15. Nox
15
NOX
H e could still feel the way her pussy clenched around his fingers when she came. But he needed to focus, a challenge with the scent of her in his nose and her tight ass wiggling in front of him as they crawled closer to the trolls’ temporary camp in a dead-end canyon.
There were more trolls than they expected. The original seven had swelled to ten, all sitting in a loose circle around a blazing fire that lit up the midnight sky.
“Make that twelve trolls,” Navi said over comms. Acting as both lookout and sniper, he perched on a rock outcropping above the troll camp. “Two patrolling. Just finished tormenting, I mean checking on the captives.”
“Twelve,” Lis whispered next to him. “That’s more than we planned for.”
“Great,” Squirrel, a sharpshooter from Tan’s crew, muttered. “Just what we need. More trolls.”
Nox slid close, his arm brushing hers. “Stick close to me, and we’ll be fine.” When she lifted an eyebrow at him, he added, “I make an excellent shield. Your shield, remember?”
She shook her head, huffing out a breath.
“Stow it,” Tan growled over the comm. “The plan remains the same. Incapacitate the trolls, free the captives, save the day. Got me?”
“Yeah, boss,” Squirrel said. “Easy peasy.”
Nox hoped so. Their seasoned assault team of ten was enough when there were only seven rock-skinned assholes to deal with. Twelve, well, that was a challenge Nox wasn’t thrilled about.
But they were here, and Tan was confident in the efficacy of his sister-in-law’s troll takedown serum. He made the call to proceed rather than wait for backup, which wouldn’t reach their position until midmorning at the earliest.
Many of the captives wouldn’t survive that long.
They broke into two-person fireteams. For the first stage, they’d incapacitate as many as they could from a distance. A tough ask, as lower mountain trolls with their armored skin were notoriously hard to take down. There were only a few vulnerable areas a dart could penetrate — their eyes, between their toes, and at the base of their tiny ears.
“I’ve got eyes on the guards. The rest are bedded down and snoring,” Navi said. “Operation Dreamland is a go on your word, Tan.”
Nox and Lis exchanged glances. With a tip of his head, he silently asked if she was ready. She nodded, then mirrored his head tilt, asking him the same. He smoothed a hand down her back, reassuring himself.
“Take ‘em down,” Tan ordered.
The sound of high-pitched whistles split the quiet of the campsite. A rock slide of roars quickly followed.
“Six down, six to go. We’ve got incoming,” Navi reported from his high perch. “Brace yourselves, people.”
“Ooh, they’re pissed,” Lis said, adjusting her grip on her weapon. It was like they’d kicked over a beehive. A massive hive, filled with giant murder hornets. She bared her teeth at him in a fierce grin. “Guess they don’t enjoy being attacked in their own camp. Well, that’s what you get, you assholes.”
Nox smiled at the satisfaction in her voice. His mate was out for blood. He made a note to do his best not to piss her off too badly in the future to evade her wrath.
“One more down,” Navi reported.
“Let’s go,” Lis said, smacking Nox on the shoulder and pointing at a troll with bright purple spikes of hair covering his head and trailing down his back. Dressed in only a tattered gray kilt, he glared around, banging a fist on his chest and swinging a spiked club.
Nox needed to give Lis a chance to dart the troll. Switching to his blaster, Nox charged towards the massive creature, drawing his attention. The troll shouted, his battle cry like the clash of two boulders, and lumbered towards Nox. They weren’t fast, but once they built up a head of steam, they could plow through solid rock. He wouldn’t let any get close to his mate.
“Incoming.” Nox twisted and shot the troll chasing him.
It bounced off his shoulder, pissing him off. The troll roared, brandishing his club.
“Oh, shit,” Lis said from her cover behind a rock stack. She took aim. “Careful, Nox. He’s on your heels.”
He zig-zagged, ducking under a wild swing, the wind from the club passing overhead, ruffling his hair. “Doing my best.”
An unconscious troll crashed to the ground in front of him. Navi hooted in delight. “Three left. Let’s go.”
Nox grinned, his adrenaline spiking. “Be ready, mate. This one’s for you.” He shifted trajectory towards Lis, the pissed-off troll thundering in his wake. They needed to get close, but not too close. Blasting at him over his shoulder, he worked to keep the troll’s attention focused on him.
“Slow him down if you can, Nox,” Lis said. “I’m a decent shot, but he’s really moving.”
Darting to the right, he took aim at the troll’s knees and fired.
There was a sharp whistle, and Lis crowed with delight. “We got him.”
The troll stumbled, his club swinging wide, right towards where Lis crouched. Nox leapt into its path with a roar.
“Look out,” Lis shouted, her eyes wide.
Pain exploded in his head, sending him crashing to the ground. He heard his mate cry out his name, then everything went dark.