“Are you okay?” Eldon asked the redhead. Most human women he knew would have tiptoed through the viscera, or been disgusted by the carnage, but all Megan did was grimace and shake her head as she walked over to him.
“My head’s still ringing, and I’m not sure how we got here, but otherwise, I’m all right,” she said, her Texas accent a little thicker than usual.
He nodded to her and moved to join where his father stood over Becky’s short frame, but Shlee’s sharp elbow to his ribs made him grunt. He looked down at his girlfriend, confused.
“Comfort her,” Shlee’s whisper barely reached his ears.
“She’s a strong woman and doesn’t need my comfort,” he snapped back under his breath, knowing that her sharp ears would hear him.
That didn’t stop her from shoving him at the redhead. He stumbled but managed to right himself before colliding with Megan.
He wanted to glare at Shlee, but instead placed a hand on Megan’s wet shoulder and met her chocolate brown eyes. “Are you sure you’re all right?” he asked, not missing the way her eyes challenged him. Damn it, but this was a strong woman! Why did Shlee insist on him comforting her? Hadn’t Megan already proven that she could handle herself? “You seemed pretty out of it after the accident, and we don’t know what’s ahead. I know you can handle yourself pretty well. I’m not offering to take care of you, but ensuring that you’re up for a fight when it happens.”
For a moment, it looked like she was going to snap at him, but then a smile split her pretty lips. “There’s no shortage of excitement around you or your family. If I can find a couple guns, I’ll be right as rain on a warm summer eve.” Her eyes regarded him for a moment before her hand came up and wiped something from his cheek and chin. “The faerie was right, though. You’re one ugly ogre. I much prefer this face. You still have blood on your face. Otherwise, I might be tempted to kiss someone so concerned for an ally.”
Was there ever a time this woman didn’t throw me for a loop? he wondered as she stepped next to the fallen half-Knight and recovered his pistol. Then he remembered Shlee’s kiss and swiped at his face to clean it off. Of course, the werewolf wouldn’t have a problem kissing him after she’d torn throats out with her maw. Mandy probably wouldn’t have kissed him, either, but he didn’t think she would have reacted as Megan had either. Gloria… She didn’t bear thinking about. He had a messed up dating life, and it wasn’t as though he’d gone looking for it.
Then he glanced at his dad, wrapping a gag around Becky’s face and shook his head. At least Mandy and Shlee weren’t out to kill him. If what Becky claimed was true, then whatever the Knights did to her didn’t remain as a spell. Which meant that it was either permanent or would require some specialized treatment to remove the conditioning.
“We need to get to the Orange Bubble and get out of here,” Lyden said as he straightened up. Becky was slung over his shoulder, and despite her muffled protests, Lyden had a firm grip on her.
“Won’t they just attack us again?” Megan asked as she tucked another pistol in her waistband. Eldon wasn’t sure, but he suspected that she’d acquired all the available weapons from the doomed Knights.
“Not if we have Becky with us,” Eldon told her. “At least, we’re pretty sure that’s how they managed to attack us last time.” He didn’t blame Megan for not remembering the conversation after the crash. She was pretty dazed.
“I got a good look at the car as they dragged us away,” Shlee added in. “It was in pretty bad shape. Will it even run?”
“She’s a good car,” Lyden said. “As long as she’s not killed, she’ll heal like any other living being. I’ve seen her recover from some serious damage, and the longer she’s been alive, the stronger she’s become.”
Eldon wondered why that was. He knew that part of Angela’s soul inhabited the car… Could it be that all the sex that occurred within strengthened her? That was a philosophical question for later.
“I’m glad I’m sticking with you,” Megan said as she stepped past Eldon. “Your family is a lot more exciting than anything I did back home. I don’t know if my daddy would have approved of you, but you’re a lot like him. Noth the shape-shifting thing, but you’re as stubborn as he was in his most agreeable times.”
Eldon ground his teeth instead of responding to her. One moment she’s cold, and the next… well, if not hot, at least lukewarm towards him. And this was all after she was seriously injured. Maybe that blow to her head caused some permanent damage.
Oberon zipped down from the top of the stairs that Becky had descended, meeting them. “Now listen up, my minor minions,” he started out in his most offending tones. “We can either do this the fun way or the safe way. My preference is to destroy, mutilate, or just plain fuck with as many as we can before we go.”
“What’s the safe way?” Brock asked. He still looked miserable, but he wasn’t letting it slow him down. Considering how bad he felt after Shlee went through the barrier, Eldon understood some of what his sibling was going through. He remembered Brock standing up against Oberon earlier, and was glad the merman was staying active.
Oberon gave him the barest glance, before grimacing and saying, “I turn us all invisible and we sneak like little cowards through their camp. But if I get the chance to zap someone, or have some fun, I’m taking it. These fucking Knights don’t deserve to breathe the same air as me.”
“Do you have to swear so much?” Eldon heard his dad mutter. If Oberon heard him, he was ignored.
“The safe way,” the rest of them chimed in almost all at once. Becky squirmed and tried to say something, but her vote didn’t count.
“Huh…” Oberon pouted. “I disagree with the redheaded toots! You fuck-tards are boring as a dryad’s tea party. Well, everyone gather around, and I’ll make sure we’re not seen. Anyone know where that car is?”
“I can feel her over that way,” Lyden said, pointing up and to the right. Eldon didn’t know his dad had that kind of connection with the car but wasn’t going to complain about that right then.
If Oberon did anything to make them invisible, he couldn’t tell, but they followed him up. They entered a room that looked like an ancient mid-twentieth century nuclear bunker. No one was in the place, and they rushed through and up another flight of stairs. Eldon nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw two guards standing upright, swords at their hips, and rifles held across their chests. Eldon prepared to attack, but then noticed the blood dripping down, and the holes in the backs of their helmets and heads.
“I figured they weren’t using their shit-for-brains anyway, so I took them out,” Oberon chuckled.
Eldon was beginning to suspect that the little faerie was a sadistic monster and that it was perhaps a good thing that he was no longer tied to Brock and Bridget.
Someone in the robes of a Knight, but not the armor, went running by and didn’t pay them, or the dead guards any notice. Whatever Oberon was doing allowed them to see, but remain unnoticed.