"Revenge," the other man said, dropping his voice an octave. He held up his hands in front of him like a zombie. "Muwahahaha."
Meryn tapped on her lips with her finger a thoughtful expression on her face. "You still need to work on your evil laugh, Neil, it still sounds kinda cute."
Neil rolled his eyes. "I'll get it eventually."
"I thought it was scary," Avery said, trying to be kind.
Neil's face brightened, "Really?"
Avery nodded. "Totally."
Nigel looked from her to Avery before turning to Meryn. "Introductions?"
"Hmmm?" Meryn said, preoccupied with the small clear crystal in her hand.
"Earth to Meryn." Neil stood and leaned over to wave a hand in front of her face.
"Right. Introductions. Kari Delaney, Simba's mate, boxy. Avery Therian, awesome Doctor Who fan, fluffy. Kari, Avery, these two are Nigel and Neil Morninglory, witches in two of the units here in the city. My charming shadow is my squire, Ryuu Sei." Meryn frowned and picked up another crystal, this one clouded. "Did it take?"
Kari walked over to Meryn and looked at the crystal. "What is it?
Meryn looked up at her beaming. "My Baby Keelans have been working on a way to affix a spell to crystals."
"Baby Keelans?" Kari asked.
Meryn's excitement dimmed. "They remind me of someone back home, younger versions."
Avery laid a head on Meryn's shoulder. "Is that person okay?"
Meryn nodded, still looking sad. "Yes, but he's not in his body right now."
Avery's brows snapped together. "Huh?"
Neil shook his head. "Don't bother, we can't get an answer outta of her about it."
"It's complicated," Meryn argued.
"Obviously," Kari drawled.
Avery lifted his head. "Is that a spell?" he asked, pointing to the crystal.
Meryn's head bobbed. "Yup. When we heard what that dickhead did to Declan, we decided to move the drone project up on our 'To Do' list. We're going to fly this baby to the detention cell and hit him with the spell."
Avery's eyes widened. "Is that legal?"
Meryn shrugged. "To-may-toe, to-mah-to. It's not like it'd kill him, well, not this spell." Meryn waved the brown crystal around.
Kari pulled Avery back. "What does that one do?"
"Diarrhea," Meryn said, grinning wickedly.
"And some nightmares thrown in for fun. The whole point is to try to get him to shit himself," Nigel explained.
Avery looked between the three proud looking mad scientist. "Can I play?"
They all nodded. "Of course," Neil said, patting the seat next to him.
"Avery dear, what about your new position?" Kari asked, not really comfortable leaving him with this nutty trio.
Avery turned his face crestfallen. "I can start tomorrow. We weren't really planning on working anyway; this was our vacation. Besides, I know it will take you a couple days to get Magnus sorted. All I need are industrial strength anti-bacterial wipes and maybe a bonfire to clean out that horrid woman's desk."
"Bonfire?" Meryn asked, looking interested.
"Horrid woman?" Neil asked at the same time.
Kari smiled. "I may have choked the life out of Magnus' secretary before throwing her across the room and getting her fired. Avery is her replacement. I will be working with Magnus to get the funnel of information he has been receiving organized, especially since it looks like we will be moving here since I am mated to Declan."
"Kick ass!" Meryn giggled. "You'll get along great with Eva."
"Is she the one with the perfect roundhouse kick?" Kari asked.
"Yup. She's awesome."
"Did you get an update about Declan?" Neil asked.
Kari shook her head. "I want to head there after checking in with Prince Magnus. So far I have not received any updates about his condition."
Nigel ground his teeth together. "Declan is a great guy. We love playing pranks on him, but only because he treats us like bratty younger brothers. I can't believe that jerk tried to gut him."
"From what I was told, he was actually aiming for a wolf, but trust me, that does not justify what happened," Kari shared.
Meryn opened her mouth to speak when a ringing noise started. Everyone looked around at each other before checking their phones.
"Denka, I believe the computer is ringing," Ryuu said, pointing at the computer in the middle of the room.
Meryn hurried over and opened the flashing program. "It's my minions!"
"I'm afraid to ask." Kari winked at Avery.
Seconds later, two handsome men were waving at Meryn on the screen.
"About time you got up and running! We've been waiting to Skype with you for days," the blond complained.