“Just how many birds do you have?” John asked.

“Three hundred and sixty-five, as of this morning,” Archie replied. “Reginald just arrived this morning.” He reached over to pet the little owl sitting on a nearby branch.

“Wasn't that your favorite cat?” Flura asked.

“Well, yeah...” Jared replied. He swirled the whiskey in his glass.

“And isn't that the third time your uncle's let him run around with a magic wand unsupervised?”

“Well,” Jared said. “You know what they say. You can't choose your family.” He shrugged.

“I don't really see it that way,” Flora replied. “I've chosen mine, as far as I'm concerned.”

Something else to note. Never summon while drunk. Or tipsy. Really, alcohol and summoning should be avoided at pretty much any cost. Fortunately, this was not something Rebecca had ever needed to put to the test before.

Unfortunately, a rogue dragon attack after a night at the bar was not something she had expected to deal with.

“Conjuration 101,” Rebecca said. “Never summon anything bigger than your head.” She offered her hand to help the student from the floor. The man looked chagrined as he dusted himself off and sat back at his desk. “They are much less likely to try to eat you that way.”

I swear the guards must have all had nose-clips or bad colds. Stealthy as we were, I couldn't imagine them not noticing the sewer stench we brought with us when we first broke into the lower halls. Proper protocol would have been to change into well-sealed backup clothes. Of course, proper protocol had gone out the window hours ago.

I wasn't sure this was the best plan. Actually, I was pretty damn sure it was the opposite. But it was all we had, and I was out of time. Harry was dying. We had to get the sphere back or he had no chance.

The wind was cool out on the balcony. The thumping of the music inside was deadened enough by the glass to speak without yelling. Only one other couple was out here taking advantage of that, and they were too involved with each other to notice as Megan and “Luke” came out. Megan stared at them a moment, her lips twisted into a smile. She looked away before Luke noticed.

A blast of noise greeted Megan as she opened the apartment door. Bass thumped from inside the dark interior. Taking a deep breath, she wrapped her jacket around herself like a shield and plunged into the crowd.

The calico purred as Bernard absent-mindedly scratched its head. He stared at three monitors worth of data from the running cells. Somewhere in all that mess was the reason why the sixth in “dire need” was misbehaving.

“I'm glad you're back,” Deirdre said. “It's been too long.” She held out the bouquet of flowers formally, her face without expression.

“It has indeed,” Bernard replied. “I accept your gift.”

“I've never met an echo I didn't like,” Damian said. He leaned back against the bar as he spoke, a tumbler of scotch draped in his hand.

“That's because they're all you, Damian,” Paul replied.

“Go back,” the dark figure said. “There is nothing here for you.” It waved an ephemeral hand at the door.

“I have traveled too far,” the knight replied. “I will accomplish my goal or die. That is my oath.”

The dark figure sighed and let its hand down to rest at its side. “They all say that,” it said.

Is peace always so transient?

Philara had grown up in war. She had lost many friends and family members, including her own sister, to the battle with the Eldest. When the prospect of peace had come, it seemed like a fantasy. A dream.

Innis MacTeir stared out over the battlefield. This had once been fertile land. Fields from horizon to horizon. The breadbasket of his homeland.

Then the war came. The demons. The foul magics. The corpses ripped from the ground and made to serve an evil master.

“Oh, so that's how it's going to be?!” Sarah shouted. She slammed her wrench against the boiler, startling the servants. “You are one stubborn bastard.”

“He was a hero, you know,” Sir Jervis said. “One of the last, great ones the world had ever known.”

“We've all heard the stories,” whispered his squire, Martin. “How many of them are true?”

Have you ever heard a hundred million kittens mewing for attention all at once? Believe me, it's quite an experience.