by J. C. Diem
“Where did you send them?” Harley asked, keeping his light pointed at the dwindling stack until they were all gone.
“To the southern edge of the forest,” Rudy told him. “We can point the Sheriff towards the deceased after we’ve taken care of the trolls.”
“I like that plan,” I said approvingly and he preened at the compliment.
Just to add to the creatures’ rage, we each took a turn walking all around the cave, then trampling over the troll’s bed. “Are you going to take a leak on the wall next?” the ghost asked me dryly when I surveyed our work. Our footprints crisscrossed the ground and our scents were easily discernable for the supernatural monsters to be able to pick up on.
“I don’t think that’ll be necessary,” I replied with a smirk, although I had debated about it for a second. “Our work here is done. Let’s head back to our base.”
We’d mapped out a rough route that would skirt around the properties that lay between us and the farmhouse. We intended to take a wide path around town in an attempt to keep the inhabitants safe from harm. The trolls should be so agitated that they wouldn’t deviate from our trail to snack on any vulnerable humans. Or so we hoped.
I headed outside with the others right behind me. Again, I picked Rudy up and tucked him beneath my arm. He could easily teleport himself back to our base, but we didn’t want to lead any of the trolls astray if his scent disappeared. Some of them might break off and go searching for him. We would stick together until we’d reached our final destination.
Chapter Thirty
I took off at a fast jog, holding Rudy securely in my grip. Harley and Leroy had no trouble keeping up with me for the first few miles. The human began to flag, but the ghost kept up the pace. I slowed down to a fast walk and the kid took a drink of water without stopping. He ate a couple of energy bars next, pocketing the wrappers rather than littering.
Following his example, I let Rudy walk for a while and drank some of the water that I’d stashed in my backpack. I scoffed down some energy bars next, then stuffed the wrappers in my backpack.
The leprechaun struggled to keep up with us even at our relatively slow pace. He began to puff after a mere mile. “My turn to carry you,” Harley said and scooped Rudy up.
“Why did I agree to come on this mission?” my sidekick asked grumpily. “This is so undignified.”
“Look at you, mini honky,” Leroy said in a sickly-sweet voice. “You’re as cute as a button! I just want to snatch you up and cuddle you myself.”
“Go cuddle a rattlesnake,” Rudy retorted. He didn’t take being taunted very well.
“Scout ahead,” I said to our ghostly team member before he could rile Rudy into a rage. “Make sure we aren’t getting close to any humans.”
“Aw,” he said in mock hurt. “Now you’re just trying to get rid of me.” He couldn’t resist my order and obediently zoomed ahead to scout the way.
“That spirit is a pain in the ass,” Rudy noted, pronouncing the insult as ‘arse’.
“Pru’s vision indicates he’ll come in handy during our battle with the trolls,” Harley said, then picked up the pace a bit. We had a long way to travel and it would be close to dawn before we would reach our base.
Alternating between jogging and walking, we scaled any fences that barred our way. We passed a few houses, but managed to keep our distance from them. Leroy reported in every now and then to steer us away when we drew too close to habitation. The lights of Devil’s Peak appeared in the distance as we skirted far around the town.
A small herd of cows slumbered peacefully across the other side of a field as we cut through yet another property. “Fifty quid says those cows aren’t going to survive the trollpocalypse,” Rudy predicted.
“Trollpocalypse?” I repeated in bemusement.
It was my turn to carry him and he squirmed around until he could look up at me. “These things are so dangerous they’re apparently bringing portents of doom with them,” he explained, then gestured at the moon. It was very close to being full now. “Doesn’t it look darker than normal to you?”
I took a long look at the silver disc and saw what he meant. It almost looked like it had a shadow across it.
“It looks normal to me,” Harley said, swiping sweat away from his brow with his sleeve. It was the middle of the night now, but we were all sweating freely from exercise.
“You’re just a human, lad,” the leprechaun said condescendingly. “Only supernatural creatures will be able to see the dark moon.”
“Forgive me for being a pathetic mortal,” the kid said sourly.
“That’s okay, you can’t help it,” Rudy said in a mock pitying tone.
“Is he always like this?” Harley asked me.
“Yep,” I replied with a smirk. “You’ll get used to him.”
“How did I come to be a member of this team?” he said almost to himself. “I don’t exactly fit in.”
“You’re doing okay, young honky,” Leroy said as he joined us again. “You’re keeping up with the fairy so far.”
“That’s high praise coming from a dead pimp,” Rudy said gravely, then sniggered.
“Go ahead, make fun of the token,” Leroy said bitterly.
“How are you a token?” the leprechaun retorted. “I’m a leprechaun, Jake is half fae, Asha is a dryad and Pru is a witch. None of us fit into a normal demographic.”
“You might be weird and wacky, but all of you are white,” the phantom pointed out. “I’m outnumbered five to one. I’m the minority of this group.”
“We don’t think of you as a token,” I said patiently. This was an argument that was going to keep on resurfacing. “You’re already a valuable member of our team.”
“Honky, I’m the only one in your team who is virtually a slave,” he said flatly. “I’m on a leash and you order me around like a servant.”
