The shock field that radiated outward from my Shadow Pulse slowed their wild descent by little more than a fraction. Defeated and moments away from being crushed without the time to even lift my arms I submitted to my doom. At least I’d go out in a half-assed attempt to play the hero.

It would be a good story to tell Rory. Crushed under a falling angel was a much better way to go than being torn a new one by a crocodilian monster.

Frank’s screaming was right over my head when a pair of lanky legs flew over the top of me. I should have been grateful that I could hear again but my brain refused to comprehend the wonder of it in the moment. The angel and Jacob hit the ground on the other side of me and rolled away in a tangled mess of legs and white feathered wings.

The pair were surrounded by a tight-fitting orange bubble that burst into a million flecks of light when they came up against a tree with a resounding bang. I flinched from the noise. Boopzy dropped from the sky and landed heavily on my shoulder where he squeaked and hightailed it to my pocket, buttoning it closed over him with a quick movement of a tentacle. The glob of shadow had disappeared entirely, returning to the realm I’d summoned it from. Frank was high overhead; a black speck screaming at all of us to shut up.

I stood on shaking legs and jogged to where Jacob and his angel still lay motionless together. Stella and Sob caught up to us there, crowding in until I was feeling painfully claustrophobic.

The angel’s face was hidden beneath her tightly clasps wings but Jacob’s handsome mug was on full display, slack-jawed and pale with an impressive bumfluff beard as always, as he leaned against the tree clutching his prize. His chest was rising and falling rapidly as he stared at me without blinking.

“I… I did it,” he said in little more than a whisper.

I laughed and clamped my hand on his skinny shoulder. “That’s right, bud. You did it!”

And I almost couldn’t believe it. The boy had beaten Sob and Stella in a foot race and had caught the angel with his bare hands. I guess it was time to take him cape shopping because bloody hell he deserved it.

“Is she okay?” Jacob asked.

“She?”

I reached out and gently coaxed the wings to part so I could look down at the face hidden beneath them. Her long auburn braid had somehow tangled around her pale neck. I eased it off, trying not to be impressed by the many little daggers I could feel threaded into the bends, and let my eyes settle on her familiar freckled cheeks.

When I spoke it was little more than a squeak. “Gabby?”

Gabby groaned and rolled away from me, holding her eyes closed so tightly they wrinkled. “Five more minutes.”

I chuckled. She was a girl after my own heart. I ran my finger over the long silken feathers now sprouting from her shoulders and eyed the dark green combo of Croc leather and chainmail that she now wore as a dress. I couldn’t help but notice that she now had two Crossbows of Umbra strapped around her arms; one for each wrist.

“Oh, Gabby,” I said. “You went through the trial, didn’t you? Just like Clara and Isabella.”

Jacob frowned and looked up at me. “Who?”

“I’ll tell you all about it later. Or, you know what, maybe I should write it down. I’m getting kind of sick of repeating the story over and over. I’ll call it Kickass Joe versus the Shadow Realm. What do you think?”

Jacob made a face I didn’t appreciate and said, “I have no idea what you’re talking about but that sounds like a shit book.”

“True. Not nice, but true.”

Jacob ignored me and tightened his grip on Gabby before speaking to her in a much kinder tone, “Gabby, please wake up. We’re all here.”

Stella whined and pushed her way to the forefront, sliding her tongue over Gabby’s cheek. Gabby squealed and shot upright, rubbing the wet spot on her cheek as her wild eyes darted about. I tried to push past Stella but it was no good, the dog was beating me with her rope-like tail and refused to move from her spot.

“Stella,” Gabby cried, wrapping her arms around the dog's neck before she crumpled into a weeping mess.

Jacob’s eyes whipped around to meet mine and I felt his panic deep in my soul. Crying is not what either of us had expected after a miracle like what had just happened. What do you do when someone is crying for an unknown reason right in front of you? Do you hug them? Do you sneakily back away to give them privacy? No, seriously, tell me. Jacob needs you too, it's not just about me for once.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Get out of my way,” Nora bellowed.

I didn’t even have a chance to turn before the warrior woman grabbed my shoulder and shoved me so hard I practically soared into the brick wall that was Sob. The stallion shot my ass full of lightning as if somehow I’d planned to smack right into him. I muttered a string of curses as I backed away, one hand rubbing my butt and the other my aching head.

