The Dungeon Fairy: Two Choices: A Dungeon Core Escapade (The Hapless Dungeon Fairy Book 2) Jonathan Brooks (online e reader TXT) 📖

in a “bubble” for at least a few months, according to Shale.  There were a lot of unanswered questions, and she wasn’t sure if she would ever discover their answers.

It didn’t take long for them all to fly down to her newly expanded Core Room, especially since everything was illuminated again as part of her dungeon.  Without the Bridge traps to act as blockages, after passing through her old Core Room their route was almost a straight shot to her location.

“Tacca, is that really you in there?  Young Shale told us what happened to you and I still have trouble believing it.  I know you can’t communicate with me—” Malachite started to say as soon as they got close, when Tacca had a thought.  Her Dungeon Force had regenerated enough for her to try something she had wondered about for a while…

Bond Results:

Bonded Targets: 1

Locked Abilities(s) Obtained: 13 (select for more information)

Abilities(s) Granted: Core Communication

Creature Type Unlocked: Dungeon Fairy

Hmm…interesting.  She wasn’t even sure that would work, because she had secretly tried it on Shale soon after she learned about what her Bond did – but nothing had happened.  She had assumed at the time that it was because she was already Bonded with him in a different way, and she hadn’t had a chance to test it out on any other Fairies.

“Tacca?!  Was that you?” the Dungeon Core suddenly heard in her head – and it certainly wasn’t her Assistant’s voice.

Um…yes?

“What did you do?!  How?”  Council Leader Malachite looked shocked as he instinctively backed away from her Core.

I’m assuming that Shale told you how I have the Ability to Bond with the Raiders that delve through here?  I just wanted to see if it would work on you, because I couldn’t test it on Shale…and I guess it worked.

Malachite shook his head in disbelief.  Out loud he angrily said, “Of all the—didn’t you think that might be just a little bit dangerous?”

“Wait, what’s going on,” the Head Instructor asked, confused.  Tacca’s hatred for the Fairy spiked and she had serious thoughts of creating a Root Fox above his head that would snatch him out of the air as it fell past and then eat him.  That she didn’t do it was only because she noticed that the two newcomers to her dungeon had a Repellant Shield and some other type of Shield she thought might be defensive in nature.  It was likely she wouldn’t be able to hurt Lapis unless she caught him unaware and unprepared.

“She…Bonded with me somehow – like how her Assistant told us she could do with the Raiders.  And now I can communicate with her.”

Head Instructor Lapis immediately turned to her Core and demanded, “You must Bond with me, too.  I need to be able to communicate with you to get the answers to my questions.”

No, I don’t think so.  I hate him.

That got the Council Leader to laugh.  “Looks like your treatment of her when she was under your care has come back to bite you in the butt there, Lapis.  She’s refusing to Bond with you because she hates your guts.”  Tacca didn’t actually say that, but it was a fairly accurate assessment.

“Why, you little—!” the Head Instructor shouted before he approached her Core like he was going to smash her pieces.  Fortunately, her Dungeon Assistant was there to stop and even physically pull her hated enemy back out of range.

“Stop, Lapis – that isn’t going to get us anywhere,” Malachite said forcefully to the Head Instructor, who slowly calmed down.  Then the Council Leader turned back to her Core and spoke out loud, instead of communicating mentally.  “I know how he treated you, and while I can’t excuse his actions, I’m asking you – as a favor for me personally, as well as the Council – to Bond with him as well.  As annoying as he can be at times—” he said with a smirk, which caused Lapis to stare angrily at him— “I believe that he is our best chance at figuring out what is going on all over the world.  With your help, we can hopefully discover where these things that attacked you came from, and put a stop to future attacks.”

There was obviously some sort of rivalry between the Council Leader and the Head Instructor, which was a bit amusing for Tacca to see.  They weren’t things – they were people; monstrous-yet-intelligent people, but people, nonetheless.

“Fair enough, but what about my favor?”

As much as she wanted to keep denying him, the seriousness in his voice – from the Council Leader in charge of all Dungeon Assistants no less – and the knowledge that other Cores were being attacked pulled at the Dungeon Fairy in her.  She had studied and trained for so long to help Dungeon Cores as an Assistant, that the thought of other Cores and their own Assistants having to suffer what she had just gone through was difficult to ignore.  As much as she wanted everything to be about her, her personality was one where she wanted to help everyone.  Well, not Lapis, but everybody else.

Fine – but you definitely owe me that favor.

It was distasteful, but she Bonded with the Head Instructor and gained another 4 Locked Abilities – whatever that meant.  She would have to discover what that meant later, however, because Lapis immediately started in on his questions.  They came one right after another in quick succession, and she answered as fully and honestly as she could – there was no point in holding anything back, as Shale had already shared most of what he knew with them already.

As much as she hated him, Tacca had to admit that the Head Instructor was extremely thorough in his questioning and brought out details of the entire encounter that she hadn’t even thought about at the time.  Shockingly, she was