Trust in Oneself, Draft 1, CH 16 (Patreon)

Paul watched as the kangaroo just stopped cursing, his face growing hard.

“What happened?” Grant demanded.

Donal looked at Paul, who shook his head. This felt like it was for a Practitioner to explain. He held Thomas as the squirrel explained the Chamber’s attack on Denver, Merlin being taken out, and Shila sacrificing herself once she understood something about the sickness that still escaped him. She had saved the rat on at least one occasion, and they had become as close to friends as Shila let anyone be.

Paul added details about her requesting his help, the Chamber’s attack on her, and how they’d ended up in Denver after the news story, and he had to calm his best friend. He was fine. Shila had protected him from the worse the Chamber had thrown at them.

Donal finished with her request they find Grant so he could handle the staves they’d taken from the two Chamber.

“Where are they?” Grant asked. “Tell me you didn’t leave them in the car that got you here.”

“I’m not an idiot, Grant,” Donal replied. “They’re in the mail.”

The kangaroo stared at the squirrel. “What? You mailed them? To who? You know the Chamber’s going to find out where they’re going and—”

“You have any idea how easy it is for packages to get lost in international shipping?” Donal asked. “How much easier it is if I want it to happen?”

That seemed to mollify the kangaroo. “Alright. Where are they going and when do we need to be there to retrieve them?”

“No idea.” Donal rolled his eyes. “Things can’t be lost if I know where they’re going. Defeats the purpose. I should be able to ensure they make their way to me once we want them.”

“Should.” That sounded like an accusation to Paul.

“Thomas,” Donal called.

“What?” the rat stiffened and Paul noticed he’d been watching him, instead of the conversation. Well, Thomas was Society, so that explained the lust he was pushing down.

“Remind me just how much control Grant here had over his staff, back when he had one.”

“He, err.” Thomas looked from one to the other as if no matter what he said, he’d be betraying a friend.

“I get your point, Donal,” Grant finally admitted. “Only the real problem is that now I have to make sure you survive this idiotic idea of Shila; because while you think you should be able to retrieve them, I know without a doubt that without you, there is no way I’ll ever get them out from where ever they’re now lost.”

“Actually,” Thomas said. “I have a way around that. I have the sensory phrase. So, me and Paul can fuck to ensure this place is imprinted. Then I take them both back to the Denver house, Paul fucks me there because I’m going to need it, then I bring him back and he fuck me once we arrive because there’s no way I’m going to be familiar enough with this place to be functional with at least two fuck to recharge me.”

Grant stared at Thomas. “No. What are you thinking? We’re not splitting up. The Chamber’s going to be looking for Donal after what he was part of. And don’t even bring up one of the other landing points. They blew up those you had in San Francisco Bay, so they have to know about the others and they have to be watching them.”

Thomas bit his lower lips and for a moment, he looked much younger than he and Paul were. “Right, sorry. I know other phrases, and Paul can get a lot of cum out of me, so I can write a few on Donal so he’ll be protected.”

“Grant,” Paul said, trying not to stare at his best friend. “Tell me you haven’t been starving Thomas of sex?”

“Of course not. We haven’t exactly had the time since getting in here, but it’s only been ten hours at the most.”

“What?” Thomas said, grinning lewdly at Paul. “I missed you.”

“He’s here now,” Grant said, so we need to go back to our search before the Chamber either finds it or us. And since you’re here, Donal, hopefully you can help, since this staff is fucking well hidden.”

“Sure, but I’m going to need something to go on. With the Chamber around, just looking for a hidden staff is bound to get me to walk in their grasp.”

“Right.” Grant hesitated. “The thing is, all I had to go by were some old translation from older Gaelic text, and they weren’t exactly in great condition when we found them and I can’t be—”

“It’s the Lady of the Lake,” Thomas said, a grin finally wiping the lust off his face.

“Yeah,” Grant said, embarrassed.

“As in the legend of King Arthur?” Paul asked, while Donal stared at the kangaroo.

“I know, right,” Thomas said. “I couldn’t believe she was real, either. Makes you wonder if the rest of the legends are true, too.”

“Don’t blow this out of proportion,” Grant said. “For all we know, the translation isn’t entirely accurate, or she was added to the stories because—”

“Wow, another story that’s real,” Paul said.

“Another?” Grant asked.

“Yeah, me and Shila came across a Chamber with Joseph’s Coat of Many Colors on the way to Denver. She seemed to be involved in manipulating the media.”

Grant sighed. “Okay, that staff has nothing to do with any bible character. Think about it. How would a staff that old control the media? I have no idea where that Webber guy came across it, but that one? That’s all it is.”

“Okay, but still, now we have the Lady of the Lake. Tell me you ran that by Niel.” Paul looked from Thomas to Grant and stopped on Donal, who was looking in the distance.

The kangaroo followed the golden tiger’s gaze. “Donal, you have it?”

“I have…something.”

“How far?”

“I’m… not sure. Deeper, I can tell that.”

“What about these people?” Paul asked.

“No time,” Grant said. “They’re going to be out for a while. Our best bet is to get to the staff, have Thomas take us out of here, and then deal with whoever the Chamber has watching that location.”

“I’m not going to be able to keep us hidden,” Donal said. “This is like nothing I’ve had to find before.”

“Staves will do that to you,” Grant replied. “Leave dealing with the Chamber and their goons to us. You just get us to the staff, and don’t you fucking think of over-stressing yourself. I already lost one friend too many.” Grant pulled stuff out of his pockets and started making something.

“Is that going to be effective?” Paul asked. “You’re not the one with the staff about hiding.”

“Maybe not, but I’m the only one here who’ve spent years evading the Chamber.” He grinned. “I’d like to think I’ve gotten pretty damned well acquainted with the concept of not being found.”

