Robyn swung at Sunshine, who had managed to get in close, and cut through his tunic, just missing his chest. She left herself open for Lollipops, who threw a left hook. Robyn dodged it, but stumbled, and Sunshine pushed her down. Gloating, he raised a huge fist.
Beth knew that if the ogres could defeat Robyn, she would be next, then Michiko. She glanced around and saw all the vases and jars on the shelf next to her. It kind of worked before, she thought; she grabbed a jar, spun and threw it at Sunshine's head. It shattered, and he winced and bent over. Robyn jumped to her feet and kicked the ogre hard in the knee; he yelped in pain and fell.
Muirin, fury twisting her face, flung a writhing shadow at Gregor. He dissipated it with a word and a flash of light. “I know about you!” she shouted. “You had true power! Why are you working with these fools?”
“Wandering through Limbo for a thousand years can change you!” the guinea pig said. He tensed as more shadows gathered, but then he and Muirin both stopped as they heard a loud thud.
The shapeshifter had switched back to his half-snake shape and had caught Michiko in his tail. He had thrown her to the ground, but she was prepared and rolled as she landed, dropping her staff. She came up quickly to her feet, but the shapeshifter was quicker; he wrapped his tail around her torso and right arm, and began to squeeze. “You—could have just—asked for a date,” Michiko gasped.
“I'll get more pleasure from seeing you die,” the shapeshifter said. Muirin laughed.
Beth stepped out from behind the shelf and grabbed a small urn. “Put that down, you idiot!” Muirin shouted. “Do you have any idea how valuable that is?”
“Really?” Beth said. “Here! Catch!” She tossed the urn at Muirin, but the throw went to the sorceress' right; she had to dive to get it. That was what Beth had wanted. She grabbed the heaviest vase and, with the way cleared, threw it with all her strength at the shapeshifter's head. It shattered against his skull; he shouted with pain and loosened his grip on Michiko. “That's for Puck!” Beth yelled.
The Monkey Queen worked her free arm into her pocket and pulled out a plastic kitchen squeeze bottle filled with a red liquid. She popped the cap off with her thumb and sprayed the contents on the shapeshifter's face. He screamed and reverted to his humanoid form, releasing Michiko. “Gotcha!” she said as she picked up her staff.
“What…?” Muirin said, dumbstruck.
“Michiko had told me that shapeshifters have to adopt a weakness before they can master a new form,” Beth said. “When we realized what we were facing, we knew right away what its weakness was—spicy food. It wouldn't have left such an obvious clue otherwise.”
“So I whipped this up especially for him, with three different kinds of hot sauce,” Michiko said. “Plus plenty of spices, some jalapenos, and an aged habanero or two.”
Muirin cursed as she sprung to her feet, pointing at Beth. A flash of light drove her back down to her knees. “Thanks, Gregor!” Beth said.
The shapeshifter looked at Michiko with murder in his eyes. “I'll kill you!” he screamed, charging at her. “You disgusting, verminous, little—”
“Still got half the bot-tle!” Michiko said in a sing-song voice, and as she spoke, she squirted the remaining contents into the shapeshifter's open mouth.
He shrieked and fell to the floor, clutching his throat and gagging, trying to spit out Michiko's concoction. Unable to control himself, he shifted into his half-snake form, his tail whipping about blindly. It caught the brazier and knocked it over. Blazing coals struck the floor, the tapestries and Muirin's chair, and fires started to burn.
“Ogres! To me!” Muirin shouted as she knelt by the shapeshifter. The ogres, who had been losing their combat with Robyn, eagerly broke away and hurried to the sorceress' side. Shadows began to envelop them.
“Monkey Queen!” Muirin said as the shadows grew. “This is not the end. Even if you should escape, I will find all of you and destroy you.”
“Send me a postcard!” Michiko said with a wave as the shadows began to contract. In a moment, they were gone, and so were Muirin and her hirelings.
Michiko spun to face the others. “Robyn, take Gregor and search the other rooms. Beth, check this room for seemings and hiding places. I'll watch the porth. And be fast—that fire won't wait for us.”
In a few minutes, they had all gathered in the storage room. “Anything?” Michiko asked.
Beth shook her head. “The living room is clean. Robyn?”
“Nothing,” said the faerie. “The other rooms were sleeping quarters for the ogres. They were filthy.”
“There was also a laboratory,” Gregor said. “Some of the things in there…let them burn, I say.”
