Page 41 of Midnight Kingdom

Noni leads us back to the portal and I can’t help but notice that Aima has slowed significantly. She stops entirely as the portal opens.

“I can’t go with you,” she says.

“Why the fuck not?” I demand and Revenant looks at her like she’s lost her mind.

She smiles in a way that says she realizes the effect her words are soon to have. “Because, I fucking love Theren. I may not agree with the way he rules, but I love him.”

“We aren’t leaving without you,” I answer.

CHAPTER TWELVE

FLUMPH

The Veil

Fuckin’ dick think he can come inside the necromancer’s shack an’ boss me around! I don’t think so! I gettin’ real tired of Elfie thinkin’ he can jist tell me what to do an’ how to do it. If he don’t watch hisself, I’ll be doin’ some real bad things to his supper. Like pissin’ in it!

My poor wings struggle to fly the bowl o’ bullshit oats up the stairs to the sneaky Mother Heifer. She ain’t worth the sweat off a ogre’s ballsack, if you ask me.

I sets the bowl down an’ use my ass to push the door open. The Mother Heifer scare the livin’ bejeezes outta me when I turns around an’ I see her pullin’ herself up, all awake an’ shit. Her eyes real scary-like an’ I don’t wanna be alone with her.

She smile at me, like I’m gonna fall for that shit.

Fucks right off, lady. Flumph ain’t stupid.

“Did you bring me breakfast?” she ask, soundin’ all nice an’ whatnot.

“Only ‘cause I were asked to. Not ‘cause no one told me. I ain’t no slave.”

“Of course you aren’t! I only meant to thank you. I’m very grateful.”

I’ll believe that when the elf and Shadow Dick get their heads outta their asses an’ admit that they both wantin’ to take Pretty to bed for a whole lotta naughty business. I sets the bowl on the table an’ sit on the edge o’ the bed, decidin’ I needs ta do a little question askin’ o’ my own.

The Mother Heifer sits up and starts slurpin’ on her breakfast like I ain’t even here, an’ that fine by me. Less she lookin’ at me with her sketchy eyes, the better.

“So, Fluff, is it?”

“What Fluff?”

“You.”

“Me?”

“Your name,” she say all pissed-off like.

“That ain’t my name!”

“What is your name?”

“Flumph!”

“Do you know how the others opened the rift to this world?” She still gots that creepy-ass smile on her face. “Baron said they used an artifact called theOluri, but is there another way? Perhaps portal jumping or something similar?”

I don’t likes her questionin’ ‘specially when I was jist tellin’ myself I was gonna question her. Anyways, no one spose to know how to get to The Veil, that how it stay secret for so long. I ain’t gonna be the asshole that fuck it up for everyone else by spillin’ the beans. “No. They don’t tell me none o’ that shit. They isn’t exactly the most trustin’ sorta people. Keep their secrets real close-like.”

“Oh, I don’t know. You seem pretty close with them.”

“I ain’t. They just keeps me ‘round ‘cause Pretty think we friends. She the only one I really like. Rest o’ them is dicks.”

---