•  Chapter One 

    Bree peddled the bicycle through the busy streets of Denver with acute accuracy she had mastered at the age of five. The bike was from the 1960s and had an army green color with little spots of rust from where her mother had kept it in storage. She stopped at a green light and glanced down at her watch, glad to note that she’d be close to being on time. Dante had asked her to be home from Alawna’s by five, she wouldn’t be that late.
    Bree had grown up in the city in a relatively normal family. She had her mother, a brother, and had attended high school. She frowned at the thought that she had had to quit college, she knew she should get over it, after all, she knew a freshly marked alchemist was too dangerous to have around mortals for the first few weeks. Yet here she was standing amongst a group of them. The snide thought of living dangerously entered her head. That’s why she rode a three speed bicycle, real dangerous.
    Who was she kidding; her life was far from normal. Her mother referred to anything having to do with their heritage as coming from the old world just in case a mortal was around and even though her mother and brother had never been marked, they were still a part of the alchemy community. Bree thought the whole web of lies to be ridiculous, no matter how many times she was told it was for their own good.
    The light turned red and Bree joined the rest of the pedestrians in crossing the roughly patched streets, her mind wandering again. She had never minded growing up in the capital of Colorado; in fact, the city had built her into what she knew.
    Denver was an old city that was a joining of the old mixing in with the new and different styles of different eras and countries of the other world all thrown in together in order to create a truly confusing city for those visiting it for the first time. It was a city of shops, homes, parks, restaurants, cemeteries, and roads, all cleverly designed to fit upon the little bit of space that the inhabitance had claimed as theirs. It was a noisy, bright, cheerful, depressing, and wondrous city all wrapped into one with the occasional rainy days and snowy winters that lasted far too long and often brought about the first buds of the flowers that poked through wherever they could. The roads were often busy with racing vehicles and the sidewalks were often filled with jostling people on their way to work or on to fun. It was a city inhabited by all types of people who looked toward the small skyline every now and then and were happy that it had nothing compared to the peaks behind it but it all existed and shaped the lives of the people.
    Bree followed the curving path of the sidewalk wondering why there was never a simple line from point A to point B in the city. She was sure it was to either annoy the population or teach them patience. Bree was edging the first reason on in her mind but glanced at her watch at the thought of patience. Her mind turned to Dante. He could be a slave driver.
    He made her cook, clean, organize the shop, sell his items, and take care of him, while she was running her own business. If she thought about not doing something he would threaten her with revoking his blessing that he had given when she was marked. Last month they had an argument, which had ended with Dante raising her rent and Bree ignoring him for a week until Rhem had stepped in.
    She often felt like she was dealing with a two year old when Rhem wasn’t around and Dante seemed to enjoy annoying her. Dante looked to be in his late twenties but he never seemed to have completely grown up. Bree could blame the madness to experiments gone wrong or the fact that Dante never slept. Upon moving in with the two men she had discovered Dante never slept when he’d wake her up at two a.m. with some awful noise and enough energy to rival a toddler. Bree had a sneaking suspicion that Dante had an Awake Circle on his body some where. However, waking up at two a.m. had been stopped when Rhem had showed her how to carve a Silence Circle into her wood floor that she could activate easily. It was a slice of bliss.
    Bree neared the house and her eyes immediately went to the sign hanging from the small porch’s overhang that in bold letters proclaimed to everyone that Dante’s Artifacts and Enchantments resided there as well as Bree’s Herbs that existed on a smaller sign that hung off the other. Bree parked her bike on the porch of the two story, red brick building and fastened the lock around it before entering the cluttered front room. The house was composed of four rooms below plus a powder room, and a winding staircase that opened up onto the second story with three bedrooms and another bath. The place still had the original wood floors, decorated with rugs ranging from the elaborate to the simple, and Victorian styled walls in neutral colors with random spurts of red, green, or turquoise thrown in. Bree was glad she could keep the upstairs relatively clean; however, the downstairs was another matter. Dante was insistent on switching out items in the rooms for those in the over packed basement two times a week, ruining her cleaning.
