The clearing around the truck is burning as I stumble out of the truck's bed. My head whips to the left and right, looking for my friends. As I run around the clearing, I search for any sign of my people and start to yell.

"THEA! SHIVA! SARGE! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU!?" No one answers my frantic yell and I feel panic setting in. A loud crash behind me, causing me to spin around. The truck is covered in a burning tree. I start to run towards it when I'm thrown backwards as something slams into my chest.

As I hit the ground, I force myself to scramble backwards into the trees. My hands come up to search my chest for any sign of bleeding. There doesn't seem to be any blood, but I burn my fingers on something embedded in my armor. I grit my teeth as I pull the burning fragment from my chest. The lump of offending metal causes me to pause.

I've spent enough time at the range to recognize what hit me. The flattened lump of lead and copper can't be anything else but a bullet. The weight of the lump of metal in my hand makes me think it's a .308 or maybe something bigger.

"Who the fuck is shooting at me?" I take a half second to try and catch my breath before I start to move. The smoke in the air is choking me as I race around the clearing. The flames are scorching me as I push my way through. As I duck under a burning branch, something catches my boot which makes me trip.

As I try to force myself back to my feet, whatever tripped me isn't letting go of my feet. I look down to try and see what is holding my feet and freeze. There, tangled in a pile is Mynas, Tarril, and En'Las. My boot is somehow stuck between En'Las and Mynas's bodies.

"What the fuck!" At my outburst, the tree above my head spews sparks and embers down on me. From somewhere behind me, the echo of my rifle rolls out like thunder.

"Who the fuck is shooting at me!" At my yell, I hear the rifle bark again. I kick my foot clear of the tangled bodies as more rounds pepper the trees around me. Where the fuck is Thea?

As I scramble around a burning tree, I feel Thea reaching for me through the mana bridge. While I start to move towards the feeling of her, I rip my pistol free. I hear the rifle fire again and snap off three quick shots in the general direction. I doubt if I hit anything, but hopefully it will keep whoever is out there keep their head down.

I don't wait to see if I'm right before I break into a run. If I'm wrong, hopefully my armor can absorb a few more rounds. Thea feels scared through the bridge, and I push myself to move faster. I jump to clear a fallen tree and nearly skid to a stop. Jacob and Vaunea are laying in the ash and mud below me. Their lifeless eyes staring up at me in surprise. The gaping wounds in their chest tells me they were shot from behind.

Before I can think about that, another round from the hidden shooter causes me to duck. Fuck! I scramble around the bodies of my friends, staying as low as I can. I offer up a silent prayer to whoever is listening as I start to race through the burning trees again.

I don't know who is killing my friends, or how they got my rifle, but I am going to kill them. Somehow Thea doesn't seem any closer to me in the bridge, but I feel Sarge just ahead.

"Boss, what is going on?" I slide down a short embankment while I try and catch my breath.

I don't know! Someone has my rifle and is shooting at me. The night elves are dead. Jacob and Vaunea are too. Where the hell are Shiva and Thea? Sarge feels like he is panicking, and I can feel him getting closer.

"I'm coming to you, boss! Just hold on and I'll be right there!" The sound of branches breaking causes me to turn to look behind me. Sarge crashes through the trees in a beeline to me. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end as I realize how open the landscape is between us.

"Cover, Sarge! Cover!" He shifts his charge slightly as my rifle fires again. Sarge lets out a loud yelp as his body rolls from the force of the shot. His armor seems to have caught the round. Sarge is struggling to get to his feet.

I'm moving before I can think about the risks. My legs pumping frantically as I race towards Sarge. Before he can get to his feet, another shot rings out. When Sarge hits the ground this time, I know he isn't getting back up. The blood and pink mist hangs in the air as his body collapses to the ground.

"MOTHERFUCKER!" As I run, I'm blindly firing in the direction of the shot. The slide locks back on my pistol, and my hands fumble for a new magazine. Before I can seat the new magazine, my pistol flies from my hand. My arm goes numb from the elbow down as my body slams to the ground. I look down to blood gushing from my arm. It looks like a huge chuck of the muscle in my arm is missing. I curse as I struggle to tighten my tourniquet around the gushing wound.

