~ Chapter Fifteen ~
R egan blinked and shook his head. Staring down at him was Drew.
“You should’ve minded your own business, Mr. Neighbor,” Drew grunted.
Regan caught a whiff of the onion breath, his nose crinkling at the smell.
He was back right where the Twins told him he would be and no time had passed.
Regan only had a couple of seconds while Drew blathered on taunting them, he needed to act. He needed to save Lutin.
Lutin peeked at Regan, then closed his eyes slowly, his head moving slightly with the breath he took.
“It’s now or never,” the Twins’ voices echoed in his mind.
I can do this.
Regan focused and called forth both his elements.
He wasn’t sure he had a true plan, but surprise and acting quickly often seemed the best course.
He hoped by surprising the Trolls, he could drop Drew quickly, which would leave him only Martin to deal with.
If he was quick enough, he might be able to release Lutin.
Everything would depend on him and how well he could handle the elements.
With a quick inhale, Regan used water from the atmosphere, freezing the fluid around his bindings and then snapping them.
With his hands and feet free, he called forward electricity as he moved, catching Drew off-guard.
He shot a pulse of energy into Drew, kicking him off the ground and hitting the roof of the building.
With a thunderous thud, Drew hit the ground. The troll didn’t move.
“Don’t stop—he’s only knocked out,” the Twins’ words echoed in his mind.
Martin moved faster than Regan thought and struck him in the chest, knocking him back while pushing all the air from his lungs.
Regan didn’t have time to block the punch, but after being knocked on his ass enough by the Twins, he kept his balance and shot a large wave of water, no real aim needed.
The crash of water had been powerful enough to blast Martin into the wall of the building with a thwack.
“Oh! Nicely done,” the Twins cheered in his thoughts.
Regan took a breath, resting his hands on his knees for a moment to study himself, and then he called up his electrics and prepared to attack. However, both Trolls were down, and Lutin watched him, his mouth agape and his eyes wide, hints of amusement in them.
“And you were worried,” the Twins commented.
Regan appreciated their support, but he couldn’t respond, and Lutin could wait.
He needed to ensure the Trolls were bound and unable to cause any additional trouble.
Volrent taught him a special trick to ensure that once the Trolls were down, he could keep them from causing any more problems until the authorities showed up.
Were there magical authorities? There must be.
Regan called up his electrics again and used his ability to bind both Martin and Drew where they were.
The bindings shimmered like what bound Lutin, but these fasteners sparked off a yellowish-brown color.
With the Trolls taken care of, for the moment, he rushed to Lutin who still hadn’t spoken yet.
“Are you okay?” Regan started ripping at the glowing green bindings.
The green slowly faded as he slashed the physical ties. “Say something.”
Lutin rubbed his wrists and watched Regan. “When did you learn all that? How?”
“The Twins, they answered my call and we spent…” Regan ran a hand over his chin. “I don’t know, we spent days. Maybe a week. I’m not sure. But they taught me.”
Lutin shook his head. “Time definitely works differently in their realm.”
“Definitely.”
“Help me up.” Lutin reached out a hand.
Regan took the hand and helped Lutin to his feet. “Volrent said that binding spell I used should keep them bound for a couple of hours—will that be enough to get the authorities here?”
Lutin chuckled and pointed toward the door. “Blaise should be?—”
There was a crack at the door as the hinges burst and the door fell to the ground with a thud.
A tall Fae with large black antlers rushed in with several people behind him.
The group stopped and the being in the front was unmistakably Blaise.
His appearance was the exact same as when Regan met him, only this time his antlers weren’t masked by magic.
“You could’ve at least pretended to need our help,” Blaise huffed.
“Don’t blame me.” Lutin gestured toward Regan. “This was all him.”
“The baby Elemental Witch did this to two full grown Trolls.” His gaze grew large and his mouth fell agape as he faced Regan. “Well, the TBs will need to watch out for you.”
“The TBs?”
“Troll Brothers; they’re a group of Trolls active here in the US and Canada,” Lutin offered.
Blaise took Lutin in both his hands, checking him for injuries. His frown grew as he focused on Lutin’s broken antler. “Fucking Trolls.” He reached up and gently ran a finger over the fresh break. “I’m sorry.”
Lutin pulled Blaise’s hand away from the wound. “What took you so long? Regan should’ve never been put in such a predicament.” His tone was sharp.
One of Blaise’s team called over to the three, “Do you mind? We’d like to take care of Martin and Drew without getting knocked on our asses, please.”
