"Please, Regi," Miggs pleaded. "You've got to understand! I'm not a creature from the World
of Chaos!"
Regi, the woman at the head of the Magical Abnormality Control Squadron raised an
eyebrow beneath her helmet but did not lower her electrically-charged pike. "Be
careful everyone." She said to her squad. "Some of these demonesses are masters of tricks.
Just because she knew my name doesn't mean she's good to go."
Miggs cleared her throat and tried again. "It's me, Miggs! You remember me, Regi? I know
we never got along at the academy, but . . . I'm a messenger for Prince Eodor! I
went through the World of Chaos to warn all of you he's in terrible danger right now!"
"Miggs?" Repeated Regi, frowning. "If you truly are Miggs and you truly did go through the
World of Chaos, your appearance and voice betray you. And there was no
information on your transit through the World of Chaos. How do we know you didn't probe
the brain of Miggs for information?"
"You don't," Miggs admitted, still panting heavily. She kept his hands in the air, trying not
to think about her bare scaled breasts, which still throbbed in pain from her
landing. Her heart pounded, while her new chest rose and fell with each gasp she took.
"Listen, Prince Eodor has been kidnapped by the Sorceress Igna. There's some
impostor in his throne right now. I was summoned by him and unable to free him, so I was
sent through the World of Chaos to bypass Igna's security. And some monster
within turned me into this!"
Regi kept her expression neutral. "Very well, creature. Your story, although somewhat
farfetched, deserves some consideration."
She signaled to the guards and they closed in on Miggs, the circle of charged pikes getting
smaller. Miggs looked nervously around her. She felt her bite her unfamiliar
tongue with her fangs. "But . . ." she said to Regi, "you said you trusted me!"
"I didn't say that," Regi said flatly, as guards cuffed and bound Miggs with magical cuffs.
She fell to the cold cobblestone plaza once again, letting out a pained gasp when
her shins and sensitive chest hit the floor. "I said your story deserves some minor
consideration. Right now, we're taking you into custody for interrogation, examination,
and possible quarantine. If you pass those tests, then maybe we can take you at face
value. Until then, you have the right to remain silent."
***
Juvariel was getting anxious. It had been nearly a day since he had started his charade
disguised as Prince Eodor of Quell, while using his role as Igna's ally to spy on her
and the Kingdom of Quell for the Worlds of Order. For now, he told himself, all he could do
was wait and observe.