Chapter 2: My Mom was a Monk and My Dad Sang with Werewolves

There were times that I began to wonder if Lucille had too strong a hold on you, Leon. I didn’t think you two would get along so well considering that your marriage had been arranged without your say. But you two were practically inseparable. In fact, listening to you talk about her, I would say that you were looking forward to becoming a man and leading the Lurranna clan with Lucille by your side. And from what I knew of Lucille, she could hardly wait. It was more than just her lust for power which all Lurranna have in spades. She really did love you.

Galsin, the home of Monks who serve the Light. The fourth moon orbiting Tarrus, rendered habitable through artificial terraforming generators that gave it a breathable atmosphere and made the gravity earth-like. Most of the moon was covered in white sand with Monastery settlements dotting the surface made of crystalline fortresses or stone monuments.

Ryan Uruks was in training at the Fire Ministry Base on Galsin. He was getting ready for the Final Phase of the Second-Level Placement Exams. The base where he trained was basically the size of city, and was decidedly boring with its square buildings and steel-plated walls. And yet, Ryan found the militaristic aspects of the base to be strangely comforting.

“Alright, Thisy,” said Ryan with a determined scowl. “This time I’ve got it for sure.”

Thisimius, a big, fat Ogre with brown skin and big tusks, put his flabby arms to his hips as he scoffed. “I’ll believe that when I see it, lad.”

Thisy wore a black apron over his bulbous form, as well as camo khaki pants and flip flops, giving him a very relaxed demeanor. He was hideous in many ways, but his flowing ginger hair was long a beautiful, belying his brutish appearance as it went down his back nearly all the way to his waist.

Ryan tried again to summon the lava like Thisimius had in a tiny trickle, but it came out as a huge blob yet again. The gathering of molten hot liquid dribbled viscously to sizzle on the steel floor. Thankfully, the training arena had been designed with Fire-Types in mind, so the damage was minimal. A mound of cooled lava had gathered around Ryan in bulging heaps of black rock. That made him wonder how lava could be in the fire spectrum considering that it was really just hot soil. But then, he’d heard that many of the lesser elements were combinations of the base elements. Perhaps Fire Elementals were better adept at controlling magma because of its high temperature that made it too volatile for the Earth-Types who needed more concrete materials to manipulate.

Thisimius shook his head and crossed his arms. “Nay, lad. You’re still not controlling it properly. You’ll end up burning yerself out too fast if ya only do it in great big globs. In Magma Elemency, is best to start out wee, and then go grand once ya get the hang of it.”

Ryan grunted in frustration. “I know! I know! You’ve only told me that like a million times!”

“Then make it a million and one times until ya get it through yer tiny skull!”

“My skull isn’t tiny,” grumbled Ryan, holding his hands and making the attempt once again. “We can’t all have a head the size of a freakin’ blimp.”

“What was that, lad?”

“I said my arms are going freakin’ limp,” complained Ryan, though a misdirection of his true complaint. “Can’t I take a break and work on something else for a little while? You’re not the only one I’m training with today. Torsha wanted to show me a couple things too. I think it has to do with sword fighting, which sounds way cooler than this right now. Though ... I guess anything’s cooler than lava ... you know, ‘cause it’s so hot.”

The Ogre did not seem amused by Ryan’s jest as his tusks rose into a snarling grimace of disgust. “I’d suggest ya keep jokes like that to yerself around the lasses, unless ya just like being a pathetic loser with ne’er a hope of marriage.”

Ryan contained a blush, not wanting to give the Ogre the satisfaction. “Pfft! I don’t see girls throwing themselves at your big, ugly feet.”

The Ogre gave a hearty laugh, “You’d be surprised, lad. You’d be surprised.” By the prideful look on the Ogre’s face, it made Ryan wonder if Thisy had some kind of harem going for himself back on his homeworld. “Anyway, I canna let ya leave until ye at least get this much down.”

“Oh, come on! I mean, what’s so great about using just a little lava when I can already make a bunch?”

The Ogre wagged a huge finger in Ryan’s face. “Every good blacksmith kens that it’s not always the size of the weapon that counts, but that precision comes to play more often than not. A knife can do ya just as well as a claymore if ya ken how to use it.”