“Oh right, sorry.” Regan cleared his throat, his face growing hot.
“Hey, you got this. No more being all namby-pamby,” the Twins’ voices echoed in his mind.
Regan bit at the smile on his lips. Not wanting to remove the bindings all at once, not fully trusting that the Trolls wouldn’t cause any more trouble, he released the power slowly.
The human who spoke signaled the rest of the team and they moved in.
As the power subsided, they were able to use physical bindings and soon carted the unconscious Trolls off.
“You really knocked them out,” Blaise commented.
“I didn’t want to kill them, but I wanted to make sure they couldn’t hurt anyone else,” Regan offered, watching the team leave the room. “Where are we? Where is this place?”
“We’re up by Ed R. Levin Park. That’s what took us so long to find you—we couldn’t get your exact location. Fucking Trolls and their hills and mountains,” Blaise huffed, rubbing his hands together.
It looks like he really wanted to fight the Trolls. “That’s… how did they get me here? I was at your cottage.” He finally got a chance to take in the space. There wasn’t much to the location; the space must be a warehouse or something like that.
“Trolls have their own bits of magic. They used a portal, similar to what we use.” Lutin rubbed his antlers with a grimace.
Blaise reached out, but stopped, and brought his hand back to his side. The fullness of his frown was visible to all.
“It’s going to take several seasons to grow back.” Lutin scowled.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t get here sooner.” Blaise’s tone was gentle and soft. “At least they didn’t cut them all off.”
Lutin nodded.
Blaise moved toward the exit. “Come on, let’s get you both out of here.”
Regan was happy to leave. “If I may, how’d you know where to find Lutin?”
A rumble of laughter escaped Blaise before he spoke. “You didn’t tell him?”
Lutin shook his head. “It hasn’t come up.”
“Of course not.” Blaise’s brows rose as his lips pinched up slightly. He ignored the coy look from Lutin. “I always know how to find my nephews and nieces. Even if they’re ashamed of me.”
“I’m not ashamed,” Lutin countered. “You’re… a lot, and you know it.”
Blaise laughed. “Guilty as charged.” He rested a hand on Lutin’s shoulder. “This one has always found their way to trouble. Isn’t that right, Nubs?”
“Wait. What? Blaise is your uncle?” Regan glanced between them. “And what’s this Nubs thing you keep saying?”
Lutin frowned at the name, the skin around his neck and cheeks growing pink. “Nope. We’re not having this conversation. And no one calls me?—”
“Except me,” Blaise amended.
“Anyway,” Lutin’s voice rose as he continued, “yes, Blaise is my mother’s brother. Now, can we please go?”
“Now Nubs, don’t be like that,” Blaise continued to tease.
Regan bit back his chuckle. He wanted to know more and ask questions, but Lutin had been through a lot, and despite enjoying the banter, they probably should go, in case more Trolls showed up. Troll Brothers. Sounds like a really lame band or something.
“Blaise.” Lutin’s tone deepened as a scowl burned across his face.
“Okay. Okay.” Blaise raised his hands in surrender.
“Come on, let’s get out of here.” Lutin wrapped an arm around Regan as they walked to the warehouse exit. With a swirl of light, they were back in Lutin’s glen.
Once Blaise ensured the location was secure and both Lutin and Regan were okay, he made his excuses and vanished into the night, promising to come back in a couple of days and give them both an update on the Trolls.
Regan didn’t want to leave Lutin alone so he sent him off for a bath.
Before putting together their dinner, Regan managed to wash his face and clean himself up a bit, so he wasn’t as big of a mess as he felt he’d been.
By the time Lutin returned, he appeared more himself—still battered and bruised, but definitely more of the person Regan had now become accustomed to seeing.
Most of Lutin’s scars were covered by his shorts and t-shirt, but his eyes appeared sunken and there were bruises on his arms and legs, not to mention his lower lip was cut and he had a knot on his forehead.
What did those bastards put you through?
“Feel better?” Regan asked as he dried his hands on the towel. The meal wasn’t much: sandwiches and a fruit salad. He also managed to pull together some hot tea.
“Yes, thank you.” Lutin took a seat, wincing as he moved. “You didn’t have to do this.”
“Don’t get too excited. It’s as simple as can be; I didn’t want to rummage through your cupboards too much nor did I want to make a mess.” Regan poured them both hot cups of tea and sat down.
“I appreciate the effort, thank you.” Lutin placed his napkin on his lap and grabbed the nearest half sandwich, then took a bite.