“The void is the source of all magic.”
All four of them turned at the new voice, and Beatrix let out a startled little gasp. Sitting in a giant, overstuffed, wingback chair was a small creature, probably about three feet tall if he was standing. He was mostly green, with a lizardish-frogish face, rough looking skin, and little horns on his head.
All around the chair were stacks of books, and he was holding a paperback book in one hand and a steaming mug in the other.
She swore he hadn't been there a moment ago!
“Sopek!” Mila said. “It’s nice to see you again.”
Sopek gave Mila a nod of acknowledgement before addressing Beatrix. “Most creatures can only access void magic as it filters into the world. A few of us can access it directly. Humans have very little ability to sense, gather, or use magic. Are you sad about that?”
Beatrix wasn’t sure how to answer. “Maybe a little?” She glanced at Mila, then Cora. “It’d probably be easier if I had magic, right?”
“Then I can solve that for you,” Sopek said. “You have pixie in your bloodline. Let me bring that out for you.”
“No, that’s—”
Before she could finish, her eyesight suddenly changed. Everything got brighter and more in focus. She blinked and looked around, noticing colors she’d never seen before. Even more strange was that everyone was covered in swirling colors.
“You can see auras now, you’ll be stronger, and it’s almost impossible for you to get drunk,” Sopek said, then frowned. “I hope that’s not upsetting. I know some humans really enjoy being inebriated."
“What have you done?!” Arthur’s roared words made her jump. She turned around to see him charging toward them, Titan right behind him. Suddenly, Tobias, Kimble, and Memphis were between Arthur and her.
“Don’t challenge the hobgoblin!” Titan begged, grabbing Arthur from behind. “Please, he could kill you without even setting his mug down!”
Belatedly realizing that Sopek was a powerful and potentially dangerous creature, Beatrix edged away. He tilted his head at her, as if confused.
“Why are you scared of me now? I gave you a gift. Now you can enter a partnership with that vampire without being at such a disadvantage.”
“I know you’re trying to be generous, but you should really give a person a chance to say no before you act,” a young man standing next to the chair said.
“Oh, I didn’t think of that,” Sopek said, looking at the man. “Thank you for that knowledge, Tag.”
Sopek turned his attention back to her. “I’m sorry I didn’t ask first. Do you like books? I’d like to gift you some books as an apology.”
A small stack of books appeared in front of her. Reflexively she grabbed them. She reacted without thinking when she recognized the book on the top.
“I’ve been wanting to read this thriller!” she said, momentarily distracted from everything else.
Sopek gave her an approving grin. “Excellent. Enjoy. I’ll see you at the next book club, and we can discuss it.”
Suddenly she wasn’t at the Dapper Dog any longer. The books tumbled from her hands as she twirled in place and found Arthur and Titan standing behind her.
They were all at her apartment. Even though there wasn’t a single light on, she could see everything almost as if it was twilight instead of full night.
Titan picked Arthur up in a bone-crushing bear hug. She heard Arthur’s breath whoosh out of him, but Titan didn’t put him down.
“You tried to challenge a hobgoblin! Don’t ever do that again. That’s a guaranteed death sentence.”
Despite what had to be an incredibly uncomfortable, maybe even painful hold, Arthur didn’t struggle or demand to be set down. Although the last part might be because he couldn’t breathe well enough to talk. Beatrix was sure Arthur’s face didn’t normally look that way.
Beatrix moved close and put a hand on Titan's arm. “We’re safe. You can let him go.”
“Not until he promises never to do that again,” Titan said. She circled around until she could see the big man’s face. His eyes were shut tight and tears were pouring down his face.
“He can’t promise if he can’t breathe,” she pointed out, tugging at his arm.
Titan abruptly dropped Arthur but caught the vampire before he could go tumbling to the floor. Breathing hard, Arthur pulled her close and tucked them both against Titan.
