exited the bathroom.

The whole house smelled of food. Kellan’s stomach rumbled as he made his way to the kitchen. He probably could’ve eaten paint and been satisfied—anything to take away the edge of hunger that was now making itself known—but fortunately, that wasn’t necessary.

Aunt Gloria, Mavis, and Husker were busy preparing food on stove, in the oven, and across the kitchen countertops. Sen and Sophie sat at the table. The little girl held onto Sen’s arm, practically yanking it out of his socket while she talked his ear off.

“That’s a werewolf,” she said, pointing to Husker. “And I learned that they’re allergic to silver. Some of them help wizards, and some of them try to eat them. But I guess he’s your friend, right? He looks like your friend.”

“He’s my teammate, actually.” Sen tried to pull free, but he didn’t do so very hard.

“Can I be your teammate?”

“I’m afraid you’re not a mage, so it’s unlikely.”

“If I became a mage, I promise I’ll work extra hard and learn all the spells so well!”

She had all the energy of a helium molecule. Sophie bounced around the seat, on the verge of running around the kitchen.

Kellan sat down just as Mavis, Husker, and Aunt Gloria brought several platters of food to the table. A pot of Kraft mac-n-cheese, a whole plate of hot dogs, and entire basket of dinner rolls made for a middle-class-American feast.

The storm outside rattled the house.

Then the lights went out. A loud vooomfollowed as the electrical power drained away. Everyone sat still for a moment, their eyes wide. Although it was dark, Kellan could see just fine thanks to his eclipse magic. He glanced around the room and then grabbed a spoon left lying on the table. He spent a mana—reducing him to twelve—and made the spoon glow a bright white.

It illuminated the kitchen well enough for everyone else to see again.

“Eat up,” Aunt Gloria said. “Before this storm gets us!”

Kellan, Husker, and Sen grabbed food as quickly as possible. They didn’t have time to waste. The hot dogs and mc-n-cheese slid down Kellan’ gullet so fast he barely tasted anything. It was warm, though. He liked that. And it was much better than MREs, which was always a plus.

As he chewed, he realized his mana…

He regained one.

He went back to thirteen.

While he knew he regained mana from eating, he thought it would be impossible on a zero-magic dimension. Apparently, he had been mistaken.

“I’m glad we still regain some mana,” Kellan stated.

Husker nodded. The rennic struggled to use the small fork, but after a while, he just picked up his bowl and dumped some mac-n-cheese straight into his canine mouth. Then he licked his lips.

“You’re a magical being. You generate magic, and mana, through your very soul. That’s why animals of pure magic want to bond with you, and how magic forms from within.”

Aunt Gloria watched Husker eat. At first it was a bit creepy, but then it turned slapstick when she tried to eat her own food without glancing down. She speared herself a few noodles and then poked herself in the cheek, smearing cheese everywhere.

Kellan tried not to laugh.

“Are you going to save the city?” Sophie asked Sen. She scooted her chair closer to his, until they were touching. “Are you going to stop the storm and defeat all the bad guys?”

“We’ll likely be avoiding the other mages and the yami,” Sen stated. He took a small bite of the pasta and his eyebrows shot upward. “Oh, my. What is this? So creamy. I like it.”

“It’s the height of fine dining,” Kellan said, trying to hide his sarcasm.

“I can tell. It’s magnificent.”

“If you like that, I can’t wait to show you what else Chef Microwave can produce. The possibilities are endless.”

Mavis took a seat next to Kellan and playfully smacked him on the shoulder. “Stop that.” She forked herself some hot dogs and cut into them. “You’re going to give him the wrong impression of Earth food.”

“I had Earth food here before,” Sen stated. “When I was here collecting Alex Kellan from his sad bar.” Sen huffed. “A local shop, which also provided gas for vehicles, sold me a bag of seeds and can of something called Monster Energy. That was one of the most disgusting meals of my life.”

“Why’d you grab the seeds and energy drink?” Mavis asked, her lip curled in disgust.

