Merlin stood up. “I’m not the one who made him cry!” he shouted, holding his head where he’d hit the wall. “It was the crazy woman waving around a knife!”

She glared at him. He readied a hex, but she ignored it. He shook his head at her lack of concern. “Don’t ignore me. I’m going to attack you. With magic,” Merlin said.

Vetica brushed Charlie’s hair with her hand. “Such a pretty baby.”

Merlin scoffed. Charlie sniffled, his tears coming to a pause. He stared at her, his eyes swollen and puffy.

A minute ago, she had been holding a knife to Merlin’s throat. Now she was comforting him because he’d been upset. It was strange, hard to comprehend. He didn’t know what to think about it.

Vetica wore a dark, void-black cloak with a hood pulled over her head. Long blonde hair poured out of it, falling across her shoulders.

Bleedy and Mousifer looked unsure of how to proceed. They stood on the floor, waiting for instructions. Orb remained still on the pillow, hoping she didn’t notice him.

Charlie turned to look at Merlin. “Tell her about me.” He wiped the remnants of his tears away with his tiny hands.

Merlin shook his head.

“Merlin! Tell her!”

Vetica turned to look at Merlin, who was shaking his head vigorously. “What are you doing? Are you having a seizure?” she asked.

Merlin huffed. He pulled the desk seat out and sat. “Charlie isn’t…normal.”

Vetica reached for her dagger. “Take that back right now.”

“No, I mean, Charlie’s special. He can talk. He wanted me to tell you.”

Vetica looked at him, and then back at Charlie. “He’s talking to you? Then why can’t I hear him?” A thin, carefully maintained brow lifted.

“There are conditions. Magic conditions. He doesn’t have the magic potential for it right now, but he can talk through me.”

Vetica turned, side-eyeing him. “Prove it.”

Merlin sighed. Then his face brightened with an idea. “Fine. Charlie, poop your diaper.”

“What? No!” Charlie said.

Vetica raised a brow. “That isn’t exactly proof. Babies do that all the time.”

“What?” Charlie thought. “No, we don’t! Babies don’t poop!”

“It’s proof if he does it on demand!” Merlin argued.

“That’s just a gross thing you taught him to do.” Vetica turned her nose up at him.

Merlin rolled his eyes. “Wait,” he said, turning to look at Mousifer and Bleedy. “Do either of you change his diaper?”

The two minions looked at one another, and then back at Merlin. They shook their heads.

“Then who does?” Merlin asked. “Orb doesn’t even have hands.”

“Nobody! My diaper is clean!”

“I don’t have hands?!” Orb asked at the same time.

Merlin’s eyes scrolled across the floor. The implications troubling him. “Okay, let’s come back to this conversation later. I have concerns. Anyway, Charlie, do a thumbs up.”

Charlie looked at his hand and slowly lifted his thumb, holding it up to Vetica.

Vetica leaned away from him. “How…that’s a coincidence.”

“Fist bump, Charlie,” Merlin instructed. Charlie complied, holding a baby fist up in the air.

Vetica held Charlie away from herself with both arms, studying him. “That’s impossible. He really understands?”

Charlie nodded.

Vetica looked taken aback. She rested him across the tops of her knees. Then she bit her lip and looked off to the side. No one said anything for a few moments. Charlie just stared at her, wondering what was going on in her mind. Merlin and the minions exchanged unsure glances.

“We really need to get you away from the murderous assassin, Charlie,” Orb said.

“I’m fine. I think she likes me!”

“Yeah? Well, that’s because you don’t have any sense of self-preservation!”

Vetica sighed. She faced him again, looking down at him. “After I finish my contract, you can come with me, Charlie. I’ll keep you safe.”

Merlin jumped to his feet. “Finish your contract? You mean kill me? Charlie isn’t going anywhere with you! You can’t keep him safe, anyway. The knights are after him. If he doesn’t make it to Arcadeya before they reach him…” he trailed off.

Vetica’s head twisted. “Knights? You mean Hex Knights? So, they know about him? They know he can communicate?”

Merlin nodded. “Yes, something like that. And those self-righteous…” Merlin sighed. “I won’t let you kill me, and I won’t let you take Charlie. So, just ignore the contract and pretend you couldn’t find me. Everyone wins. Well, I guess the cult doesn’t. And you probably wouldn’t get paid. But fifty percent of all the people involved would win. That’s still really good!”