Thisimius took a step back and gestured to a few targets arrayed on the other side of the training hall. The targets were gray metal dolls made to resemble humanoids, but standing taller than any human ever could and possessing spikes covering their arms, backs, and heads. Thisimius said that the dolls had been made to resemble Morlocks, one of the most infamous races of the Forbidden Galaxies that continued to be the sworn enemies of all humans and Elementals. Ryan even heard that the Morlocks had a longstanding rivalry with the Saurians for the title of the most fearsome warrior race in the universe. He’d certainly heard Grafael use their name as a curse to confirm that rumor.

“Take those Morlock dummies, for instance. Try hitting as many of them as ye can with what ya ken now. Feel free to use as many shots as ye want, or at least until ya burn yerself out. But magma only. And ye can’t get any closer than me.”

Ryan sniffed confidently. The dummies were only a hundred meters away. In his ranged training sessions using Fire Elemency, Ryan had attained nearly full accuracy at two-hundred meters, sometimes even three-hundred meters when he got lucky. He could go even farther when channeling the fire through his sword. Even if lave was less familiar to him, he didn’t think it could make that much of a difference.

“Piece a cake,” said Ryan confidently as he stepped next to Thisimius.

Ryan raised his hands, creating as much lava as he wanted this time. He figured that the more lava he had, the more likely he’d hit his targets. Huge globs of red hot magma formed in his hand, and he hurled it towards the dummies with all his strength. The lava barely made it halfway before it fizzled out.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Thisimius smiling smugly down at him, but that only made Ryan all the more determined. Grinding his teeth, Ryan gathered even more lava, this time using both hands. Holding the glob of lava like a big rock, Ryan tossed the ball of magma forward with both arms. He got farther this time, but not by much.

Ryan growled and drew his sword. However, wondering if that was considered cheating, he glanced to Thisimius for confirmation.

“Use any method at yer disposal, young’un. Hell, throw the whole bloody sword at ‘em if ya think it’ll help.” Though he still seemed cocky, Thisimius took a step back to give Ryan more room to swing.

Ignoring the jibe, Ryan turned back to his objective and channeled magma from his hands into the sword. Channeling Elemency into a Psionic Weapon increased the element’s power and range. The sword glowed bright red and lava frothed from its edges. Usually, when Ryan channeled his Elemency into his sword, it burst into red flames, but he’d never done it while using lava before. Taking hold of the sword in both hands, Ryan raised the blade over his head and swung with all his strength. An arc of lava sloshed towards the targets like a red wave. The lava went much farther than his last attempts. Though it covered the distance this time, it missed the targets completely, swooshing past to hit the wall a few meters behind the dolls. Losing his patience, Ryan abandoned all restraints and sent volley after volley of lava towards the targets, swinging his lava-coated sword wildly. He even caused lava to rise up from the floor, melting the metal ground into geysers. After many failed attempts that either went short or missed entirely, his efforts paid off a little as several of the targets got doused in magma, their horns melting into puddles. Though, only a handful compared to the entire group of twenty. Ryan would’ve continued if not for the fact that he’d depleted his psions.

Man! Using magma burns me out a lot faster than using fire!

Ryan panted, but still maintained a confident grin as he pointed with his sword. “See! I got some! I bet you thought I wouldn’t get any!”

“Oh, aye. The thought did cross me mind. I suppose ye didn’t do too bad given it’s yer first try using magma in this way,” said Thisimius with a shrug, but still with that smug expression that made Ryan sick. “Although, you only got a few of ‘em, and after several failed attempts. Them Morlocks may be blighters, but they’re deadly accurate, and their weapons can pierce through all but the best-made Psionic Armor. I’d say that if this’d been a real fight, ye would’ve died after yer first swing.”

“Oh, yeah! I’d like to see you take out twenty targets with one shot!”

Thisimius dug into his pockets and brought out a Sun Gem, handing it to Ryan to replenish his psions. Thisimius took a stance beside Ryan, and raised his hands behind his back. His palms faced upward and tiny points of red magma bubbled from the tips of his fingers. Then, after taking a deep breath, the Ogre’s big, flabby arms shot forward quick as lightning. Ryan could hardly believe that the Ogre could move so fast, but the droplets of lava moved even faster as they pelted each of the twenty targets as fast as bullets. Tiny holes sizzled in the heads of each target, even the ones that Ryan had already doused with lava. The lava bullets had bored straight through the skulls of the dummies, hitting the already scorched wall behind them.

Ryan’s jaw dropped, but he composed himself quickly, trying not to look too impressed.

