This time there was a burst of fire in my mouth. “What the hell!” But again, because my mouth was full, it was more like ‘wha th he?’
“Jalapeños are spicy peppers,” Dorian said. “Aren’t they amazing? So wonderfully painful to eat.”
“That’s masochistic,” I cried. “I need a drink!”
Aiko ran to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of milk, pouring me a glass. “See? That’s what I said. It takes away from the rest of the flavors. It doesn’t need the spicy little devils.”
I chugged the milk, swishing it a bit as I drank. “Oh, gods, Dorian. Why would you do that on purpose?”
“I like spice.”
“Pepper is spice. This is burning hell.”
Just to be a classic jackass, he took a single ring of the jalapeno alone and popped it in his mouth with a grin, chewing and smiling the entire time.
I shook my head and reached back to the nachos, flicking all the evil green peppers to his side of the plate.
About halfway through the plate, Dorian slowed and chewed on a mostly-cheese-covered chip thoughtfully. He finally turned, his breath becoming a deep sigh.
“Tell me how it happened? Tell me what you saw.”
I swallowed, hard, the bile burning my throat. “You really want to know?”
“Yes.”
I told him how the guards had given us guns, showed us where to go, how the twins at once took over trying to fix the mess that was the shield. I told him about the weapon they gave me, the position I took, the pillar of black that was a human down the hill. How I snuck down, staying low, and how I realized what was going to happen only seconds before it did.
“The grenade slammed into the rocks above the twins. I didn’t even have a chance to scream before the boulders slid down on them—with a bang and flash.”
The nacho was halfway to his mouth, and he lowered it back down. “What did you say?”
“A bang and flash just before the rocks covered them?”
“Yes, that.”
“I assumed that was just the grenade.”
Dorian pushed the nachos to the center of the table. “Show me. Show me where exactly where they were.”
“Right now?”
“Yes.”
“Sire,” Aiko said, “Kimber may not be ready to see the place.”
“No, now. I need to see where this happened.”
I swallowed and nodded.
Fifteen minutes later, we were suited up for a hike with boots, coats, gear, and guns. We weren’t taking any chances on our safety.
The entire balcony area that had been our perch was covered in rocks. It appeared another volley of explosives had come in and done more damage than just the rocks from the original hit.
“Look,” Aiko said, pointing to the right as we picked our way over the mess of the battle.
Lebedev’s head was there, eyes gone, tongue missing, skin dried and hanging in miserable clumps, hair pulled out.
“I hope one of the mountain pumas find and crack his skull open,” I said. “Guarantee, it’s still better than he deserves.”
