Ben wanted to move.

  But the way the nobleman’s eyes were fixed on him made the mere notion difficult.

  The air felt heavy, and the colors all seemed to fade as his vision created a long, dread filled tunnel that ended with Lord Callex Earhav.

  “Excuse me!”

  A bright, chipper voice called out behind Ben, but he still couldn’t move.

  “Sir, don’t leave before you take a party favor!”

  The small tug on Ben’s sleeve finally broke the trance he’d been in as he turned and stared at a lovely young woman with soft brown hair and freckles scattered over the bridge of her nose.

  Ben’s gaze dumbly fell to the basket in her hand that was piled with items wrapped in brown parchment paper, and tied with pretty lace ribbons of varying colors.

  “What are these?” he asked dazedly.

  A cold sweat was starting to dampen his back.

  “Surprise party favors! Each one is different, but you won’t know what it is until you open it! I noticed your date left just now, would you like to grab one for her as well?” the young woman offered jovially.

  Ben wondered if he was the only one able to see the terrifying warlock standing a mere ten feet from himself.

  With a hand that was already clammy, Ben plucked up alight lumpy package with a mint green ribbon, and another flat one with a red ribbon.

  The girl beamed at him, then turned and skipped away without another word.

  Wolf ruffled his feathers from atop Ben’s head as he stowed the items in the deep pockets of the pants.

  Turning slowly, Ben looked back to see if the warlock was still standing in the middle of the road.

  He wasn’t.

  He was standing a mere foot away from Ben, and he loomed.

  “Has anyone told you that you reek of big magic?” the chocolatey voice that came from the nobleman did nothing to soften the deathly aura all around him.

  “Erm. Yes. Yes, they have. I… I’ve been traveling with a sprite for a while.”

  A graceful frown made the nobleman’s eyebrows slope down. “I see.”

  Ben’s right foot started to twitch away from the man.

  “You wouldn’t have happened to see a duck attending this wedding, would you?” the warlock’s eyes flicked over Ben’s head toward the reception.

  Ben gulped as Paulav’s smiling face flashed in his mind.

  Gods… had they really condemned Paulav like Celestra thought? Ben had been so certain that somehow the merchant’s goodness would negate any bad consequences… His mind scrambled to make up a convincing lie.

  “Oh. That duck. Conquestorov. Yeah, I saw him. He wandered into the fey realm with me,” Ben blurted the first lie he could think of. While he wasn’t an expert in magic by a long shot, he certainly hoped that his reason was believable.

  “And where is that duck now?” A rumbling power brewed in the air between Ben and the nobleman.

  “I left him in the fey realm.” Ben shrugged, then, thinking how Conqustorov would’ve sent off a distress signal of sorts, came up with another bit of story to try and help sell the lie. “We got separated when some pixies attacked us.”

  At this Lord Earhav straightened and all cool composure disappeared. “What? Why didn’t he fly away from the pixies? He knows better!”

  Ben shrugged. Hopefully Earhav would fill in the blanks to the story on his own.

  For a second, it seemed like that was exactly what was happening as Lord Earhav’s eyes grew unfocused and his mind seemed to race through the situation.

  Ben almost felt bad. The man seemed genuinely worried about Conquestorov.

  Despite this surprising show of concern, Ben started inching away. There was a very faint wisp of hope that this would be the end of the whole debacle… But alas. The nobleman’s hand shot out, and loosely clasped Ben’s throat.

  Ben went still and his body tensed.

  His right hand began to tremble.

  To use that right now with so many people around was a bad idea.

  “You may not know this,” Earhav began to say lightly. “But when a minion is made it carries a bit of its creator with it. Like a mother does with its child. Only for warlocks such as myself, I can feel a magnetic pull if I want to find him. And this pull will lead me exactly to where he is.”

  Ben blinked, then before he could consider if he should perhaps try and use his words more wisely, he said, “That sounds helpful. Tell him hello for me when you find him.” He then reached up and tried to gently pry the warlock’s hand from his throat.

  Coldness seeped under Ben’s collar. It crept all the way down to his belly, making him want to shiver the same way he had once a decade ago when he’d fallen under a life threatening fever…

  His teeth were already chattering.

  “Well, something interesting happened recently… You see… I now feel that magnetic pull in two directions. Which doesn’t make much sense. But for something to tamper with my connection with my minion, it would have to be nothing less than big magic.”

  Darkness was tinging the edges of Ben’s vision. “I-I said that we got separated in the fey realm when the pixies attacked. Maybe it’s just the fey realm you’re sensing,” Ben forced out through his rattling teeth.

