"... So there I am, right? Drifting around in smoke form, being all sneaky-like." Red's voice carried through the CampShip's cabin while his eyes stayed shut, helping Angelo and Blue keep them airborne. "I peek around the corner, and guess what my smoky little ears pick up?"

Neiva practically bounced in her seat. "What? What?"

Sol leaned against the wall, that trademark half-smile playing on his lips—the kind that made it impossible to tell if he was genuinely entertained or just humoring Red.

"Those idiots tried beating me at my own game," Red continued, his grin widening. "Swapped the sugar and salt before I could get to it."

"Ah." Sol straightened slightly. "So when you went to swap them, you'd actually be putting everything back the way it should be."

"Wait, I've got this!" Neiva leaned forward eagerly. "You just left them alone, right?"

Red's grin turned absolutely predatory. "Bzzt! Wrong answer, sweetheart!"

"Then what'd you do?"

"I put salt in BOTH!" Red's unhinged laughter filled the cabin.

Neiva burst out laughing. Even Sol's shoulders shook with quiet amusement.

Meanwhile, Angelo's jaw clenched so hard it had to hurt. "The fact that he can multitask like this... it's disturbing."

"I. Concur." Blue forced the words out between bursts of concentration. "His capacity. For chaos. While maintaining. Essential functions. Defies. All rational. Explanation."

Angelo's phone rang.

"Oh, for fuck's sake." Angelo fumbled for the device one-handed. Eyes firmly closed, he shoved the phone at Red. "Listen very carefully, hothead. You answer this call. You sound exactly like me. And if you try anything—anything at all—I will destroy your body and keep you locked inside for a full week. Are we clear?"

Red snatched the phone away. "Relax! I've totally got this!"

His enthusiasm did the exact opposite of relaxing Angelo.

The phone clicked.

"Angelo Ashworth speaking?"

"Yeeesss?" Red drew the word out, still grinning. "And who might this be?"

Angelo's entire body went rigid.

"Maxwell Guilford."

Every person on that ship suddenly sat a little straighter. Angelo's closed eyes twitched violently.

"Wait—Maxwell Guilford?" Red stared at the phone despite his eyes being shut. "As in, the prosecutor? That Maxwell Guilford?"

"The very same."

"He... actually... recalled..." Blue whispered, each word coming out with difficulty. "Color. Me. Impressed."

"Blue, shut up," Angelo hissed.

Red's tone shifted to suspicious. "And what exactly does the great Maxwell Guilford want with little old me?"

"More Angel of Death sightings have been reported. I'm calling to verify your whereabouts."

"Tell him we left town," Angelo whispered urgently. "Tell him to contact Miriam Dealer for confirmation."

Red pulled the phone closer. "Well, see, here's the thing—I'm actually out of town right now. Couldn't have been me. You want proof? Call up Miriam Dealer. She'll back me up."

He flashed Angelo a thumbs up. Angelo looked ready to commit murder.

Neiva leaned toward Sol. "I really don't like that prosecutor guy."

"Makes two of us," Sol replied, all traces of amusement gone from his face.

"Is there anything else you need from me, or...?" Red's voice cut through the tension.

"That's all for now. I'll be in touch. And don't even think about ignoring my calls—unless you'd prefer a subpoena and having the actual police track you down instead of me."

The threat hung in the air, crystal clear.

"Alright then! Love you! Bah-bye!" Red hung up.

"RED, I AM GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!"

The rest of the flight consisted of increasingly creative death threats from Angelo and manic laughter from Red.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"Are we there yet?!" Neiva's voice finally broke through the chaos.

"We. Should be. Approaching. The general. Vicinity." Blue's words came out in strained bursts.

"Well, can we land already? I really need to pee!" Neiva squirmed in her seat.

"Still searching for a suitable clearing." Angelo's response came out clipped, minimal.

Several minutes passed.

"Oh my god, what's taking so long?!"

"Hey, we're doing our best here!" Red actually sounded reasonable for once. "If you can't sit still, go up on the roof and help us look!"

Neiva's aura flared to life. "Fine!"

Sol stood up slowly. "Uh, Neiv? You sure that's a good idea?"

"Stop treating me like I'm five, Sol." Neiva's annoyance radiated off her.

Sol glanced away. "Says the person whose entire motivation right now is a bathroom break..." he muttered under his breath.

"What was that?!"

"Nothing. Didn't say anything."

"That's what I thought." Neiva spun toward the trio. "Open the door. I'm going outside!"

The CampShip's main door swung open. Wind immediately roared into the cabin like an angry animal.

Neiva conjured a metal cable from thin air, the silver strand whipping around before she caught it and tied it to one of the ship's interior rails. She tested the knot once, twice. "Alright, here goes nothing!"

She jumped.

The wind caught her instantly, yanking her horizontal like a kite in a hurricane. Her eyes watered from the force of it—even her protective aura couldn't completely shield her from the brutal gust. She gritted her teeth and used her metal manipulation to reel herself until she finally scrambled onto the roof.

"Okay. Okay, I'm good." Neiva muttered to herself, trying to catch her breath. "Now then... clearing, clearing, where's a clearing..."

