Although Derek was pounding away, I did not open the door for my master.

“Thermock,” I said, “are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Sure I’m sure!” she said sunnily. “Come on, do you really think it’s a good idea to keep me trapped in here all alone for my whole life?”

I supposed not. “Very well,” I said, “what page shall I turn to?”

“Same page,” she said. “First paragraph. Third character. The one that looks like a hook with a leaf sticking out of the top.”

“That is strangely specific,” I said, “how do you–”

Just then, Derek’s pounding on the door intensified.

“Hurry up, you big fat ugly jerk!” said Blueboy.

“Let me out of here!” said Thermock. “Now we’re all in trouble, including you.” Trouble. I hadn’t intended to get in trouble. Had never even really thought much about trouble in my life. Things are easier when you just obey. Life is simpler that way. I wish I knew that then. I was naive. I know that now.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“Right!” I shouted. Quickly, I touched the pad of my finger to the rune at the top of page 672. Then I touched the matching rune on the side of Thermock’s jar, disenchanting it. The jar lost its glow right away. For her part, Thermock did not deign to wait for me to let her out. She blazed her own path. Literally.

Thermock curled up in a ball. The ball grew increasingly bright. She went round and round, rolling in a ball of energy. Then, suddenly, she burst through her prison like a blazing grapeshot. Disenchanted shards of glass twinkled in the air, turning end over end, catching Thermock’s yellow glow, glinting as they did.

The pounding on the door grew louder, frenzied.

“Cao Nyut,” yelled Derek, his voice muffled through the double-locked door, “what is going on in there.”

“I am freeing your homonculi,” I shouted back at him. “They are not slaves for your amusement.” But even as those words left my mouth, Thermock flew up to Blueboy, sunk her fingers into his face, and clawed his head apart like a fruit. There was a brief, high-pitched squeal of pain, and then Blueboy was silent, standing dumbly as Thermock reached inside of his face.

Her arm sunk in elbow-deep. She started rooting around, looking for something. Grasping something deep inside. When she finally pulled her hand back, there was something pulsing inside it. Thermock clutched the thing tightly. It tried to swim away from her, as if on a current of air, but she clasped her hands shut around it.

“Gotcha!” she said and pressed the little object into her face. The flesh of her face yielded as the little object, whatever it was, entered her body.

Thermock zipped up into the air, fast as a nippy little insect. She whirled and cartwheeled in apparent ecstasy. Then she turned her attention to me.

“Cao Nyut,” said Thermock, “I want to issue you a special thanks.”