“He orders all of us around like servants,” Rudy said grumpily. “We all end up doing what he tells us to. You’re no different from us in that respect.”
“You don’t have to do what he says like I do.”
“Don’t we?” Harley said dryly. “Do you really think any of us would disobey a guy like that?” He pointed at me to emphasize his words. “He’s a natural leader and he has more charisma than anyone I’ve ever met. Even if he wasn’t half supernatural, I’d probably follow his orders without question anyway.”
“What, do you have a crush on him or something?” Leroy asked sullenly.
“No. But I’ve worked for a guy whose leadership style was brutal in comparison. I’d prefer Jake’s method of getting things done any day.”
I’d killed the leader of the Alpha Team even if Harley didn’t remember it. That reminded me that I would have to try to undo the memory wipe Mirra had performed on him. It wasn’t pressing, but I was sure he would be relieved once the holes in his memory were gone.
“How much further do we have to go?” Rudy asked to change the subject.
“You just asked that five minutes ago,” Harley said in exasperation, but reached for his cell phone. “We’re still fifteen miles from our base.” It would have been a much shorter and faster journey if we’d cut through town. That would have resulted in a massacre Devil’s Peak would never recover from. We still had a few hours of walking and jogging before we would finally be home.
“Fifteen miles?” Rudy asked with a groan.
“What are you complaining about, mini honky?” Leroy said. “You’ve barely walked a mile so far.”
“Do you think it’s comfortable being carried around like a doll?” the leprechaun demanded.
“No, but it’s damn adorable,” the spirit replied with a toothy grin.
I let out a chuckle and received a glare from my sidekick. He held his hand up threateningly, fingers poised to be clicked and warning me he would use his magic to teach me a lesson. Leprechauns were masters of pranks, so I forced my grin away. I wouldn’t put it past him to strike me bald, or do something equally hum
iliating.
“There’s a house just beyond those trees,” Leroy said, pointing at a grove. “You’ll have to veer around it.”
I nodded my thanks and altered our course. Harley drained his water bottle and stuffed it back into his backpack. He had another couple of bottles left and some food as well. He was already someone I knew I could trust to watch my back and wouldn’t buckle under pressure. He was the last person I’d expected to ever work with again, but I was glad to have him on our team. I just hoped the others would work out as well as the young hunter had so far.
Chapter Thirty-One
Dawn light was just beginning to touch the sky when we finally reached the boundary of our property. Harley vaulted over the fence, then staggered from exhaustion. “Watch it!” Rudy said as he almost slipped from the hunter’s grasp. “Put me down before you fall on me and squash me.” Giving the leprechaun an unamused look, Harley set him down, then winced slightly when he straightened up again. He hadn’t complained at all about the pace I’d set, or the length of our journey, but his muscles had to be aching by now.
“Home sweet home,” Leroy said as we made our way through the woods towards the magical snares Pru had cast in the field behind our house. Rudy had nicknamed it the killing field.
“Step where I step,” I cautioned the others when I reached the first set of traps. Leroy wouldn’t set them off unless he turned into a poltergeist and became solid. As the only one who could see the spells, I acted as their guide. We gingerly skirted around the blue circles that would trigger nasty enchantments until we reached the clearing in the center.
“Well, the trap is set,” Rudy said as we came to a stop. “Now we just have to hope the nasty buggers will fall for it.”
“These trolls don’t seem to be as intelligent as the ones that used to live here,” I pointed out. “The troll mound you visited with Ari and Connor in Ireland was full of sophisticated snares, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, but our trolls had magic,” he replied. “These beasties don’t seem to be cut from the same cloth at all. I think they’re from somewhere else. We need to get to the bottom of where these monsters are coming from.”
“Sheridan Harwood has her people working on that, or so I’ve heard,” I told him. I kept in touch with my foster daughter. Ari kept me in the loop about the Master Archivist’s plans, or what she knew of them.
“I need to take a shower and to sleep for about ten hours,” Harley said. He was slightly pale and was having trouble keeping his eyes open.
Rudy teleported us all inside so we wouldn’t leave a fresh trail to the house. We needed the trolls to follow our scent to the killing field, which meant we would have to stay away from the backyard until after they tracked us down.
I followed Harley’s example and took a shower before heading to the kitchen. I’d burned up a lot of energy and my stomach was complaining about being so empty. I would need to rest, but food came first. Rudy joined me as I cooked my usual unhealthy breakfast. He was surly and tired, but scoffed his food down even faster than I did.
We both turned in and slept most of the day away. It was late afternoon before I rose. Asha and Pru were sitting at the kitchen table, discussing our plan. The dryad looked drawn, as if she’d had as little sleep as the boys and I had gotten.
“You didn’t have any trouble leaving a trail that the trolls can follow?” Pru asked as I switched the coffee machine on.
“Nope and Leroy was able to steer us away from the houses,” I replied, turning to face them both.
The spirit floated through the wall to join us. “Those monsters will be pissed when they enter their cave and realize their stash of food is gone,” he pronounced.
“Mind your language!” the witch snapped.
“Make me,” he taunted.
“Can’t you order him to be more respectful?” she asked me.
