Malcolm Tent

Stronger Together chapter 158

Arriving home was a relief. We managed to get through that shitty nightmare jungle and make our way back past the fountain square and finally got back to the house. It was the middle of the night, though of what day it was hard to  tell and we all tromped inside exhaustedly. It had been an insane day. I  dropped down onto the couch bonelessly, getting a surprised and very  annoyed yowl from Max and I fell and he was forced to jump for his life  onto the cushions....

Sell you a Bridge chapter 24

I lost track of the others as soon as I entered the cellar. Whether  that was Jim's power or something to do with the house I had absolutely  no idea, but it happened. I was guessing the latter because as I stepped  out into the dark I found myself in a graveyard. The night sky was  shining about me, the grass was neatly trimmed, and rows of tombstones  lined the ground in front of me. I looked down at the Hand, but the  fingers were still burning fine, so I gues...

Stronger Together chapter 157

In the end we spent a few hours eating and drinking with Lycaon and  his subjects. The wolf king was incredibly gregarious and personable  with people that had earned his respect and we laughed and joked with  him for most of the meal. He wasn't the kind of person to put on airs  based on his title. If he liked you he liked you, and if he didn't he  would rip your head off and kick it down the road like a soccer ball.  Honestly the most arrogant being in the clea...

Sell you a Bridge chapter 23

Later that night found us all sitting in a car down the street from  our target. Jim had been casing the place independently for a while now  and had a basic idea of their defenses, combined with his experience and  the extra tools he bought from Madame Xanadu he was sure we could pull  off the heist with no muss and no fuss. None of that, however, was of  the greatest concern to me right now. I was giving my mentor a flat  look, because after parking I'd finally...

Stronger Together chapter 156

Every single being in that clearing that hadn't come with me wanted  to eat me. Now, sometimes in movies and TV shows they refer to someone  glaring or leering at someone as looking like they "want to eat them"  this however, was not that. The hunger in the eyes of that crowd wasn't  lust or even bloodlust (though there was sure plenty of that) the wolves  and humans and somehow even the damn shadows looked like they genuinely  wanted to snack on my flesh. Briefl...

Sell you a Bridge chapter 22

Madame Xanadu was not what I expected. You hear, the word Madame and  you imagine some elderly lady with iron gray hair in a tight bun. Maybe  with like a floor length dress and a school marm kind of vibe. Madame  Xanadu looked...cute. Not like girl next door cute but she was young and  pretty, with long dark hair with a circlet in it. She came across like  the princess from a renaissance faire, like an out of this world beauty  with a noble bearing that seemed o...

Stronger Together chapter 155

Max decided he should ride on my head, and since he could literally  bite through godsteel I decided not to argue the point. The little tiger  cub was exceptionally soft and cute but his claws and fangs seemed to  be much harder than any material I had seen before, godsteel included.  He was very pleased with his new perch and was constantly purring as we  walked. Despite the colorless ambiance and the frightening atmosphere it  was pretty much impossible to be a...

Sell you a Bridge chapter 21

The next morning found me pretty well rested. I got a text from  Gentleman Ghost (who insisted we call him Jim in public) about our  meeting which he said would take place at noon at an address he  provided. He also mentioned I should bring Reggie, since he would be our  third team member and we would be picking up gear for the heist. I  texted Reggie and Arty about it and then went about my morning routine.  First was my ninja lessons, a particularly interesting...

Stronger Together chapter 154

The cave was pretty fucking deep. Like unusually deep. Deeper than  most caves. Probably. After about ten minutes I got bored ruminating  about how fucking deep this cave was and turned to glare at my mentor.  "Harry. How deep is this cave? When exactly are we going to get to the  spot we need to be in to open the Way. Because honestly, I'm still  really on edge from the jungle and the constant skittering echoes from  whatever rats or bugs I'm hearing are make it...

Sell you a Bridge chapter 20

I had not, in fact, heard of Gentleman Ghost, but that wasn't really  surprising because that was sort of what he did. Gentleman Ghost was a  high level magical thief. The League ran him off when they could, but by  his very nature he tended to accomplish more thefts than most people  even knew he attempted. He went out of his way to run afoul of the  League once in a while and curse and rage as he was driven away from his  supposed target, barely managing to esc...

