"I'll be right there," Dania called over her shoulder toward the eager teenager pounding on her door. "Just finished showering. Give me a minute."

  "Hurry up!" Jake's impatient excitement made him sound like a kid waiting for others to wake up so they could open gifts on Christmas morning.

  "Keep your pants on, kid, I'm coming!" She turned back to Hush, only to find that the monster had vanished. With a tiny twinge of regret and a shrug, Dania shoved her hands through her wet hair and twisted it up into a bun atop her head.

  "All right, all right," she said a moment later as she opened the door. "Let's see these cards."

  Jake's open, joy-filled expression vanished as his eyebrows slammed together in a frown. "Dani? What the hell?" He pointed to her bruised shoulders, and she shrugged.

  "Hush said I sustained a psychic injury and that affects the body. I'm okay for now."

  "Elarienne!"

  "Jake, I'm fine, I don't need—"

  "Yes, my deckbearer?" The voice that answered Jake's summons flowed over Dania's skin like cool water. Tension Dania didn't even know she was holding drained from her body, dropping her shoulders away from her ears as she turned to smile a hello to Elarienne, Jake's minion.

  Elarienne gave Dania a small smile back, inclining her head respectfully as she did. An odd gesture from anyone else, perhaps, but it suited Elarienne in her floor-length, vaguely Edwardian black lace gown.

  "Dani's injured, from our battle with the Aspiration Blight. Can you do anything? Psychic damage counts as damage done from cards, right?"

  "Yes, my deckbearer," Elarienne said, and she glided forward until she stood directly in front of Dania. Her midnight, pupil-less eyes tracked over Dania's form, and her fingers came up to brush lightly against the purpling bruises on her shoulders. Dania suppressed a shiver at the feather-light touch.

  "I don't need healing," Dania protested. "It's just some bruises and stiffness. I'll be fine."

  "Yes, Guardian," Elarienne said, but then she reached out and pressed her fingertips to Dania's temples anyway.

  More cool water flowed under Dania's skin, sweeping away any remnants of painful soreness. Dania inhaled and unclenched the jaw she hadn't realized she'd clamped shut. Her spine popped in the most delicious manner, and a quietly effervescent joy dawned within her chest like the sun rising after a long, dreary night.

  "Oh, wow…" Dania breathed. "It's like…coming home."

  "Better, Guardian?"

  "Yes," Dania blinked and forced herself to focus on the young woman's face. "Thank you, Elarienne."

  "It is my pleasure to care for those in my home, Guardian. Thank you for the opportunity." She dropped her hands back to her waist, where a set of keys jangled musically as she brushed them. She inclined her head once more before turning to address Jake.

  "Do you require anything else, my deckbearer?"

  "No, Elarienne, thank you."

  "It is my pleasure to care for you, my deckbearer." With that, she turned and glided away, disappearing around the corner at the end of the hallway. Dania took a second to focus on her retreating form, so that Elarienne's card appeared into the air above her head.

  Elarienne, The Havenkeeper

  Unique Tier-3 Shadow/Psychic [Dream] Minion [Evolved Orphan]

  0 Power

  Special: Will fetch normal objects and such with a decent degree of precision and help carry up to ten pounds.

  Special: Havenkeeper [Unique]: This minion may only exist within the confines of the Night Haven building (to include its quadrangle garden). Within the Night Haven, however, the Havenkeeper is literally the dream hostess. Within the Night Haven, the Havenkeeper may use the power of dream itself to heal damage done by card creatures and effects. She may also create whatever objects those within the Night Haven require, though like the Havenkeeper, those objects cease to exist outside of the Haven.

  “It is my pleasure to care for those who shelter within the Night Haven.”--Elarienne, the Havenkeeper

  "She's come a long way from the Lost Orphan card she once was," Dania said. "I wonder if she still has the teddy bear she used to hang on to."

  "Ethan's got it," Jake said, turning to head down the hallway towards the stairs at the far end. "Remember? She gave it to him right after she evolved. She said it was what he needed."

