by Kaye Draper
I tried to keep an ear out for Oisin. He might look all badass and fae, but still, I was serious about him staying safe. I wasn't used to fighting with someone I cared about right there in the crossfire.
My eyebrows twitched when I heard him singing.
He was enjoying this too much. Poor thing needed to get out more.
The swamp dog tried to take a bite out of my face, and I punched it in the snout. It gurgled and shook its head in surprise. "Well you can't really expect me to just stand here and let you eat me."
The thing vomited acid at me again and I barely dodged, shaking burning drops off the back of my hand. It hopped and landed on top of me, slamming my back into the concrete and making my vision go black for a minute when my head connected with the floor. It opened its mouth to pour acid on my face and I wriggled, completely pinned down by the heavier monster.
"For fuck's sake." I managed to get an arm free. Twisting, I raked my talons across the thing's neck, putting all my gryphon strength behind the swipe. The head tilted sideways, nearly severed. Grunting, I managed to wriggle out from under its body as it fell with a wet thud.
I stood, wiping off as much as much slime and blood as I could. "Ugh."
I glanced over at Oisin, who watched me with a smirk, his clothing completely unruffled and a giant swamp dog sitting at his side like a trained pet. "Gods, Gesa. You didn't have to kill the poor thing."
I stared at him in disbelief. "You...I... oh shut the fuck up."
He laughed and gestured toward the swamp dog. "Return to where you belong swamp creature." The guard dog licked his hand—without the barbs—and vanished.
He gestured toward the shipping container. "Shall we?"
I rolled my eyes and approached the metal container that held human heartbeats. "You are a pompous ass. You know that, right?"
Oisin just hummed his agreement.
The container was locked with a heavy padlock and chain, but they were just plain old metal, nothing enchanted. I grasped the lock and snapped it open, barely using any strength.
The door swung open and I waved a hand in front of my face to clear the stench of urine and sweaty, unwashed human. About a dozen terrified faces peered out of the dark. "Howdy there," I said in my best wild west sheriff impersonation. "We've come to spring y'all from this here corral."
There was jostling and a man shoved his way through the others. "Gesa! Thank God."
Concord. And he looked like he'd put up a fight. One pretty brown eye was purpled and nearly swollen shut and his lip was split. His t-shirt was ripped down the side, revealing his trim stomach, and his jeans were grass-stained. Maybe he wasn't as meek as I had assumed.
He glanced at Oisin and blinked, as if he was trying to place him. It took me a moment to remember the fae had been glamoured last time they met.
"Come on," I said, waving the humans forward. "Hurry up and let's get you out of here." Oisin had come to lean against the side of the container, nonchalant and at ease, shiny blades dangling from his hands as if he had not a care in the world. I knew better. He was watching the door.
"Gesa, we have to get them all out of here before he gets back," Concord was saying. His hand wrapped around my upper arm and he turned me toward a door at the back of the warehouse. "I think he's gone to meet with a buyer."
I nodded and we started herding humans toward the exit. We were halfway there when Oisin gave a sharp whistle.
I spun to see the door we had come in swing open, the entry filled by an ugly, wrinkled up kappa and his big-ass motherfucking shotgun.
Oisin sped toward the turtle so fast he blurred, blades swinging. Several loud pops sounded. The kappa had stepped aside to let a couple of thugs with handguns handle the fae.
"Sonofabitch." I didn't have time to strip. So much for that leather jacket.
Rest in peace. You died with honor.
I called on my other form, unleashing the magic that lived in the core of my being like stretching a muscle.
I was an eight-foot-long gryphon in a matter of seconds. Gryphons tend to terrify other supes simply because we are a mishmash of parts, not something you would see in nature—we were mythical. I had the head of an eagle, body of a lion, with a ten-foot wing-span, my front feet ending in taloned bird feet.
Turning, I used my body and wings to cover the humans as I shoved them toward the door. They needed to move faster.
A shotgun blast sounded, and I threw my head back and let out a deafening eagle screech. Concrete chips peppered my front legs. Too close.
