Hopping through Scarlet’s blood portal without a second thought, Rachel slid through the liquid—somewhat desensitized by this point to the uncomfortable sensation—yet as she landed inside Cahira’s mansion kitchen, she paused.

“Mmgm…”

In the split moment she interacted with the gateway, she could have sworn there was a voice, which instantly made her think of Twilight.

“Rachel, how’d ya big match go, eh?”

Vision coming into focus, she stepped aside for the others to file through, the portal shifting to the side to allow the rest to walk instead of jump.

“Cahira… Yeah, I won; heh, did you have any doubts?”

“Naa, tis why I didn’t join ya lot. So, eh, what be the reason everyone be pilin’ in’ta mi kitchen?”

“What else? I need something to eat after that workout; oh, looks like you’re already getting stuff ready, too.”

“Aye,” Cahira gave the increasing party a slight glare, motioning to Wilkins, her Quartermaster, “get some more ingredients.”

“Aye, aye, Cap’n.”

“What’s up?” Fiona asked, floating inside while trying to support a shivering Maria.

“Never again…”

“Te-he, you always say that!”

“I mean it!”

Cahira waved her hand and flashed her pearly whites. “If ya be gonna moochin’ off mi hard work, ya gonna have to join in the cookin’! We got a lot of kids to be feedin’, and I could use some vegetables cut—ye catch my drift?”

Rachel gave her a short salute as she moved to the door. “Got it, Captain Cahira; I’ll be right back—just need to grab Nia.”

“Ah, how’s the little energizer bunny; still feelin’ blue?”

“Yup. I left her out to get some moonlight, so I wanted to see if she’s feeling better.”

“Aye, I know ya be hearin’ me, bunny lass—we be wishin’ the best for ya!”

Rachel gave her a thumbs-up as she heard Nia’s weak grumble from the rooftop.

Leaving the party as Wilkins got everyone rounded up for the meal, Rachel passed through the halls to a lot of childrens’ chatter; they were all over the place, from the rooms to the large surrounding land around the mansion, and more than a few kids had caught sight of Nia on the roof.

It was a bit late for dinner, but considering everyone’s sleep schedule was more or less around night due to Scarlet and her being nocturnal, excluding Maria, and the operations, the children still had another few hours before most would be rounded up for bed.

She waved to a few of the kids that greeted her, whispering about how funny her ears were, that she had a tail like Selvaria—not that they were in any way similar—or how pretty she looked while glowing in the moonlight.

Creating a few lunar platforms to easily reach the top of the now five-story mansion, Rachel landed on the tile roof, the high-altitude winds cutting past the weaker upper-atmospheric barrier of the Dragon Turtle, catching her braided hair.

Rachel made her way to Nia, wide field of vision passively letting the clear night stars pull on her gaze; naturally, Ohan, Vasishtha, and Grace now all wanted a word with her when she was back inside. Life is so different…

“Yo, what’s up, Supreme Leader? Still feeling gross?” she teased as she came upon the lunar bathing rabbit girl.

“Ugh… Yuck, I feel terrible,” Nia groaned, lying next to her laid-out actual body. “I hate that Robert guy…”

“Eh-heh, yeah, he caused you quite a bit of trouble,” Rachel returned, sitting beside her to stare up at the moon. “You were sleeping the last time I checked on you.”

“Mmgm, I woke up feeling… bleh… Oh! How’s Big Sis doing?”

Their vision darted to the sickly-looking Nephilim as she impressed herself into their minds, hovering just below the moon with her hands behind her back, at the base of her wicked tail. “You needn’t be concerned about me, Nia.”

“B-But you look worse than me!”

“Rachel and I have already discussed a plan to bring me to a more healthy state; you should focus on getting yourself in order before concerning yourself with others.”

“Really, Rachel? Can I help?”

“Hehe, Nia, you can barely move.”

“But I can…” she weakly mumbled.

“Stop acting tough and take care of yourself—heh, isn’t that what you wanted to tell me?”

“Humph… Why should I listen when you never listen?”

“So you can be there to support her when she ‘inevitably’ fails, and you are all she has left to rely on,” Yseress teased, making Rachel’s tail twitch.

“Inevitably, huh?”

