James was nearly done enchanting his pipe when a throat cleared near his shoulder. Blinking a few times, he switched his focus from the glowing rune that was starting to spread white veins, to very familiar snow white hair draping over his shoulder.

"Luna?" he questioned.

"You need to see something," she stated. Her voice was devoid of humor, making him sit up straighter.

Jamie shared a look with him before using her hand to shoo him away. "I'll finish my end of things and see if it works. We can do yours later."

Nodding, James set down his pipe and rubbed his eyes. Climbing to his feet, he found Luna watching him with furrowed brows. There was tension in her body and soul as she turned and led him out of the basement.

Catching up to her, he asked, "what did you find?"

"Not here," she whispered. "But it's very odd. Doesn't really make sense."

They started jogging the moment they reached the front door. Luna kept the lead, and her tail was nearly still behind her as she went on alert. Something was truly bothering her.

Passing the apartments, they entered a suburban area much like the one he had been clearing. Only this one looked too perfect. The same manicured lawns, fences, and clean houses. They were all the same build with two stories and peeked roofs. Shingles absorbed the sun's rays, heating the black panels.

"Creepy," he muttered.

Luna slowed her pace. "Just wait until you see what I have to show you."

Keeping next to her, he was led to a white house with shining windows that he couldn't see through. Luna touched the door gingerly before twisting the knob and pushing it open. Stepping inside she froze. "No!"

Joining her, he took in the neatly arranged house. The living room was an open floor plan with the kitchen and everything looked brand new and meticulously placed so not a single corner was skewed.

"This is freaky," he muttered.

"No, no, no!" Luna grabbed his arms. "This isn't what this house looked like! Everything was piled against the wall. It was a giant pile, James!"

Looking at her and then the room, he frowned. "How long ago did you leave?"

"Minutes. Less than fifteen." Walking into the center of the room, she pointed out the back windows. "That door and those windows weren't here!"

Moving to the back door, he touched the knob and found it oily as if freshly made. The windows didn't have a single streak on them and let in a surprisingly good amount of light.

"I don't like this," he murmured.

He was about to open the door when Luna grabbed his hand. "There's Forsaken around here. Be careful."

Nodding, he turned the knob and pushed open the door. The backyard was even more…he didn't know how to describe it. Unsettling, maybe.

The stone patio was set up with a grill and a cooler of drinks. A firepit was surrounded by plush seating, and the fire was flickering. The treehouse looked freshly painted and the rope ladder leading up to it blew in the breeze.

It would have been a very comfortable scene if it wasn't for the wooden cutouts of people. Two men were manning the grill while wooden food was laid over the cold grate. Women were in each chair, while it looked like a gaggle of children were kicking a ball in the yard. The only thing that looked real was the house cat near the tree house.

"What the fuck…" Luna whispered.

James pressed his hands together. "I don't like this. I really don't. I'm leaving."

Before she could dissuade him, he headed to the front door.

"James!" she called after him. "What's going on?"

Waving for her to join him, he walked into the middle of the street and looked over the houses. The neighborhood was too perfect. Like it was molded by an artist.

Rubbing his chin, he paced back and forth while Luna watched him. "In the last suburbs I was fighting in, the second floor was barren of any rooms and there was no way to the third floor. I shrugged it off as the craziness of the city. The cars didn't look right. Monsters are far harder than they should be, and we can't leave."

"What are you getting at?" Luna asked.

"What if this city isn't a city?" he mused. "What if all of this is a Forsaken that has been luring in prey."

Eyes wide, Luna started pacing as well. "We need to tell the others. If that's the case, then finding the source will release all of these monsters into the surrounding area. If that happens, the forest will be forever changed. Not to mention that if this is a Forsaken, it might be feeding on us somehow."

James turned back to the grocery store. "We need to talk to Mother. I think she knew this was the truth."

"Ugh…the dragons again?" Luna whined.

Frowning, he turned to her. "Did something happen?"

"No," she huffed. "It's fine."

"Okay." He wasn't convinced at all, but Mother was their best lead. Starting off at a jog, they covered the short distance back to their area. Giggles could be heard on their approach from the many children.

James slowed his pace as he approached, not wanting to seem disturbed. His presence was quickly noted by Everest, who was pinning Amber down and licking her face.

"James! James here! James here!"