The last few humans were diving through the back door. Concord was the last one, and he was hesitating, damn it.
"Gesa...."
His mournful brown eyes were full of fear, but not for himself. For me and Oisin. His soft human heart was going to get his soft human hide made into swiss cheese.
I raked a taloned front foot across the ground, sweeping the remnants of my shredded clothes—and my weapons—toward him.
The guy wasn't slow, I'll give him that. He followed my eyes to the pile and immediately crouched and grabbed the gun. I had no idea if he knew how to use it. I glanced at the door, willing him to suddenly turn into a mind reader. He seemed to get it though. Spinning, he followed the rest of the humans, fumbling to find and release the safety on the gun.
Hopefully he didn't shoot himself protecting them.
I turned away. I had given the humans the best chance of escape as I could, given the circumstances.
I padded back toward the kappa asshole. Only one of his thugs was still standing, the other three having fallen on Oisin's swords.
My fiery fae was even more red than usual, since he was painted in blood. He had a terrifying expression on his face, features sharp, eyes glinting hard as the gemstones they resembled, a slip of sharp canine showing as he circled the kappa and his one remaining minion in a slow, stalking dance, leisurely twirling his blades with little flicks of his wrists.
I loped over to them, wings tucked in, talons clicking on the concrete. The kappa and his man had guns pointed at Oisin, but the guard was wavering, wondering who was more dangerous—the guy with the weapons or the massive monster. I clacked my beak, willing him to choose me. Oisin might be good with those swords, but he wasn't bulletproof.
The fae didn't look at me, but his melodious voice drifted my way. "Stay out of my hunt, gryphon."
I screeched at him. It was only a little challenging sound, but really, everything came out as an earsplitting screech when you had an eagle head.
It all happened so fast. Oisin sucked in a breath. The guard turned toward my fae and the kappa pulled the trigger on his shotgun. Which, you know, was pointed at me now.
I really did screech then, as a shotgun blast hit my back right flank and spun me sideways a few steps. My right leg went out from under me, refusing to hold my weight and pain shot up through my spine like electric shock.
I saw Oisin jerk from out of the side of my vision. But I didn't let the terrifying thought that he might be hit distract me. I didn't fall down and I didn't slow as I lunged at the kappa, ripping the gun from his hands with a swipe of my talons. The little fucker tried to run and I snapped at him, catching his shirt in my beak and scraping a long bloody score across his shoulder in the process.
I turned, kappa hanging from my mouth, to see Oisin knock the last thug unconscious with the hilt of his sword. I was surprised he was showing such mercy. He glanced at me and shrugged. "My rage is better spent on that." He gestured at the kappa.
"You've damaged my gryphon, you nasty little slimeball," Oisin said in a conversational tone of voice. "Where I come from, damaging a concubine is tantamount to a declaration of war."
Concubine? I rolled my eyes. Oisin lifted one sword and placed the tip under the kappa's chin, his eyes lost in rage and bloodlust. Maybe he had forgotten what century it was. And that he wasn't freaking royalty. He pressed upward with the blade, forcing the kappa to tip his head back. "Do you think you would win a war against me, little man?"
What did you do for an old fae having flashbacks? Was this fae PTSD? Did he think it was still the good 'ol fifteen-hundreds? I shook my head, feeling all floaty, for some reason. Focus, Gesa.
The kappa sputtered. "They're just humans, Gods. Who cares about something like that?"
Oisin smiled. "Gesa does," he whispered. He moved his wrist, lifting the blade higher, pressing into soft skin.
The kappa wriggled, struggling to keep from having his throat slit, but in danger of tipping his head too far back and spilling out the fluid on top of his skull that kept him alive. "Come on. They're just humans."
I pulled back, taking the kappa out of Oisin's reach before my overzealous partner really did kill him. My back legs kept wanting to collapse, and I was feeling a little woozy. Blood slicked the concrete, making me stumble. Spitting out the kappa, I shifted.
I immediately grabbed the back of the kappa's shirt again, wrapping it in my fist and jerking him closer to me. "Who did you sell the humans to?" I hissed.
We needed him alive, because we needed to get them back.
