A bad feeling was growing in my stomach, though, the longer we stared at the stone-ringed fire pit. Something crawled beneath my skin, whispering warnings I couldn’t quite translate.
None of the reports or scouting had found anything other than a lingering resonance of magic here by the fire pit, and even that wassmall. Tiny. So why was I starting to feel like ants were marching along my nerves?
“Sim—”
My warning was cut short by a sound like a hundred gummy worms being squeezed at once.
That’s when the marshmallows attacked.
They erupted from the fire pit in a gooey, blazing swarm. Flaming globs of sugar launched into the air, trailing smoke and sparks. One whizzed past Casimir’s ear, and he jerked back with a startled curse. The sticky projectile hit a nearby pine tree with a sizzle, leaving a smoking, caramelized patch on the bark.
Zane, of course, whooped like a kid at the world’s most dangerous birthday party.
“Dude! Flaming marshmallow ghosts! Told you this place would deliver!”
“They’re not ghosts,” I murmured, feeling uneasy.
Even Koa looked slightly amused as he batted a molten glob away from his face. It splattered against a tree, too, hissing and spitting.
“Ridiculous,” Casimir muttered. Annoyance threaded his tone as he ducked another barrage of fiery puffballs.
The marshmallow creatures made sounds like fire embers popping as they hurled themselves at us with surprising speed. One went straight for Zane, who, instead of dodging,grinned. His eyes had that reckless gleam they got right before he did something stupid.
“Bet I can eat one!”
Before he could test that theory, Koa shoved him roughly to the side, saving him from getting a face full of molten sugar.
“Dumbass!” Koa snapped, drawing his blade and slicing through one of the creatures. It split with a sizzling sound, but the two halves simply reformed into smaller versions of the original.
“Oh, cool! They replicate!”
I pressed myself against a nearby tree, trying to stay out of the way while keeping all three brothers in sight. Rule Number Four: Under no circumstances does Seri engage in combat.
“Come to papa, fluffernutter!” Zane jabbed at a swooping marshmallow with a branch he’d picked up, the improvised skewer impaling it. For one second, the creature hung there writhing, then detonated in a caramelized shockwave.
Koa moved faster than human eyes could track, hauling Zane backward by his coveralls as the blast radius scorched the earth where he’d stood.
“Are youtryingto die?”
“But think of the tactical applications!” Zane’s grin flashed white in the lingering smoke. “Edible incendiary devices!”
The crawling sensation under my skin increased, centering around my lungs, making each breath feel like inhaling static. This wasn’t just about the marshmallows. Somethingelsewas here, something hiding beneath the marshmallows…
Rule Number Six stated that I immediately alert the brothers to any magical disturbances I sensed, no matter how minor. This definitely qualified.
“Guys, this is a distraction—”
“Stay back!” Casimir barked, his sword slicing through three of the creatures in one stroke.
“But there’s—”
“Watch out, Seri!” Zane shouted.
I spun around to find five of the marshmallows floating behind me, their ember mouths growing wider. I scrambled backward, but my heel caught on a root, sending me stumbling to the ground.
One flaming glob hurtled directly at my face. I didn’t have time to dodge, but I didn’t have to. Casimir appeared in front of me, taking the hit on his bicep with a sound of disgust. The molten marshmallow splattered against his coveralls and began burning through the cotton fabric.
“Damnation!” He batted at it ineffectively as it sizzled. “Are you hurt?”