Nia was totally on the train, though. “Oh! Okay… yeah, I get to be there for both my big sisters when they need me!”

“Erm… I wouldn’t say—”

“Right,” Rachel smirked, “because as we know, Nia, Yseress has a problem with not taking care of herself.”

“Do we? Oh, I guess you’re right!”

“What evidence is there of that…”

Rachel laughed at the Nephilim’s pointed, red-eyed glare; there wasn’t any specifically, but just like her, she knew the woman was very independent, or a better word would be distrusting of goodwill, which was totally understandable, given her past.

“So, moving past all of that, I’d like Maria to take a look at the two of you—”

“The holy Unicorn—are you insane, Mistress? She would take one glance at me and seek to purify my very essence…”

Nia rubbed her left arm. “Big Sis, Maria likes to help people—she won’t hurt you.”

“I know, Yseress, you’ve only dealt with Nia and me, but will you let Maria at least try to see if she can heal you?”

The Nephilim’s narrowed eyes showed nothing but contempt. “If it is my choice, Mistress… Not on her life.”

“Haaa… Alright. What about you, Nia?”

“She already tried when you were asleep,” Nia mumbled. “The part of me that is broken isn’t a normal piece but composed of Hades Energy; she said she can’t do anything about that.”

“Shame,” Rachel sighed. “Will it help if we feed you energy via the Hades Bunny?”

“Maybe…”

Yseress shifted in the air to cross her legs and fold her arms under her bust. “I can help Nia if my health is restored. So, I suggest you find one of these ‘crystals’ soon.”

The fourteen-year-old girl’s eyes widened. “We need to go to one of the crystal things—like the mist monsters Nora and the rest of us fought? Oh, I totally want to show Nora and Jessy I have a body—ugh… my stomach…”

“Hmm-hmm-hmm. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Little Bunny; I’ll talk to Tom about it. Yseress… does that mean you want it to just be us?”

“Why can’t they join?” Nia asked, glancing between them. “Wouldn’t it be easier to handle them as a group?”

The Nephilim’s deep ruby eyes illuminated a tad, a small curve to her bloody lips twisting her alluring expression. “I don’t need nor desire help; besides, genocide isn’t something most humans enjoy witnessing.”

Rachel forced a smile while noticing the woman’s gnarled wings displayed thin patches of vein-like blood. “Anyways, we’ll talk about this later. I’ll leave you to moonbathe, Nia. Rest up.”

“Okay… Haaa… It’s so boring, though, and I hear so many kids playing.”

“Sick girls get to rest in bed.”

“I know… Stupid Robert… I’m gonna punch him!”

“Hehe, I'm sure you will. I’ll come check on you in a bit.”

“Thanks, Rachel… For not abandoning me when I’m broken…”

“Like I would!” Rachel gave her a dirty look upon getting up. “Who do you think I am? I mean, I keep Yseress around, hehe.”

“Charming…”

“Hehehe… Don’t say that, Rachel; I love Big Sis.”

“Still,” Rachel bent down for her braid to fall across Nia’s chest, “don’t ever think I’ll abandon you; you’re my awesome, Living Denier partner. Okay?”

“Okay,” Nia giggled, cheeks flushing a tad. “Partners! Ugh… Save me, partner; I’m dying!”

Laughing at her melodramatic reach, Rachel waved her goodbye and hopped off the roof to land on the grass; Yseress vanished into twinkling lights.

“You are not like most mortals, Mistress.”

Heh. Tell me something I don’t know, and… ugh, I’m going to have to go through a psych evaluation when we return. Not fun, but at least it’s someone who should be more understanding than a stranger.

“Hmm…”

Oh, by the way…

“Yes, Mistress?”

Rachel walked into the house, hands behind her back as she passed laughing and playing children. Could you clarify something for me?

“Mmh… It involves your connection to Hades?”

I no longer have to suck Hades Energy out of you to use it, right? Now, I’m using you as more of an attunement since connecting to the Hades Moon itself in the Seventh Circle?

“A far weaker draw, Mistress, but you are not wrong. If you were to tap into my own connection, it would be far more potent… similar to the effects you had while in the Seventh Circle. Why do you ask?”

