To Prevent Clear Paths: Magical Mayhem, #3

By Emily Martha Sorensen

When Kendra defected to villainy, she left her friends and family baffled.

Her best friend has no clue where the former magical girl is or what she's doing, but she's determined to find out.

Even if it means attacking Kendra.

Chronos has a brand new unwanted houseguest she can't get rid of.  And this one has more than a few screws loose and is adorably evil.  What do you do with a ten-year-old dark magical girl?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Emily Martha Sorensen
• Release date: Apr 26, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386023012

Book preview

Chapter 1: The Downstairs

Following Kendra down into the dungeons, Chronos was in a rather sour mood.  She reflected on the past few days and wondered what, exactly, she was supposed to have done to deserve this.

Always read your contracts before you sign! Kendra called in a singsong voice as she skipped down the stairs two at a time.

Other than that, Chronos thought grumpily.

Lining each of the long walls below her was a long row of ten cages.  They were classic steel bars, very sturdy, clearly intended for holding one or possibly more crowded prisoners in each.  Perfect for a villain who meant to keep many people restrained.  Except for one small, pesky detail: all the steel bars in between the cages had been removed, which meant that each row was more like one long, enormous cage.

Oh, yes, and the locks on all of the cage doors were missing.

Clutter crowded everywhere.  There were cute little girl outfits flung all over the floor, dirty dishes in stacks of plates, bits of gears and tools, posters papering the walls, and many other esoteric things that were most likely magical technology imported from other worlds.  There was also an ordinary-looking refrigerator parked against the short wall at the far end, incongruously.

"So these are the dungeons," Chronos muttered, looking around on her way down the stairs.

A little blonde head popped up from behind a tall box.  It belonged to a small girl who looked about ten, with fluffy pigtails dangling from each side of her head.

Oh, is Baron Deathwave dead? the girl asked matter-of-factly.  Are you my new masters?

Chronos was unsure of how to respond to that.  I . . . suppose . . .

The little girl clapped her hands, her pigtails bobbing.  I haven’t had a girl master since Dusk Anesthesia got thrown in prison!  I hope you’ll be nicer than she was!  She never wanted to play with me and she told me to stop talking.  Do you want to meet my new brainwasher?  I named him Brian!

Brainwasher, Chronos said flatly.

Is this actually a prisoner? she wondered.  Or was this a minion?

How can you live in this dump?! Kendra burst out.

Chronos glanced in her direction.  The former magical girl was staring at the piles of clutter and mess in clear horror.

The prisoner-who-was-possibly-a-minion seemed to take this as a request for a tour.  She hopped to her feet and pointed eagerly all over the room.  Well, there’s a bathroom over there, I sleep in this cell here, I get my food from there . . .

A refrigerator, Kendra said flatly, standing in front of the incongruous furnishing.

A refrigerator that automatically restocks itself from nearby grocery stores! the little girl cried, waving her hands excitedly.

"Does the refrigerator also pay for the food it takes?"