Page 73 of Battling Bright
Chapter Nine
Krys stood and checkedher earrings in the mirror in the hotel restroom.It was almost time to start the gala, so she needed to check on the entertainment.The DJ was in place, but Elida wasn’t in yet.
A woman in a cloak said, “Don’t fret, Krys.I made it.This will just keep it from being a riot, so I will keep it on during the song.”
“Oh, Elida.Thank goodness.Okay.You are going to project the video?”
“Yes.I have both of the events.I took them from Neekil and Hannah on Monday.”
“And you know the other.”
“Yup.I am going to keep the cloak on until the end of the night.”
“Will you be comfortable?”
“Yup.I don’t want to disrupt the festivities.Tonight is for them, and Neekil is getting theback from the deadaward.”
“Excellent.Well, do what you have to and get to your seat.”Krys grinned.“We are about to start the show.”
“I just came in to tell you.I will head to my seat.”She washed her hands, dried them, and then headed back to the ballroom.
Krys headed out with a light step and a bright smile.It was time to celebrate the XIA.
Krys sat as theback from the deadaward was celebrated with Elida singing and the journey of Hannah and Neekil from the first splinter until the hammer came down on the ancient evil with a splat.
Elida’s voice invited everyone to join her in the wonder, and Krys blinked and wondered if Hannah would mind if she sang at the wedding.
When the song was over, she put the mic aside when the captain stopped her.“Sing the other one.The one about the tiger.”
Elida’s eyes met Krys’s.Krys nodded, and Elida spoke to the DJ.She sang the song about the tiger, showing Neekil and a woman getting ready for an assault.He was putting a stab vest on, and she took hers off, putting a web of straps around her torso.Once she was ready and the webbing was settled, she turned into the largest shifter Krys had ever seen.Neekil and two other shadow-based operatives climbed on her back and gripped the webbing.The white tiger ran in a blur of speed to a large house outside the city limits with three agents on her back.
She punched through a ward so hard, the mage must have passed out, and then she charged through the well-lit building, smashing lights and letting her passengers off to go and begin the arrests of the traffickers.
The tiger chewed her way through attackers until she reached the room with the four girls.They were being guarded, and he bravely took Akra by the neck and threatened to kill her.Elida returned to two feet, but now she had white blades.The fight was brutal, bloody, and short, but Elida had been run through at short range twice, talked to the girls, and they agreed to get on her back.There was a radio moment, and she changed back to her tiger.The girls crawled onto her back.She roared, and it blew the wall out.The tiger was suddenly down in a firefight, but nothing hit her passengers.The run through the city had the tiger moving faster than traffic and weaving through Redbird.
Her arrival at the hospital and handover of the two pregnant girls, as well as the younger two with injuries, was highlighted with her shift into a bullet-riddled Elida trying to keep to her feet.
The final image as she sang was the tiger lying bandaged on the ground with four young girls asleep on her, each tethered to their own IVs.
The captain was grinning and said, “Sing another.”
Elida calmly said, “No.I was asked for one, I sang two.That’s it.”
The captain reached for her shoulder, and she ducked and dodged, flipping the captain until he was face down on the ground.
Krys froze and could hear her say, “You don’t touch me if I don’t agree, and you never grab a pregnant shifter.All they have is human attacks, and as you remember, I was always good at those.”
“You’re pregnant?”
“Yeah.So, be nice to me, or I will vomit or cry all over you.It’s a toss-up.”She hauled him to his feet.
He paused.“It’s good to have you back in town, Elida.”
“It’s nice to be home.”
“Will you be coming back?”
