Chapter Seventeen #3
“He’s mine, bitch, get away from him.” Qetesh stepped out of a tear in the world, six of her golden haired toga wearing guards surrounding her, swords out and at the ready. Vaia, the Fate, the last to step through, hanging back, giving Gigi a friendly wave and a wink.
“Ah, Q-tip, you’re too late I’m afraid. I was here first, that baby’s mine.”
“Oh, I don’t hear or see a squalling infant, Nit-wit, looks like it’s anyone’s for the taking still. Guards, grab him.” Pointing at Nico. “And drag him about fifteen feet in that direction.”
Nico didn’t look like he agreed with that plan, holding Canary up like a furry purple gun. “Gigi!”
The liquid that exploded out of Canary’s mouth smelt amazing; cinnamon, rum and ground ginger.
But when it came in contact with skin, eyes, or any other sensitive part of the anatomy, it burned.
It burned and itched like a thousand fire ants had just been dumped all over you.
Nico managing to splash five of Qetesh’s guards.
The demi-goddess herself releasing a high pitched screech and diving off to the side, her pure white clingy toga instantly picking up a number of grass stains.
Only Vaia appeared unimpressed with Canary’s offering, taking a small step to the right, she confidently avoided the splash zone but only by mere inches.
Whilst five of Qetesh’s guards rolled on the ground howling, scratching, and rubbing ineffectually at their eyes, the last remaining guard standing eyed Nico.
“Ah, Demetrious, buddy. You really don’t want to mess with me today.”
Demetrious raised his sword, looking determined.
“Don’t kill him, Deme.” Qetesh, more interested in checking her hair for stray bits of debris, missed Nico stepping forward and with only three quick flashing strikes relieving Demetrious of his head.
“Gigi. Gigi!”
Frowning, not wanting to look away from Nico’s confrontation with the Lurve trollops Gigi couldn’t ignore the sharp tap on her back by one of Devon’s curls.
“What? Oh.” Okay, it seems things were progressing a little faster on the labour front for Nell, whose hair was plastered to her skull with sweat, her lower lip bleeding from where she’d been biting down on it so she wouldn’t distract Drum with any sounds of pain or discomfort.
“We need to head to the hospital, and we need to go now.” Devon glaring down at Nell who glared right back at Devon with a foreign stubborn look in her eyes.
“I’m not going without Drum.”
“Rivers and Lakes.” Devon rolled her eyes, before glancing Gigi’s way. “Thoughts?”
She was supposed to fix this? They could haul Nell inside the ice sculpting shed, she knew for a fact there was a Transportal in there as her Uncle moved large pieces via it.
But Gigi had the distinct impression Nell wouldn’t go without a fight.
Bloody Hell. Meeting the gazes of the smug demi-goddesses who couldn’t have looked happier that Nell was in advanced labour. Bitches.
Damn, Nico had moved over to help Drum with the three remaining Scarabs that he hadn’t yet managed to dispatch. Whilst off in the distance the long limbed invaders were down numbers, but since they seemed to heal instantly they were still proving a distinct threat.
Threat?
Of course. Gigi snatched up Nell’s phone, opening the contacts and hitting the dial button. “I need help with an evac, stat. Code – Ball of Sunshine.”
“Who did you call?” Devon wanted to know.
“Darcy. Get ready. And let’s get Nell on her feet.”
“I’m not—”
“Nell, Darcy’s on her way.”
“Oh, hold on. Okay, help me up.”
Darcy appeared, striding through the smoke and chaos easily, her lime green plaid mini skirt and bright pink t-shirt beacon bright as she stalked through the melee.
Her gaze fixed on the ice sculpting shed.
Leaping up to shove a sharpened chopstick into the eye of a long limbed invader who tried to block her way, kicking him in the mouth and then the balls with her bright pink patent leather knee high boots.
She ducked around another one, kicking them in the back, sending them stumbling in Elijah and Copper’s direction.
Picking up her pace as Great-Aunt Annabeth tried to flag her down.
