“I doubt it, but we’re going to try,” I said.
The roulette wheel had fallen to the ground and broken during the fight. Gold coins and chips were everywhere. All the furniture in the entire room was now gone, save a single slot machine and the Wheel of Fortune, which still stood there. The surviving guards had fled, leaving us alone.
Elle cast a bolt at the last slot machine, and it exploded, spilling gold coins everywhere. Prepotente moved to start picking them up.
“I thought I saw it twitch,” she said.
Mordecai: If the Desperado Club is infested, you guys can’t go back. Those things are almost impossible to root out. The whole place will need to be fumigated. They have a special ability to avoid most detection spells. They’re like one of Carl’s level 15 traps. All but invisible. You should all devise safe words and quiz each other every day from now on. They can mimic crawlers, and the system will label them as such until you discover them.
Donut: I HAVE A METHOD OF DETECTION, BUT I THINK IT’LL ONLY WORK IF THEY’RE PRETENDING TO BE AN OBJECT AND NOT A PERSON.
We were all looking at Louis. Samantha was back to sobbing.
“I guess I’ll see you guys later,” Louis said. “You know, it’s funny. I’m not nearly as scared as I used to be. And I don’t mean just about the dungeon, either. I’ve been scared my whole life, ever since I was a kid, that I was screwing things up. I never wanted a job where I was responsible for anybody else because I was afraid if I messed things up, people might get hurt. No matter what happens next, it’s okay.” He let out a spray of water. “I know even if I end up in that Pineapple place, I’ll be stuck there, unable to leave. But it’s better than the alternative.”
Donut jumped to his shoulder, pushing Samantha away. “You need to be careful. You’re a father now, and Katia will kill us if something happens to her baby daddy.” She gave him a headbutt. “Be safe, Louis.”
“Yeah, you, too. Bye, Princess Donut. Bye, dog Carl.”
Imani turned the wheel to the correct spot, stepped on the button, and held the wheel in place. It hummed, and a moment later, the hole opened in the ground.
I held up my paw as I examined the portal. It was the same as the last time.
“We will figure something out,” I said as Donut returned to my side. “I swear to you, Louis. I swear to all of you. As long as I breathe, I will do everything I can to get you free, no matter where you may be.”
“I’ll go with you,” Samantha said as she choked back another sob.
“No, you won’t,” Louis said. “Later, guys. Oh, and, Elle, it’s heigh-ho, Silver. I’ll die on that hill.”
Elle grinned. “Go fuck yourself, Santiago.”
He turned, and he jumped into the hole, then disappeared.
Samantha turned to Prepotente. “Okay, I’ll give you one chance, but you gotta shave your body and bring Bianca in on it. And you have to be okay with me calling you Louis.”
Prepotente screamed.
“And you can’t do that.”
Donut sniffed. “Carl, do you think we’re ever going to see them again?”
“I hope so,” I said. I turned to regard Donut.
She hesitated and then she nuzzled against me. “I hope so, too.”
“Whatever happens, I think it’s for the best. They’re the safe ones.”
“I know. But that doesn’t mean I’m not— Carl! You’re doing it again! Put that thing away immediately!”
“Time’s ticking,” Imani said. She was trying to be stoic, but I’d never seen the woman look so tired, so frazzled. So done.
“Wait,” Donut said, looking up at the wheel. “Look at all the prizes on here! There’s a group of random skill potions! Can we try to get those? I think we should try to get those.”
I wagged my tail. “You said it yourself. The magic is gone.”
I tried to pull the wheel into my inventory anyway, but I received an error.
You may put this in your inventory, but it will break the magical connection.