“I guess that was pretty cool,” he admitted grudgingly.

“Precision beats raw power any day, laddie. Since ya shown such a natural talent for being an Erupter, it spoiled ya. Not many Erupters can create magma in great big globs like that right off the bat. But the best Erupters are the kinds who know how to restrain their power and use only as much lava as they need.”

Ryan regarded Thisimius with a newfound respect, but still felt too stubborn to completely submit at this point. “Still, I could probably do something close to that with fire, so I don’t know why I have to learn lava too.”

“Aye, you are better with fire. It’s yer natural element, so ya’ll always be better with it.” Thisimius then put fists to his bulging hips and leaned down towards Ryan, fixing him with one of his huge eyes. “But a true master kens to have more than one trick up his sleeve There will always be some enemies and problems that need more than one solution to contend with. Some mercenaries wear armor that can repel all but the most powerful Flamer attacks, but would be ill-prepared to handle the more viscous magma which acts as a liquid and an energy source. It’s also more rare in the Fire Ministry, so they don’t usually prepare for it when they come after us. Point is, laddie, ya can never have too many tricks, especially if it keeps yer enemies on their toes. Makes ya more unpredictable.”

Before Ryan could respond, he was wrapped up in slender, lightly furry arms. As Torsha swung from his neck, giggling happily, she drew him into a chokehold and gave him a light noogie. “How’s my favorite boogie boo, doing? Did you miss me, Dragon Boy?”

Ryan jerked in surprise and threw his sword down so he wouldn’t injure Torsha. The Psionic Weapon, still alight with Magma Elemency, clattered to the ground throwing up sparks. He took a moment to glare at the new arrival.

Torsha was a Werewolf, but somehow, a Werewolf that leaned more to the cute side. She had light yellow fur coating her whole body, and a bright, bushy tail swinging behind her. Her proportions were that of a petite young girl, and even the fur wasn’t much of a turnoff as she found a way to make it look elegant on her. She arranged the mane on her head to resemble mid-length human hair, making her look like a blonde babe if seen from the back. Her deep brown eyes shined with mischief, and she always had a sweet smile on her canine lips. Even though her face resembled a dog’s with a short snout, long ears, and black, leathery nose, she still looked really cute to Ryan, especially given her good figure. Being a Monk of the Light Monastery, Torsha wore a white robe like many of her companions, but done in a Greek toga style that showed off her cute, furry legs. Brown, leather sandals adorned her feet, which were human-like, except for the claws and pads on the bottoms.

“Damn it, Torsha!” cursed Ryan. “I had my sword out and everything! These things are like blowtorches! Just touching one could hurt you!”

“He’s right, lass,” agreed Thisy chidingly. “You should be more careful when someone’s handling a Psionic Weapon. What ya did was dangerous for ye and the lad.”

“But that’s the point of a dramatic entrance. To be dangerous,” said Torsha with a sniff, extracting herself from Ryan and tossing her hair back. “Besides. It was all part of my test.”

“Test?” repeated Ryan.

“Yes! Sword safety 101! You passed!” said Torsha excitedly as she poked his nose.

Despite himself, Ryan couldn’t help but grin at Torsha’s enthusiasm. The wolf girl’s upbeat attitude could brighten any sour mood.

“And that also happens to coincide with my lesson for the day. When I’m done with you, you’ll never have to worry about accidently skewering me ever again.” She said it like her abrupt entrance which even earned a scolding from Thisimius was all part of her plan. “With your permission, Master Ogre, I’d like to chime in for a little bit. I want to make up for lost time since I arrived a little late. By the way, I am sorry for that, Master Ogre. You know how touchy those medics can be about leaving too early.”

Thisimius grinned sheepishly, and Ryan realized that the Ogre might’ve been blushing. “Oy, lassie. Ye can get away wi’ anything wi’ me so long as ye keep calling me ‘Master Ogre’.”

“Anything?” repeated Torsha, her predatory eyes gleaming brightly.

Thisy’s gonna regret saying that. I’ve seen how far Torsha will push you even when she doesn’t have permission to do it.

“You know he doesn’t really mean ‘anything’, right? So don’t blow what he said out of proportion,” whispered Ryan warningly to Torsha, hoping to spare the Ogre a lot of hardship.

“I’m still gonna,” whispered back Torsha with a grin.

“Stop everything!” called a young, diminutive voice.