"JIM!" Shiva's voice pulls my attention away from my arm. I'm moving before I have a chance to think about the danger. I've lost so much already, I can't lose any more. I don't know if I can handle it.

"Shiva, get to cover!" A flash of red hair ahead of me makes me turn. Shiva is making her way through the trees carefully, using the smoke to conceal herself. "Shiva!" Her head snaps around to look at me when I yell. She breaks cover for a second as she runs towards me.

"Jim!" We are less than three steps apart when the sound of my rifle rings out again. Shiva stumbles as I wrap her up in my one good arm. I nearly stumble as I pull her tight to my chest as I run.

"Just hold on, Shiva. It's going to be alright!" Shiva is limp in my arms as I run. When I glance down, I see her head hanging limply downwards. I slide to a stop as she slips from my grip and falls to the ground. The way her body falls has me scared. I kneel down beside her.

"Shiva?" When I tilt her head up to look at me, I see her unfocused eyes. I don't need to check her pulse to know she is gone. "NOOO!" It feels like a knife has been plunged into my chest. I can't seem to catch my breath as I cradle Shiva's lifeless body to my chest.

"JIM!" At the sound of Thea's voice, my head snaps around to try and find her. I give Shiva one last kiss as I lay her body down on the ground. As much as it hurts me to leave her there, I need to find Thea.

"Alexis, I need a weapon! Alexis!" My good hand searches the pouch on my belt when she doesn't answer. "Alexis!" Her core is missing. When I search my mana, I don't feel her drawing on it.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" My head is spinning as I try to figure out what to do.

"JIM! HELP!!" Thea's words are cut off with a strangled noise.

"Shit!" I take off at a dead run toward where her voice came from. "THEA!" As I come around a tree, I catch sight of her. She is suspended from a burning branch by her collar. Her feet kick out wildly, and her toes barely scrape the ground below. As her hands claw at the collar that's holding her up, her eyes are bulging at me. She tries to say something, but she can't get the words out. The leather bites into her neck.

"Thea!" As I'm running forward, I see a figure walking towards her from behind. Temporal Grace! I nearly stumble as nothing happens and the world keeps moving at normal speed around me. I change plans as the figure behind her gets within an arm's length. Lightning step! Again, nothing happens as I continue to race towards Thea as fast as I can.

"Nooo!" I'm still twenty feet away when the blade exits Thea's chest. Crimson blood arcing into the air as her body goes limp. The figure behind her shoves her body off the burning branch and she crashes into me.

"Thea, Thea! Please, no!" I try to break her fall as we crash into the ground. As soon as our bodies stop moving, I start to pull us both upright. My hands are shaking as I brush her blonde hair from her eyes.

"Jim, why?" I try to control the shaking of my hands as I comfort her.

"It'll be ok, just hold on. Please Thea, hold on! Imitate spellwork!" I know even as I speak that it's no use. The light fades from Thea's eyes before I'm even aware that the spell didn't work. I try to force myself to my feet as the figure from behind her walks towards me.

"I'll fucking kill you!" In a blind rage, I charge the man. I get half a step away from him and he seems to blur. My body seems to lurch in the air as he throws me into one of the burning trees. The air in my lungs disappears as something inside me seems to crack. My legs don't work. I can't feel them as I struggle to move.

"Fuck you!" The man walks towards me, calmly. He takes his time with each step. When I start to reach for one of the blades on my armor, he seems to blur again. My left hand snaps as his boot comes down on it, hard. A roar of pain echoes around me as I scream up at him. Then all the energy seems to drain from me, and my body feels like it's doubled in weight. I struggle to raise my head to stare up at the man. His face is concealed by a dark gray hood, and his body hidden beneath his cloak.

"Why?" My voice sounds weak, even to my own ears. The man tilts his head. His hand comes up from under his cloak as he does. When he pulls back the hood, I feel the blood drain from my face.

Looking down at me, is me. At least some version of me. My skin is pale, my eyes sunken into my skull. There is no light in my eyes, just an empty gaze. Around my neck rests the collar from my vision in the pool on the ethereal plane.

"Because you were too weak to protect them. That's why they died." There is no time to react as he raises his hand again. This time it's filled with my Beretta. I don't even have time to open my mouth before he pulls the trigger. The flash of the muzzle causes me to lurch forward as I scream.

