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Or !" I shouted for about the fourth ti on the floor and patiently waiting while Blondie tried various things to get hi to Anyan’s cabin, and having gotten over the initial shock of what happened in the cavern and Blondie’s sudden appearance, I’d reinal But getting our friends back definitely took priority

"I know," she growled, throwing someher my oer I felt Blondie funnelhappened

"This can’t be happening," I repeated, also for about the fourth ti!--was probably the scariest thing I’d ever seen

"Shit," Blondie said, lowering her ar"

I looked at her,to the others

"So Nell is now a baby," Iris said in her turn to repeat herself, for about the fifth tihed and scratched at the exposed skin on the side of her head; it looked like she’d freshly shaved around her Mohawk thatThen she went and sat down by the fire Trill had built in his fireplace I think the kelpie was just trying to keep busy--she hadn’t said anything since the cavern She was probably even more freaked out than me, if that were possible

Not that eren’t all upset, so we’d returned to Anyan’s to regroup after what happened Only to discover Gus had ed to lock himself in one of Anyan’s cupboards The stone spirit was currently in Anyan’s kitchens,himself a peanut butter, banana, and potato chip sandwich, a coh everyone else see

"What else could have happened?" the Original responded to Iris, stretching out her long legs "We have one baby whose power signature reads ‘ihest"

"But that doesn’t make any sense," I pleaded, my voice a little hysterical "How could this have even happened? And why a baby and a dog? It’s illogical!"

Blondie narrowed her eyes athard Then a look ca out, but her next words answered nothing

"Sometimes there are toooff into the fire as if co with herself

I watched as Iris shifted the baby Nell on her lap Anyan, meanwhile, went and curled up to sleep on the floor next to Blondie’s feet, soaking up the heat of the fla he seemed to trust her I, however, wasn’t so sure

"It must have been an ancient Alfar trap," Caleb’s deep voice intoned "The sigil was set in a ic"

"But it’s still not logical! Why a baby and a dog?" I repeated, still refusing to believe that the , while our resident Yoda was now crapping in diapers As if he kneere talking about hi distractedly He was clearly exhausted froenitals

"Think about it, Jane," Caleb replied As always, he was calic You know your huy, your Arabian tales, your Norse and Native A you can rely on about ht about it for a h I already knew the answer "You can’t," I eventually replied, miserably "You can’t rely on it"

"Exactly," Blondie said, snapping out of her daydreaic, even in your modern, watered-down fairy tales, has a enie in a bottle for everlasting life, he’ll turn you into a spring breeze If you steal a staff enchanted with speed froreyhound"

"But why a baby and a dog?" I whined, still unable to believe that the only genitals Anyan would be licking for quite sohborhood bitches’, and for once I didn’t inally enchanted to incapacitate anyone who toyed with the sigil," Caleb rumbled from where he sat next to Iris "Over time it probably morphed Developed a… sense of humor"

"How is this funny?" Trill asked, from where she sat near Anyan It was the first ti the flames dance in the fireplace

"It probably killed whoever fucked with it originally," Blondie stated, starting to lose patience "Now it’s changed so it’s doing things to them that aren’t death… but that just as effectively knock an opponent out of the ga interfered with it?" I asked

Blondie shrugged, but I could have sworn she looked guilty Like she wasn’t telling us so

"Who knows," she said "Maybe it just ested"