Page 52 of Romancing the Orc

A growl rumbles through me, but the small man ignores me, even as Klaus steps closer, his bruised eyes watching me, his gun in the ready position.

“I need to look outside,” Lara lies, but it’s convincing this time because the excitement of her true discovery thrums in her voice. “I think there’s some kind of visual clue.”

“Fine.”

Goddess, she’s brilliant, getting our foe to take us right where we want to be!

As we stand, she shoves her family journal back inside her clothing.

Edgerton waves Klaus and Vito forward, and the three of them walk us to the end of the room.

The view is amazing, giving you the feeling that you’re standing on the cliff top with nothing protecting you from falling. Heavy jungle starts at the far edge of the pond and spreads out before us in the blanket of varying greens, lovely and lush. My magic still can’t feel any of the plants, though.

“The water’sgrayerthan I expected,” Lara says, but it’s a lie. The waterfall directly below us is a white froth, the pond at its base blue. So she’s using the cat sith’s name to get his attention.

“I don’t see anything special,” Elton whines. “How is this helping me find Faerie?”

“Thisis the door,” Lara says, still speaking for Grey’s benefit.

Several things happen at once.

A soft thump comes from behind us, the sound of an unconscious body hitting the floor. Grey got the message.

Sprites pour down from the ceiling, trilling in high-pitched whistles.

“What the—” a man yells, then moans as one of them pops a tiny berry into his mouth. He drops his gun and turns to the man beside him. “I love you, Rocko.”

The sprites have given the other man Faerie Fruit, too. He wraps his arms around the first man, and they kiss passionately.

“Stop that!” Edgerton yells. “Stop that right now! I told you never to do this again while on duty!”

Ignoring him, the men drop to the floor, writhing and tearing off each other’s clothes as they start an enthusiastic 69.

The sprites spread across the room, swooping in fast dives that mash colorful berries against the humans’ lips.

Another couple succumbs, the woman tossing aside her gun to leap onto one of the men, her muscled thighs gripping his waist tightly. He clearly doesn’t mind, cupping her ass and grinding into her.

None of Elton’s screeches—which are even more annoying than his regular voice—do any good.

Another man slumps to the floor, knocked out by Grey. Soon, only Klaus and Vito remain, each batting away any sprite who gets near.

I spring into action, pulling Lara’s shoes from my pockets and wielding the heels like the weapons they are. I bury the first one in the meaty part of Klaus’s gun hand, right between the base of his thumb and index finger. He yells as it spasms open, the weapon flying out the opening.

Vito’s gun clicks as he primes the trigger, but Elton screams, “Don’t shoot, you idiot! I’m standing right here!”

The dark-haired man scowls as his boss scurries out of the way. Vito ducks away from my first swipe with the other heel and raises his gun.

I drop to the side, planting my free hand on the ground in a high side-plank. My top foot snaps out, my boot crunching into Vito’s knee. As his leg buckles, I bury the heel of Lara’s other shoe in his gun hand, catch the dropped pistol, and toss it outside.

Klaus tries to recover, scrabbling for a gun with his other hand. Then his head whips around, struck by an unseen force, and he slumps to the floor, unconscious.

Grey truly is a worthy battle companion.

We’re winning. Even against unbeatable odds, we’re winning!

“Brokk,” Lara whispers, her tone urgent.

I spin, and ice wraps around my heart.

---