The Werewolf, Ogre, and Elemental all turned to see none other than Thomas Madison standing at the entrance of the training hall looking positively miffed. Thomsas was this little kid that followed Ryan around sometimes, calling him master. He had short, brown hair, brown eyes, and a pudgy face. He was probably close to ten, but his simple red leather training armor made him look even younger and more adorable somehow.

As if he were accusing someone on trial, Thomas shook a shaky finger at Ryan. The boy was sweating and panting profusely as if he’d been running hard. “You promised you would train me, Master! I’ve been waiting since the dance, but you never came! Now’s the time to pay up!”

Ryan snapped his fingers, and scratched his chin. “Oh, yeah. I knew I was forgetting something.”

“You forgot!” cried out Thomas, sounding betrayed as he held up his pinky finger. “But we pinky promised! That’s like the most sacred promise of all time that two men can make with each other!”

Torsha squeezed her hands tightly in front of her waist and gave out a big, “Aww.” She then leaned towards Ryan and whispered. “Isn’t that the cutest thing ever? He’s like a mini-you.”

Thomas then glanced behind him furtively and ducked into the training hall. But before he made it all the way in, a red armored hand grabbed him from behind and lifted him by his shirt. Thomas struggled in midair as a large Elemental guard in the bright red armor of the Fire Ministry held him up. Thomas’s short legs dangled uselessly above the ground as he tried unsuccessfully to escape.

“Finally got you, ya little scamp,” said the guard, seeming slightly out of breath himself. Apparently, Thomas had given the guy quite a chase. “Come on. That nanny your mom hired to look after you is wondering where you are.”

Ryan felt bad for Thomas, especially after the kid expended so much effort just to train with him. From the amount of sweat drenching the kid’s clothes, he must’ve put himself through the run of his life. That, compounded with the fact that he managed to slip past one of the guards into the training area, which was restricted to younger initiates, really made Ryan respect the boy’s gusto.

“Hold up there, Mister Guard,” called Ryan striding forward, and Thisy and Torsha followed as well, though hesitantly.

The guard stopped in his tracks and turned a questioning eye towards Ryan. He looked strangely familiar, but Ryan couldn’t quite place the face.

“I requested Thomas’ presence to help me with my training,” lied Ryan, hopefully in a convincing way.

“You need this kid for your training?”

“Yeah! He’s ... uh ... he’s my water boy.”

“Water boy?!” repeated Thomas complainingly.

Ryan shot Thomas a glare to silence him, though hoped the guard hadn’t noticed. “Look. I’ll look after him and take him back to ... to Nanny Eliza when I’m done. He’ll be outta your hair.” Though the thought of going anywhere near Nanny Eliza filled Ryan with dread, he would bear it for Thomas’s sake.

“I don’t know,” said the guard hesitantly, though not dismissing the idea completely, which was a good sign. “I mean, Grunts aren’t usually allowed to train with the higher-level initiates. Even Firsts use Elemental techniques that are too dangerous for Grunts to be near, and you’re training to be a Second.”

“Don’t worry there, Zax,” said Thisimius fortunately. “I’ll look after the boyo, here. I’ll even raise the dampening field in this room so he can’t hurt himself.”

Zax?! Why does that name sound so familiar?

The man seemed to consider. Then, with a shrug, he said, “Alright, I guess it’ll be alright then.”

The man released Thomas, and the young boy darted forward to hide protectively behind Ryan and Torsha. He leaned his head between them and stuck his tongue out at the guard.

“I better be going,” said Zax. “I’ll tell the housekeeper where the boy’s at so she won’t worry.”

The man turned to leave, but not before Ryan gasped with an epiphany. “Zax! Now I remember! Johnathan Zax! You were there as an escort when Squad 99 rescued me and Hannah from the Preservers.”

The man jerked to a halt, glancing back at Ryan. “Oh, yes. Of course. That was so long ago, I almost forgot.”

“It wasn’t that long ago. Well, I guess it’s almost been two years now. But for Elementals, that ain’t that long. Well, at least not for the ones who seem to live forever like the Minister.”

For some reason, the slightest hint of fear seemed to flash in the man’s eyes. But it came and went so quickly that Ryan wondered if he’d imagined it. “Right. Of course. Well, it was good to see you again, First. I’m glad to see you’ve made some progress since I last saw you. Keep up the good work.” The man walked briskly away, nearly running in fact.

