Page 49 of Wishing Upon a Monster
I nipped his lip, soothing the sting away with my tongue before lifting my head. “Is that a yes, then?”
He laughed, his forehead resting against mine. “Of course, was there any doubt?”
“Never,” I agreed, sighing into another kiss.
“While this is adorable,” Cece said, bringing me back to reality, “we have a rescue to finish.”
Olan groaned, “I could just kill everyone and be done with it?”
I popped him on the shoulder. “No. We need to hold them accountable for their crimes, of which I am sure there are many.” I looked out at all the conveniently unconscious lesser demons and haints, thanking the gods again for their help.
He sighed, standing up with me in his arms. “I am loath to let you go, but I suppose they should be restrained.”
I chuckled at his petulant stare.
“You could make this easier on us and use your shadows to handcuff them until we can get some backup to arrive and help us round these folks up?” I suggested, twisting to be let down.
Olan complied, waving his hand at the felled beings littered around us and binding their hands and feet.
“He’s a keeper, Rorie,” Cece said before walking towards Rocio.
Rocio separated Irene and Nash, then carefully poured a restorative potion into Nash’s mouth. Visually, he looked to be in the worse shape of the two. Cece knelt by Irene, taking a second potion and tilting out the contents into her open lips.
I approached Kenny, not because I cared, but because I needed to confirm that the sickle had been destroyed. The god killer lay shattered in pieces on the ground. I pulled a collection pouch charmed with nullifying magic from my tactical belt and carefully picked up the pieces. I didn’t know if the magic was still in them, but if I collected everything, Olan could toss this into the sun or something later. Maybe. I wasn’t sure how space travel worked.
After collecting all the pieces I could find of the blade and handle, I double-bagged it. Just in case. I had my doubts that such a basic charm would work.
“I’ll take it,” Olan reached out his hand. His cuff was noticeably absent.
I handed it over, watching as he opened one of his pocket realms and slid the bags inside.
“Do you think that shockwave affected the beings inside?” Martín asked, wiping his face with an embroidered handkerchief.
“I’m honestly not sure, but...” I looked over at Rocio and Cece.
“I can stay here with them,min skat,give them some healing while you investigate with your peers?” Olan offered, hands sliding in his pockets.
“Don’t kill Kenny,” I warned, “I want him to face consequences for whatever this is.” I gestured to the building, “Whatever is worth kidnapping your bosses and trying to murder a god over?”
“I doubt what you find in there is the motivation,min lille skat, that is out here,” he said, brushing my hair behind my ear. “Some men cannot see the treasure in front of them before it’s too late.”
I blushed.
“Y’all are adorable,” CJ thumped Olan on the shoulder, the rest of our combined teams joining us by our supervisors.
“Alright, I want me, CJ, and Martín in the front, Selene, Cece, and Rorie in the middle, and Allison and Mac at the back,” Rocio commanded, pushing up and sliding naturally into the lead role.
Martín was an ifrit, and with a thought, he transformed into a flaming figure. I was told that when he was younger, he was a brilliant blue, but now he was a beautiful orange. CJ’s tail swished as he grabbed his escrima sticks from his holsters. Allison shifted into her black bear form, as did Selene into her panther. Lastly, Mac, the only angel to ever be employed by the Nyxian council, summoned his wings.
We entered the building cautiously. The space was larger than we expected and filled with plants. It was dead silent, and a strange glow pulsated from what looked like a cage in the center of the room.
“Fan out and keep on your toes. Mac, can you get eyes on what that glow is?” Rocio directed.
“Aye,” he said, a gust of wind stirring the leaves around us. With weapons raised, we cleared the area, looking for any monsters who escaped the blast.
“Hell’s bane, Haligri flower, Flacyasiri vines... these areexpensive,and the Haligri is illegal to grow outside of the Spring Court,” I murmured to my group.
“Doesn’t the Hemlock family have the monopoly on potion ingredients?” Cece asked.
