Until now.
“You want some water, Lu?” Theo asks me.
I shake my head. This shifted form doesn’t seem to need any sustenance. Just being in these tunnels replenishes my energy.
Once everyone has had their fill of water, I pass the message to Theo that we should continue. Currently, these passages are safe, but the undead creatures that dwell in the dark will not be ignorant of our presence forever.
—Are you tiring, Nymph? I can carry you—
“I’m good, thanks though.”
It’s true, she’s energized and eager. Eager to find her other man. The minotaur in me knows that she needs all these men and reminds me that being one among a number of consorts is fitting.
What will the professor shift to? Hopefully, a deadly beast.
“Before we portal, we should plan,” the man I’m thinking about says suddenly. This is why I need him in Theo's retinue. I’m not strategic.
“Oh, I’ve got a plan, alright,” his cousin says. “Hellhound the shit out of the place. Count how many people I can get to crap in their pants.”
Theo shakes her head, the dragon ignores the comment, but the centaur grins. The dog amuses him.
But not the professor. “For fucks sake, that’s a hard no, Maximus,” he sighs. “You, Drakeward, and Donovan need to keep your shifted forms under wraps. You too, Ludo.”
That is not a problem. I don’t want to draw attention to myself; there is power in going unnoticed.
“I don’t think you’re in a position to tell us what we can and can’t do with our new forms,” Drakeward drawls in that cut-glass voice. “After all, you and the dud haven’t even shifted.”
I grind my teeth every time he uses the word ‘dud’.
“Why do you think you didn’t shift, Alexis?” Theo asks. “I’m not surprised I didn’t, but you are the most powerful witch among us.”
Drakeward snorts at that. “Hardly.”
I watch the professor turn his back on the dragon and address Theo solely. “I felt the shift under my skin, and I know a creature is in me, but the imperativeneedto bring it out just wasn’t there.”
“Really?” the hound asks. “I couldn’t stop mine, it just burst out of me.”
“Me too,” the centaur agrees.
—It was the same for me. The minotaur came out because it was needed. Maybe the professor’s creature hasn’t been necessary yet—
Theo repeats my thoughts. “Most likely,” the professor agrees. “That was my line of thinking. But back to the portal; firstly, we must find out how much time has passed since we left. Being gone for hours or days will be very different from being gone for months or years. I suggest we lay low until we can speak with your friends, Theo—Bloomhower and Links.”
There are general grunts of agreement. “Can we lay low somewhere with food?” the dog whines.
“We can follow the tunnels back to my room,” the nymph says. “I’m sure Willow or Duncan will get us food. To be honest, I’m famished too.” She stops suddenly. “Unless we’ve been gone for years and they’ve already graduated? What if that’s happened?”
“Then we deal with it, pulu.”
“If I’ve been gone for more than a couple of days, Striker will have done something to cover up my absence,” Drakeward adds.
The centaur looks confused. “Striker?”
“Private investigator. She was looking into your disappearance.”
“Aww, you really did miss me,” the centaur grins, punching the dragon on the arm. Sadly, it’s not a very heavy punch.
“Fuck off,” he grumbles. “So that’s the grand plan, professor? Hide in the Defectivum basement and get the duds to bring us some cafeteria scraps? Some brilliant logistics right there.”
