Having some time to kill before the town meeting, Peregrine felt it wise to establish a baseline of everyone’s inventories. It wasn’t exciting business, but it would be better than flying blind, not knowing what they had at their disposal.

  “I haven’t looked since the graveyard,” Alissa said. Her eyes glossed over as she checked. “Let’s see. I’ve got two bottles of Elixir of Life and … a handful of dirt.”

  “How, and why, do you have a handful of dirt?” Wendell asked.

  “In the unlikely scenario I’m losing a battle, I can pull the dirt out and throw it in their eyes. Then stabby-stabby.” She enacted the scenario to give the guys an unnecessary visual representation.

  Wendell shook his head at the invisible sword thrust. “I’ve got one bottle of Elixir of Life and that Replenish Salve that I grabbed from the blacksmith.”

  “How much health does the salve restore?” Peregrine asked.

  “It says it fully heals the actual injury and recovers fifty percent of your health bar.”

  “Nice,” Peregrine said. “Between us, we have three bottles of elixir, salve, the goblinstein’s lightning club, and dirt.”

  “Jeez, dude. You don’t bring much to the share table.” Alissa picked at something stuck in her teeth with her fingernail.

  Peregrine realized he didn’t have many useful items for the group, mostly for himself. He made another mental note to rummage enemies, and others if need be. “Yeah, I had to use my bottle of elixir. That does raise an important point. Be stingy with your healing items. You don’t know when you’ll need them, or when someone else will. And we don’t know how rare they are in this realm. They might be hard as shit to come by.”

  After inventory time, they lounged around, catching up on a little sleep.

  ***

  As requested, Peregrine and company arrived at the bandstand just before sunset. The hurdy-gurdy players were out in full force, playing a jaunty tune. They smiled and nodded at the heroes. He wondered if they skipped performances on full moon days, too busy preparing for the night, because every time he’d passed by since then, somebody was jamming.

  There was a small crowd of a few dozen people gathered in the area. He’d been hoping for a better turnout, since not everyone would partake in his request. In all reality, the number of volunteers would likely be less than enough for the task at hand. He’d already discussed his intentions with Alissa and Wendell. They were on board, though one had required a strong amount of convincing.

  The sun dipped out of sight while Peregrine waited for a handful more people to show up. A couple of lizard-men went around with lit torches, igniting the unlit ones, casting shadows that danced on the sides of buildings.

  Peregrine felt like an idiot perched on the bandstand, staring down at the people below him. Nobody was paying attention. The crowd noise was a low drone as they chatted away.

  “Can I have your attention, please,” Peregrine called out to the crowd. A few gave him a second of their time, but went right back to talking. They aren’t taking me seriously.

  “Hey, people. Listen up. Your lives depend on it,” Alissa shouted. She was greeted with the same response Peregrine had received.

  Not long after the failed attempts to get their attention, the crowd split down the middle, the voices ceasing. Who had that kind of control over them?

  From the far end of the crowd, Sandra stepped forward, walking through the opening with her hands clasped behind her back. She climbed the steps of the bandstand and took a spot center stage, nudging the trio to the side.

  “Welcome, all,” Sandra announced. “Thank you for coming on such short notice. I called you here tonight because our heroes have something to share with you. Please, give them your undivided attention.” She gave the slightest of bows, before sliding to the back of the stage.

  The Spin and Rinse guys were right, Peregrine thought. She really is the leader. Like a mob boss. It was kind of cool … and concerning. What if it was like a cult situation? Could the three heroes overcome a whole village of people? That voice came calling in the back of his head again, giving him the feeling he could easily dispose of her if need be. He wasn’t sure how he felt about this newfound aggressive conscience creeping in. Is this how Alissa thinks all the time?

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  “You can do this.” Wendell patted Peregrine on the back.

  Peregrine gave Wendell a half-hearted smile and cleared his throat. “H-hello, e-everyone.” If there was a microphone, it would’ve screeched with feedback at that moment, to piggyback on his lack of confidence. “I just wanted to say that us three aren’t going to ditch you.” Blank stares. “What I mean is, we aren’t going to abandon you. We’re going to kill The Fool, and his werewolves. You won’t ever have to experience death in this town again. But I don’t think the three of us can do it alone. So, that’s where you come in. We need your help. I’m asking you to fight one last time to secure your place in the Irenic Realm. Future Fiddler’s Green residents won’t know the meaning of the word “werewolf, or “The Fool.” And they will have you all to thank for the sacrifices you made.”