    When she wasn’t there, or out in her shop, Dante also took to performing experiments that dirtied the windows with their dusts. Then there was the kitchen. Calling it untidy was an understatement, it was a disaster. The table and chairs were cluttered with books, notes, cups, plates, and what appeared to be parts to a motorcycle. The cabinets were not only filled with plates and goblets but books, bills, bricks, letters, powders, pens, and quills, which could all be found in the same cupboard. There was hardly any food in the fridge since the space in it was filled with experiments, meaning that she had to go shopping for dinner every night. The only reason why the kitchen was so messy was because Dante refused to let her touch anything in the kitchen unless she was cooking or doing the limited cleaning he allowed. What really shocked Bree was that Rhem wasn’t allowed to clean the area either and didn’t seem to fight Dante on the point.
    Bree closed the door behind her and looked around a huge stack of books, trying to locate Dante. Her gaze travelled around the empty room before landing on the small fire in the fireplace that had done a good job of heading the room and boiling was in the pot above it. With a sigh she moved towards it to put it out when a door banged open overhead.
    “Don’t touch that Bridget!”
    She gave out a puff of air in annoyance. She turned to see Dante pounding down the stairs; his hands pulling back freshly washed dark red hair that reached slightly past his shoulders. His long bangs draped over his right eye and over the rectangular glasses always present over his brown eyes. Dante couldn’t be more different than herself. She had shoulder length, thick brown hair styled around her face to charm her hazel eyes but those common features didn’t separate her from the man. No, what did was her medium stature that had nothing on Dante’s tall height and her clean cut, put together look made her look like she owned and prospered from both businesses next to Dante’s ripped jeans, plain colored shirts, and black zip up jackets. She had discovered that Dante owned many of the ripped jeans and jackets when she had done laundry and had been slightly appalled at the man’s fashion sense.
    “It’s hot as hell in here though.” Bree argued.
    “Rubbish, its fine.” Dante replied as he pushed past her.
    “You could have used the stove.” Bree replied.
    Dante laughed. “You’re assuming I know how.”
    Bree rolled her eyes. She should have expected a response like that. Dante wasn’t one for learning new technology unless he absolutely had too. “What is that?”
    “Sleeping medicine for a customer.” Dante answered as he picked up a cloth lying on the floor to pull the pot of black, bubbling liquid from the flames.
    “Can I douse the flames?” Bree asked as she got out of Dante’s way so that he could get to the kitchen.
    “Sure, go ahead.” Dante answered waving her away. Bree found a bucket by the fireplace and by the time she had opened the windows, doused the fire, and broken up the coals the medicine had cooled. She entered the kitchen in time to watch Dante unceremoniously pour the disgusting liquid into an emerald green glass bottle. He corked it with a plug before throwing the pot into the sink with a happy smile.
    “Do you have to do things like that?” Bree demanded pointing to the window here some of the liquid had stuck form being launched from the pot.
    “Yes, it gives you something to do.” Dante replied with a laugh. “But guess what you get to do right now.”
    Bree glared at him in answer.
    Dante held out the bottle. “It’s for the owner of the little sandwich shop, next to the coffee shop where your curly haired friend works.”
    She sighed as she took the bottle. “You could bother with learning the names of things.”
    “Ah, but you know what I mean most of the time anyways so there is no need. Now don’t worry about dinner, the owner of the sandwich shop is paying for the medicine in way of our dinner.” Dante replied as he ushered Bree towards the door. She gave a sigh as she left. There was no peace when Dante was your housemate.
    She looked towards her bike but decided against it. The plaza that Dante had mentioned was close enough that she could walk it. She set off down the street at a brisk pace, wanting to get there and back before darkness fell and the cool night set in.
    By her watch she had made it to the shop in good time and since she hadn’t had a time to be there by, the fact that she couldn’t be late traveled lightly upon her shoulders. That was one thing Bree liked about Dante. He wasn’t as worried about punctuality as Rhem was. He had quickly learned that if Bree could be late, she would be and the only exception to that rule was when she had to open her shop. She did that close enough to nine o’clock to be considered punctual.
    Bree pulled open the glass door to the sandwich shop and was greeted with warmth and what sounded like opera over the speakers. There were few people in the orange and green seats and besides the owner they all looked half-asleep. Bree made her way over to the counter where the owner hummed along to the opera.
