house's foundation. It's still
here."
Reaching into my backseat, I grabbed a black tote bag of supplies and slung it over my shoulder. My bluff had worked this time. I moved to his side. “Any bodies?" "No,” he said, scanning over the park. “It looks like they...” He let the sentence die and started into the park. I was quickly on his heels. Moving to the pond in the center, Crash squatted down next to the water. “Never use water in an illusion,” he said, shaking his head. “Tell me what's wrong with it." I cocked my head slightly and stared at the pond. I saw a telltale hint of magic, but nothing more. It looked like a pond to me. “I don't know,” I said in defeat. “What's wrong with it?" "The pattern's all wrong,” Crash answered. Ah.He was seeing with his demon eyes.
"It's so hard to get water right,” he admitted. “I've only seen it perfectly created a few times. Looks normal enough, but it will always be a few degrees cooler than it should be, and there will never be any plant life in it. It's barren."
I waited. “How does this help us?"
He pointed excitedly at the water. “This is your entrance. I don't think I can raze the spell over the rest of the park, but I can use this error.” He waited for me to comprehend, but it just wasn't coming. He sighed. “The basement is still here, buried beneath the magic. There are seams in the park, but this is a powerful spell. The errors in the water will allow you to access the nest's basement." "Us,” I corrected him. “I'm not going in alone. You're coming with me." "Bloody hell,” he protested. “That wasn't part of the deal." "I never made a deal,” I said, slapping him on the shoulder. I stood up and took a step back. “Do it." Leaning over, I watched Crash's hands transform. The dark flesh fell away leaving what looked like red armor plating. A Raze Demon was a very intimidating creature when revealed. I was secretly glad he chose to remain in human guise most of the time. He had only ever shown me his true form once when I busted him. That was enough. As he dipped his hand into the water, I couldn't help thinking of Moses parting the Red Sea. The water spun away from him creating an almost perfect hole. A little more than six feet in diameter, we would have to go inside one at a time. I peered inside. “Care to do the honors?" Crash stood up, shaking his hands until his true appearance was completely hidden again. “You're such a sissy.” Pulling off his glasses, he then folded them shut and slid them into his jacket. Without any hesitation, he jumped through the hole and disappeared below the water. Slinging my bag onto my back, I looked inside one more time then jumped. Landing with a hollow echo, I couldn't stop a gasp escaping from my mouth. The basement was completely intact, down to the broken pool table in the far corner, but that wasn't why I was gasping. Above us the illusion of the park shimmered, twisted, and folded in on itself. Thousands of colors swirled
Reaching into my backseat, I grabbed a black tote bag of supplies and slung it over my shoulder. My bluff had worked this time. I moved to his side. “Any bodies?" "No,” he said, scanning over the park. “It looks like they...” He let the sentence die and started into the park. I was quickly on his heels. Moving to the pond in the center, Crash squatted down next to the water. “Never use water in an illusion,” he said, shaking his head. “Tell me what's wrong with it." I cocked my head slightly and stared at the pond. I saw a telltale hint of magic, but nothing more. It looked like a pond to me. “I don't know,” I said in defeat. “What's wrong with it?" "The pattern's all wrong,” Crash answered. Ah.He was seeing with his demon eyes.
"It's so hard to get water right,” he admitted. “I've only seen it perfectly created a few times. Looks normal enough, but it will always be a few degrees cooler than it should be, and there will never be any plant life in it. It's barren."
I waited. “How does this help us?"
He pointed excitedly at the water. “This is your entrance. I don't think I can raze the spell over the rest of the park, but I can use this error.” He waited for me to comprehend, but it just wasn't coming. He sighed. “The basement is still here, buried beneath the magic. There are seams in the park, but this is a powerful spell. The errors in the water will allow you to access the nest's basement." "Us,” I corrected him. “I'm not going in alone. You're coming with me." "Bloody hell,” he protested. “That wasn't part of the deal." "I never made a deal,” I said, slapping him on the shoulder. I stood up and took a step back. “Do it." Leaning over, I watched Crash's hands transform. The dark flesh fell away leaving what looked like red armor plating. A Raze Demon was a very intimidating creature when revealed. I was secretly glad he chose to remain in human guise most of the time. He had only ever shown me his true form once when I busted him. That was enough. As he dipped his hand into the water, I couldn't help thinking of Moses parting the Red Sea. The water spun away from him creating an almost perfect hole. A little more than six feet in diameter, we would have to go inside one at a time. I peered inside. “Care to do the honors?" Crash stood up, shaking his hands until his true appearance was completely hidden again. “You're such a sissy.” Pulling off his glasses, he then folded them shut and slid them into his jacket. Without any hesitation, he jumped through the hole and disappeared below the water. Slinging my bag onto my back, I looked inside one more time then jumped. Landing with a hollow echo, I couldn't stop a gasp escaping from my mouth. The basement was completely intact, down to the broken pool table in the far corner, but that wasn't why I was gasping. Above us the illusion of the park shimmered, twisted, and folded in on itself. Thousands of colors swirled