“So, no Puck.” Michiko scowled. “Time to go, then.”
“But he's got to be here!” Beth said. “Where else would he be?”
“I don't know, but we can't stay here. It's not just the fire. Look.” Michiko pointed at the porth.
“It's that shadow witch,” Gregor said. “She somehow tapped into faerie magic to create that porth and cross into others. Without her around, it's starting to shrink. It'll be gone soon.”
“Beth,” Michiko said, “we'll do everything we can to find Puck. But we need to get out of here first, and this is the only way out.”
Beth nodded sadly. “I'll take Gregor,” she said. Robyn handed her the guinea pig, and the group stepped into the porth.
They hurried through the darkness, heading for the lightpath. Michiko was several steps ahead of the others, keeping watch out for trouble. Robyn brought up the rear, staying close to Beth and Gregor. “What happened here?” the faerie asked as they passed a pile of sequins and shredded fabric on the floor not far from where the lightpath started.
“Revenge,” Gregor said.
Beth glanced at what used to be her purse, and the darkness beyond it. She blinked and gasped. “Robyn!” she shouted. “Take Gregor and get out!” She handed the surprised guinea pig to the equally surprised faerie and ran into the darkness.
As she ran, she began to doubt what she saw. It could be me seeing things, she thought. It could be Muirin's last trick. But then she blinked again, and she reached for her flashlight, and she saw that she wasn't wrong.
It was Puck. He was bound hand and foot and gagged, but looked to be in good shape.
“Professor!” Beth said, smiling. He looked at her and urgently shook his head, trying to speak through the gag.
“Forget it,” she said as she bent down and grabbed his forearms. “I went through a lot to find you, and I'm not leaving you here.” She started to drag Puck back towards the lightpath.
After a minute, her head bumped into something. She realized that it was the top of the passageway; it was shrinking around them. She gritted her teeth and crouched down further, pulling Puck as fast as she could go.
It wasn't enough. By the time they had reached the lightpath she was nearly bent over double, gasping for breath. “Professor?” she said. “If…if we don't make it out of here, I'm sorry. I—”
Then Beth felt an arm around her waist, lifting her like a sack of potatoes. She saw Puck being lifted the same way. For a moment, the passageway was a blur around them.
Then the Monkey Queen, crouching as she ran and carrying Beth and Puck under her arms, burst out of the porth and into the alley. She slid to a stop on her knees, setting her friends down gently, as the porth collapsed behind them.
Chapter Twelve
The sun was coming up, and Beth could see that Robyn and Gregor were there. So were Mec, with cutters in hand, and the others from the plaza; the gremlin went right to work on Puck's ropes. “How did you know?” Beth asked Michiko, who was helping her up.
“Robyn told me what you did,” Michiko said. “There was only one reason you'd do something like that.”
“Something dumb, you mean,” Beth said. “I'm glad you came back for me.”
“Glad to do it. Just don't scare me like that again!” Michiko said with mock st
ernness.
“I'll try not to.” Beth smiled. “Oh, and Michiko? Thanks.” Michiko smiled back and nodded.
Mec had cut Puck free, and Mandy had brought him a bottle of water. “How are you, sir?” Aloysius asked.
Puck finished the bottle. “Aloysius, I am tired, hungry, sore, and happier than I've been in ages. There were times I thought I would never see any of you again.” He smiled and started to stand.
“Be careful, sir,” Aloysius said. “We should get you a doctor.”
“It can wait.” Puck turned towards Robyn and clasped her hand. “My goddaughter…the words fail me. Thank you, with all my heart.” Robyn nodded and smiled, blinking back a tear.
Puck then walked unsteadily over to Michiko and Beth. “Quite an adventure, lass,” he said to Beth, laying a hand on her shoulder. Beth smiled as she wiped her eyes.
“Michiko,” he then said to the Monkey Queen, “I owe my life to you and Beth. I thank you both, again with all my heart.” She blushed and looked down, smiling.
Robyn set Gregor down, took Puck's arm, and led him away. They passed Mandy and Scylla as the Emigres walked over to Michiko. “Here's your smartphone,” Mandy said, handing it over.
“Thanks,” Michiko said. “Did you have to use it?”
“Yeah. She was there in a minute. Sealed the auldgate and everything. It was cool.”
“And I missed it?” Michiko pouted.
“Check your phone later,” Mandy said with a smile.
“Really? Thanks! Any other problems?”
“Just Krexx dropping by with a hobgoblin bomb,” Scylla said.