“As long as we’re on the side who wins, I like that plan!” Orb added, though Vetica couldn’t hear him.

Vetica wrinkled her nose. “I’ve never failed a contract.”

Merlin groaned. “Oh great, you’re one of those. I kill people, but I have a sense of honor, so I always see a job through once I start it. Blah blah blah.”

Vetica looked unimpressed. She lifted Charlie to her chest and crossed her legs. “No. There are consequences for failing that I would rather not face, wizard.” She said it almost like she knew his secret. That Merlin couldn’t actually use magic. But Charlie thought it was probably just her being snarky.

“Well, if you think Charlie will still come with you if you kill me, then you’re crazy. I’m his best friend.”

“Charlie, I think Merlin started taking drugs in prison. There’s no way he actually believes that,” Orb said.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“Squeak!”

“Bleedy!”

Orb spun around on the pillow he was sitting on. “Nope. It’s none of you! It’s me!”

Charlie frowned. “I like all of you equally,” he said, rather proud of his diplomatic solution.

“Tsk.” Vetica looked down at Charlie. “Fine, then I’m coming with you.”

“Excuse me?” Merlin said. “You tried to kill me!”

“If I’d tried, you’d be dead. Besides, you messed with the cult. You’re trying to get yourself killed.”

“I was trying to save a little girl’s mom!”

Charlie sighed. He did his best to ignore their bickering in the background. This wasn’t any good. They weren’t getting anywhere this way. He turned his thoughts inward. “Parent, is there any way to raise dungeon integrity quickly?”

“It is possible. If you temporarily dismiss the interface, myself, you will gain two or three percent immediately. That’s the standard amount I require to operate.”

“Why didn’t you say that before?” Orb asked.

“And how long would you be gone?” Charlie added.

“In combat, that much is negligible, but for Charlie’s purpose here, communication, it’s enough. I would reactivate in one or two days.”

Charlie nodded. “Okay, do it!”

He felt a small surge of energy as Parent shut down. He willed the Transfer ability to activate. The room shifted as the dungeon formed itself over the furniture and layout of the room. Vetica and Merlin each stopped mid-sentence. The transformation only lasted a second before the room turned to normal.

“Hey! Stop fighting!” Charlie thought as loud as he could.

“What was that?” Vetica asked. She reached for her dagger, pulling Charlie in closer with her other hand.

“It’s me, Charlie,” he said. She turned toward him, shaking her head in disbelief. “Do you really want to come with us? If you do, you have to get along with Merlin!”

“You really can talk…and the knights are really after you?”

She was taking this surprisingly well.

Charlie nodded. “Mhm! I have to get to Arcadeya! There’s a researcher who studies dungeons there and my friend Richard said that I could get help there. I could learn more about my powers.”

Merlin groaned. “Charlie, she’s an assassin! She kills people for a living! We can’t trust her.”

Vetica didn’t say anything. A sad look crossed her face.

Charlie thought about it. He didn’t like the idea of someone in their party going around killing people for money. But he had the feeling Vetica was strong, and they could really use someone strong to back them up. Plus, maybe he could help her learn to help people instead of killing them. He had a good feeling about her. “I want her to come. Is that okay, Merlin?”

“No!”

“Merlin…” Charlie said.

Orb floated by his side. “Are you sure about this?”

Vetica blinked. Orb had been quietly sitting on the pillow all this time, so she hadn’t noticed him. Now she looked confused. “A dungeon core?”

Merlin ignored the question. “If she’s going to come with us, she has to promise not to kill me in my sleep,” Merlin said, crossing his arms.

She eyed him thoughtfully. “Fine. I promise if I decide to kill you, I’ll only do it while you’re awake.”

“Wait, that’s not what I meant...”

Vetica continued. “We leave in the morning, then. I have something to take care of. It would be better if word didn’t get out that I went back on a contract. I’d like to delay my punishment as long as possible.”

“No killing!” Charlie said.

Her shoulders shrank. “What? But I wanted to kill them.” She pouted.

“If you want to come with us, you have to find a different way to handle it,” Charlie insisted.

Vetica huffed. “Fine.” She went to the open window but paused. She turned and used the door instead. “I’ll be back,” she said, and with that, she was gone. The door pulled shut behind her.