"NOOOOO!" My eyes snap open as I scream. My body forces itself to sit up as my scream continues. Ahead of me, I see the line of trees surrounding where we had stopped. There is no fire, everything looks peaceful and calm.

"Jim!" Before I have a chance to move, there is a pair of arms wrapping around me. In a panic, I try to pull away, causing both of us to tumble out of the truck's bed.

"Jim!" Thea's voice makes me stop struggling for a split second. She is running at me as hard as she can. Vaunea and Jacob are standing beside the small campfire they started earlier. Both of them are scanning the surrounding tree line.

"Boss, are you ok!?" When Sarge's voice hits me, I realize I'm still screaming at the top of my lungs. My jaw clamps shut to try and cut off my scream. I can't seem to focus on anything. Whatever has a hold of me is still trying to hold me still.

"SHIVA, LET HIM GO!" When Thea yells, the arms around me release instantly. My body is moving on its own, and I scramble to get around the side of the truck. As my back slams into the wheel, my eyes frantically scan the area. There is no sign of the fire I saw. The trees all look normal, and the day seems calm. There is only the distant chirping of birds to break the silence around me.

I'm struggling to calm my breathing when Shiva and Thea ease around the truck. My heart is still racing, and I can't seem to slow my breathing. Before Thea and Shiva can reach me, Sarge slams into my chest. He noses his way into my face, and his tongue licks the side of my face as he tries to get closer.

"Jim, it's ok. It's just us, Jim." Thea's voice is calm as her and Shiva move closer slowly. My eyes are still searching all around me as they do.

"Jim, Jim, it's just us. Calm down, please." Shiva kneels down beside me as she speaks. When I turn to look at her, Thea kneels down on my other side.

"What, how? Fuck! I don't, where?" My mind doesn't want to form the words I need it to.

"It's ok, Jim. It's ok, we are right here." Thea's voice pulls my attention. I wrap my arms around her, pulling her in as close as I can. Sarge lets out a yelp as he is forced off my lap. When I have Thea tucked in close to me, I reach out for Shiva. She doesn't resist and let's me pull her into my lap as well.

"Shhh. It's ok." I'm not sure which one said that, or who's hand is stroking the back of my neck. I'm not even aware that I'm crying until Thea wipes the tears away gently.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck." I can't stop cursing, or stop my hands from shaking. Thea and Shiva keep whispering to me. I'm not even aware of what they are saying, but their calm tone is slowly calming me down.

"What the fuck was that about?" At the sound of Jacob's voice, my grip on Thea and Shiva tightens. Thea tries to continue to talk to me gently while I hear Shiva talk to Jacob.

"We don't know, just give us a minute." Jacob starts to protest when Shiva cuts him off. "Just go back to the fire. We have this under control." My face is buried in her hair, but I'm sure she is giving him an evil glare.

"Boss, are you ok?" Sarge is trying to edge himself in beside me as he speaks. I try to shift to let him. When I do, Thea and Shiva shift and I stop.

I don't know, I don't fucking know. Sarge lays down beside me, laying his head on my ankles as he does.

"It's ok, boss. I'll keep watch. You just try and calm down." Thea and Shiva continue speaking to me in calm voices. It reminds me of the way we used to speak around skittish horses back home. As much as I want to get mad at being treated like an animal, I have to admit it's helping. Gradually, I manage to relax enough to where I feel safe letting go of them.

"Are you back with us, Jim?" My head is leaning against the bed of the truck as I finally feel myself settle down.

"Yeah, I think so." When I turn my head to look at Shiva, I see a massive bruise spreading across the left side of her face. "What happened?" When I reach up to touch her cheek, she pulls back from me.

"Fuck, that was me, wasn't it?" Sarge grumbles as I shift him off of me to pull my knees up to my chest.

"It's alright, it wasn't your fault." Shiva is trying to reassure me as Thea starts to heal her. I feel myself laughing dryly as I lay my head on my knees.

"Kinda hard to say it wasn't my fault when I'm the reason you had a bruise." Shiva grabs my face and forces me to look into her eyes.

"You were asleep! When you woke up, you were fighting and trying to move. I tried to hold onto you and to keep you still. You were just trying to get away. You didn't do anything wrong. I shouldn't have tried to hold onto you like that." When I try to pull away, she tightens her grip. "Do you understand me?"