    “Excuse me.” Bree started.
    The man looked at her with big green eyes before letting out a jolly laugh. “You must be from Dante. I was told to expect his assistant today with a green bottle.”
    Bree forced a smile. “Glad he was so specific.”
    The man laughed again a sound that seemed to rouse the slumbering customers for they jumped a little. “I recognize a smile like that. Not the biggest fan of Dante, huh?”
    Considering the fact he treats me like a slave? Bree figured it best not to say that. “I’m a little upset with him.”
    The man chuckled. He brought out a bag as Bree handed over the bottle. Bree grabbed the bag and turned to go when the man asked her to wait. She did as he asked as he waddled to the back room, returning with another plastic bag. He handed it over to her. “For putting up with Dante.”
    “Uh – thanks.” Bree replied before leaving the shop wondering if the sleep medicine was for the man or his customers. She peered into the bag and give a half-hearted laugh. The man had given her chess pieces. She tied a knot in the top of the bag and set off towards home.
    Bree could swear that Dante was the most eager person when it came to food. The moment she had stepped in the door he had been there, demanding. She had handed over the bag before making her way up the stairs to deposit the chess pieces on her bed. In making her way back downstairs, she found that Rhem had come home.
    Dante had pulled the three sandwiches out of the bag that had disappeared with the utmost likelihood to be found the next time Bree cleaned. Bree picked up the sandwich on the table that was left for her before sitting across from Dante on the couch next to Rhem. Dante was sitting in his chair, an ugly decrepit thing of blue, green, and black fabric that was pulling away at the seams. The chair was surrounded by books, giving it the look of a very worn throne. It was another area that Bree had learned she was not allowed to touch. Dante had said he knew where everything was around the area and if she moved one thing his whole organization scheme would be lost. Bree had argued that he was a loon and had found a nasty spell on her door the following day.
    Rhem flicked on the television and adjusted to volume so that they could hear the news. Him and Dante talked in low voices about Rhem’s day and how most of the students in his class had failed the last test. Bree listened to the conversation all the while wanting to comment that she could have passed that test if she was still in his class. Instead she took another bite of the sandwich and told herself to count her blessings.
     
    She wasn’t sure why she brought the chess pieces into the shop. Dante never entered her room and she would know if he had, but for some reason she had feared him finding them. She berated herself silently. She was being foolish. They were chess pieces, not gold. Bree ran her thumb over the bottom of the pawn that was in her hand and frowned. She ran her thumb back over it as she brought it above the small table that supported her cash register. There was an h carved on the bottom. Who marks chess pieces?
    Bree didn’t have long to ponder her question though as the bell above the door jingled and Ms. Habers came into the shop. Bree set the pawn down by her register as she gave the old woman a smile. Ms. Habers was one of her regular customers, coming in usually once a week for something. The woman also amused Bree greatly with her serene expression and wraps of shawls and coats over long skirts and flyaway, wispy white hair that gave her head the look of a cotton ball.
    “Hello deary.” Ms. Habers greeted as she watched the door close behind her before shivering a little. “It’s a cold one today.”
    Bree nodded in agreement. “How can I help you?”
    Ms. Habers waddled up to the counter. “Did you get that thyme in yet?”
    Bree frowned. “Is your cough still bad?”
    “Yes, it’s let up a bit today but my granddaughter did some research on the computer and found that with the cold weather coming thyme would boost my immune system to get me through another winter.”
    Bree walked around the counter with a smile and towards the first shelf in the little shop. She pulled out a string wrapped bundle of thyme from the lowest bin and handed it to Ms. Habers. “That’s a count of ten, it should last you a week or two depending on how much you’re using.”
    “Thank you deary.”
    Bree led her back over to the counter and balanced on a creaky stool as she coaxed the old register to take the numbers she put in. She wrapped the thyme up for Ms. Habers as the decrepit old thing tried to remember how to work. At one point she had considered getting a new register; however, a week after she had been marked she had walked into an electronic store and had burnt out all the televisions the store had on display. Bree had left the store promising herself that she would buy a new register in a years time.
    “Where do you get your herbs from in the dead of winter?” Ms. Habers asked suddenly.
