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  “I guess he really is a fairy godmother,” I said.

  “Apparently, Burgess had some crappy, demeaning freakshow job where he was being totally exploited by his boss before he got here. Now he’s well respected, admired even. People depend on him. He takes that very seriously. He runs a tight ship. We’ve been friends ever since I got here. See there?”

  He pointed up ahead, but I didn’t see anything that stood out.

  “That’s the entrance. Once we get through there, our worries are over!”

  “And you’ll get me to Avascon,” I added.

  Wrinkling his brow, he looked at me and chuckled. “You sure have a one track mind all of a sudden,” he commented.

  “I’m sorry, I’m just anxious to get home.”

  “To Gregg,” Darrios said dryly.

  I did not feel like going another round about Gregg.

  “That should make you happy. Once I’m gone, you can get back to your life,” I reminded him.

  He sighed. “Yeah, you’re right,” he agreed somewhat sardonically. “It’ll be so great to get back to normal.”

  ****

  As we got closer, I could see the spot where Darrios had been pointing. Heavy shrubbery, several lush, thick, leafy vines, and a couple of large rocks formed a natural tunnel. I targeted my sight onto the area between the rocks and the spot we were headed toward.

  Darrios ran past me, hurrying over to what looked like a raised-up manhole cover. He crouched down, opened a small trap door on the side of it and shouted into it. “Burgess, where are you? C’mon, it’s me, Darrios. Open up!”

  I stood behind Darrios waiting for something to happen, but I didn’t know what. The manhole cover made a strange clicking sound. Then it popped open. Darrios turned to me, and then his expression turned from triumphant to terrified in a split second.

  The next thing I knew, I heard that whipping sound again. Then I felt the creature’s breath on the back of my neck. I froze with fear. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak, let alone scream.

  Darrios stood only about three feet away, facing me, but that moment, it felt like miles. Barely above a whisper, Darrios said, “Maggie, don’t make any sudden moves. Very, very slowly, start moving toward me.”

  I edged, ever so carefully, toward him, watching his face for any indication of my impending demise. When I had inched about a foot closer, Darrios’ hand shot out, shoving the beast.

  It took a swipe with its clawed hand, catching the back of my neck. White-hot pain seared through me as my flesh was torn away from my body. I finally found my voice.

  I screamed at the same instant Darrios pulled out his knife and plunged it into the viocomen, fatally wounding it. I fell to my knees. My vision blurred. He stabbed the creature two more times and then I heard his panicked voice.

  “Oh God, Maggie, your neck, let me see how bad it is.”

  Darrios dropped down next to me, gently moving my hair out of the way so he could examine my injury. I couldn’t help but notice that his breath on my neck felt much nicer than the viocomen’s.

  He dropped his fur and peeled his shirt off, exposing his perfectly chiseled chest again. He wadded his shirt up, placing it over my wound.

  “I don’t think it’s that bad, but I’ll feel better when we get to Inland and Jezbah can take a look.”

  I started to ask who Jezbah was when Darrios picked me up, as if I weighed nothing, and headed for the entrance opening. Just then, a second Viocomen blocked our way. So much for them not being stealthy.

  Darrios slowly set me down, never taking his gaze from the foul creature. Squeezing my hand, he quietly said, “I’m going to run off to the left and lead this son of a bitch away from the entrance—”

  I interrupted him. “No, Darrios, you can’t—”

  “Maggie, it’s the only way. I cannot allow that thing to get into the tunnel. You’re hurt. You need to get inside. As soon as you make it through the opening, pull the door shut behind you. I’ll be there as soon as I lead the viocomen away. Just hold the latch down until I get back so nothing can get in and then you can let me in quickly.”

  I looked at Darrios, pleading with my eyes. I grabbed his hand, squeezing it. “Please don’t,” I whispered.

  “I will be back,” he promised.

  He looked into my eyes and kissed me on the forehead. Dropping my hand, pushing me aside, he waved his arms and screamed at the viocomen. When the creature stepped toward him he bolted away, the vile beast right on his heels, its hideous screech echoing in my head.

