Page 43 of The Cauldronball Run
J.J.stepped through the doorway and roared.
The sound that came from his throat was the battle cry of his ancestors, orcs who'd fought dragons barehanded and won.The warehouse windows actually rattled, and both frost demons stumbled backward.
Then Torch and Blaze burst in, fire streaming from their mouths.The temperature in the warehouse jumped instantly, and one of the frost demons screamed."I'm melting!I'm literally melting!"
The pixies' confusion magic hit next, and suddenly both demons were spinning in circles, swatting at things that weren't there.
"Bees!Giant bees!"one shouted.
"Those aren't bees, you idiot, those are—oh god, why are there so many?"
Through the chaos, J.J.finally saw the prisoners clearly.The trolls were chained to a support beam but seemed more interested in critiquing the rescue than participating.
"Bah," the first troll spat."Should smash wall.Door is for tiny humans."
"Where is the crushing?"the second troll demanded."Where is the breaking of enemy bones?This just fire and running."
"We do better smashing."the first agreed."More destruction.More blood."
Then J.J.saw her.Farrah was standing near the back, watching the chaos with wide eyes.When their gazes met, the partial bond flared so bright it made his chest ache.She was safe.She was here.She was his.
She ran to him, and the moment she hit his chest, J.J.'s world righted itself.The bond snapped back into place with an almost audible click, her relief flooding through him along with his overwhelming need to never let her go again.She smelled like metal and fear and underneath it all, like home.His arms wrapped around her completely, and he could feel her heart hammering against his chest, matching his own racing pulse.
"You came back," she said against his chest.
"I never should have left," he growled, holding her tighter.
Four more miserable-looking demons in security uniforms stumbled through the door, already sweating.
"Finally," one of the frost demons said."Backup.”
But then the demon priests came in and flung holy water over the new guys and pandemonium went on.
The trolls snapped their chains.
"Now we show proper rescue," the troll bellowed."With punching, kicking and biting."
He grabbed a frost demon and hurled him at the other guards like a bowling ball.The demons scattered, one slipping on his own ice puddle and sliding into a wall with a wet splat.
"My turn," the second troll roared.He picked up a metal folding chair and used it like a fly swatter on a demon who was trying to create an ice shield.The shield shattered, the chair bent, and the demon went down with a whimper.
Bondo, freed somehow during the chaos, attempted what he probably thought was a sophisticated combat maneuver."As you can see," he said to no one in particular while spinning, "my extensive training in Monaco has prepared me for—"
He tripped over his own cape and crashed into a demon.
"Precisely as I calculated," Bondo said from the floor, adjusting his cufflinks."The Monte Carlo Stumble.Classic misdirection."
One demon tried to freeze Blaze, who simply breathed harder, turning the demon's ice attack into steam.The demon ended up in his own personal sauna, gasping and red-faced.
"This violates workplace safety regulations," he wheezed.
The pixies had convinced two demons they were fighting each other instead of the rescuers.They threw ice at empty air while shouting threats at hallucinations.
"Take that," a frost demon yelled at nothing, swinging wildly.
Through it all, the banshee stood perfectly still in the corner.One demon looked directly at her and froze mid-step, his expression shifting to pure terror.He stayed frozen like that, whimpering quietly.
One frost demon tried to take charge."Form up!Defensive positions!We can—"
