“My parents are dead?” Katy sobbed the question.
“No…I don’t know…I mean I’m hearing it everywhere, from everyone around us. It’s faint, but I still hear it. I’m even hearing it coming from us.” Grim said, and his voice was shaking with fear.
“So we’re going to die?” Niki croaked. She was so nervous she could barely speak.
“I don’t know. I don’t think it works like that. It gets louder the closer we get to dying. I heard the song playing one time when a guy was choking on a piece of burger, then when he got the Heimlich it went away. So I don’t think it means we’ll definitely die, but it does mean we’re in pretty deep.”
Penny said, “So, it’s no big deal. We already knew people were trying to kill us. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that you’d hear that song. For all our efforts to act like we aren’t in deep shit, let’s be honest…we all know we’re buried in it up to our eyeballs.”
“No, Penny. Hon’ I don’t think you guys understand. I’m not just hearing it from us. I’m hearing it from everyone. Every person we walked past in the lobby, every one of us, and even these dullahans. I heard it from them while they were chasing us. I’m hearing it from everywhere.” Grim said nervously.
“So you were upset because you really thought I might die?” Penny questioned.
“Yeah.”
“Oh Joseph…I’m so sorry.” Penny kissed the big guy, and you could just watch the tension melt from his body.
“It’s okay, I should have said something earlier, but I couldn’t even think where to start.” Grim smiled nervously.
“Well, we aren’t going to figure out how to fix that sitting here, so let’s check on Katy’s parents, and then get back to the hotel where we can start to sort things out.” Niki said, and clapped her hands in a demanding “let’s move it” gesture that I can only assume she learned watching her father.
My assumption was confirmed when I heard Grim grumble, “Daddy’s girl.”
Niki stuck her tongue out and said, “Mama’s boy.”
Grim walked back to the van, “Hey Penny. Would you find us some sticks? Try and get us some that are fairly straight, and about a foot long.” He then went to the back and before I could ask him anything he started walking back to the others with duct tape. Curiosity got the better of me. I hopped out of the van and followed him to the others.
Penny had found a handful of sticks. Grim picked out three of the straightest sticks, tossed the rest away, and then handed two of them to me.
“What are you up to?” Janine asked.
“What we have here are some enemy combatants, and since we don’t have a Guantanamo Bay to send them, we’ll have to improvise.” Grim smiled wickedly as he began duct taping the unconscious dullahan to the stick. “Faery pop?” He said as he held it out to Penny.
“Why, thank you.” She laughed and took the little faery on a stick.
Grim asked for another stick, and so I handed him one. Then he was fighting with a squirming little dullahan. The little guy, or girl…it’s hard to tell. They are kind of androgynous. Their tiny powder blue bodies, and pastel blue wings gave them all a very feminine appearance, but they lacked any curves that you’d expect on a woman, or any masculine traits. They are just…faeries.
The little faery screamed, “You will die Lightbringer!”
Grim lifted the faery up to eye level. “Listen here.”
Before he could finish the faery spat at him. “We will feast on your bones! The Darkness will rise, and claim you. When The Darkness is done you will be a crying shell of flesh, and we will use these sows you surround yourself with for our personal playthings. We will use your skull for our candy dish. We will…”
Grim gave the little faery a shake, “Blah, blah blah! What you will do is shut the hell up before I pinch your head off.” The faery shut up immediately, but glared mercilessly. I have to say, for something only eight to ten inches tall…it had a pretty impressive glare. Grim continued, “Now, I can duct tape you to the stick, or if you keep squirming I’ll shove this stick up your butthole and won’t stop until you look like one of those rotisserie chickens at Boston Market. I don’t know whether you might survive that or not, you little guys seem pretty tough, but there are two more of you so if you don’t survive then that’s perfectly fine by me. Now, what is it going to be?”
“Fine, but know this Lightbringer…when this is over I will dance on your bones, and defile your empty skull.” The little faery stopped fighting, and Grim duct taped him to the stick.
The final faery was actually kind of polite. “I assume as your prisoner, you’ll be interrogating us?” Grim grinned. The faery shivered, and then nodded, “Please don’t be too harsh on the unconscious one. She doesn’t really know anything, and we forced her to assist us.”