When I start to argue, she pulls my face in until our foreheads are touching. As I stare into her eyes, I shut my mouth and nod my head. She continues to stare at me for a second before letting go of my face.

"Good, I really didn't want to have to try and beat some sense into you." Shiva turns and kicks my knees out before sitting herself on my lap.

"So, how long was I asleep?" When I look around, it doesn't look like much time has passed. Thea shrugs as she sits down beside me in the dirt.

"Maybe five minutes." It had seemed like so much longer to me. The memory of the dream is still freaking me out. I can't remember ever being affected like this by a dream before.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Thea leans her head against my shoulder when I stiffen at her question. "You don't need to, but if you do we will listen."

"Just a bad dream. I'm alright now." I try to smile at Thea, but I don't feel it and I know she can tell. Lucky for me she seems willing to let it go, for now at least.

"Come on, might as well get up now." Shiva slips off my lap, and I give her ass a swat as she jumps to her feet. When she looks back at me over her shoulder, I can see her grinning at me.

"Do it again and see what happens." I can feel my lips pulling up into a smile as my hand starts to come back around. Thea catches my hand and turns my head to look at her.

"If you do that, you are going to start something we don't have time for. At least according to what you said earlier." Shiva rolls her eyes as I let out an exaggerated sigh.

"Ok then, I guess I'll just get up then." Thea smiles at me when I give her a quick kiss before pulling myself to my feet. When I look over the bed of the truck, I can see Vaunea and Jacob watching me closely.

"The fuck you looking at!?" When Shiva yells both of them turn to look in different directions.

"Thanks." Shiva hugs me before walking around the truck. Thea wraps her arm around my waist as we follow along behind her.

"Do you want to try and take a nap again?" Thea leans her head on my shoulder as we walk around the end of the truck. My mind flashes to the dream and I feel myself shudder.

"No, I don't think I'm going to sleep for a while." Thea rubs my back as she starts to speak again.

"Then what are you going to do?" I give her a shrug as I pull away from her grip.

"Try and get everything finished before Tarril and the rest get back I guess. Any idea when that might be?" Shiva turns around and tilts her head.

"Depending on how fast they move, and how much recon they do." She pauses and I see her lips moving like she is mumbling. "Maybe another hour or so." I nod my head as I sit down on the tailgate of the truck.

"Then I'll set up the bridge between Alexis and me. After that, I'll work on Jacob." When he hears his name, Jacob turns his head to look at me. Shiva waves him off and sits on the tailgate beside me. Thea raises an eyebrow and starts to walk over to the fire.

"I'll give them a hand. If you need any help, just yell." I turn to look at Shiva while I fumble Alexis's core from her pouch.

"So what are you going to do?" Shiva shrugs as she turns to lean against the inside bed of the truck.

"Stay near you." When she doesn't elaborate, my focus turns back to Alexis.

"You sure you want to do this now, Jim?" Alexis's voice is full of worry, so I try and smile to reassure her.

"Just a bad dream. I'm good. The question is are you ready?" Alexis's core flashes a bright pink as I stare down at her.

"Yeah, I'm ready." I smile down at her as I feel my body loosening up.

"Don't worry, this part is easy." Mana manipulator! Alexis's energy rushes up to mine as I activate my skill. For a brief second, I wish I borrowed Sarge's mana sight. The moment passes as I feel the energy between us start to settle. Compared to the bridge I had to weave with Shiva, this is easy. It's almost like I'm just tying off the connection we had already established.

"Did it work? How stable is the bridge?" Vixi's voice causes me to pause and tilt my head at the core.

"Vixi?" There is an eep from inside the core.

"What about Vixi?" Shiva takes the core from my hand and turns it over in her hands.

"I'm pretty sure it is working. I can hear Vixi's voice." Shiva nods her head before holding the core up to her ear.

"What is she doing?" Alexis sounds curious, but not worried at Shiva's actions.

"I'm not really sure. Shiva, what are you doing?" Shiva's face flushes as she hands Alexis's core back to me.

"I just thought since she was bridged to you now, maybe I could hear her too. When I couldn't, I thought maybe I would be able too if I was closer." I can't stop the laugh that escapes my lips, neither can Alexis as it seems.

