“No, you don’t. This isn’t our dimension, Marshall. The Guard has no jurisdiction here,” Clayton said, not knowing if it was true or not. He was desperate and grasping at straws.
:They really don't.:Astraea agreed.:You tell him, little traveler.:
“Clayton, you can’t just expect me to let him go because you like him. That’s not how this works.”
Clayton stood in front of Mal’s terrifyingly still form, shaking like a leaf, legs barely holding him up. He shouldn’t be standing against Marshall. Not over anything, but especially not a nightmare. It was an absolutely insane move, but he couldn’t help himself. Even without magic, Marshall could squash Clayton like a bug, but Clayton couldn’t let Marshall take Mal. He just couldn’t.
Clayton wouldn’t admit to himself why at the moment, but he knew it was more than the nebulous shared custody they had over a handful of children they’d just met. It was also more than a handful of orgasms between frenemies.
“We’ll stay here,” Clayton said desperately. “We don’t have to go back to our dimension, Marshall. There’s no need for anyone to get hurt.”
Marshall’s eyes held the weight of his years as he gazed at Clayton. There was a mixture of sadness and resignation in his voice as he said, “Even if this place isn’t under Guard jurisdiction, I still can’t let him run loose to feed on innocent people. If he goes unchecked, he could destroy this world. I don’t have magic right now, so I have to take him out while he’s weak. Stand down, Clayton, this is happening.” Marshall moved toward Clayton with determination, clearly ready to deliver a serious ass-kicking to anyone who got in the way of him performing his duty.
Marshall made to stride past Clayton like he expected Clayton to see sense and let it happen, but when Clayton flungout an arm to stop him, there was a flash of light, and Marshall was across the glade on his ass once more, only this time, his clothes were singed and smoking.
“What the fuck?” Clayton and Marshall both said with equal amounts of shock and horror.
:You’re officially my favorite person, little traveler. Feel free to beat him up as much as you want.:
“I’m not going to beat him up!” Clayton shouted. “He’s my friend and maybe kind of my boss’s boss, but still, just… no one needs to get hurt right now, okay? Please, Marshall. I just want to find my children. That’s why we’re here, remember? Saving innocent people?”
“We can do it without him.”
“Can we really? You’ve got no magic, and I’m… Well, I’m me. You might as well be working with an anchor around your neck. WeneedMal. Merry is only six. Tommy is four. I can’t leave this to chance. Not when chance fucking hates me.”
“Clayton, I…” Marshall sighed heavily, and Clayton watched him mentally weighing their options.
Clayton saw the exact moment Marshall accepted the reality of what having Clayton with him presented, because his shoulders sank and the fight went out of him. As Clayton had hoped, poking him in thejustice for innocentsbutton did the trick.
Marshall closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fine. We’ll find your kids first, but if he does anything to anyone, I won’t stand by and do nothing.”
“He won’t,” Clayton lied. Mal would definitely do horrible things to people, but if Clayton had any say in it, it would only be to people who deserved it.
“This conversation isn’t over,” Marshall warned. “Once we find your kids, we’ll revisit this.”
That was Future Clayton’s problem, so Present Clayton readily agreed. “Absolutely. One hundred percent.”
“Though it might not come to that,” Marshall said wryly, craning his neck to peer around Clayton. “He looks half gone already.”
“What? Oh no. Oh no, no, no… shit.” Clayton whirled around to attend to his dying nightmare. “What do I do?”
“You’re not seriously asking me, are you?”
“Yes!” Of course he was. Marshall knew more about nightmares than anyone, so he’d definitely be able to save Mal.
Marshall rolled his eyes. “Okay, fine. Listen closely because I’m only saying this once. First of all, you’re going to want to sit down.”
Clayton sat down immediately and motioned for Marshall to continue.
Marshall continued in a no-nonsense tone. “Next, get out something to write with. This part is important. Do you have something?”
Clayton nodded furiously. Of course he did. He was the best assistant in the history of chapter house assistants. He always had a notepad and a pen.
“Good. Now I want you to sit down and write a nice long poem about how much you’re going to miss your dead nightmare boyfriend because I’m not fucking helping you.” Marshall kicked some dirt in Mal’s direction, whirled around, and stormed away toward the strangers whispering by the tree. “I’m going to see if I can find a way to communicate with them while you say your goodbyes.”
“You—! I—!” Clayton threw the notepad and pen at Marshall’s retreating form.
How dare he? How dare Marshall not be the perfect, shining example of justice and fairness in the world? Clayton trustedhim. Clayton looked up to him. Clayton… really needed to pay attention to Mal before he faded away.
