“Really? You’d teach me how to do your helicopter thing?”“Quadcopter. And yeah. As long as you agree to make sure I don’t fall over.”“I�...�m meeting a friend at the mall this afternoon,” Em said. “I can drop you off if you want.”“Why’d you want to do this?” Pey asked as she deftly guided the quadcopter to a stop ten feet in front of us. “Smile!” I put an arm around her shoulders as she triggered the remote camera button to capture the latest in selfies.“Well, aside from the fact that I like to. Just because we’re sneaking in the back doesn’t mean the place won’t be full of tricks and traps. So if you don’t pay attention to even a single other word I say, heed this: Be Careful.”“Yeah. Careful, got it.” Eilefindel said, absently tugging her slender, pointed ears as she failed to hide her nervousness. She frowned, eyeing the dark, gaping maw ahead.There were five of us that had dared to make the journey. Eilefindel was a priestess of the light. Young in elven terms, though for all I knew. Ruth gave her mother a smile and decided to make it easy for her.“It’s more like someone in Texas is good for me,” Ruth corrected.Rose, who knew of her daughter’s penchant for the company of other women, approached the subject delicately.“Ahhh ... and this someone ... do they have a name?”Ruth laughed, leaned over and hugged her mother.“Relax, Mother, his name is Thomas Bledsoe.”Ruth laughed again as Rose’s face lit up in glee. Ruth could almost see the visions of grandchildren dancing in her. He pulled me out and closed the door behind me. Then pinning me to the door, he leaned forward and kissed me deep. But this was nothing like our first kiss. It was brutal. Neil bit my upper lip hard, and I bled. I pushed him back, but he turned me around and held my right hand behind me, twisting my wrist. With his left, he pinned me against the SUV.I moaned in pain and said "Baby you're hurting me!"Neil brought his mouth to my left ear and screamed "NO YOU'RE HURTING ME!"He then turned me.