Page 35 of Nine Inch Nasty
“Fuck him good Delaney, savior of our realm.” Okay, now I spin to him. “Skylar, was it?”
He nods, hiding his face entirely now with his hands. “I am so sorry.”
“Oh boy, I don’t think this is sanctioned,” Ash says as university staff members start running onto the field, snapping the marching band out of what looks like a spell.
The band starts panic running, some smashing into each other, sousaphones crunching and piccolos flying, color guard flagsgetting tangled with trumpet players as one by one the entire field becomes a gruesome battlefield of musicians in plumes and spats.
I watch on in horrified awe as the signs up above start rearranging, the unicorns yelling at each other as they shake out the scrolls they’re holding to chang the wording up as they switch places so their message with new letters now says, “Thank you Delaney, Savior of our realm.”
“Well, that’s a bit more family friendly,” Adam says in a mystified tone.
“What the hell is happening?” I ask, completely confused on whether I’m being thanked or told to go fuck Skylar somewhere. Also, what spell did they use on those scrolls? I have ideas.
“Could really use a distraction right about now, those idiots.” Skylar is staring at the unicorns in rage, and as he gets more and more visibly upset, he starts to sweat, but it’s shimmery. Fucking cool.
University staff then turn to where we’re standing, my brother is doubled over laughing his ass off, and I get the feeling we should be getting out of the stadium asap.
Spencer runs out, still in his uniform, looking at the carnage happening all around. The unicorns seem to be panicking as runes are cast by university staff in an effort to trap the rogue flying shifters, and some of the unicorns are so nervous that they start hyperventilating and barfing up glitter, covering the field slowly, yard by yard.
“This is horrific, but I can’t look away,” Cory mutters.
“Oh fuck, we might want to get out of here,” Skylar says as he tugs me by the hand, and I tug Cory, who tugs Adam, and pretty soon all of us are running for it, the game is being called as acancellation, and we all join the melee of students running to get out of the stadium.
Skylar shoves us into an empty room that looks like it’s used for meetings, and his eyes are wild as he waits for each and every one of my mates to make it in before shutting the door and putting some sort of enchantment on it.
Then he puts his hands on his knees and starts breathing heavily. “Okay. Let’s start from the beginning.”
Chapter Fourteen
Ash
“Beginning? No. I demand you start from…oh. Yes, beginning please.”
I clear my throat and get my mate behind me because I don’t trust this creature. Whoever he is, he looks too much like my friend Salad. “I’m deeply uncomfortable with how much you look like a certain fictional unicorn we met and had close contact with recently. Do lions eat unicorns? I feel like I amverythreatening to you. So be warned, if you harm my mate, even if it’s only emotional, I will…show you what I did when I went on a hunting trip at a…something about a zebra…you know what? Talk. Now.”
The pretender holds his hands up as I look super imposing with my hands on my hips.
“I met Shelly years ago. Thought she was kind.”
“Here we go,” Delaney says as she shoves me into a seat and takes one herself. Yeah, if we’re talking about Shelly, it’s not going to be pleasant.
“I come from—"
“A different realm?” Delaney guesses.
“I’m sorry, would you like to tell the story?” The unicorn questions as they blow air out their nose very forcefully, like…a horse.
Delaney smiles and mimes zipping her lips.
“Thank you for letting me speak. So. Shelly. It was a warm day in April, and I had just bought enough flour to refill my baking pantry, when there was a knock on my door.”
Spencer, still sweaty and in his football uniform, raises a hand.
“Yes, sir?”
“Hi, yes, I don’t know if you remember me, but—"
“Oh! Delightful!” The fucker prances and flips his hair. “Stapler, correct?”
