Muse Silver-Green

Paisley awoke from a short nap and glanced at my notes. "I'll relieve you."

"No, it's too stressful for you, and it's my hours," I said.

"Green, I'm not leaving. Kay finally showed proof that Jake was no longer locked inside a for-profit orphanage. It's unfair that I'm unable to read Mason's thoughts unless he invites me. He and Holbrook know who Deb is, and they are playing games with us. I don't know who the killer is, but it's not Dina."

Moving images of our creatives became clearer. Zander collapsed to the floor of his penal ship, hyperventilating. Blood seeped through his uniform. His face transformed into a bunny, and his foot thumped.

Overpowering aromas from the room entered my nose. I could smell the blood, and Paisley gagged a little, left the room, and came back with a washed face.

I poured Paisley a cup of mint tea. "Don't worry, and it's a minor injury."

"Would it be okay if I could hear your thoughts?" I asked Mason.

"No, that might tip off Quin's killer and Deb," he said softly.

"Oh, you're talking to your Muse," Zander said. "Are you a chosen one?"

"I'm more like Holbrook." Mason helped Zander to a wooden chair and attended to his wound.

"We're hosting a potluck within Charlotte, and you are not invited for safety reasons," Holbrook said.

Zander stood up and sighed. "I need to show you the theater."

Holbrook shook her head, 'no.' "I'll help Mason. Dad will take care of you. He won't attack you again. Kay is coming with your son. But don't let anyone else on the ship. Not even Nickel."

"No, I'll call Zander's father, and he'll want to stay," General Allen said.

"Are you sure he'll forgive me?" Zander asked. "Nickel, your mom, and Gloria are scheduled to meet you there for the theater repairs and cleaning, and I planned to supervise."

Holbrook checked the clock. "We'll check out the theater and head to Three Leaf Village to see if they are ready to sell supplies. Gloria's father has more advanced 3D printers for paint. Even poor quality paint was 700 credits in the company store."

They waited for Zander's dragon father, who came and held Zander as he wept with joy. Zander transformed into a human again, but he formed dragon wings. "Lace and I have been visiting Babette Nickel hourly while you visited your brother. The communication in The Three Leaf Village is terrible. I need to warn your mother. I just realized that Babette could have tried to hurt Holbrook on purpose."

Mason pointed his finger. "Don't even tell my mom. You wanted me because I'm excellent at mysteries, and Holbrook and I only have three suspects left. Well, she might shoot Nickel."

An hour later, Mason and Holbrook walked into the theater.

"According to the inspector's claim, most of the issues are cosmetic." Mason examined the theater doors. He avoided specific spots and decorative plates that appeared to look newer than the rest of the tiles.

Holbrook mimicked his odd movements.

They hopped over odd metal plates decorated with paintings of blue and white roses.

The theater was fairly new but covered in graffiti, and its once grand chandelier swayed. Pay Us More was scrawled over the walls. Torn gold curtains flapped over the trash-covered stage. Scents of rotted trash wafted through my lungs. There was no seating or tables. But the balcony had fine velvet chairs.

"I'll buy picnic tables." Mason looked at his watch. "My mom and Nickel are late." His phone call couldn't get through, so he called his mother. "Mom, where is Nickel?"

"She didn't show up, but it's fine, and I have a guard babysitting her. My friends will help with the cleanup," Agent Lace said.

Mason waited for his mother, who came with a dragon, his brother, and her husband.

Mason swapped out his mother's three laser guns for a dud without her noticing.

She hugged Mason's stepfather. "I have three weeks off before I start my swing shift. I'm forcing the local clinic to upgrade rusted equipment before I step through it. Mr. Salamander is extremely irritated with my demands, but the boy king is ordering all hospitals to be up to code."

