bedeviled & beyond 04 - bedeviled & belittled (26 page)

That’s Queen Tadpole to you.
Her voice was filled with relief. Despite the terrifying and confident front she’d presented to her people, she’d apparently been just as nervous as I was.

You’ll always be an annoying little tadpole who eats candles and farts laser bombs to me, Glynus.

Her chuckle was a comforting rumble in my mind
. I’m glad you’re here to keep me humble, Mother halfling.

I grinned.
So am I, Tadpole. So am I.

The sound of wings beating the air behind us made me turn. Dialle and the other warriors we’d taken to Hades were hurrying up behind us. He didn’t look surprised to see us still alive. He winked at me as the black he rode pulled up next to Glynus and stopped, hovering on the air with powerful strokes of its massive wings.

The blacks ranged themselves around Glynus and Gwith slowed her approach, sucking back in fear.

But Glynus glared at her and she resumed her normal flight. When she hovered before us finally, her attitude had changed substantially from what we’d observed when she had thousands of dragons at her back.

A quick conversation between Glynus and Gwith told us what we had feared. Zerphor and Quince had been taken by Nerul and the blacks had been told the reds took her.

I was pretty sure the red queen had been taken too, and her people had most likely been told the blacks were responsible. “Nerul has set himself up nicely.” I told Dialle. “When the smoke clears, both queendoms will be leaderless, each blaming the other for the condition, and he will take them under his rule.”

Dialle nodded. “With the dragons as his warriors, he would be a force to be reckoned with.”

“That’s why we aren’t going to let him get away with it.” I looked at Gwith. “Glynus, does she know where Nerul is?”

After a moment Glynus lowered her head in a nod.
She will take us there. But we have one more thing to deal with first.

Glynus turned to face the red tide heading our way and I sighed. This was quickly becoming like one of those dreams where you spend all night trying to get up one staircase but you never quite make it to the top. And you know you need to get up there because you’re naked and all your clothes are in a pile at the top. And just when you think you’re gonna make it a purple squish demon from Mars jumps in front of you, waggling its long, warty tongue in your direction, and then you... Well...you get where I’m going with that.

Thousands of red dragons roared toward us on a wave of heat and smoke. The sky darkened with their presence. Their numbers were so vast they blocked out the light of the sun at their backs. Heat ripples rose above them and fire columns blasted from hundreds of flared nostrils at regular intervals.

The black dragons at my back bristled and I could feel their fire building in response to the tsunami of dark intent heading our way from the reds.

Ahead of them, running for their lives, were Slayer and the black that was carrying him.

“Glynus!”

I am trying to reach the Queen of the Reds but she does not respond.

Sighing, I turned to Dialle. “The red queen is missing too.”

He nodded. “This would be a good time for Myra to return.”

Isn’t there anything you can do?
I asked Glynus.

Yes. Gwith, inform the army. We will sing.

The larger black jerked her head upward and swung around. She flapped her wings hard and flew back toward the anxious ranks of blacks, roaring mightily as she went.

“What?” Dialle asked.

“They’re going to sing.”

“Oh.” Dialle grinned mischievously. “What? Like, Kumbaya?”

I snorted. “If only.”

Glynus turned to face the endless array of black dragons of her queendom. She opened her mouth wide and emitted the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard. Crystalline notes danced through the air and filled me with the utmost calm and peace. Almost as one, thousands of dragons joined the song.

The sound was so powerful that tears flowed down my cheeks. I gasped as the notes swelled to the point where the air vibrated with their power. Glynus turned back toward the oncoming reds and I said a silent prayer as the lines of heat-soaked reds seemed to stutter and slow, suddenly unsure what to do.

They finally jerked to a halt and stared across the narrow slice of sky that remained between the two armies.

The black that Slayer was riding opened its huge maw and joined in the song, swinging around in midair to face the sea of reds, which appeared to be confused as to what to do.

“I didn’t realize they could use the song against each other.” I murmured. I’d seen a combined army of reds and blacks, along with the celestial choir, use the song very effectively against Dialle the First and an invading group of dark world types at St. Peter’s gates. But I didn’t realize the song could calm a warring dragon faction.

