“I don’t understand,” Wendell said.

  “It's simple,” Vinny answered. “I want to see how you work as one. Ain't no way you're taking down any morrigans if you can't merge.”

  Did he not have intent to kill them? It didn't make any sense. He was a monster, not an ally.

  “Sword-girl. Don't drop ‘em again. You don't want your foe using your own weapons against you.”

  Alissa clenched her fists, but ultimately did as told, shoving Exaltation in her inventory.

  “Magic-boy. Those are for you.”

  “Why are you doing this?” Peregrine asked, hesitant to take what they came for. He eyed the crowd suspiciously. They were staring, but didn’t have tense postures, with the exception of Radu who glared at him with ice daggers.

  Vinny blew smoke from his nostrils. “I already told you. I don’t like The Morrigan. Seeing them dead would be like a birthday party to me. You three are designed by them to wage war. But if you venture too far with your current abilities, you’ll be missing some teeth, and those ladies will be brewing three more of you up. Today, you’re going to learn some basics. That’s why I’m doing this.”

  Peregrine still couldn’t wrap his head around why the vampire, whose sole job was to kill, instead wanted to work with them. He pushed the confusion aside momentarily, to focus on the weapons on the ground before him.

  [Summer Swelter Acquired]

  A bracer designed specifically to house a fire-endowed quill. Made from a substance known as tantalum, it can withstand high heat exposure. It might look like a flat sheet now, but once attached, it will form around your arm. One quill at a time can be housed in the slot. +5 is added to your casting power.

  [Burning Heart Acquired]

  This quill is very special. It does not require being dipped in a jar of ink to refill, for this quill was dipped in lava from the Tides Volcano. It is everlasting, its magic never cooling.

  Oh. Wow, Peregrine thought. Not having to refill could literally be a lifesaver. Both items were a huge step up from the initial receivings in the graveyard. He put In Memoriam and Quill of Beginnings in his inventory. It felt strange, like a part of him was missing, not having them attached to his arm.

  He grabbed Summer Swelter. It looked like a sheet of aluminum foil without the wrinkles. Only it was much stronger. It was still flexible, but he couldn’t mash it into a ball. When he set it on his forearm, it wrapped around his sleeve, snug, but not painfully tight. It looked like he had a silver arm. Then a rectangular section rose above the rest, a small notch opening along the length of it. This would be the slot for the quill, he understood.

  Burning Heart was a similar size and shape as Quill of Beginnings. The difference being the feathers on the new quill were a painting of oranges and reds that moved as if they were a live fire trapped within the feathers. Sporadic flames licked off the edges, providing the warmth of an open oven. When Peregrine tentatively pinched the weapon between his index finger and thumb, he was surprised that it wasn’t hot enough to burn him. It was a steadiness of comfort, like going back to sleep in a warm bed after being awoken by an unnecessarily early alarm on a cold morning.

  When he set the quill in the bracer notch, the tantalum enveloped it, locking it in place. A tingling of energy coursed through Peregrine’s body. His brain felt like it had expanded, giving him a creativeness he’d never possessed. How much more mentally durable had he become?

  “All right, ladies and germs. Let’s get this show on the road.” Vinny did a couple of overhead arm pulls, before bending down and slapping the ground. He leapt high into the air, then darted at Wendell.

  Snapping to action, Wendell grabbed his shield and braced himself behind it. It wasn’t necessary as the vampire stopped short, like he’d done before.

  “I’m not going to hit your shield anymore, big boss man. Another blow from someone my level will break it.” Vinny ducked and leg swept Wendell, knocking him on his ass. “But I’ll still rough you up.”

  Alissa managed to slice the vampire across the back with Crimson Leaker, but it still didn’t result in BLEED. That skill would really come in handy to whittle down Vinny’s health. She tried swinging again, but he caught her sword and flung her across the room. Thankfully she managed to hold on to her weapon. Don’t piss the nightwalker off any more than needed.

  Peregrine found himself the lone man standing. He aimed his new weapon at the vampire.

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  “Think before you use it, child,” Vinny said, cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth. “I’m weak against fire. Don’t waste your chance by conjuring up any old thing. Make it count. You’re stronger than you realize.”

  Constructive advice from a guy who eats people? I don’t know if I can accept that. Peregrine pictured a fireball. A second later, orange and red radiated from the feathers, and a flaming mass, the size of a basketball, roared to life.

  The fireball clipped Vinny on the shoulder as it blew by him. WEAK floated above his head, and his health bar actually dropped around an eighth of the way. If he’d been on their level, he’d likely be toast.

  A group of vampires dove out of the way as the fireball melted against the wall, leaving an indentation and scorch marks across the goldish-brown rocks. They dusted themselves off, looking none too pleased.

