by Peter Glenn
Panting, I strode over to where Hank was sitting, slowly munching on one of the human-like corpses. As amped as I was at that moment, it didn’t even strike me as odd.
“Good work out there,” I told him. I reached out with one of my hands and gently stroked the fur on the top of his head.
A low growl emitting from Hank was all it took for me to stop. Don’t pet the werewolves. Got it. Probably a lesson that goes without saying for most.
“Well, I guess we should...”
I never got to finish my sentence. A massive fireball flew through the air, crashing into my left leg and throwing me to the ground. My leg burned hotter than I would have thought possible as a wave of pain shot up through it.
As much as it pained me to do so, I smacked my leg with my free hand a few times to put out the flames while I spun around to face the new threat. Fortunately, the flames had only eaten through my jeans, and the leg underneath, while red and smoking, looked to be marginally okay.
“Bitch!” I spat at Fireball Chick. The attack must have come from her.
I spotted a hint of her wings out of the corner of my eye, flitting high overhead. She was grinning down at us, another fireball cocked and ready in her hands.
Then she was gone.
“Ugh,” I groaned. I rose shakily to my feet, leaning a little on Grax’thor to help balance me, since my leg was still throbbing from the pain of the explosion. “Dang fireballs flying through the air.”
Hank had an amused expression on his muzzle. I wouldn’t have thought it would be possible for a wolf to laugh at someone, but I was pretty sure that’s exactly what I was experiencing.
I shook my head a few times. “You’re not looking all that great yourself, you know,” I told him. And he wasn’t. Now that the din of battle had died down, I could clearly see that some of those red streaks were from wounds on his sides and back. The hound-things had scored their fair share of hits.
Still, he was standing, and they weren’t, which was a testament to his skill. I’d have to remember to keep all the werewolves on my good side.
Not that I knew any others, of course.
“Let’s head back in and tell the others,” I offered. I stuck my free hand out to take his, then remembered he was still a wolf and retracted it.
I heard what I could only describe as a hacking laugh come from the wolf at my side, then he followed me back in. I made sure to shut the door on my way down the stairs. Mei’s magic should keep Fireball Chick from coming in anytime soon, but I didn’t want to risk it.
“Any luck?” Mei asked as we clambered down the stairs.
“Oh, you know me,” I said, grinning like an idiot in spite of the fact that I could barely stand. “Always the professional.”
I made my way over to the barstool I’d sat at earlier and eased myself back onto it. The plush leather of the stool had never felt so comfortable as it had in that moment.
“Rough night?” Mei said, smirking at me. She reached a hand out to ruffle my hair but I pulled back and winced. The wounds up there were still oozing blood. “Sorry,” she added with chagrin. “Want another drink? On the house.”
A wry smile crossed my lips. “You know I’ll never turn down free alcohol.”
“You got it.” She gave me a nod and a wink and got to mixing something.
“How did the battle fare?” LaLuna asked.
She was sitting at a table next to Yuri and Sevin, still rocking the baby. It looked like the baby had finally finished its bottle and was cooing contentedly in her arms. I marveled at the whole scene for a moment—how a warrior like her could be so gentle with a tiny baby like that. It was something, all right. It only made me like her even more.
“We won, of course,” I said with a hint of swagger. Okay, so it was probably more a gravelly cough. I was still hurt and partially out of breath. But I’m going to say it was a swagger. “What else?”
“That’s good,” LaLuna replied. Her eyes never left Grace’s.
I leaned back against the bar for a moment, placing my hands behind my head. “Yeah, one of them got away, but I daresay after the showing we gave them, our troubles will be over for a long while.”
Sevin made an odd grunting noise at that. “I wouldn’t say that, mon ami,” he replied, wrinkling his nose. “Ze baby. She is stinky.”
Chapter Five
IN THE END, IT TOOK four grown adults about five minutes of fussing about and three different diapers, but we managed to change the baby. Yuri was the real clincher for that one. Without him there, I’m not sure we would have managed the feat.