Hmm-hmm. If that’s the case, I promise not to force you to go through what you did for me the first time.

“I… do not understand? It is the bargain you struck with Lady Izanami. Why would you limit yourself to the fruit you have achieved through your agreement?”

I’ll let you think on that one, Rachel mused. In any case, I’d like to give you one task, and I don’t expect you to fight for me or do anything you’re not comfortable with—other than be Nia’s big sister, hehe.

“Mmh… We will see if you keep that promise.”

Really, hold me to it! I already promised to uncorrupt your angel half, but can you promise me one thing?

“A catch, heh, of course. What do you desire, Mistress?”

Smiling, Rachel stood in the doorway and motioned to the three that wanted to meet with her; it was really something, seeing Cahira fuss over Mara and Nemesis in how they were making the bread—the lion was also wearing an apron—quite the sight.

I want you to search for our connection to Izanami.

“Excuse me?”

By the deal we made, you have some kind of connection to Izanami that allows her to leech off of my Seed, and I suspect what she had been able to pull from the Seed helped in her battle against Revilla. I want you to try and put your attention on following that back.

“Why… would you wish to get into contact with a Hades Lord? If anything, I would be rejoicing in the payment being unachievable and forget about her.”

C’mon, Yseress, you might think I would do that, but you wouldn’t dream of abandoning your former Mistress. Can you do it?

“Yes…”

Wonderful! Now, I have other things to handle.

Rachel pushed away from the wall to walk down the hall as Grace, Ohan, and Vasishtha followed; she knew somewhat what the three wanted to discuss, and in a way, she found it a tad funny that she was now in this position.

Nemesis glanced after her, Mara surprisingly engrossed in listening to Maria and Cahira work out their own methods of making bread from scratch; Fiona was using her wind to whip various ingredients together in a pan to sauté them, Benedict nearby keeping her company, while Selvaria cut vegetables with Isabel and Edelira.

That the gang was all engaged in making a huge soup and a ton of bread, trying to feed so many orphans was really something, especially when most of them couldn’t even speak to the Cuban kids. It was a wholesome scene after they’d just come from a battle to decide the possible fate of their country, and that their Lion King was now trying to knead bread was all the more hilarious.

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Entering one of the few empty conference rooms, excluding all of the sleeping bags that would be filled with children in the coming hours, Rachel sat down and crossed her legs. “I have a gist of what you all want to talk about, but give me the details.”

Grace strained a thankful laugh as Vasishtha allowed her to go ahead of her before closing the door. “I, eh… can go last. It’s just somethin’ that also affects the others.”

“Right,” Ohan promptly responded, sitting across from Rachel with a pleasant expression. “Rachel, I’ll get to the point… I wish to leave Mythic to join a friend’s group based in Atlanta.”

Vasishtha groaned, rubbing the back of his neck as he took the seat beside the Samurai. “Eh-heh… you didn’t have to make it sound so cut and dry, my friend!”

Rachel chuckled and shook her head. “No, I appreciate the bluntness. You got a call from your sister, right?”

“Yeah, and I wouldn’t say we have the closest relationship. Do you want me to explain?”

Rachel leaned back, folding her hands in her lap as Grace fidgeted with her pleated shirt, a lot clearly on the cowgirl’s mind. “If you want to, but honestly, I didn’t figure you’d stay with us long. Although, Selvaria seems rather convinced you’re all going to be staying.”

“Ah, poor girl,” Vasishtha sighed. “She’s afraid she’ll end up alone, and I don’t want her to be torn between us—wow, heh, don’t I sound like a parent discussing divorce… Oof. My bad, Ohan,” he winced, glancing at his friend.

“It’s no problem,” he muttered. “In short, my family divorced when I was four due to my mother cheating and my father being unable to forgive her. She took custody of my half-sister, and he raised me. I haven’t had too much contact with that half of my family, and I’m curious as to why she is suddenly in this new Crystal raiding team that my best friend growing up put together.”

Rachel leaned to the side, knuckles resting against her left cheek. “His name is Raymond, correct? I heard you speaking to Tom about running a background check, concerned that something might have happened since you split ways with him in your late teens?”

