Page 27 of Trolling For Love

As soon as I was on the other side of the portal my horns burned with fire.My mate.Our connection was strong, and I knew the pain I felt was nothing compared to what he would suffer. He carried his love for me in his heart, and I hated to imagine the pain he’d feel. I shook my head and tried to forget the pain and focus on the reason I’d crossed the portal. To destroy Vince Drummond and get the troll killer.

I forced myself to move away from the portal and farther away from Flynn. Because even though it was painful it would be worse if I didn’t try to protect what was mine. I looked around hoping to see something familiar but there was nothing.

My time in the human world had made me forget all the horrors of the monster realm. Along with the beauty of the trees and the small town I realized I’d quickly grown accustomed toseeing humans. This portal was different to the other one, when I first stepped through there were many plants, but they were nothing like those on the other side. Where everything was green there, on this side it was all bright strange colors and plants that should not exist anywhere.

A short distance away I saw a village. It was not the water world I’d passed through before, but I hoped they were not monsters who would kill without reason. The closer I got the more familiar the creatures that came into view were. I was reminded of the strange wolf that had come to warn us about Vince Drummond.The leshy.While they could transform into nearly any animal shape, most were in their original form. With skull-like faces, antlers of all different sizes and bodies more like a mixture of a human and a wolf.

“Greetings, I am Gunnar of Iceland. I mean you no harm,” I said to the first leshy I saw. It was a large male who was hurrying down the street. I held my hands out to show I held no weapon.

“What do you want, troll?” he finally asked.

“A human passed through that nearby portal. Do you know of him?” His demeanor instantly grew even colder than it was.

“The human you seek comes to our lands and murders for profit.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“His name is Drummond. He comes here with his elfin blade and kills any monster he chooses only to sell their parts for profit in the human world.”

“He has threatened my mate. I will not allow him to continue to be a threat,” I said and meant every word.

“You think he cannot kill you too? He has a troll killer and has killed many monsters with barely a scratch. Why do humans allow him to destroy our kind? We have tried to live in harmony with them, some of our kind live among them. But still this monster hides with them until he kills again.”

“They did not know he was entering the monster realm. We only found out after he threatened my mate.”

“If you follow this road, you will find him. He is off to kill one of your kind. He bragged as he walked through our village. Telling everyone not to fear that his troll killer would be put to use for what it was intended.”

“There are not many of us left. Too many were sensitive to the sun and are now turned to stone. Those that were not destroyed choose to lead solitary lives,” I said.

“Except you who has chosen to live in the human world,” the leshy said.

“I wanted a mate,” I said and wasn’t going to feel bad for finding what I was searching for.

“Go, troll. Find the human who would kill us,” he said and walked away.

“Gunnar,” someone yelled my name from near the portal. I could tell it wasn’t Flynn, but when I realized who it was, I wasn’t sure how to react.

“What do you want?” I roared.

“Let me explain,” Gene Redmond said and dug in his pocket for something. I braced ready for him to pull a knife or some other weapon so when he handed me his wallet, I was shocked.

“What is this?” I asked.

“I’ve been working undercover. We knew there was a human selling monster parts, but we didn’t know who it was for a long time. I was a plant, put here to befriend Vince Drummond and bring him to justice.”

“You tried to injure me,” I said.

“I just explained all this to Flynn. I had to prove myself to him to get him to trust me. He does have a few in town that help him move products, but he’s the collector. He comes here and kills monsters then sells their parts.”

“The leshy said he was going to kill a troll next.” I didn’t want to trust this human, but right now, I didn’t have many choices.

“Then we’d better hurry and stop him,” he said and hurried past me.

We walked along the road together, now an uneasy companionship with one goal. “He attacked Flynn.”

“He’s okay. When I found him, he’d been asleep for a while. The pull of his bond is bothering him more than the wound to his head. I don’t think he’s seriously injured but I gave him information to get help. He’s pretty stubborn so I completely expect him to be waiting there when we return,” Gene said. “I’m sorry for all the hurt and confusion I caused. I was just playing a part.”

“Our bond is strong,” I said, and reached for my horn before I stopped myself. “My mate was worried. He wanted to make sure everyone was safe including the crew.”

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