“I could, but that would be akin to mind control,” I told her. “I’m sure you wouldn’t like it if someone ordered you to change your personality to suit themselves.” Knowing I had a point, she grumbled beneath her breath. The spirit gave me a grudging nod of thanks for sticking up for him.
“The trees were agitated all night,” Asha said, shifting in her seat uneasily. “They think your plan is far too dangerous.”
“You can hear them from here?” I asked.
“I couldn’t sleep, so I went out and spent some time following your progress.”
“How fast can they communicate with each other?”
“That depends on how close the trees are to each other, how extensive their root systems are and if there is a breeze to carry their message more quickly. Their method is pretty quick, though.”
It was fascinating to learn more about a topic I knew so little about. The trees would be an asset to us now that Asha had learned to communicate with them. “Are the trolls still on track to arrive tomorrow night?” I asked.
“I think so,” she replied. “Do you want me to check again?”
“If you don’t mind, darlin’.”
“I still can’t believe she can talk to plants,” Leroy said as we filed out of the kitchen. My coffee could wait until she was done. I wanted to watch her just in case the trees were going to pass on something I needed to know about.
We left the house through the front door and crossed to the giant oak. Asha placed her palm on the trunk and listened intently. She was already becoming used to her talents and was less wary now. “The trolls haven’t changed their course,” she reported. “The trees still think they’ll arrive at their lair just before nightfall tomorrow night.”
“We haven’t heard any news about any bodies being left behind in their wake,” Pru told me. “They seem to be moving with stealth.” They’d been listening to the police scanner all day while we’d been sleeping. They would also have watched the news to see if the trolls were stopping to snack during their journey. Now it made sense why the troll had left a pile of uneaten bodies behind. They really had been like a welcome home feast that had been intended for its kin.
“Have you had any new visions?” I asked as we headed back to the house.
Pru shook her head. “Not so far.” I hadn’t had any premonitions about our upcoming battle with the trolls either. It would be nice to have an inkling whether our plan would work, or if we would all end up dying as Harley had joked.
I made coffee for the girls and for myself, then grabbed two more mugs when Rudy and Harley ambled into the room. The tension was already beginning to build even though we wouldn’t be facing our foes until tomorrow night.
“Are the beasties still on track?” Rudy asked. Our entire plan hinged on them taking the bait. If they found a better lair and abandoned their first one, they would begin slaughtering the townsfolk before we could lure them away.
“Asha checked with the oak and it advised her that they haven’t deviated from their path,” I replied.
“Good,” he said with a nod of approval and teleported himself onto his tall chair. He hated being picked up and plonked on it like a toddler. I handed him a mug of coffee and placed the other one in front of Harley. The kid looked far more alert now after catching up on his sleep.
“I don’t think I’m going to get much rest tonight,” Asha predicted. “The trees will keep me awake.”
“They’re worried about you, lass,” Rudy said. “You’re probably the first dryad they’ve ever seen. Now that they’ve found you, they don’t want to lose you.”
“I’m just a nobody,” she said, hunching over her mug. “I’m not important.”
“You are to them. You’re like their monarch.”
“Asha, queen of the trees,” Harley joked. “It has a nice ring to it.” Color bloomed in her cheeks and she ducked her head shyly.
“Is this plan going to work?” Pru asked me baldly.
“It’ll work,” I confirmed. I just had no way of knowing how well it would work, or if we would survive the coming onslaught.
Chapter Thirty-
Two
We stayed up far later than usual to go over our plan to see if we could find any flaws in it. Asha’s gaze went distant every now and then when she checked in with the trees. They were relaying the trolls’ progress, knowing she was listening in from inside the house. I could feel her stretching her senses out, testing her limits. The voices that had been indistinct murmurs were now clearly distinguishable to her. Harley wore his ring to shield himself from her allure constantly. It would become drained after a few weeks, but Pru could recharge it with her power.
Checking my watch, I saw it was approaching two in the morning. “Okay, folks,” I said to draw our meeting to an end. “Let’s hit the sack. Get as much sleep as you can because tomorrow night is going to be taxing for us all.”
We left the living room and went our separate ways. I was still feeling well rested from sleeping the day away. Harley would most likely be able to sleep for a few hours. He’d driven his body to the brink and was still recovering. Rudy needed as little sleep as I did and vanished to somewhere unknown. I heard Pru pacing up and down in her room, practicing incantations she might have to use tomorrow night. Leroy was outside, patrolling the grounds. He would alert us if the trolls turned up early. Asha was reading a book, clearly not ready to turn in yet either. She would pause in turning pages every now and then as she checked in with her leafy sentries.
Roaming around the house, I quietly let myself out through the front door and walked out into the yard. I tilted my head back to take in the moon. The shadow that only supernatural creatures could see was darker and far more ominous now. It was a forewarning that something dire was coming. The moon would be full tomorrow night and the shifters would take on their bestial forms. I’d spotted the werewolf pack in Devil’s Peak a few times. They would own property like mine somewhere outside of town where they could roam free without being in danger of being hunted by any humans.
“The moon is getting darker, boss honky,” Leroy said when he floated over to me. “Pretty soon, it’ll be completely covered by that shadow.”
