“I went first. The card I drew was "Watergate." "Oh, come on," I said. "This is ridiculous.""Don't whine," said Carter, his grin annoyingly smug. "We all take a random chance here."They started the timer. I drew some remedial waves that immediately got a "Water!" from Cody. That was promising. Then, I drew what I hoped looked like a wall with a door in it. Apparently, I did too good a job."Wall," said Hugh."Door," said Cody.I added some vertical lines to the door to emphasize the gate aspect. After a moment's thought, I drew a plus sign between the water and wall to show their connection."Aqueduct," said Cody."A bridge over troubled water," guessed Hugh."Oh my God," I groaned.Unsurprisingly, my time ran out before my teammates could figure it out, though not before they guessed "Hoover Dam" and "Hans Brinker." With a groan, I flounced onto the couch. The other team then got a shot at it."Watergate," said Carter right away.Hugh turned on me, face incredulous. "Why didn't you just draw a gate?”

“What kind of sick bastard burns down a Christmas tree?”Hugh and I exchanged glances. “That’s an excellent question,” I said dryly.Peter looked startled. “Was it you?” he asked Hugh.“No,” said the imp. “It was Carter.”“Your Christmas tree was burned down by an angel?” asked Cody.“Yup. The irony isn’t lost on me”

“Hey, big spender,” I said.He looked appreciative but more amused than anything else. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a one dollar bill.“Hugh,” I said. “Don’t insult me.”With a sigh, he produced a five and tucked it underneath my bra strap.“Hey, Seth,” Cody suddenly said.I looked up and saw Seth standing in the doorway. A look of comic bemusement was on his face.“Hey,” he said, studying me. “So…you’re paying for dinner?”

“I have to get back there." I said to Adrian. "Into that door."He arched an eyebrow. "What, like sneaking in? How very black ops of you. And oh, you know— dangerous and foolish.""I know." I said, surprised at how calm I sounded as I admitted that. "But I have to know something, and this may be my only chance.""Then I'll go with you in case that guy comes back," he said with a sigh. "Never let it be said Adrian Ivashkov doesn't help damsels in distress.”

“That's a dangerous look," said Dimitri, giving me a brief glance before returning his eyes to the road."What look?" I asked innocently."The one that says you just got some idea.""I didn't just get an idea. I got a great idea.”

“Tawny," I barked. My voice held the authority of a drill sergeant. She jumped. "I am NOT making out with you until the end of time. You want to do this, then you've got to work for it. Now, TAKE OFF YOUR CLOTHES." "Oh," said Hugh. "I've waited ten years to hear you say that to another woman.”

“Oh God," I groaned, "Seth Mortensen just said 'fucking' out loud. The end of times are near.”