Now that Grace was fed and changed, she’d gone back to napping contentedly on LaLuna’s lap. Couldn’t blame the girl. If I could take a nap like that... Nah. Better not think like that. She was fae, and even if she was attractive, Mei had always told me to stay away from the fae. And she was most likely right on that one, given my most recent experience with them. Even if she was seemingly trying to push me toward them today.
Still, there was something about LaLuna and Grace that attracted me to them. And it wasn’t that they were a lost cause. I did love my lost causes, but there was more to it than that.
Everyone had cleared away from LaLuna after the diaper incident, so I made my way over there and sat down in the seat next to her.
“Hey,” I said with a smile.
LaLuna’s eyes trailed up to meet mine. I could see dark spots underneath them, and they looked a little red. I figured she was likely pretty tired from her recent exploits. She gave me a bit of a tired, lazy smile. “Hey.”
I inclined my head toward the baby. “How’s she doing?”
LaLuna shrugged. “A lot better now. I think.” She bit her lip. “To be honest, I’ve never even seen a baby before today. I’m feeling a little... overwhelmed by the whole thing.”
“I can understand that,” I offered, chuckling slightly. “I’ve seen them before, but the last one was about a hundred years ago, so I’m a little out of practice myself. Plus, everything is so different now with all the modern inventions. Last time I held a baby, they didn’t even have disposable diapers.”
“Really?” Her brows narrowed. “And how old are you then, Master Damian?”
“Just Damian, please,” I insisted, wincing a little at the title. “Sir” had been bad enough. Master? That was a hard pass. “I’m no one’s master.”
Well, aside from Grax’thor, but that was a different matter. And from the way she talked back to me, she wasn’t any happier about that relationship than I was.
“Okay, then... Damian.” She put what looked like an intense amount of effort into leaving the title off. “You still haven’t answered my question.”
“Heh. About three hundred or so. I stopped counting a few decades ago.” That wasn’t true. I knew exactly how old I was, and even if I somehow forgot, my mother would remind me several times a year and at least three times on each birthday. But it sounded cooler in my head to make her believe it was no big deal.
LaLuna’s eyes went wide. “Three hundred, you say? You must be a very wise man.”
“Pfft.” I let out a snort. If I’d been holding a drink at the time, I think I would have inhaled it.
“Was something I said amusing, Sir Damian?”
I wiped a small tear from the corner of my eye. “Oh no, of course not.” I flashed her a wide grin. “It’s just, I don’t think in all my time on this planet I’ve ever heard someone refer to me as wise before.”
“But you seem to know a great deal about the world, no?” She batted her eyelashes a few times as she talked, and I was mesmerized by her eyes for a moment.
“Umm... I guess so.” I smirked a little. “I mean, I know at least as much as anyone else here, I guess.”
Mei came by then, handing me a drink. “For my little smooth talker,” she said, pinching my cheek.
I knew it was an insult, but I dismissed it anyway. I stared down at the drink. It was a brownish color, and the liquid looked thicker than
your typical spirit. I wasn’t sure what it was, but it certainly wasn’t a Manhattan.
“What the heck is this?” I asked, pointing at the drink while cradling it in my other hand. Free booze is still free booze, even if it’s not my favorite cocktail.
“You’ll see, sport,” she replied. “It’s good for you, just take it.”
“Okay, crazy dragon lady. You’ve never steered me Wong.”
It was a bad pun, but one I was proud of. Her full name was Mei Wong.
Mei stalked off, shaking her head, and I took a whiff of the drink. It smelled pleasant enough. I took a sip and got lost in the intensity of the flavors. There were bitter notes and an earthy taste to it like you’d get from a really old oak tree, plus just a hint of something sweet. Chocolate, maybe? I couldn’t quite tell.
“This is really good,” I called over my shoulder. Mei gave me a wink and went back to polishing the counter.
“You have an interesting relationship with this... Mistress Mei person,” LaLuna said. There was a hint of awe in her voice as she said my friend’s name.
I shrugged. “I suppose you could say that. Why?”