  "Oh, that's right. I forgot how much he loved that thing when he first came here." Dania fell into step beside him and glanced over to look up into his eyes. Jake's grown again, she thought with a bittersweet pang of nostalgia for the skinny kid he'd once been. At seventeen, Jake had topped six feet in height, and his disciplined training regimen meant he packed on muscle. Only the barest bit of baby fat around his face kept him from looking like a fully grown man—and that was disappearing quickly.

  My kid is growing up. Gods grant I've taught him enough to survive adulthood!

  "He still loves it, Kendra just makes him keep his toys in their suite." Jake shrugged as he spoke, pulling Dania from her throughts. "She's a good mom."

  "She works hard at it," Dania said. "Do you know if she's made a decision about Kindergarten yet?"

  "No," Jake said. "She hasn't said anything to me." Dania wondered if he realized that his tone had taken on a clipped, discontented note. They both knew that Kendra was considering moving out to one of the nicer Noimoire suburbs before next fall, so that her son Ethan could go to Kindergarten at a private school nearby. Dania had made sure Jake was too well behaved to try and influence Kendra's parenting decisions, but she also knew that her nephew privately hated the idea of any of their found family leaving the Haven permanently.

  It would be like when Rhett left, only worse, because Kendra's been part of us for so long, Dania thought with a sigh. She wasn't really a fan of the idea either, but she couldn't argue with Kendra's logic. Ethan needed friends his own age, whether that meant he, Kendra, and his three-year-old sister Jacqui—also known affectionately as JD, and occasionally The Menace—moved to a house of their own, or the entire group figured out some other solution.

  Either way, it's Kendra's decision, and not ours, Dania reminded herself. She'll ask for our advice if she wants it.

  With this pep talk ringing in her inner ears, Dania followed Jake down the stairs and out into the Night Haven's courtyard garden. As soon as she stepped onto the flagstone path, Dania drew in a deep breath, relishing the sweet scents of night-blooming jasmine and camellia.

  Every nook and cranny of the Night Haven was beautiful and welcoming, but the courtyard garden was one of Dania's favorite places. Flagstone paths wound through beds of night-blooming flowers and wide-branched trees. A tiny brook twisted in and out, crossing under the paths and creating mirror-like pools here and there. Benches grew from the living wood of the trees themselves, providing places to sit or lie back and relax in the dreamy air redolent with floral perfumes.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  "They're over by the waterfall," Jake said, some of his earlier excitement returning to his tone. Dania looked where he pointed to see her friends seated on a large blanket spread under the shelter of a willow tree. Moonlight glinted off the softly rippling water of the wide pool that stood next to the tree. On the other side of the pool, a miniature cataract tumbled down the short, rocky cliff that stood there.

  Dania caught sight of Ethan splashing his little sister in the shallow water of the pool, and saw Kendra stand up from the blanket and walk over to collect them both. Under the tree, Joe raised a hand and waved, then rolled his chair forward to greet them.

  "Welcome back, little sister!" the elderly warrior called out, a sly grin on his face. "Did you get enough rest for your lazy bones?"

  "You're one to talk, old man," Dania shot back as she left the path and hiked up the grassy slope toward their picnic. "Always sitting down on the job."

  Joe threw his head back and laughed, shaking one slightly gnarled finger at her. In his lap, Audrey looked up at Dania and waved one leafy hand. Machairi, who had apparently remained behind to guard the cooler that sat in the center of the blanket, did the chin-lift greeting thing common to teenaged males everywhere, and Dania rolled her eyes.

  "You don't even eat, Creepy," she said as she walked close enough to shake Joe's hand and then lowered herself to lounge on the blanket. "Why are you hoarding the food like a dragon with her gold?"

  "My deckbearer asked me to make sure some was left for him, Guardian," Machairi said. His eerie voice matched the steady, pupil-less stare he gave her, though the effect was ruined a little by his teenaged smirk. "I just did my job."

  "Machairi! You didn't!" Jake groaned and covered his eyes with one hand. "Please tell me you didn't hold all the food hostage until I came back!"

  "I did not hold the food hostage."

  "Yes, he did," Joe said, laughter in his voice.