“It wasn’t on bad terms,” Ohan shrugged, “but I did want to know if there were any other circumstances involving him contacting me. So, I assume you also know he is setting up a group, and my sister joined him after she contacted Ray to connect with me. It’s an unusual string of events, but I’d like to see what he has planned.”

Her slight smile drifted to the Legend of Vasishtha. “And you want to join this new and rising group of Legends and Myths in Atlanta?”

Vasishtha shifted a bit, a fairly jaded smile on his lips as he glared at the wall. “It’s nothing against you, Rachel… I rather love the group you’ve gathered—heh, so many lovely ladies I get to interact with—but unfortunately, I cannot draw too much attention to myself. I am… in exile, I suppose you could say, and there are certain promises I’ve made.”

A tad curious but knowing not to press, Rachel nodded. “I get it and know you’ve asked Tom to keep you out of any reports; being a part of Mythic will certainly draw a lot of attention considering what is going to come of this… Heh, but you don’t need to ‘leave’ Mythic, per se.”

“What do you mean?” Ohan asked.

“There’s no rule against Mythickin or Legendkin being a part of multiple groups,” Rachel grinned. “Heh, so if you want to go off and do your own thing for a while, know you’ve got a spot and friends here.”

Vasishtha laughed. “You always surprise me, Rachel! I like the way you think.”

“Are you sure?” Ohan pressed. “What if the group Vasishtha or I end up in causes problems that then reflect onto Mythic?”

“Pfft. I could care less about most of that at this point. I’ve been stacking aces up my sleeve since becoming a Lunar Hare to live how I wanted, and I know more than most the dangers we’re facing, which is far greater than some political scandal or whatever you may cause.

“You two have been through the Legends Quest with me and liberated Cuba; I may not have known you long, but you get to know what people are about in those kinds of circumstances. I trust you, and I can’t say that about everyone. You have a place in Mythic if you need it or my number if you need help. That’s that.”

Ohan chuckled and rose to his feet to hold out a hand. “Rachel, it’s been a pleasure, and I’ve learned a lot from you. Until we meet again.”

Rising to take his firm hand, Rachel returned the Samurai’s smile. “I’m glad you’re finding your own path, and heh, you’re having that Hydra guy join you, right?”

“Hehe. Nothing seems to escape your ears.”

“They certainly do help,” she returned. “He needs a lot of help.”

“Not wrong, and I learned of someone in Atlanta that could probably help stabilize him.”

Releasing his hand, Rachel shifted to Vasishtha as they did the same. “And you plan on joining him, Vash?”

“Mmh… It’s a direction for now,” he grinned. “Who can say where the winds will take me, but my man’s correct; you’ve taught us a lot about this change and peeled back the curtain a bit. If you need support, Rach, don’t hesitate to call—I’ll be there in a heartbeat.”

Exchanging a few more pleasantries, she saw them off; they’d be heading back to the States by the morning since Vasishtha already said his goodbyes to the many women that he’d protected and aided.

Retaking her seat as they left to break the news to Selvaria, Rachel’s ears shifted to listen in on a 3rd-story room where Luka sat, looking over his big sister; she didn’t know why he was still so important, but misfortune surrounded him in a miasma that seemed to bleed over Revilla’s group.

Considering France had already taken them into custody, the omen made Rachel’s objective mind think there was something further to their connection to the creature, meaning she needed him nearby.

She had to somewhat lie to him about her being okay, which she technically was, being a bastion of life-energy, yet the rituals the many witches and shamans had done were half linked to the Seventh Circle’s initial ceremonial preparation and Nemesis’ curses—the woman was a powerful resource for such people.

They didn’t know how her mental state would be, but that also helped to keep Luka close; in fact, it could be his influence with his sister that would bring about the misfortune.

Once alone with Grace, the fidgeting girl sighed. “I don’t suppose you know why I’m here?”

Rachel turned her attention to the Legend of Calamity Jane. “Hmm, partially, I think. I’ll let you explain yourself, though, because I think you want to. Am I right?”

“Eh-hehe… as usual, you’re pretty scary, Rachel.”

“Oh?”

“You’re like that woman in the movies who just knows everything—I don’t know, it’s like… you’re always the one with the plan.”

