“Nowisthetimeto look away.”Fian heard the words, spoken to Kai, his landbride, the human who tasted like no other under his suckers, the human who should be long gone, but was apparentlyright here.
In the very small positive column, the speaker was Mikano.In short order, there were screams and crunching noises.
Mikano was taking care of what was rotten, such a very sharkish thing to do.
“Stay there, Kai, just for a moment,” Mikano said when the screaming had ebbed, and then he walked into the boathouse.
Mikano wore a human suit, his work clothes.He’d put a protective spell on them, something like a bib but magic, and as he looked down at Fian, he was licking some Nick off his lip.Or maybe some James.
“What on earth were you thinking?”Mikano kneeled next to Fian.
He didn’t work on the rope but throttled the magic that had kept Fian’s very own magic at bay.
After a second, Mikano leaned forward so he could whisper into Fian’s ear.“Look, I like him.You’re thinking you can get him to be your landbride, a heart half fated and half won, right?
“But, Tickle, you need to be a little more human.Humans need to be able to reach you via text at all times of the day.What if he gets horny and needs your help?What if he wants you to go to the store and bring him whatever treat it is he likes?”He gently shook Fian.“Tickle, think with all your arms for once.I cannot possibly admit to Tom that you need to be set up with someone if you fail at winning Kai’s heart.”
Several things about all of that were distressing, but Fian knew none of them mattered.He wiggled and tried speaking despite the gag.
“Yes, yes.Just do what I tell you for once.”
Mikano used a magenta bright spark of magic to slice through Fian’s bindings, and Fian jumped up.
“You didn’t make him watch you eat, did you?”He wasn’t waiting for Mikano’s response, ran out the door instead.
Kai, lovely Kai with windswept blond hair, was right there, slowly walking toward the boathouse while at the same time focused on the crumbs that remained of Mikano’s meal.The crumbs and the jelly filling that had spilled.
Fian didn’t think, ran and shifted, and within the next moment, he had Kai in all his tentacles, safely wrapped up.He felt him over with his suckers, but Kai tasted…okay.There was a small cut on the tip of one finger, but other than that, Fian’s landbride was fine.
“I came to save you.I fell asleep, and your brother tried eating me.He says he was just pretending, but I’m not so sure.”
“I heard that, little dreamer, and I was pretending!”
Mikano was still inside the boathouse, either out of consideration to give the two of them a moment—Fian doubted that—or to survey the scene and confiscate anything that was potentially dangerous, the most likely scenario.
“He wouldn’t have eaten you, actually.Mikano is very by the book when it comes to eating people.I think,” Fian said.
“I heard that too, Tickle!”
“Kai, don’t look.”
Fian tried turning Kai’s head away.He was still staring at what was left of the barnacle man.
“No, it’s fine.Sort of.I think I’m fine.I still have to move out and find a job, but now I know that he won’t come after me.That’s a good thing.”
Fian exhaled.“That’s true.That’s definitely true.”
Mikano came out and threw the door to the boathouse shut behind him.“Nothing left in there that can cause any harm anymore.You two.Ready to head back to town?I have a team coming.I figure it’ll take us all night to get all the witches rounded up, undo all the magic, and see to any other humans who were trapped by this lot like Kai was.”
“You have a team?”
Kai couldn’t know, and the question was completely innocent, but for some reason, it pleased Fian.He smoothed the tip of one of his arms around his human’s neck, let his suckers hold on to the sensitive skin there.
“As a matter of fact, I do.This really sucks because I promised Tom I’d be falling asleep next to him, but it can’t be helped.They plastered a lot of spells all over this place.”
“I saw that,” Fian said.
His brother put both hands in his pockets and started walking back down the path.
