I looked at the reflection of my bloodshot eye in the shard of mirror I was carrying in my hand before letting out a loud sigh and wrapping it in a scrap of linen. Safely tucking the thing in my bum bag I descended the final stairs into the noise of the main room. It was still very early. Wherever the Witch of Evermore had taken me it seemed as if time had stood still. It made me wonder about her. She was different somehow; not a player and not some mystical god-like being. She reminded me of Kendrick in that way.

“Joe, you’re finally awake,” Gabby said from her place at the bar.

I smiled at her in return, noticing that her own did not quite reach her eyes. She wanted to be happy. Maybe she even wanted to continue on like nothing had happened. The pain she must have been feeling from being abandoned by her father and losing someone she clearly cared a great deal about must have been immense. If she wanted to play at being happy, the least I could do was support her in it.

I ran my hand over my freshly shaved cheek. “You think these good looks come naturally? I man of my grandeur needs his beauty sleep.”

This time when she laughed it was real. I beamed, proud of myself as I tugged out a stool and dropped down onto it. I half expected a sarcastic or cruel comment from Nora but instead, all she did was stir her oatmeal absentmindedly. She was frowning so deeply that her brows almost touched in the middle.

I elbowed Gabby and whispered, “What’s wrong with her?”

Gabby shrugged and dumped an outrageous amount of sugar into her own oatmeal. “She was happy enough when she got down here and then Phlegm handed her a piece of paper. She’s looked like that ever since.”

I rubbed at the stubbly remains of my hair before rapping my knuckles on the counter. “Phlegm, a moment?”

The goblin popped up from behind the bar, his yellowed tusks hanging over his dark green lips. “What can I do you for, Joe?”

I frowned at the creature, wondering why he was so chipper when the sun was barely a finger-width above the horizon. Before I could ask, the goblin pulled out a big wooden bowl filled with oatmeal and pushed it across the bar to me. Then he held out his large fleshy hand.

“It’s five gold for the meal. Two more if you want to add sugar or honey.”

I glared at the beast. “Seven gold for this, are you serious?”

The goblin’s eyes turned into angry little slits. “Do you have a problem with my prices?”

“Yes,” I snapped but dropped the requested gold into his hand anyway. “Give me the honey.”

I wasn’t expecting the bulbous jar of honey to look like something out of a much-beloved children's show but that’s what he placed in front of me. It was good though. Made the oatmeal ever so slightly more bearable. I have to say, it wasn’t one of Phlegm’s finest creations.

“Ready to move on to Stanthorpe today?” I asked Nora when I’d finished my meal.

She was still staring into her mostly untouched bowl. When she looked up at me finally it was with eyes brimming with tears. I reared back at the sight of it. Nora didn’t get sad, she only got angry. What the hell was going on?

“You’ll have to go without me. There’s something I need to do first.”

Gabby leaned around me and said, “Let us help you.”

The piece of paper in Nora’s hand crinkled as she pulled her hand into a fist. “No, I have to do this one alone. I’ll meet you both in Stanthorpe, okay? Start building the safe place just like we wanted. I won’t be too long.”

I slammed my hand down on the bar making everyone jump as my stool clattered to the floor behind me. “No. We’re not separating again until the safe place is built. That was the deal. Quests can wait until then.”

“Joe,” Nora said more forcefully than before. “I have to do this. Do you understand?”

“Phlegm, I’ll give you five hundred gold if you tell me what that note said,” I snapped, eyeing the greedy goblin on the other side of the bar.

The creature's ears trembled and he closed his eyes. “No. I can’t do it. I promised. I’m sorry.”

Infuriated I dove forward, trying to grab the scrap of paper in her hand. Nora roared and leaped away, shoving me back from her with one hand as she stuffed the paper into one of her satchels.

“Give me the note Nora,” I barked.

“No, it’s none of your business,” she snapped, backing off just far enough to pull her axe from its sheath.

“If it puts you in danger then it is my business. Give me the damn note.”

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Gabby grabbed my arm in a painful grip, sweeping her wings to yank me back with more force than I would have thought possible. “Enough, Joe. Stop it.”

I stood there, my chest heaving as I forced air into my angry lungs. Inside my head, the demons were pounding on drums, blocking any thought I might have aside from panic and giving me a headache to boot. I’d only felt like this one other time in my life and it had been the night I couldn’t make it home in time. I couldn’t let that happen again. I couldn’t hold her while the light disappeared from her eyes.

“This is a bad idea,” I said as gently as I could. “Please, don’t do it.”

Stella whined and rubbed up against my side. I scratched behind her ears, finding comfort in the familiar movement. Frank was strutting along the bar, oddly silent as he pecked at leftover scraps scattered across the wooden surface. I had no idea where Boopzy had gotten to. Hopefully, he was tucked away in one of Nora’s pockets.