Amber pushed the dragon off herself. "What's up James—" she stopped when she noticed his expression.

Walking into the store, James stopped at Everest. "We can play in a minute. I need to talk to your mother."

Luna joined his side. Looking at the dragon, she huffed.

Frowning, he looked between the three of them. "Did something happen?"

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Amber bit her lip, trying to stop her laugh. Luna glared at her, teeth bared. Everest looked between them and growled.

"Bad Wolfie!"

Luna blinked a few times. "How am I the bad one?"

Before he could be pulled into an argument, James hurried past. Mother was waiting for him, her head on the ground as he approached.

"You knew," he stated.

"I did. You figured it out from so few clues."

"It makes sense." Rubbing his eyes, he let out a slow breath. "How the hell do I stop this, Mother?"

"Stop what?" Amber asked as she joined his side.

"You should tell her."

James turned to the cat. "We aren't in a city controlled by a Forsaken per se."

"Okay…"

"The city is the Forsaken," he finished.

Amber's expression flickered through several forms. Confusion, contemplation, surprise, before settling on acceptance. "What does that mean for us?"

Luna joined them. "I'm worried about how the area will change if we kill the city. Everything in here will be released."

Amber pursed her lips. "The monsters will destroy the forest. The cultivators will have trouble killing them, especially in the numbers they are presenting."

"Yeah," James said. Rubbing his forehead, he sighed. "I believe that the city is luring in prey to feast on us somehow."

Everyone turned to Mother. "How long do the children have?" Amber asked.

Mother regarded them for a moment. "Enough. But they will be very weak after you are finished. They are already growing weak, but James meeting them and being in their area is helping them regain their strength."

"Because of what he is?" Luna questioned.

"Yes."

Swallowing hard, James tried to think on a course of action. He had already been clearing blocks on his own, but was he going fast enough? There were miles of the city that still needed to be cleaned out, not to mention he needed to find a way to kill the city itself.

"I need a drink," he said after a minute.

Luna and Amber both frowned at him.

"You don't drink," Luna said with a worried tone.

"I have rum," Amber offered. "Don't have a glass, but we can share the bottle."

"This isn't the time to drink," Luna argued. "We need to figure this out."

Amber turned to her slowly. "Luna. We just learned that we are slowly being eaten by a monster that is ten miles long. If the man wants a drink, he should be able to have a drink."

Luna closed her eyes and nodded. "You're right. Sorry."

James turned away from them. "I need to go meet with the others. They all need to know that we need to push harder."

"James?" Mother asked softly.

Turning to her, he waited.

"Take Everest with you. She doesn't understand what she is, but she knows she's supposed to be with you."

"What she is?" he questioned. Before the dragon could answer, he spread out his soul and latched onto the little dragon. His eyes widened instantly. "Son of a bitch…"

"What's wrong with Everest?" Amber panicked.

"Nothing bad," he stated. "But I need to talk with her. Amber, she trusts you the most, so I might need your help."

"What about me?" Luna asked.

"Go gather everyone to our apartment. Amber and I'll be there shortly."

Luna glowered at the cat. "He's not your mate!"

Smirking, Amber blew her a kiss.

"Enough," James snapped. "Whatever happened between you two doesn't matter right now. Go gather everyone."

Tutting, Luna jogged away.

Amber touched his arm gently. "James? What's wrong with Everest? You're worrying me."

"Let's go talk to her." Taking the lead, he found the dragon watching Luna leave. Elation was spreading through her soul now that she was gone.

"Everest," he said gently as he knelt by her. "How are you feeling?"

"James and Kitty are together!"

"We aren't mates," Amber stated.

"What?" James asked. "Is that what this has been about?"

Amber nodded.

"Not mates?" Everest sulked.

Amber wrapped her arms around the dragon. "I tried telling you, love. We are only friends. Luna is his mate."

"Kill Wolfie? Become mates?"

James gawked at her. "No. You can't do that. Luna is under my protection and if you wouldn't want me to be sad, would you?"

"No!" Everest howled.

Chuckling, he rubbed her head. "Everest, I have an important question for you."

"Question?"

"Do you feel a stirring in your body? Maybe a fire building in your chest?"

Everest nodded right away. "Special! I'm special!"

"Did your mother tell you that?" he asked.

Amber grabbed his arm. "James, what are you getting at?"

