CHAPTER 198

"You've got something, don't you?" Lily grinned and leaned forward. "Let's hear it."

"Oh, it's a good one. Like everything else we do, it'll be dangerous, borderline stupid, and cause a lot of chaos."

"I'm in." Lily put her hands together and leaned forward. "I'm not sure what I can do, but I'm itching for action."

"Same." Kisa looked out the window. "Wouldn't mind a second crack at that bitch."

Beth looked at Jenny and Reggie. The rat king gave her a thumbs up while sipping some more water. Jenny nodded, then tried to slap the mug out of Reggie's hand.

"Excellent!" Beth said, clapping her hands together. "First thing's first--it's time to teach the new girl how to walk."

Eulalie threw a rock in the air and watched in delight as the enchanted mace zoomed through the sky to swat the stone into the forest behind the house. The rock ricocheted off a tree and vanished into the weeds, startling a pair of birds and a rabbit out into the open.

"Twenty points," she declared, then threw another rock in a different direction. The mace spiraled through the air and hit it hard enough that the rock broke in two. One piece bounced off the house while another passed through Naia's watery body and splashed into the fountain.

"Maybe it's time we tone it down a little." Naia held out her hand and the rock reappeared in her palm. She tossed the offending stone out of the fountain. "For so many reasons."

"Yeah, sorry." Eulalie whistled, and the mace flew down by her side. "We'll play later," she told it while wiping some dust off of its head.

It was late afternoon. Eulalie had left Murray's home shortly after the police had come by to perform a wellness check. She had hidden away from the windows as they circled the house, then put away everything she could before they entered. Lucky for her, she had been keeping the place clean and their cursory sweep was for Murray or his body, not for the magical portal she had hidden by pulling the couch against the wall as she backed through it.

Once the police were gone, she and the rats moved everything back into the Library. The mace had become restless indoors, so she had brought it over to the house to let it fly around the backyard. The sky was overcast with the potential for storms, so she figured that the mace was unlikely to be spotted.

The back door banged open and Suly came walking into the backyard with Cyrus in tow. "Company," he declared while leading the mage over to the fountain. Cyrus had a much nicer bag on his head, one that Zel had brought yesterday from her village.

"This is a surprise." Eulalie frowned at Sofia, who was soaking her feet in the fountain. "I didn't expect you until tonight."

Cyrus shrugged. "I found out that the local police stopped by your neighbor's house and came to see if I could be of any help."

"Ah." As helpful as Cyrus had been the last few days, it didn't surprise her. On the one hand, she wanted to be suspicious of his motives. On the other hand, maybe he really was just trying to help, do some good for others with his golden years. "We should have that sorted, but thank you."

"Not quite," Cyrus replied, then turned his head vaguely toward Suly.

"This one jus' spent the last hour scrubbin' yer prints out of yer rental." Suly winked at Eulalie. "Had me come with 'cause I be thinkin' he wants a trophy fer it."

Eulalie slapped her forehead. She hadn't even considered potential forensic investigations of Murray's home. If he never returned to his job, they would definitely do more than just drop by and knock. It wasn't like her actual prints were on file, but the last thing they needed was a police investigation right next door.

"I don't want a trophy," Cyrus declared from inside his hood. "However, I do think I've demonstrated that I am an ally and can be trusted."

Eulalie narrowed her eyes. "You want us to take the hood off, don't you?"

Cyrus nodded. "I've already seen plenty. To be honest, I've noticed that the only one I have to wear it around is you and I want to know why."

Eulalie looked at Naia, who just shrugged. Amymone was no help. She had her nose buried in a book.

Cyrus had proven himself several times over, but it was still a big gamble. Other then tossing a fireball at Sofia, he hadn't reacted poorly to any of the others. Maybe now that he knew everyone better, it would be okay.

Sofia looked dubious, but said nothing as Eulalie reached out to undo the drawstrings holding the bag shut at the bottom.

Deciding to just rip off the bandaid, she tensed her arm to yank the bag free, but was stopped at the last moment by Sofia. The cyclops had grabbed Eulalie's wrist with both of her hands, her purple iris ablaze with magic. Eulalie had questioned the cyclops at length about her unique precognitive ability, and was under the impression that seeing such a thing meant that personal injury was in Sofia's immediate future.

Eulalie arched an eyebrow and looked at Sofia.

Seriously? she mouthed.

Sofia nodded. Very bad idea, she mouthed back.

Eulalie made a mental note to ask Sofia later what she had seen. It was concerning to know that Cyrus, despite all his talk, would freak out bad enough to harm the others.

"Um, is everything okay?" Cyrus reached for the rim of his bag, but Eulalie deftly re-tied it before he could even touch the hem,