His voice dulled as he ran down the steps and back toward the bar. The commotion woke other patrons as they stumbled into the halls. While the bulk looked toward the screaming man, Steve turned back toward Ryland. The ghost shivered. That gaze was pure hate. He felt small, worthless, and weak. He’d messed up.

  —---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  The curious crowd pushed past Steve as the man stared in the distance. He didn’t say a word, only pointed at the room. Hanging his head, Ryland slowly entered.

  “Ryland…”

  “Look, I thought.”

  “RYLAND!”

  “Steve, hang on.”

  “I ask you to do ONE thing, ONE THING!”

  “Ok, but I thought we could use a bit more coin.”

  “MORE COIN!?! WE ROBBED A WHOLE BANDIT CAMP. WHAT KIND OF COIN DO YOU THINK WE NEED?”

  “Hey, can’t ever have enough gold,” Ryland grinned.

  Steve sat on the bed, and a throbbing vein appeared on his reddening face. He needed to calm down; nobody knew it was them. As long as the guards didn’t catch the mouse, they’d be fine. Steve’s eyes went wide when he remembered the final command.

  “Ryland, we have to leave.”

  “Wha,t why? Not like they can catch us.”

  “I imprinted the mouse with my mana. It’s going to return. When the guards see that, what do you think they are going to do?”

  “Oh…Yeah, didn’t think about that one.”

  “You didn’t think at all.”

  “Ok, Steve, you don’t have to be mean. We all make mistakes, and I can fix this.”

  Steve didn’t respond as the two joined the commotion downstairs. The merchant was screaming profanities across the room, and the poor innkeeper tried to calm the man during this…distressing situation. Already, the guards were discussing how to sweep the area; it was just a rat so it couldn’t get too far. Focusing up, Steve felt the tug of mana. He could feel the vague direction of the minion and nodded to Ryland.

  “I’ll stay here. He is in the back alley. Get him out.”

  “Got it!” Ryland turned to leave.

  “And Ry, if even a single flake of gold is on that mouse. I swear, I will personally turn you into Deas’ myself.”

  “Uhh…ok, buddy.”

  Ryland shifted and phased through the wall. He had to find that critter fast.

  “Come on out, mousy, we got treats back home.”

  Moments later, the well-adorned rodent emerged from the garbage. It was happy to remove the heavy jewelry and quickly scurried back up the gutter. Still, leaving the gold in the open didn't feel right. Glancing around, he saw a drunkard stumble into the alley.

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  “Perfect”

  As the man reached into his trousers, Ryland snuck up behind. Reaching out, he poked the man in the cheek and activated his chilling touch.

  “Ahhh,” he called out.

  The man jerked at the cold touch and lost control of his stream. The fetid liquid sprayed across the alley and into his trousers. Feeling the sudden warmth, he quickly sobered up and cursed. It was nothing, and now he’d gone and pissed himself. His wife was going to kill him. He looked around for something to clean up with and noticed that faint glint of gold. Well, it might be his lucky day that’d pay for new pants and more. As he bent down to collect the stolen loot, Ryland returned to Steve.

  “Rings in the back alley, up to you now.”

  “Hey, it’s a mouse, right? Why not check the alley first, that’s where vermin congregate.” Steve interrupted.

  The crowd turned, and the guards nodded. It couldn’t hurt. Moments later, they stormed out the door. Instantly, the merchant's shrill voice cut through the night.

  “THAT’S HIM THAT’S THE THIEF”

  Steve turned to Ryland, who just smiled.

  The two joined the group. Steve was horrified as the guards slammed the piss-stained drunkard to the ground. He was sobbing and begging for mercy, saying he just found the gold and was totally going to bring it to the station later. He was a hard-working man who wouldn’t ever turn to a life of crime. Nobody was buying it, and the merchant continued to rant about how terrible this city was.

  “See, fixed it,” Ryland said

  Steve thought watching the zombie kill was disturbing, but Ryland was just as bad. Not only did he start this whole incident, but he framed an innocent bystander. Well, maybe not entirely innocent; the drunkard was caught pocketing the rings. But still, it just didn’t sit right. Fading back from the crowd, the two returned to the room.

  “By the frozen balls of Deas!” Steve was done.

  “Hey, no…NO!” Ryland called.

  Somehow, the mouse and the zombie tag-teamed the bag of flesh. Bits of meat were strung across the floor as the two ravenously devoured all they could. Ryland was smacking at the zombie’s face, trying to get it to drop the half-chewed finger. All while the mouse skittered around, sampling whatever bits it could find. Steve had three toddlers on his hand, three bloody children that nearly gave him an aneurysm.

  “OK, THAT’S ENOUGH!” His voice loud and very forceful.

  All three stopped and stared. A glob of congealed mush fell from the slack-jawed zombie and splattered the floor.

  “All three of you, clean this up. NOW” He didn’t even need a skill for it. His presence alone carried his command.

  Even the zombie wasn’t going to fight that. Boney fingers carefully put the fleshy bits back into the preservation bag. While it handled the larger chunks, the tiny mouse formed a pile of gore. Steve carefully swept up the meat mass and dumped it into the bag. Slamming the door shut, the three sat in silence. It was an agonizing few minutes that none dared to break. Steve returned with a bucket of water and a rag in hand. They all watched as he cleaned up the blood and tossed the crimson mix out the window.

  “You never listen to Ryland unless it’s something I’d approve of.” He pointed at the rat; he knew the command was too complex, but the feeling should stick.

  “You are not getting any treats for three days, only the chewy bits for dinner” he told the zombie.

  The creature groaned

  “Four days,” It went silent.

  “And you, Ryland. You I am most disappointed in. Can I get one night of sleep? One, for the love of all the gods of this realm, one night of sleep. The next time you come up with what you think is clever, take a moment and ask. Would Steve approve this?”

  “What? I thought it was a good way to test…”

  “Ryland, this isn’t an argument. You know what?? There is nothing I can do about this. Let's just drop it and discuss it later. I’ve nearly died dozens of times since we met, and I’m starting to think it isn’t worth it.”

  “Steve, come on, buddy.”

  “Don’t buddy me! I work so hard to make this work, and you keep thinking it’s some kind of game.”

  Congratulations, you have reached level…

  “AND YOU CAN SHUT IT TOO!” Steve pointed upwards.

  …

  “That’s what I thought. I’m pissed, I’m tired, and I don’t want to hear it. Now I’m going to sleep and all of us can have a nice chat in the morning.” Steve climbed into the bed and closed his eyes.

  “Dick…” Ryland muttered

  Even The Will agreed.