See No Evil grumbled in annoyance. He never should have listened to Hear’s plans, he never should have followed him so blindly, and he never should have let Hear talk on his behalf—not that he had much of a choice.
Now he was stuck in a magical prison and forced to deal with the snake’s tirade of abuse. After all, it was See’s own fault for exposing them as the imposter. But after Otto had survived his run-in with the troll, how could anyone blame him? Even See thought that the troll was sure to kill him.
“This is all your fault,” Hear continued to rant. “My plan was perfect!”
The long, lizard-like monster slithered around their prison, checking every rock for a way out.
“And now look at us. I don’t think they’re going to let us free now!”
“Mm,” See agreed.
“But never mind that. We have to find a way out of here!”
See could already see a way out for one of them. He had seen it since before they had arrived but hadn’t bothered pointing it out. After all, the Paladins still thought of him and Hear as one creature, a single shapeshifter that could change both its form and its voice at will. They never bothered to notice that he was always covering his mouth.
“Surely there is something that he hasn’t thought of,” Hear snarled.
There was something, and despite the guilt and shame he felt for failing their master, for failing Hear, it amused See that his friend couldn’t see it. After all, it was right in front of him. See chuckled and pointed at him, wiggling his fingers.
“What?” Hear asked, clearly agitated. “What are you laughing at, you bloated waste of skin?”
See pointed to the bars of their prison, failing to hide his mirth. The gaps between the glowing bars were about seven inches apart. Not enough for a man to pass through, not enough for See to pass through, but, if he was careful, it was more than enough for Hear to pass through. The fact that Hear couldn’t see that even when looking straight at him made See laugh even harder.
“Oh, you’re worthless!” Hear berated.
See sighed and put his hand down. If he was being honest with himself, he didn’t want Hear to figure it out on his own. After all, if he did, he would leave See alone, and in his rage he would maybe not even come back for him. On the other hand, See also was sick to death of Hear’s constant insults.
“You fat thing. I don’t know why our master ever trusted you to get things done. She partnered you with her best spy, her very best, and you still somehow managed to fail. And worse, you got our master’s most valuable asset locked away as well: me!”
See growled under his breath. He was frustrated at himself, sure, but Hear had played as much a part of their downfall as he had.
“You’re utterly useless.”
You’re in here with me. We’re utterly useless.
That was as much as he could take. See could transform into people and get Hear into places he would never be able to get into on his own. He was the muscle, the body of their two-man operations, and just because Hear had stumbled under pressure, See was now suffering for it. He didn’t care anymore if Hear was left alone.
“And now look at you, sulking because you couldn’t—”
See’s meaty hands snatched Hear off the ground, one hand on the end of his long, pointed nose, the other on the end of his long, pointed tail. He stretched Hear out until he was as straight as an arrow, walked up to the sizzling magical bars, and lined him up.
“See, what in the Nethers are you doing?” Hear cried in panic. “I didn’t mean it. I was just upset! Don’t kill me!”
One inch at a time, See weaved his noisy partner through the gaps between the bars.
“No, it burns! It burns!” Hear cried as parts of his narrow shoulders and legs made contact with the vicious magic. “Please, See!”
See didn’t know what he was wailing about. With little more than a few singe marks on his sides, Hear was now through the magic bars and free to go where he wanted.
“Ow, ow, ow . . .” Hear suddenly took in his surroundings. “Oh!” He rolled his eyes and shrugged. “Well, I would’ve figured that out eventually.”
They had already been down in this magical dungeon for several hours now. If Hear had ended up thinking of doing that, it would have taken him a lot longer than usual.
Hear laughed. “Now . . . I just need to find a way to get you out here.”
See shook his head. Whatever was powering this prison, it was some magic linked to the crystals. They would need a mystic to open it again for him to escape.
“You don’t have to worry,” Hear said, already making his way to the stairs. “I’ll find a way to get you out of there. I’ve got a plan.”
See sighed.
Hear ascended quickly but then stopped. “I’ll have this entire kingdom doing my bidding. After all, my backup backup plan is foolproof.”
As he vanished through the trap door, See had a strange feeling he would never see Hear again. He could only hope.