CHAPTER 33

"Where the hell did she get that?" he asked, then looked down at Quetzalli. "Are you okay? You didn't get hit, did you?"

The dragon grinned, her cheeks crimson from the cold. He was on top of her and suddenly aware that his hands had been planted along her ribs. Her breasts were large enough that when they had flattened, they now pressed against his wrists.

"I'm okay," she told him, then gave him a little kiss on the nose. The resulting shock made him bite the tip of his tongue. "My hero."

All around them, the forest came to life with the sounds of chirps and hooting, as if a thousand horny owls were vying for his attention. He moved off of Quetzalli and chanced a glance over the top of the barrier. Yuki was summoning four-foot long spears of frost that flew up into the trees once formed. Dana and Abella were protecting the kitsune from projectiles. With every passing moment, Dana looked more like a porcupine than a woman.

The cold feeling returned and he looked back in the direction that they had come. A group of the stout little men emerged from the forest, their teeth bared.

"Abella," he called out as he covered Quetzalli's ears with his hands. "Ears!"

The gargoyle shoved her fingers in her ears as he took a deep breath and then let out a piercing cry. It was the banshee magic he let loose from within, a hair-raising sound that he had practiced for hours with Cecilia's tutelage. What had once been a loud shriek now sounded like a dissonant blast of more than one voice. Not only was it painful for others to hear, but it was also downright terrifying.

The little men panicked and turned to run. A couple of them hesitated, the scream not enough to frighten them off.

Quezalli raised her hands and summoned lightning from her fingertips. When it struck the pair, they let out a howl of agony and fell to the ground, their bodies twitching even after she stopped.

In a moment of respite, Mike reached into his pockets and pulled out a small baggie of earplugs.

"Time to kick some ass," he told Quetzalli as he handed her a pair. "It's gonna get loud, so put them in."

She grinned, then stuffed the plugs in her ears.

"You may be making a lot of noise," she shouted with an arched eyebrow. Electricity crackled all along the length of her horn as the air around her crackled with energy. "But I want you to remember that lightning does all the work."

Above them, thunder rumbled in the clouds. Laughing, they both ran to join the others.

🏠🏠🏠

Velvet yawned, her jaw clicking as she did so. The front door of the house had been barred, and the windows shuttered. Between some of the fierce winter storms and the goblin attacks so long ago, the cabin was perfectly capable of being turned into a defensive fortress for a little bit.

Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be manned by only one person. Emery helped out where he could, flying around the house and constantly checking windows for movement.

Bigfoot was out cold on the couch. She had feared that the poison was lethal, but Bigfoot wasn't most creatures. He had started rambling around midnight in an ancient language that made the air feel thick and heavy. Around two in the morning, he had gotten into an imaginary argument with her father about cheating at poker. Mostly, what he said was nonsense.

At five in the morning, Bigfoot had ripped a gnarly fart that made her eyes water, but had finally settled. Other than the occasional groan, it seemed like the worst had passed.

During this period of time, Velvet had watched as the little people had come out of the woods to inspect her home. They were aware that she was in the cabin and stayed back, but had ransacked the barn. She watched in dismay as they lost a large chunk of their supplies to the invaders, and had actually cracked the door to take a couple of shots when the opportunity arose.

It was strange that the little people weren't trying to break in. If they knew she was there, why not press the attack while Bigfoot was down?

Something wasn't right, and she thought back to her argument with Eulalie. Her sister had been convinced that some intelligent force was conspiring against them, but Velvet had refused to see it. These people outside her home seemed smart enough to survive, but based on their behavior, they weren't the ones in charge.

So, who could it be?

"Velvet?" Emery landed on the frame of the door, his tiny limbs clinging to the wood. "You need to eat something. It's almost dinnertime."

"I suppose." She peered through the window once more. There wasn't any sign of the little people now. Still, she hated to look away.

"I'll keep watch. Take five minutes, go eat and drink. It'll be okay." He shooed her off and she walked into the kitchen to see what he had brought her. It was a raccoon that Eulalie had trapped a couple of weeks ago, tidily wrapped in a web. She opened her mouth wide for her fangs to descend and sank them into the tenderized flesh and drank.

The cocoon in her hands shriveled up like a giant Capri Sun as she drank the meal inside. When she was done, she got herself a glass of water from the sink and was grateful when liquid flowed from the faucet. Now that the cabin itself was under attack, Eulalie's concerns seemed well-founded. Hopefully, the little people wouldn't find out how to ruin their water supply.

"Something is happening out there." Emery frowned, which was almost comical. His long-pointed nose hung down over his lips, making him look like a sad little troll.

"What?" she asked.