“What the–why are they attacking us? Are they supposed to be doing this?” Cove asked, passing Bearard to me as he tucked away the gun, shifting into a defensive position.

I shot a glance towards the computer, suspicion growing in my chest. “No idea.” But I was going to find out. Trusting Cove to take care of the robots, I returned to my place by the computer. Bearard guarded over my shoulder, ready to shout a warning as Ranch and Ani disappeared back into hiding.

I scoured the history of the computer, looking at recently run programs just in case. Nothing. I heard a loud crash of metal against metal behind me as Cove engaged in battle.

Still nothing.

With sweaty palms and jumpy eyes, I returned to the program list, hoping to find something useful.

An entire robot flew past my face and smashed into the wall next to me, causing me to click and lose my place.

I checked where it’d come from on reflex, stretching over my shoulder to see Cove pick up a knocked-over robot. “Sorry!” He lifted it wrestler-style over his head, then sent it hurdling forward into a group of two more, knocking them out.

There were already five or so robot carcasses paving the room, and the floor was near capacity. It wouldn’t take many more before Cove would have to start stacking them. There had to be a better way to do this. Neither the Mayor nor Gale would want to be attacked while working on the robots. I went back to scanning the programs on the computer.

Finding one labeled “Emergency.exe,” I clicked on it, running the program and hoping it would be enough. The red glow from their eyes faded, and the noise of battle behind me immediately stopped.

The next time I turned around, Cove was posed, sweat running down his face and bruises patchworking over his skin as his chest heaved for breath. The two robots still standing froze where they were, in the middle of their motion.

Cove wiped the sweat off his brow, then tugged on his shirt to fan his reddened face. “Did that do it?” he asked, struggling for breath.

I shrugged. “I might have rerun it with the next batch. I’m not sure how far the signal reaches.”

Right on cue, another two walked in from the connecting tunnel. Expecting this, I reran the programming, watching as the light dimmed behind their eyes.

“Way to execute them, Hayden,” Cove congratulated.

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I crossed my arms, unimpressed.

He grinned, proud of his pun.

Another group of robots rounded the corner, and I pressed the button again. They froze right next to the other two, creating a wall between us and the door.

From my shoulder, Bearard stated the obvious, “We don’t have enough room in here for all of them.”

Bearard and I both turned to look at Cove, who groaned. He grabbed a shoulder and rolled it.

“I’m on it. Shout if something happens.”Cove pulled the flashlight out of his pocket, flicking it on and sticking it in his mouth as he picked up a robot in each arm.

He hulked off down the hallway, heading towards the Mayor’s basement.

When Cove returned less than a minute later, I’d already frozen two more groups. He ruffled his hair in agitation. Suddenly, he froze, turned to the robots, then glanced at me. I raised my hands in a questioning gesture. I don’t know what he wanted me to do about them.

With a smile that bespoke trouble for me, Cove picked his way around the robots, heading to me with single-minded attention. I took half a step back before I resisted the instinct to flee from his gaze. He reached an arm out to grab my arm. Dumfounded and slightly curious, I made no move to fight. The feeling of cool water brushed up against my skin.

“Can Bearard press the buttons?”

“I suppose.”

Three more appeared in the doorway.

“Want to test it?” Cove asked. Bearard nodded and leaped from my shoulder to the desk next to me. He trotted over to the mouse, rapidly clicking the button with his paw. The red lights faded once again.

Cove’s grin stretched from ear to ear. “Perfect.” He rounded on me. “That mean’s you are free to help me.”

I pulled back. “But I don’t know any physical magic, and my earrings protect me from mental.”

Cove reached back out, offering up his hand. “That’s just it–they protect you from mental. Like with spaciotemporal, if we’re connected, I should be able to cast physical magic on you.”

Though I didn’t want to, I reached out, clasping his wrist. He closed his eyes, and his magic brushed up against my skin, sending a chill down my spine. Ice spiraled from his hand through my veins, and my skin tingled. Cove removed his hand, taking the cold with him.

He scanned me up and down, evaluating me. Satisfied, he stepped back and waved me over to two robots, gesturing at me to pick one up. I moved by him and bent over to grab the robot at the waist, squatting and preparing for the worst. The robot lifted easily, weighing closer to a bag of cat litter than the robot it was.

I blinked, tiling my head in wonder. “Wow.”

I’d never felt so powerful in my entire life. With my newfound strength, I hefted two over my shoulder and followed Cove down the hallway, dropping them against the wall before returning for more. Even with the addition of new robots frozen by Bearard, between the two of us, we were able to keep the room mostly clear.

The strength was invigorating, and I wondered how the battle with the Mayor would have gone if I’d been able to use physical magic, too. A small pool of blood from where the Mayor had fleed stopped me in my tracks.

Cove’s feet paused next to the puddle. “Hayden?” he asked, his voice full of concern.

I shook myself out of my thoughts, and he looked at me with searching eyes.

“I was thinking about how much more there is to learn.”

His eyes dropped to the floor, then turned back to me. Cove gave a hesitant smile, and I felt naked beneath his gaze. “Right.”

We turned around, heading back to the main section of the cave. Immediately upon entering, we noticed the lighting was different than before. Stronger. A golden glow shone by the computer, and Ranch huddled beneath the desk with Ani, turned straw gold under the light. Cove and I decided our next moves without speaking, and as he went to pick up the remaining robots, I shifted to check on Bearard.

Bearard turned his head to look at me, his eyes glowing brighter with each passing second.

“Your eyes are glowing.”

Bearard nodded, pointing at the wall where the light from his glowing eyes bounced off. “It seems to be getting brighter. I think it’s getting close.”