He shook his head. "I only sold three so far. The rest were going to be auctioned off tomorrow."
I shook him. "Who. Where are the ones you sold?"
He farted. Kappa are the most disgusting creatures I have ever met. And that is saying something. I coughed on the noxious cloud but didn't let go like he was probably hoping. I shook him, hard, sloshing a bit of his precious brain juice out. He stiffened at once. "Derek White—"
I knew it!
"His secretary. Bought them a week ago. I don't know what he wanted them for. Took the prettiest ones, so...."
Sex slaves. Ugh. At least they would be alive, I guess.
I shoved the kappa away from me. "Don't fucking move or I will let the stabby little fae have fun with you."
Oisin smiled at the kappa like he was envisioning roasted turtle for dinner.
I hurried over to my shredded clothes to find my phone. Straightening, I flipped through the speed dial for the police. My fingers were hovering over the button when the warehouse door crashed open, rebounding back on itself with a metallic bang, stopped by a black-clad body. Half a dozen men slunk in, dressed in black body armor, with high-end rifles pointed at us.
"Secure," one said sharply.
They were all dressed the same, faces covered. And they moved with military precision into a clearly rehearsed formation.
Then, in strode Derek fucking White.
"I knew it!" I said, crossing my arms and tapping my foot in agitation. The movement reminded me that I still had a slowly bleeding wound in my right thigh. What a clusterfuck of a night.
White stared at me, the corner of his mouth twitching as if he was trying not to laugh. It took me a minute to realize what the creep thought was so funny. I'm sure I made quite the site, standing in the middle of a fight scene buck-ass naked, arms pressing my tits up like a freaking display, more muscle in sight than most men saw in a lifetime...with taloned bird feet for hands and lion's paws for feet. "Oh, fuck you. I knew you were involved in all this."
White paced forward, giving Oisin wide berth, an innocent look plastered on his perfect, smug fucking face. "I had nothing to do with the humans, Gesa. I was just coming to see what our toady little friend was getting up to."
"And you just happened to have some toy soldiers lying around collecting dust, so...."
He chuckled. "Things you wouldn't understand, Miss Lionheart."
I narrowed my eyes at him. "And you sent your secretary to make your business deals for you? What the hell do you even need humans for anyway? I'm sure you could slimeball your way into someone's bed without all this fuss." I blinked little black sunbursts out of my vision.
White cocked an eyebrow at me as if utterly confused. "My secretary bought some of the humans? For something sexual? And you think it was for me?"
I rolled my eyes. "Let's just move this along."
I jabbed the call button and held the phone to my ear.
"I wouldn't involve the police in this if I were you, Miss Lionheart. I'm sure Mr. Fairbanks has learned his lesson."
He glanced at the kappa, who turned a paler shade of green in response, but didn't speak.
"Come now, Mervin," White said, wrapping a long arm around the guy's neck and dragging him near. "Why don't we just go chat for a moment." He gestured at one of his men. "Bring that along, please Tony."
I hadn't noticed the briefcase in all the shooting. White's henchman snatched it up and glided out the door. "Look asshole. I don't know where you think you are going—"
"Hmm?" White turned to me carelessly. His eyes widened comically as he tripped over his own foot, dragging the kappa along with him.
I lurched forward as they stumbled, White's bigger mass sending the kappa tumbling ass over teakettle. The fluid on the top of the kappa's head spilled out, splashing across the concrete and smoking. It sent up a noxious swamp gas smell.
"You ass-sucking motherfucker!" I shouted. "You did that on purpose!"
White stepped back as the kappa convulsed on the floor. "What's happening?"
He was good actor, I'll give him that.
"You fucking killed him is what happened, dirtball."
I crouched by the kappa, but it was too late, and I had not a clue what to do for him. He shriveled up and dried out before my eyes, leaving behind what looked like the remains of a very large petrified turtle.
"Damn it," I breathed, black dots dancing on the edge of my vision.
I stood and took an angry step toward White, hired guns bedamned. But one step was as far as I got. On my second step, my right leg collapsed and the world tilted.
