After listening to Aggie explain what was discussed Dean had just one question, “Was Anil’s bike alive?”

“Yes,” Aggie replied, “From what I know Anil’s bike is a young wind spirit that has taken on the form of a bike.”

“So it’s a member of Andromeda's court,” Dean followed up with.

“Yes, it is,” Aggie said looking at Dean suspiciously. “What did you do while we were talking?”

Dean then went on to explain his predicament when he left the house. Everything that happened that led up to him threatening the bike with an iron nail.

“Does that mean I screwed up the treaty already,” Dean asked with a lead weight in his stomach.

“I’m afraid so,” Aggie replied in a somber tone. “In three days’ time we have to find Nameless and you have to face Anil in combat until someone dies. And you can’t use your iron nails.”

Dean couldn’t believe that without being told of the truce that was worked out that he would still be held responsible for what happened. He felt tricked by Anil and Zephyr but knew deep down he made the choice to ride the bike without permission. His action was similar to so many fairytales he heard in his childhood.

His head in his hands Dean sat on the couch trying to figure out a way out of this. Aggie padded up to him putting a paw on his arm in solace.

“I think I have a plan but we need to get you out of the battle to the death,” Aggie said. “But we need to find Nameless first.”

Dean looked at Aggie, trying to let all of his worries and stress go. Nodding his head in affirmation he stood up and shook it out.

“Ok, let's get to work then,” Dean said.  Brushing some nonexistent dust off his pants, stretched, and walked back to Nameless’s hand. Looking down at the spell circle. A little confused he pulled the nails out of his case and looked back at Aggie.

“Put one in the center of each rune and place the final one in the palm of the hand,” Aggie directed to Dean.

“Now as you power the circle imagines the nail pointing to wherever Nameless is,” Aggie began. “Then repeat after me as you keep that image in your mind.”

Aggie’s voice took on a somber nuance as he said, “nunc inveniri potest facere quod perierat.”

Stumbling over the words Dean finished the incantation. Feeling power flood from his core, Dean went weak in his knees. This was by far the most complex spell he had ever cast.

“Now break the circle and grab the nail and hand,” demanded Aggie. “The nail should pull a little as you hold it and Nameless’s hand. It should lead you to her but it only points in a straight line.”

As Aggies finished his explanation Dean broke the circle with his foot. An explosion of power erupted from the circle as both of them were blown back. The circle left a smoking crater in the middle of the floor.

Sitting up Dean coughed as he looked at the wreckage of their kitchen. His chairs lay broken in a heap after smashing against the wall. His table virtually undamaged but everything that sat on flung off including Aggie.

Ignoring everything else he rushed to Aggie’s body as it lay limply in a pile of broken wood. Picking him up gently Dean couldn’t feel him breathing. Thinking that a veterinarian could Dean got up ready to rush to one.

“Don’t worry Aggie,” Dean said, “I’m gonna get you to a vet and fix you up.”

At this Aggie opened his eye and said, “What could a vet do to help me, I’m a living grimoire. Not a pet.”

Dropping Aggie quickly Dean said, “But you weren’t breathing.”

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“I only ever appear to breathe,” Aggie replied. “It makes me seem more lifelike and trustworthy.”

“That is just weird,” Dean said looking a little more closely at Aggie.

“It doesn’t matter. You need to find out where the nail went as I study what is left of the circle,” Aggie said. Walking past Dean he began to sniff the charred remains of the floor. Before making his way to the center of it. From what appeared to be remnants of a hand.

Dean watched Aggie for just the briefest of seconds before having to turn away disgusted by what looked like a hand. Unsure of what to do to find the nail, Dean did what he knew best. He relaxed his mind as reached out to his nails.

The 4 nailed into the ground lit up like little suns to his senses. But as he attempted to pull them free of the ground his head felt as if it was being split by an ax. His concentration broke, his grip on the nails slipped as his headache quickly abated.

He had dealt with this before when he had no control of his magic. He had used his powers too much in too short of time. His mind and soul needed time to rest before he could really rest and recoup. Sensing them would be all he could do.

