by L. A. Boruff
Didn’t matter. When I estimated I’d gone a quarter of a mile, I stopped and crouched behind a tree, my eyes scanning my surroundings. I looked at my two companions trying to decide how best to use them if they weren’t going to go away.
Jareth was staring down at me with hard eyes, while his partner’s head seemed to be rotating in all directions. “Well, princess, why did you stop now? Aren’t you going to rush in to get us all killed?” At least his voice was lower this time, barely above a whisper.
I frowned in annoyance. No, that wasn’t what I was doing. I was going with action over their talk, talk, talking. Starting to answer, I halted as Grim contacted me. Holding up a finger in the wait one gesture. I concentrated on Grim.
Equal distance. Around house. Sigrid front. Me back, Grim reported.
Do you know the types of breeds? Go sunup to sundown. I was telling Grim to start on the sunup side of the house and go around.
Wolf, wolf, stinky, blood, cat, growing thing, rotten, bear, cat, cat. Grim responded, even as he flashed me the scene he’d seen and what was currently near him.
So, six shifters, an orc, vampire, elf, and a demon.
I lowered my hand and refocused on Jareth and Kragen. “On the outside, equal distance from each other and surrounding the lodge, are six shifters two wolves, a bear, and three cats, then we have an orc, vampire, elf, and a demon going clockwise east to west. We will need to take the vampire first since they can talk to each other if they are from the same seethe.” I paused looking at Kragen, who I just realized was a vampire.
He raised his eyebrow. I couldn’t help the flush at saying something he already knew. No! Full debrief even it if it is information they might now. Kia’s life depends on me not staying quiet, I snarled at myself.
I picked up where I left off. “Which means they have at least one other vampire on the inside, so we need to make this fast.” I saw the spark of realization.
“You can mind speak with Grim?” Kragen murmured, interest entering his eyes.
“And Sigrid and George, a crow and rat.” I admitted, now was not the time for keeping my mouth shut, I reminded myself once more. “I’m going to check in with George since he is with Kia. Please hold.”
George? Tell me where and what type of creatures surround you and Kia. Where are the nagas?
Snakes tied here. Wolf at door guarding. Others not know where. Think downstairs. Here inside den, two blood, crazy rotten, stinky big flower, bear, dream rotten, teeth and claws. I’m eating snakes’ ropes. George reported.
I sighed and hung my head for a minute. That was a lot of fire power. Two hands on each shoulder squeezed, causing me to look up and see Jareth and Kragen were crouched next to me.
“There are eight more confirmed inside. There is a wolf shifter at Kia’s door. The nagas are with her, and George is trying to eat through their bindings. Downstairs, but unknown where they are located, is an imp, a boggart, a nightmare, two vampires, a cat shifter and a bear shifter. You were right, that is a lot for only the three of us to handle. How long before your help arrives and how many?” I asked Kragen, no longer caring where the help was coming from only that they came.
The ground rumbled a warning, their two hands steadying me, even as Kragen and Jareth both grabbed the tree so they wouldn’t fall over. A flash of lightning raced overhead closely followed by a boom. Unnatural darkness had arrived.
“There are three that were able to fly here. They had to land a mile out as the wind was about to knock them out of the sky, maybe ten minutes. The other three are working their way in this direction but it will be at least twenty minutes,” Jareth told me searching my face, for what I didn’t know.
My mind raced.
Finally, I nodded. “Okay, this is what we need to do. I will be the distraction. Pretending, I got lost while hiking. If it was me, they were truly after, they shouldn’t know what I look like since I’m wearing glamour. This will get me inside, hopefully.” Both Jareth and Kragen tried to pierce said glamour but I could tell they were failing, even as they shook their heads in the negative. I wanted to roll my eyes.
I frowned. “What?”
