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“Stanley, take four large steps backwards now please,” she told him. He did, immediately, pulling Marisa with him. The old crone, grumbling under her breath stepped away as well.
Morris was pissed off at how stuck up the intense bitch was as she stepped back as well. She was doing that whisper thing again and he felt his rage flare. It was time to put a slug in someone’s head. She looked like a perfect volunteer.
Walter was becoming exhausted. He was so out of practice and he was old. Even for one as long lived as his kind could be, he was old. The Valkyrie showed no signs of slowing or weakening. The skies they flew in were limited as they were merely a memory. He had to veer away from the edges as he felt them approaching and each time he did he felt the cursed woman gaining on him. In a straight flight, he might be faster than her but he didn’t have the space.
If he couldn’t outfly her he would go on the offensive. He coiled his neck back to rapidly spit fireballs at her but she dodged and twisted through the stream of missiles then shot forward.
Panicking, Walter blasted a huge gout of fire then radically altered his vector while hidden by the cloud of fire. He felt his wings strain painfully. He wouldn’t be able to pull off this move more than once but that’s all he needed. He swung his tail in a wide sweep to hit her as she burst out of the flames right… THERE!
The heavy tail swung through the dissipating fireball to hit- nothing! Once more his muscles strained to compensate for the efforts he was making. He twisted and tried to look in every direction as she wasn’t hard to find with that obnoxious glowing. He sailed in a circle frantically looking for the Valkyrie but she was nowhere to be found. Could- could he have knocked her from the sky with the fireball? He scanned the clearing below but she was not there. She fell into the forest?
His eyes locked on Baba and he forgot about the Valkyrie. He still had some of the extra power from his link. He shot downwards preparing to spit fire at the crone. If he could cause enough chaos he might have a chance of escaping this damn trap.
Too late, he heard the high-pitched scream of wind ripped apart by the Valkyrie’s wings as her attack came out of the sun. He wrenched his body badly as he twisted at the last second to put his claws between them but it was her spear that greeted him. The point drove through his chest and punched out the other side through his spine. He felt the moment his lower half lost sensation and his wings lost their coordination. He wasn’t too far above the clearing but now he was in freefall.
Morris swung the gun’s muzzle back towards the snooty bitch giving orders. Fuck, he hated bossy chicks! This one needed to die. No one was going to talk to the cops about what happened down here so there was no need to resist his natural impulse.
He grinned in anticipation then screamed in pain as the goon he had in a headlock bit down on his arm deeply. Blood spurted as sharp pointed teeth punctured a vein and Morris felt his left hand go numb as intense pain shot up his arm. His right arm was being pushed upwards, spoiling his aim at the woman. Glancing up at his gun he just had time to see the sky filling with the body of the falling monster.
He didn’t have time for another scream.
The Dragon’s body slammed to the ground, crushing the detective and his hostage.
Huge white wings beat the air as Sigrid settled down feather light on the chest of the huge beast. She took a grip on her spear and wrenched it from the wound, blood spurting from the hole as the pierced heart drained Walter’s blood into his chest.
The Dragon struggled to lift its head to look at the Valkyrie standing on him. He coughed lightly and blinked his glazed eyes. “You… are just… a puppet… of the witch.”
Sigrid smiled. “I didn’t do this for her. I’m taking your life for what you did to Stanley and Meixiu. What you’ve done to him is beyond evil but we will see it undone. What you did to Meixiu? She was just a child! She told me. She told me the horrible, sick things you forced her to do. I do this for her… this is HER VENGEANCE!” Sigrid bellowed as she drove the point of her spear into Walter’s skull between his eyes and into his brain. There was just a quick flash of terror before the life drained from the large eyes. Sigrid kicked his snout as she yanked her spear free. She flicked the gore from the weapon then put it away. Leaping from his chest she sailed gracefully down to the ground and took a moment to give thanks.
“Put the lightshow away.”
Sigrid glanced over at the squinting crone then put away her armor, the clearing dimming significantly.
“Nicely done,” Baba said to the Valkyrie as she walked slowly past. She proceeded to climb up onto the Dragon’s chest as the rest watched in surprise.
The witch pulled some large ornate scissors from the pocket of her apron and proceeded to cut her way into the Dragon’s chest cavity. The sight of the old woman cutting her way inside the Dragon was horrifying as was the sound of bones breaking.