Stronger Together chapter 153

After the meeting with Lea we headed back to the house to pick up the  girls. Yang and Raven were going with us this time. Yang was one of the  better combatants we had after a year of klurkor, her Aura pool was  even bigger than mine. Cinder had connections to the far, Kara was part  god, and Barb was dealing with the company now that I'd decided to take a  step back so it would just be the three of us. According to Harry the  entrance to the Way we needed was i...

Sell you a Bridge chapter 19

We didn't find any bugs or spies, though I wasn't sure if that meant  they weren't there or we just weren't good enough. Artemis said her dad  didn't really play defense much and hadn't bothered teaching her to  secure a building this size. She knew how to sweep a small apartment but  this massive place was a whole different beast. In the end we called  it, Reggie was feeling much better anyway.

We  met Reggie's mom, Claire, a very sweet lady who was unspea...

Stronger Together chapter 152

Harry's voice was almost pleading as he reminded me again "This is a  really bad idea." We were standing in a small field a pretty solid  distance away from the neighborhood with River Shoulders here for  backup. The girls were mostly stronger than us but Lea would know enough about  River to be good and all the precautions were specifically for Harry's  comfort. "She turned me into a dog you know? And she didn't even  apologize for it. She thought it was perfect...

Sell you a Bridge chapter 18

It was like pulling teeth to get Reggie to promise not to use his  powers for the rest of the day. I didn't want him teleporting shit in  class and getting caught but he really wanted to try it out. I reminded  him of his date with his dream girl later today though and it shut him  up, though who knew how long that would last. Classes passed pretty  quickly. Reggie pestered me about Bette in chem instead of his new  abilities, seeming to have put the whole marked...

Stronger Together chapter 151

After about two hours of constant wind magic drills I had to call it.  My control with this spell was shit and I was pouring way too much  soulfire into it, even casting the smallest breeze for this long had me  feeling weak and dizzy. If I kept going I'd probably drain my soul and  cease to exist. Harry had long since retired to a chair off to one side  and was reading a book, occasionally glancing up to give commentary.  When he saw me stop he smiled and clappe...

Sell you a Bridge chapter 17

The next morning was...blurry. I didn't get nearly enough sleep the  night before between the stupid Court of Owls breaking into my house and  my friend calling me in a panic. I stuck Dr. Destro's Dehumanization  Draft in my backpack to offer to Reggie at school after I talked to  Artemis about it to see if she was cool waiting for something else. I  was down to fourteen points now, and I made a mental note to save some  up for the actual theft on Friday if my da...

Stronger Together chapter 150

After dropping all the gear off at home we considered calling  everyone to see what we'd gotten but eventually decided to just head  over to Harry's. Yang and Barb tagged along so we could have a magic  lesson. Once Yang had caught up to us in terms of training we'd all  resumed lessons together. My fire spell and aspect were one of the first  things I had learned, now Harry was trying to teach me wind magic. Barb  already knew wing magic and had tried to give me...

Sell you a Bridge chapter 16

After we told him we would help, Reggie seemed to almost deflate. He  slumped forward onto the table in exhaustion. "Thank you! Seriously,  thank you both. I was so terrified I ran out of my house after the  meeting as soon as they left. I figured even if they came back they  wouldn't stay if I was gone, but now I have a week to get things done  and I should go home I guess but I'm so scared to be around my mom and  sister. I don't know what to do."

I  ...

Stronger Together chapter 149

I could have held back and talked up the metal but I suspected  Svartalves knew their stuff better than I did. I tossed the ball across  the table, and with a fluid movement Etri snatched it from the air and  looked at it. He cocked his head to one side as he studied the orb of  shimmering metal, running his fingers over it as if searching for any  flaws. There were none of course, the thing had been sculpted with  magic. I might not be able to make fancy designs...

Stronger Together chapter 148

Gard had taken her instructions from Odin pretty damn seriously, and  oddly, it seemed like rather than a bodyguard she saw herself as more  of  a chauffeur for us. Thinking more about it that was kind of what the  Valkyrie's were. They were Odin's car service for his VIP heroes. Still  I was surprised she'd decided to drive us directly to Etri's right  after we left. Raven was the one who usually drove but since we didn't  know where the Svartalf compound a...

