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Kingsley nods. “Brytan spoke of that. The werewolves are convinced their goddess warned them that some great evil from Frostmarch would destroy the world.”
“Hmm.” Demetria picks up her goblet again, for the first time appearing slightly worried. “It seems I once again underestimate Nesanth’s foolishness. The goddess Ulia is almost certainly a manifestation of this realm’s instinct to protect itself. Like any organism tries to fight off an infection, it has created means to do so.”
“Why doesn’t Ulia show up and bitch-slap her then if she’s a goddess?” asks Tammy.
Anthony and Allison laugh.
“She may not have the power to do so, being so new.” Demetria gazes into nowhere. “Quite possibly this Ulia is merely a whisper in the minds of those who consider her real… a disembodied consciousness only able to beseech action from her followers.”
“All right. So, ‘Operation Snoop’ is back on.” I pick up another piece of bread.
“You should take Kingsley with you,” mutters Tammy.
“For his nose?” I ask. “Think he could smell a dark master?”
Tammy gives us side eye. “No, then you could call it Operation Snoop Dogg.”
Anthony throws a hunk of bread at her.
Kingsley stares at her in an ‘I can’t believe you went there’ manner for a few seconds before bursting out laughing.
“Wow.” Damon whistles. “Boo. That was awful.”
Tammy bows like an actress receiving an award. “Thanks. I try.”
I think for a minute. “Since we have limited time, let’s split up again to cover more ground faster. I’m going to start off with House Normund. Just in case they’re so obvious they really are where Nesanth is hiding.”
“I’m going with Mom,” says Tammy.
Anthony grabs a fifth apple from the basket. “I’ll check out Nald Mur.”
“I should go with you.” Lindsey smiles at me. “If you’re going to mess with Normund, you’ll need magical defenses.”
Damon takes a large gulp of water from his cup. “I’ll—”
“Stay here.” Demetria glances at him. “You are basically Lord Ceomar. If you go wandering around the city poking into other houses, it will cause problems. The others are not from this world and do not stand out.”
“Damn.” Damon exhales. “I’m not from this world either. I just play the guy on HBO.”
“You do it well though.” Tammy smiles at him. “So well, in fact, the actual Lord Ceomar looks like you.”
“It’s been a while since I read the series, and I never like memorized stuff the way you guys do, so I’ll stick with Ant for now.” Allison leans on him in a protective aunt sort of way. As if he still needed protection. So weird to think about my son being the protector rather than the protectee.
I hurry through the rest of my meal. “No time like the present. Plus, we need to get back to the real world asap. Hope no one’s freaking out over us vanishing.”
“We probably have another few days before anyone notices.” Tammy stretches. “Everyone who’d freak out about us missing is here.”
“Except Sherbet.” I fidget. “Hope he doesn’t go nuts.”
“He won’t,” says Kingsley in a matter-of-fact, serious tone. After a pause, he adds, “Nuts don’t go with sherbet.”
We all groan.
Chapter Five
Normund
Malin Normund lives in a huge manor house outside the city limits.
