Chapter 8 Just Another Day for the Justice League
EIGHT
Just Another Day for the Justice League
The sounds of bones cracking on the rocks had me wincing in sympathy. It had to be done, though. He might have been silent and content for decades, but a raging, man-eating troll was not something that could be excused or overlooked.
Unbelievably, he moved, shaking off the fall. Arwyn was still at it, trying to look over the edge as the wolf kept pushing her back. The troll climbed, blinking in and out of sight, turning this into a horror movie with the monster jumping closer, seemingly out of nowhere.
His long, meaty arms grappled with the rocky wall and he was already halfway up the side of the ravine. With only one eye trained on the bears above, the troll never saw the tidal wave of water barreling down the ravine entrance toward him. The bears did, though.
Nick and Arthur retreated. The wolf tried to force Arwyn out of the way, but she just cheered louder.
“Thanks, Dad!”
The troll shrieked as he was knocked from the cliff face and dragged under. Two huge orcas latched onto the blinking troll and wrenched him in two before swimming back out to sea.
The elation I felt was momentary. He was gone.
He couldn’t hurt anyone else. That was good.
Almost immediately, though, I was swamped with a strange grief.
He was all on his own. No other trolls around.
He’d lost his home and was trying to find a new one, but nothing felt right.
The contentment he’d once felt was gone forever and yet he had to go on.
I knew what it was to be alone, lost in a world that felt all wrong.
The difference, I supposed, was that I read while he ate people.
I tried my best to shake off the sudden melancholy. It had to be done.
The wolf shifted back into Declan instantaneously. The bears, though, lay down for a longer shift. I’d never met another shifter who could transform as fast as I could. How odd.
Declan held Arwyn, who was waving at the retreating ocean. When I landed beside them, Arwyn looked like she wanted to hug me but couldn’t figure out how.
“Let’s head back to Declan’s rig,” she said. “We can get you both clothes and then talk.”
I flew to the SUV that smelled like Declan and landed on the roof, waiting for them to make their way back to the road and across it.
Declan opened the rear hatch and pulled out a plastic bin of clothes, like the bin Nick and most shifters carried.
Shifters didn’t have issues with nudity, but we knew that humans did.
Arwyn stared out over the ocean while Declan dressed in his regular clothes, and I put on an oversized black tee and a pair of gray sweatpants that puddled at my ankles. Nick and Arthur jogged past us, toward their own vehicles and clothes.
Yanking hard on the cord at my waist, I grinned, thinking about earlier in the evening when three men were running naked across a highway.
“What’s so funny?” Nick asked, handing me a pair of flip-flops. “They’ll be too big, but they’re better than going barefoot.”
I took the sandals from him, dropped them on the ground, and stepped in. We both laughed at how comically large they were on me. Mind you, I’m tall and have long feet. Apparently, though, they weren’t bear big.
When Arthur met us at the back of Declan’s SUV, I said, “I was just thinking about you three running naked across a highway earlier.”
Arthur gave me a rare smile. “It pays to travel with a powerful wicche who can hide you from humans driving by.” Checking his watch, he said to Declan, “You can still make the moon run with your pack.”
Declan checked the time on his phone, nodding. “I can.” He turned to Arwyn. “Are you good?”
“Oh, sure,” she said, holding her mass of long curls from covering her face in the high winds.
“One of these guys can give Orla and me rides home.” She went up on her tiptoes and pulled on his arm so she could kiss him.
“Your pack will feel better if you’re with them, and after staying out of the fight to protect me, you probably really need that run. ”
Shaking his head, he kissed her again. “You know I’d do anything for you, but that was rough. I’m not used to standing by and letting other people fight.”
“Orla tipped the scales in our favor.” She glanced at the other men and added, “I mean, you guys were great, but a discombobulated, one-eyed troll was easier for you two to overpower.”
I looked between Nick and Arthur. “Which one of you got smashed in the shoulder?”
Arthur growled. “That was me. Nick popped my shoulder back into joint when we shifted.”
I grimaced. “Sorry.”
He blew out a breath. “If the worst injury we have going up against a troll is a dislocated shoulder, we’re doing okay.” He turned to Declan. “Why are you still here? I’ll drive your woman home.”
Declan went to the driver’s side door, pulled out Arwyn’s backpack, and handed it to her before speeding away.
“All right,” Arthur began. “Well done everyone. Let’s go get some sleep. Chances are we’ll have more crap to deal with tomorrow.” He turned to Arwyn. “Speaking of which, I have a case I could use your help on.” He paused and looked back at Nick. “You’ve got Orla?”
Dimples appearing, Nick held out an arm to walk me to his SUV. “I do.”
Once we were in his car and heading north, I said, “Sorry I was late. I overslept. By a lot.” I shook my head. “I never do that.”
He glanced over. “You showed up just in time to turn the tide for us.”
He tapped his thumb against the steering wheel a minute. “So, any thoughts about us going out again?”
My heart started to race. “I didn’t realize there’d be a quiz.” Pulling my arms into the oversized sleeves, I hugged myself. “Are you sure you don’t want to ghost me? I’m afraid I’m not terribly interesting.”
He huffed out a laugh. “I’m sure.”
Not that I wanted to admit it, especially to myself, but I had been thinking about it. “I don’t know if you like bikes, but I thought maybe an early evening bike ride and a picnic in a park or the woods.” When I turned to check his reaction, he was smiling.
“That sounds perfect.” He scratched his jaw. “I don’t have a bike anymore, but I have cousins who can lend me one. If this is something you enjoy doing, I can get myself one.” He tapped his dashboard and turned on his music. The SUV filled with soft bluesy music.
“I know this one,” I told him. “That’s John Lee Hooker. ‘Boom Boom.’”
He glanced over quickly, eyebrows raised. “Blues fan? I wouldn’t have guessed that.”
I shrugged a shoulder. “I like all kinds of music. My dad loved it. He had records playing all the time. I prefer silence when I read, but when I’m cooking or cleaning—or really missing my parents—I play my dad’s records.”
“You have his old vinyls?”
I nodded. “I have a wall of records in my living room.”
“I’d love to see that,” he said.
Stomach fluttering, I hugged myself tighter. “Okay.”
Live a little, Mom had said. I was trying. With the Justice League and this gentle man with the warm eyes and the dimples, I was trying.