“No, let the five of us take out the outside guard and the other three can be mop up while we gain entrance to the house. Jareth is an alpha shifter and may be able to call all of the shifters to him. If the vampires are made and not born vampires, I will be able to do the same if their master is not here. And neither Jareth or I can sense another alpha or master within twenty miles of this place. That will take out nine shifters and three vampires, leaving only six to neutralize. It was stupid of them not to be closer to their people,” Kragen offered another plan that was definitely safer but not safe enough.
“Okay, then I will still be the distraction. I will allow them to capture me like I’m sneaking in for my daughter. This will get me in the house and hopefully in the same room as Kia so I can protect her if someone decides to kill her just because. This part is nonnegotiable, I have to protect my daughter, and this gives us the best chance,” The resolve must have shown because they acted like they were talking with their eyes before both looking back down at me with a resigned look.
I grabbed a stick and listed where Grim had showed everyone to be. Once they had a good idea, I stood up and grabbed my long dagger from my thigh where it stayed. This made the spell on it dissipate. I knew they needed to see a weapon at the lodge, or they would never believe I came alone. All my weapons were spelled like this one, and right now, I was grateful to the witch I’d met long ago.
Two quiet exclamations of surprise. “Where the hell did that come from? I never felt it, smelled it, or noticed it was there,” snapped Jareth.
I gave him a big smile. “A girl has to have her secrets.” Then, I slipped around the two of them and took off.
“How the hell does she keep slipping around us? It shouldn’t even be possible, it’s like she’s a damn eel in water,” Kragen uttered, making me want to laugh.
“Secrets? She’s got more damn secrets than all the alphabet organizations out there combined. I like her.” There was admiration in Jareth’s tone.
A smile got past me, and I shook my head at their words. Soon, their voices were too low for me to hear. It didn’t take me long to reach the lodge. I stopped a hundred yards out behind a tree.
Sigrid show me the front. I needed a fresh look before committing.
The lodge was fairly large, so the bad guys were spread out about fifty feet from each other. I couldn’t come up with a way not to be seen. So, crazy was the plan. Who’s my bitch? My eyes came to rest on the orc who was right in front of me and was the one in front of the entrance. Another of his kind, in another place and another time six years ago today, tried to take me back in Gusev the night my parents died. I grinned. This was like an anniversary present. I grabbed the other dagger strapped to my other thigh.
“Let’s play,” I whispered to myself as wild energy filled me.
I got as close as I could without being seen then I was running. The orc who was at least seven and half feet tall turned his head in my direction as if in slow motion. He flashed jagged teeth as he got his big body moving for me then planted himself as if he was going to wrestle me. Just before his hands reached me, I laid down in a side slide like a baseball player and cut both femoral arteries. The problem with orcs is they may be big and tough, but they were also dumb and slow. Once I passed between his legs, I came up on my knees turning before lunging for the front door. The orc was a dead man walking unless he stopped the flow of blood and put pressure on the wounds until his natural healing kicked in. Most orcs never thought that far ahead. A giant roar of rage behind me and yelling to either side told me this orc wouldn’t last long.
I was at the door before any of the others reached me. Grabbing the handle of the door, I was thrown off balance when it opened with a jerk under my hand. Arms reached out to grab me then threw me to the ground with at least one landing on top of me. Letting out a banshee yell of
frustration, I struggled and cursed all of them up one side and down the other before someone slapped my head hard, stunning me for a moment. Hands roamed up and down my body, frisking me, and taking my daggers from my hands before I was hauled back to my feet. Two shifters had ahold of both my arms while a demon imp stood in front of me with his hands on his waist.
“Well, well, well. What do we have here,” The imp’s voice while squeaky was assuredly male.
“Give me back my daughter,” I snarled even as I lunged towards him.
The grips of the two shifters held firm so I didn’t get very far.