Ryan turned to go back to the center of the training hall when he noticed Thisimius staring at the back of the retreating Third. “Something wrong, Thisy?”

“I don’t ken, lad,” replied Thisy uncertainly, still staring at the Third’s back. “I’ve never exactly been a close friend to Jonathan Zax. More of an acquaintance, really. But ... but he just seemed a little jittery for some reason. Ack! I’m sure it’s nothing but the ramblings of an old fool of an Ogre that I am.”

“Who cares?” cried Thomas while throwing up his hands. “Are you gonna train me or not, Master?”

Ryan wanted to give the little turd a good smack on the head, but Torsha eased him down as she ruffled his hair. “Why don’t you train with me for a little bit so that Ryan can practice with his lava shooting? Then you can train with him as long as you want.”

Thomas glanced up at Torsha who tossed back her flowing mane that acted like hair. He turned away, seeming to blush a little. “I guess that’d be okay if you say so, lady,” he said contritely.

Well, well. The kid’s a little furry.

“I’ll be back in a jiffy as soon as I get the dampening field set up in here. It might take a bit since it’s barely used. Not much need with Firsts and Seconds only doing light training in here.” Thisy disappeared up a flight of stairs at the side of the training hall.

As Ryan went back to the dummies, Torsha proffered some training weapons to Thomas. Ryan had never used them himself since he’d been given a Psionic Weapon almost immediately after joining the Fire Ministry. From what he knew, training weapons were just downgraded versions of Psionic Weapons. Still able to use Elemency, but at nonlethal energy levels. The power level of his own Psionic Weapons could be tuned down to render the same nonlethal effect, though Eramar rarely let him do it. The Demon-Slayer explained that he preferred his students to respect the power and danger of a Psionic Weapon, and not just find out what they can do when going into combat for the first time.

The training sword Torsha gave Thomas was short and slender, little more than a knife, actually. It hummed with a soft orange light that was muted compared to the powerful orange rhythm of a Psionic Weapon meant to kill.

Torsha drilled in some basic foot forms with Thomas before she even let him swing the training weapon. Ryan was amazed at how well Torsha was with the little tyke. Thomas really seemed to like her.

She’d make a good mother, thought Ryan idly.

While Torsha had Thomas busy, Ryan went back to making lava bullets. He still had trouble controlling the rate at which the magma materialized from his hands. At first, he settled to just throwing lava snowballs. These were a little more effective as he actually hit the targets occasionally, though only one out of every five times. As he managed to get his portions of lava smaller and smaller, he found their trajectory much easier to control, and his accuracy improved with every volley. Ryan was proud to note that he’d hit all the targets close to where Thisimius had hit them when the Ogre returned from the control room upstairs. Although, he still couldn’t do that fancy move where Thisy hit them all at once, much to his frustration.

“Hey, Thisy,” called Ryan. “Can you show me that ninja move you used to get them all at once again? I think I’m starting to get the hang of it.”

“That ye are, ya wee sprite. And much quicker than I thought a lug head like you would fare.”

Ryan grimaced. “How many ways do you have of calling me small and stupid?”

Thisy shrugged. “How many stars are in the night sky, laddie?”

“Cheeky Ogre,” mumbled Ryan.

Thisy belched out a laugh and clapped Ryan on the shoulder in his usual manner that nearly drove Ryan to his knees. “Every lad needs some humblin’ or else his head’ll get so big, he won’t be able to walk through any door properly. Least that’s what me mum always said.”

Ryan turned back to his training. Concentrating lava spurts at the tips of his fingers until they were almost the size of Thisy’s own magma bullets. He let loose another volley, hitting three of the five targets he was aiming for. He waited for a berating remark from Thisy, but none came. The Ogre almost seemed to be admiring Ryan’s work.

“Ye should ken that you are making progress, laddie. In fact, I think we be getting close to the second phase of yer training. And that’s saying something, lad. Most Ogre lads don’t learn these techniques until they’re close to marrying. Why, there are even some who can’t learn it at all.”

Ryan tried not to blush at the compliment.

“Wow! Lava bullets! That’s so cool!” yelled Thomas excitedly as he dashed towards Ryan.

Torsha shrugged in dismay at losing the attention of the youth. “And, once again, no one wants to pay attention to the wolf girl. It’s not like I was about to impart sacred sword techniques known only to the Monks.”

Thomas clearly didn’t hear Torsha as he stared in awe at the scorched targets at the other end of the training hall. “You’ve gotta teach me how to do that!”