The air between the armies shimmered and, one by one, the Angels popped into view. They quickly lifted their voices in angelic chorus, the sweet notes flowing upward in an almost visible wave, to mix with the unfathomable beauty of the dragons’ song.

The reds pressed backward, away from the crystalline notes throbbing on the air, and looked as if the music pained them.

“The song targets evil intent. If the reds’ hearts were pure, they would join in the song rather than run from it.” Dialle explained.

“They’re under some kind of influence.”

“Yes. Nerul’s.”

As the red army backed away, stumbling over each other to escape the immensely powerful notes, the angels and the blacks moved forward, driving them back the way they’d come.

Finally, with a terrified roar, an enormous red in the center of the front line lifted straight up, flying over the army as fast as she could, back the way they’d come. Chaos ensued as the rest of the reds followed, jockeying for position in the sea of red dragons desperate to get away.

Their work seemingly done, the dragons’ song softened and started to fade away. The angels allowed their chorus to fade too. And silence reigned for a few seconds.

I sighed, swiping at moisture on my cheeks. “Damn! I hate when I cry like a girl.”

~SC~

Nerul was staying in Aphrodite’s castle at the edge of the golden city of Olympus. Apparently Aphrodite was summering on the French Riviera and the castle had been available for lease.

I couldn’t help wondering if the goddess of love would condone having the king of deception living within her beautiful walls. Knowing what I did about the horny goddess, she’d probably be okay with it as long as he agreed to sleep with her.

That was exactly the kind of rent Nerul would be happy to pay.

I forced my mind back to the business at hand. Aside from the logistical problem of taking Nerul and his evil minions down without destroying Olympus and angering the gods, I had other concerns. Aphrodite’s castle was rumored to be saturated with lust magic.

And me with my Settling up around my ears.

“I’m not comfortable with this.” I told Dialle for the hundredth time.

“Do you want to stay on the dragon while I take him down?”

I could hear the smile in Dialle’s voice and it pissed me off. “Oh sure, yuck it up, bud. You’re not the one with a permanent horny on.”

Dialle leaned around to give me an, “are you kidding me?” Look. “Astra, my love, do you watch the show? I’m a guy
and
a devil.”

I bit back a grin. He had a point. “Oh yeah. There is that.”

He kissed my shoulder and my happy place clenched in anticipation, warm cream trickled into my panties. I was in a bad way. It had been hours since I’d had sex and my body thought it was way past time for a little nookie-rama. Not a good way to walk into a lust-drenched castle and do battle with a skunk of a royal devil.

“Just stay close to me,” Dialle instructed, “If the problem rises to emergency levels I’ll do my solemn duty and frunk you senseless on the spot.” He sighed dramatically. “I’ll just have to take one for the team.”

I snorted in a very unladylike way. “You’ve been around me too long, bud.”

“Not nearly long enough, my love. You know, you could just stay in kick-ass mode. That seems to work too.”

“Yeah. I’ll just think demolition and destruction the whole time I’m in the castle. That should keep my Settling at bay.”

“That’s my girl.”

~SC~

Aphrodite’s castle was on the outskirts of Olympus, tucked in a semi-circle of rolling green foothills with a fork of the Hoh River forming a picturesque backdrop.

We approached the castle from the mountain side, flying over acres of flower beds, dense tree growth, and a particularly interesting shrub formation, shaped like an enormous dick in full ready mode. The fat tip of the shaft pointed toward a large rose bush. The metaphoric meaning was not lost on me.

Dialle and I snickered as we flew over that.

“Where are Nerul’s guards?” I asked Dialle.

He frowned. “Look carefully at the ground, Astra.”

I squinted and noticed a slight shimmering quality to the grounds below. “Ah. There it is.” The grounds of Aphrodite’s castle were covered with a masking spell. “An Olympian alarm system.”

Dialle nodded, glancing toward Gerch, his right hand—erm—devil. He motioned Gerch forward and Gerch nodded, lifting a heavily muscled arm above his head to engage his warriors. “Can your dragon mask herself?”

