Chapter Ten #3
Hiding out amongst the mass of mannequins would have been a good plan, but as one of the cherubs strafed by overhead, it released an excrement bomb of gold liquid glitter.
Luckily the mannequins protected them, this time, as they huddled together closer, now trying to avoid anything that dripped gold glittery shit.
“I don’t think that’s going to work.” Nico pointed out the obvious, as the second cherub strafed their hiding spot, a stream of gold liquid sliding down a nearby mannequin’s face, dripping down her naked exposed breasts and then to the floor.
Pooling only a few inches away from Nico’s boot.
“Okay. We need a plan. They seem to favour me as a target. If I distract them, how’s your throwing arm?
I could break off a couple of feet or hands for you to use.
” His blade wasn’t balanced or light enough, being more of a stabbing weapon.
“They’re too quick. It would be useless.” Gigi grudgingly admitted, wishing she could get her hands on a strafing tommy gun like the one mobster Zeus had been depicted holding. Oh. Hah! “Wait. I have an idea.” She lifted the catch on Canary’s basket, plucking him out.
“You’re going to the throw the rabbit at one of them? I don’t know, that kind of smacks of animal cruelty or something.”
“Look. Trust me. There’s much more to Canary than meets the eye, but there’s no time for explanations. I can absolutely take down those little flying shitters as long as you keep them distracted and occupied.”
Was she serious? Yes. Gigi clearly thought she and the bunny could take out the cherubs. “Okay.” Mierda, was he really going to do this? Place his life in the hands of a chocolatier with commitment issues and her pet purple bunny? It certainly seemed so.
They spent a couple of minutes discussing their game plan, though Gigi refused to divulge exactly what she and the rabbit would do to bring down the cupids.
Although she appeared nothing but confident after he confirmed that he would be fine holding his breath kind of indefinitely.
Which in no way gave him any inkling of what she and the rabbit intended to do.
As she said, this was no time for long involved explanations.
But given his experience with Gigi, she tackled everything full on with cheerful determination and a bucket load of efficiency.
The look in her eyes right now showed not a hint of fear or trepidation.
Saints Above, he was going to have go on faith.
“See you on the other side.” Nico made a break for it, or that’s what he intended it to look like.
Running for the doors, only at the last second veering away, heading back to the protection of the mass of mannequins.
He heard the angry thrum of wings close on his heels.
Zig zagging on instinct. Watching as a tiny gold arrow embedded itself in a mannequin’s eye some ten feet in front of him.
Fuck, where was… Gigi stepped out from the crowd of mannequins, raised the rabbit high and the little thing opened his mouth, and kept on opening it.
Nico only getting a quick glimpse of a seemingly infinite dark void in there before he was racing past her.
At the edge of the mannequins he turned, watching in shock as the air was suddenly full of little dark balls, a barrage of them headed right for the two cherubs that had been chasing him.
They couldn’t break off their pursuit. A thumb sized ball hitting one in the cheek, exploding on contact.
The other one too quick, fluttering left, right, up and down, avoiding the missiles.
Though it hadn’t factored in that several of the balls had hit the ceiling, exploding, the contents drifting down like a…
was that chocolate? Gigi was bombarding the little terrors with truffles?
Seriously? Amazingly her plan appeared to be working as the first cherub’s face had turned a bright splotchy red, eyes streaming and squeezed shut as it sneezed, once, twice, and then ten more times, so violently it dropped fifteen feet as it desperately wiped at its eyes.
Struggling to even flutter in place. Bobbing, climbing slightly, sneezing again and dropping two feet.
A new stream of something erupted from the rabbit.
Thick, dark, syrupy, hitting the sneezing dazed and crying cherub with a splash, sending it hurtling backwards against a nearby column.
It was a dripping mess for only another ten seconds as its wings fluttered pathetically as it struggled to relaunch itself.
But between one flutter and the next its wings froze, and it couldn’t move, stuck to the column like a bug under amber.
The second cherub was less red and blotchy, not having taken a direct hit of the sneeze-bomb truffles, but a cloud of cocoa dust and who knows what else had enveloped it.
Likewise tears were streaming down its cheeks, and it was struggling to both fly and hold an arrow notched in the bow it was carrying.
Nico assumed Gigi did something different to the rabbit, because this time when it opened its mouth, a torrent of bright aqua blue liquid drenched the cherub, sending it plummeting to the ground.
Unlike the other cherub it didn’t bother struggling against the liquid, it instead focused all its energy on lifting the bow and arrow.
Hah, whatever that stuff was it dried too fast, the cherub’s hold on the bow still at half-mast. They’d done it.
Well, Gigi and her vomiting rabbit had done it. He had so many questions.
Stepping away from the mannequins Nico moved to her side, both their gazes locked on the second cherub that was glaring their way, murder in its eyes.
It’s still blinking eyes. Oh, Mierda, it still had some movement.
Nico’s arm sweeping out, trying to get Gigi behind him even as the cherub released the arrow.
Merciful Lady, no, Gigi was already back pedalling, pulling Nico along with her. The bow was at such an awkward angle, no way the arrow should have hit anything, but what did they say about the course of true love? Something annoying no doubt.
As the cherub abruptly froze in its bright blue coating of boiled sweet blueberry liquid, Nico and Gigi were left staring down at Nico’s left boot, where an arrow protruded from the tip of it. Praying hard the leather had prevented it from making any contact. Please. Please.
“Hey there, partner of mine. How you doing?” Nico’s accent was extra thick, a liquid amber heated gaze directed Gigi’s way.
Bugger. Her faux boyfriend had been hit by the love bug and was a closet Friends fan, who knew.
And now was fluttering long thick eyelashes her way and gifting her a sultry look that definitely belonged on the cover of one of her Great-Great-Aunt’s erotic novels.
And the spike of heat arrowing down her spine was nothing but a perfectly normal human reaction, as she wasn’t fooled that he actually meant that look.
A look that even now was heating up, how was that possible?
Stepping to the side smartly as Nico reached for her.
Good Goddess, he was Casanova in truth, making a soothing sexy sound to gentle her as once more he tried to reach for her.
She was going to need two hands to fend him off, setting Canary down and backing away, grabbing a discarded mannequin’s arm, holding it up to keep Nico at, hah, arm’s length.
He continued to stalk her, lips twisted upwards in a sexy come hither smile, amber eyes pools of inviting liquid and now, he was unbuttoning his shirt. Seriously, could this day get any worse?
Her gaze flicking over to Canary, who was sniffing at something on the ground. No, not something, a pile of cherub excrement, the bright blob glittering still, casting off shimmering little lights. “Canary. Come here. Don’t touch it. Oh, Heavens, don’t eat that!”
Within two seconds Canary’s entire frame, from the tip of his nose to his tail glowed what could only be described as red hot crimson, pulsing twice, his little eyes bulging suddenly, right before he exploded in a puff of crimson dust.
Well, damn, of course things could always get worse.