“Hmm-hmm. I don’t like to be caught off-guard, which happened more than I’d like across Cuba. Anyway, what’s on your mind?”

Tight fists in her lap, Grace tucked in her lower lip. “Mmgm… I really don’t like what I’ve seen over the last few days, Rachel… What I took part in when we first met… Camagüey, too… So many people suffered and died.”

“Mmh… You feel guilty for Máximo and Alberto’s deaths?”

“I should have been… I don’t know, looked into it more before running off—gung ho in correcting some perceived justice I’d only heard about. It’s like going to a protest without knowing a thing about it, I guess, and then learning I oppose it later… I feel stupid… Guilty… yeah. I started to think about what I believed in, and all I could think of was… I gotta find a better way.”

“I can resonate with that,” Rachel smiled. “I can’t say I have the same moral compass as you, but I get it. What are you planning to do—leave Mythic?”

“Am I even a member?”

“That you have to ask that would make more than a few people in the group concerned.”

“Heh, okay—but, no… nothing like that, umm… I wanted to maybe start like… a Cuban branch,” she mumbled, trying to work through her words. “Be someone they can rely on—at least until I know they have a solid framework to handle these Crystals and stuff.”

Rachel's cheeks bunched to the side as she thought about the proposal; it wasn’t the direction she initially thought Grace would go, yet things were falling into place now that she knew more about how the cowgirl felt.

“A Mythic branch, hmm? It’s… not a bad idea, but that implies there will be other members. Is that what Benedict, Edelira, and Isabel have been talking about?”

“We have,” Grace mumbled, playing with her hands. “I know I’m not even really a member, heh… I’m actually more like a prisoner—right?”

“Meh,” Rachel shrugged. “You’ve more than proved to me you’ve got your heart in the right place, and yeah, you made some mistakes—personally, I don’t see the problems in what you did. In fact, I thought you were rather collected at the moment; Isabel and Edelira kept attacking you as you just took it, working through what was happening.”

“Yeah, but I still killed people they care about—I would have killed all of them if you didn’t stop me… I hurt the community they cared about.”

“Haaa. Look, Grace… you don’t have to get my approval. To me, bad stuff happens, and anyone who wants to throw the first stone, as the saying goes, is more than likely hiding a lot of skeletons in their own closet.

“Bottom line, the world isn’t fair, and I don’t pretend it will ever be like some delusional first-world narcissist who thinks they can fix everyone’s problems; life sucks, and we have to make the best of it. Revenge, hate, and the like, sure—I’m on board with a lot of that—because the world is cruel, and if it doesn’t interfere with my life, I don’t care what most people do.”

Grace removed her hat to run her fingers through her brown hair. “I… kind of figured that was your stance on things. You can detach yourself from a lot… I can’t really do that.”

“Okay,” Rachel hummed, resting her knuckles against her cheek again. “I told you that I couldn’t care less about Alberto or Máximo—sure, it was sad—I have to move on with my life and protect what I do care about. Grace, you’ve done enough with me that I consider you someone I would care about. So, tell me what you want, and I’ll see what I can do.”

“Heh, that simple, huh?”

“Life is rough but not all that complicated,” Rachel muttered. “Everyone has a tolerance level and empathy circle that can only extend so far—if they’re being honest and not delusional or disingenuous. Am I callous? Sure, I’m sure people with easy lives will say that, and when life comes knocking, their moral superiority will fall around their heads. Overall, I’d say I’m generally neutral to most people.”

“Umm, what about, you know, that saying about responsibility and power?”

“Pfft, haha! I take responsibility for my own life, and trying to do the same for others is a recipe for disaster; people are their own agents and will reap their own rewards. I’d say you’ve done more than enough to liberate Cuba, and in a way Máximo couldn’t hope to replicate.”

“That doesn’t change the fact he’s dead…”

“No, he was temperamental and authoritarian, killing many other people he didn’t like, and you could justify it or condemn it all you want—I don’t care—to me, you made a mistake. We’re the same age, nineteen, and you’ve got your whole life ahead of you.

“I’ll say it, so we don’t keep going around in circles; Grace, find redemption however you see fit. If that means serving the people of Cuba, then go for it, but don’t throw your own sense of self-guilt on those around you. I don’t think you’ll find a single person in our group that would condemn you.”