“I simply asked that human trapezoid behind the register for his finest foods, and he handed me those!” Sen shoved another mouthful of mac-n-cheese into his mouth. After he swallowed, he added, “I thought this mush would taste the same, but I’m pleasantly surprised.”

After just a few more minutes of eating, Xiang strode into the dimly lit kitchen. Everyone glanced up from their meals, some with food in their mouths. Sophie’s eyes went wide.

“Wow,” she muttered. “You’re so pretty.”

Xiang motioned with a tilted of her head. “We should go. I have a feeling the other teams are using the weather to their advantage. We can’t sit idly by.”

Husker immediately stood from the table, bumping it in the process. The plates and silverware rattled as he shuffled around the table and headed for the living room. Aunt Gloria seemed displeased, but she said nothing.

Sophie turned to Sen. “Be careful! And come back soon, okay?”

“You’re fretting is misplaced,” Sen muttered as he slid off the chair. “But… thank you.” Then he hurried after Husker.

Kellan and Mavis stood and regrouped with everyone as well. Ysa had never left the bathroom, but Kellan suspected she would be fine. Whatever she was doing in there, it wasn’t drugs, so what harm could it really do?

Once around the couch, Xiang motioned them all to get in close.

“Hold hands,” she said. “I’m going to teleport us straight to the park.”

“Right now?” Mavis pulled her coat tight.

“That’s right.”

They placed hands on each other, and Xiang grabbed Kellan’s shoulder. “Let’s go.”

And then a rush of magic filled the room, and they teleported.

—Chapter 19—

—The Park—

They arrived at Lake Rim Park a moment later. Kellan stumbled forward, his insides spinning, but then he regained his bearings.

The wind and rain swept through the trees, creating an eerie rustle that echoed off the park’s facilities. When Kellan glanced around, he quickly took stock of their surroundings. Swings, slides, benches—even a lake—the park was larger than he had imagined. The map had made it seem like a place to walk around and chat, not a full-blown family experience.

A sign rattled past them, clattering on the stone walkway, and then flying into the grass around a group of trees.

The sign read: FISHING SEASON.

None of the park lights had power. The darkness reigns supreme. It allowed Kellan’s physicals to become heightened, and he prepared himself for the inevitable combat they would surely find.

Although wet and cold—and shivering—Sen stepped forward. “We should search for acorns in two groups, to quickly cover the territory.” Before anyone could reply, he added, “I’ll go with our warrior, of course.”

“I’ll go with Kellan, too,” Mavis said.

Husker turned to Xiang and bowed his head. “I’ll be with you, if you’ll have me.”

“There’s no one I trust more.” Xiang placed a hand on his canine head and then removed it. “We shall investigate the west side while your three investigate the east. Remember, we’re looking for orbs and gold acorns. Everything else can be put on hold. According to the map, there is an information stand in the middle of the park. We’ll meet there.”

The howling wind rushed by. Kellan still had his futuristic armor on underneath his clothing. While he felt the chill on his head—the only part of him truly exposed to the elements—he was warm everywhere else.

“Will we need illusions this time?” Sen asked.

Xiang shook her head. “No. If you run into trouble, contact me. I’ll teleport us to safety. It’ll be cheaper, mana-wise, to just move us around, rather than cover us.”

“As you wish, sister.”

Kellan glanced between them, wondering what Xiang meant by contact her. She still had her new cellphone, the screen even lit up in her pocket as Kellan thought it about, but Sen had nothing. Or was there some magical way they were communicating that Kellan didn’t know about?

Xiang was a mind mage, and Sen was mind, soul, and body—perhaps they had telepathy.

Thinking of powers reminded Kellan of his own. Now that he had eaten, he felt stronger and more alert. Husker and Xiang headed for the west side of the park, following the main path. Xiang used the flashlight on her camera to see where they were going, and Husker used his massive trench coat to shield her from the onslaught of rain.

