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Eventually, I ran into a large cavern with people. No, not people. Dwarves. These were dwarves, and I was a naked werewolf who couldn’t access her wolf.
“I’m in need of assistance, and once I reach my people, I can offer remuneration in treble.”
“You are not human, yet you come from that realm.”
“Werewolf, but a vampire has taken my wolf from me. I’m not sure how. I need to contact the Harlequin. Can you help?”
A stout dwarf stood on a platform forty yards away and said, “Your name, young wolf?”
“I am Cora, Alpha of the Homewood pack, bound to the Harlequin, friend to Mordecai.”
“Put her into the pool.”
The next thing I knew, I was in darkness again, in water, but I could hear multiple heartbeats around me. My wolf was inside me again. I still couldn’t access her, but I could feel her.
“We’ll do our best to hide you from the vampires in our realm,” a dwarf said. “I’ve sent my kin to Alfheim.”
“Kirsten is probably in the human realm. The Lord of Lust can contact her in either realm, as can Mordecai.”
“Most interesting, that the brothers are now connected through her. This piece of information is worth one of the treble pieces you owe us for attempting a rescue.”
“I’ll owe you if you fulfill the rescue. Not for the attempt.”
He chuckled. “Yes, yes. Of course. If you stay in the pool, it will be hard for the vampires and their people to find you. You should remove the object they inserted in you. It will be quite painful, but it’s important.”
It turns out, pulling it out activated it, so it shocked the everloving fuck out of me again. I lost my grip on it the first time, but then I resolved to get it out no matter the pain, and twenty seconds later, it was out, and I tossed it so it landed on rocks ten feet away from the pool, where I didn’t hear any heartbeats.
“Is the darkness necessary?”
“Yes, so you can’t identify your would-be rescuers, if we fail. The vampire will only see the face of one of us, if he looks in your mind to see who should pay for keeping his little morsel from him.”
“Any chance I can get a weapon? If I can defend myself, you have a better chance of the rescue being successful.”
Silence for nearly a minute, and then I heard a clang off to my right.
“You’ll find an ax ten feet to your right.”
I carefully walked through the neck-deep pool until I came to the side of it, and I grasped the ax and then walked back to about where I’d started. If the water was acting as a buffer, it was probably best I stay in the approximate center.
I believe I stood in the water for around three hours before the heartbeats left the room — all but one. No one explained what was happening, and I was terrified the dwarves left because Leonardo was approaching, but a few moments later, a light came on and my heart soared when I saw Mordecai and Kirsten, and the golden light originating from the old god’s right hand.
“I owe the dwarves two more favors,” I told them.
Mordecai bowed to the stout dwarf who’d originally ordered me taken to the pool. “On my honor, we shall rid your world of the vampire known as Leonardo within twelve weeks. Will this suffice to clear both favors?”
“It shall, Ares.”
The landscape changed around me, and I found myself in the concrete cell deep in the bowels of Drake Security, by myself without Mordecai or Kirsten. I went to the speaker, pressed the button, and gave the last codewords I knew, which probably weren’t up to date, but it should bring Aaron or Nathan, and they could let me out. Anyone teleported onto the grounds or inside the building gets shunted here, into a cement-walled collection room not even Aaron Drake can get out of unless someone unlocks it and lets him out.
Ten minutes later, I was in a shower with Aaron just outside, and I gave my debrief.
When I finished, he told me, “I’m keeping you in the underground here until we can verify Leonardo hasn’t put other ticking time bombs into your head. Kelsey and Etta are going to go through it first, and then my wife will do so. Later, I’m sure Marco will want to do so as well, but we’ll start with those three.”
“How long was I gone?”
“Eleven earth days, which was likely six days on Svartalfheim. He had a lot of time to fuck with you.”
“He broke my spine and crushed my rib cage when he swooped in and grabbed me, so I imagine the first order of business was healing me.”