"Yes," Everest answered.

Calming himself, James pressed his hand to Everest's chest. "When you breathe fire, is it white?"

"Yes!" she chirped. "Special fire!"

Amber gasped. "Is she…"

"Yeah," James said softly. "Her soul is active like mine. She needs to learn to control it, or there will be problems."

"Still special?" Everest asked.

Chuckling, he rubbed her head. "You're very special, Everest. And guess what! You get to stay by my side for a while!"

Jumping up, Everest started dancing in circles. "Yay!"

Amber grabbed his arm. "James…"

"She trusts you the most, Amber. We'll have treat her training like a game."

"Oh god…" Taking a deep breath, Amber nodded. Patting her cheeks, she started jumping with the dragon. "Let's go, Everest! You can play with the rest of my friends!"

"More friends? Yay!"

James patted both of them and pushed them on their way. Lingering for a moment, he sorted his thoughts.

If she can't learn how to use her soul, she's going to kill everyone she cares about. How the hell do I teach a child that she is a threat to all things living?

***

Once everyone was gathered, James stood before them. "We have a problem."

"We figured," Jamie retorted. "You wouldn't pull me from my enchanting if we didn't."

"Do I get to kill something?" Linda asked.

Frowning, James turned to Bronson. "Did you make her more bolts?"

"I did," the oni grunted.

"Yes, you get to kill something," James stated. "In fact, we have no choice but to clear everything out in this city and we don't have long to do it."

"Define not long," Mender said while raising his hand.

James started from the beginning and simplest explanation. "This city isn't real. Mother confirmed my theory, but we are living on top of a giant Forsaken. This city, is the Forsaken. The one I've been trying to hunt down."

You could hear a pin drop as everyone froze. Then all at once, questions started flying.

"How do we get out of here?"

"Is it going to eat us?"

"Does it know we are killing the other Forsaken?"

James clapped his hands. "Enough! I'll answer what I can!"

Everyone stopped yelling and calmed down.

"Technically, it's already eating us," he explained. "I just don't know what it's eating exactly. No, we cannot get out of here without killing it. But we need to kill everything else first, so we don't devastate the area with their release."

Everyone nodded along.

Gesturing to Amber, James asked, "can you bring Everest over here?"

Nodding solemnly, Amber rubbed the dragon's head and whispered, "let's go visit James! We might be able to convince him to play!"

"Yay! Play!"

James could tell that everyone noticed his smile didn't reach his eyes, nor did Amber's. Once Everest was by his side, he said, "Everest has an active soul, like mine."

Once again silence descended on the group. Luna was the first one to speak up. "She's a child, James."

"I know," he said softly.

Covering her mouth, she hid her gasp. "James…"

"I'll be working with her going forward," James explained. "Amber and I are going to play lots of games with her and teach her a few new things."

"Games?" Everest asked. "Games like Chase?"

Chuckling, he knelt and rubbed her head. "Yes. You, me, and Amber are going to play a lot. All of the people here are your friends too. They are going to play as well when they can."

"Wolfie too?"

"Yes, Wolfie too," James said with a smile.

"Mean Wolfie…"

Frowning, Luna went to argue when he shook his head. Sighing, Luna slumped before leaning against the wall.

Standing, James rubbed his hands together. "For the foreseeable future, we are going to be fighting all morning and possibly evening. We can't burn out though, so if you need a break, take one. We will spread out and push ourselves as much as possible. If you don't think the area is approachable, get me or Luna. We'll help you clear it. In the afternoons, Amber and I will be helping Everest. I may need to call on all of you at times."

"Yes, Master," Jamie said before everyone echoed her.

"Don't die! That's an order!" Turning to Amber, he added, "keep Everest with you, even in the mornings. She needs to think that the fighting is a game for now. If you aren't comfortable, I'll do it."

Shaking her head, Amber wrapped her arms around the dragon. "We'll be fine. But you and I are sharing that drink tonight."

Nodding, he waved everyone away. He needed to think. To plan.

Luna was the only one to stay with him. Taking his hand, she rested against his side. "Want to sneak away for an hour. We can do that thing you like."

Despite the moment, he laughed. "Why don't we. Then you and I can figure out our next move and find out where the hell Bo went to."

Nodding, she pulled him to their bedroom.

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