  Lord Earhav tilted his head. “Why don’t you come with me while I investigate both of those sources to see for myself?”

  Ben doubted he could take a single step.

  His right arm was beginning to ache, as the tiny pellet of his secret weapon started to hum.

  It looked like he was going to have to use it.

  He’d use it, then grab Spidena and make a run for it. Maybe he’d be able to find Filif and convince him to take them back through the fey realm.

  “Ouch!”

  Thanks to Ben’s frenzied nerves he hadn’t realized that Wolf had hopped down onto his left shoulder, and doled out a very sharp peck at Lord Earhav’s hand, making the warlock snatch it back as bright red dots of blood pooled up.

  Ben started backing up toward the woods, thinking how maybe if he led the warlock on a bit of a chase he could maybe circle around and—

  “THERE HE IS!”

  A sudden roar made both Ben and Lord Earhav whirl around to find none other than Reggie Bowan. The man who had attempted to steal Ben’s gold shortly after he and Spidena had first started traveling. The one who was companions with Ostrig Vontrik.

  The man still sported his bowler hat and was followed by five of his men behind him as they stalked up the road past Paulav’s caravan.

  Earhav squared himself to the newcomers.

  Reggie paused in front of the warlock, his eyes roving over the fine clothes before curling his upper lip. “Pardon me, sir, that young gent over there owes a companion of mine some gold an’ a good explanation!”

  Ben couldn’t see what expression Earhav was giving Reggie, but whatever it was made the man take a step backward.

  Freed from Earhav’s burdensome attention, Ben turned, intending to bolt into the woods as per his hastily crafted plan, only with the added help of Reggie Bowen acting as a distraction, when he stopped.

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  “Don’t even think about running!” Lord Earhav snapped over his shoulder.

  Ben barely even registered his words as he stared at the familiar shimmering swarm darting through the forest…

  It wasn’t until a rough hand grabbed him by the shoulder that Ben even remembered to start breathing.

  He looked dazedly back up into Lord Earhav’s dark eyes, in his peripheral he could see Reggie Bowan scowling behind the nobleman.

  “We haven’t officially met, but…” Ben cleared his throat. “You’re Lord Callex Earhav, right?”

  The nobleman shot him a look that said ‘if you have to ask you’re an idiot’.

  Ben nodded and licked his lips. “Then maybe you know what to do when a swarm of pixie comes at you.”

  The warlock jolted in confusion.

  Then the sound of buzzing began to descend upon them.

  For a moment, everyone was collectively stunned.

  Only Ben managed to glance around at the others. Lord Earhav was baring his teeth at the nearing swarm, Reggie Bowan and his men were staring wide eyed and bracing themselves as though about to bolt, when like a cherry atop a decadently frosted cupcake of disaster, there was a chorus of howls that echoed up near the wedding reception.

  “Just what in frog feet is going on…?” Lord Earhav risked looking away from the swarm, his attention shifting in the direction of the howls.

  Ben’s mind numbly reminded him that Paulav had mentioned that there had been werewolf sightings not that long ago. Though they had last been seen in the south.

  He didn’t get much more time to think of this as, from a branch high above, Wolf croaked out.

  “Danger!”

  That was all Ben needed before bolting away. He moved straight toward the caravan, and while Earhav lunged for him found he couldn’t keep a firm hold on the back of Ben’s coat as the pixies descended, their sharp teeth and nails bared and at the ready to dig into the bloat of magic Ben was told time and time again hovered around him.

  He felt a sharp scrape land against his cheek, but it seemed like the pixies were overwhelmed by the sheer amount of magical beings in the area, as chunks of the swarm broke off. One bunch dove for Lord Callex Earhav like bees dove for colorful, pollen coated flowers. Another ribbon wove away through the trees heading toward the reception, and of course… The last bunch sicced themselves on Ben.

  Managing to free himself from Lord Earhav’s grip during the assault, Ben continued stumbling through the woods, running as quickly as he could away from everyone and Paulav’s caravan. He hoped if he made the pixies chase him they wouldn’t notice the smell of magic around Spidena and she could stay safe.

  The pixies were adamant about tearing him to shreds, though they were settling for the orange dress coat he wore for a little while. But that wouldn’t last long. Ben had no other choice but to drop down on the ground and start rolling around in an effort to either ward the pixies off, or to maybe start squishing the ones that were dead set on embedding their pointy bits in his skin.

  A piercing ring fractured the air.