“No one?” Grace mumbled, tears gathering in her eyes as she pressed her hat against her abdomen.

“No. In fact, I think Maria, Fiona, Scarlet, and Selvaria would cry, hearing the emotion in your voice—especially Nia; heh, the girl would be all over her ‘milk girl.’ ”

“Eh-hehe,” she rubbed her red cheeks, “will I ever live down that name?”

Rachel laughed. “Probably not. You want to make a difference in Cuba, then go for it, and as a Mythic member, because you’ve earned my respect after literally saving my life and quite a few others.

“I haven’t forgotten what you did, shooting Xazzos while making one of your hands useless for a while basically in Hades—so, a big deal handicapping yourself for me. Actually… Heh, I haven’t even thanked you for that, I don’t think. Thank you, Grace, for helping us when you were completely freaking out!”

“I… kind of totally was! Haha… that place was unreal. Umm… You mean it, Rachel?”

“I said it, didn’t I? Grace, welcome to Mythic, and I’d be delighted if you put together a Cuban branch for the short term, but…”

Brown eyebrows pulling together, the cowgirl cleared her throat. “But?”

“I expect you to join us back in Miami in time because, heh-eh, we kind of just lost our best long-range member.”

“Oh, haha! Yeah, okay… Umm, Rachel?”

“Hmm?”

“Can I… can I hug you?”

“Hehehe…”

Rachel walked over to hug Grace, holding her as her chest heaved against hers, and the cowgirl broke into tears.

“T-Thank you, Rachel… f-for accepting me.”

“Anytime, and we’ll live-chat—if we can, I mean, we have military phones, and we can set you up with one—sound good? Keep in touch.”

“Mhm!”

Waiting until she calmed down, Rachel took the seat beside her and cleared her own throat. “So, Benedict, Isabel, and Edelira? Oh, one second…”

They paused as Rachel drew Grace’s attention to the door for it to open up for two twelve-year-old girls to run inside, screeching to a halt.

“Oh, uh… sorry, we were just going to, umm, hide here for…”

“Yeah, sorry…”

Rachel chuckled and pointed down the hall. “Second closet—in the back left corner, near the ceiling is a secret switch to a hiding place where Cahira stores some of her secret bottles.”

“Oh, thank you, Miss Rabbit Lady!”

“Yeah, thank you!”

“Mmgm-hmm-hmm… Mhm…”

Grace giggled as they waved and ran out. “You really held back, huh? You hate being called a rabbit.”

“Huu-haaa… I let the kids have a pass. Anyway, so, are you going to bring this up to Tom next?”

“Yeah, and I wanted to bring Benedict, Izzy, and Edel into it because… yeah, they’ve lost a lot more than they ever thought they would—and need something to help them look forward to tomorrow.”

“I think it’s noble,” Rachel nodded, crossing her legs again. “It’s not something I really find ‘necessary,’ but this is about you, not me. Do what you need to in Cuba, and expect to have access to Mythic funds—be responsible with them!”

“Uh-heh, I don’t want to get a mad Unicorn on my tail. Thanks, Rachel. Really… thank you for giving me another chance.”

Standing up and stretching out, Rachel grunted. “I half wonder if I should give this leadership role thing to Anthony because… bah, never mind. I’m just talking aloud.”

“For what it’s worth, I think you’ve done a great job,” Grace affirmed. “I mean, if you don’t want to handle the day-to-day stuff, heh, maybe give him the hard stuff because… without your leadership…” Rachel grinned; the Legend didn’t have to finish her statement.

“Well, if that’s it, I did want to talk to Tom, and right now seems to be the best chance—hehe, he’s just getting out of the bathroom.”

“Ambush! Hehe. I’ll go see what Izzy, Edel, and Ben think.”

“Sounds good. I’ll let Maria and the others know.”

She let Grace hug her one more time, wondering why so many people in their group were huggers and left to find Tom on the second floor, halfway to his temporary command center.

“Got a minute?”

“Ah, Rachel. Eh-yeah, actually. Impeccable timing, as usual.”

Joining him and Clay, she informed them about the state of their group and the fight.

