Chapter 16 #3
Dagobert strolled over, pausing to look at the bloody glass. Maybe he wanted a snack. He flicked his fingers, saying, “Lou and Mr. Heiss are on their way here now.”
“Yeah, sure, now that we did all the work.” Seymour scowled.
Dagobert clicked his tongue. “And?”
“Whatever.” Seymour could breathe more easily now, the pain almost completely faded. He let himself relax and gave Day’s paws a gentle squeeze. He leaned into Sariel’s embrace and closed his eyes, utterly exhausted. “Can we have one day where we don’t fight monsters? Is that a thing we can do?”
“I hope so, but I will not make a promise I may have to break.” Sariel smiled, pressing a chaste kiss to Seymour’s brow.
“Fair.”
“Are you injured anywhere else?’
“No, are you?”
“I am fine.” Sariel’s smile seemed tired. “I need to rest. That is all.”
Seymour wasn’t sure if he believed that, but he turned his attention to Day. “What about you?” He nudged her. “You gonna make it?”
Day nodded, rubbing her tummy. “Mmm, wouldn’t mind some milk though.”
Seymour laughed. “You still got room in there for milk?”
“There is always room for milk.”
A large black pickup truck pulled up to a screeching halt beside Seymour’s, and Lou jumped out from the driver’s seat. Myrna and Flanders materialized behind him, and Myrna quickly rushed ahead.
“Oh! Darlings!” Myrna squealed when she saw all the blood from Seymour’s wound. “Are you all right? Do you need some tea? I am going to make some tea.”
“I’m fine,” Seymour replied. “I just—”
“What the fuck happened?” Lou demanded. “Why didn’t you fucking call me?”
“Call you what?”
Flanders sniffed at the troll, made a face, and then shuffled over to find a spot of sunlight to stretch out in.
Lou rolled his eyes. “I know you have Neil’s number.”
Seymour rolled his harder. “Sorry, I was a little fuckin’ distracted by the giant troll and all his buddies tryin’ to smash my head in ’cause we found their magical doodad under the stage.”
“Under the stage?” Dagobert seemed alarmed. “What?”
Day pulled out the crystal, passing it up to Seymour.
“Thank you kindly, ma’am.” Seymour held the crystal out for Lou and Dagobert to see. “This thingie.”
“And the thingie is what?” Lou asked.
“How the fuck am I supposed to know?” Seymour shook the crystal. “It’s just some kinda… thingie. Day spotted the squonk after he left it under the stage, and just a second ago, before all the trolls and rawr shit happened, he called it a beacon. Why don’t you ask ol’ Batty to have a taste?”
“Fine.” Lou sneered. “Acrobat, spring forth.”
The Acroboat appeared as before, a chaotic bouncing blob pinging from the sidewalk to the side of the building beside them.
She landed on a lamp post above them, giggling wildly.
She hung upside down by one leg hooked around the pole and then grinned.
“Hey-o, hi-o! It’s been so, so, so long-o! More work to do-o?”
“Acrobat.” Lou held up the crystal. “What is this?”
The Acrobat promptly swallowed the crystal whole like she had with the music sheets, and then—yup, melted into a giant wave of goop again.
Yuck.
Lou expertly caught the crystal before it could hit the ground, and he gave it a little shake since it was now damp to remove some of the excess slime.
Extra yuck.
The Acrobat reformed herself, but now she seemed distraught. “Quartz, quartz, and more quartz!” She hopped over to Lou, staring at the tiny item inside the crystal. “But there’s more, more, more!”
Lou frowned. “What’s wrong?”
The Acrobat licked the side of the crystal and her tongue stuck like it was a metal post in winter. “Ah cannah taste id! Thar ish ah sheld!”
Lou grabbed her tongue, pulled it off and back. It stretched like a rubber band and he let it go, and it popped back into her mouth. “What was that?”
The Acrobat laughed. “Oh! I cannot taste it! Nope, nope, nope! There is a shield! Ooo, a very old one indeed!” She hummed and smacked her lips. “But I can tell you what it does.”
“Okay, what?”
The Acrobat cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, “It makes noise noisier! Loud louder! Yells yellier!”
Seymour’s stomach knotted. “Like a speaker?”
“Yes!” The Acrobat wiggled happily. “Ding ding! You win!”
“A speaker,” Lou repeated, his eyes narrowing. “And we have magical music sheets...” He reached for his phone, handing the crystal over to Dagobert.
Dagobert wrinkled his nose and held the crystal away from his body. “Who are you calling?”
“Mr. Kalt. If the squonk left one of these beacons here, it stands to reason he may have done the same at Mr. Kalt’s club or any of the other places he may have visited.”
“Hey, I think we got a list you might wanna see,” Seymour said. “The one that Talos gave us of all the spots the monster rebel dudes were gonna be at or already were and all that?”
Lou looked to Sariel. “Send it to me.”
Sariel nodded obediently. “Yes, sir.”
“Fucking voicemail,” Lou grumbled. He waited and then snapped, “Call me. Now.” He hung up with a growl. He swiped through his phone, reading silently for a moment before he snapped, “Sariel. Take Seymour home. Stay there.”
“Hey, fuck you. Hello? I’m right here.” Seymour waved his hand in front of Lou’s face. “I still have a robot brain to find—”
“That can wait.”
“The fuck it can.”
Lou held up his phone, displaying the text with the list of locations. “If this plot is really as widespread as I suspect it is, the entire city is in danger. Do you understand?”
“Do you understand that there’s a very scary but hot faerie guy who will turn me into a bunch of damn daisies if I don’t do what his boyfriend says?”
“The brain of Talos is clearly part of their plan,” Sariel added. “While I understand we may not have much time, locating the brain should remain a priority.”
“Fine.” Lou huffed. “But you report to me. Not Mr. Heiss.”
“Does this mean I get your phone number now, big guy?” Seymour smirked. “Whatever will Neil say?”
“Sariel can contact me.”
“Fine. I like blonds better anyway.”
“Save the jokes. Myrna was able to translate part of the music.”
Seymour made a face. “Why do I get the feelin’ it wasn’t about rock and rollin’ all night and partyin’ every day?”
“Because it’s a song for anyone without mortal blood,” Myrna said with a mournful pout. “It is for those who walk the Terrestrial, fly within the Celestial, dance deep in the Ethereal, and float through the Other.”
“In English?”
“The music is meant to target monsters.”