“What now?” I asked, my voice happy and pleasant.
“We’ll be heroes.” Bryce’s expression was unreadable.
“You’re right,” I said. “This is perfect.” Evidently, as a hero, I could still lie, so long as my lies were agreeable. “We will take care of everything we messed up, and then we will find the mouse. We’ll defeat evil and live…” My words petered out. I couldn’t imagine how we could livehappilylike this for the rest of our lives.
CHAPTER 37INWHICHI GOONAGIANTSIDEQUEST
BRYCE
We sneaked out of the castle and got to work. I knew Courtney’s body was 100 percent controlled by the potion when she cracked her knuckles and asked, “What can I do to help?”
The potion made tasks that should’ve been relatively easy—like walking—many times more difficult. For instance, it forced us to walk with a skip to our step, which expelled way more energy than was necessary. It also made us stop every now and then to help people. In only a few blocks, I’d already loaded a supply wagon, paused to ruffle an orphan’s hair, and approached a random villager to ask why they “held such sorrow in their eyes,” after which I suggested they smile more.
The city was busy with soldiers setting up defenses and villagers gathering supplies, darting to and from buildings as the dragon swooped overhead. I quickened my pace as the dragon’s shadow dropped across us yet again. Since Greg controlled both the dragon and the skeletons, I wasn’t sure why he hadn’t ordered an attack yet. Instead, the skeletons just stood there while the dragon ran surveillance overhead, keeping the inhabitants trapped inside the city.
It had been too dangerous to try to hunt down Greg in the castle when Amy could be huntingusdown. So, for now, our goal was to assemble a team of misfits to aid us in defeating the zombies and the dragon.
In books, a band of overly capable warriors naturally gravitated toward heroes. There was usually at least one Greatest Warrior of All Time, and an elf, probably. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a book, nor were we the good guys. We’d have to find them ourselves.
“Where will we find such… worthy companions?” Courtney’s voice was robotic. Her mind, like mine, probably raged against the shell of her body.
“I can only assume they will be people we’ve met along the way. That’s how these things usually work.”
Courtney made a face like she was thinking. “Who have we met who has been capable of anything”—her face twisted, and her teeth clenched before she spewed out the rest of the sentence—“other than excellence?”
Her meaning came across loud and clear, even with the potion’s interference. By this point, we should have encountered at least two to three of the best warriors in all the realm. Instead, we had Cuthbert and a family of innocent villagers we couldn’t risk endangering, plus Amy, who was off the table for obvious reasons.
We’d have to settle for whoever we could find. “If we work together, I’m certain we will encounter noble persons who are strong of will, if not entirely strong of might,” my mouth declared confidently.
Courtney’s polished exterior made it hard to see anything past the surface, all traces of personality buffed away. I should’ve felt safer the nicer she was. Instead, my fear only heightened. Maybe the potion would make our relationship last forever, but I’d never know how she actually felt for me, her true emotions hidden behind a veneer of smiles and sympathy.
I’d never know if, one day, she stopped feeling for me. The exact way my mother did.
“Oy, you there,” a gruff voice said, and I turned. It was the blacksmith from day one, the guy who’d tried to send me on a side quest for his daughter.
“Greetings, citizen,” I said, even though my legs ached to run away.
“?’Ello, sir. I heard you’re looking for a crew.”
Run, run, run, I begged my body, knowing exactly where this was going. “That’s right.” My mouth smiled brightly.
The blacksmith blinked. “If you don’t have coin, mayhap we can arrange a trade. You look like a strong warrior. My daughter”—he wiped a dramatic hand across his brow—“she was taken by a band of giants not far from here, and—”
Was this guy for real? Even though we’d been in this land for—god, had it only been five days?—it still astounded me how everyone acted like people out of a video game or a fantasy movie.
“I have a proposition for you,” the blacksmith said.
If I stood there much longer, I’d agree to assist him in exchange for his help—which didn’t make sense; he was able-bodied, and I had the physique of a malnourished hermit. Why couldn’t he help her himself?
But I physically couldn’t run. Not only because of the aforementioned malnourished physique but because the potion wouldn’t let me. Running away in the middle of a conversation was rude. I tried to find Courtney, but my eyes were only able to shift slightly before snapping back into place. Wandering attention during a conversation was also rude.
The blacksmith spilled his entire life’s story to me, and even before he was done, my mouth was saying, “Of course I’ll rescue your daughter from the band of giants.”
CHAPTER 38INWHICHI ASSEMBLESUBPARSIDEKICKS
COURTNEY
While Bryce was off negotiating with giants, I assembled a dream team—if that dream was one of those feverish ones where you had to give a presentation, and then you looked down to find you weren’t wearing pants.