  I hurried through the opening and down into the hole. Grabbing the latch, I pulled as hard as I could. The door slammed down, plunging me into darkness.

  The seconds ticked by at an agonizing pace. A suffocating silence enveloped me. My heart raced, pounding against my ribcage, threatening to burst right out of my chest. I felt like I couldn’t get any air into my lungs. My neck throbbed and my fear for Darrios rapidly turned to panic.

  I didn’t know how much time had gone by, but it seemed like hours. I was sure something terrible had happened to Darrios. I mean, wouldn’t he have been back by now if he had beaten the viocomen? My terror started to loosen its grip, only to be replaced with a blanket of despair. A stifled cry escaped my lips. I held my breath, leaning up closer to the opening, desperate to hear something, anything that indicated Darrios was alive. There was only stillness and quiet. I’d never felt so alone. Just as my last streams of hope trickled away, I heard it. I gasped.

  “Maggie, are you there?” Darrios called.

  As if I had superhuman strength, I pushed that trapdoor open like it was made of paper. “Darrios, I’m here!”

  “C’mon up, Maggie. It’s okay. They’re gone now. You’re safe.”

  I scrambled up the ladder and out through the opening.

  Throwing my arms around him, I burst into tears. “I thought...you...I was so scared!”

  Darrios patted me on the back. “It’s okay, I’m fine,” he said stiffly.

  Had I taken even one moment to think about this scenario as it unfolded, maybe it would have occurred to me that Darrios had called me out instead of joining me where he knew it was safe. Odd.

  Perhaps I would have seen that he was noticeably heavier than just a little while ago or how rigidly he stood there. I might have caught that his fur was gone, replaced by a blanket that completely covered his right arm. But I didn’t notice any of those things.

  I was so relieved he was back and in one piece, I neglected to think clearly at all, so I missed all of the little signs that would have alerted me to the danger I’d put myself in.

  Darrios pointed at something behind me. When I turned to look, he covered my face with a wet cloth. Everything went black. I didn’t even get a chance to fight.

  Chapter Three

  The sound of a door opening and closing brought me to a state of semi-consciousness. I couldn’t remember what had happened or where I was. I shook my head trying to get the fog to clear.

  Slowly, I opened my eyes, trying to acclimate. I attempted to rub my eyes, but I couldn’t. I blinked a couple of times and looked at my hands. I’d been bound to the iron headboard of a double-sized bed by my wrists.

  Frantically, I tugged at my restraints to no avail.

  Trying, once again, not to panic, I searched the room for my captor. If only I could remember what happened. A deep, wheezing chuckle from behind me caught my attention. As I strained to see who it was, a sharp pain knifed through my neck, stopping me. My neck...the viocomen...Darrios...

  Heavy footsteps approached me. Suddenly a different sort of creature came into view. He wasn’t tall, but thick around the middle with several stacks of fleshy rolls over his belly. His neck revealed the same layered rolls. His greasy, thinning hair, scabby scalp, and yellow, rotting teeth repulsed me.

  Scaly, calloused skin gave him a reptilian appearance, but his movements and features were human-like. His right arm was blackened and burned, the charred flesh peeling and crusted
over. He had no hand, but rather a stump with thick, dirty, pointed, yellowish-gray fingernails coming out of it.

  The hideous creature frightened me. I took several quick breaths, trying not to hyperventilate. He had clothes on like a human, but clearly he wasn’t.

  “What do you want?” I squeaked, my terror fighting to resurface.

  The creature cocked his head, looking at me with filmy, glazed eyes. I wanted to look away, but he held my gaze, locked to his.

  “Darrios,” was all he said.

  His voice sounded loud and threatening. He smiled, making me cringe. I glanced at my bound wrists.

  “Why are you doing this? Please...let me go.”

  “Your boy Darrios and me? We have a score to settle. I can’t let you go until he gets here,” he bellowed.

  “How did I get here?”

  The creature laughed heartily, but the tinny sound only frightened me more. The memory floated hazily around my brain, just out of my reach.

