Heroine Creation: All My Summons Are Custom Made

Caelem moved quickly to his feet, pulling at his chains. "She’s one of them."

Espel’s butterfly wings were gone now, but they had recognized her face anyway. Muskard stepped slightly in front of Linzley in a protective stance. "The Serpent Society."

Thor did not move to intervene, but Lancet did. He walked smoothly between the prisoners and Espel. "She’s with me."

Caelem stared at him, bewildered. "She’s a Serpent."

"I know."

"You know?"

"Yes."

Muskard’s eyes narrowed with deep suspicion. "Then why is she here?"

"Because she’s helping me destroy them."

That blunt statement stopped all three of them cold. Lancet looked over his shoulder at Espel, who merely leaned against the cold concrete wall and offered absolutely no explanation for her presence.

He looked back at the captives. "Espel is with me. She’s a friend."

Caelem looked from Lancet to Espel again. The fear did not disappear entirely from his posture, but he slowly sat back down on his makeshift chair. "I guess I was right about him destroying the Society from the inside."

Linzley pointed a hesitant finger toward her. "So she’s a secret good Serpent?"

Espel answered before Lancet could even open his mouth. "No."

Linzley quickly lowered her finger.

Lancet smiled. "She’s good, trust me."

Espel gave him a quiet glare when he said that.

He walked farther into the bunker and looked over the three of them. Thor had already told him exactly what happened after the violent extraction.

She had also told him enough about their panicked conversation to know that he did not need to waste precious time convincing them that the Serpent Society had betrayed them.

That made this negotiation significantly easier.

Lancet spread his arms slightly. "Well."

Caelem frowned, Linzley waited anxiously, and Muskard remained standing at attention.

Lancet smiled thinly. "You three look terrible."

Caelem’s frown deepened into a scowl. "You came all the way here to say that?"

"No. I came here to tell you that your lives are basically over."

That harsh truth wiped the defiant expression right off his face. Lancet dropped the smile. "The Serpent Society wants you dead." When nobody bothered to argue the point, he continued. "Don’t forget about the government. You’re criminals, remember?"

Caelem’s eyes widened. He hadn’t even thought of that.

"The government currently thinks you escaped using outside help. As far as they know, their guards were brutally killed and three convicted criminals were freed."

Muskard lowered his gaze to the floor.

"Which means," Lancet whimsically tilted his head, "the Society and the government are hunting for you. You’re like a girl being eiffel-towered. You’re fucked from both sides."

The Terribles stared at Lancet with horrified expressions as the truth of their situation was slammed into their faces, making it impossible to ignore.

Linzley slowly sat down on a broken crate, the reality of their situation crushing her initial excitement. Caelem looked intensely irritated, but there was nowhere sensible to direct his anger.

Lancet tapped his own chest. "So right now, I’m the only reason you’re not dead, back in chains, or strapped securely to one of Dr. Mundy’s operating tables."

"And that means you listen to me." Lancet let the heavy words settle into the damp air. "Everything I tell you."

Caelem’s jaw tightened.

Lancet looked directly into his eyes, unblinking. "Everything."

Muskard looked toward Caelem, and Linzley did the same, waiting for a cue. For once, Caelem did not immediately answer for all three of them.

He looked at Muskard first, then Linzley, and something desperate passed between them without a single word spoken. Muskard nodded once. Linzley nodded eagerly right after him.

Caelem finally looked back at Lancet. "We accept."

Muskard added softly, "You saved us when you had absolutely no reason to."

Linzley raised one hand quickly, defending their captor. "And Thor saved us! And got me medicine. And she said you were going to give us another chance."

Thor stubbornly folded her arms, looking away.

Caelem kept his focus on Lancet. "We don’t have anywhere else so we accept."

Lancet nodded, satisfied. "Good." He walked slowly around the circle of prisoners once. "Do what I tell you, and maybe this doesn’t have to be permanent."

Muskard tracked his movements. "What do you mean?"

"Maybe I clear your names."

All three stared at him in utter disbelief. Linzley blinked rapidly, Muskard’s expression shifted from submission to shock, and Caelem leaned forward so fast his chains rattled. "Clear our names?"

"Of course." Lancet crouched down so he was at eye level with them. "I’m not stupid. I know you didn’t actually kill anyone."

They were stunned and silent.

"The Serpent Society framed you. It was your fault anyway. You became an inconvenience because you couldn’t do the task they gave you, and you already knew some of their identities. It was easier to get rid of you than think of what to do with you."

Muskard slowly nodded. They knew how brutal the Society was so Lancet’s logic was very likely.

Caelem stared at Lancet as he straightened up. "You’ll really do that for us? Clear our names?"

Lancet looked directly at him. "If you do exactly everything I say."

Caelem held his steady gaze for a long moment. Then, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and cleared his throat.

When he opened his eyes again, he turned away from Lancet and looked specifically at Muskard and Linzley. "Listen up. From now on, I’m only in charge when Lancet is not around. He’s our boss and we do everything he says, got it?"

Muskard looked tired but relieved. "We’ve accepted, Caelem."

Linzley raised both hands enthusiastically. "I’m in. I’ll do anything!"

Lancet grinned. That had been considerably easier than expected. He reached into his coat and pulled out a small, crisp address card. "I got you a house."

All three looked at him like he had grown a second head. Caelem blinked. "A house?"

"A small one." Lancet handed the card over to Muskard. "It’s in one of the quieter residential areas. Not many people around, which is the important part. But you must stay inside at all times."

They didn’t know how to respond as they were still shocked from the fact that he had bought them an actual house.

The Hebthej reward money continued proving incredibly useful.

"You do not leave unless I specifically tell you to," he ordered. "Someone will bring provisions and messages. Food, medicine, whatever you need to avoid attracting attention."

Caelem looked down at the address. "And we just hide?"

"Mostly."

"Mostly?"

Lancet smiled. "I’ll have small jobs for you."

Muskard understood immediately. "Like missions?"

Lancet looked at him. "You could say that."

Linzley brightened instantly. "Secret missions? Cool."

Lancet looked between all three of his new operatives. "It’s simple. You help me get things. You help me do things. And as long as you stay useful and hidden, I’ll protect you and try to clear your name."

Caelem nodded first, his resolve firm. "We can do that." Muskard nodded in agreement, and Linzley quickly followed suit.

Business settled, Lancet turned toward Espel, who was still casually leaning against the bunker wall. "Speaking of getting things." Her eyes narrowed slightly in suspicion as Lancet smiled.

"You said you had nowhere to go for the holiday so you wouldn’t mind sneaking into State X Penitentiary."

Espel stared at him blankly. Thor whipped her head around to look at him.

Lancet continued before either of them could interrupt. "Find out where they keep Summons that were severed from criminal Summoners. Maybe buy a pocket dimension cube so you can bring their Summons back with you."

The Terrible Three wanted to explode out of joy. They thanked Lancet for a long time before he and Espel returned to their conversation.

Espel agreed, wanting to keep busy.

Lancet turned to Thor and told her she’ll be going with Espel.

"No I will not!" she exclaimed. She aggressively pointed a finger at her own chest. "I’m a Valkyrie, a wielder of thunder and lightning. I’m not built for espionage."

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