The remaining gray rabbit evaded the mob, and then the last black and white one did as well. Contestants stormed in pursuit, and the gray rabbit came directly at Seth, seemingly unaware of his presence. Seth wondered if some animal instinct would kick in, causing the rabbit to dodge around him, but instead it paused near him, head up, ears twitching.
Seth sprang and grabbed the rabbit around the midsection with both hands. The crowd gasped, and Seth realized he must have seemed to appear out of nowhere. Muscles and bones churned beneath the soft fur, but Seth held on tight. He kept both hands on the rabbit as he climbed out of the depression, using his elbows to steady himself on the rungs. A troll guided Seth to a basket, where he deposited the gray rabbit, receiving an entry token in return. Made of marble inlaid with silver, the coin had “Admit One” printed on both sides.
Seth stood beside Virgil watching from the side until the last rabbit was caught by a girl who looked no older than twelve. She climbed out contentedly while the other contestants grumbled in varied extremes of disappointment. One husky, bearded man threw his hat to the dust and stomped on it.
“We have our five winners,” the troll in the military jacket proclaimed. “Congratulations to all of our contestants for their earnest attempts. Don’t walk away yet, because in fifteen minutes, the minotaurs will wrestle. Bet on the victor to make some money, or, if you’re feeling brave and you’re not an ogre, wrestle one yourself to win an entry token!”
“Have you ever wrestled a minotaur?” Seth asked.
“I hope my answer to that question will forever be ‘no,’” Virgil said. “Nifty trick out there. I lost sight of you!”
“I guess we all have our specialties,” Seth said.
“Not many have that one,” Virgil said. “I feel a little foolish for giving you advice.”
“Your advice was good,” Seth said, brushing off more dust. “We both came out with a token to the Games.”
Virgil craned his neck. “And the arena is open. Shall we?”
Seth followed his gaze. “Is it underground?”
“You’ll see.”
Kendra sat on a padded bench alongside Warren, Vanessa, and Tanu, within a wood and leather compartment ventilated by numerous air slits. The compartment was affixed to Dectus’s leg, just below his knee, hidden by his toga, swaying with his steps.
“How do we get into these situations?” Warren asked quietly. “This is a new one for me—being smuggled by a giant.”
“It’s the price if we want to help save the world,” Tanu said. “We take what comes.”
“You could always retire,” Vanessa suggested.
“From saving the world?” Warren asked. “Where do I retire in a world full of rampaging dragons? Sounds like a great way to get eaten while relaxing on a beach, or burned to death in a happy little cottage.”
“Let’s finish the job,” Tanu said. “Then we can peruse retirement packages.”
Dectus stopped walking. “What a beautiful morning,” he muttered to himself.
Kendra looked to the others. That was the signal!
Warren opened a door in the side of the compartment and unrolled the ladder. Down he climbed, followed by Vanessa. Kendra leaned over the side, staring from above at huge sandaled feet standing on a patch of grass. She started down, hand over hand, rung by rung. The ladder swayed and jerked as Tanu descended above her.
Warren steadied Kendra at the bottom, and Tanu landed beside her. The blades of grass came up to her hips and were wider than her hand. Off to one side, a dandelion slightly taller than her looked ready to disperse its fuzzy globe of seeds.
Vanessa led them out from under the toga. They dashed through waist-deep grass until they huddled behind a discarded brick at the base of a soaring wall. Dectus casually strolled away without a backward glance.
“We have two hours until Dectus returns to this spot to shuttle us out of Stratos,” Vanessa said. “If we miss the rendezvous, we’re on our own.”
“Look at that house,” Warren said, pointing down the lane to a dignified home large enough to contain a professional basketball arena. “And the one beyond it. And the tower over there. We’re squirrels in this world. We’re chipmunks.”
“Dragons make us look tiny too,” Tanu said.
“Dragons don’t have neighborhoods,” Warren said. “They don’t have streets and windows and yards. This makes me feel like a little pest creeping around a community of my superiors.”
“If the shoe fits,” Vanessa murmured.
“I don’t want to be killed by an exterminator,” Warren complained.
“Then we had better get the Waystar and catch our ride back with Dectus,” Vanessa said.
“Madam Ladonna’s house lies behind this wall?” Kendra asked.
“Her manor, as Dectus called it,” Vanessa said.
“She has a big garden,” Warren said. “A stable out back. Lots of land. As a spellbinder, she could have any number of protections against intruders.”
“Dectus had few details to prep us for her defenses,” Tanu said.
“Could you bite her?” Kendra asked Vanessa. “Then control her in her sleep?”
“In theory, yes,” Vanessa said. “Giants have tough hides. I’ve tried to claim giants before but have never succeeded.”
“You’d need to target a weak spot,” Tanu said. “The eyelids, or maybe the corner of the eye. Inside the ear canal. Vulnerable places.”
“It would be a rush,” Vanessa said. “Of course, if a subject is too powerful, trying to establish control could break my mind. A giant would be risky, especially a spellbinder.”
“You controlled me for a time,” Tanu said.
Vanessa frowned. “Sorry, Tanu. I’ve controlled many. We should get moving. Time is short.”
“Dectus mentioned that the wall has a gate we can slip through,” Kendra said.
“Follow me,” Warren instructed.
Staying low, they hurried along the base of the wall, pausing when they found cover. Kendra noticed a raven on a fence across the lane that looked big enough to carry any of them away. “Do you see the bird?” she whispered.
“I’m not