"Sorry." I do my best to quit laughing as I explain it to Shiva. "The reason you can hear Sarge is because you're looped in with him. Alexis is just bridged to me. So you still won't be able to hear her." I start to put Alexis back in her pouch when she yells out.

"Wait!" My hand freezes and I feel Alexis's core getting warmer in my hands. "I'd rather not go back in the pouch if I can." A glow settles in on the core in my hands. When it fades, I take a close look at Alexis's core. The previously smooth orb of her core is now encased in a silverfish metal lattice. A long thin chain is centered on the top of the latticework of metal.

"So now you're wearing her as a necklace. You sure we don't need to worry?" Shiva shoves me gently as she slips off the bed.

"It's not like that, Shiva. If it was I'd tell you, you know that right?" Shiva smiles as she takes the necklace out of my hand and places it over my head.

"I know, I just like to tease you. If I ever think otherwise, I'll just mark you again." Shiva kisses me before walking off to sit next to Thea by the fire.

So she is doing that on purpose. There is the sound of laughter in my head. For a second, I think it's Sarge.

"Duh! anytime someone gets close to you, she goes all super protective. Now, what are you planning on doing about Jacob? I hope you're not planning on blindly messing with the lock on his curse." I blink my eyes rapidly at Alexis's words. That's been exactly what I was planning on doing. From what I understand, all I need to do is unravel it.

"You were, weren't you?" Alexis sighs as her core flashes a deep red.

"Wasn't that all I needed to do?" I can hear Vixi laughing at me from inside Alexis's core.

"If you were wanting to fry yourself from the mana backlash, then yeah. The curse is fueling itself from Jacob's mana. When you undo the lock, All of the mana it's collected will be unleashed. It is going to follow the path of least resistance. That means you, Jim." I glance over at Jacob while Alexis is speaking. Of course, that would be the moment he was looking over at me too.

"So what's the plan of attack for it then?" Alexis is silent for a second, then I feel a weight settle in on my face as the world dims. Reaching up, I pull off a pair of sunglasses. They look like the broken pair of knockoff Oakleys I had in the truck. Except these are in one piece, not in three pieces rattling around under the seat. The gunmetal gray frames look brand new, and the blue polarized glass no longer has any of the scratches from before.

"The fuck?" Alexis laughs at my confusion, prompting me to lift her core up to my face.

"Long story short, they are enchanted to give us a hand. I found the broken pair in your truck, so I just repaired and remade them."

"You can repair broken items?" That seems like a skill that could come in handy in the future. I should have known that with the way she can make anything, repairing it shouldn't be a problem.

"Yeah, simple fixes are easy. More complicated ones take longer, and more energy. I have to figure out how it's broke and how to put it back together." Alexis gets quiet for a second, and I feel a draw on my mana from her.

"What's that?" The pull on my mana stops as Alexis chuckles.

"Basically, I'm building a huge mana catch. When we break the lock on the curse, I'll reroute the mana to me and into the bricks I've prepared. That way it doesn't go to waste, and you don't have to worry about the excess mana frying you like a mosquito on a bug zapper. Sound good to you?"

"That was a possibility?" A dull throb starts at my temple, and it takes me a second to realize Alexis is doing something.

"Are you just not paying attention? I told you the mana would go to the past of least resistance, and that means you. What did you think that meant?" I shrug as I let Alexis fall to the end of the chain.

"I don't know. I mean, don't I already channel a shitload of mana?" There is a long silence and the air seems to chill around me.

"God help me, you are a fucking idiot. Yes, you channel a shitload of mana. Jacob has been cursed for years, I'd guess at least three or more. That's three years of mana building up around him. With that being unleashed all at once, you are not going to be able to handle that much at once." Her words hit me hard as I didn't realize how close I came to fucking up.

"So, what do I do now?" Being honest with myself, I'm scared to touch Jacob's curse. That doesn't change the fact that I promised to help. Or that if I can do it, then I need to do it.

"Call Jacob over and follow my lead. Put your glasses back on." I slide the glasses back onto my nose and feel them start to warm up. There is a moment of panic before I relax. I don't think Alexis would do anything to hurt me now, so I'm sure it's safe.