  It was loud, and similar to a dog whistle, only there was a peculiar warble on the end notes.

  Hearing this, the pixies shot up and away from Ben, clutching their ears and screeching.

  Confused as to what was happening, Ben slowly sat up, and watched as the swarm darted deep into the woods, supposedly in an effort to distance themselves from whatever source of that noise could be.

  It took a couple of minutes, but eventually the noise stopped.

  Ben tapped various parts of his face, ears, neck and hands to see just how much he was bleeding.

  He had been cut under the right side under his jaw, and that was bleeding quite heavily.

  Every other injury, however, looked shallow enough that they would heal in good time.

  Standing up and dusting himself off, Ben was faced with something he had completely forgotten he’d actually been quite used to until recently…

  Being completely alone.

  He hadn’t been by himself without someone near him in ages…

  If he didn’t count the first night he spent by himself in The Fey Way? It would have been since before he’d met Spidena.

  Ben stood in the quiet of the forest.

  He had run far enough from the road that he couldn’t see anyone or any caravan.

  Bugs chirped and buzzed, a breeze that danced through the treetops sent them rustling.

  Ben let out a long breath.

  The peace was nice.

  And for one, aching moment, Ben toyed with the idea of leaving all of the chaos.

  Big magic be damned.

  He could head to Kintel on his own. Spidena would most likely hide out in Paulav’s caravan until things calmed down, and Paulav would be protected by the slew of people that knew and loved him…

  Ben really was pointless in the whole equation. He didn’t really matter. He didn’t have magic like Spidena, or friends like Paulav.

  An unpleasant gnawing sensation worked at Ben’s gut.

  If it weren’t for his deal with Spidena, they wouldn’t be involved with each other.

  Paulav was nice to everyone, but that was just it.

  He was nice to everyone.

  Ben didn’t really need to stick out amongst the sea of souls Paulav had helped.

  And the Fey Way… He was just a customer.

  Ben swallowed, and his eyes dropped to the span of ground he had flattened while rolling around. He’d never meant much, if anything, to anyone. He wasn’t worth remembering. He’d actually forgotten that for a while.

  Oddly enough at that moment, he imagined what Spidena would say or do if he left—not that he could actually just start walking and leave, his gold was in the caravan.

  But the reaction Spidena would give if he went back got the gold and said goodbye?

  For whatever reason, Ben felt relatively certain she’d be hurt. Angry, yes, but he had gotten to know her well enough to spot the shadow of hurt that would appear in her deep green eyes.

  Ben fidgeted as he started to step back in the direction of the road.

  Spidena was just a naive witch who he kept trying to keep at a distance because they’d say goodbye one day. And she would be the one to say goodbye on her terms no matter what he thought or felt about it.

  Then again, hadn’t she said if he was going to flirt with her, he should be sincere?

  So what did that mean exactly?

  Did she want to sleep together?

  Even thinking the question made Ben’s face heat as he started to pick up his pace.

  The ringing noise occasionally echoed out in the trees, calling Ben forward to the disaster that had to be unfolding at the wedding reception.

  Maybe it was because of the panic of what massive calamity they had inadvertently caused, but as he moved, Ben indulged his thoughts a bit more rather than dread the fight that was most likely coming…

  So Spidena is fine if I flirt with her. It doesn’t mean anything. Though she did also want to stay at the wedding with me…

  Belatedly, Ben wondered if he had asked her to dance if she would have said yes.

  He blinked and gave his head a shake as he started to jog.

  Maybe it had been a good thing that he hadn’t been alone as of late.

  He was starting to think about both Spidena and his own behavior, and he was finding that it was bringing up all kinds of ideas and feelings that were irritating and difficult to understand.

  Letting out a non-verbal, garbled shout of frustration, Ben sprinted toward the caravans.

  He almost preferred facing the chaos at the reception to what he was uncovering about himself. This alone prompted him to shut down his thoughts, and just do what he’d always done in the military.

  Just keep moving.

  Friends, I hope you all are having a beautiful week!

  I know in a shocking change of events, in my neck of the woods, the sunny days are warm, the birds are singing, and the flowers budding or blooming! It feels like awaking in a warm, peaceful place and I hope you all are getting a chance to enjoy this welcome arrival of spring however you can. I for one have partook in gardening and lying on our porch swing, basking in the ability to simply exist without the discomfort of the cold.

  It's a balm for the soul, and I hope you are able to bask in it to rejuvenate yourselves in whatever capacity you need!

  Cheers, friends!

  Delemhach