Merlin waited a minute, then stood and hurried toward the front door. He put his ears to it and then carefully opened the door and looked both ways down the hall. He closed it back and latched the lock. “Sorry it took me so long to catch on to what you were doing. Alright, let’s get our stuff packed and get the hell out of here before she comes back! Great thinking back there, Charlie. We’ll get Marvin and make a run for it. She’ll never see it coming.”

Charlie relaxed on the bed. “No, we’re going to wait. I really do want her to come with us. Besides, we both need some rest.”

Merlin deflated. “What? Seriously? But—”

Charlie snored through the end of Merlin’s argument.

When Charlie woke up, Merlin was already packing what little belongings he had brought to the room.

“You’re up early,” Charlie said, rubbing his eyes.

Merlin looked up, packing a spare shirt in the leather drawstring bag he’d brought to hold his things. “Wanted to be ready, just in case you decided we could ditch that evil woman.”

“We aren’t leaving Vetica!” Charlie said.

Someone’s hand rapped against the door several times. Merlin groaned. Bleedy opened it, twisting the doorknob and leaning back to pull the door ajar. Vetica pressed through the door and inspected the room. “Ready to go?” she asked.

Merlin kept his hood drawn on the way out of town and hunched his back to obscure Charlie. Charlie and Orb rode on his back, settled into the baby carrier and hidden by Merlin’s cloak. Merlin wanted to ensure that the guards didn’t recognize him, and Charlie was worried about the man Geron had helped him escape from. The strange man with the scar outside the cafe a few days ago. They figured it was best to disguise themselves as much as possible.

Vetica carried a slumped Bleedy over her shoulder. He played dead, pretending to be a creature she’d killed during a hunt. Mousifer peeked out of one of her pockets. They made it to Marvin, tipped the stable owner, and set off in Merlin’s wagon.

Vetica drove the carriage out of town, and to everyone’s surprise, Marvin the horse seemed to take a liking to her. When they arrived at the gate, the guard flagged her down.

“Leaving on your own?” he asked her, inspecting the wagon.

Vetica smiled. “Yes. Have some business to take care of out of town.”

The guard nodded and flagged her on. “Travel safely.”

She waved. When they were out of view of the town, she reached back and knocked on the wood. Charlie, Merlin, and the others climbed out of the hidden compartment in Merlin’s wagon.

“You know, this wagon has a lot of tricks to it. You really are quite the scumbag if you needed something like this,” Orb said.

Merlin scoffed. “It got us out of town, didn’t it? Besides, it’s not for anything weird. It’s for smuggling.” He looked at Bleedy. “And hiding Popporri weed so someone doesn’t eat it all.”

Bleedy smiled. A piece of the hair-like plant hung from his mouth.

“Oh, come on!”

Brutus

Brutus sat up to watch the new prisoners being dragged in. Two men in red robes were being escorted to a cell on the far side of the prison. His eyes lit up.

Cultist.

The guard on duty looked up. “Where the hell did you find these guys?” he asked.

The two guards escorting the prisoners stopped to talk with him. “They were tied up outside the prison. Guess they pissed somebody off.”

One of the cultists pulled away, trying to free himself. “Release us at once. Our brothers will destroy this entire town in search of us.”

“Yeah yeah. Whatever.” They opened the cell door and went to push them inside.

“You idiots. I will get free. When I do, I will find you. I will skin your children and burn your homes. You will suffer.”

The guard on duty stood up. Annoyed. “Hey, let’s put them over there instead.”

Brutus smiled. The guard was pointing to his cell. The guards escorting the cultist shrugged and followed his suggestion. Brutus backed away from the cell door. The cultists were pushed through a minute later. A scroll fell out of one of their pockets. They ignored it, staring at him standing in the back of the room. He bent over to pick up the scroll and opened it. There was a sketch of Merlin on it.

Were they after Merlin for some reason?

The silent of the two spat on the ground in distaste. The other surveyed him and the room. “You idiots. There are only two beds in here.” He looked up at Brutus and sneered. “You, ugly, you’ll be sleeping on the floor.” He paused. “Why are you smiling?”

The guards laughed, walking away.

“Twelve,” Brutus said, pointing at one of the cultists.

He moved his hand to point at the other.

“Thirteen.”