“Tell us what we want to know, and then we won’t have to interrogate her.” Grim’s voice was calm, but determined.
“I wish I could, but unfortunately I’m afraid you’ll find us all with very limited information, but I will tell you what I can.” The faery sighed and seemed resigned to his fate.
“What about my parents?” Katy screamed.
“I’m sorry madam…but the house was very much empty when we arrived. Our chief sent us. I assume that the house was cleared before we arrived. We’d only been there a few minutes before you arrived.” The faery sounded sincere.
“So your chief would know?” Grim asked.
“I doubt it. When we are sent somewhere, it is just to handle one specific situation. We are never told the actual details. We knew you’d all be coming, and to set a trap, but that is all.”
“So the reason you’re so willing to tell us this is?” I asked.
“What does it matter? I don’t know anything. None of us do. We were just following orders. Even our chief only knows so much. There’s no point in keeping useless information from you, and besides I feel bad for Twilight. She didn’t want to be part of this. The hothead over there…his name is Sunset. He’s her brother. He forced her to come with us.” The faery glared at Sunset, and Sunset stared daggers back.
“So, who are you?” Grim asked.
“Who?” The faery said.
“That’s what I asked. Who are you?”
“Who.”
“You.” Grim was starting to sound irritated.
“Who.”
Grim glared at him for a moment, and then laughed. “Who is your name? As a fan of Abbot and Costello, you’d think I would have caught that. Well, Who. I’d love to continue this conversation, but we need to get out of here just in case someone else decides to drop in and attack us.”
“That seems perfectly understandable. Would you please be careful with Twilight?” Who asked gently.
“Yeah, but if you guys try anything funny then I might just have to show you what I learned as a kid when I played with my G.I. Joe’s.” Grim chuckled darkly.
Niki laughed, “Grim, that’s just mean. Besides, gluing firecrackers to them, burning them with magnifying glasses, and pulling their legs off…I’m pretty sure that stuff is covered in the Geneva convention.”
“Yes, and if they were humans they’d be completely protected, but since they are faeries….mwuahahahahaha!” Grim’s evil laugh sent a chill up my spine.
“Please! Do what you want to me and Sunset, but just don’t hurt Twilight.” Who said nervously.
“You really care about her, huh?” Grim said.
“She’s my whole world. She only agreed to come because Sunset promised that if we both went, and the mission was successful, that he’d agree to let her take me as her husband.” Who’s eyes were pleading, and we all knew right then and there he was telling the truth.
“Aw, that’s just sweet.” Danika sighed, and gave Niki a hug.
Grim nodded and looked down at Who, “I’ll tell you what. Tell us everything when we get back to the hotel. Then, if we think you guys are telling the truth, I might…I’m making no promises here, but I
might let you go. Of course, I’m still drawing a mustache on you in permanent marker, and maybe giving Twilight nipples, and probably drawing a penis on Sunset. I mean, I have an image to maintain.”
“Mustache? Nipples? Penis?” Who sounded confused.
“You don’t know what I’m talking about at all, do you?” Grim asked.
“No, I know what they are. I just don’t understand?” Who still sounded confused.
“Don’t worry. You’ll figure it out. Now we have to get going.” Grim laughed and tossed the stick with the now firmly attached Who over to Penny.
Chapter 17
“Und noo ve-a interrugete-a zee preesuners. Um gesh dee bork, bork!” Grim said in his best Swedish Chef. One of the rooms on our floor was designed to resemble a kitchen. Outside of the bed in the corner of the room, the whole place was a fully stocked kitchen. The three faeries had been taken off of the sticks. The removal of the duct tape caused each of them to emit tiny screams of agony. They were then each tied securely to shish kabob sticks. The reasoning Grim gave for removing the duct tape was that it would be difficult to properly interrogate the faeries, but I think part of it was that he found some evil pleasure in making these little blue guys screech as the tape was pulled off slowly.
“I will use your testicles as a paperweight! When I am done your soul will be my ashtray! I will mrmph!” Sunset’s crazed rant was muffled as Grim stuffed him into a bag full of marshmallows.
