Unawakened
Page 29
“You have a strange way of showing your gratitude.” I chewed on my lower lip so I wouldn’t smile. “You still have red marks on your face. You should put something on those.”
“They’ll be gone by tomorrow. In a week, you won’t have any bruises left, either, and no one will know you broke your nose. Maybe Smith’s out of the picture, but his death is only the beginning. Once people realize he’s gone for good, there will be a lot of people fighting for the chance to take over his life.”
I frowned. “Why should I care?”
Rob released me, got to his feet and went to the aquarium, bending over to peer into Oliver’s cave. Tapping on the glass, he made a thoughtful noise in his throat before saying, “If Dean Lewis was really hiring Terry Moore to kill those women, he’ll hunt down a new killer and another batch of drugs. You want justice for their deaths, and I promised I’d help you get it. Who knows? You could be the one who takes Smith’s place. We could make you the Queen of Baltimore.”
I laughed. “Why would I accept a demotion? Sullivan already calls me Your Imperial Majesty. I’m pretty certain Imperial Majesties are higher in rank than mere queens. You’ll have to do better than that, sir.”
Rob turned to face me, his eyes wide. “He said that?”
Oliver chose that moment to zip out of his cave, dart to the surface of the aquarium, and dive onto Rob. All eight tentacles wrapped around Rob’s head, covering his eyes. Rob choked out a single word before a slimy tentacle gagged him.
Grimacing, I watched the struggle between the dae and the cephalopod, remembering just how awful octopus slime tasted.
While Rob struggled to extract the octopus from his face, Colby emerged from the safety of Oliver’s cave, surged out of the water, and used Rob’s back as a springboard to launch itself across the living room.
I ended up with a lap full of wet, oozing noodles. Sighing, I patted Colby, grimacing at the neon-orange stains on my skin. “It’s okay, Colby. I won’t let him do anything.”
Oliver held Rob hostage until the dae fell to his hands and knees. Before I worried too much about Rob’s safety, the octopus released him and climbed up the glass to plop back into the water, leaving slimy streaks in its wake.
Rob groaned, hanging his head in defeat. “Beaten by an octopus.”
“Poor Rob. You’ve had such a hard day. Why don’t I take you to bed, tuck you in, and make you feel all better?”
Today, I had Rob, odd friends I didn’t feel I deserved, and a new appreciation for my life. Tomorrow, I would worry about the rest.
Dae Portals Novels
Dawn of Dae (December 1, 2015)
Unawakened (January 25, 2016)
The Hound and the Chameleon (2016)
Summit
World at War
Feather’s Angel
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