  "No, Chief, I did not. Hostage situations require demands on the part of the hostage taker. I made no demands."

  "Other than that we wait," Joe pointed out.

  "Well… yes."

  "Machairi! That wasn't what I meant for you to do at all!" Jake walked over and shoved his companion's shoulder lightly.

  "Then you must be more clear, my deckbearer."

  "You're the worst," Jake complained before turning to the others. "I'm so sorry. Please, eat."

  Joe, who had succumbed to full-on laughter, swiped tears of mirth from his cheeks. Dania chuckled and waved to Kendra, who approached with a wet, wriggly child securely held under each arm.

  "Did Jake get back to release the food?" Kendra asked as she handed a giggling Jacqui to Dania and deposited Ethan on the blanket. Jake groaned and covered his face before speaking.

  "Eat, please, all of you! Eat as much as you want. Elarienne will bring more if we need it, but I'm not taking a bite until everyone's gotten theirs."

  Dania joined in the general laughter and caught the towel that Kendra tossed her way. She wrapped it around the little girl in her lap and proceeded to vigorously towel her off, leading to more giggles and squeals.

  "Hey, JD," Dania said after she whipped the towel off, revealing the tousel-haired toddler. "Did you have fun with Ethan?"

  "We swimming!"

  "Yeah, I saw you swimming! Nice work. Was the water cold?"

  "No. I hungry."

  "Yeah, me too, kiddo. Let's get you something to eat, okay?"

  As Dania and the others portioned out the food and drinks that Elarienne had packed in the cooler, Amari hiked up the hill to join them. She dropped a kiss on her grandfather's cheek and then sank down to sit beside Dania with a sigh.

  "Want some hummus?" Dania asked, waving a carrot stick in invitation. "It's amazing."

  "Of course, it's amazing. Everything the Haven makes for us is amazing," Amari said, blowing out her breath on a gusty exhale. "I'll get some in a minute. Have we looked at the cards yet?"

  "I haven't," Dania said. "I just got here."

  "Let's hope it's better than what I could find over in the Archive," Amari muttered.

  "Are you still looking for a companion card?" Dania asked quietly. "I don't know that you're going to find one in the Archive. All the cards there seem to be…older. And we don't even know if Jake can actually gift them away or not. It's not like they're part of his regular deck. He can't even use them unless they come up as part of his side deck, and from what we can tell, it's a totally random draw."

  "I know," Amari said, looking down glumly at her electric green manicure. "But I can't think what else to do! None of the cards from the monsters or the dungeon are likely to work, they're all Dream type, and my deck is Beast and Infernal."

  "I've got the card brokers looking for something for you," Dania reminded her.

  "I know, but it's been three years, Dani. I'm feeling like it's never going to happen."

  "I just think companion cards are too valuable. No one is giving theirs up willingly." Dania looked over at Kendra, who sat next to Jake, laughing at something Machairi said.

  "I know," Amari reached out and touched Dania's arm softly. "And I appreciate the effort, sis. I truly do. I just…I can't do nothing, you know?"

  "I do know," Dania said. "I absolutely do. But you're not doing nothing. Did you make levels from that fight last night? You should have. I made one."

  "You did? That's, what, twenty four for you?"

  "Twenty-three. Two more until my next perk."

  "Hell yeah!" Amari bumped her shoulder into Dania's. "That's awesome, congrats! Yeah, I picked up a couple of levels as well. I got the last one I needed for my companion slot, and a few more. So I decided to take another Infernal power, and I added another card in play."

  "Makes sense, with your tribal deck."

  "Yeah, since I'm not getting anything new anytime soon, I might as well put out more of what I have…"

  Dania snorted. "Okay, self-pity."

  Amari laughed. "You're right, that did sound terrible, didn't it? I didn't mean it like that, but it did sound super whiny. Let me get you one of those cookies to make up for it."

  "Deal," Dania said with a grin. "But speaking of new cards…Jake, did you want to look at what the monsters dropped last night?"

  "Oh! Yeah!" Jake put down his mostly-empty paper plate and dusted off his hands. Then he reached into the pocket of the hoodie he wore and withdrew two cards.