"Hey Jacob!" When he looks back up at me, I wave him over. "Can I talk to you for a second?" Jacob hands Vaunea the stick he had been poking the fire with and stands up to walk over.

"What's going on, Jim?" Jacob leans against the rear fender as he speaks.

"Long story short, I'm about to break the curse on you." When he looks shocked, I decide to cut him off before I have to go through a long explanation.

"I figured out that I have the skills to unlock your curse. With Alexis's help, I'm mostly sure I can do it now. That way if something goes wrong, I've at least followed through on my promise to you." Jacob looks thoughtful for a moment, then lifts his head to look in my eyes.

"So when do we start?" Alexis chuckles at Jacob's words.

"He does have spirit, I'll give him that. Of course, he's tried to break it before he knows the risks behind it. Unlike you that is. So tell him right now then have him sit down next to you." I pass along Alexis's reply and wonder what dangers she is talking about as he sits down.

"Tell him to hold still. Just follow my lead, and I'll show you through the glasses." Jacob nods his head as I repeat after Alexis. Just as I'm starting to wonder what I'm supposed to do, my vision shifts.

It's not the same as the mana vision I have gotten used to. Instead, it's like the whole world is just darker with pale green lines over it. Jacob is surrounded by a tightly wound dark blue coils of energy. When I look closer, there is a convergence of the bands directly over his lower stomach.

Of course, it would be there. It's where you pull your mana from. I didn't think about that before, but it seems obvious when I think about it. I'm about to ask Alexis what to do next when she steps into my view.

"What!?" Alexis turns to look at me, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Enchanted glasses, now come on Jim, focus." Looking at Jacob, I can see he is confused.

"I'll explain later, it's too weird right now." Jacob looks confused, but he nods his head as I focus on what Alexis is doing.

"Ok. Just focus on this section right now. Pull this strand back and let me take a closer look." I activate mana manipulator and follow her directions. The next few minutes are a repeat of the same, lift this strand and tug this one. Finally after what seems like hours, she seems satisfied.

"Ok, give me thirty seconds to get everything ready. Then give that last strand a twist. When it breaks, I'll handle the rest." I take a second to look up at Jacob. He seems nervous so I try to reassure him.

"It's almost over, just one last step." Jacob nods his head, but still looks unconvinced. I'm about to try and reassure him again when Alexis cuts in.

"Now Jim, be ready this is going to feel weird." My mouth closes as I follow Alexis's order. The strand of mana Alexis had pointed out snaps with almost no pressure. When it does, an intense heat washes over my body. It feels like I'm standing too close to a bonfire. Just as I'm about to yelp in pain, the heat fades.

"Wow! Fuck! Didn't expect for it to surge like that!" Alexis's core vibrates on the end of the chain. The dull glow turns into a bright flash of pink light.

"Are you ok!?" Alexis is quiet for several seconds as I lift the core up to my face. Even behind the sunglasses, the light is nearly blinding. Finally after almost a full minute, it recedes and I can make out the core in my hands. Her previous smooth sphere now looks like a squarish emerald cut. Her size has changed too, and now she's barely bigger than the palm of my hand.

"Alexis?" From inside the core, there is a panting sound. She responds to me.

"I'm good. Just a lot of mana all at once. I misjudged how much. So the overflow went directly to my core." Thea, Shiva, and Vaunea start to walk over while I'm still listening to Alexis.

"So why does her core look different now?" Shiva takes Alexis's core from my hands as she asks.

"Oh, it seems my core has upgraded!"

"What do you mean upgraded?" I tilt my head as Shiva lifts the core up to the light.

"When dungeons reach a certain power lever, their cores can't sustain the mana they can control. So they will upgrade themselves to handle the extra load." Her core starts to flash in Shiva's hands prompting her to hand it back to me.

"So what does that mean for us?" While I'm talking to Alexis, my eyes glance over to Jacob. He seems to be in shock, staring at his hands while he sits on the tailgate.

"Nothing really. I use less mana overall, and I can contain more now. Other than that, my mind seems to process information faster. Or I'm on a mana high, one of the two." Not seeing a downside, I decide not to ask anymore questions. Instead, I start to slide off the tailgate before Alexis speaks again shocking me.

