“Xavier!” I don’t wait, drawing my laser and running toward my warlock mate. I feel the guys on my heels. Ghosie grumbles about not being able to see a thing, and suddenly, a green glow lights up the immediate area.
When I look back, Zeydan has changed into his god form, the green glow making it easier for my bear.
“Thank you,” he says while panting. My poor bear is not really in fighting form. I love his dad bod, but he’s not really built for speed and stealth, more smash and grab style attacks.
Zeydan’s nine tails dart ahead of us, the distance to Xavier a lot farther than I expected. When we arrive, we find the tunnel lit up with pale purple light spheres floating in the air and Xavier battling a host of beings.
“I thought you said there were no life-forms,” Brannock growls at Saxon, but he looks surprised.
“There weren’t any.”
“That’s because they aren’t alive. These are robots,” Xavier growls, slicing the arm off one, but he keeps going.
“Robots? They look real.” I look a little closer, but even though they look real, none of them are bleeding.
“Holy shit, are they murderous sex robots?” I ask, taking in their beautiful features and perfect bodies.
“Yes, I think maybe Pleasure Bot Industries may have expanded their capabilities.” Xavier grunts as he’s tackled by two of the figures. “A little help here, please?”
Zeydan, Saxon, Brannock, and Tirrian join the fight. Ghosie pulls me to the side, puffing slightly, and the two of us stay out of the way while the others quickly take care of the robots. A blow to the back of the head or decapitation, severing their core processor, takes them out. They just collapse in a pile when this happens.
Finally, they are all incapacitated, and the guys are barely winded. “Well, that was a good warm-up.” Xavier beams as he puts his sword back into its scabbard. “I wasn’t expecting them. They appeared out of nowhere.”
“I’ve never seen them before. Obviously the facility has had an upgrade. I wonder if any of the internal guards have been replaced as well,” Brannock murmurs, inspecting a scratch on his hand where one of the female robots got him with her ridiculously long nails. Seriously, who has nails like that in battle?
“How do we tell the difference between them and humans?” Ghosie asks as we shuffle a little closer.
“Humans bleed,” Saxon says dryly, kicking one of the incapacitated lumps.
“True.” Tirrian stares down the tunnel we need to traverse, his head cocked like he’s listening.
“It sounds like we have more coming. Shall we meet them halfway?” He doesn’t wait for a response, just bellows a roar and takes off.
“So much for stealth,” Zeydan mutters as his tails stream after the dragon, caught up in the bloodlust.
The rest of them follow just as enthusiastically except for Ghosie and me. We exchange a look.
“Do you want to join the fight?” he asks, pointing in the direction they went.
“No, not particularly,” I reply, linking my arm with his, happy to touch him freely. “We can guard the rear,” I tell him, and he nods happily.
“I like that plan, and by the time we get there, all the hard work will be done.”
“I like how you think,” I chirp as we slowly meander after the others.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Lila
When Ghosie and I catch up with the rest of the team, the scene we come across is a little more gruesome. They must have run out of robot sex warriors and sent in the live ones. Blood is splashed all over the walls, and the floor is littered with bodies. Throats are torn out, bodies are clawed up and burnt, and the smell is gag worthy.
“Wow, just wow…” I try not to focus on any one thing, but it’s kind of hard. My gaze keeps dropping to the ground. You know that whole traffic accident mentality where you can’t just drive by, and you have to slow down to get a good look at what happened?
“They started shooting first!” Tirrian exclaims before blowing fire on one of the bodies. I watch in pure amazement as it crumbles to ashes.
“That’s pretty handy,” Ghosie says, and I can hear the admiration in his voice.
“Thanks,” Tirrian replies, moving onto the next body.
