Page 34 of Killian
“They’ve gone,” he said. “For now.”
The elves gave a massive cheer as if that had been a victory speech for the ages.
“Warlocks are like cockroaches. We will need to post a watch,” Killian said, trying to get them to realize that they hadn’t truly won. “They will return.”
“Some of them won’t,” said one of the elves, and Killian recognized him as one of the guards from the house. “You protected us.”
“Anubis lives!” shouted someone from the back.
“Anubis lives!” shouted the crowd in unison, and they thumped their spears on the ground making an echoing din.
Killian turned to Moira in embarrassment and confusion. She grinned at him.
“They’re saying you’re a sexy badass motherfucker,” she said. “Which is true.”
“I just don’t like warlocks and don’t want the elves to get hurt.”
“Sexy, badass, humble. Little bit god-like,” Moira said, kissinghim.
“I am not,” he began, then gave in to kissing her.
Episode 15
When the Music Plays
Killian
Killian hummed under his breath and looked around at the destruction. There would need to be some rebuilding, and a few elves were injured, but he didn’t think anyone had been killed.
“Killian, ormy beloved, as Cynog calls you,” said Moira.
“Cynog called me beloved?” Killian looked around for the dryad in puzzlement. He finally spotted the young man helping maneuver a massive magical bubble filled with lake water over the fire.
“No, he said,Moira, where is your beloved?”
“Ah. Sorry. I was confused.”
“I could see that, but then so was I, although now I like it. But, my beloved, were you just hummingI Will Survive?”
Killian froze. “I like disco, and I’m not afraid to admit it.”
“Gloria Gaynor is the GOAT,” said Moira. “I will not mock you.”
“Pellos says I need to stop listening to disco diva top forty shit and branch out.”
“I fail to see why,” said Moira, her eyes twinkling.
“Pellos,” said Killian, but the moment he tried to concentrate more fully on his brother, the memory slipped away. Killian shook his head in frustration.
“It’s like they only show up on the edges of memory, isn’t it? Turn the spotlight on them too fully, and it gets wiped out.”
“Yes,” he agreed and then sighed. “I do wish I had music.”
He was four minutes in, the violins were cranking, and he was thinking it might be time to make that run for the ocean when a warlock hit him with a pool cue. The Walkman snapped off his belt andwent skittering across the floor, taking his headphones with it. Killian roared in fury, but four warlocks poured on some kind of spell, and he found himself pinned to the floor by a black sticky substance.
He looked across the filthy tile floor of the bar where his Walkman was still sliding toward the door. And then it was stopped by a foot. The man bent down and picked up the tape player and headset. He was a good-looking white guy with dark hair, wearing linen pants and a button-up. It shouldn’t have bothered Killian that his Walkman was going to end up in the hands of a guy who looked like a picture-perfect colonialist, but it really did.
The warlocks had paused. They were staring at the man as he held the headphones to his ear.