The dragon showed Mason and the others to the prop room. "I'm the former prop master. Wow, I can't believe I am talking to May-Sun Even-Core, but Shanna said you'd be here. You're my favorite playwright. Sir, I'd like my job back once the theater opens. The stage holds at least fifteen dragons, and it's sturdy because I built it. And I kept the costumes and props safe from looting."

"Of course, we're looking for a prop master." Mason took the costumes off the rack one by one and examined them before returning them. There were pirate costumes, circus costumes, and medieval reproductions.

"Shanna uses them for her show. I like her, and she is a kind employer, but I want my old job back. Rob fired me. He is terrible. Don't believe him. My grandparents refused to listen to me about how bad those expensive self-help classes were."

"I'm sorry." Holbrook stood closer.

"No, I still have my parents and siblings." He stretched and pointed to where the seats were once located. "Make sure the seats are reinforced, especially since there are now more dragons on the planet."

Mason grinned. "Fantastic idea."

"Kind of neat, though. The first full dragon I met that wasn't family was Gloria. She is nice," the dragon said. "My mother said her cousin was a dragon shifter, and they live on the coast, but I have never wanted to venture through the Valley of Tears, Bones, and Despair to get there."

They walked out of the room, and the chandelier partially fell but didn't crash to the floor.

"Was anyone else here before us?" Agent Lace grabbed the dragon's wing.

"I told you I met Gloria. She and her cute agent friend and two guards were here yesterday."

"Was Gloria ever alone in this room?" Agent Lace asked. "I don't want to think badly about her."

"Yes, she was with the cute commander," the dragon said.

Mason waved. "I saw the triggers. Something went wrong, and the device didn't work, but I am not shocked by Deb's incompetence."

Lace's husband spoke. "I accidentally stood on the pressure plate meant to go off with a victim's exact weight. It can't be Gloria and must be Nickel. She had me stay with Gloria for two hours, but the commander is my wife's best friend. She targeted us!"

Mason walked around the room, but he avoided the triggers. "I was almost under the lights, so we all know who the intended victim is. Rob has access to the theater, and so does Shanna, and probably Dina as well."

"Holbrook's father told me Nickel was a suspect," Lace said.

"Did you tell her?" Mason asked his mother.

"She is one of my closest friends. I always tell her everything." Mist filled Lace's eyes.

Mason examined the light fixture trap. Blades extended from the crystals. "I'm not angry, but you're being pulled off of this case. Both the general and I feel you're too close to Nickel."

His mom tripped onto another plate, and a broken blade extended from the wall. "But I had to tell her. Rob forced himself to tag along, and The Deb AI bragged to us about it. If I didn't tell Babette Nickel, he would've. He's been telling her stuff because he wants to get close to Holbrook."

"So, Rob knows everything. Interesting, very interesting," Mason said. "He probably knows Zander was a cult member."

"But I'm your boss, and it was my call," Lace said. "Stop risking your life. Let me handle this."

"It's true, Dina was with us, but she left early. Rob also visited Nickel and Gloria for hours by himself. A lot happened when you were on your little vacation with your brother," Lace's husband said.

"You were warned not to tell her." Mason reached out his hand.

"Give Mason your badge and your work-issued weapon," General Kitten Allen said from behind.

"But Nickel was the one who betrayed us," Agent Lace said.

Allen narrowed his eyes. "It doesn't matter. I gave you an order. It was your job to keep her in the dark."

"Kitten, you're protecting Nickel because you still want her," Lace's husband said. "And Mason wants my wife's job."

"Mother, Allen fought for your job, but the king no longer trusts you." Mason took his mother's badge and weapon.

"Lace, your only hope not to be fired is if your son brings down Deb's Light." General Allen, Holbrook, and Allen left together.

The general handed a phone to his daughter. But I couldn't hear what she was saying. I wasn't her Muse. "Your majesty, how was he killed?" She listened and spoke again. "Your mother wasn't involved, but I'll talk to Mason about it. Though, because I'm the agent on-call, I'm banning Kay from the sting. Tell her to stay home."