“Sariel.” Seymour knew his voice instantly. “Here!”
Sariel was human once more, though he appeared unusually ruffled. Maybe it took more effort to maintain a flawless disguise. Wings out, he soared over to Day and Seymour in a single leap, curling his arms around them both. “You’re all right.”
“Yeah.” Seymour breathed him in, and his eyes got hot. “We’re okay.”
“No!” Day cried. “Seymour is hurt.”
“Here. Let me help you.” Sariel immediately pressed his hands down to the wound, golden light flickering between his fingers.
It stung like hell, and Seymour grunted, trying his best not to twist away.
Day grabbed Seymour’s hand, holding it firmly between her two paws.
“Well, that’s certainly one way to take care of a troll.” Dagobert was there with a lace parasol over his head, staring at the giant petrified troll with a bemused smile. “Clever.”
“Thanks.” Seymour rolled his eyes. “Hey! Where’s the other one?”
“Gone,” Sariel said quietly. “He would not follow me into the light.” He paused in his work to extract a large chunk of glass from the wound. He threw it aside and then got back to healing Seymour, his eyes glowing bright.
Dagobert strolled over, pausing to look at the bloody glass. Maybe he wanted a snack. He flicked his fingers, saying, “Lou and Mr. Heiss are on their way here now.”
“Yeah, sure, now that we did all the work.” Seymour scowled.
Dagobert clicked his tongue. “And?”
“Whatever.” Seymour could breathe more easily now, the pain almost completely faded. He let himself relax and gave Day’s paws a gentle squeeze. He leaned into Sariel’s embrace and closed his eyes, utterly exhausted. “Can we have one day where we don’t fight monsters? Is that a thing we can do?”
“I hope so, but I will not make a promise I may have to break.” Sariel smiled, pressing a chaste kiss to Seymour’s brow.
“Fair.”
“Are you injured anywhere else?’
“No, are you?”
“I am fine.” Sariel’s smile seemed tired. “I need to rest. That is all.”
Seymour wasn’t sure if he believed that, but he turned his attention to Day. “What about you?” He nudged her. “You gonna make it?”
Day nodded, rubbing her tummy. “Mmm, wouldn’t mind some milk though.”
Seymour laughed. “You still got room in there for milk?”
“There is always room for milk.”
A large black pickup truck pulled up to a screeching halt beside Seymour’s, and Lou jumped out from the driver’s seat. Myrna and Flanders materialized behind him, and Myrna quickly rushed ahead.
“Oh! Darlings!” Myrna squealed when she saw all the blood from Seymour’s wound. “Are you all right? Do you need some tea? I am going to make some tea.”
“I’m fine,” Seymour replied. “I just?—”
“What the fuck happened?” Lou demanded. “Why didn’t you fucking call me?”
“Call you what?”
Flanders sniffed at the troll, made a face, and then shuffled over to find a spot of sunlight to stretch out in.
Lou rolled his eyes. “I know you have Neil’s number.”
