I picked up the weird ‘weapon’ he always carried by the barrel, swinging it up and catching it. I repeated the action. I asked loudly, “Godric, why do you carry this useless thing around with you? A blade makes more sense.”
I tossed it up and caught it again.
The occupants of the room froze.
Godric’s hands shot up in the air. “Stop!”
Finn slid in front of Godric, blocking my view of him.
My brows furrowed at the protective action. I lifted the ‘weapon’ by the barrel and waved it in front of me. I sputtered, “Whatever this is, it’s broken. There’s no blade in the little barrel.” I flipped it around and held it by the handle, pointing the barrel around the room so each person could see there was nothing inside it.
Rune choked on his drink. “Oh, my fuck. Someone take that away from her before she shoots one of us.” He paused. “Or kills God if the bullet goes through Finn.”
“What?” I asked, my forehead crinkling.
Theron walked toward me with his hands up in peace, his tone gentle and his eyes patient. “Let me have that, Poppy. Then we’ll explain.”
I jerked my hand in his direction. “Here.”
Theron tensed, but he walked forward and carefully took the ‘weapon’ from my hand. He jerked his head in the direction of the bar. His voice was sharp and ticked. “Godric, get your ass over here and explain what this is.”
Godric stepped from behind Finn.
He shook his head at me and strolled forward.
Theron handed him the ‘weapon’ and then smacked him upside his head. “She could have killed you.”
His father marched away to his seat, glaring the whole way. He sat down with a huff and took a heavy swig of his liquor. He muttered, “Fucking kids.”
I stared wide-eyed. “Godric, what the hell is that?”
My man sighed heavily and turned away from me. He lifted the weapon, clicked a little piece on it, and stuck his finger in the small loop. “Cover your ears, pet.”
I did. The rest of the room did too, with scowls.
He squeezed his finger.
I jumped and screamed in fucking terror as the worst sound jarred my hearing and a bottle of clear liquid on the sidebar exploded. I shouted in horror, “What the hell is that?”
Godric clicked the little piece on the side and placed thedefiniteweapon into the back of his pants again. His gaze was patient on mine. “I’m sure you read about these in your history books. It’s called a gun.”
I slapped my hand over my mouth. “Holy shit.”
He nodded and cupped my right cheek with his hand. “They are very dangerous and can kill easily. So until I’ve trained you to use it, don’t touch it again. Do you understand?”
I nodded and dropped my hand from my mouth. “Those have been banned and illegal since the end of the war. They were confiscated from every remaining household and destroyed. How do you have one?”
His lips twitched. “Who do you think passed the law to ban them?”
My jaw dropped. “You?”
“Yes.”
“And you kept some?”
“Of course.”
I blinked. “I want one.”