"Gesa!"
Red silk strands floated around my face as slender arms caught me and lowered me to the hard ground. I giggled at the strange sensations and the bursts of light in my vision, pulsing in time to my heartbeat.
"You should get that wound attended to, Miss Lionheart," White's smug voice floated above me.
"If your blackened heart had anything to do with this, I will fillet you alive. Slowly," Oisin promised, his voice a deadly hiss. "So slowly."
White chuckled and I heard the shuffle of feet moving away right before I blacked out.
Chapter 14
I wasn't out for long. The pain in my leg made sure of that, as my gryphon constitution slowly overcame all the blood loss. I sat up and felt grass under my hands. I was wearing the tattered remains of my jeans, which were more like a skirt now, and a smelly, torn t-shirt was stretched tight across my chest.
I stared into a pair of warm, concerned brown eyes. "Are you really okay? He said you'd be okay," Concord said softly, brushing my hair out of my eyes. "But I was sure you were going to bleed to death."
I took a breath and did a mental inventory. "Yeah, sure. As long as I'm not bleeding anymore, I'll be fine." A quick check showed no blood seeping through my tattered jean hula skirt. "We...uh...I heal fast."
He shook his head, his mop of brown curls ruffling in the slight breeze. "Thank you for coming to help. That guy wasn't human, right?" His golden-brown eyes were searching, not scared like I would have expected, but almost...hopeful?
"Um...yeah. Not human."
The sun was almost fully set. Concord plopped down on his butt next to me, and I took a moment to fully appreciate that he was shirtless. The guy was more toned than I would have expected. Compact, with just a hint of muscle. Not scrawny like someone who had trouble finding food should be. "You're not homeless."
He tilted his head and gave me a shy smile. "Yeah. Not homeless."
"The lovely Concord here is just a bleeding-heart humanitarian like someone else I know," Oisin said, dropping down on my other side. He looped his arms around his knees and gave me a comforting smirk. I had been worried about him. There was a lot of gunfire in his vicinity back in the warehouse. It was good to see he was his normal charming self. "Gods, Gesa. You hardly let me murder anyone. And then you let that White asshole h
ave my kill."
I heaved a sigh. "Glad you're okay, Gesa. Oh, what's that Oisin? Thanks. I'm happy you're okay too."
Concord leaned around me to look at Oisin. "Oisin? Like from the Noodle Hut? You're not human either, are you?"
The fae winked at him, and if we hadn't had the afternoon we'd just had, I would have sworn he was flirting. "Not by a long shot, sweet boy."
I heaved a tired sigh. I supposed I should probably be getting up and doing something. But damn it, I was tired. And hungry. "Where are the other humans?"
Concord shrugged one shoulder in a what-can-you-do motion. "They were all homeless drifters. Most of them had no official identity, or they had things they were running from. The police are coming. They split."
"Great. Now there's no witnesses or victims to talk to the police. And a shit ton of bodies."
Oisin piped up, as if commenting on the weather. "White dragged off most of the bodies, including the kappa. The two that are left look like they shot each other." He shrugged. "You were looking for a missing person and stumbled upon something weird going on at the warehouse. Maybe a failed drug deal. Maybe some sort of gang activity. Who knows?"
I stared at Oisin. "Lying is like breathing for fae, isn't it?"
He smiled at me. "That's why you keep me around. For my valuable contributions to this business operation."
I rubbed my hands over my face. "I'm going to have to talk to the police and look at my clothes."
"Easy. I'm taking you to the hospital because you were wounded. That gunshot will completely heal within the next few hours, so you'll be fine. So really, you'll go home and get some new clothes. What are they going to do?
I frowned. "Know I'm lying because I'm terrible at it. Fine me. Revoke my license. Make my life hell."
He shrugged. "So, nothing of note, really."
Concord was watching us with a gleam in his eyes. Like a scientist who had just witnessed some amazing discovery. "You're fae? Like...a fairy?" he said to Oisin, leaning forward with his hands on his knees.
Oisin grinned at him, turning that smirk on full innuendo mode. "One hundred percent fairy."