“Daughter you say. That sweet, little morsel upstairs? Don’t worry, the bosses want her, so she’s safe enough. You on the other hand have been a pest for way too long.” The imp grinned evilly at me. “Our orders are to kill you, but first, I think we will have a little fun. Take her to the big room down that hallway.” The imp’s head moved in the direction he was talking about. “Make sure she is tied good and tight.” The asshole reached over and squeezed my breasts in a tight grip, making me wince in pain. “Yum. Decent size, firm, and plump just like I like’em.” I kicked out and the imp jumped back with a grating laugh.
I sneered, “I heard imps’ dicks are the size of my little pinky. I wouldn’t even know it was there pipsqueak.” The dipwad of course backhanded me across the mouth, splitting my lip. “Anyone ever told you, you’re like one of those tiny Pomeranian dogs? You know the yippy ones that couldn’t hurt a flea?” The air left my lungs as I doubled over from a hit to the solar plexus.
The imp leaned in towards my face. “I’m going to enjoy fucking you over and over. These others will enjoy it as well. The good news for us? The big bosses won’t be here for another day, something about the roads, so the next twenty-four hours of your life?” He paused; I think for dramatic effect. “I am going to enjoy immensely. You, not so much.” I was sick of his yapping, so my hanging head came up hard under his jaw.
I heard something break. I was also pretty sure I had teeth marks on my scalp, and I wanted to rub the sore spot his head had made. The scent of blood had me looking up to see blood streaming from peewee. “Get her out of here,” the imp’s words were garbled, but the murder in his eyes wasn’t.
I blew him a kiss as the two shifters dragged me down the right-hand hall. Reaching a door, a hand reached around and opened it for the wolf and cat shifter. “Hurry up, strip her, get her locked down then get back to your posts.” A dark, sensuous voice said from behind the two shifters. I turned my head to see a dark elf looking down at me with hunger in his eyes.
“You’re going to taste so good female.” The dark elf grinned at me with his serrated teeth flashing white, leaving no doubt what he planned, then he turned and walked away.
The two shifters hopscotched me into the big bedroom, pausing only long enough to close the door before dragging me towards the four-poster bed. This must be a master bedroom because it was twice the size of a normal bedroom.
From one moment to the next, I shifted to my gorilla form. Before they could even react, I pulled my arms up, breaking their now loose grip, crouched, and flipped over them before grabbing both their heads and banging them together. Like two ripe melons, they burst apart on contact. Grunting in disgust, I instantly let go and morphed back to normal. Pulling one of my swords, I ran lightly to the door and opened it just a tiny bit to peek out through a crack. Listening closely for any hint of sound, nothing was near, so I opened it wider to get a better look.
Pulling my head back just as a guard walked past the hallway entrance, I waited a beat before stepping out and going the other direction. The hall wasn’t long but there was a set of stairs much like a hotel had. Swiftly, I opened the door and slipped through before running up the two flights of stairs.
George, make some noise. Try and draw attention to the room, I requested.
The sounds I heard were louder than that. It was the high-pitched wail of a scared child. My heart leaped out of my throat. Then, I heard the key in the lock, and I relaxed. Kia must have had a vision. I ran from the door to the hallway my sword raised to strike.
The guard poked his head in the door and yelled, “Shut-up brat before I give you something to…” But the guard never finished his words before my sword was through his heart.
I pushed the door open then placed my foot on the shifter’s back pushing him off my sword and into the room. Swooping to pick up the key that had dropped from the dead shifter’s hand, I hurriedly shut the door and locked it from the inside. Thank goodness, these were the old-fashioned type of keys instead of the electronic ones.
There were the sounds of struggling that had me turning to see Kia tethered to the bed, trying to free herself to get to me. Tears running down her face. I didn’t remember moving to get to her before I was on the floor taking a dagger from my boot to cut through her bindings. Freeing her arms, she had them around my neck in a choke hold, before I could even reach her little legs. I carefully cut through the rope, turned, and dropped Kia into my lap hugging her tight to me.
“Oh, baby. I am so sorry it took so long to get here. Let me get the tape off your face.”
