Page 7 of Courting Mayhem

“Shawan?”

I rolled my eyes. “The moron with the laser pistol. And by the way, how did he get a weapon in here?”

“An excellent question.” The fury in Derek’s eyes didn’t bode well for the Farin’s future health. “What do you know about Shawan?”

“Shawan belongs to the Shadow Thieves Guild. My guess is he and his partners in crime are here to steal the Shebu,” Poppa Jacob interjected.

Derek shook his head. “Not possible. It’s shielded and our security is impenetrable.”

“Obviously, you’ve never dealt with the Shadow Thieves.” My berserker senses screamed a warning. “Incoming hostiles,” I advised as a horde of costumed dwarves, lions and bears burst out of a hidden doorway.

Without any warning, a guy in a Prince Charming outfit pulled his sword and stabbed Poppa Jacob in the gut. He grabbed his stomach and fell to his knees; blood gushed between his fingers.

Prince Charming lifted his sword for the killing blow.

“Noooo!” My berserker fury roared to life. Bellowing my battle cry, I kicked the sword out of Prince Charming’s hand and dropped him with a single blow.

I spun around as more of Shawan’s costumed friends rushed me. I punched, kicked, and beat my way through them. A part of me was aware of Derek fighting at my side.

A pirate with a very large sword rushed me.

I pivoted to one side. The blade grazed my side. Bastard!

The pirate spun around, and his sword flashed out in a series of vicious cuts.

I evaded the blade.

A storm trooper came at me from behind.

I dropped to the ground and the pirate’s sword impaled the storm trooper. Grabbing the trooper’s fake rifle, I repeatedly rammed it into the pirate’s face. “No one hurts my father.” I hit him again. “No one.”

Papi Sten’s harsh voice echoed in my head, “Stop Mayhem. Jacob’s badly injured and he needs your help. Do you hear me?”

“Help.”I hurled the pirate into the lagoon. “Father.”

“You protected Jacob, but he needs you. You must get your powers under control. Just like we taught you.”

I instinctively went through the mental exercises they had drilled into me until the killing rage cleared from my mind. Ballock’s balls! The area around Poppa Jacob was littered with bodies. My eyes fixed on my father’s bloody form. A medic was dealing with his injury. My shoulders sagged in relief. He would live.

Derek retracted his helmet. “No one would expect an itty-bitty female like you to be such a vicious fighter.”

“And for an old man, your battle skills are adequate.”

Derek huffed, “Adequate?”

Papi Sten approached me calmly and held out a chocolate bar. “You need to eat something.”

I took the bar and practically inhaled it. “What are you doing here?”

“We saw the fight on the security monitors. Zan knew in your berserker state you would only respond to family and Zarek agreed,” Papi Sten replied and gave me another candy bar.

I tore the paper off and ate the bar hungrily. Wait. Zarek? Here? That was when the Overlord’s power hit me, and my gaze froze on an enormous Coletti warrior standing next to Zan. Holy hell that handsome hunk was Zarek? I examined his aura. One word described Zarek. Deadly. If you pissed him off, you wouldn’t live to talk about it. His black battle suit emphasized his massive frame, and, on each arm, he wore large gold warrior’s bracelets with elaborate designs. An etched gold headband held back his gray warriors’ braids. Not good. Earth belonged to the Coletti Empire. By Zan’s emotionless mask, I knew we were in trouble.

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Chapter Two

I gave the Overlord a slight bow and said politely, “My lord, I had hoped I would never meet you.”

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