Theo’s vicious blade screeched as it hit the stone wall behind me. Think nails on a chalkboard but so much worse. His movement slowed down when I activated my Blink skill. It, coupled with my Evasion, made it a simple thing to dodge Theo’s practiced swing. I moved around him, standing at his rear when the slow movements ceased and we were both cast back into the speed of reality.

Theo drew back his sword and stiffened as he searched for me. “Get your ass out here, Joe!” he bellowed.

I slid back, disappearing into a cloud of silver sparkles and crouching in their innate protection. Frank stayed quiet, his talons gripping my shoulder hard to keep from being dislodged. “Not until you put that sword away.”

The giant of a man swung around, his eyes sliding right past me as he searched for the source of my voice. He stalked back toward the big door to my left, his sword held out ahead of him. He looked strange without his enormous tower shield on one arm. At least I knew he couldn’t do that concussion wave thing to knock me from my hiding place.

“You are supposed to be dead,” Theo said. “So what is it, you just got bored and left? Or was it all getting a little too real so you ran away and hid like the rat you are?”

“That’s a little harsh man. Maybe I was forced to leave, did you ever think of that?”

Theo snorted before lashing out with his blade once more. I yelped and Blinked across the short hallway, crawling into a little gap in the stones where more sparkles glowed. There were a lot of them down here. I wasn’t complaining of course but it was still a little odd.

“It’s not the first time you’ve disappeared on us. It’s your fault we broke apart. Why couldn’t you just stay gone?” Theo snarled.

“What do you mean, ‘broke apart’? What happened?” I asked.

“You lost your right to know the moment you ditched us all. It took us over a month to get Nigel home, and that was with the Outsider's help. You were the only one with the quest. He disappeared and gave us nothing. All that pain and sacrifice and for what, a name that means nothing?

You hurt all the people I care about. Come out now, I’ve been dying to sink my blade into you since the moment you disappeared.”

“Yeah, 'cause saying shit like that is going to make me want to come out.” I snapped.

Theo opened his mouth to speak but before he could the big door behind him creaked open. Gabby came through it in a rush, her bow drawn and her face darkened with rage. She looked a lot like her Dad at that moment. She kicked the door closed behind her and rushed to Theo’s side, her keen eyes scouring the hall. I swallow and crept as deep into my hole as my bulk would allow. I had no doubt a thief would be able to see me much faster than a thick-skulled warrior.

“What is it, Dad?” she asked.

“Get back inside,” Theo growled.

“Don’t listen to him Gabby, he’s gone crazy,” I shouted.

Gabby’s bow dropped as her face paled and her eyes grew wide. “Joe?”

“Get back inside!”

Gabby floundered, unsure of what to do. Her eyes flicked between the door and the end of the hall where I was hiding. She shuffled her feet one way and then the other, her hands shaking on her bow.

“Wait,” I called, shoving my hand into my bum bag. “I have a present for you.”

I pulled out the second Crossbow of Umbra that I had kept from my time in the Goddess’s realm. I slid it across the floor with as much force as I could. It still only made it halfway between me and Gabby. Theo roared and charged toward my hiding place. I swore and Blinked again, moving around him to stand in front of Gabby. I scooped up the crossbow on the way. When the world returned to its regular speed I held it out to her.

“This is for you,” I said.

Gabby reflexively took the object. He hands were shaking and her eyes were filling with tears as she looked up at my face. I gave her a weak smile, trying not to let the relief of seeing her again overwhelm me.

She rubbed a thumb over the thick band of the crossbow, barely glancing at the thing. “I thought you were dead,” she whispered.

“I kind of was,” I replied.

I sensed him before I saw his shadow cross over me. I moved to Blink away again but paused, yanking out my sword instead. His swing would be too close to Gabby. I couldn’t let that happen. I met his swing with one of my own, deflecting it just enough to keep the pair of us safe.

Theo bellowed something incoherent and released the sword with a single hand, smacking his elbow clean into my face. I cried out as I crashed to the floor, my nose spewing blood across my face.

Gabby screamed and flung herself in front of me, blocking Theo’s next swing. “Don’t hurt him.”

“Gabby, get out of the way,” the giant snarled. “All of this, every last part of it, is his fault. He deserves all of this and more.”

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I grasped Gabby’s shoulders and gently eased her off of me. “It’s okay, let him get it out. And then would one of you please tell me what happened to everyone else.”

Gabby stood back, placing her hand on Theo’s arm as she eyed the crossbow she still held in her hand. Her brows were dipped in a deep frown as her eyes flickered at something we couldn’t see. Two bright red splotches grew on her cheeks as she looked back down at me still sprawled on the floor.

“Where did you get this?” she asked.

Theo’s brows dipped like his daughters as his murderous intent dampened. “What is it?”

“Joe,” Gabby insisted. “Where did you get this?”

I took a deep shuddering breath before diving headfirst into the mess that had been my life. “From a Daughter of Umbra, in the realm of the Shadow Goddess, who was trying to kill me.”

The tip of Theo’s giant sword brushed the ground as he stared at me like I’d grown a second head or something. Gabby was awfully pale, her hands shaking violently on the crossbow. I frowned, unsure why they were having such a strong reaction to a pretty awesome weapon.

I lifted my arm to show off my own, “I have one too.”