  "This is the first one," he said. "It is Infernal, which is interesting for a Dream monster, but I don't think it will work with Amari's deck."

  "It won't?" Amari asked, sitting up and leaning forward with interest. "Are you sure?"

  "Take a look," Jake said, flipping the red-edged card to her. Amari caught it, and angled it so that Dania could see it as well.

  Breacher

  Rare Tier-1 Infernal/Divine/Elemental/Elder Enhancer

  0 Power

  The deckbearer with this enhancer card does not trigger warnings when they pull their deck, so long as no card in the deck is Mortal, Golem, Beast, Plant, or Nature. The first card played with a power cost of three or less gains Speedy: The first card with this keyword played every round does not count against round limit for cards played.

  “I am a master at gaining the attention of the denizens of other realms.”

  "Shit," Amari said, tossing the card down. "You're right, that won't work at all. My entire deck is Beast and Infernal."

  "We can sell it," Dania offered. "This is similar to my Cryptid Ambush card, I bet the brokers could find you an equivalent Rare that would also allow you to pull your deck in stealth."

  Amari shrugged and looked down at her nails once more. "Whatever," she said, disappointment soaking her tone. "You might as well try and change it, Dani. We can always sell it after if it doesn't work for you."

  Dania met Jake's eyes, then looked around the group at everyone else. Joe nodded encouragingly, and Kendra waved a hand as if to say "go ahead". Dania shrugged and touched the card, but nothing happened.

  "Looks like one for the sale pile," she said after a moment. "I think that's a better plan anyway. What about the other card?"

  "Right here," Jake said, and pulled it out of his jacket. He laid it on the blanket, but little Jacqui chose that moment to giggle and roll over on top of it.

  "Jacqueline Danielle!" Amari said, her gentle scold threaded through with laughter. "Ma'am, that is not for you!" She reached down to pick up her daughter, and Dania picked up the card. As soon as she touched it, a deep, satisfied purr rumbled in her chest. Tawny light flowed from her fingertips to wrap around the card, dissolving the black edges in favor of the golden-brown associated with Beast cards.

  "Shit, sorry," Dania said, closing her eyes. "You'd think I'd know better by now."

  "It's okay, it was just another dream enhancer that wasn't going to work for any of our decks anyway," Jake said. He leaned forward, excitement taut in the lines of his shoulders. "But it was a rare, so what is it now?"

  Dania flipped the card, and stared at the snarling feline depicted there. The rumbling purr of satisfaction returned, and her voice took on a low growling undertone as she read the card out loud.

  Old Broken Tooth

  Unique Rare-equivalent, Tier-4 equivalent Beast [Feline, Extinct, Ice Age, North America] Creature

  1 Beast Power (available)

  Health: 15

  Attack: 8

  Defense: 5

  Magical Attack: N/A

  Magical Defense: 5

  Special: Ambush [P]: This attacks immediately upon entering with a single attack at a strength bonus equal to the base power cost of the targeted creature.

  Special: Just a Scimitar Cat: Counts as a scimitar cat for all purposes.

  Special: Speedy: The first card played every 30 seconds with the keyword speedy does not count against cards able to be played.

  “Old Broken Tooth made a name for himself by going after the big boys.”

  "He issss unique." Dania hadn't realized that Hush had joined them, but there he was, looming over her, peering down at the card she held. "He willl think hisss own thoughtsss if you choosssse him for your deck."

  Jacqui and Ethan looked dubiously up at the monster, but Hush was a frequent enough visitor that they no longer displayed fear when he showed up. Although Jacqui did stick her hand into her mouth and climb into her mother's lap.

  "Because of my Animating Spirit card," Dania said. "He'll gain a personality."

  "Yessss."

  "Well," she said, lifting her gaze and meeting Jake's smile with one of her own. "That seems far too tempting to pass up."

  "Hell yeah," Jake said, his grin widening. "Let's meet this bad boy!"

  Books 1 and 2 are now available in KU, and Please check it out and tell him I sent you!

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