Page 78 of The Prince and His Stolen Groom
Brendon ducked and the book hit Franny instead, right in the chest. She gaped at the book, lying facedown on the floor, then at theimp. “You hit me!” she exclaimed, scooping the book up off the ground and throwing it back at the imp.
Unfortunately, Brendon had straightened too soon, and the book hit him in the back of the head. He turned around and scowled at Franny, who looked properly contrite for one full second before her eyes widened and she shouted, “Down!”
A second book hit Brendon in the back hard enough to leave a bruise. “Stop! Fucking! Throwing things!” he shouted, reaching for the imp. It floated just about his head, a large stack of books in his arms.
“Oh? You don’t want me to throw them anymore? No problem!” The imp dropped the whole stack onto Brendon’s head with an evil cackle.
Franny swooped in and picked up the fallen books, throwing them at the imp as it floated around the room, sticking its tongue out and shouting taunts.
“You throw like a girl!”
“Iama girl!” she shouted back and threw another one, finally hitting the imp.
It rolled over and over in the air, then straightened and snarled at her, baring its fangs. A shiver ran down her spine as she remembered the state Rick was in after this thing—she hoped it was the same imp, or it might have backup coming from somewhere—had bitten him.
The imp dove toward Franny, teeth first.
Outside, Kit was doing her best to fight a shadow beast with no armor, no magic, and no weapon. She’d grabbed a fallen branch from the ground and tried giving it to her shadow, but it just plopped into the dirt with no reaction.
The shadow beast’s claws swiped through the air, cutting a bloody line across her thigh as she dove out of the way.
She scooped the branch back up and searched her pockets. If her shadow couldn’t fight it, the next best thing was to eliminateallof the shadows. “Light, light,” she muttered to herself as she danced out of the beast’s reach.
“You will find no light here! No solace from the darkness!” the beast bellowed.
“Do you always talk like this when you’re in this form?” she asked as her hands finally closed over a box of matches.
The beast paused and though it didn’t have any facial expressions, it somehow glowered at her. “We’re supposed to. You’re the one not following the script.”
“I wasn’t given a script,” she replied. “Do you happen to have a copy on you?”
The beast grumbled and explained, “It’s not a literal script. Haven’t you read any adventure books?”
“Oh lots, and plenty with dragons.”
“Then just say the things the knights in those books always say,” it informed her testily. Then it took a deep breath and raised its head to the sky, spewing black flames. “I will devour your body and soul, foolish mortal!”
“And I will … um …” Kit drew a blank as she struggled to pull off her outer shirt and wrap it around the stick. “Fuck you up.”
“That’s not—” the shadow began, then screeched in shock as she lit the fabric on fire and waved her makeshift torch in the air.
Brendon grabbed Franny’s arm, yanking her back as he shoved a book into the imp’s mouth. The thick leather stuck to the sharp teeth, stretching its jaw wide open and distracting the creature as it struggled to free one of its best weapons.
“Go get the Good Wizard!” he shouted, shoving Franny toward the door.
“But I can help!”
“Thatwouldhelp!” Brendon snarled as he grabbed the imp by its dangling tail. It scratched at his hands frantically but couldn’t prevent him from smashing it heavily against the wall. “Now, Franny, dammit!”
She nodded and ran out of the tower, skidding to a stop as she saw Kit flailing a torch through the air. “Kitten!” she cried, then clamped a hand over her mouth as she realized she might be distracting her lover.
Kit barely glanced at her. “Franny, get out of here! Go get the Good Wizard!”
Franny didn’t know if Kit had heard Brendon say the same thing or if her fiancé and her lover were that annoyingly in tune. It made her jealous of their relationship, a feeling she didn’t have time to explore yet.
Since they’d both asked the same thing of her, it was pointless to argue. She cast one last worried look at the tower before racing through the trees.
Brendon swung the imp around, hitting it on every available surface, until he finally knocked it unconscious. If he had time, he would have tied it up with the ropes still piled on a nearby chair. The sight of them filled him with a strange, possessive rage at the idea of someone else tying Rick up.
