Page 51 of Elven Prince

“Someone who understands emergencies,” Rebecca gritted out, then redoubled her grip on her rifle. “Eyes on the door.”

Her laughably small team had enough time to recover their dazzled wits, ready a new aim, and prepare for any potential danger beyond this door, but that was it.

A strobing flash of yellow-gold light ignited around the door’s frame before the doorknob turned sharply and the door swung open into the house.

“Don’t move!” Tig shouted. “Hands where we can see them!”

“What? What the fuck’s going on out here? Hello?”

The gruff, oddly nasal voice seemed to come from nowhere at first, then Rebecca glanced down to find the shortest gnome she’d ever seen standing there with one hand still gripping a thick black rope attached to something above him. He blinked furiously and squinted against the disarmingly bright glow on his porch. “It’s the middle of the night! What do you want?”

“Shit, that’s him.” Lerrick lowered his weapon and pointed at the gnome. “That’s the guy the witch sisters brought our way. The tech guy. He’s still alive.”

“Well I don’texpectto wake up dead in the middle of the night!” the gnome barked. “And I don’t do business after—”

“Bruce Urholder?” Rebecca asked.

He squinted dubiously up at her and scoffed. “Duh. Who the hell are—”

“Get inside,” Maxwell growled and surged forward past Rebecca, nearly bowling Bruce over in the process before Tig and Lerrick hurried in after him.

“Now, wait a minute! This is private property here, and you’re trespassing! Don’t think for a second, I won’t—”

The gnome shrieked when Maxwell slammed the front door shut, ripping the black rope out of Bruce’s hand, the other end of which was tied to various levers built into the interior of the door to help the gnome open it.

“Ow! What the fuck’s your problem?” Bruce glared at the shifter, rubbing his rope-burned palm.

Maxwell removed his hand from the door and glowered down at the magical they’d hoped to find alive. “Quiet.”

When the shifter stormed into the house, signaling for Tig and Lerrick to fan out and clear the other rooms, Bruce squinted up at Rebecca, still rubbing his palm with a grimace. “You really let that brute call the shots?”

“Usually, no,” she said. “Tonight? Maybe.”

It all depended on what happened next and how fatally undermanned they were. If Bruce was attacked in his home, the team would have to engage an unknown, unseen adversary who killed indiscriminately and had already set their mind to destroying Shade in one night.

“No one asked you to be here,” Bruce groused as he hurried after Maxwell, then decided against it. “You’re still trespassing. And I don’t know any of you yahoos any better than I know that newest model of augmented M4 carbine magitek in your hand. If you won’t leave willingly, don’t think I won’t use what I’ve got on me to blow you fucks to pieces.”

At this point, the gnome’s threat was just for Rebecca as the rest of her team inspected his home and prepared for the worst as best they could.

Leaving her on explanation duty.

“We believe you may be in danger, Mr. Urholder,” she said.

“Don’t fucking call me that!” he shouted, clenching his eyes tightly shut, fists shaking at his sides.

“Sorry.” She cleared her throat. “Bruce, we didn’t know if we’d get here in time, but we’re not here to hurt you. We’re here to protect you.”

The gnome gawked at her, unblinking, as if she’d uttered the secret password to instantly shut down all his brain function. Then his awareness returned before he screeched, “Fromwhat?”

Dammit, that was a hard question to answer.

Rebecca grimaced, then settled with the only answer she had. “From knowingus, apparently.”

“I don’t know you!”

“Rebecca Knox,” she said with a brusque nod that made her feel like she was reporting tohim. “Shade Commander. We haven’t had the pleasure of meeting personally until now, but I know your work with magitek. Plus, you delivered our first contract two days early. That’s not the kinda thing I forget.”

“Huh. Things must beextraexciting for you, then.”

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