“Mistress Mei is somewhat revered in our culture. Almost like a deity in her own right. Of course, she is a very powerful dragon, and dragons in general are either feared or revered, so that is not really shocking.”
“That so?” I raised my eyebrow. Mei? Revered? I knew her dragon form could be a force to be reckoned with. I’d seen it in action twice now, and both times, the results had been remarkable. But revered? She was just a bartender, wasn’t she?
LaLuna nodded. “Mm-hmm. And yet, your mannerisms with her are quite pleasant. Friendly, even, I would say.” She paused for a moment. “How long have you known Mistress Mei, the Emerald Destroyer, the Deity of Lost Souls?”
I spit out the sip of booze I’d been nursing. “Emerald what now?” I’d certainly never heard anyone call her anything like that. Not even close. And a deity to boot? What was this girl on about?
“My apologies if I caught you off guard, Sir Damian. I meant no harm. I thought everyone referred to Mistress Mei as such.” Her cheeks brightened to a light crimson. “To be honest, all I know of her is whispers spoken by my mother and another fae, whose name I do not know. I... I am sorry if I have offended either of you.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said, waving a hand dismissively. “Mei and I go way back. You couldn’t offend us if you tried. But please try to drop the ‘sir’. I mean it, it’s just Damian.”
“I am heartened by your words... Damian.”
“That’s much better.” My lips curled upward. “I like being on a first name basis with people. Especially people I want to be friends with.”
I took another sip of the new drink. As I did so, I could feel the skin on the top of my head start to stitch itself back together, and the pain in my leg lowered to a dull ache. Mei must have slipped some healing bourbon into this new concoction. No wonder it tasted so good. I winked at Mei and raised the glass, and she beamed back at me.
My wounds probably would have healed just fine over the next two days if left alone. Part of my immortal curse also granted me quicker healing. Though it’s more like speeding it up by a matter of days than miraculous healing in minutes. Only magic could do that. Or Mei’s healing bourbon.
Still, it had been a nice gesture.
LaLuna’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. “You wish to be friends, Sir... er, Damian?”
“Mm-hmm. I do.”
She put a hand over her chest. “You do me a great honor, but I cannot accept.”
My expression soured. “Why? Is there some sort of fae rule against befriending humans, or something?”
“Oh no, nothing of the sort. Although most humans do regret their friendships at some point.” Her eyes darkened a bit as she spoke, and I wondered what she wasn’t saying. “But you misunderstand. Your offer is too gracious.”
First she called me wise, now too gracious? This girl was unreal. But unreal in a way that I very much liked.
“Psh. Nonsense. Look, I may be a decent guy, but I’m not as high and mighty as you might have presumed. Besides, I think I like you.”
“Like me?” LaLuna’s cheeks reddened even further. “Damian, you barely know me.”
I shook my head. “I didn’t mean it like that, LaLuna.” I paused for a second after saying her name. It rolled off the tongue. I decided I liked how it sounded when I said it. “I just meant that you seem like a really great person. And besides, I did live through some of your memories not an hour ago. So I know you better than you might think.”
LaLuna bit her lip again. I figured it was a nervous habit of hers. “I... I suppose you have a point, Damian.” She looked down at Grace for a moment and gently caressed her cheek while shushing her. “We did share what many fae would consider to be an... intimate bond.”
This time it was my turn for my cheeks to redden. I cleared my throat loudly. “You don’t say?”
“Indeed.” She nodded and locked eyes with me again. There was a certain fierceness to them this time that hadn’t been there before. It made me like her all the more. “To share one’s mind with another is to know them in a way that no others can fathom. Even if it was just for... information.”
My face and neck felt hot, and I had to pull on my shirt collar to fan myself off a bit. Her tone and wording were a bit much. “Well, anyway.” I cleared my throat. “Like I said, I think we’d make good friends.”
“You are too kind, Sir... I mean, Damian.” She smiled at me again, that same lazy smile from before.