"You know the curse around Jacob was similar to the ones on the collars. Since you broke it, you can probably break the collars too?"

"Wait, how?" Thea and Shiva are giving me a weird look, but I ignore that. I start to lift Alexis's core up again when the image of her appears in front of me.

"I can show you real quick if you want?" I'm nodding my head before she finishes speaking.

"Yes! Please, yes! Thea, hold still." Thea stops moving completely as I walk the few steps to her. Alexis makes a motion with her hands and the collar around her neck starts to glow. Runes, that I can't read, appear on the surface of the collar.

"This rune right here is the one that channels the mana for the collars. You just have to manipulate it to the inverse, like this." She traces her finger over it in reverse. "Or break it. If you break it, I'll handle the backlash. Either way will destroy the collar's enchantment. Inverting it just takes longer, but it's safer." I nod my head as I start to channel my mana outwards towards the collar. My hands are shaking from nervousness. I'm about to fulfill my promise to Thea.

"Are you sure you can handle the backlash now?" Thea looks worried and opens her mouth to speak at the same time as Alexis.

"The way my core is now, I don't even need to prep." I feel my mana connect with the rune as Thea speaks.

"Jim, are you…" Before she finishes, the rune snaps with an audible pop. For a split second, nothing happens. The collar then slides free from her neck. Her hands come up to touch her bare throat, her eyes looking shocked and excited.

"Mmmmmm. Fuck, that's good!" As soon as Thea's collar snaps free, I turn to Shiva. She looks almost afraid as my hand comes up to hold her collar.

"What if someone sees us without them?" I smile at Shiva as I send out the tendril of mana into her collar.

"We are getting our tonight. So if we run into anyone who has a problem with it, I'll kill them and leave them out to rot." Shiva's collar falls off faster than Thea's had. The combination of my control getting better from repetitive use and familiarity with the process speeds it along.

"Now for you, Vaunea." Shiva steps out of the way as Vaunea kneels down so I can reach her collar easier. The runes on it are slightly different so I check with Alexis before I snap it. She points me to the correct runes, and explains that Goliaths take more energy to hold. That is the reason for the difference in the enchantments.

When Vaunea's collar hits the ground, Alexis lets out a low moan and her image disappears from my view.

"Alexis, are you ok?" I'm starting to worry when Vixi's voice calms me down.

"She's good, just… distracted right now. She will talk when she gets calmed down. It was a lot of mana to absorb at once, and you know what that does to her." I have to suppress a chuckle as I turn back to my group.

"Jim." Thea is still holding gently onto her neck, almost like she doesn't believe the collar is gone. I give her a smile as her hand drops, holding out my hand to her.

"I told you as soon as we could, I'd get it off of you. I was serious." Thea ignores my hand, covering the ground between us in a flash to pounce on me. I wasn't expecting it so we end up falling to the ground. Thea's lips are crashing against mine violently as we slam into the ground.

A yelp escapes my lips as the edge of my armors plate digs into my hip. Thea's fingers curl into my hair on either side of my head, holding my head still. Her tongue slips between my lips, invading my mouth. She rips her lips free of mine with a loud gasp as we both struggle to fill our lungs with air.

"That's a hell of a thank you!" Thea's laugh causes me to smile, and my hands come to a rest on the curve of her hip.

"I can't tell you how it feels to be free of that thing. It's what I've dreamed about for years, till I gave up completely on it. Then you rescued me, and you said you would remove it. There was always that sliver of doubt. Then, you just took it off." She is speaking faster and faster the longer she talks. Her words blur into each other and I can't follow along anymore. I let her go on speaking, smiling up at her as she does.

"Fuck, you didn't catch any of that, did you?" Fuck it, it doesn't matter!" She pulls my head up violently to meet hers again. When she does, I push my body upwards and wrap my arms around her waist. With next to no effort, I twist our bodies until she is laying under me. My hips press into hers as her legs wrap around my waist. Our lips separate and a low moan escapes her lips. She starts to trail kisses and bites down my neck.

"Thea! Are you seriously going to be selfish and hog him like that!? You know you aren't the only one that wants to thank him!" Shiva's yell pulls me back to the present, and I can see Thea flushing a bright crimson. I can't help myself and start to laugh.

