I glanced outside the magic barrier. Nico was fighting his way toward my mom and Paul, but they weren’t waiting for help. Paul grabbed a sword from a fallen hero and did a pretty fine job keeping a dracaena busy. He stabbed her in the gut and she disintegrated. “Paul?” I said in amazement. He turned toward me and grinned. “I hope that was a monster I just killed. I was a Shakespearian actor in college! Picked up a little swordplay!”
