Machairi looked from Dania to Jake and back again.

"You said there were two nightmare monsters last night. I saw one, and you vanquished the other without me. You continue to impress me, guardian. I take comfort in knowing that even when I am banished to the deck, my deckbearer is well protected."

"Um… thanks, I think," Dania said. Then she shook her head as irritation rose up within her. "But that's neither here nor there—"

"What is not where?" Machairi tilted his head in that unsettling manner of his. Jake let out a snicker, and Dania's irritation burned hotter.

"Nevermind," she said. "I meant to say that's not important right now. What did you mean by the dungeon?"

"Dungeons are places prepared by the gods—"

"We know what dungeons are!" Dania closed her eyes for a second and forced herself to take a deep, calming breath. Next to her, Jake's snickering erupted into full-blown laughter. She opened her eyes and looked at him. "Little help here, chuckles?"

Jake guffawed once more, but he pulled himself upright and leaned forward. "She wants to know—" he glanced over at Dania, and then amended what he was about to say. "That is, we both want to know why you specifically mentioned a dungeon in the context of our previous conversation. It almost sounded like you knew there was one nearby or something."

"I do not know that there is one nearby," Machairi said.

Dania let out her breath on a huff. "Okay," she said, turning slightly to more fully face Jake. "So like I was saying—"

"But it is highly likely that there is."

"What?!"

"Why do you say that, Machairi?" Jake asked, his voice smooth with patience.

"Because it is highly unlikely that two overland monsters of related type would spawn in a single location unless there were a dungeon of that same type, with an aura, close by. Random overland monsters are more evenly distributed, statistically speaking, but a dungeon with an aura will spill creatures out into the surrounding terrain. You called them 'nightmare' monsters. So they were of Dream type?"

"Shadow and Psychic," Dania said slowly. "Yeah."

"And they both had both types?"

"Yes."

Machairi nodded. "Then the probabilities are even stronger. Not impossible, but the odds of having two monsters of the same two types are infinitesimally small. Therefore, one could logically deduce the presence of a Shadow and Psychic dungeon that has an aura nearby."

Dania stared at Machairi's pale face for a long moment, and then turned to see Jake wearing a gobsmacked expression that was probably identical to her own.

"You're like a disturbing shadow version of Spock, you know that?" Dania said.

"Thank you," Machairi said.

"Dani! If there's a Shadow and Psychic dungeon nearby, that could be awesome for us!" Jake actually bounced in his seat. "I've got a Shadow deck, and you've got a card that lets you customize cards you pick up! We should go! We can grind some levels, pick up some cards—"

"Hold on, kiddo," Dania said, reaching out to grab his shoulder lightly. "Relax just a little bit. We don't even know where it is."

"Hush probably knows," Machairi said. "You could ask him when he returns."

"If he returns," Dania shot back.

"He will. He was fascinated by you."

Dania shivered. "That doesn't exactly make me feel good, Creepy."

"It wasn't meant to. But it is the truth nonetheless. When he returns, ask Hush to lead you to the dungeon. He likely spawned there and can lead you right to it."

"Why on Earth would we trust a sapient overland monster to lead us anywhere?" Dania demanded.

"I do not know the answer to that question, guardian."

"Dani, it may be the only way to find the dungeon," Jake said lowly. "And you know we need to level up."

"A dungeon's going to be dangerous, kiddo."

"Not the first levels! We could take it slow, use it to grind up gradually. You said yourself we need to learn to fight. We're too vulnerable at low levels. Isn't that why we moved out here? We can’t hide here in the woods forever."

Can't we? Dania closed her eyes. She sucked in a deep breath and held it for a ten count before slowly, deliberately releasing it to trickle through her lips.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

"Okay," she said softly. "You're right, we can't stay here forever. And we do need to level up, both of us, before we can think of going back. Berto said shit's been really unsettled in Noimoire since Drop Night. Lots of deckbearers being killed, lots of cards changing hands. I don't think we can afford to go back blindly, but I've been so focused on just healing and surviving… but we have to think about the future. At some point, you've got to go back to school, and I will need a job again someday—"

"We've got that covered. Berto helped me send a message to the school saying you were pulling me out for online homeschool for the rest of the year. I've been keeping up with my classes on your tablet. Actually, I got a few months ahead while you were still in a cast, so the rest of the year should be cake. And he put in for a leave of absence from the hospital, too, so if you want to go back there when you're done—"

"Wait… what do you mean Berto helped you? Didn't you need my signature?"

"Um. Kinda. But…" Jake ducked his head, and then squared his shoulders and looked right at Dania. "I figured someone had to handle that business. You were busy healing. You can be mad if you want, but I did what I thought needed to be done."

Dania's throat threatened to close over with emotion. She pressed her lips together and reached out, wrapping her arm around Jake's shoulders and pulling him into a tight hug.

"I'm not mad," she murmured into the top of his head. "I'm really proud of you. You kept your shit together when I couldn't."

