32

Mensha’s eyes fell shut and his lips thinned into a twitching line. “That is the cheesiest thing you have ever said.” She smiled at the laughter lighting his voice.

“Sure, but if we can’t sneak, and making a run for it isn’t an option then we can make a fight on our terms,” she said with growing certainty.

“True,” he said and opened his cheery brown eyes, “but I think we’ll need to prep our castle,” She chortled, “preferably before these sheets become completely useless.”

Her laughter fell, “Am I crazy for being excited about this,”

“I don’t know but it suits you wonderfully.”

She sighed, with a smile’s touch, “You give the weirdest compliments.”

“You’re welcome.”

She shook her head huffed and spun around and focused on the many high metal shelves that filled the room. She wasn’t sure how the wind managed to knick almost everything onto the floor, nor how it had gotten into the closed room in the first place.

“Okay first we need to create a bottleneck,” she pushed one of the shelves finding it heavy. “This is going to take some work,” she glanced at Mensha, her eyes focused on his broken arm hidden under his clock. “You should sit this one out.”

He chuckled. “I’m injured, not infirm,”

“It’s not worth the risk,” she stated, “Besides you can work on using your magic to fix it can’t you?” she continued to stop the inevitable response.

He hummed, “Your not wrong.” He lifted a finger to his lip, and walked to the corner farthest from the door, and sat, “I’ll be here while you work.”

“Kay,” she said and returned her attention to the many high heavy parallel shelves, and the goods that carpeted the floor. “Now how am I going to do this,” she muttered. Super strength wouldn’t make this jigsaw puzzle easy.

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She began by clearing the floor around the shelves she planned on moving first and then shimmed the shelves to confine the door in a thin alley. The door being in the room’s corner made the task much easier. Things got more complicated from there.

Summer sighed with relief and fell back and collapsed beside Mensha as they looked at the fruits of her labor. Her muscles burned from the persistent effort, yet it was a low ache. The room had been partitioned into a long aisle that ran along the room’s perimeter, she’d even placed a few shelves perpendicularly to brace the others.

“What do you think”, she turned to the examining man.

“You’ll have your work cut out for you to kill them all.” He said, his eyes tracing the metal bars of one of the tracing shelves. Then sweeping the pile of goods in the corner

“But you think I’ll work,”

“Yes, and I think I can help”

She blinked at him, “You fixed your arm,”

“No,” he said and shook but stopped as nausea soured his features. “Manually accelerating regeneration is a lot more complicated than I thought, so I’d rather watch and learn for now She nodded part relieved by his caution and disappointed at the lack of progress, “But I can throw somethings to attract them and as you fight.”

She stared at him, “But you can’t throw a ball to save your life,” and she wanted him as far from the shades as possible.

“One,” he lifted a finger, “I’ll be throwing cans, Two something is better than nothing and three rude,” he said and booped her nose, with annoyed tilt to his head. “Plus while your glow is an excellent lure we don’t want to overreach.

“Okay” she batted, his hand away and hid her smile with the other, “you can throw, just, be careful.”

“You’re the one fighting summer,” he said expression stern,

“Yeah, but,”

“I’ll be fine” his hand rose to her shoulder and he squeezed.

She closed her eyes and sighed, she was anxious, about the fight, about leaving, the source was obvious, she looked the arm hidden the his spotty cloak. “Okay,” she said and stood, “Lets do this,”

She walked to the door, and glanced at Mensha as he hefted the can he planned on using to attract their dye. He flashed her a small smile pulled his hood up and slipped through the door. She counted the passing moments by tapping a finger against her bat in time with her breaths.

He’d be fine, it’d be fine, breath, he burst through the door and she sagged with relief as she let him pass. Darkness retreated from her light revealing the store’s white tiles. She rolled her shoulders and lifted her bat. The pitter-patter of Mensha’s feet ended buts she held her gaze to the open door.

Shadows pressed against her light she felt it fall into many dark forms crowding around the door. Metal glinted in the dark. Feet silhouetted against the floor, they waited, “Are you coming or should I spread out the carpet too.”

The shades flooded in.