He staggers and then drops to his knees, crashing to the ground before any of us can grab him.
“What just happened to him?” Mickey asks as Tommy scoops him up.
“I don’t know,” I respond. “But did you see the way his eyes shifted colors?”
“His heartbeat is abnormal. Should we send him to a doctor?” Tommy asks.
I shake my head. “No, I think we should get him back through the Door. He seemed adamant about getting through the Door for some reason.”
“This is the third time he’s done something similar. The first two times, though, he didn’t pass out,” Special Agent Kim, who’s joined us in the room, says. “We’ll take you to the Door; we found its location about an hour before you arrived. We’ll gather some supplies for you, but once through the Door, I’m not sure what you’ll face. Should we send more from our unit to join you?”
“I’m afraid we’ll already be conspicuous with just the three of us; if there are more of us, it might draw even more attention or make them feel overwhelmed by us.”
Kim looks thoughtful but slowly nods. “I’m hoping you can gather some information and then return so we can make a plan together.”
“I can create a Door at any point to leave,” I assure her. “And I will shut it the second I do so no one can follow.”
“Okay. If the threat they are facing is a horseman, then return at once and we will reconvene and face the threat together. I would prefer that if you do open a Door, you open it in this room so my agents can secure it.”
“Understood.” Going in as a unit would be the best way to deal with this, but in a toxic world like Story is describing, what would they do if a group of magic users invaded their lands? Would they turn on us? Decide we’re the enemy as well?
“We have another issue,” Mickey says as he pokes one of the orbs that has chosen to follow Riley. Not all of them got on the plane and went with him, but about ten did. “What do we do with these things? Can you reason with them, Riley? Bribe them maybe?”
“Yes. Tell them that if they stay here, we will allow them to watch us having sex,” I declare, positive that would make me impatiently wait.
The look Riley is giving me tells me that maybe he doesn’t feel the same way. “Hopefully, they realize that the horseman is beyond this Door and will choose to stay behind. They didn’t want to go through the Door where the god resides, so maybe they’ll avoid this one as well because of the horseman.”
Mickey shrugs. “We can hope. Otherwise you’re going to have to wear like a trench coat and keep them beneath it.”
I nod approvingly. “Ooh, very good, Mickey. He could use two for breasts and two for balls and two more for buns… not sure where the rest are going to go, but we’ll figure it out.”
Riley turns to Kim and points at the door. “This way, yes? I will be going alone, it seems.”
“Yes, we need to get back in the car and drive to the location,” Special Agent Kim says. She’s very professional as she ignores everything Mickey and I say.
Riley speed-walks away from us, but Kit betrays him by staring back at us like Mickey and I are intriguing… which we are.
I see a stapler sitting on a desk on the way out and snatch it up, thrilled by the fun device and prepared to add it to my collection.
Chapter Ten
Riley
When we reach the Door, Story is still unconscious and his heartbeat and breathing remain erratic. I notice that Mickey seems almost… fascinated by him for some reason, and Mickey is generally fascinated by little other than a good place to sleep.
“What’s so interesting about him?” I ask.
Mickey glances over at me before he gives me an unwanted high five. I’m unsure why until I feel his necromancy invade my body, and when I look over at Story, I get a bizarre feeling from him.
“Is he…”
“Dead?” Mickey finishes. “You wouldn’t think. I mean, his heartbeat is going crazy, but boy does he feel rather… deceased.”
“What are we betting that this is a trap?” I ask while I stare down at the peculiar teenager.
“Well… we are a pretty lucky group,” Torin says. “Luck is drawn to us. It rushes to us… caresses us gently… and sometimes roughly.”
My eyebrow literally couldn’t arch any higher. “Yes. Luck… my old friend.”
