It didn’t take as long as I thought. I spotted MathMamm and NiceIce heading my way through the thinning crowd. Looking around, I saw HealBot talking with several other Healers near the curb. A quick REVEAL STATS on her showed she’d gained two levels. Not by much, but two was good.

  Calling out to her, I said we were leaving and heading back to Eddington. “Want to come with us, or find another way back?”

  “Be there in a minute,” she shouted.

  She finished her good-byes, turned, and headed our way. Blaze was already in the van, so that settled it.

  [William of Brinsford:] [Falstaff the Bold] [We’re heading back to Eddington. Can your parents take you back? I need to get Blaze home so she can rest.]

  It took a minute before he replied.

  [Falstaff the Bold:] [William of Brinsford] [No problem. I understand. Tell her we’re all praying for her and to take care of herself. You take good care of her too after what you did.]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Falstaff the Bold] [Roger that. I will. Thanks. And thanks for helping.]

  I checked in with a couple of soldiers to make sure I could get out. They cleared some room, waved me forward, and I thanked them as I climbed back into the driver’s seat. Once everyone was in, I made sure my notebook was back in my pouch. I didn’t want to lose what I’d jotted down.

  It was slow going until I reached the intersection. A Stryker sat a short way up the street, angled awkwardly, but there was just enough room to get around it. I had to bump up onto the sidewalk. No parking meters, no street signs in the way. A little rough, but manageable.

  Once past the edge of town, the road opened up. Stop signs were rare, but I stopped at every one anyway. It still took over thirty minutes to wind through the ridges, then flatten out as we crossed into Chandler County. About a half hour later, I dropped HealBot off and thanked her again…for the spawns, for the battle, and mostly for being there when it mattered.

  “It was all good,” she said. “I got two levels and did more healing at one time than I ever thought I could. Our guild Healers have a Facebook group they invited me to. And Ingrid’s scary with that blessing. She says it gets stronger. But I like her. She hit Level 10 and showed us her wings. That’s way out there.”

  “I missed them,” I said. “I’ll see them eventually. Glad she made level.”

  The rest of the van murmured agreement.

  Even NiceIce was quiet now. Blaze leaned her seat back and rested, eyes closed. Not asleep, but close.

  We dropped HealBot first, then, just over five minutes later, MathMamm and her son. I said good-bye, thanked them again, and told her I’d let them know if we did more fast-leveling runs. I asked her to think about what she’d seen…how MANA behaved, how it flowed.

  Finally, it was just Blaze and me.

  “How are you feeling?” I asked. “What do you want for dinner? I’ll take care of it. I can pick something up if you want.”

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  Her eyes opened. She turned her head toward me, clearly weighing the question.

  “I’m more tired than hungry,” she said. “But Ingrid said I shouldn’t skip meals. Whatever you want is fine.”

  I drove for another minute, spotted a place to pull over, and parked.

  “No,” I said. “Your choice. You had a much harder time than I did. Do I need to pull rank or something and make you decide?”

  That earned a short laugh.

  “I suppose you can,” she said. “You are the guild…master after all.”

  I pulled up a couple of restaurant apps, handed her the phone, and said, “Pick something. You have two minutes.”

  I exaggerated pulling my sleeve back to show my watch, set a two-minute timer, and held it where she could see it. I tried for an evil grin and failed. I was laughing too much inside to keep it.

  She laughed, scrolled, and pointed. I took the phone back, checked it, and laughed too. “Your choice.”

  I ordered two of them to go, added two desserts, and placed the order.

  Ready in twenty minutes, said the app a minute later.

  It would take about fifteen to get there, so I pulled back onto the road. She closed her eyes and relaxed.

  Half an hour later, we were home.

  Blaze’s car was already in the driveway. A note under the windshield wiper said mailbox. Her key fob was in the box. I stayed close as we walked inside, one arm ready, hovering just in case. I didn’t need to catch her, but I worried too much anyway. I didn’t care who noticed.

  We were home. Dinner waited.

  I dropped the bag with dinner onto my chair. The next thing was to help get her out of the leather jacket, then her blazer. I hung both on the coatrack. After that, I was going to have her set down on the couch. That was when it registered.

  She was still wearing her shoulder holster.

  That surprised me…until it didn’t. If she’d been that deeply controlled, it wouldn’t have mattered. She would have used it on anyone they told her to.

  She slid it off and handed it to me. I hung the holster with her blazer on the coatrack.

  “Bathroom?” I asked.

  She gave me what I’d call half a dirty look.

  She thought about it, then nodded.

  “I’m staying close until I know you’re steady,” I said.

  That earned me the other half of the look.

  I laughed, and she almost smiled.

  We walked to the hallway bathroom together. I let her go in on her own.

  “Let me know if you need help. I’ll wait.”

  If a dirty look could have a third half, I got it.

  Then she laughed, and her face softened. “I’m not that fragile. Thank you for worrying about me. That means a lot.” She smiled…the real one. “Give me a few minutes. OK?”

  “I know you aren’t,” I said. “I just don’t care. Dinner’ll take a minute or three to reheat.”

  She nodded and closed the door.

  Scurrying back, I grabbed two tray tables and set them up by the couch. Added silverware, everything we’d need except the coffee mugs. Dinner and the mugs stayed on the counter, ready to heat.

  I could faintly hear the shower running. I stripped off most of my gear.

  “Laundry tonight, once she’s asleep.” I thought.

  I hoped we wouldn’t get called back out tomorrow. She should take the day off and rest…or write reports, then rest.

  I almost laughed at myself, thinking how this would look to an outsider. I didn’t care. I wanted this to be easy for her. Safe. Normal. Not about dying.

  “Not going to ask about dying,” I decided. “If she ever wants to tell me, she will.”

  The water shut off. I heard her hair dryer running.

  I put the mugs in the microwave first. A minute later, I set them on the tray tables. The hair dryer stopped soon after.

  She’d be out in a few minutes.

  Let me know what you think of this quiet interlude. What is it that Blaze wants to talk about? Is Will being too protective?

  Read 15 chapters ahead.