"We always seem to forget where we are, don't we?" Thea smiles up at me, kissing me gently as she unwraps her legs. As I do my best not to put any weight on Thea, I push myself to my feet and offer her a hand up. She smiles as she pulls herself to her feet, wrapping her arms around my waist as I turn around.

Before I can say anything, Shiva is crashing into me. If it hadn't been for Thea bracing me from behind, I would have ended up on the ground again. Unlike Thea, Shiva dislodged herself from me fairly quickly. She bites down gently on my ear, whispering as she lets go.

"Next time we get a chance, I'm going to show you just how thankful I am. Thea is going to help." I feel myself shudder in excitement at her words. I kiss the top of her head as she starts to move around me, holding onto my arm as she does. When I turn to Jacob, I hold up my free hand.

"If it's all the same, I'd rather you not kiss me. Not that you aren't a good looking man, you just aren't my type." Jacob laughs, then wraps me into a hug.

"Thank you, Jim!" When he pulls away, I can see he is almost about to cry. "I honestly didn't think I'd ever be free of that curse." He wipes his eyes as he starts walking back towards the fire. When he sees the food on it, he curses before running to it. He pulls the two pans off the fire and shifts the spits of meat that are cooking.

"Great, now we get to eat burned food." Vaunea rolls her eyes, but I can see the grin tugging at her lips.

"I mean, we could put the collar back on." I raise an eyebrow at her, making her laugh. She raises her hands in a mock surrender as she laughs.

"I'd rather just eat the burned food if those are my two options." Her hands drop and I see a mischievous grin cover her face. "Is this the point where I pounce on you and give you a kiss?" Shiva lets out a loud hiss, making Vaunea laugh.

"I'm just kidding, Shiva. No need to worry. Besides, I'm pretty sure if I did anything like that, I'd snap him in half. Goliath's are built a little different than humans." Before I can respond, she starts to walk over to the fire.

"I don't know about breaking him in half. His mana strengthens his body a surprising amount. You never know, he could end up breaking you in half instead." Vaunea laughs loudly at Thea's words, waving her hand at us as she keeps walking.

"I'll give Jacob a hand, food should be ready soon." She looks over her shoulder one more time, then shakes her head as she chuckles.

"Ow!" Thea's yelp makes me tilt my head to see Shiva giving her an angry look.

"Are you trying to add a Goliath to our grove now?" Thea lets go of my waist and rubs her arm where Shiva apparently hit her.

"I was just teasing her. I didn't appreciate her attitude towards Jim. I mean seriously, do you think she would hurt him if they had sex?" Shiva glares at Thea for a second before shaking her head.

"No, if anything she would be about even with him. Goliath stamina might be able to keep up." Shiva starts looking thoughtful as Thea starts to laugh.

"Besides, I don't think we have to worry about Jim chasing after her." She turns to look up at me. "Do we?" I shake my head as I laugh.

"No, not that she isn't a good looking woman. I just see her more like a friend, or maybe a sister." I pause and look over at the fire. "Definitely friend." Thea nudges me in the side as she walks around me.

"Told you, and we both know who we have to watch out for in our group." My head snaps back around to look at the two women who are now walking away.

"Wait, what was that?" I start to follow Shiva and Thea as they make their way over towards the fire. The two of them look at each other, then start to laugh.

"Nothing." Thea smiles as she picks out a seat by the fire. Shiva shoves me gently to get me to sit beside her, then plops down in my lap. I'm about to ask Thea again when Shiva starts to kiss me again, cutting off any chance of conversation.

I know she is trying to distract me, but I think I'm going to go with it. My lips curl up into a smile as Shiva shifts in my lap.

"Better not think about it, boss. They will let you know when they want you too." Sarge's words make me relax a little bit and lean into Shiva's kiss. Whatever it is, I trust them. If they don't want to tell me right now, then that's fine.

As Shiva starts to pull away from me, I lean back gently. The sky is clear, and there is no sign of clouds or bad weather rolling in. My hand comes up to scratch my chin, my fingers curling in my beard.

Need to shave this soon. It's not a bad look, but it's just not me. I have to ask Alexis to make me a razor, or maybe borrow Jacob's. If he has one. I glance up at the sky as my mind wonders. Fuck, there's still a long way to go before it gets dark. This day just keeps dragging on.