While going to grab a hammer out of the junk drawer he saw a hole in his wall. Knowing the other side was his bathroom he ran his hand against the hole. Opening up his sense he felt for his nail. Dim lights lit up as he felt all the studs in the wall as his mind pushed past them. Through the wall, he felt emptiness and then a flicker of light that he was familiar with. His nail was on the other side but only half of it.

Going into his bathroom he saw his nail. Stuck point down through the mirror. A slight rippling in the mirror surrounded the nail. As the ripple radiated out from the nail the mirror had shattered.

Reaching out to grab the nail from the mirror he pulled on it a little. It came free in his hand, the bottom half missing. The mirror suddenly shattered spraying shards of glass everywhere.

With the sound of shattering glass Aggie came running to see what happened. Looking at Dean holding half of a nail and the shattered mirror dust glittering he figured out where Nameless was.

“She is being held in the god damn Grimmlands,” Aggie said. His voice full of venom.

“You mentioned the Grimmlands before,” Dean said, “but refused to tell me anything about it.”

“I know because,” Aggie began, “it’s a lot to unpack and almost impossible to understand.”

Aggie then went onto explain to Dean the intricacies of the Grimmlands. It all basically boiled down to a gestalt of myths, legends, and stories that created a world next to ours. After going by names likes Tartarus, Valhalla, Never Never, and countless others it was given a name after its most recent explorers, the Brothers Grimm. Hence the Grimmlands. A world connected through reflective surfaces with ours that does not follow the same rules.

His mind swimming with information Dean laid on the couch. Aggie still in full Professor Cat mode continued with lectures on esoteric theories of how the two worlds actually formed. Dean closed his eyes as the morning caught up with him and he fell asleep.

Blessedly dreamless Dean's nap was interrupted by a plate being set heavily down on a coffee table. The smell of tuna steak marinated in soy ad honey-filled Dean's nose. Opening his eyes he looked over to a plate with a fork.

Aggie sat down next to him in his own human form with his own plate in hand.

“Eat up, we have a lot to do still,” Aggie said.

Dean grabbed the plate Aggie sat out for him. The gentle texture of the lightly seared steak mixed with the sweet and salty marinade made him moan in ecstasy. Finishing his meal quickly Dean watched Aggie slowly finish his own.

“If you can cook like that,” Dean said as he swiped a finger through the remnants of his meal to lick it clean. “Why do you have me cook at all?”

Setting his plate down Aggie responded, “I promised all of my knowledge to you. And cooking is possibly the most important one.” Leaning back on the couch he continued, “anyone can cook but to make a true meal one must understand the essence of each ingredient. It's the most prized skill I learned after my family gone to the passage of time. I was a fount of magical knowledge but with zero abilities to use it. Cooking is something I can do.”

“But you said you have multiple forms,” Dean said. “Changing forms is totally magic.”

“Besides my cat form, every other one is a gift from being more powerful than we can imagine,” Aggie went on. “The power that sustains them is finite and will fade the more I use it.”

“So it's like they are mortal,” Dean said.

“You can say that,” Aggie said as he changed back into his cat form. “Now get to the dishes so we can leave.”

Getting up from his spot Dean collected the dishes to take to the sink. As he walked through the burned magic circle, he connected with his nails again. Wrapping the nails with his powers he felt little pain as he pulled them free of the ground. As they flew to his hand, he felt a little naked short one. Pulling the half nail from his pocket he put it in with the rest.

He still felt that he needed a fifth nail even if it didn’t match. Reaching out to the wall he needed to repair. His magic connecting to the drywall nails he began to pull. Struggling a little he managed to pull one free, drywall dust trailing in the air as it flew to his hand. He shoved this one into a pocket afraid he would struggle to control the other 4 nails if they touched it. A little superstitious but it made him feel better.

Feeling ready to leave he asked Aggie what the plan is.

Aggie replied, “You will load your gun this time and we are going to sneak back into Nameless’s apartment.”