  “Good,” Vinny said, praising Peregrine. “Not bad for your first cast. One problem. Why are you attacking me one at a time?”

  Alissa and Wendell were back on their feet. The three gave each other a brief look. None of them came up with an answer.

  Vinny pretended to dodge invisible attacks. “One of you at a time? Too easy for me to handle. All of you attacking at the same time can overwhelm stronger enemies. But, I’ll give you one better. Attack each other to do real damage to your opponents.”

  “What type of backwoods shit did you say?” Alissa’s smart mouth asked. Peregrine wished she’d have an emotional growth spurt and leave her “attitude with repercussions” behind.

  Her brashness gave Vinny pause. It was subtle, but enough that Peregrine noticed his eyebrows narrowing and lips pulling back to reveal long fangs, before they returned to a relaxed state.

  The muscles in Vinny’s forearms were pulled tight, standing out like iron bars. “Don’t push your luck, girl. I’m helping you now, but that can change in a beat of your heart.

  After the pounding he’d already given them, there was no doubt it was a factual statement.

  Vinny continued. “The Morrigan would never bother to teach you this, but you can use your weapons to attack each other’s weapons. It’s called … Something with an S. What’s the word again?” — he snapped his fingers — “Synergy. Use your fire magic and hit your partner’s shield with it. You’ll like what happens. Trust me.”

  Peregrine absolutely didn’t trust the bloodsucker. But what choice did he have? It wasn’t like he’d be setting Wendell on fire … probably. His shield would absorb the fire and deflect it. No harm, no foul. Or so he hoped. “Ready, Wendell?”

  “M-man. I don’t know about this.” Wendell propped his shield in front of him. “Don’t you dare hit me.”

  “I’ll do my best,” Peregrine said, focusing on the spell.

  “Reassuring,” Alissa said, helpfully.

  A flamethrower. Perfect. Peregrine focused mentally on a steady stream of fire coming from the quill. And it did just that. It erupted like the flames on a gas furnace, strong and consistent. The air around the quill warmed to the high degree of a mid-summer afternoon.

  Wendell braced behind his wooden shield, which now glowed orange, like the embers of a dying fire. A moment later, a stream of fire erupted from the shield, while Peregrine kept feeding it with his own.

  Alissa rolled out of the way as the fire roared toward her at twice the speed that Peregrine’s had moved. “Watch it, numbnuts,” she yelled. “Aim it at a wall. Anywhere but at me.”

  Wendell shifted his shield so it reflected the flame at an empty patch of real estate.

  The continuous attack of the fire bore a hole into the cave wall.

  CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

  Small stones from the rubble cracked and exploded from the tremendous heat.

  Peregrine cut off the supply and Wendell’s shield quit reflecting, returning to its normal brown color.

  “Did you see that?!” It was straight out of a movie or a game. Peregrine never dreamed he’d be able to do anything of the likes, especially on Earth. In his new life though, it appeared anything might really be possible.

  “Told you ankle-biters to trust me.” Vinny folded his arms across his chest, looking quite proud of himself. “Go ahead. Take a look at your menus.”

  Sure as shit, a new option appeared in Peregrine’s menu. It was Synergy. He looked and saw the other two’s eyes glossed over, meaning they were already checking it out. With a mental click, he opened the new sub-menu.

  There were two options inside of Synergy; Attack and Defend.

  Elemental Attack Level 1

  Use your magic to apply elemental damage to the weapon of your party’s Attack class. For example, strike Alissa’s swords with your fire magic to imbue her blades and allow her to deal fire elemental damage with her physical attacks. This is temporary and needs recharging. Adds +3 to Attack.

  Defend Elemental Level 1

  Use your magic to apply elemental absorption to the weapon of your party’s Defend class. This allows their weapon, typically a shield, to absorb the magic you instill in it. Whenever the shield is hit by something of the same element, no damage will be taken, and will instead heal the Defend class. With Wendell’s current shield, he can also reflect the element at enemies. This is temporary and needs recharging. Adds +3 to Defend.

  Peregrine had to admit this new combat option was pretty cool. Against all the voices in his head telling him this whole reincarnation thing was jacked, he was eager to try these elemental techniques out. He also took a quick peek at his Creatives menu, and one of the red X’s had been replaced by a dancing flame, representing the Fire.

  “Yankee Doodle, you’re hitting me up next,” Alissa said, pointing to her sword. She didn’t have to tell Peregrine twice, he had some pent up irritation toward her, and sending a magical attack in her direction felt like the perfect relaxation technique.

  They didn’t get another second to discuss how to apply their new abilities.

  “Talking is over, squares. Time for the crash course,” Vinny yelled, leaping high in the air, claws ready to tear flesh.