Kellan flexed his hand. The trees around them offered a slight shielding from the storm, but it wasn’t much.

Mavis grabbed his arm and tugged him toward a small brick building. It was a bathroom, Kellan could tell from the smell. Even in the rain—even with the damp musk of earth floating through the air—the bathroom had to make it presence known.

The bathroom did offer them shelter from the wind, however. The overhang went out far enough to create a small pocket of dryness. Kellan, Mavis, and Sen huddled close.

“Give me a moment,” Kellan said. “I need to figure out my B-tank eclipse powers.”

Sen grabbed his arms and shivered. “Hmpf! Make it quick.”

“I don’t have much arcana. I just need to know.”

Kellan closed his eyes and dwelled on his magic.

Eclipse Magic Rank A Cost: 24 arcana [20% Reduction from Dark Star Bloodline of Councilor Zero]

Eclipse—B-Rank Powers:

Laser, rank III [4 arcana]

Eclipse mages rely on “laser” energy in their attacks. This power is, weirdly, shared by metal mages.

The eclipse mage gains “laser” as an energy type and may spend a mana to shoot a destructive beam from their hand. The damage dealt is equal to double the eclipse magic rank (E = 2, D = 4, C = 6, etc.) + the mage’s dexterity score. This stacks at half rate (round up) when added to any other light power.

Shadow Stepping, rank II [5 arcana]

The mage may step into the darkness and move nearly instantly from one location to another, so long as a shadow could travel the surface.

The mage spends a mana and moves at 25 feet times the mage’s wisdom score and may take extra people equal to the mage’s manipulation score.

Invisibility [8 arcana]

The mage’s power of light allows them to bend it around them. They are “invisible” to normal means, but not “incorporeal.” The mage effects all spectrums of light.

The mage spends 3 mana to activate this ability, and then 1 mana every 6 seconds in order to maintain their invisibility. If the mage loses concentration, or consciousness, the invisibility fails, even if the mage still had mana to spend.

Shadow Bind [4 arcana]

The mage controls the shadows in the nearby area and hardens them with their magic. The shadows take on a physical form that can grab and manipulate objects.

The mage spends 4 mana, and for the next 15 minutes, the shadows in the nearby area answer the command of the mage. The shadows have a strength score equal to the mage’s manipulation score for purposes of binding lifting objects. The shadows have a dexterity score equal to the mage’s perception for the purposes of fine manipulation. This power works even on creatures considered “incorporeal.”

Shadow Form [4 arcana]

This ability allows the mage to become temporarily liquid-shadow.

The mage spends 4 mana, and for the next 6 seconds, they are incorporeal, but substantial (the mage may pick what solid objects they interact with, such as the ground, walls, holding people, etc.). While liquid-shadow, the mage ignores all damage from physical sources (blades, bullets, etc.) but can still be affected by magical abilities.

Hide from the World [6 arcana]

The mage becomes immune to magic designed to reveal their nature, capabilities, or whereabouts of equal rank or lower. Additionally, the mage gains +2 dexterity and +1 manipulation.

Eyes of Revealing Light [6 arcana]

The mage gains the ability to see through invisibility and illusions of mages who are lower rank. Additionally, the mage gains +2 perception and +1 dexterity.

Sentient Shadow, rank III [5 arcana]

The eclipse mage’s shadow gains a significant amount of sentience as it’s infused with magic. This power makes the shadow have a physical aspect, and it moves to help block and hold.

The mage gains an additional +4 armor rating, and benefits when dodging and brawling, but they lose 20% to their familiar’s growth.

Shadow Sewing, rank II [Eclipse AND B-rank Body] [5 arcana]

An eclipse and body mage may use the shadows to deliver their healing abilities to others.

The mage’s shadows (including abilities such as Sphere of Darkness) are now considered “touching” for the purposes of all healing abilities in body (such as Heal the Body, Purge, and Purify). Additionally, whenever the mage is in darkness (less than 1,000 lumens per 100 square feet) all healing is doubled and requires 3 less mana to activate (can go to 0 for activation costs).