    Bree taped the plastic to itself with a small smile. If her customers knew that she was the one who grew the herbs in the backyard garden she would certainly lose her business. It wasn’t considered normal with mortals. She’d either be revealed for what she was or they’d all be asking her for something to make their gardens grow all year round. Bree pondered that thought for a moment; it could be a new business venture. She shook herself out of her thoughts when she realized she hadn’t answered the question yet.
    “Oh my mom knows a bunch of people from when she used to do this for a business.” Bree replied with a smile. The cash register gave a low hum of completion and spit out a receipt. Bree put the thyme and the receipt in a bag and handed it over to Ms. Habers who was giving her a questioning look.
    Bree shook the bag lightly to draw Ms. Habers attention to it. “Oh…yes, my thyme. Thank you deary, I’ll see you later.”
    Bree watched as Ms. Habers unstuck the door and hobbled out of the shop, her house slippers scraping the sidewalk as she did so. Bree let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. Ms. Habers could be too perceptive for her own good. Bree pulled out a journal from below the cash register to mark the sale.
    “I told you she’d be in here.”
    An angry line appeared instead of a three. Bree looked towards the bell above the door, glaring at it for not ringing before she transferred the look to Alawna, who was smiling in return.
    “I thought I told you not to interfere with my bell.”
    “I told you that it interfered with my abilities.” Alawna answered, as she brushed a strand of long, dark hair out of her way. Bree’s attention was grabbed away from the woman as Ray chuckled.
    “You to argue like an old married couple.”
    “Or just good friends.” Alawna replied in defense.
    Bree gave a smile at that. Alawna and her twin Virden were a few of the old world people that she knew that were her age but they were by far the closest to her. Her mother also approved of the friendship because Alawna and Virden were mystics, the only ally to the alchemists that weren’t decedents of shape shifters.
    In total there were six races on the planet other than the humans and the vast races that had descended from the shape shifters. The alchemist and mystics were allies against the soulless, dreamwalkers, farseekers, and bloodhounds. The alchemists used their control over their bodies and the world around them to battle the others and with the help of the mystics’ abilities to predict the future and tell the past gave the alchemists an edge against a large arrangement of opponents. The soulless were much like the alchemists in ability but they had turned towards the darker side of the ability, tainting their souls. The dreamwalkers entered the dreams of humans, alchemists, and mystics. With dream catchers it was easy to capture them but if they got into the mind it was impossible to get them out until they destroyed the person and either made them crazy or killed them. The farseekers had similar abilities to the mystics but were limited in their use and therefore they had created the death masks, a creation that would kill a person upon contact. Finally, the bloodhounds were the creations of the soulless, made by their own blood and thus tied to them. They were the hunters that tracked the prey the Soulless picked before moving in.
    In terms of the races that had descended from the shape shifters, often known to the mortals as mythical creatures, they tended to stay out of the politics of the magic users. While the magic users and the mythical creatures got along as much as could be expected, it was a general rule that wars between the mythical did not draw in the magical and vice versa. However, that wasn’t to say that it hadn’t happened, but when that had found out there had been consequences for both sides. Bree counted herself lucky to know the mythicals that she did. Many of them were close friends.
    Bree pushed back from the desk and folded up her record book before leaning over the counter to look at them. “So what are you two doing here?”
    “We wanted to see if you would like to come with us to get some coffee.” Alawna replied.
    Bree bit her lip. It was a tempting offer. She had been so busy lately that she hadn’t made it to the coffee shop to visit three of the human friends she kept in contact with. She let out an aggravated sigh. “I would love to but Mondays are my busiest days and I have to pay rent.”
    Alawna raised a dark, elegant brow. “Did you and Dante fight again?”
    Bree rolled her eyes in answer. “Of course.”
    Bree watched as a smirk overcame Alawna’s lips. She knew exactly what she was thinking. It wasn’t uncommon for her and Dante to have arguments, they simply did not get along. Dante seemed to take joy in doing things he knew annoyed her and she was to prideful to just ignore him.
    “It’s like I live with a two year old when Rhem isn’t here.” Bree grumbled.