Michiko grimaced and slapped her forehead. “Fill me in later,” she said as Puck and Robyn rejoined them.
“I have managed to convince Robyn,” Puck said, “that the best thing for my health and well-being would be a breakfast or two. Aloysius, perhaps you'd consider opening early today?”
“It's his day off—” Mandy started to say.
“Not a problem, sir!” Aloysius said. “I'm sure Clyde will be glad you're back.”
“Excellent! Robyn, you'll like the food there. Everyone?”
“Michiko and I will be along in a minute, Professor,” Beth told him. He raised an eyebrow and nodded, then headed off with the others, leaving Michiko and Beth alone.
“Michiko…” Beth pulled her thoughts together. “I…I've made my decision.”
“You're having pancakes for breakfast?” Michiko asked with a half-smile.
“Well…I do want a short stack on the side,” Beth said. “But that wasn't what I meant.”
“I know.” Michiko's smile faded as she looked away. “Beth…it's been great working with you. You've been a big help, especially back there with the shapeshifter. Thanks.” Beth blushed as Michiko continued, “I'm really really hoping you'll stay around, but we both know how dangerous things got. I'll understand if you don't want to be my partner.” For a moment, Beth could see the sadness in her eyes.
“Yeah, it did get pretty scary,” Beth said. “But the thing is, you didn't mention how much fun it would be. Or how good it would feel to help people who needed it. And what it meant to do something with myself besides studying and watching TV.”
“There are some things people have to discover for themselves,” Michiko said, looking back at Beth.
“Grandmother Fox again?”
“Yeah.”
Beth nodded. “She was right. But I've made up my mind.”
Michiko tensed up. “Okay,” she said, fidgeting and biting her lip.
Beth took a deep breath. “Michiko…I'm in.”
“You are?” Michiko's eyes widened.
“Yeah.” Beth finally let out the smile she'd been holding in. “I'll help you save the world. Partner.”
“Yaaay!” Michiko grinned happily and grabbed Beth, giving her a big hug. This time, Beth was ready for it and hugged back. As she did, she heard Michiko say, “Beth?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you,” Michiko said very quietly. Beth's smile widened, and she squeezed Michiko a little bit tighter.
“Ahem.” They looked down and saw Gregor, watching them impatiently. “All done?” he said.
“Gregor!” Michiko bent down, picked up the guinea pig, and gave him a peck on the cheek. He made a face.
“Thank you, Gregor,” Beth said. “You were amazing.”
“It was nothing,” he said. “Oh, and I'm not sorry about your purse.”
“Neither am I. Breakfast?”
“Yes. And after that, now that all this is done, do I get to go back to the pet store?” Gregor said.
Michiko and Beth looked at each other, smiled, then looked at Gregor. “No!” they shouted at the same time, as they started running to catch up with the others.
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Acknowledgments
Many thanks to Willow for the wonderful job she did on the front cover! If you like her work as much as I do, you can check out her gallery at willow-san.deviantart.com, follow her for updates and more at www.facebook.com/willousan, and drop by http://society6.com/willowsan to shop at her webstore!
Thanks to Keri Knutson at Alchemy Book Covers for her fine design work! Find her at www.alchemybookcovers.com/
Thanks to Jason and Marina Anderson at Polgarus Studio for their great formatting work! Find them at www.polgarusstudio.com/
Thanks to Greg Espinoza. Sorry things didn't work out.
Thanks to brave beta reader Lyle Tucker. I may not have agreed with all your observations, but the ones I did agree with made this, I think, a better book.
Thanks to everyone who has encouraged me down this road over the last 30 or so years, and thanks to everyone who's created something that's inspired me to become a writer and create this story. I'll skip the detailed list because I'd leave someone out, and because it might end up being longer than this book.
And thanks to Adelle for all her support and encouragement.
About The Author
Robert Dahlen was born in the Quad Cities, but moved to California when he was three and a half years old. For many years, he described the high point of his life as being depicted as a “putrid little paper pusher” in an Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters comic book; things have thankfully improved since then. He lives in Northern California with a tablet stuffed with e-books and works in progress, shelves of books and graphic novels, lots of penguins, and a nice hat. He is hopefully working on another Monkey Queen book even as you read this. (Oh, and it's pronounced “duh-LANE”, as in “The rain in Spain falls mainly on Dahlen,” which wouldn't make any sense even if he had been to Spain, which he hasn't.)
Of Introductions and Abductions Page 14
