Page 91 of Search for the Lost

“How can we fight them if we can’t look at them?” Leo’s gaze turned toward the advancing Dukes.

Crispin put his hand on Leo’s cheek and turned his face away from the debilitating sight. “We…. I don’t know.” He scrambled to his feet and pulled Leo up too. “Can you summon a little Chaos mist?”

Leo brightened. “I think so. I’ve been practicing it to water the garden.”

Crispin blinked. He didn’t even know they had a garden. “Do it.” He glanced back at the Dukes, his hand over his eyes. He couldn’t make out much between his fingers, but they appeared to have linked arms and were… glowing? Dietrich had scrambled out of the way and was now running back to their beleaguered party.

“Hurry, Leo!” Whatever the Red Dukes were about to do, it wouldn’t be good.

Leo closed his eyes and spread his arms, palms out.

Clouds of Chaos emanated from them, billowing around his friends until it encompassed the whole party and then moving past them toward the Dukes.

One by one, his companions sat up, shaking their heads.

“What happened?” Aspin squeezed his temples as if he had the mother of all headaches.

“Red Men have bad stare, make everyone not move.” Minkis chittered angrily. “Minkis feel all alone.”

“You’re immune!” cried Crispin. There was something special about squirrels. A lot of things, apparently. “Mink, can you… distract them while we figure out a plan?”

His formerly furry companion nodded excitedly. “Minkis can do.” He pulled off his purple backpack—where had that come from? Crispin couldn’t remember seeing it since Ous, if not before—and pulled out a wooden dagger. He turned, poised to run.

“Just a second.” Crispin looked around. “Where’s Dorothy?”

The girl—well, woman, really—had disappeared. Probably fallen victim to the paralyzing power of their adversaries.

Minkis shrugged his human-boy shoulders.

Crispin sighed. Nothing to do for her right now. “Hold on, Mink.” Hopefully Leo’s fog had bought them a little time. He grasped his partner’s hand. “We need to change everyone back into our normal selves. Especially the WOLFs. They can help with the distraction.”

Leo’s eyes went wide and he nodded, droplets of water dripping from his hair. “Good idea!” He pulled the WOLF-mice out of his pocket. “They’re not going to get hurt, are they?”

Crispin snorted. Leo’s concern for the giant creatures was funny, but it was touching too. I love you, even when you’re a sodden mess. “All of us will get hurt if we don’t use every tool at our disposal to win this thing.”

“Dweezil, Spike, Hindie, and Dave, you guys be careful, okay?” He set them down onto the dried grass where they all squeaked happily.

“I guess that’s a yes.” Leo took Crispin’s hand. “Let’s do it.”

Crispin’s hand squeezed back and they bent their wills to reshape the reality around them.

Their features shifted, along with their clothing, and suddenly Crispin was feeling much more himself.

With slurpy wet pops, Minkis and the WOLFs assumed their old forms as well. Dweezil—Crispin was pretty sure it was Dweezil—howled.

Minkis, back to being a squirrel, bounded onto Dweezil’s shoulders, holding aloft his now smaller but still sharp and pokey wooden sword. “We got this, Acorn Man!” Then the five creatures galloped off through the mist toward the Red Dukes.

“Can’t we just… chaos-order them?” Leo stared forlornly after his new pets.

Cypher shook his head. “The Red Dukes are immune to most kinds of magick.”

Aspin pulled out his sword. “Are they immune to the pointy bite of sharpened steel?”

Cypher laughed, putting a hoofed hand on Aspin’s shoulder. “No, but their muscular naked chests are. You have to go in through the side….” He trailed off for a moment, apparently lost in thought, picturing those amazing pecs. Then he shook his head. “And they work together to wield their magick.” He frowned. “When they took my sister, though, something happened⁠—”

A series of howls interrupted Cypher’s recollection. He got that deer-in-the-headlights look, which Crispin decided was actually quite fetching, in a rescue me kind of way.

Crispin snapped his fingers to recapture Cypher’s attention. “Leo, we can Chaorder… Orderaos?” His portmanteau needed work. Going to have to workshop that one. “Let’s magick up some weapons!”