    “Give him some credit.” Alawna replied with a giggle. “Dante had more intelligence than a toddler.”
    “Fine, he’s like a five year old.”
    “Why do you have chess pieces?” Ray asked quickly as he picked up the piece she had left on the counter.
    “I was given them as a present.” Bree answered fluently. She was used to Ray’s tactics of changing the subject.
    “Does Dante know?”
    Bree eyed him oddly. Ray was one of the humans that knew about their world. He was employed by someone on The Board giving them information they could not gather simply because they didn’t have the human contacts. “Is there a reason why I should tell Dante?”
    Ray shrugged in answer.
    “Is there something you’re not telling me?” Bree questioned.
    “Perhaps,” Ray answered.
    Bree let out a sigh and met Alawna’s eyes. She couldn’t be mad at Ray, no matter how much he frustrated her with his cryptic answers. He was bound by whoever employed him by how much he could say to others. For all Bree knew even his actions could be bound by his employer. It was risky even having him overhear her complain lightly about Dante, but it was a risk she was willing to take. She had known him before he became someone’s informer and she refused to give him up a good friend because of that.
    Alawna leaned against the brick wall behind her. “So, what’s the rest of the house up to today?”
    Bree froze with her mouth open to answer the question when Dante shouted for her. She snapped her teeth together, ignoring the laughter coming from her friends.
    “We’ll just leave; have fun doing whatever he needs.” Alawna said as she opened the door and ushered Ray out of it. The bell rang happily after her as the door slipped shut. Bree leaned over the counter to lock the door before she headed towards the stairs that would lead her into the kitchen.
    Bree entered into the front room to find Dante balancing a stack of books against the wall. “Ah, there you are Bridget. Would you get the basement door for me?”
    Bree did as he asked and as an added thought flipped the light on for him as well. It wouldn’t do to have Rhem mad at her because Dante had fallen down the stairs. Bree turned away from the basement door and into the front room. A book on the arm rest of the couch caught her attention and she moved over to it. It wasn’t like Dante to leave a book so precariously placed. Bree picked it up lightly, skimming her fingers over the elegant cover.
    “Ah, interested in The Three Kingdoms are we?”
    “Not particularly, you left it oddly placed.” Bree replied handing Dante the book.
    Dante gave a frown. “That wasn’t good; this is an original you know.”
    Bree rolled her eyes. “Right, because I’m sure the original of The Three Kingdoms is in English and leather bound.”
    Dante gave a sly smile. “Just making sure you haven’t gone dumb on me.”
    Bree ignored the comment. “Why do you have it out?”
    “Someone purchased it and is coming to pick it up, which is my other order of business with you. Would you by chance serve tea when the customer comes?”
    Bree crossed her arms. “Now why would I do that?”
    “Because you love me?” Dante replied hopefully.
    “I already turned the basement light on for you, my act of kindness is done. Besides, I have a business to run.”
    “Take the day off.”
    “I have to pay you rent, the answer is no.” Bree replied as she pushed past Dante towards the kitchen.
    “If you do this, you don’t have to pay rent this month.”
    Bree froze in her tracks. She turned slowly, expecting to see the sly smile Dante wore when he was joking. It wasn’t present. She swore. “You’re serious?”
    “Indeed.”
    “Who’s coming over exactly?”
    “Zhuge Liang”
    The room was silent as Bree absorbed the information. Zhuge Liang had been the advisor to Liu Bei during the period of the Three Kingdoms. He was also one of the mystics on The Board. His coming could be both good and bad. Good, because it was always nice to have board members visiting; but bad because it could also mean that he could become unhappy with how Rhem, Dante, and she were living their lives as alchemists and therefore he could kill them if he saw fit. It was a crooked system but it was what they had.
    Bree cursed again. “Fine, I’ll do it but you better not be meeting him in that.”
    Dante looked down at his ripped jeans. “Good point, I’ll change.”
    Bree watched as Dante climbed the stairs before she went and completely locked her shop and switched the open sign to close. As she flicked off the lights her gaze rested on the chess piece on the counter.