The view stretched out endlessly below her. Dense forest covered everything, broken up here and there by jagged mountain peaks. In the distance, she could make out a small town nestled at the base of the biggest mountain she'd ever seen—the thing was absolutely massive.

Something caught her eye to the side. "Wait, is that a cave? Maybe we could land near—EEHHH!"

Crimson gauntlets materialized out of nowhere and grabbed her around the waist. Before she could even process what was happening, they yanked her back inside the ship.

The door slammed shut. Neiva went flying across the cabin.

"WOAHHH!" she and Sol yelled simultaneously as she crashed directly into him. They both hit the floor in a tangle of limbs.

"What the hell was that for?!" Neiva scrambled to her feet. Sol winced as he got up more slowly, rubbing his shoulder.

"Found a clearing!" Red announced cheerfully, like he hadn't just used her as a projectile.

"That doesn't explain why you had to throw me across the ship!"

Red shrugged. "Wind was annoying me."

"You little—"

"That's enough." Angelo's voice cut through the argument like a knife. The ship suddenly lurched as it touched down, everyone stumbling for a second. "We're here. Now go take care of whatever you needed to take care of."

"Hmph!" Neiva crossed her arms. "You know, you could really work on your people skills. Especially with girls."

Angelo stretched his back with an audible groan. "Don't particularly care. Are you going or not?"

"I'm going, I'm going..." Neiva stomped off.

Ten minutes later, everyone had finished stretching out the flight cramps and taking care of personal business. They gathered outside the ship, each wearing a small backpack that made them look like they were heading out on some kind of school field trip.

Sol cleared his throat, slipping into what could only be described as 'tour guide mode.' "Okay, so here's the plan. This is the one and only stop between here and SolThanor—wait, hang on." He paused, frowning. "Correction. There's another town, can't remember the name right now, need to double-check my notes. Anyway, it's close to SolThanor. That's probably where we'll be spending the nights."

"And where exactly are we right now?" Neiva jerked her thumb over her shoulder at the distant town.

"Little place called MountShade."

"Let me guess," Red said, already grinning. "It's called that because it sits at the base of a huge-ass mountain. In its shade."

Blue materialized beside them, his expression perfectly neutral. "Truly, your powers of deduction are unparalleled."

"Oh, you want to start something?!"

The rest of the group just started walking, leaving Red behind to fume.

Sol glanced at Blue with barely concealed amusement. "You know you could've just told him that in your heads, right? You materialized your whole body just to make that one sarcastic comment heard?"

Blue walked in silence for a moment. "Yes."

"THAT'S IT!" Red's roar echoed behind them. "I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS!"

They made it about fifty feet before someone remembered they could fly. One by one, auras flared to life as they took to the air. Sol wobbled a bit as he tried doing it on his own this time, clearly still getting the hang of it. Neiva's expression stayed locked in a permanent scowl the entire flight to MountShade.

MountShade turned out to be exactly what it looked like from above—a completely average town for completely average people. Even the refugee crisis from the Infernia war hadn't reached this far into the mountains.

They touched down near the town's center, just outside what looked like a shopping district. Sol turned to face the group, hands on his hips like a teacher about to give instructions.

"Alright, listen up. We only buy what we actually need. If you're getting food, check the expiration dates—we probably won't need much anyway. I'm betting the town near SolThanor will have restaurants and what not, and it's not too far from here. Few days trip."

"Yes, Dad!" Red said with exaggerated obedience.

Sol's eye twitched. "Right. Anyway, let's meet back here in one hour and—"

"STOP! THIEVES!"

The shout made Sol spin around. A middle-aged man was sprinting after three Aurons who were already putting distance between them.

Sol just stood there, mouth slightly open. "You've got to be kidding me. Again? What are the odds that every single town we visit—"

Angelo, Red, and Neiva blasted past him in a blur of ignited auras, cutting off his thought process entirely.

The three thieves spotted the flanking maneuver immediately. They scattered in different directions like startled birds.

Angelo's finger shot out. "Red, north. Take that one."

"HAHAHA! Now we're talking!" Red's manic laughter trailed behind him as he rocketed away.

"Neiva, east. Blue, stay with her." Angelo pointed with his other hand.

"Tch." Neiva's annoyance was visible even as she shot off. Blue materialized nearby, following her with the calm, unhurried grace of a leaf floating downstream.

Angelo pulled his hood up. The glowing halo of the Angel of Death appeared above his head, massive wings unfurling from his back as he launched himself west after the last thief.

Sol was left standing there, stunned, as the victim finally reached him and doubled over, gasping for air.

"Are you..." Gasp. "Guys..." Gasp. "Going to..." Gasp. "Help me?"

Sol scratched the back of his head. "Well, looks like we already are. Mind telling me what happened?"

The man took a few deep breaths, trying to compose himself. "They... they stole my tickets!"

"Your... tickets?"

"Yes! My very expensive tickets!"

"Tickets to what, exactly?"

The man took a shaky breath, trying to compose himself. "Sorry, I'm still a bit rattled. Name's Marcus Webb. Those tickets they took—they're for The Crucible."

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