Nora slammed the butt of her axe into the ground letting out a solid bang that made even Phlegm flinch. “Do you think I want to do this? Let me go and you’ll see why I had to do it in a few days.”

“I can’t set it up on my own,” I admitted.

“You won’t be on your own. You’ll have Gabby, Frank, and Stella.” She rubbed at the back of her neck with her free hand before reaching into her frontmost pocket and pulling out a shivering Boopzy. “And Boopzy too.”

I reached out to grab the little monster but paused, narrowing my eyes just the way Phlegm had done earlier. “You’re just trying to get out of your last few days of the deal, aren’t you?”

Nora's cheeks burned a bright red as she snatched her hand back, cradling Boopzy against her chest. “No, of course not! I just thought he’d be safer with you, that’s all.”

I snorted even though there wasn’t an ounce of levity inside me. “Fat chance. He’s yours for five more days. That was the deal.”

I eyed the little Tentarat, hoping he wouldn’t think I was trying to get rid of him or something like that. Honestly, I just wanted Nora to have someone with her wherever the hell she was going to disappear to. Boopzy might be tiny but he was ridiculously helpful.

“Maybe you should get Sob to inject him with some magic before you go?” I mumbled.

I was still unhappy with the way this was going, especially after my odd encounter with Cassie in the mirror world. This was not how I needed my morning to go. I’d already had the damn stone I’d been dying to get my mitts on stolen by my so-called Master. I’d lost count of the amount of crap I’d had to wade through in the last twenty-four hours, and on no sleep as well. I was regretting shaving my head because right now sounded like a good time to yank on the long threads of hair I’d had not so long ago. It’s weird that I found doing that comforting, isn’t it? Yeah, I kind of thought so.

Nora looked away from me, swinging her axe from side to side. “Actually, I need to ask a favor.”

I could hear Gabby chattering with Phlegm behind me in quiet whispers but chose to ignore whatever they were saying and folded my arms over my chest instead.

“What do you want?” I asked.

“I… ahh… need to borrow Sob.”

“What?” I bellowed.

Screee!

Boopzy leaped into the air, throwing his tentacles out wide in the semblance of a starburst before yanking himself back down into Nora’s pocket and fastening the button over his head. Stella barked and bounded around my feet, bowing down and wagging her tail, ready to play. Those were both very strange reactions to me bellowing like an angry mama cow.

“Shut the hell up!”

See, at least Frank’s response made sense.

“Why do you want my horse?” I asked.

“I have to get somewhere quickly,” was all she said.

I groaned and rubbed at my aching eyes, fumbling behind myself to find my toppled stool and right it so I could sit my ass down. All this secrecy was making the drums beat harder. If it got any worse my head might actually split in two.

"Fine. Take him. He likes you better anyway."

Nora grabbed my shoulder and leaned in close. “You know I’ll be back right? It’s just a quest. Nothing I can’t handle.”

I wanted to shrug off her hand but stopped myself. I was being unreasonable. I knew that and yet somehow I couldn’t stop myself from feeling this way. It was just because I was tired. That had to be it. Hopefully, the Red Fox Inn was still active in Stanthorpe because I’d need at least one night of solid sleep in a safe place before I even thought about what to do next.

“I know,” I mumbled when she still hadn’t let go.

“Right well, goodbye.”

She walked away from me and straight to Gabby. I grunted and gave her a half-hearted wave before demanding Phlegm give me a little liquid fire.

“Little early, isn’t it?” the goblin asked, ducking down behind the bar for a moment.

“What do you care, I’m paying.”

Phlegm's brow lifted, decorating his green blotchy forehead in deep grooves. I didn’t much care if my tone surprised the beastly innkeeper, I just wanted my drink. The bell over the door rang out making me grip the glass tumbler Phlegm handed me so hard my knuckles turned white.

“It will be alright Joe,” Gabby said as she sat down beside me. “Nora knows what she’s doing.”

I wanted to snap back that Jacob had known what he was doing as well but stopped myself before the words left my tongue. Instead, I downed the whiskey in one fiery gulp and tossed a handful of coins at Phlegm.

“Come on Gabby. Let’s get going. I’m sick of this whole damn side of the country.”

Gabby opened her mouth like she was going to say something but closed it before she did. Stella trotted along beside me, her tail no longer wagging and her ears perked up. The bell rang out again before Frank left the bar and flapped his wings to join us.

Every muscle in my body was painfully tight as we moved around the back end of the inn to where the carriage would be waiting for us. Sob whinnied as he galloped past sending Gabby and me reeling into the wall. His flaming blue mane whipped out behind him in a flickering streak, matching the streams of fire billowing from his hocks. Nora’s eyes met mine for the briefest of moments before Sob carried her away and around the corner at the far end of the alley.