“Sorry, kid,” said Ryan casually, though inwardly bristling with pride to be an object of wonder in Thomas’ eyes yet again. “But you can only learn it if you’re an Erupter.”

“But I am an Erupter,” replied Thomas whiningly.

“Say what?”

Thomas held his fingers out, and sure enough, tiny droplets of lava sprouted from his hands, burning into the metal at his feet. Actually, on his feet as Thomas let one drop on his toe. Thomas cried out as his shoe caught on fire. As the Grunt ran about wildly, Thisimius grabbed him by his foot and doused the fire by putting a massive, brown hand over it. He also held Thomas upside down as he quenched the fire, though that hardly seemed to deter Thomas’ spirit.

“See! Lava’s my first Element!”

“That certainly seems to be the case. Maybe we should let Thomas take over since he’s got more experience with lava,” said Torsha jokingly.

Ryan glared at her.

Torsha raised her hands, but still giggled slightly. “Kidding! Kidding! Geez! I thought you had a healthy sense of humor!”

Ryan turned to address Thisy. “I thought the dampening field was on. Why’d his shoe catch on fire?”

“I told ya. The damn thing’s hardly ever been used. It may take a little time to warm up, but the young’un shouldn’t come to anymore harm ... probably.”

Ryan found the Ogre’s vote of confidence in a finicky dampening field disparaging. He remembered when his own life had been on the line thanks to a damaged dampening field when that crazy Werewolf had shown up. Still had no idea what happened to that guy. Maybe he was part of the group that was gunning for him and Grafael.

“You gotta show me how you can throw it so far,” Thomas demanded. “And how you can make so much of it! I’ve never been able to make more than a trickle.”

Torsha smiled towards Thisimius. “I think we may have to switch for a little bit, Master Ogre.”

Thisy still beamed with pride every time Torsha called him ‘Master Ogre.’ In one swift motion, the Ogre had Thomas back on his feet. “Come along, smaller laddie. Let me show ya how we Ogres start off wee little ones like yerself.”

“Aww, but I want Ryan to train me,” whined Thomas.

Ryan ruffled his hair playfully. “Hey. Look at it this way. If you learn enough with Thisy, pretty soon, I’m gonna be the one asking you for advice.”

Thomas seemed to consider that, and then he grinned wickedly. He scampered after Thisy, growing so excited that he tripped a little, but got to his feet so fast that one would hardly notice.

“Man! That kid’s a ball of energy,” said Ryan laughingly. “I remember when I used to be like that.”

Torsha sniffed. “You’re still like that.”

“Oh, come on. I’m super mature now.”

Torsha turned her back on Ryan abruptly, making him wonder if he had upset her somehow.

Man, she can be bipolar sometimes! I hope Tork knows what he’s in for.

“Torsha?”

No response.

“Ground control to Werewolf. Come in, please. You’re weirding out your training partner. Over.”

Still no response.

Okay! Now she’s freaking me out!

“Aren’t we going to do some kind of training thing with the sword?”

“Funny you should say that,” said Torsha softly.

In an impossibly fluid motion, Torsha whipped around, swiping the air with her hand, only she didn’t use her hand. One of her white glowing weapons had appeared in her hands in an instant, which she leveled near Ryan’s neck, nearly touching his skin. Ryan could almost feel the heat of the energy-imbued weapon as it pulsed rhythmically so very near his jugular. Torsha gave one of her signature perky smiles as she drew her weapon away from his throat.

Ryan rubbed his neck tenderly despite not being hurt. I didn’t even see it coming! Have my fighting instincts gotten that dull?

“Okay. I’m guessing this is the part where you explain some deep inner meaning on the crap you just pulled right there.”

Torsha snorted a slight laugh. “Can’t you guess what the lesson’s going to be about from that?”

“Uh ... how to make your training partner nearly piss himself?”

Torsha sniffed the air and then wrinkled her nose. “I wouldn’t say nearly.”

In a panic, Ryan stared down at his pants. Thankfully, they were still dry.

“Kidding! Man, you’re too easy,” said Torsha with a strong laugh, holding her side. The look that Ryan gave seemed to get her back on track as she composed herself, becoming serious once again. “You must be getting tired of being one of the few on Squad 99 who actually need a holster, right? Most of the other members can just store their weapons inside them as psions, only making them appear when needed.”