“So you really are single?” Daryl’s blue eyes shimmered. “Ya can stay?”
“For as long as you’ll have me.” Troy nodded, heart pounding. “But I’m flying out tomorrow.”
Troy had told him he’d passed out last night at work and that he’d gotten a team of doctors in LA to perform surgery on his brain.
“Do ya really have ta go?” Daryl’s lip quivered.
Troy sighed. He hated having to lie to him. It hurt.
“The specialists at LA are going to run tests. I just don’t want to have a blood clot loosen and stroke out on you.” Troy rubbed Daryl’s hock.
Daryl kissed him.
Troy kissed back, cock stiffening, but he pulled away. “I’m going to come back.”
“You’d better.” Daryl smacked Troy’s ass and sent him on his way.
Tex, now the owner an millionaire of the sex shop, had ordered two vans to take them to the airport. RK, Troy, Rusty, Tex and his intern, a young wolf named Todd, were coming along. There was a convention going on this weekend for sex toys and Tex wanted to show off the new product line. Troy didn’t say what he thought out loud, because it was mean, but Todd made excellent bait. He was exactly the kind of guy who died first in a horror movie.
They packed. Troy didn’t really have clothes and most of Daryl’s clothes didn’t fit him. Tex wheeled out a bunch of clothes that met Troy’s tastes-flannels and jeans. Not the best for LA, plus apparently Troy was trying to get into movies. Tex listened to his suggestions and the contents altered.
Rusty walked in, just off work and kissed Tex, holding him in his arms. Troy felt a strange twinge of jealousy in his chest. It was ridiculous, he knew. Just a holdover from the last reality. Finally, everything they needed was loaded up and they set off to the airport.
“Everyone has a Book?” Troy asked.
Everyone except Todd nodded.
They’d broken the Book of Transfiguration and separated it into different Books again. Troy had the Book of Transmutation now. RK had explained the ins and outs-it was incredibly versatile. Rusty had his Book of Beasts, RK the Book of Divination, Tex the Book of Body and Todd was basically shit out of luck.
“So, like the Books protect you from spells, right?” Todd asked nervously.
“Yeah, as long as you are actively touching it.” Rusty spread his legs as Tex positioned the shrunken Book of Beasts on his taint.
“Ready.” Tex said.
“Object.” Troy pointed.
The Book of Beasts flattened and achieved 2 dimensionality, etching itself into Rusty’s skin. A tattoo. Couldn’t risk it being seen, after all.
“Does it still work?” Troy asked.
“Half.” Rusty pointed at Troy.
Immediately, Troy lost his muscle definition as fat filled his form. His fur shed, achieving a piebald coloring, and his muzzle became a pig snout with two little tusks. His tail grew and curved, ending in a tuft of hair. His claws became trotters.
In seconds, Troy was a carbon copy of Daryl.
“Yup.” Rusty pointed at Troy again. “Half.”
The changes receded and Troy resumed his muscular Rottweiler status again.
Now that his plan could potentially work, They set to work setting everyone’s new tattoo. Then they made copies of all the Books. It was time to probe this Myth owner and find out what they wanted. The Books (while obviously not the real ones) had been charged with enough energy to simulate a few major changes when used. Troy had managed to alter their aura to appear more in-line with what any user could feel when near a Book.
“If I go down there and the bad guy gets me, are you going to save me?” Todd asked nervously.
“You are the bait.” Troy said, handing him the (fake) Book of Beasts. “You’ll play the part of subservient loser AND the mastermind himself, the owner of the Book of Beasts!”
“Uh, I’m not a good actor.” Todd said.
“Perfect.” Troy shrugged. “All you need to do is be nearby and overly helpful. Oh, and make up something about colonizing Mars.”
“What?” Todd asked.
“If he confronts you, pitch a goal to him. Something ridiculous.” Troy said. “We are making the assumption that Sebastian is the owner of the Book of Myth. We might be wrong. We can’t afford to be wrong. So you suss him out.”
“How does dividing the Books help us?” Todd asked.
“Simple. Every future that RK divined has one person fighting Myth at once. Arcane, me, Time. It’s always a coin toss. What he doesn’t know is what happens if four Book users confront him at once.” Rusty explained.
“He’ll have his Book on him at all times.” RK said. “There’s no way he’ll come to the meeting without it.”
“We need to find an opportunity to get it away from him. Or create one.” Tex nodded. “So ambushing him is out of the question, at least at first.”
“What are the limits? What can’t the Book of Myth do?” Todd asked.
“Used properly.” RK looked at his feet. “The Book of Myth has no real weaknesses. Anything it can’t do can be shored up with Summons. He can summon a Djinn. He can summon gods. It looks kind of boring on the surface until you start playing around with the idea of what constitutes ‘myth’.”
“Worst outcomes?” Todd asked.
”Oh, he kills us.” Troy said. “Some nerds on 10chan uncovered a bunch of mysterious murders all linked to him. If you’re into gore, you can take a look.”
“I’m good, thanks.” Todd turned green. “I mean like….”
“Creatively? Like if he decides to have fun with us?” RK replied. “The possibilities are endless. Keep the fake books on you at all times. They won’t give you the kind of protection the real ones do, but you should be able to get a spell or two off.”
“If reality changes, how will I even know?” Todd asked.
“If your mouth tingles like you just licked a battery or you get a shiver of cold down your spine in 109 degree California weather, assume he has attacked you and fire right back. Don’t wait, wondering if you imagined it. Shiver. Attack.” Troy said. “It might not save you immediately but we’ll sort you out after the fighting is finished.”
They pulled into the airport. Waiting for them was a sleek black ten-passenger plane. The pilot helped them stow their luggage and they climbed aboard.
Luxury. That was Troy’s first thought. Champaign bottles, beautiful leather seating. Spacious. This Sebastian guy had good taste.
The steward came out of the back and Troy’s heart skipped a beat. The man had curly hair and a beard and two goat horns poking through his hair. That’s when Troy noticed the caprine eyes, extreme musculature and furry goat legs. A satyr.
“Hello. My name is Alexandros. I’ll be your steward. Have a seat. We’ll be taking off shortly.” Alexandros said.
Troy caught Todd’s eyes widening and shook his head fiercely. “No. Reality shift. Act normal.”
“Yes, sir?” Alexandros was looking at Todd now.
“Bathroom?” Todd managed.
The satyr jerked a thumb behind him.
Todd scurried away. The satyr’s hand moved so quickly Troy almost missed it. As Todd walked past, the satyr slapped his thick, bubbled ass. Todd yelped and jumped a foot.
“Are you alright sir?” The satyr feigned concern.
“Yeah.” Todd glanced around. “What was that?”
The satyr shrugged and waved him on. Todd stumbled away, rubbing his sore asscheeks. Troy sniggered. The satyr smirked at Troy and winked.
Everyone sat in their seats and belted themselves in. Troy glanced around the plane, noting the nervous expressions.
“Cheer up guys, we’re going to Hollywoo!” Troy explained. “Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em!”
The plane taxied to the runway and then took off.