     
    Bree was in the kitchen when the ancient doorbell rang its somber song. It had taken her at least ten minutes to find the tea pot in the kitchen and another few minutes to find the tea box that Rhem had assembled. Bree draped a red napkin over the cutting board to have a tray to set it all on and waited next to the door for a few minutes so that the two men could get situated. Bree picked up the cutting board and balanced it on one hand as she opened and then closed the kitchen door behind her. She found no reason why Zhuge Liang had to see how messy the kitchen was.
    Bree side stepped the large stack of books and with a smile on her face entered into the sitting area. Her mother had once said that she could charm anyone she met with her smile and manners without seeming fake. Her mother also said it was to counterbalance the harshness of her tongue and that when charming someone; Bree should keep her mouth shut.
    She set the tray down onto the table between the men and greeted Zhuge Liang before seating herself next to him on the couch. Dante was positioned in his chair with, according to Bree, acceptable clothing. Bree put the tea in the pot to brew and then sat back to listen to the men talk. It wasn’t often that they got to talk to someone from The Board or for that fact hear much in terms of what was happening with others like them.
    “How is the job going?” Dante asked politely, pulling at the collar of his shirt.
    “It’s going, we’ve been having some issues lately but nothing to bad.”
    “What type of issues?”
    “There was a soulless attack in California; we had to set fires in order to get them out of there. Unfortunately we only captured a few of them and in setting the fires we ruined a large part of the land, got the humans involved, and angered the water mythicals that were living in the area.” Zhuge Liang replied with a sigh.
    “What type of water mythicals did you upset?” Dante asked, his voice traced with amusement.
    “Sprites mostly, but we know how they act when faced with danger. They immediately reported it to the highest ranking water mythical that was in the area.”
    “Which was?”
    “A fish thankfully. Most water mythicals don’t venture up into that territory because of the soulless.” Zhuge Liang replied with a smile.
    Dante nodded in understanding before catching Bree’s eye and motioning to the tea cups. She poured the tea quickly for the three of them, observing Zhuge Liang as she did so. The man would have looked quite modern if not for the long hair and beard. However, he was wearing a very nice, pressed suit of charcoal grey that gave him a look of importance. He looked very out of place in their front room.
    With a sigh Zhuge Liang continued talking. “I wish that all the problems The Board had to deal with were things like that.”
    “What else is happening?” Bree questioned politely.
    “Besides the soulless we also have to deal with the fact that due to the recent law passed prohibiting large use of magic around mortals, the game of chess has come into play again.”
    Bree gave him a confused look. Dante raised his brows in answer. “Is that so? It’s been around a hundred years since that came about.”
    Bree traced her thoughts back to her alchemist schooling. She couldn’t remember ever hearing about chess being used with alchemy; however, saying so in front of a board member was not the smartest thing to do. “Perhaps you can refresh my memory.”
    “You do not know?” Zhuge Liang questioned.
    “She may not; she wasn’t alive for the time.” Dante suggested, he turned his attention to Bree. “Back during the early nineteen hundreds when the European nations were all very much in how much power they had, there was also a very similar situation with the alchemists. However, back then we alchemists had to be a lot more careful then we do now. Any move we made with or against one another had to be timed with the mortals since it would be more duly noted. You know why that is, correct?”
    “Yes, because back then mortals weren’t so detached from the mythical side of things.” Bree replied with a certain amount of disdain. Mythical wasn’t the word she would have liked to use, but it had become common practice to refer to their culture as mythical.
    “Yes, that is correct. Just making sure you knew that aspect. In any case, many alchemists were itching to increase their status and the power that they held. This is also during the time period where there was a lot of political disdain against The Board for not having such a hold upon the community, which is why we have the rules in place we do now.”
    “Just tell her what she needs to know Dante.” Zhuge Liang gruffly commented.
    “My apologies, I was just making sure she understood what was happening during this time period. Now, I would hope you remember from your mortal studies that when Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, it created a domino effect in starting the First World War. Many alchemists were ecstatic about this because it meant that they could act. However, because of all the political turmoil there was no way that they could fight openly with their powers and the mythicals were strongly against that as well since they were trying to hold their own communities together that were being torn apart by the oncoming war.
