Chapter 27
In a swirl of glittering dust, the Champion’s Catch appeared, looming between us, and the Die of Fate tingled in my fist. The ballroom aboard the Runaway Drogue looked as if someone had pressed pause on a television remote. The three vicious trolls had frozen, and there were hundreds of terrified passengers with their mouths open in desperation, but none of them were able to move.
“Well, this is definitely a plot twist,” Jasmine said, as the female voice of Champion’s Quest commanded us to roll for our Fate.
“This is bonkers,” Miles said. “What’s Faylinn doing here? And who are we supposed to be fighting? Her or those trolls?”
“My guess would be all of them,” Jasmine answered.
“Okay, tell me about this witch again,” Sierra said, staring around the room. There was no sign of Faylinn hiding behind those trolls, but we knew she had the power to pop up anywhere. “What exactly are we dealing with?”
“Have you never met her before?” I asked.
Sierra shook her head. “Nope, first time.”
“Faylinn is the worst of the worst,” I said. Oh, how I hated that witch! Faylinn had almost destroyed our Band during our last Quest. “We had to make a bargain with her to face off with Foyos, and it didn’t go so well.”
“Yeah, now she owns our Heroes’ Devices,” Miles added.
Sierra made a face. “She does? How’s that possible?”
“Because Madge made a trade with her to get them back for us,” Jasmine explained.
Our story with Faylinn was complicated, and it would take far too long to explain. We only had minutes to plan our strategy for fighting not only a powerful witch, but three murderous trolls as well.
Jasmine rolled her shoulders as though trying to loosen up. “So how should we handle this?”
“First, we need to roll—and hopefully not an X,” I said. “Then we each take an opponent, I guess. Three trolls and a witch. That makes it one on one, right?”
Jasmine smirked. “If you say so.”
“Faylinn owns the rights to our Heroes’ Devices?” Sierra still seemed hung up on that detail, and she looked even more confused. “Including mine?”
“Probably,” I said. “You’re playing for Vanessa, unfortunately.”
“She’s never going to shut up,” Jasmine grumbled. When Sierra looked stung by her harsh words, Jasmine pointed at the ceiling. “I was talking about her,” she said, after the voice of Champion’s Quest commanded us to roll for our Fate yet again.
“Yeah, yeah, hold your horses,” I said, squeezing the die in my fist.
“But what does this mean for us?” Sierra asked. “I’ve never not owned my Device before.”
“We’ll have to figure it out as we go,” I said.
“Like we always do,” Miles added.
Though I could sense Sierra wasn’t satisfied with ending the discussion yet, she let it go, and I rolled the Die of Fate.
“Number three!” I cheered, relieved that the dreaded X had decided not to show its ugly face again.
Dropping her hands in defeat, Jasmine let out a groan of disappointment. “Am I ever going to get to roll some dice in this stupid game?”
“The Luminary now wields the Die of Opportunity,” the voice announced, and Jasmine jerked her arm in surprise.
“Oh, that’s right,” she gasped, as the angry, growling game piece formed in her hand. “I’m the Luminary!” And for the first time since making the dreaded Character swap with Sierra, I believed Jasmine was truly happy about it.
The Die of Opportunity howled and raged like a miniature werewolf as Jasmine tossed it into the Catch, and we eagerly leaned forward as her playing card appeared.
The Chords of Necessity
While strumming strings
May enhance things
And can often ward off gloom,
This melody may remedy
A Champion’s impending doom.
Jasmine’s Spark drifted out of her Dispenser, and a flurry of exploding sparkles danced around it. At first, it looked as though nothing had happened as her weapon emerged from the shower of light, unchanged. But then we noticed a slight modification at the base of her Spark. Extending out from the drum was a tiny bracket that held a sheet of parchment paper.
Sierra released a triumphant whoop. “That’s exactly what we needed!”
“It is?” Jasmine asked, her forehead furrowing. No doubt hoping for an awesome weapon, Jasmine looked utterly disappointed. “What is it?”
“A spell,” Sierra said. “A healing spell!”
“How does it work?” I asked. Crowding next to Jasmine, I eagerly eyed the new attachment of her Spark.
I didn’t want to rush Jasmine, but if she now had the power to heal us, it was probably a good idea she hurried up. I was clinging to the last bit of life on my Advancement Medallion, and we only had seconds before the battle would commence.
“She just has to play it,” Sierra said, laughing. “It’s so simple. Just follow the notes.”
“Oh, that’s all,” Jasmine grumbled. “Follow the notes? What if I can’t read music?”
Unfortunately, Sierra wasn’t given enough time to answer Jasmine’s question, as the Champion’s Catch vanished, and the fight with the trolls began.