Knightmare Armor, rank I [Eclipse AND C-rank Metal] [8 arcana]

An eclipse and metal mage may use the shadows to create themselves a suit of armor.

The mage spends 5 mana and instantly creates themselves a suit of armor made from eclipse and metal magic. This suit of armor has an armor rating of the mage’s eclipse rank + metal rank + their manipulation score. This suit of armor lasts for 15 minutes and cannot be dispelled by intense light.

Kellan only had three arcana.

Although many of the B-rank abilities seemed extremely strong, he couldn’t purchase them at the moment. But he realized what he needed to do. The moment he got some more arcana, he would make sure his lasers and darkness control were unstoppable.

Mavis patted Sen on his shoulder. “So, that little girl really likes you.”

Sen tightened his crossed arms. “I’m three times her age and a fully grown adult. Just because I look her age does not mean I should entertain thoughts of courting her.”

“You haven’t read many vampire stories, have you? That specific situation happens all the time.”

“Disgusting.”

“Want me to tell you about one? Aunt Gloria made me read dozens.”

“What would be a polite way to say I wish we’d never had this conversation and that I would vastly prefer silence?”

Kellan shook his head. Then he ran a hand down his face. “I’m running into a problem.”

“What problem?” Sen asked.

“A lot of these powers require I have better scores in… well, in myself. I should have higher manipulation or perception or some combo of the two.”

“Body, soul, and mind magic have the most abilities for upping your physical, mental, and spiritual self. If you really want higher numbers, you’ll have to develop in that direction. However, since this is the Nexus Games, I recommend you focus on one or two things that make you useful. Don’t stretch yourself thin. You already have way too many random abilities.”

A scream pierced through the storm.

Kellan, Mavis, and Sen tensed and stepped away from the odiferous bathroom. The wail had come from beyond a children’s playset, beyond the walkway, and south of their current location.

“I can’t see a damn thing,” Mavis said as she glared into the darkness.

Kellan shook his head. “Just follow me.”

“Can’t you make light?”

“I can, but that will give away our location. Just stay close. I can see. Once we find our target, I’ll provide you light, but we should keep it to a minimum.”

A light in the middle of the dark park would practically be a lighthouse. Kellan needed to avoid drawing attention to his group.

He grabbed Mavis by her sleeve, and Sen by the hood of his sweatshirt, and guided them through the park. He kept to the grass, even though it was wet, to dampen the sound of their footfalls. They made it around the play set, avoiding a gigantic slide and puddle of mud, only to find a cluster of trees.

An umbrella rolled around the ground between the trees.

It had recently been thrown there.

But there were no people nearby.

Kellan took a full thirty seconds to examine his surroundings. The rain made everything difficult. It cleared away evidence of what had happened, and made it difficult to see, even if Kellan could peer through the darkness with the ease of an owl.

Then he spotted something.

A toy squirrel.

It was a battered little toy made of velveteen, fluff, and thread. It had gray fur, and a puffy tail that was soaked with water. The squirrel’s eyes were buttons that had been sewn onto its head.

It sat at the base of a tree.

And then it “glanced” in Kellan’s direction.

“I found an acorn location,” Kellan whispered, his heart slamming against his chest even though nothing had happened yet. The creepy imagery was straight from the Nexus. Kellan had almost forgotten how twisted that dimension was.

Mavis wiped the rain from her face. “Where?”

“The trees over there. A stuffed squirrel is standing guard.”

That was a sentence he thought he would utter.

The discarded umbrella finally stopped rolling. Someone had definitely lost it, but Kellan wasn’t sure who. Was it the squirrel? Or had the squirrel done something to someone before they arrived on the scene?

Goddammit.

“Let’s go,” Kellan whispered. “We’re going to attack the squirrel and then climb the tree to find any acorns.”

“All right.” Mavis placed a hand on his shoulder. “Just say when.”