CHAPTER 1
Nitro had ideas too. His guess was those three devils were there to see what kind of leverage they needed or could get. He’d give them something better than that. Like a fuck-around-and-find-out lesson.
He couldn’t have enough walls around Felix and those bats just became another barrier he’d use to protect her. He just hoped they did that when it came time. He’d have to make damn sure those nasty birds knew he was being aggressive.
For thirty minutes, Nitro’s gaze swung like a pendulum from Felix to those men, then to Eveque, waiting for some kind of signal. He finally got a text.
Eveque: Do what you came here to do. I have other ideas for our friers. Don’t worry, they’re surrounded.
He pocketed his phone. Good. That simplified things.
Nitro turned his attention to his Beautiful Rebel. He let her bird performance have its way with him till his blood surged with excitement and awe. Never saw anything like it. Various hand gestures, whistles, and cape flaps sent the birds flocking in impressive formations followed by that sweet smile he wanted to kiss all fucking day. She clapped her hands, and an immense boom rocked the air, followed by shocked cries from the crowd. Roaring applause followed and Nitro realized her birds had created the sound. “Holy shit!” he laughed, remembering Seth mentioning something about it. He never would’ve guessed it to be that fucking loud and real sounding. Imagine an enemy encountering that in the woods at night.
With a single whistle and wave of her cape, the birds flew high above then dove down before entering their cage again. She took a bow and fuck if the swamp hoards didn’t eat that shit right up.
The Grand Aboyeur came onto the field and spoke to her then announced what everybody was there for. The Bat-tie. Man against bats. That was surely a fucking first.
“Alright, we’re up,” Nitro muttered, glancing behind him as his men got off their asses. “Fenwick, I’ll send you first. We want to see what we’re up against with these birds. Just need you to do your damndest to capture that flag.”
“You sure?” he double checked, like it might be simple.
Nitro considered those unlikely odds. “If you see they’re easy to get through, maybe don’t try so damn hard. I want this to look like a real fight.”
He saluted. “Got it.”
“And if it turns out to be a fight, then I’ll send Jagger and Boomer to test their power. If they’re a brick wall, then I’ll send the rest of you out and I’ll hide behind you. When they come, you get me as close as you can so I can get the flag.”
“So, you want to win?” Boomer asked.
“I have to win. But I want it to look like it was the hardest thing I’ve ever won. Got it?”
They all nodded, giving their game cry chant, and kicking against the metal wall, bringing the crowds to their feet with clapping.
“They’re ready, I’m ready,” Fenwick said.
“Is she ready is the question,” Bastille wondered with a huge grin.
“We’re about to find out,” Nitro said, watching the Grand Aboyeur walk off the field.
“Where’s all her devil birds?” Fenwick muttered.
She suddenly made a noise and spun with her cape wide open, and the crowd cheered as a small flock of bats flew out from under it into the air. She let out a high-pitched whistle and waved her cape like wings. Every eye locked on the erratic birds above and the deafening nightmarish sounds they created. A moment later, another sound had everybody searching the skies. The hell was that? Gasps filled the park as the sky above gradually turned black. “Holy shit,” Nitro whispered, his phone buzzing. He pulled it out.
Theseareallherbats??? Eveque texted.
Yes, he quickly texted back, shoving his phone in his pocket as Felix spun around in a circle, making her cape wave again. The dark cloud of birds shot downward, drawing alarmed cries from everybody.
His men broke out in dumbfounded laughter, awed out of their fucking minds as the bats created a dark vortex around her, whirling at high speeds. “Fucking Dieu,” he muttered while wondering what they were supposed to do next.
The second he wondered, the cyclone of bats parted, and she walked right out of that bat tornado. She pointed to their dug out then smiled, calling them onto the field with her pointer finger.
“You’re up,” Nitro said, patting Fenwick on the back. “Remember to make it look like a real fight.”
“Uhhhh. Is my burial plan up to fuckin’ date?” he muttered, getting snickers from the rest of them.
“You got this man. We have your back,” Boomer said.
“With our eyes,” Jagger added, bringing loud laughter before they broke out in their chant again as Fenwick ventured onto the field.
The spectators rose to their feet in applause. When he made it halfway out, Felix threw her arms out toward poor Fenwick, sending that wall of bats at him. He put his forearms before his face and walked on till the bats formed a wall before him.
“Go around!” Jagger yelled.
He ran left and the birds followed. He ran right, and they mimicked him. He shot out then, running long and hard, back and forward, then zig-zagged, only to get those bats shadowing his every move. The crowd was ecstatic and fucking amazed. All while his Petite Rebel stood with her hands on hips, laughing and watching.
