Bella said.
"How very vexing," Stacey said, standing with a hand on her curved hip. "I would enjoy teaching those Arcanes some manners." She growled like a cat, an accurate description, given she was a felycan and could turn into various feline forms.
"We need to treat these wounds," Elyssa said, eyes softening as she inspected each cut and burn.
The next thing I knew, three women were doting over me while the other two men stood idly by in the den. Elyssa pulled out a chair and grabbed wet cloths to wash my wounds while Bella applied one of Meghan's healing salves. Stacey cooed, seeming to enjoy the exercise.
Within minutes, I was bandaged up and feeling much better, especially since the salves assisted my supernatural healing. I made a mental note to avoid magical damage in the future, if at all possible.
Fat chance of that.
"We're devising a plan to raid the Darkwater facilities," Stacey said. "Ah, it reminds me of the fun Bella and I used to have."
"What do you want us to do?" I asked, indicating myself and the other guys.
"This is our mission," Elyssa said. "No boys allowed."
"It will be quick and covert," Stacey added with a smug grin. "Not loud and messy like you lot."
"Not our fault," Shelton said, enjoying some attention from Bella as she looked at his bruises.
"You're still going to need some hacking tools to break into their systems," Adam said. "Just so happens I can help with that." He glanced at me. "I'll need all the specifics you're looking for."
"Information about the arch control rooms and the Alabaster Arch is important," I said. "But the most important thing is finding out where my Mom is being held."
"You think Darkwater has access to that information?" Adam said.
"It's a long shot, but if the Conroys own them, it makes sense they'd use them for containing powerful people."
"They're most likely keeping her close," Elyssa said.
Meaning Mom and Ivy were probably both in the last place any sane person would want to invade. "Yeah. At the Conroy residence."
Chapter 10
"What?" Shelton said, eyes wide. "You want to charge into the lion's den? We don't have the power to fight Jeremiah Conroy, much less your sister."
"I hope we won't have to fight Ivy," I said. "If anything, I hope she'll help us free my mother." Meeting Elyssa's eyes, I said, "There's a slim chance Darkwater knows where the Conroys live. But I happen to know a person who's found plenty of people who didn't want to be found." At this, I turned my gaze to Shelton. "So, how about we use those mad skills of yours to find the Conroys?"
Shelton worked his jaw for a moment, as if chewing a particularly rancid mouthful of tough beef. "Well, it would be a challenge. If nothing else, we could find them, maybe home in on your mom."
"My primary concern is how, exactly, one goes about breaking a person out of an astral prison," Bella said. "I have never encountered one."
"How exactly does an astral prison work?" I asked.
"Traps a person in between here and another reality," Shelton said.
"Do they still have to eat?"
He gave a slow nod. "But you don't pop someone as powerful as your mom in and out of the astral prison just to feed her." He chuckled. "There ain't no food slot. I'd bet good money they put her under a sleeping spell to slow her metabolism so she doesn't have to eat often. I'd also wager they haven't fed her much soul essence to keep her weak."
I hated to think of Mom slowly wasting away, caught between the walls of two dimensions.
Meghan walked in carrying bags. Adam crossed the room and relieved her burden. "Thanks," she said, and locked eyes on my bandaged form. "What in the world happened?"
We brought her up to speed while she checked the handiwork of Elyssa and the others. My wounds were mostly healed, pink skin already replacing the cuts and burns.
"To answer your question about a preservation spell, a person could go months without sustenance if the spell is powerful." She chewed on her lower lip. "If
"How very vexing," Stacey said, standing with a hand on her curved hip. "I would enjoy teaching those Arcanes some manners." She growled like a cat, an accurate description, given she was a felycan and could turn into various feline forms.
"We need to treat these wounds," Elyssa said, eyes softening as she inspected each cut and burn.
The next thing I knew, three women were doting over me while the other two men stood idly by in the den. Elyssa pulled out a chair and grabbed wet cloths to wash my wounds while Bella applied one of Meghan's healing salves. Stacey cooed, seeming to enjoy the exercise.
Within minutes, I was bandaged up and feeling much better, especially since the salves assisted my supernatural healing. I made a mental note to avoid magical damage in the future, if at all possible.
Fat chance of that.
"We're devising a plan to raid the Darkwater facilities," Stacey said. "Ah, it reminds me of the fun Bella and I used to have."
"What do you want us to do?" I asked, indicating myself and the other guys.
"This is our mission," Elyssa said. "No boys allowed."
"It will be quick and covert," Stacey added with a smug grin. "Not loud and messy like you lot."
"Not our fault," Shelton said, enjoying some attention from Bella as she looked at his bruises.
"You're still going to need some hacking tools to break into their systems," Adam said. "Just so happens I can help with that." He glanced at me. "I'll need all the specifics you're looking for."
"Information about the arch control rooms and the Alabaster Arch is important," I said. "But the most important thing is finding out where my Mom is being held."
"You think Darkwater has access to that information?" Adam said.
"It's a long shot, but if the Conroys own them, it makes sense they'd use them for containing powerful people."
"They're most likely keeping her close," Elyssa said.
Meaning Mom and Ivy were probably both in the last place any sane person would want to invade. "Yeah. At the Conroy residence."
Chapter 10
"What?" Shelton said, eyes wide. "You want to charge into the lion's den? We don't have the power to fight Jeremiah Conroy, much less your sister."
"I hope we won't have to fight Ivy," I said. "If anything, I hope she'll help us free my mother." Meeting Elyssa's eyes, I said, "There's a slim chance Darkwater knows where the Conroys live. But I happen to know a person who's found plenty of people who didn't want to be found." At this, I turned my gaze to Shelton. "So, how about we use those mad skills of yours to find the Conroys?"
Shelton worked his jaw for a moment, as if chewing a particularly rancid mouthful of tough beef. "Well, it would be a challenge. If nothing else, we could find them, maybe home in on your mom."
"My primary concern is how, exactly, one goes about breaking a person out of an astral prison," Bella said. "I have never encountered one."
"How exactly does an astral prison work?" I asked.
"Traps a person in between here and another reality," Shelton said.
"Do they still have to eat?"
He gave a slow nod. "But you don't pop someone as powerful as your mom in and out of the astral prison just to feed her." He chuckled. "There ain't no food slot. I'd bet good money they put her under a sleeping spell to slow her metabolism so she doesn't have to eat often. I'd also wager they haven't fed her much soul essence to keep her weak."
I hated to think of Mom slowly wasting away, caught between the walls of two dimensions.
Meghan walked in carrying bags. Adam crossed the room and relieved her burden. "Thanks," she said, and locked eyes on my bandaged form. "What in the world happened?"
We brought her up to speed while she checked the handiwork of Elyssa and the others. My wounds were mostly healed, pink skin already replacing the cuts and burns.
"To answer your question about a preservation spell, a person could go months without sustenance if the spell is powerful." She chewed on her lower lip. "If
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