  What had Peregrine hoped for? A wild round of applause? Hats being tossed in the air? Maybe not that much. But anything would’ve been better than the reaction he did receive—dead silence.

  “Why should we?” Someone yelled out.

  “You three have all the power. Why would we risk our lives when you’re supposed to do it yourselves.”

  “Yeah!”

  “If we help you, we’ll all die for no reason.”

  “You’ll all die, anyway, if you stay here and do nothing,” Alissa spat. “Those things come once a month like clockwork, killing as many of you as they can. What do you do about it? You let it happen. Doesn’t that seem stupid to any of you? Sure, a lot of you die, but you always manage to fight them off. If you lost, your town would be called Werewolf’s Green. Instead of waiting for them like idiots, do one better and take the fight to their home. Catch them off guard. It’s a one-and-done battle. With our weapons, you can win the most important fight. It makes perfect sense to me.”

  Alissa’s speech received a better response. There were murmurs and some nodding in agreement. But someone didn’t like what they heard, and brought up the worst possible thing.

  “We can’t trust you to protect us. You’re responsible for Katie’s death.”

  “She was innocent.”

  A roar spread throughout the crowd. Many spat on the ground and shook their fists. They looked past the heroes, to Sandra.

  The corners of Sandra’s mouth turned up slightly. She stepped ahead of Peregrine and raised her hands to silence her people.

  “There. There,” she said in a motherly voice. “I appreciate your remembrance of my daughter. And, while it’s true that they are responsible for her death, we mustn’t let their actions cloud our judgement. We’d be no better than them.” A round of applause followed.

  It was clear that they would never be on friendly terms with Sandra again. Peregrine began to think the voice in his head was making a lot more sense now. He might be wise to stay vigilant.

  Sandra kept the crowd enthralled, quieting them down with the gentle motion of her hands. “As much as we should be wary of their intentions, they do raise a good point. Are we tired of living in fear of the moon? Of pretending our world is safe, when it really is not? How many people have left us too soon?” She paused for a moment, turning her head to the side, like she was also addressing Wendell behind her. “How many reunited loved ones have been ripped away from us?” We can put an end to it. While I don’t trust these outsiders, they do offer us a great opportunity. I must say they are the first group with true power to offer their strengths to us. I will give them credit for that, for as we know heroes are selfish. Perhaps, it would be advantageous for us to use them as a means to end our enemies.”

  Taka, the goldfish-headed man, lifted his human arm, shoved his fingers in his mouth—his fish lips tightening around his fingers—and whistled. “Sandra’s right. I’m tired of death. I’m tired of living in fear. Let’s use these non-belongers. Send them ahead of us to clear out as many as they can. Before we kill the rest.”

  “Our losses will be small,” someone said, seconding Taka.

  “We love you, Sandra,” Leon, the farmer-turned-gate-guard said.

  “It’s a damn cult,” Peregrine whispered to Wendell and Alissa. They agreed. How did they not notice this before? Cults always end well.

  Sandra must’ve heard the comment, because she turned her head toward them after.

  “Good, Taka,” Sandra said. “Sending the heroes first is a wise choice. Our bloodshed will be minimal.” She pressed a hand over her heart, and sent it out to the crowd with a small wave. This garnered a huge pop from them, none louder than Leon who looked like he might clap his way to a heart attack.

  Sandra brought their energy down once more. It made Peregrine unsettled, seeing how easily she controlled the villagers. She’d have her minions attack at the drop of a hat, if she desired. They’d likely do anything for her … anything.

  “This is a great development,” Sandra said. “I, for one, look forward to breaking free of these shackles that bind us to The Morrigan. For tonight, go back to your homes. Sleep soundly in your warm beds. Tomorrow, we shall prepare. Come to the tavern in the morning and I shall prepare a glorious breakfast for you all.” She walked off the bandstand without acknowledging the heroes, choosing to join her people as they walked back to their houses.

  “That didn’t go quite as planned,” Wendell said. “Should we be worried? I’ve seen documentaries about the Manson Family.”

  Peregrine ran scenarios through his head. “I don’t think so. I have a feeling this is the first chance she’s had in a long time to kill The Fool. With the way she manipulated the crowd, she’d have killed him a long time ago if she could. They need us. She knows it, too. That gives us some power over them, as well as Sandra. Don’t be afraid to use it, if she tries anything funny. Got it?”

  Wendell nodded.

  Peregrine didn’t need a reaction from Alissa to know she understood the assignment. “Let’s head back to Pat’s for the night. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but we need to be at our best, whether it’s against the monsters, or Fiddler’s Green … or both.