She made a whoop calland moved her cape, causing the birds to push Fenwick in reverse. They did that until he was forced back into the dug-out where the rest of them cowered and laughed at the screaming hurricane force winds coming from those batwings. Fucking incredible.
“Holy shit!” Fenwick said, gasping and laughing.
“What was it like?” Nitro demanded, eager for exacts.
“Impenetrable! I tried pushing in, you saw me? It’s like pushing against a squirming wall full of sharp teeth!”
Nitro called Jagger and Boomer, ready to step up the offense. “I want you both to shoot out of this dugout in opposite directions. Divide the birds. Then you both try to push in. If we can’t do that, we go to our final move. Got it?”
They slammed their helmets together and yelled, “BOOM-BOOM-BABY”, then hurried to the opening.
“On my signal,” Nitro called, looking up at the now scattered swarm. “Go!”
They both ran as fast as they could in opposite directions and Felix threw both her arms out toward them with a whistle. Black cyclones shot down, blocking any sight of Felix as they met both his men who now ran chaotically around the field. They finally gave up and ran back to the dugout, howling in laughter from the rush.
“That is fucking insane!” Jagger yelled.
“They’re little propellers of fury!” Boomer said, out of breath.
“Alright,” Nitro said, getting a tad worried. What if he couldn’t break through that wall? “Here’s the deal,” he said to the last four. “I have to get that flag. We’re going to form a single line of force and see if we can make any forward progress. If we can, we’ll get as close as possible then we’ll split off one at a time with me at the end, shooting in for her. Got it?”
****
Felix grinned through the adrenalin rush. She’d never had so much fun with her birds. The exhilaration of the crowd and even Nitro’s men had her laughing from the thrill. She watched them, some yards away in a huddle, making plans. She already knew the bat math. They were not going to reach her. Each bird exerted around two pounds of resistance. Even if all his team tried for the flag at once, they would still fail. The average male could push twice his body weight and assuming his men averaged a couple hundred pounds—seven of them created fourteen hundred pounds of push. Half her bats formed two thousand pounds and judging by the density in the swarm, there were a lot more than hers there—another exhilarating discovery. And her generals were commanding them all!
She got ready as the men formed a long line and headed straight for her with one leading at the front. Smart. But it wasn’t enough. She again signaled the swarm with a wave of her arms and directed it at the now running line of men, eager to see what they’d manage. Nitro was a worthy opponent, and that had her prepared.
Her flock met the charge head on, forming a screaming barrier of shiny black. She released her breath at realizing her army was not moving them back as before. Impressive! What were the men doing differently to manage that? She ventured closer, earning a standing applause from the crowd, and laughed in excitement. One of the men broke away from the line and raced right for her. She screamed in startled excitement, bringing the swarm immediately around her. Oh shit. Not around her.
She brought shaking fingers to her mouth and delivered the ear-piercing -go-home whistle, sending them straight into the sky and heading back to the forests.
The shocked murmurs shot her gaze to the ground before her. The one who’d broken through crawled then collapsed, unmoving. People surged onto the field as she ran to the body, fighting to flip them over. “Nitro!” she screamed, hurrying to get his helmet off. “What’s wrong! Talk to me!”
She tore her gaze from his slit eyes, dread pummeling her as she pulled the jersey up. A sob burst out at finding blood coating his skin. “Help me!” she screamed, pressing her face on his, fighting the rising hysteria. “You’re okay, you’ll be okay. I’m so sorry,” she wailed as people dropped next to him.
“Holy fucking Christ,” one of them said. “Get my bag!”
She recognized Patches. “They all bit him!” She covered her wails with a hand then realized. “He’ll bleed to death!”
Lesion was suddenly there, pushing his way through. He knelt next to him and lifted his head, forcing something between his lips. “For pain,” he said between labored breaths before shooting off.
“Please help me!” she gasped, needing more hands to press on the hundreds of bites oozing tiny drops of blood. “He needs a-a-an anticoagulant!”
“Move!” Patches ordered her. “I need his clothes off!” She scrambled back right as Lesion and Eveque removed his boots while cussing at him in French. Arms went around her, and she realized it was the Belle Eveque. She gave a sob and latched on to her as Patches cut through his black denim with shears. Oh God. So much blood. Too much blood. Patches’ hands were already covered in it.
“Help me apply this,” Lesion said, his voice oddly calm as he handed her a can of salve. “On all the bites. Hurry.”
