Chapter 16 #2
The werewolf yelped as he was dragged backward, his lower half vanishing into Day’s open maw. She swallowed him up with a noisy slurp and then whirled around, standing before Seymour as she screamed, “Whoever is foolish enough to dare attack my family will face my wrath without mercy!”
Seymour clamored to his feet, his heart soaring in spite of the current danger.
Family.
Fuck, yeah.
Again, none of the monsters could hear Day, but they were certainly wary after witnessing an entire werewolf vanish into nothing.
Sariel soared through the air between the two trolls, diving at them and hitting with a force that would have surely crushed the skull of any other beast. For now he seemed to have their attention, and he was able to draw them away from the other combatants.
Which also meant Day and Seymour were left to deal with them.
Seymour faced off against the first of the lizard men, swinging the stanchion wildly. Day was quick to gobble the monster up, and Seymour cheered. The reverie was short-lived, however, as another lizard snapped his tail around Seymour’s throat.
Oxygen instantly cut off, Seymour dropped his weapon as he clawed at the tail. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t even scream. He went to his knees, vision blurring as a werewolf lumbered toward him.
Coming from the side was another werewolf, the biggest of all, and it had deep red fur.
Oh.
A ginger werewolf.
That was going to be Seymour’s final thought before leaving this life—wondering if werewolves had freckles.
The red werewolf took the other to the ground, its mighty jaws snapping down on its throat with a feral howl.
Wait, what?
The lizard man screeched in pain, and his tail went limp.
Seymour wheezed, eagerly gasping for breath as he looked up to find the singer from the club biting the lizard’s neck.
Blood gushed out from where they were joined, and the singer’s eyes rolled back as he swallowed greedily. The lizard sagged and stopped moving, and the singer tossed him aside like an empty juice box, blood dripping from his very sharp and very big fangs.
Dagobert was suddenly there beside Seymour, cool hands helping him up to his feet. “Are you all right?”
“Fuckin’ super,” Seymour rasped out.
“Logan, take him inside,” Dagobert ordered, snapping at the singer.
“Logan, no.” Seymour pushed away. “I gotta help Sariel!”
Sariel remained in the air, but his light had dimmed. Both trolls were still on the attack, their energy seemingly endless, while Sariel seemed to be fading.
Day was on her back, rubbing her tummy and groaning.
The angry tree was nowhere to be seen.
The rest of the monsters were either dead or gobbled up other than the trolls.
“They’re trolls,” Dagobert said in the sort of annoyed but trying to be patient tone someone would use with a child. “There is only one way to kill them. You need sunlight—”
That was all Seymour needed to hear.
He grabbed the stanchion and then took off to the valet station. He smacked the side of it. “Come on! Hello? Ghosty type people? Need my wheels!”
His truck appeared out of nowhere, driving up and parking beside him obediently.
“They will kill you,” Dagobert drawled. “You do understand that, don’t you?”
“I got a plan!” Seymour jumped behind the wheel and took off. He heard Dagobert yelling after him, but he ignored it. He pulled off the road and up to Day, slamming the truck to a quick stop. He hopped out so he could scoop Day off the ground. “Hey, lil’ girl!”
“Ugh.” Day groaned. “Hi.”
Seymour got back in, gently setting Day in the passenger seat. “Get buckled up real quick and gimme that crystal doodad.”
Day meowed pitifully. “Eh?”
“The crystal!”
“Here.” She pushed it into Seymour’s hand. “I’m sorry… I’m just so full!”
“You did great, baby girl.” Seymour cracked a grin. “But now we gotta go help Sariel. So, go on and get buckled.”
“Let’s go!” Day meowed again and burped. “Ugh. I’m so sorry.”
“Better out than in, lil’ girl. We got this.”
Ahead, one of the trolls had managed to catch Sariel and drag him to the ground. He held Sariel tight while the other pummeled him mercilessly, and bright golden fluid dripped down Sariel’s body.
Blood.
Fuck.
“Hey! Fuckers!” Seymour rolled down his window and revved the engine to get the trolls’ attention. He waved the crystal. “Lookin’ for this?”
The trolls both turned to glare at Seymour.
Well, at least he thought they were glaring.
Hard to tell with all that fabric wrapped around them.
“Seymour…” Sariel wheezed. “Don’t…”
“Come on and get it!” Seymour hit the gas and sped away, zooming down the road and into the darkness.
“What are we doing?” Day groaned, clinging to Seymour’s shoulder.
“Sunlight!” Seymour replied. “We just gotta get outside! And hey, why aren’t you buckled?”
“But they’re all covered up!”
“I got a plan for that! Now! Seat belt, young lady!”