Jumping over the buffet table debris, so as not to mar her boots probably.
Heavens knew where she had been keeping the katana she was now holding.
The wicked sharp edge glinting in the sun.
Sidling up behind the Scarabs facing off Drum and Nico, Darcy cut the head off the one to her left with one stroke.
And with her follow through, thrust the point deeply in the side of the one on her right.
Drum stepping forward, grabbing the soldier for hire by the head and twisting hard, snapping his neck.
The remaining Scarab stumbled abruptly, thanks to a booted foot Vaia had casually stuck out, Nico’s sword finding a home in his right eye even as Drum pivoted and grabbed his left arm and wrenched it away from his body with a crack. Black blood spraying outwards in an arc.
“Not the hair.” Qetesh shrieked.
“Fuck.” Neith was a little more focused on all the dead Scarabs littering the ground, and the chilling clear blue gaze of the woman in the plaid skirt and pink t-shirt with a slogan that read – High explosives present, please hand me a match.
“We need to get out of here.” Even as she grabbed for Qetesh, pulling her sister a little in front of her to act as a shield, just in case, triggering a Transportal, the air shimmering next to them.
“Nico. Canary.” Gigi thanked the Lady Above he understood, bringing Canary up, Gigi calling forth a torrent of quick drying - break every tooth in your mouth - pineapple flavoured taffy.
The two demi-goddesses screaming as the bright yellow torrent blasted them backwards, soaking them from neck to knees.
The duo hitting the invisible shield like baby birds, and within a blink of an eye they were stuck to it, unable to move anything but their heads and waggle their feet.
“Good work, bunny.” Darcy strode past, coming to a stop before the two cursing females.
“Keep it up and you lose your tongues.” Holding aloft the katana rather casually.
“Though don’t worry, when I’m ready to start seriously interrogating you two twats, we can have them magically regrown.
I understand it’s a very painful process though.
” The sisters continued to futilely squirm but both wisely ceased cursing.
Darcy smiled, and they immediately stopped squirming.
Idly Darcy allowed her gaze to travel over the scene. Taking in the broken fences, the large divots in the ground, all the smashed furniture, and the smoke trail arising in the distance. Really, it was Great-Aunt Alma’s own fault for parking in the back alley.
The last of the long limbed invaders was being dispatched, Neith and Qetesh were captured, and almost two hundred relatives were eyeing her with various looks of surprise and peevishness from behind their shields.
All except her Mother, Sarah, whose gaze promised the sternest longest lecture Darcy had ever received in her life.
Declan, her meld mate, gave her an encouraging look, he was always on her side. It helped even more that his grey t-shirt had somehow been torn to shreds in the battle, his bare muscular torso a welcome distracting sight.
“Ahem.”
Oh, the Fate, what was her name again? Vanity? Vapid? The woman seemed mighty casual for someone who’d arrived with an invading force. Darcy noting she was gripping the playing deck in her left hard so tightly that her fingers were white. Hhhmmm, perhaps not so casual after all.
“Vaia.” She supplied the name. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
“Darcy.” Nell’s voice sounded uncharacteristically annoyed. “The baby, I need—”
Drum crashed through the invisible shield, uncaring the two demi-goddesses were dumped unceremoniously onto the ground. Some of the taffy snapping off with sharp cracks but they still remained basically entombed by the stuff.
“Nell.” Drum swept his meld mate up, holding her like fragile glass.
Flushed, panting, Nell released a loud moan. All the blood leaving Drum’s face, the man mountain visibly swaying. Nico, the only one nearby with superstrength leapt forward, throwing Canary at Gigi to catch, visibly straining as he fought to keep Drum, holding Nell still, upright.
“I’m fine.” Some colour began returning to Drum’s face. “I’m fine.” But in a low mumble to Nico out the corner of his mouth. “Don’t let go.”
“Move out people. Drum, Nell, Devon, Nico, Gigi, hit the hospital, use the bunny, protect them until I can round up some Enforcers.”