They heard a triumphant cry from inside and the witch crawled back out of the steaming cavity clinging to a large circular ring of black bone. She was covered in blood and bits of Dragon flesh. As she crawled back down to the ground however, the blood and flesh soaked into her clothes and skin so she was clean by the time her feet touched the ground.
“Stanley, come here! I have a new ring for you,”
“Are you mad?!? Absolutely not!” Queen Mab cried.
Baba glared at the Queen. “You are partially responsible for spoiling his disguise so you have no say in how he protects himself from the Humans now.”
“Spoiling? The ring is a doomsday weapon!” Marisa exclaimed. “You have to find a way to remove it or defuse it!”
“I don’t have to do anything, girl!” the witch snapped.
Stanley’s mind was reeling. All he’d wanted was to have a quiet life working with tech. Now he was being told he was a doomsday weapon. The device that made it possible for him to have that peaceful life was now the trigger to ending it all. He didn’t want so much responsibility! It wasn’t fair but… since when had his life been fair. “Baba, I don’t want another ring.” he said.
The witch turned her scowl on the Satyr. “And how are you going to hide your true self from the Humans? They will kill you. You understand this?”
“Yes Baba, but to have two rings, one which just returns me to my human state and the other which kills me and every human-”NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.
“And Fae,” Queen Mab insisted.
Stanley blinked at her then nodded. “The danger of spinning the wrong one would be too great.”
“Stupid boy! I taught you left from right on my knee when you were just an infant!” Baba growled.
He smiled. “And I will always love you for your lessons, for saving me, and for raising me to be the man I am today. You’ll always be my Baba.”
She stared at him then made a frustrated snort as she stuffed the bone ring into her apron pocket. “I’m keeping this for when you come to your senses.” Then she eyed him closely. “How will you survive in the Human world?”
“There is no need. He will come with me and reside in luxury for the rest of his days,” Queen Mab said with a satisfied smile.
“Thank you, but no. A luxurious prison is still a prison,” Stanley said firmly, drawing a grin from the witch.
“We have to protect you! The fate of the Fae depends on it!” the Queen insisted.
“Taking my freedom is not the same as protecting me! I have a life! A really good one, I want to live it. I- I deserve to,” Stanley growled.
Baba Yaga looked please and turned her eyes to the Queen expectantly.
“What?” Mab growled.
“How are you going to repay my Stanley for your betrayal and reward him for how he is healing the Fae?” she asked smugly. She was enjoying having the Fae Queen in her debt. Well, Stanley’s debt.
The Queen locked eyes with the witch and her jaw muscles jumped. She wanted so badly to kill her but the old woman was not so easily dispatched. A thought came to her. “We will give him a glamor,” Queen Mab insisted.
Baba rolled her eyes at the Queen who stiffened at the insult. “Did you not hear the point about Stanley’s Magic being incompatible with the Fae?”
Marisa switched back to her Human glamor then paused it as Baba turned to her. “It worked with me and I’m linked to the new Magic now. Maybe it will work with Stanley?” she said timidly as the witch watched her with a menacing eye.
“How did this Fae manage against the new Magic?” the witch asked quietly.
Marisa looked away. “Not well.”
“That is not your concern, witch. To do this properly Stanley will need to come with me to my home- for a brief interval only!” she clarified for Stanley who looked like he was about to protest.
“If he goes with you he will have an escort from the Hidden Races Council to ensure his timely return. After all, as he said, he does have a life,” Lise-Anne insisted.
Showing uncharacteristic boldness Michelle moved closer to the group. “His legal standing as a member of an independent race must be agreed upon before he leaves this room. This was the original and primary goal for this meeting, was it not?” The shy woman trembled slightly as she asserted herself.
Queen Mab glared at the Arachnid but under the scrutiny of all of the room’s occupants, especially Stanley, she begrudgingly nodded. “Agreed.”
Michelle pulled a scroll from a tube strapped to her thorax and quickly filled in the date and Stanley’s race on the appropriate line, holding the document flat between her front two legs. She looked to Stanley with a hopeful smile as she turned the document towards him.
Stanley discovered he was feeling more relaxed around Michelle now so he moved to her and took the pen from her hand to sign the document. She gave him another smile as she accepted it back.
The Arachnid looked to the Queen who stiffly moved forward and signed the document as well.