“Fine. I saw a couple of dicks wearing that gray and white snow camouflage stuff. They had guns but weren’t paying any attention to the surroundings. Too busy talking about what they want to do to the kids they’ve got locked up.”
There is a crash, and Ludo stands in the doorway. The armful of logs he was carrying dropped on the ground.
Agh. Not surprised.
The big guy was once one of those kids. I go over to give him a hug, but Theo beats me to it.
Bloomhower pulls on my pant leg. “Let them be.”
“Who made you the boss,” I grumble, picking up the scattered logs. “And can we light that fire? It would freeze the tits off a nun in here.”
“Once it’s fully dark,” Boring McBoring face says. “Then no one will see the smoke.”
I flop down into a chair, feeling fed up.
“Snack?” Bloomhower asks.
After I nod, she passes me a warm pouch of noodles. “Thanks.”
Max comes in, and I watch as she shovels snow into another pouch, gives it a shake, then hands it to the hound.
“What the? Magic food?”
Willow chuckles. “Self-heating camping food.”
Finally Feniks decides it’s dark enough to light the fire.
“So, are we waiting until the stroke of midnight to go do our reconnaissance?” I ask him.
“No point. I’m sure they have the same amount of guards around the clock. We’ll go soon, spend as long as we can getting information, then sleep. Tomorrow probably won’t have much chance to rest. Let’s go outside and see if shifting is possible.”
Yes! My centaur is chomping at the bit.
In a clearing we form a circle, then Cosmo throws some glow-light spells up in the air. “Not that bright,” Feniks hisses, so Cos dials it down a notch.
“OK, who’s up first?”
I was going to say me, but Max beats me to it. It happens in a heartbeat. Max ripples into the hellhound, his fur blending into the darkness, but eyes glowing like fire.
From the doorway, Willow gasps. If she thinks that’s impressive, I’m going to blow her mind.
Next up, Ludo goes full bull. Fully Bully.
He hardly has to try at all; he just slides into the minotaur body, silent as always.
“I’ll go,” I finally get to say, and with a snap, crackle, pop, I’m a horse. “Whattcha think, Bloomhower?” I circle in the snow to show off my fine tail. She laughs with delight.
Pretty sure it’s delight.
Now there’s only Alexis and Cos left.
Cos is standing there, scowling like the maddest person ever, veins popping in his forehead. He grunts, his hands clawing at the air, but he’s still just a guy in a ridiculous tailored snow suit.
Not a single scale. No wings. Nothing.
"Fuck my life. Why is it not working?" he snarls, kicking snow into the dark.
Theo’s bestie gives him a long look, from toes to headtop, then raises an eyebrow. “Seems to me the rest of these guys all love and respect Theo. Quite the coincidence that you're the asshole who treats her like shit, and also the one who can’t access his innate power.”