Twilight and Who watched the big guy nervously. Grim was humming happily as he was pulling out pans, pots, and all other kinds of cooking supplies. He set a cutting board down beside Who, and then went back to dig up some ingredients.
Twilight squeaked as Grim set down a knife beside her. She then looked up bravely and said, “Sir? What are your plans for us?”
Grim smiled down at the little faery, “Yuoo veell tell me-a vhet yuoo knoo, und I veell meke-a my freeends deenner. Hurty flurty schnipp schnipp! I'm keelling tvu burds veet oone-a stune-a.” Grim then began chopping up an onion beside Who.
Twilight looked to Who questioningly, and Who answered, “I’m not sure what he said, either. He wasn’t talking like that earlier.” Then when Grim turned back to find more supplies, Who whispered, “I think he might be a few flowers short of a bouquet, but let’s not make him angry because he’s big, even for their kind, and he promised to let us go if we just tell them what we know.”
“But we don’t know anything.” Twilight sounded panicked.
“Yeah, I already told them that, too, but they just want to make sure. Just stay calm, and don’t make them angry. Maybe we can get out of this alive.” Who said tenderly. It was just so cute. The little guy was trying to keep Twilight calm. It was really obvious that he was in love with her. The only time he showed any anger at all was when Grim pulled the duct tape off of her. Her little screams had Who fighting to get off his stick to come help her. Grim tried to be extra careful with her, but that duct tape wasn’t gentle no matter how careful he tried to be.
Grim returned to cutting up onions. Tears were streaming down Who’s face, “Sir? What is this? What are you doing?”
Grim smiled, “I'm mekeeng deenner. Hurty flurty schnipp schnipp! Noo vhere-a is zee meet, und I need tu feend sume-a chuculete-a fur zee fundooe-a put. Um de hur de hur de hur.” Grim went to the refrigerator.
Niki was doubled over laughing at her brother. When she regained her composure she walked over to Twilight, “Don’t mind him, he’s just having a little fun. Grim likes to cook, which is probably a good thing because nobody else around here likes to.”
“Hey, I like to cook.” I said.
“DD I love you, and I respect you, but the ability to push start on microwavable Hot Pockets doesn’t count as cooking.” Niki teased.
“Don’t tease her too bad. DD actually makes pretty good lasagna. It’s just like her mom used to make. I can’t blame her for not wanting to cook. I mean any opportunity to get Grim into an apron…sexy.” Penny leaned against the island, her cleavage hovering over Who’s head. Twilight caught a glimpse of her faery love ogling up into what had to seem like mountainous breasts. Twilight gave an angry cough.
“Sorry.” Who said sheepishly, “You know I only have eyes for my little mushroom.”
“You’d better!” Twilight threatened.
Grim was chopping up other vegetables, and was thawing meat in the microwave. He was just in his own happy zone. Danika came up next to Niki, gave her a kiss, and patted her on the butt. “Can you make your brother hurry up…another few minutes and I’m going to start seriously considering cannibalism.”
“Poor baby, you’re really hungry aren’t you.” Niki kissed her lover on the nose. Danika’s only answer was an angry rumbling from her tummy, and a whimper of hunger as the meat began slowly cooking. Danika reached over and turned the burner up, and was smacked on the hand with a wooden spoon by a playfully cross Grim.
“Du nut roosh my cuukeeng. It veell be-a reedy vhee it is reedy. Bork bork bork!” Grim turned the flame back down.
“Pleee-ease!” Danika sobbed, “I’m hungry.”
Niki hugged her, and tried to sooth her. “Here Puddin’ have a marshmallow.” She reached in and pulled Sunset out of the bag, and set him down beside the other two faeries. Then she playfully started popping marshmallows into Danika’s mouth.
Niki kept cramming marshmallows in faster than Danika could eat them. Danika’s cheeks were bulging out like a chipmunk’s, and the marshmallows were starting to peek out from between her lips. Danika was chewing and trying to swallow as fast as she could, and Niki was shoveling more marshmallows in. The rest of us just stood around laughing, and watching Danika battle with the ever growing mouthful of marshmallowy goodness.