“That’s why we’ve been in so many fights recently,” Thomas whispered.

* * * * *

Paul punched the otter in the muzzle as hard as he could, and he dropped. The other Chamber goon was also unconscious. And Grant was helping Donal back to his feet after shoving him out of the way when this fight started. It was the third one. Grant’s talisman hadn’t proved effective at hiding them, but he had one to warn of approaching people, so they’d been ready and hid them hard before they could react.

Thomas took care of their phones, popping in, grabbing them, and popping out. That way they’d ensured no call for help went out. Grant and Paul had taken care of the rest. The kangaroo had added talismans to Paul’s jacket that made him hard to hit and his punch more effective. Donal remained out of them. The worry was that he’d lose the trail if he dropped his focus.

Thomas broke another phone. “You know, it’s only a question of time before someone notices the number of people who aren’t responding anymore.”

“It’s why we need to keep going,” Grant replied. “Donal?”

“We’re closer.”

The kangaroo’s muttered reply wasn’t flattering, but he nodded and they started walking again.

The caverns turned into a mix of stone and ice, some of them letting diffused light in, indicating they weren’t that far from the edge of the glacier? Mountain? Paul didn’t know what something that was made of both was called. The light faded, and they had to rely on Grant and Thomas’s phones, which were powered by a talisman, to see their way.

When Donal stopped, they were in a larger cavern with a ceiling that was lost in the darkness. The wall they were by was ice in the shape of a waterfall.

“It’s… here,” Donal said, not sounding certain, and looking at the frozen waterfall.

“I’m not seeing a staff,” Thomas said.

“Lady of the Lake,” Grant replied, shining his light on the frozen water. “More than likely it’s in the ice.”

“Do any of you have something to melt that?” Paul asked. “Because I didn’t bring a pickax.”

“I can probably manage something,” Grant mused. “A lot of stuff carry hear within their concept.”

“Or we could use the provided magical unlock,” Thomas said, shining his light on the imprint of a hand melted in the ice. He put his hand on it and pulled it away, cursing. “Never mind, it’s a trap.” He shook his arms. “I’m glad that isn’t like picking up one of your staves. Still hurts like a bitch.”

Donal studied imprint, then placed his hand in it. When he took his off, it was slowly. “Nothing.”

“Paul, try it,” Grant instructed. “Maybe she set it so it had to be someone outside the factions that retrieve it. It would ensure it wasn’t someone from the Chamber who got their hands on it.”

“Yeah, about that,” Paul said, and Grant stared at him.

“You too?” Thomas asked, sounding far too eager.

“What the fuck is it with Minneapolis?” Grant demanded. “Is there some magnet for foundlings? No, that’s not a thing. Fuck, I hope that’s not a thing.”

“You want to try it?” Donal asked Grant.

“If it didn’t work for you, it isn’t going to work for me,” the kangaroo replied. “We’re just going to have to melt the ice.” He began searching through his pockets.

A flicker of motion caught in Paul’s peripheral vision and he stepped out of the way of the punch, hitting back before he considered what he was doing. The fox staggered back, seemingly surprised.

More people stepped out of the darkness, but Paul couldn’t let himself be distracted as the fox came at him. Paul moved easily, the talisman Grant had given him making this feel like a dance where he was the one who knew the steps. When he saw the opening and struck, the pain was clear on the fox’s face.

He caught a glance of Thomas fighting with someone and Paul wondered why he wasn’t teleporting out of reach, then suffered for the distraction when the fox landed a punch of his own. Paul planted two punches in succession and the fox went down. He turned to watch Thomas plant a knee in the woman’s stomach, then an elbow to her face and she went down too. The rat saw him and grinned, raising his arm. He had something metallic around his wrist.

Paul opened his mouth to ask what it was, but a howl had him looking around in fear. It was there, in the shadows, ready to jump him, to tear him apart, feast on his insides.

Something tackled him and Paul lashed out mindlessly, trying to get them off, to save himself. They had him, held his face against the hard ground when the howl ended and he was able to think again. He tried to move, but whoever held him was too strong.

“I told you I would find you again,” a deep voice said. “We are the same. You should not have fled.”

Paul was pulled to his feet by a muscular mouse and turned so he could see the monster of a wolf glaring down at Grant, who was likewise held. Two large moose, in his case. Thomas at gunpoint and Donal had his hand over his head in surrender.

“You can’t think I’d want to hang around you with the company you keep,” The kangaroo replied. “Or are you being kept?”

“Ouch,” a vole said, stepping into the light. “That hurts. GW is with us of his own volition, isn’t that right?”

“Sure Kingsley, take off his collar, and let’s find out.”

“How about it, GW?” the vole asked. “Why don’t you take the collar off?”

Instead of replying, the giant wolf dressed in a military-type uniform sniffed the air, then walked around Grant and his captor.

“GW,” the vole said in annoyance, “I asked—”

“I like my collar,” the wolf replied, distracted.

“What are you doing?”

“There is…” the wolf scented the air again. “A smell.” He stepped close to the waterfall and looked at where the handprint was.

The vole shrugged and pulled out a revolver. “I suppose it’s better this way. Now he doesn’t have to see his precious Grant die.” He aimed it at the kangaroo’s head as the wolf placed his hand on the handprint.

The quake was sudden and sent the man holding Paul to the ground, while the golden tiger danced to remain standing. The snap of ice followed as people got to their feet and Paul ran for the vole before he could aim at Grant from the ground.

He stopped as the waterfall broke apart and behind the cloudy ice, a woman was held in a clear block of ice. Paul swallowed as he noticed that the gossamer white dress the seal wore was moving as if in a soft breeze.

Or, he realized, as the seal opened her eyes, underwater.

The jet of water hit him hard enough Paul blacked out immediately.