Gabby swallowed, looked at her Dad, and whispered quietly, “the dream was real.”

“What dream?” I asked.

Gabby just shook her head, unable to answer.

Theo swore under his breath and sheathed his enormous sword in the scabbard on his back. The long leather strapped handle stuck out over his shoulder. He held out his gloved hand to me, his face still a mix of hatred and confusion.

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go inside and talk.”

I took his hand, gingerly poking at my aching nose as I climbed to my feet. It was swollen and angled awkwardly. “I think you broke it.”

“Good.”

Theo stomped off, yanking open the door and ushering us inside. Gabby walked beside me, still holding the crossbow in her hands. Theo pulled the door closed behind us, the solid bang of it made me flinch. An unwelcome reminder of my time in the shadow realm.

“No one opens this door,” Theo snarled to the pair of heavily armored guards standing on either side of the door. “No one in, no one out, do you understand?”

“Yes, sir,” they said in unison.

I looked around, intrigued by the large cavern we’d walked into. It looked just like the lair of the Swamp Hag, only this one wasn’t as coated in slime and filth. In fact, for a cavern hidden in a sewer, it was strangely clean. The pool in the middle of the room was black in color but didn’t stink thankfully. Four bridges crossed it, meeting in the middle at a large concrete circle that was cramped by a large rectangular object made of carved stone.

There were people clustered around it, all of them dressed a little like me. The many tunnels that led away from this central room were busy thoroughfares for people of every kind. Warriors, thieves, gunslingers, crafters, and even mages. It felt a lot like Oliver’s Rest only below ground and a little more mysterious. I preferred this kind of hideout.

I followed Theo with Gabby at my side as he led us down one of the tunnels. A lot of the people we passed stopped to speak with Theo or to stare at me, or maybe it was the big black bird sitting miraculously quietly on my shoulder. Either way, it made me very uncomfortable. Gabby didn’t say a word as she shuffled along beside me.

I looked around, desperately trying to see another from our old crew but no matter how I looked, I couldn’t see anyone. It was difficult to keep from shouting for Stella. I was desperate to ruffle the fur on her head after all the shit I’d been through. Nothing soothed the soul quite like a dog.

We reached a row of bars that closed off the tunnel. The other side of the bars was pitch black but I could hear the sound of running water. Theo turned and took out a key, opening a door to the right of the bars. We all filtered inside and he locked the door again.

I eyed the oddly homely room. There were four large beds spaced out around the room, intermingled with chairs and tables laden with papers and supplies. On one wall was a cluster of weapons including Theo’s old tower shield. The room was cold and stuffy but there wasn’t a speck of dust coating any of the surfaces.

“Where is everyone?” I asked, trying not to think about the fact that there weren’t enough beds for our entire crew to occupy.

Theo marched away and dropped into a seat by the largest table. He pulled a book toward himself and with an old-fashioned quill and a little bottle of ink, he started scratching away.

Gabby sighed and turned to me after she gingerly placed the crossbow down on a small table beside one of the beds. “They’re gone.”

“What do you mean, they’re…”

I yelped, a violent flash of electricity pulsing through me. My teeth smacked together painfully as my muscles convulsed. I growled and swore when the shock went away, rubbing at the sore spot on my ass. I spun around, looking for the damn horse I was sure would be standing there. Only, he was nowhere to be seen.

“Sob?” I asked.

Gabby giggled and moved to me, grabbing my chin in her cool hand and yanking it downward. I hissed at the pain it caused my poor nose. The pain vanished when I found myself looking at the mouse-sized horse. His mane and tail had changed into neon blue flames along with the long feathers above his hooves.

“What… what happened to my horse?” I asked, trying not to laugh.

Sob whinnied angrily up at me, miniature sparks dancing around his muzzle. I couldn’t help it, despite the pain I dropped down into a plush chair and laughed so hard I started to cry.

Gabby dropped down into a crouch, whispering something sweet and supportive to the tiny horse as she stroked a finger down his back. I half expected her to flinch and snatch her hand away, the tip of it burnt to a crisp, but that didn’t happen. For whatever reason his flames didn’t hurt her.

“Nigel cursed him,” Gabby finally said, rising from her crouch and tossing me an angry look that stilled my giggles. “He said he could make Sob fit down the manhole and then did this. We thought he would lift the curse when we got him home but he didn’t.”

“It’s probably a good thing,” Theo grumbled, pushing his notebook away from himself. “Otherwise Sob would have had to stay topside by himself. At least here, he is protected.”

“We wouldn’t have left him in danger,” Gabby said, aghast at the idea of it.

Theo tossed a darkened look my way. “It wasn’t us who left him. It was his so-called owner.”

I glared right back. “Again, I didn’t choose to disappear. I was forced to.”

Theo leaned back on his chair, folding his stupidly muscular arms over his barrel chest. “Why don’t you tell us about that? Don’t skip any details.”

“First, tell me where everyone else is. Where are Stella and Nora?”

“Tell your story, Joe. Then we can discuss the others,” he growled.

“Fine. Hold onto your boots, because it’s a killer tale,” I said before launching into the story of my overuse of the Advanced Shadow Rush skill and the Goddess’s sick game. I watched their faces as I talked, trying not to smile as their disbelief turned to shock and then revulsion.