Page 34 of Secret Origins
“I didn’t know,” the troll pleaded when I literally frog-walked him to get him away from the alley. “Myst, I honestly didn’t know or I would’ve told you.”
“What are you talking about?” Growls and snarls were coming through the huge hole in the wall and making the entire ground move under my feet like I was standing on water.
“Who you were. If I knew, I would’ve told you I’m a troll.” Using my distraction, he took hold of my hand and yanked on it. “You gotta believe me.”
“That makes two of us.” At his puzzled look, I snorted. “It’s a … new development. Never mind, let’s get moving. Unless you want the cow to really skin you alive. I can’t babysit you, not when I have a cow to kill.”
“I can shift.” He shuddered. “It’s been a while, but I’ll do it to help you, and I’ll rip his head off. I’m quite strong.” Chest puffing out, he even sucked his beer belly in—or tried to anyway, but there was no hope for that sucker—and I honestly think he was expecting me to be impressed.
“Stay out of the way.” With a weary sigh, I cracked my neck. “If you see us going down then you can jump in. Not before.”
That got him moving faster than I thought him capable of. Bolting through the back door and flipping around to turn and face me just inside of it, he gave me two thumbs up like an excited child. He was smiling from ear to ear too, which crept me out.
Fenrir’s body came out flying, his back hitting next to the pub’s door before he dropped on his hands and knees. Black long hair brushed the ground before falling like a waterfall over his shoulders. Chest heaving, it took him a long moment to lift his face up, but when he did, I was worried his jaw would fuse together if he clenched it any harder. The runes kept pulsing and writhing deep red on his cheeks and neck.
The minotaur stepped through the hole, shaking his huge head as if to clear it.
Blood dripped from above his right eye, and his lower lip and torso was bathed with it, as well. Deep wounds cut off the streaks of swirling lines covering his upper body. His harsh breathing sounded like an engine sputtering to start. To my great pleasure, one of his horns had a large chunk on the end broken, hanging like an ornament and dangling next to his head.
It gave me an idea.
“No,” Fenrir snarled.
“What?” I blinked innocently at him as I inched closer to the cow and pulled out my sword.
“I know that face, and no.” Pushing up on his feet, the Fae tugged down his shirt as if he wasn’t aware that he was covered in gunk and dust all over.
Prim and proper. That was Fenrir for you in a nutshell.
Scrubbing the back of my hand across my nose, and probably smudging my face further, I didn’t suffer from those issues. I was pretty sure my hair was sticking out all over the place too. There were a few strands plastered on the side of my face that I couldn’t be bothered to tuck behind my ear. Perfect material for royalty, I was sure.
“I don’t know what you are talking about, Fenrir. There is nothing wrong with my face, and from what I can tell, it always looks the same.” Stepping next to him, I searched for the best way to execute my plan.
“You are smiling.” I chanced a quick glance at his face. “Not in a good way. It has trouble written all over it.”
“Go stand with the troll then.” I had to move while the cow still looked dazed or I would’ve missed my chance. “The two of you can cheer. I’m sure he can fish out some pompoms from somewhere. I don’t even want to know what he has in the back of that pub.”
“We should just shoot him.” As usual, Fenrir ignored my brilliant ideas.
“We don’t know how fast the delay rune will burn out. I need to be close enough to rip his heart out before he turns into a piñata.” With pursed lips, I looked the minotaur up and down. “Too bad there will be no candy.”
“You ate fifteen chocolate-covered eclairs not even an hour ago.”
“Are you calling me a glutton?” The tip of my sword was under his chin, which made his body stiff. The cow looked confused, too, but he was finally watching us as if we were something to be wary off.
Fenrir’s hands slowly lifted in surrender, palms up. “No, I just don’t want you to be sick.”
“Bullshit, but you owe me one more box of eclairs for the insult.”
Fenrir is so easy to rile up. It worked in my favor, sidetracking the minotaur long enough that he wasn’t expecting me to jump at him. Kicking back with one foot, I pushed myself off the wall, lifting the sword over my head. My body vaulted across the alley, and at the last second, I spun in the air slashing a crisscross on both sides of his head. A perfectly executed attack if I said so myself. Two heavy thumps proceeded my boots hitting the ground, and that placed me face to face with the minotaur.
A cow now, since he had no horns.
“Much better.” The grin on my face twisted his face in fury, and sparks flew out of his slanted eyes.
“Unbelievable.” Fenrir groaned from behind me.
Tree trunk arms lifted as the cow tucked his elbows close to his body before punching out two-handed. His fist slammed into the center of my chest, breaking my ribs. It was lights out before I even hit the ground.