“You mean Glynus, the Queen of the Blacks?” I knew as I said it that I was wasting my time. Sarcasm was just one of those things the Royal Devil didn’t do.

“Yes.”

Zing! Right over his head. “She’s not a pet you know.”

Dialle shrugged. Anything that wasn’t devil or royal was a pet to him. I frowned, realizing that included me.

“Gerch will engage the enemy while we enter the castle, kill Nerul, and rescue your sister.”

Slam, bam, thank you ma’am.

“Sounds too easy.”

Dialle’s hand, which had been resting on my thigh, slid to cover my happy place and I gasped. “It has to be. I’m tired of wasting time on this drivel. You and I have a date we need to get to.”

I closed my eyes and leaned my head against his chest as his insistent fingers engaged a lovely, circular pressure on my throbbing clit. “I love a man who has his priorities in order.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Marked

Our Lady doth a fightin’ go, into the lust abyss,

Will darkness find our randy lass, as she searches for her sis?

The sounds of fighting filled the air behind us as we neared the opaline walls of Aphrodite’s castle. Glynus headed toward the tallest tower, where Nerul’s guards lined the edges, shooting old fashioned, wooden arrows at Dialle’s men on the ground. They didn’t even glance our way. Glynus was still cloaked, all but invisible to the guards on the roof. If they squinted they’d be able to see a slight shimmer on the air where we were.

But they were too busy trying to take out Dialle’s warriors.

Is it time, Mother halfling.

Go for it, Tadpole.

Glynus would not be able to retain her cloaking once she started sending columns of fire toward Nerul’s men. I’d told her to hold out until we were almost on them.

Her first shot sprayed one whole side of the castle, taking out at least twenty of Nerul’s guards.

Do a flyover, Tadpole, we’re gonna jump off.

As soon as Glynus fired on the guards she cloaked herself again, dipping quickly to avoid the slew of arrows that followed. She swung around to the other side of the castle and sprayed that line of guards with fire, and then swept over the roof and dropped low enough for Dialle and me to jump to the roof.

She shimmered away as a new line of guards took aim. Dialle and I lifted our hands and fired power arrows at them before they could let loose.

I cloaked myself with a power bubble just in time to avoid becoming Swiss halfling cheese from the arrows of another group of guards across the roof. That group soon found itself dealing with Glynus, and Dialle and I took advantage of her attack to disappear down the stairwell into the castle. The stairs spilled us out into a hallway that was thick with Nerul’s guards. Dialle released a spray of power that took out the front edge of warriors as we ran down the hallway, but as he killed the first wave the next wave just filled the breech.

I fired behind us, cleaning up any guards coming from the other direction.

It didn’t take long for us to get into a situation where we were forced to use hand to hand combat. Our opponents closed us in at the center of the long hallway and we couldn’t fire on them without suffering from the backlash of power.

Dialle and I went back to back and I pulled metal.

With a long, deadly knife in each hand, I faced a growing wall of soldiers.

The snick of metal against metal told me that Dialle had drawn his sword.

I plowed into the oncoming wave of Nerul’s men, knives flashing. While I fought, I shuffled my mental drawers and contacted my sister.

Multi-task thy name is woman.

Darma?

Astra! Where the hell have you been? I’m dyin’ here!

I sliced the thick, red throat of one guard and plunged a knife into the chest of the one behind him. They both fell at my feet, barely missing my pretty boots. Thick, red blood splattered the soft leather. “Shit! Always with the boots!”

I cleaned the top of the splattered boot on the dead guard’s uniform, and stepped over the bodies, lifting my knives just in time to trap a sword driving toward my chest with them.

We just found you. Can you tell me where you are in the castle?
Jerking the sword from the red guy’s thick fingers, I threw it to the side and plunged both knives into the center of his chest, yanking them sideways before jerking them back out. He dropped in a boneless heap at my feet.

I told you, I’m in a tower.

A thick, red arm slid around my throat and jerked me backward, tightening to cut off my air. I reached up and sent a power arrow into the guard’s throat. The arm around my neck loosened and I turned, driving my knife into his chest up to the hilt. I watched the light fade from his eyes before jerking the knife free. “To Hades with you fool, for God hath tired of you.”