Her free hand reached toward me, and I took it in my own. Her touch felt warm, and inviting, like coming home to Mei’s after a long day. I wanted to revel in that feeling, but she retracted her hand a moment later, and the feeling was gone. Then she bowed her head, and her eyes started to close just a little.
I wondered for a second if she was going to take a nap with the baby. I supposed it would make sense. But I wasn’t done yet. I wanted to talk to her more. Learn more about her.
“So,“ I said, clearing my throat again. It seemed to rouse her back to attention. “I met one of the pixies from your memories out there a few minutes ago.”
LaLuna’s entire expression changed from one of happiness and content to one of alarm. Her skin paled, and her facial muscles tensed up. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t the best topic I could have brought up at that moment.
“You did? Wh-which one?”
“The fiery one with the red-orange wings. Fireball Chick,” I said matter of factly.
LaLuna raised an eyebrow. “Fireball Chick?”
I shrugged again. “Tch. Just a little nickname I gave her. I give all my opponents nicknames.”
“Indeed,” she said, nodding just a little. “Well, she may be a ‘Fireball Chick’, as you say, but she’s also a djinn.”
“A djinn?” I scrunched my nose. “You mean like a genie? I thought they were supposed to live in lamps and grant wishes.”
LaLuna laughed so hard her body shook, and I thought for a moment it would wake the baby.
“What, am I that off base?”
She shook her head. “Oh, Damian, you may be wise in the human world, but you know little of fae.”
“That’s a fact. My mother always told me to avoid them.” I put my hand over my mouth, regretting the words as soon as I’d spoken them.
LaLuna’s expression changed, darkening further, but in sadness instead of alarm. Her eyes looked a tinge wet. “Is that what you think, Sir Damian? That you should be avoiding people like me?”
I grimaced. “No, no! That’s not what I was saying at all!” I brushed a bead of sweat that was forming off my forehead. “I actually think you’re kind of... pretty.”
“Pretty?” I could see that rosy glow return to LaLuna’s cheeks. “Well, if you say so, Sir Damian. That’s the nicest thing I’ve heard all day.”
“Well, you’re welcome.” I practically beamed at her
. Phew. That had been a close call.
“But anyway, about the djinn, it’s true that some of them can grant wishes, but not all. And none of them live in lamps.” She paused for a moment and bit her lip. “Well, if the tales are to be believed, one of them did, years ago. Perhaps that’s where the confusion came from. At any rate, they are elemental spirits imbued with the gift of control over fire, which is how she’s able to cast those massive fireballs you nicknamed her after.”
I nodded as understanding began to dawn on me. “Ah. That makes sense, then. I take it they’re largely to be avoided, then?”
“Mm-hmm. For certain.”
“I’ll keep that in mind the next time I see her.”
“Next time?” LaLuna had one brow raised again.
“Well, at least I’m assuming there will be a next time. She likely won’t want to leave me alive longer than she has to.”
“Ah,” LaLuna said, her tone slightly deflated. “Of course, Sir Damian. Do not worry. I will go to the Seelie Court and ask that she be suitably punished.”
“Seelie Court?” There was another term I was unfamiliar with. I was getting a lot of those today.
“A bunch of snobby elites that think they know what’s best for all the fae,” Elden butted in, snorting.
I turned to look him in the eye. I’d almost forgotten he was even still here. Why was he still here? “I take it you’ve had dealings with them, then?”
“Heh. You could say that.” He huffed. “I know their type all too well. Trust me, seeking them out is not a good idea.”
“The Seelie Court is just and fair!” LaLuna fired back. “They will be able to guide me in where to go next with Grace. I am sure of it.” She gave Elden something of a death glare.
Elden raised his hands in defense and leaned back in his stool. “Hey, don’t say I didn’t try to warn you.” He shook his head a little. “Do whatever you want, I guess. Just don’t be surprised when nothing comes of it.”
“You know what?” I started, my gaze trailing back over to LaLuna. “That’s not a bad idea, actually. I think we should go visit this ‘Seelie Court’ of yours.” I grinned at her for good measure.