    “Thus, the alchemists decided to involve the game of chess, something that seemed completely harmless. It lasted for most of the war with only a few mortals getting involved, but they were marked as runaways or traitors by their countrymen. When the war ended the chaos was still high within our community. This was the only time that I can remember the mythicals ever stepping in to restore order for us. They basically reset The Board and with a minor struggle with the people who were very strongly for continuing the use of the game to gain power backed down and a peaceful atmosphere were restored.”
    “Yes, but now its resurfacing because we can no longer move as freely as we could in the past with all the technological advances and the widening gap between the mortals and ourselves and many who were alive during that time still are and remember the freedom that the game brought about. Many are finding that they want to more power than they have so that they can dictate what they can do and as you know, whoever has the most power also controls quite a bit of the mortal world. On top of that those who were apart of the first struggle for power are putting the idea into the minds of the younger.” Zhuge Liang offered.
    “How do the mythicals feel about this?” Bree questioned.
    “We’re not sure. They’re battling their own war amongst one another and we haven’t had much contact with them lately.” Zhuge Liang replied. He sighed and leaned against the couch. “Who knows, maybe this all would be good. It feels like were in such a political standstill on The Board that something needs to happen.”
    “I’m surprised to hear you say that.” Dante replied. “What else has been happening?”
    “I truly wish I could tell you believe me I do; however, we both know I’m not permitted.” Zhuge Liang answered.
    “Then forget I said anything.” Dante said lightheartedly.
    Zhuge Liang’s mouth twitched in something that might have been a smile. “I have some other news for you.” He paused to sip his tea. “It seems that Trent and Grant will be coming to stay with you and Rhem.”
    “Aren’t they a bit old to be babysat?”
    “Who says you’re babysitting them?” Bree cut in quietly before she could stop herself. Zhuge Liang gave her an amused twitch of a smile.
    “No one is being babysat. It is simply something that was decided.”
    “It doesn’t make sense though, Grant is supposed to be in isolation.” Dante remarked.
    “Isolation?” Bree questioned.
    “Of his own free will,” Dante replied at the note of panic in her voice. “He did it in order to enhance his abilities, not because he’s a criminal.”
    “Yes it is true he has another fifty years, but because of current events many of the apprentices during the time period are being asked to return to their masters for a bit.” Zhuge Liang continued.
    “But his apprenticeship was concluded long before the nineteen hundreds.” Dante argued.
    “He’s in the time period they chose.” Zhuge Liang replied.
    “Who’s they?” Bree questioned.
    “Certain people on The Board in charge of the situation,” Zhuge Liang said as he finished off the last of his tea. “I believe I should get going, I have to get back to Chicago by tomorrow morning.”
    “Are you driving?” Dante inquired.
    “I’ve got someone driving for me. I’ve got a pixie that owes me a favor.”
    “You could always fly.” Bree suggested.
    “Nonsense, I don’t trust dragons, why would I trust metal in the air.” Zhuge Liang replied before he picked up the book and made to leave. Dante saw him to the door as Bree took the dishes to the kitchen. Her eyes wandered to the shop door and in turn her mind wandered to the chess pieces. She dropped the cups into a sink full of hot water, her eyes still on the door. With a sigh she stalked to it and wrenched it open. She gathered the bag of chess pieces and the one that was sitting on the counter before she headed back into the kitchen.
    She held the bag to her chest as she reentered the sitting room where Dante was still sitting. Quickly she dropped the bag onto the coffee table and placed the pawn next to it with a solid sound. Dante looked up from the book in his lap and once his eyes settled onto the single piece he closed it and set it aside.
    “Is this what I think it is?”
    “I didn’t know when I was given them what they were.” Bree replied as she sat down on the couch.
    “Who gave them to you?” Dante asked as he picked up the pawn and rolled it between his fingers.
    “The owner of the sandwich shop. I thought he gave them to me as a joke.”
    “Seems he wasn’t the man I thought he was.” Dante murmured. “You’ll have to participate.”
    “I don’t want to.”
    “You have to, you accepted the pieces willingly. You can’t give them up without playing.” He answered. “You’ll have to wait for Rhem to come home though, he knows much more about this than I ever could.” Dante stood up with a sigh. “I just hope that you get out of this alive.”
    Bree stared at the bag in answer.