Clay’s lips drew in at the news that Nemesis and Mara would be joining them in Miami. “Are you sure it’s a good idea to bring someone so dangerous to your home city?”

“Not a bad counter,” Rachel chuckled, “better than what Scarlet could come up with. Hmm… It’s true; he is fairly volatile and proved to be at least on equal ground with me. If I had Nia, it wouldn’t be nearly as difficult to keep him in check if he did go crazy, but it is a risk.”

Tom’s cheeks puffed up while streaming out a breath of air. “The issue is… what do we do with him? To be frank, I think having you near would be beneficial. Can he hear us from downstairs?”

Rachel shrugged. “Probably best to think he can.”

“Hmm. If that’s the case, I’ll be candid; Nemesis is certainly a credible threat, and if he is willing to follow your leadership, no matter how strange his behavior is, I don’t find that a negative. He can support you in the Crystals—although I wanted to have you take a well-deserved break after this incident. Everyone needs to unwind after something like this.”

“Mmh… General, I do need at least one high-rank Crystal for Yseress to recover.”

Clay frowned. “The Devil in you?”

“Nephilim, actually,” Tom muttered, thoughtfully leaning back. “She offered to take care of a high-ranking Crystal herself?”

“It’s pretty simple, really. She needs souls to recover, and we need them closed.”

“True, and I assume she is very powerful?”

“I have no doubt she could basically solo anything you throw at her,” Rachel muttered, making the woman giggle at the compliment. “If one shows up, let me know, and I’ll drop everything to handle it; by the way, she’s not the trusting type and wants no one involved but me.”

“Understandable… Okay. I’ll see what I can do; the higher the Crystal level, the longer we’ll have to gather a reasonable force, so it shouldn’t be an issue.”

Recalling some of the earlier reports she’d heard him receive, Rachel’s interest prompted her to ask another question. “What about Blackbeard? We could handle that.”

Clay leaned forward, fingers folding in his lap. “Mmh… actually, while you were fighting Nemesis, the topic came up. We can possibly use it to get you into the U.K., but we need to negotiate further with the Prime Minister.”

“Grah…” Tom ran his fingers through his messy hair. “I’d rather not use it as a political bargaining chip, but we need access somehow for you to actually get answers from these Lunar Goddesses, and there’s no way we can come out with that information to the U.K. government without them demanding unreasonable things.

“Let us work on it. In the meantime, I’m serious, Rachel; relax a little back home and prepare for the psych evaluation; the President pushed it back because of everything happening here, but there are some members in Congress and the Senate who are getting impatient about getting to know this Mythickin and Legendkin group that wasn’t just involved in the Montana Crystal, but Cuba.”

“I understand, haaa… Give the President my thanks for pushing the evaluation back… again. Heh, are we keeping Yseress’ existence secret?”

“Absolutely,” Tom instantly responded. “We need to get a more complete picture of what is happening with all these deities before giving a comprehensive report about the future, and currently, the U.K. is barring our access to that.”

“Hmm-hmm-hmm, what about the Artificer? I hear Selvaria is interested in one, too.”

“Ugh… I’m working on a list. I’ll keep you in the loop.”

“Right, well… I suppose we’ll be leaving soon since you’re preparing to transfer leadership to another general to focus on other areas that need your attention.”

Tom nodded gravely. “I’d love to oversee the whole thing, but a lot is happening between Russia and the UN; plus, there’s the topic of Revilla that’s about to hit the EU discussions and everything she can bring.”

“The end of existence.”

“Basically… What a time to live in, heh, and my wife told me to retire six months ago.”

“I’m glad you’re the one President Capell put his trust in; you’ve certainly changed my life for the better.”

“Thanks, Rachel… Still, it’s hard—you can’t help but think there were other moves you could have done to save more lives. Well… I have work to do. Have a good night, Rachel; you deserve it.”

Waving him off, she left, releasing a long puff of air. That’s it… This will be our last night in Cuba before returning to Miami. I wonder how Anthony is doing. Heh, I bet he and Grandpa are getting along great—Mason’s probably eating out of his hand, trying to get Anthony to train him. Nora… I really hope everything is all board games and meditation talk.