Sell you a Bridge chapter 15

The drive home was uneventful, mom asked us about our day and asked  Artemis to stay for dinner, she'd brought take out from the bar. I'd  called in to GNB and had a card overnighted to the condo for her after  our little discussion on monday. We'd come to the silent agreement that  she wouldn't ask and just trust the way she raised me but she had much  more financial freedom and had plans to spend tomorrow picking out  furniture on her day off. Artemis stayed fo...

Sell you a Bridge chapter 14

I ended up finding my chemistry class just in time to avoid being  late on my first day. When I got inside I looked around for a spot and  saw Reggie sitting at one of stools. He had an empty seat next to him  and he shot me a grin and waved me over. I grinned back and headed over  to drop my bag and sit down sighing in relief as the bell rang. I  chuckled at my student liaison "Hey man, wish I could've caught you at  lunch, I barely found the room in time. Lucki...

Stronger Together chapter 147

The beer was...beer. I don't drink beer and have never enjoyed the  taste of the stuff, but Mac's beer was slightly less horrible than most  beer so he clearly had the skills people credited him with. I tried not  to grimace at the taste even so, because it would be a huge knock to my  reputation to wince at the taste of beer. I suspect Odin saw through me  anyway because I could swear the one eyed god had a smirk teasing the  corner of his lips. Still, this wasn...

Sell you a Bridge chapter 13

Class was fairly mundane, as per usual. The teacher Ms. Kaplan, was  as mentioned by Reggie, a bit of a stickler, and not just about  punctuality. I was informed upon arrival that she would tolerate no  nonsense or disruption. I didn't have my books yet so she had paired me  with a cheerful, pretty blonde girl named Annabel with a happy smile and  bright blue eyes. She put us off to the side so our talking wouldn't  disturb the others when she helped get me up to...

Stronger Together chapter 146

The next morning found me more relaxed than I had been in a very long  time. Even after sex I wasn't this carefree. Sometimes we need our  patterns pointed out to us before we can really see them for what they  are. Raven had called me on my bullshit and even admitting it to myself  made me feel lighter, freer even, than I had in a very long time. I  rolled over to snuggle my sorceress, feeling our redhead pressed against  my back. Apparently she felt Andi was ok...

Sell you a Bridge chapter 12

My mom wasted no time getting me into school, and the next day it was  time for me to start classes at Gotham academy. I was still stockpiling  my points but I was at twenty nine still, presumably I would get five  at noon and five at midnight judging by my experience so far. I made  sure to drink my shake and take my lesson right after I woke up, giving  me more muscle density again and building on the waterwalking to let me  officially learn to walk up walls. I...

Stronger Together chapter 145

Getting in touch with Sigrun and setting up a meeting with Odin was  easier than expected. With the way our rep had increased over the last  year from our constant activity with Harry and the various big bads we  had stomped there was an actual legit reason for us to get face time  with him. He was still shielding us from some of the fallout of our  temporal shenanigans so we hadn't really met up since that initial run  in.

Still now we could talk in person...

Stronger Together chapter 144

The distraction from watching her walk was interrupted by a voice  from behind me. "Ah, I was wondering where the servants went. I suppose  you should be congratulated for managing them all on your own." I froze  in place and turned. Behind me stood a guy who looked about my age. His  hair was blonde and his eyes were the ice blue of an arctic wolf. I  hadn't sensed him literally at all, which couldn't possibly bode well.  He turned his head to regard an almost i...

Sell you a Bridge chapter 11

Predictably the move was not delayed overly long. My mom called and  left a message to withdraw me from Gotham North and decided we would  spend Monday moving and getting settled and I could start Tuesday. She  figured a day off school was a good reward for getting into such a  prestigious academy. After our dinner she rushed me to bed so I could  get up early and start our packing tomorrow morning.

Anyone  who grew up somewhere that wasn't here would proba...

Stronger Together chapter 143

We had decided when we first got the car that it wasn't sturdy enough  for our uses. We ran into so many crazy things and had such bad luck in  terms of enemies that it seemed wise to reinforce the thing. Raven and  Cinder had both worked it over with their magic to create a series of  powerful enchantments on it. They toughened the glass of the windshield,  they strengthened the metal of the body and frame. They even put a few  utility spells on the thing to abs...