“I peed on those.” Sunset growled.
Danika froze, and then ran to the sink to spit them out. Sunset howled in laughter, “Stupid Lightbringer!” The other two faeries stared at us in horror. It was obvious they were afraid we’d blame them for Sunset’s behavior.
Katy pounded her fist down beside the laughing little faery. “Where are my parents?”
Sunset bounced a couple times due to the impact, then howled, “Who knows? Who cares? Any couple that could squat out a little degenerate like you isn’t worth caring about anyway.”
Katy screamed and was about to squash the faery like a bug when Grim spun around, “No.” His voice was like steel. Katy froze, and to be honest all of us just…stopped.
“I need to know where my parents are!” Katy screamed.
“I’ll get them to tell me.” Grim said calmly.
“And if they don’t?”
“Then they don’t know where your parents are.” Grim said matter-of-factly.
“You sound pretty sure of yourself.” Katy snorted in derision.
“They’ll talk.” Grim sounded confident.
“But…”
“Katy, the time I spent being tortured by Alhambra…I learned a lot about myself, and about others. If I know half as much about the art of pain as I think I do then they’ll talk. Now that little weasel is probably the only one that knows anything. I’m pretty sure these other two don’t know much, but what they do know they’ll tell.” Grim’s eyes were cold and emotionless. For a moment there I didn’t even see a shred of the man I knew. The man standing in front of me was hard, and determined. This man didn’t bend, he didn’t accommodate others, and there was no difference in his eyes between the innocent or the guilty. There were just the victims, and those smart enough to stay out of his way. This side of Grim was like a force of nature waiting to be unleashed.
Katy stomped away, “Fine, but I can’t wait around here anymore. I’m going to make my way down to the bar. Call the bar when you find out something. I got my spare phone. If I stay here anymore then I’m going to lose it and flambé them myself.”
Grim turned his cold predatory eyes back to the faeries, and with one blink he was back to the same goofy guy we all knew, “Su ve-a vere-a gueen
g tu meke-a sume-a chuculete-a fundooe-a veet mershmelloos tu deep, boot noo I hefe-a tu imprufeese-a seence-a yuoo rooeened zee mershmelloos. Um gesh dee bork, bork!”
Sunset screamed, “Stop talking like that you giant ape! I will flay the skin from your body! I will peel your finger and toenails off slowly one by one. I will make you beg for mercy, and then I will say no.”
“Zee leettle-a feery is veereeng beeg buy punts, boot nut noo leettle-a gooy. Bork bork bork! Deddy's melteeng chuculete-a.” Grim’s response only infuriated the tiny faery more. Sunset was practically frothing at the mouth. As he grew more angry, his voice raised in pitch until he was just a series of squeaks and screeches. Grim ignored the little guy and started melting the chocolate. Then Grim went on a wild search through the kitchen supplies until he came back with an armful of bananas, strawberries, angel food cake, and some cooking sherry. He set the fruit down and handed me a knife. “Here, make yourself useful. Chop the angel food cake into bite sized squares, cut the bananas into fourths, and after you’re done find some graham crackers if you can. I think they were over there by the fridge, but I don’t remember.”
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Ve-a hefe-a a hoongry hoongry verooulff in oooor meedst. Um de hur de hur de hur. Iff I dun't feed her, zeen she-a veell cunteenooe-a tu vheene-a tu my seester, und my seester veell vheene-a tu me-a. Zeen vhu vuoold I vheene-a tu? Nu! Ve-a moost stup ell thees vheening beffure-a it sterts, und thet meuns mure-a fuud fur zee foorry leettle-a verooulff.”
“What?” We all said in unison, except for Niki, who was laughing her perky head off.
When she finally quieted to a giggle, we all glared at her until she explained. “He said, and I quote, we have a hungry, hungry werewolf in our midst. If I don't feed her, then she will continue to whine to my sister, and my sister will whine to me. Then who would I whine to? No! We must stop all this whining before it starts, and that means more food for the furry little werewolf…unquote. I have to say Bro, you are getting way too good at that Chef voice.”
Midnight Squad: The Ties That Bind Page 28