Evelyn winced. She had her own phone out with a flashlight so she could see. Grizzizzik started to fall in step with Nick when Hraktar grabbed their two shoulders, moving them apart so he could walk between them.

  “By the way, I don’t think I ever thanked you for dragging Grizzizzik away from our house before the police could,” Evelyn said to Clarissa who had fallen in step with her.

  “Keeping Grizzizzik in line is everyone’s second talent in our group,” Clarissa said, not bothering to lower her voice.

  “Also, how did you do that?” Evelyn asked, glancing up at her princess. “Before Grizzizzik ruined everything.” Evelyn also didn’t bother lowering her voice. “My dad was furious, but the things you said seemed to stop him from blowing up.”

  It was a secret power Evelyn needed to know. Clarissa just smiled, flicking her hair. “Never underestimate the power of a beautiful woman asking for help.”

  Tyler snorted before he tried to hide it behind a cough. Evelyn frowned, glancing at him before looking at Clarissa again. “But… you weren’t seducing him.”

  “Obviously not. But the fact still remains. People want to help. It makes them feel good. I simply gave your father an opportunity to be helpful, and he took it.”

  Evelyn blinked, surprised. “It seems so easy.”

  “That’s because it is. Especially if you’re beautiful,” Clarissa said.

  Tyler smiled, shaking his head. “I’d like to think men would like to help anyone in need, not just beautiful women.”

  “Of course you would think that, Tyler. You are the kind of man who would try and help anyone. You’re a good kid,” Clarissa said.

  “I’m… twenty,” Tyler mumbled. Evelyn glanced at Tyler, glad for the dark to hide her warm cheeks. She about asked something else when they heard a roar in the dark. It sounded like it was coming from the sky.

  “Okay, well, Cal is right,” Tyler said, reaching out and grabbing Evelyn’s wrist, backing away. Evelyn said nothing, refusing to react to it except to admit it felt nice.

  “This is why I need my spells,” Clarissa said, holding out the staff. It glowed in the night. Clarissa no doubt stared right at the chimera. Dark vision must be nice.

  Time paused enough for Evelyn to get things organized for Clarissa’s spell. Clarissa pounded the staff onto the ground before chanting something. Eight balls of white energy exploded out of the staff before forming eight large bats.

  “Lead it to the ground,” Clarissa said to her creatures, pointing toward the sky.

  With leathery wings, the bats took off. Tyler grabbed Evelyn’s wrist again and kept backing away before grabbing Nick on the way.

  “Tyler?” Evelyn asked.

  “Chimeras have three heads,” Tyler said, glancing at the dark sky. “One of those heads is a dragon. We’re close enough for them to roll, but our deadline has been shortened.” There was a shriek from the giant bats, sounding like they were plummeting to the ground. “Which means everyone’s gray marks are going to be that much more dangerous.”

  Evelyn gasped before glancing at Tyler’s throat. At the gray mark that was always there. Tyler had stopped, squinting at the sky, but in an act of courage, she grabbed his hand and pulled him back even farther. Tyler glanced at her, confused.

  “You spend so much time worrying about us I just want to make sure you don’t get hurt either. We… cannot lose you,” Evelyn said.

  A small smile crossed his face as his free hand rubbed the gray mark on his throat. “Thanks, Evie.”

  It was hard to see the battle, but she could hear the eight bats shrieking in the sky before getting closer to the ground. There was a roar as a burst of flame lit up the sky. Evelyn saw it, a dragon head next to a lion, with a goat head growing out of the shoulder. It dove toward the ground, the dragon flame hitting three of the bats. One disintegrated, the other two shrieking as their twenty-two hit points dropped to seven. Evelyn winced before reminding herself this was what the bats were here for. To take the damage so the team wouldn’t have to.

  The chimera landed on the ground. They heard the roar of a lion, the snarl of a dragon, and the bleating of a goat.

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  Roll for initiative

  They should have this one. An entire team against one monster. As the monsters got stronger, Evelyn tried to remember that taking down the chimera meant one less monster they had to worry about for the apocalypse. They definitely didn’t want a chimera running around Elmwood in August.

  Or… sooner. If Tyler was right. Evelyn didn’t want to think about it.

  She rolled the d20 for her turn in combat and was pleasantly surprised to realize she was first. She was excited to see new spells for herself.

  Once Evelyn chose, she watched it play out. Clarissa grabbed her staff, chanting as the wind picked up. Clarissa’s chanting melded with the wind as clouds formed overhead. A bolt of lightning came down on the chimera, and it shrieked. Clarissa then pointed to the chimera, talking to her bats. “Attack!”

  The bats came down, shrieking. It had been easier rolling the dice for these creatures, since she just kept rolling until the d20 stopped popping up. Then she rolled about four d6’s, and let someone else calculate the math. It was quite nice.

