Amarok turned his music up further. By now he was reading lips and using his Aura. "The Big Bad Wolf was stopped by a brick house," he said. He punched his right fist into his other hand. It was only now obvious that it was a mechanical prosthesis. "Right now, I see some birdbrained blockheads who may or may not lose some hands if they don't let the little lady go."

His body language shifted. Amarok's muscles tensedin preparation for combat. The four bullies had no idea how much he was going to enjoy this. "Miss Scarlatina? You may want to find some kind of cover. This might get messy."