With these women, it was doubly wrong, as he was using his magicandknowingly having sexual interactions these women couldn’t agree to because they were drunk on magic.
“Don’t be foul, Allan. They are out of their minds with magic,” Prospero pointed out, hoping against hope that he’d see his mistake before it was too late.
He grinned and stared at her as he unfastened his trousers. “They all want me. That’s how things should be. In this world, I get everything. Power. Money. Houses. Cars. Women. Anything I want ismine.”
“It’smagic,you raging ass-boil. They don’t wantyou.Your magic is leaking. They’re unable to think.” Prospero swept her arm around the room. “People are dead from your chemically tainted wine, and these women are clueless. Come home, and stop this right now.”
He laughed, and the sound boomed around the lab like drums throbbing to life. “Fuck you, schoolmarm.
“She wants to take me from you,” Allan told the women in a thunderous voice. “These interlopers want to deny you; they want to steal my holy seed.”
Holy seed?Prospero rolled her eyes. If not for the sheer danger of the moment, she would have laughed at his absurdity. Hopefully, latershe could. Right now, not being killed by a mob of mentally drugged women was a more important matter.
Allan ran his hand over his chest and down to his crotch. He opened his trousers and pulled out his member like it was something impressive. Prospero had only dealt with one of those, and this one didn’t look any more interesting than the last one. “She is trying to deny you!” Allan told them.
The women turned as one to glare at Prospero.
“Bring them to me!” Allan flashed an ominous smile at Prospero.
Ellie was practically hurtling herself through the crush of women. She shoulder-checked one woman who had the polished attire of faculty, or at least, she hadstartedthe day with polish. Currently her glasses were missing one stem and her blouse gaped open to her stomach.
For a moment, the woman’s gaze cleared. Alertness was restored. Then the glazed look returned. There was something in the pain of Ellie’s touch, or maybe there was another explanation. Either way, Prospero wished she had more time to ponder it.
“Plan?” Ellie asked.
“If he is shielded himself and now using them as a human shield, there aren’t a lot of options.” Prospero watched as the women gyrated against the debauched Allan. “They’re victims. I don’t want them to get hurtmore.”
“Mind zap? Can you make him think he’s bored by this?” Ellie suggested as they were shoved tighter together by the now-moaning crowd of women trying—and succeeding—in pushing and pulling the two of them toward the vile man beside his throne.
“Didn’t work. Sunglasses.”
There were a limited number of options before them, but as things looked increasingly dire, a hob popped into the room. And with the hob was Lord Scylla. She towered over most of the women in the room, but for some reason, Allan didn’t notice her or the hob who had deposited her and already vanished.
Prospero tried not to glance at Scylla as she slinked up behind him. Instead she increased her struggles against the enthralled hive mind of women, trying to keep Allan focused on her and not noticing the deadly woman who was creeping up behind him.
Don’t look at her!Prospero warned herself. She also shoved the thought toward Ellie, hoping it worked.
Not staring at Scylla was a challenge, though; she had a short sword unsheathed in her hand. The pommel—at the end of hilt—was an exposed metal fist, and the blade itself was a glint of metal in the air. Because all the women were focused on either trying to touch Allan or tugging Prospero and Ellie toward him, no one noticed Scylla. Their madness was an asset in this case.
When Scylla seemingly realized the crowd was all moaning and reaching for Allan, she raised her hands and did the same. In a few tense moments, she’d reached him, as had Prospero and Ellie on the other side.
“Hey P,” Scylla greeted.
In that instant, Allan’s mouth gaped open, and he swiveled his head to look back at her, just as Scylla slammed the pommel of her sword into his head and knocked him out. He slumped into her arms, unconscious.
Scylla swayed under the weight of his limp body, and Prospero glared at her.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Prospero grumbled.
“I owed him a punch, and you were taking a while to get this done.” Scylla grinned widely despite the way she obviously struggled with the unconscious man in her arms. “He should’ve stayed where he was. Now…” She gave a crooked shrug. “See you at home.”
Then she and the unconscious witch were gone, and they were left with a group of confused and, in some cases, tearful women.
34Dan
Dan was not prepared for a panicked hob to pop into his room while he was half-dressed. His shirt was long enough that it covered his boxers, but he still wasn’t a huge fan of having a hob stare at his bare legs and sock-clad feet. Privacy was a rare thing in the increasingly crowded castle, but typically, he had some measure of it in the privacy of Axell’s room. Dan still didn’t think of it ashisroom even though they’d more or less started sharing it.
He had the rare moment of Axell being temporarily out of it without Dan. So Dan was currently sans trousers and shoes when he was startled by an unknown hob in neon-yellow overalls and a bow with bright-yellow ducks pinned in their hair. The hob blurted, “Quick! Battery needed!”