  The chimera shrieked before another burst of flame left the dragon’s mouth, killing two more bats while the goat’s head injured one of them with its horns. Milo smacked his crossbow with his wrench and tried to shoot the chimera. The blue bolt sailed right past the dragon head, causing the dragon to swivel and stare right at Milo, lip curling. Grizzizzik’s arrow appeared from wherever Grizzizzik was hiding, smacking the chimera in the stomach.

  Ezekiel grabbed his medallion, giving a quiet chant as light appeared near him. Evelyn watched, curious, as figures appeared around him, slightly translucent. She snorted as one by one they materialized. Samwise Gamgee appeared, eating a bowl of potato soup. Harry Potter was next to him with his messy black hair and glasses, twirling his wand. Young Peter Pevensie pulled out a sword, facing the chimera, his face focused. An orangutan appeared next, reading a book and glancing up before saying, “Ook.” The final figure unsheathed his sword, staring at the chimera with a serious face.

  “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”

  Nick frowned. “Did Ezekiel seriously cast spirit guardians and fill them full of iconic fantasy characters?”

  Evelyn answered by giggling.

  Hraktar let out a shout, slicing the chimera and stabbing its hindquarters.

  “I’ve missed Hraktar being able to hit twice with his action. This is nice,” Evelyn said.

  “It is far more entertaining to watch him on the other side of the game master screen,” Tyler said. “Metaphorically speaking.”

  After Evelyn rolled, she watched Clarissa calling to the cloud again. The bats again shrieked as they tried to bite him, but Evelyn knew only one was able to puncture the thick hide the chimera had. The five guardians all filled with light before shooting it right at the chimera. The chimera’s three heads shrieked in pain as radiant light exploded through its body. The chimera stumbled, growling before turning toward Hraktar. The dragon breathed fire at Milo and Hraktar. The fighter lifted his sword, taking an amount of fire damage with the sword before the rest of the flames hit him and Milo. Milo almost collapsed, the now seventeen hit points reflecting on his charred torso and burnt face. Hraktar’s skin was blackened in places that looked like it should have hurt, but his half-orc nature shook it off.

  While the goat was attacking, Nick turned toward Evelyn.

  “Hey, can you give me the keys for a second? There’s a spell I want Grizzizzik to try, and he needs some components, and I forgot them in the car,” Nick said.

  Evelyn got her keys out of her pocket before dropping them in his palm, too distracted to reply back when he muttered his thanks. Another bat was gone, while the lion claws tore into Hraktar’s forearms. The fighter bellowed in pain as his hit points dropped to twenty-five. Evelyn winced.

  An ice crossbow bolt hit the chimera, a gash cutting into the lion’s head. Grizzizzik tried to stab the chimera, but it dodged it, sneering. Ezekiel chanted, light filling his hands before a book appeared. It then shot toward the chimera, but the creature ducked its three heads before cackling and taking off, flying in the air.

  Unfortunately for the chimera, Hraktar had dark vision and a longbow. He hit the chimera once, and when it faltered in the air, Hraktar let loose another one, cutting through the heart and out the other side. It was dead before the body slammed to the ground.

  “Sweet. Let’s see what mana I can pull from these guys,” Milo said, spinning glass vials like they were guns and he was a cowboy in a western.

  Evelyn sighed. “Well, sorry Nick. I guess we didn’t need the spell components after all.”

  She glanced around to look for Nick, but he wasn’t there. Frowning, she turned around and was shocked to see taillights giving a soft glow. Evelyn paused, then her stomach dropped. “Nick?”

  When had he started the car? When had he started driving? He was in a car, but Evelyn didn’t care. She started running. “Nick!”

  He couldn’t hear her. Already the taillights were gaining speed. Evelyn kept running anyway. “NICK!”

  He was just going into the car to get spell components. That he forgot. To help the battle. This… this wasn’t…

  He lied to her.

  Evelyn felt arms wrap around her waist, pulling her back.

  “Let me go!”

  “He’s in a car, Evelyn. You’re not going to chase him,” Tyler said.

  “What’s he doing? Why is he leaving? Why? Why is he lying?” Evelyn asked, all the questions tumbling out of her in rapid succession. Was he leaving to make a drug trade? Meet up with someone in another town?

  “We’ll follow him in my car to make sure he doesn’t do anything. Come on, we won’t lose him,” Tyler said.

  Evelyn nodded, her breathing unsteady as they sprinted toward Tyler’s car. Tyler pointed at Hraktar. “Keep an eye on Grizzizzik. We’ll be back.”

  Evelyn was already buckled so she could cover her mouth with her hands to keep herself from hyperventilating. Hraktar grabbed Grizzizzik’s cloak hood and pulled him close to him.

  Tyler started up the car, backing up. “Can you call him?” Tyler asked.

  Evelyn shook her head. “My dad took his phone.”

  Tyler swore under his breath as he changed gears and peeled out of the parking lot.