As gently as I could I peeled it away from her tiny lips. Wincing each time, she cringed from the pain. Finally, it was off, and she returned to hugging me tightly. A scratch on my knee had me looking down to see George pointing his little paw. I looked to see the nagas taking the final ropes off their legs before reaching up to free their mouths.
“Mommy? We go home now?” the trembling voice of my daughter returned my attention to her.
“Yes, sweetness. We’re going home soon.” I turned to the two nagas. “You guys okay?”
Electra’s voice was a little rough. “Yes, I can’t believe we were ambushed at a fucking Dairy Queen of all places. Who does that?” Her voice and expression were full of disgust and self-recrimination.
A tap on my face. “Mommy? It was meant to happen.” My head snapped to look into Kia’s eyes.
“What do you mean?” I asked her.
“Can’t change,” was her simple reply.
That meant it had to happen this way for some reason. It didn’t mean Kia hadn’t been scared out of her wits because when I tried to stand, she wrapped her legs and arms as tight as she could around me.
There was a knock on the door, startling me. What the hell? “Kia, I need to put you down, so I can remove the head of whoever is at the door.”
Kia shook her head. “No Mommy. They’re special. Can we go home now?” she said plaintively.
14
October 30, 2026
“Yes, we can.” I stood up; Kia’s arms tightened even more around my neck. “Let’s find my daggers and see about a ride back to the city. How does that sound?” I asked, as I laid my head against hers, drawing in a deep breath of my daughter, safe in my arms.
She was safe. Thank you, Mother!
A remorseful, full of self-loathing, tear filled voice surprised me. “I’m so, so sorry. We should have been paying more attention! I shouldn’t have been so flippant earlier.” I tried to think back to what she was talking about, but nothing came to mind. “We were Kia’s guards and we failed. We will do better; I will do better. Please, Sadie, please forgive us.” I turned, astounded to see both the nagas prostrate on the floor.
What the heck? Why were they still on the floor, let alone doing this...? I didn’t understand.
Bending down. I gently tapped Electra on top of the head with the sword I’d picked up after dropping it next to me for the dagger from my boot, so I could free Kia. I wanted them up and off the floor. This was wrong. Completely wrong. Just then the door rattled with a harder, louder knock.
“Sadie? Open the door! It’s safe,” Kragen called out.
“Just a sec,” I replied.
“First she is in a hurry? Now, she’s not?” I heard Jareth remark in tones not low enough for me to hear through the door.
I smiled.
Electra was looking u
p at me in puzzlement, unsure why I tapped her with the sword instead of answering.
“Here.” I held out my sword.
She looked from me to the sword, confusion plain.
“Please, get up. I’m not even sure why you are doing this. It wasn’t your fault. If I’d been there, it would have gone down the same way. One, there was way too many, and two, they came completely prepared. Now, take the sword so you can guard my back. I expect it back though. My parents gave me two matched swords, and this is one of them. They’d left them to me with a note I’d found after they died.” Pain lanced through me at the memory.
Electra nodded her head vigorously, taking the sword as if given a great gift. “I will. Thank you.” The words full of emotion.
I lifted my leg and took out the dagger from my boot I’d used to free Kia earlier. Calista was still prostrate, and I could smell her tears.
I did the same thing, tapping Calista on the head with the dagger. “There is nothing to forgive, Calista. Here…,” I held the dagger out to her. “take this.”
She lifted her head, staring from me to the dagger and back again. Her big, blue faceted eyes sparkling like diamonds with the tears still falling. I thrust it towards her.
“Now, you can guard Kia’s back,” I told her.
She burst into fresh sobs.
I looked at Electra in bewilderment.
“Sister. Come. We’ve found our place. The Mother will be pleased.” Electra reached down for her sister’s hand.
They clasped each other’s wrists as Electra helped Calista to her feet. They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment before Calista turned and lightly took the dagger from me.
“My life, for Kia’s.” Calista said, bringing the dagger in front of her, two hands on the hilt with the sharp end towards the floor, and her head slightly bowed.