“I’m older than you!”
Seymour wanted to argue but he had to focus on the darkness ahead.
He had no idea what to expect and cringed, not letting up on the gas.
He might be about to crash through those garage doors at any moment, but he couldn’t stop now.
He swore he could hear the thunderous footsteps of the trolls right behind him, and relief surged through him when he saw daylight.
Fuck yes for the sun still being up.
It was almost seven o’clock, so he knew they didn’t have much time.
The garage door was already open, as if anticipating their exit, but Seymour didn’t pull into the street. He drove around the building to the back parking lot, the tires squealing as he jerked to a stop.
Day had finally buckled, so the strap pulled against her hard and she gagged.
“Easy, lil’ girl. Now stay put!” Seymour jumped out, ran to the back of his truck, and lifted up the tarp.
Underneath was a gas can.
Half full, but it had to be enough.
The ground shook, no doubt the trolls approaching, and he knew he had to be quick. He grabbed the gas can and came around to the passenger door. He opened it so he could throw open the glove compartment, scrambling to find a lighter.
“What are you doing?” Day groaned.
“Gonna show these boys the light,” Seymour said with a quick grin.
Day’s brow furrowed and then her eyes widened. “Seymour! Look—”
Giant hands grabbed Seymour and yanked him up into the air. He flailed, looking down now at a troll. He lost the lighter, heard it clink somewhere off on the pavement, and he scrambled to open up the gas can and dump out its contents all over the troll.
The troll didn’t seem to care, and he hurled Seymour across the lot.
Seymour hit the ground, something cut deep into his side, and he bellowed in pain.
He had lost the gas can, and he grabbed at his injury, his fingers wet and sticky with blood.
There was something sharp at the center of the pain, maybe metal or glass, and he lifted his head to see the troll coming right at him.
Fuck.
The lighter!
He’d heard it fall, but he had no idea where it was now.
“Hey!” Day screamed. “You! Ugly, shameful creature! Prepare to be ignited!”
The troll, of course, did not hear her.
But Seymour did, and he could see the lighter in her paw.
Day flicked it several times before there was finally a tiny flame, and she hurled it at the troll with precise aim.
This had to work.
It just fucking had to.
The lighter struck the troll, there was a fwoom, and he was instantly engulfed in flames. He did not appear to be that bothered by it, and he continued stalking toward Seymour.
“Shit,” Seymour hissed. “Come on…”
The fire ate at the troll’s clothing, the fibers melting away to reveal greenish orange skin.
Skin that turned gray like stone the moment the sunlight hit it.
The troll screamed then, his steps now unsteady as he tried to smack at the flames. His clothing was too soaked and going up faster and faster, and every newly revealed inch of skin became stone.
Day hurried over to Seymour, gasping. “Seymour! You’re hurt!”
“I’m okay.” Seymour finally checked out his wound, finding it was a large piece of broken glass embedded in his side beneath his ribs. “Fuck, maybe I’m not okay.”
Day pressed her little paws against the wound, and she whined. “We have to heal you!”
The troll roared and convulsed, his upper shoulders and arms now stone as the flames continued to work over his body.
His screams were ear piercing and horrible and seemed to resonate through the very ground.
The fire ate away at his pants and hood, and he could no longer flee as his legs were now petrified as well. In mere seconds, it was over.
The troll didn’t move, and there was no sound except for the last few bits of fire crackling as the last of the troll’s gasoline-soaked clothing was consumed.
He was dead.
Fucking finally.
Seymour hugged Day close, letting out a sigh of relief.
“Seymour!” someone shouted.
“Sariel.” Seymour knew his voice instantly. “Here!”
Sariel was human once more, though he appeared unusually ruffled. Maybe it took more effort to maintain a flawless disguise. Wings out, he soared over to Day and Seymour in a single leap, curling his arms around them both. “You’re all right.”
“Yeah.” Seymour breathed him in, and his eyes got hot. “We’re okay.”
“No!” Day cried. “Seymour is hurt.”
“Here. Let me help you.” Sariel immediately pressed his hands down to the wound, golden light flickering between his fingers.
It stung like hell, and Seymour grunted, trying his best not to twist away.
Day grabbed Seymour’s hand, holding it firmly between her two paws.
“Well, that’s certainly one way to take care of a troll.” Dagobert was there with a lace parasol over his head, staring at the giant petrified troll with a bemused smile. “Clever.”
“Thanks.” Seymour rolled his eyes. “Hey! Where’s the other one?”
“Gone,” Sariel said quietly. “He would not follow me into the light.” He paused in his work to extract a large chunk of glass from the wound. He threw it aside and then got back to healing Seymour, his eyes glowing bright.