  “I brought you here,” he answered. “It’s a little place that belonged to a friend of mine. It’s vacant now, though, courtesy of Darrios.”

  He laughed again, a sinister, threatening laugh. The image of Darrios wearing a blanket instead of his fur wrap popped into my head. A coherent thought finally formed in my mind. Anger coupled with my fear. “It was you. How did you...you pretended to be Darrios. You tricked me!”

  He laughed again. “It’s a gift, really. I can change into anyone or anything as long as I’ve seen it before.”

  I wrinkled my brow, disbelievingly, but my eyes soon grew wide when suddenly he became a considerably heavier version of me. My breath caught in my throat. I was afraid I was going to come completely unraveled. I willed myself to breathe.

  He changed back into himself, and as unsettling as that was, I definitely preferred it. He bowed slightly, holding out his stump. I recoiled.

  “Allow me to introduce myself,” he said. “Podredo, at your service. Now that you are awake, can I offer you some water?”

  I nodded, warily. He walked away and I took several more deep breaths. I needed to pretend I was comfortable with him so I could reason with him. I didn’t know what his beef was with Darrios, but I didn’t think it had anything to do with me.

  He returned with a glass of water and held it out to me. I glanced hopefully at my wrist again. He nodded, but instead of releasing me, he held the glass of water up to my lips.

  I gulped greedily, unable to ignore the fact that Podredo smelled like a cross between wet, musty carpet and rotting carrion. I pulled my face away from the glass, holding my breath until he stepped back.

  “So, what do you want with Darrios?” I asked innocently.

  “As I said, we have a score to settle and we’ll finally get that chance, as soon as he comes swooping in to save you.”

  “What makes you think he’ll come for me? We barely know each other.”

  “He’ll come. I’ve been watching him for awhile. He really wanted you to live. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him work so hard to save someone.”

  “It’s his job,” I shot back.

  He gave me that wheezy chuckle again. “True, but he knows me...and my...particular tastes. He’ll come.”

  “What does that even mean?” I asked, dreading the answer.

  He snorted and licked his lips. I shuddered. Using his left hand, he ran his pudgy fingers along the inside of my arm. Then he traced one finger over my chin. I cringed, trying to pull away.

  “I know he’s saved a lot of people, but he bent over backward trying to keep you alive. He took some big risks. Like the one that gave me the opportunity to snatch you right out from under his nose. You’re awfully pretty.”

  He let his eyes roam over my body. “And you’ve got a luscious little body too. There’s a whole lot of things I can think of that I’d like to do to that body.”

  I glowered at him. Laughing, he leaned in toward me.

  He stood up and stepped back, glancing out the window like he’d heard something. He looked back at me and smiled. “Maybe that’s our boy now,” he said.

  I yelled as loudly as I could, “Darrios, stay away! It’s a trap!”

  Podredo turned on me, furious. He backhanded me with his burned-up arm, nearly knocking me unconscious. “Shut up, bitch. You’ll ruin everything,” he snarled.

  He approached the door, warily, like he expected something or someone to come crashing through it. Nothing happened. He stepped closer to the door and listened. Still nothing. He turned to me.

  “Well, it looks like you scared him off. Now what ever will we do? I guess this is as good a time as any for me to have a little fun, especially with you tied up and soon to be naked.” He rubbed his crotch suggestively. Bile rose in my throat. “Oooh, I’m getting stiff just thinking about it.”

  At that moment, the door burst open, slamming Podredo against the wall. He fell, stunned. Darrios came running in, looking around. When he saw me, he narrowed his eyes, turning to Podredo.

  Before Darrios could reach him, Podredo changed into a snake-like creature. He coiled up, baring an enormous set of fangs. Darrios pulled out his gigantic knife, swinging it around like it was a baton. The snake became a flying insect and flew out the door. Darrios slammed the door shut and hurried over to me.

  He began untying me, but I was trembling so much, he had a difficult time loosening the ropes. He started apologizing. “I’m so sorry, Maggie,” he said. “I had no idea he was around. I haven’t seen him in at least a year.”