"You got hurt defending me," Jake protested, his words half-muffled as he buried his face into her good shoulder and returned her hug. "We take care of each other."

"Always, kiddo. Always." Dania gave him one more hard squeeze and then let go with a sigh. "Okay. So, you've been handling business like a deckbearer should, and you want to grind some levels? I suppose that's actually a pretty good idea. However, let's be smart about it, okay? First, let's get Berto up here and have him teach you to shoot. Get you a weapon, if he can. I gave him my debit card to pay for supplies. I'll just have him use that to pick you up a little 9mm or something. In the meantime, let's work with Machairi for at least another week or two. Then, when we have something other than our cards to fall back on, we'll figure out how to talk to Hush and see if we want to follow him to this alleged dungeon." Dania shook her head. "Even saying it out loud sounds crazy, but I don't know if I can think of another plan."

"You will not have to figure out how to talk to Hush," Machairi said. "It is probable that he will come tonight."

"See, that's why you're Creepy!" Dania said, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "How could you possibly know that?"

"I do not know that with certainty, but it makes sense, given his fascination with you."

"And that's another thing, how do you know he is fascinated with me?"

"He didn't kill you, did he?" Machairi smiled, and despite herself, Dania couldn't suppress the shiver that ran the length of her spine. "That is an excellent indication."

Dania rolled her eyes, but before she could respond, Jake touched her arm lightly.

"Dani, there's something else I want to talk to you about," he said, his voice tentative. Dania, happy to ignore the infuriatingly insouciant card for a moment, turned all of her attention back to her nephew.

"What's up, kiddo?"

"Do you want to go back to work as a nurse? When we go back home, I mean?"

"I… I mean, I guess so?" Dania heard the question in her own tone. "Why?"

"Well… we never got to talk about it, but we have options now. I mean, other than selling cards, even though we could do that too, especially if there's a dungeon nearby. But I was thinking, maybe we could go to the arenas and sell some matches there. Shadow decks aren't super common, and I bet a lot of deckbearers would like a shot at me."

Dania swallowed hard. "You do know how that sounds, right? Not your best tactic when trying to persuade the person responsible for your safety."

"We'd go to a legit arena. And not right away, not until we make some levels and come up with a comprehensive match strategy. It would be safer than you working in the Noimoire ER every night."

He said this last line with such an edge of bitterness that Dania actually sat back in her seat.

"You don't have to worry about me, kiddo," she said, reaching out to push the hair back off his forehead. Jake exploded out of his seat and stalked angrily across the room to stare out of the picture window for a second before turning back to glare at her, his hands on his hips.

"That's such bullshit, Dani, and you know it! Of course I worry about you! You're all I have since Mom and Dad died!"

The sheer anguish in Jake's cry ripped through the space, stealing Dania's breath. Her eyes burned and she swallowed hard against tears that threatened to close her throat and flood her eyes. Slowly, she pushed up to her feet.

"Hey," she said softly as she approached, lifting her arms to the side in an invitation. "You're right, kiddo. I'm sorry."

Jake's jaw jutted out at her in an expression so much like his mother's that it felt like someone punched Dania in the chest. She blinked rapidly, trying to chase the tears away. Jake met her eyes, and his anger crumbled away.

Two steps, and he had his arms hard around her waist, his head buried in her shoulder again. He took a shuddering breath that wasn't, quite, a sob.

"It's you and me," he said into her shirt. "You and me."

"That's right. You and me. And if you want me to find another way to make a living for us, I will. If not the arena, then something. But we'll make it work. And we'll decide together, okay?"

Jake sniffled hard, nodded, and then straightened up, wiping under his eyes. "Okay," he said.

Dania smiled and wiped underneath her own eyes. "Okay."

"I am also okay," Machairi said. Dania shared a single glance of surprise with Jake before laughter bubbled up within her. Jake let out a chuckle as well, and reached out to shove Machairi in the shoulder.

"Yeah, I guess it's me and Dani and you now, isn't it?" Jake said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you when I said that."

"I took no offense. The bond between Mother and I is something different than the connection between you and I. Guardian both is and is not your mother, so I understand the distinction. But you should remember, my deckbearer, that I am with you always as well."

And this time, when Machairi said those words, Dania didn't bristle or get defensive. Instead, a deep sense of calm satisfaction filled her mind.

Well, I guess Jake could do worse than to have a psychotic murder hobo as a best friend. Though when I think about it that way, it sounds bad. Still, he's good for Jake, in a lot of ways. It's not what we planned, Kaylie, but we do what we can with what we've got, right?

Right.

"Okay," Dania said then, grinning at her two boys. "Enough of this lovey-dovey bullshit. I'm starving. Let's get something to eat and then maybe watch a movie for the rest of the afternoon while I try to get in touch with Berto. We'll get back to training tomorrow."

"And tonight," Machairi said. "We will welcome the nightmare."