It was hard to see what was happening through the stars clouding my vision. Nora had stolen Stella’s place and was whispering words of affection in the crying girl's ear. Gabby seemed to be calming down the more she spoke. Jacob on the other hand was beginning to go red in the face. Gabby was still perched in his lap and Nora’s weight was pressing down on him too.

“Ahh girls,” I said, approaching the trio. “You might want to give Jacob a chance to breathe.”

Gabby’s head shot up and a smile broke across her face. “Joe, it’s you!”

I smiled and bowed. “Congratulations, Daughter of Umbra.”

Nora moved aside and Gabby shot to her feet, throwing her arms around my neck. Her grand wings unfurled behind her, wider and more impressive than Clara's or Isabella’s had been.

“I did it. It was so, so hard, but I did it.”

I laughed and gave her a big squeeze before letting go. “I’m not surprised. You’re the most capable out of all of us.” Boopzy chittered angrily at being violently squashed in my pocket. “Oops, sorry little guy, forgot you were there.”

I pulled the little Tentarat out and held him close to my chest.

Gabby squealed and snapped impatiently at me, “Who is this?”

I smiled at the instant look of love on Gabby’s face. Now that’s what I wanted to see Nora do when she looked at the Tentarat. “This is Boopzy, the newest member of our little clan.”

“May I?” Gabby asked holding out her cupped hands. I dropped Boopzy right into them and watched as Gabby pressed him to her face and rocked from side to side. Boopzy looked like he was in heaven. “Welcome little guy. I’m Gabby. You are my new best friend.”

I laughed and gently took the Tentarat back. “Sorry Gabby, Boopzy is best friends with Nora right now.”

I walked over to Nora and held out Boopzy for her to take. If looks could kill the one Nora was flashing my way would give me a brain aneurysm.

“Joe,” she snapped in an aggressive warning.

“You promised, no take backsies.”

“Fine.”

She screwed up her face and took Boopzy from me, holding him far away from her body like he carried some kind of disease.

I turned back to Gabby to find her hugging a now-standing Jacob. I rubbed my fingers through my hair, unsure again what to do now. Thankfully, it didn’t last long and suddenly Gabby was looking around, even going so far as to flutter her new wings to float a few feet over all our heads. When her feet hit the ground again, she looks at me with a crinkled brow.

“Where’s my Dad?”

For the first time since she’d woken up, everyone went silent. Stella sat beside her and nuzzled her but even she was quiet. Jacob didn’t know the story but Nora did and he could plainly see her discomfort and was playing off of it.

“Where is he?” Gabby repeated a little more desperately.

I cleared my throat and answered, “The last time I saw him he was with Tanya in the Outsider’s hideout.”

“He’s not with you?” She asked.

“No. He, umm, he got a bit upset when you disappeared.”

She sighed and rubbed at her arms as her wide wings wrapped more tightly around her. “I thought he might. It’s something I had to do though. It was the only way forward I could see. The only way for me to get strong.”

That reminded me of something. Trying not to make it overly obvious, she was a thief just like I was, after all, I used my Identify skill on her.

Gabrielle Thundershield – Level 39 Daughter of Umbra

It was my turn to go slack-jawed. She out-leveled Nora by two. I never, not in a million years, would have expected that. Even after experiencing a legendary-level challenge dungeon myself.

I mustn’t have hid what I was doing very well because Gabby squirmed and her cheeks turned a brilliant shade of pink.

“Well,” she said, “do you like what you see?”

I cleared my throat a second time as everyone spun to look at me. Nora looked horrified and Jacob was angry for some reason. “It must have been really difficult up there.”

Gabby gave only a sharp nod in answer before changing the subject. “Where are you all going? I would hate to separate so soon again but I need to go see Dad.”

“We’re going to Perth,” Nora answered for me. “To Phlegm’s tavern there.”

The smile returned to Gabby’s face as she ran up and threw her arms back around Nora’s neck. “Thank the Goddess. I was terrified for a moment. I never want to be alone in this place ever again.”

“You can hold on to this…. Thing, if you want.”

“Nora!” I snapped.

Nora glared at me and lowered the hand holding Boopzy back down to her side before grumbling, “Fine.”