  My tears began flowing freely. I could barely breathe. “We have to go. We have to get out of here before he comes back!” My voice became shrill with hysteria. “Darrios, please! He wants to kill you and he wants to...do terrible things to me.”

  “Ssshhh, Maggie. Listen to me. He isn’t coming back anytime soon. All that changing forms wears him out. He’ll go into a cave or something somewhere and rest. He’ll dig a hole, climb into it, and stay there for weeks. It’s kind of like hibernating. By the time he comes out, we’ll be in Inland and he can’t get there...ever!”

  He untied the last knot, setting me free. I leaped up and threw my arms around him, sobbing openly. “I was so scared. I thought he was you. He changed into you.”

  “Maggie, I know. It’s okay. Did he hurt you? Did he lay a hand on you?”

  Still crying, I answered, “No, no...Well, he hit me when I yelled to you. But he didn’t...touch me.”

  Darrios let out a relieved breath. He continued to hold me until I was breathing normally. I pulled away, suddenly self-conscious. “I’m sorry. I was...I...he...”

  “It’s all right, Maggie. You really are safe, now. I’m so sorry you had to go through that because of me. Let me see your neck.”

  I pulled my hair back. “It wasn’t your fault, Darrios. He’s crazy. Why does he hate you so much? What did you do to him?”

  He shook his head muttering he didn’t like the way my neck looked. “His mate...I killed her.”

  I sucked in a breath.

  “She was like him, a changer. They were changing forms, conning people, kidnapping them, and keeping them captive for their own twisted sexual pleasure, and trust me, they had some bizarre habits.”

  I shuddered, remembering Podredo’s revolting touch and his sexual innuendos. Darrios continued.

  “My partner, Evan, and I, we warned them to stop, but they refused. We hunted them and eventually found them. The plan was to run them off, but they wanted a fight. They tried to ambush us at our campsite, but we were ready.”

  “What did you do?”

  “During the scuffle, I knocked Podredo down. He tried to roll away from me, but he ended up rolling too close to our campfire. His sleeve went up in flames. He panicked and began waving his arm around. I’m sure you saw the result of that. They fled, then, but his mate doubled back, changing into a viocomen.”

  “Oh my God.”

  “I killed her thinking that’s what she was. Podredo vowed revenge
then disappeared. He pops up every now and then, but always manages to escape before I can kill him. The last time our paths crossed was a little over a year ago. I really am sorry, Maggie.”

  Calmer now, I said, “Really, Darrios, please stop. Just get me the hell out of here. Where are we, anyway?”

  “A long way from where we need to be. We have to get back to the entrance to Inland. It’s too late to try to make it tonight. We’ll have to go in the morning.”

  “I am not spending the night here.”

  “Of course not. There’s another safe house. It’s about an hour’s walk, but we have to hurry, so we can make it before dark. You up for it?”

  Nodding, I headed toward the door, not wanting to spend another second in that house. “Why is his arm still all black if he burned it over a year ago?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. He’s not like us, Maggie. Who knows how his body works? Even when he changes, he still has it. When he turned into a bug, if you could’ve looked closer, you’d have seen a tinier version of that charred stump.”

  “What’s to stop him from changing into one of you and just walking right into Inland?”

  “We have a code we have to give the gatekeeper. If he didn’t have the code, the gatekeeper would know he was an imposter and he’d probably kill him on the spot. It doesn’t matter, though, because the next time I see him, I am going to kill him.”

  I said nothing. Part of me wanted Darrios to kill him. It occurred to me that I was becoming quite the vengeful little bitch.

  ****

  We arrived at the other safe house just before sunset. It wasn’t much different from the first one we’d stayed in. I went straight into the bathroom and did my best to freshen up. I tried to see the wound on my neck, but I couldn’t. I started reflecting on the day. Bad plan.

  I thought about the viocomen’s breath on my neck and I shivered. The next thing I knew I was sitting on the floor hugging my legs, my forehead resting on my knees, trying to calm my breathing.

  Darrios knocked on the door, but the gigantic lump in my throat prevented me from answering quickly enough.