“I’m not—” Devon scowled as Nell reached out, grabbing a fistful of her long raven locks, yanking hard. “Okay, Okay. Loosen up a little. Let’s go welcome this baby into the world.”
Darcy watched the group disappear into the shed.
They’d be at the local hospital in seconds.
Turning, she surveyed her three potential interrogation subjects, anticipation spiking.
It was a good day to be Darcy Montgomery.
Two power hungry demi-twats she could rough up to her heart’s content.
And Vaia, the Fate, she needed to determine whether the woman was friend or foe.
Considering the stakes that were in play today, if she did say so herself, things had gone off rather well.
Sure, there were a heap of disgruntled relatives who wanted to whine about being cut out of the fun.
But they weren’t whining to Darcy, or Elijah for that matter.
They currently had Taite and Adrian hemmed in, but they were big boys, they’d just have to deal.
And okay, the place was a mess. The decorations all ruined.
The massive sun ice sculpture destroyed, now slowly leaking cocktails onto the grass in a steady stream.
The buffet tables had been all but obliterated, food and broken plates and bent cutlery stomped into the ground.
The back fence was broken in at least three places and there were a couple of spot fires, that were in the process of being put out thanks to the ready response of the local fire crew who’d been on standby.
They must have dealt with the bigger blaze first -Great-Aunt Alma’s car - and now had moved on to clean-up mode.
Yeah, it was all good.
“Incoming.”
The warning came from Vaia. Darcy gave her a quick glance.
The woman standing a few feet away, casual as you please, showing no signs of being wary of Darcy, or the situation she now found herself in.
Though she was gripping that playing deck way too tightly still, and shaking her hand a little as if to get the blood flowing.
Weird. Oh, incoming. Who? Damn. Darcy watched her mother, Sarah, and her Great-Aunt Alma storm through the party wreckage, making a beeline for her position.
Crap. Maybe it wasn’t such a great day to be Darcy Montgomery after all.
“Darcy. You blew up my car, again!”
Oh, buggeration, what was that word, it was on the tip of her tongue. Come on, think. “Sorry?”
Flicking her perfectly coiffed hair back behind an ear, Alma’s hazel eyes blazed. “Hand over the rocket launcher. Now!”
Darcy made a production of passing over the rocket launcher currently strapped to her back. She bought them in bulk, the loss of one was no big deal, though it was her favourite. Oh, well, she’d just break into Alma’s place and retrieve it in a few days, once the dust settled.
“Look at this place, young lady. My garden. My fence. The conservatory is scorched. The party is ruined. All my hard work. All that effort…”
Darcy switched off, she often went to her happy place when Sarah went on one of her rants.
What torture techniques should she open with?
Something classic? Or maybe something new?
She’d seen something the other day on TikTok that might be a perfect way to get the ball rolling.
Her spider web twanged. Oh, her mother had wound down, breathing hard, glaring Darcy’s way.
She needed a suitable response. Or, someone to shift the blame onto.
“These two twats came here today to steal Nell’s baby.”
Sarah’s gaze narrowed as she shifted her attention to the two females trapped in taffy, still on the ground, a fierce scowl settling over her features, Sarah’s mouth slowly lifting into a smile of anticipation.
Neith and Qetesh futilely tried to squirm, to break free.
Too many in the family forgot that Darcy had Sarah’s smile.
“Really? They came after my granddaughter. Why?”
“That’s what we’d really like to know. I’m going to be busy chatting about that very subject for the next few days.”
Sarah, her expression still fierce, glanced over at her youngest child. “I want in.”
“In?”
“On the interrogation.”
Um, her mother, High Council member and renowned research scientist, wanted to help interrogate the demi-twats?
“I’ll bring my chemistry set. And I have some bone borers and brain slugs I’ve been dying to try out on sentient flesh.”
Oh, well, that changed everything. Huh, after all these years, maybe they’d finally discovered a mother and daughter hobby they could share.