“I’ll use the hemostatic powder on his legs,” Patches said, shaking all the contents of the stuff on him as Felix hurried to apply the greasy mix.
“I can’t see them, there’s too much blood!” she gasped.
“Put it everywhere,” Lesion ordered.
“What’s his blood type,” Patches yelled. “I need my medical database. Somebody get my fucking phone!”
She checked Nitro’s face, her stomach lurching. “He’s pale,” she gasped, as more fingers dipped in the can of sticky stuff and helped find bites. Her eyes moved to Patches’ bloody fingers on the screen of his phone.
“Type A!” he yelled. “Who has type A? Or O blood type. Eveque!”
“Already on it.” The Eveque knelt next to Nitro and removed his shirt. “Hold on brother,” he muttered as Bacon helped ready things for a blood transfusion.
“I need his upper body elevated,” Patches said. “We got you,” he said as The Seer went behind Nitro and propped his upper body against his chest.
Felix gasped out a sob, clinging to Belle Eveque. “They bit him,” she strained quietly. “I screamed. I shouldn’t have screamed.”
“Felix.”
Her eyes shot to Nitro. “I’m here!”
“Try not to talk, buddy,” Patches urged. “Felix is right here, we’re all right fucking here. Scissors,” he ordered Bacon.
“Let her touch him,” Seer said, nodding at her.
The idea he could die threatened to choke her as she knelt next to The Seer and stroked Nitro’s face. She leaned down to his ear. “You win,” she whispered. “You win everything. Everything is yours, all of it. You can have all of it, I’m sorry, please don’t die, please.”
“He’s not dying,” the Seer said.
Hope hit her chest at his knowing and seeing tone. She’d heard all the amazing stories about their swamp seer, but it was the first time she’d seen him this up close. She caught sight of his famous scar realizing the rumors were true. It did make him cuter. She put her hand on his arm, and he locked the bluest eyes she’d ever seen on her. “Dieu l”a… Dieu l”a,” he whispered heatedly, nodding.
God has him. She gave a sob and nodded. He was right and she needed to believe that. She turned, finding Patches inserting a needle into his vein as Nitro mumbled incoherently.
“We’ve stopped the bleeding on the front, but we need to turn him and see about his backside,” Lesion urged.
“Oh God,” she whispered, realizing he wasn’t out of the woods.
“I need his heart elevated,” Patches reminded as Spook pulled his body on its side so Lesion could get to the back.
“There’s more packs of the Quick Clot in my bag,” Patches said. “Use it.”
“Talk to him,” Seer whispered to her.
She brought her mouth back to his ear, petting his face again. “Hey handsome. I’m still here.” She stroked his cheek. “You’re not getting rid of me that easy. And…now that you won everything, you have to collect your winnings, oui? Please Mon Bien Monsieur,” she begged quietly.
“Fucking Christ,” Eveque gasped at his backside.
“Start at the top,” Patches ordered as her sobs returned.
“Don’t….” Nitro mumbled.
“I’m here, I’m here,” she whispered, kissing his forehead.
“Don’t cry.”
“Okay, I’m sorry. No crying. They’re giving you blood, you lost a lot of blood, you were bit,” she strained, petting his face, and kissing next to his mouth.
“Alright, bud,” Patches huffed after a bit. “You should start to feel like a royal prick in a minute. You’re getting some of your Eveque in your crazy ass veins.”
“And you better not fucking waste it,” Eveque said.
“Fuck,” Nitro croaked.
“Shhhh don’t talk,” she whispered.
“Fuck is a great word for what we just witnessed, yeah Mon frier?” Eveque added as he helped administer the anticoagulant. “Your Bayou Bat Maiden kicked your ass, and everybody saw it, oui? These swamps will now be the most terrifying place on earth, thanks to both of you.”
Nitro nodded with his eyes closed. “Dieu, oui,” he whispered, his mouth tugging in a smile. “She did good.”
She pressed her lips on his face. “I didn’t do good,” she wept softly.
His hand moved along her head, and she took tight hold of it, pressing kisses all over the cool skin.
“So much for lighting it up at the Bayou Ball,” Bacon muttered, igniting her anger.
“He ain’t goin to no ball!” she said, wondering how they wouldn’t know that. “He’s mine.”
Everybody around them laughed real big. “And I doubt anybody will be challenging you to a Bat-tie for it.”
She turned to the deep kind voice of The Seer and found him smiling at her like she’d done some miracle.
Nitro was smiling too as he pulled her mouth to his. “I amall yours, Ma Petite Rebelle.”