I must admit she’s never looked hotter; her leathers ripped in sections that showcase her seductively bare skin, hair in disarray, and her weapon straps barely hanging on. And now, watching Rez flick her wrist slightly, causing her glaive to pressinto Emer’s leg?I’m a goner. Her lips barely move before she lets her glaive rest against her leather guard. My Rezzi-bear is all about the violence now, and she’s not afraid to show it. I need to adjust the tightness in my pants, but I’ll suffer in silence.
Beside me, Knots jerks suddenly, and I give him a concerned look, but he waves it away before a line appears between his eyes, indicating he’s trying to concentrate. It must be a Door Knight thing, Willow, or one of the other DK’s is probably reaching out to him.
A growl slips out of me as I see Angel slipping up to Rez. What is that bitch doing here? Shouldn’t she still be in Hell?
“Ladies and Gentlemen,” Dean Caldron continues.
‘Hey, Copurrnicus, do you feel that? Some type of dark magic building nearby?’Knots asks.
‘No, but Rezzi-bear isn’t looking too hot,’I point out, cursing under my breath. Her normal golden sepia skin is quickly turning a sickly yellow. Even from here, I can see the beads of sweat along her hairline. Is she overheating, or is she the source of dark magic Knots was talking about? Before I can reach out to her, Rez’s knees go out, and she hits the ground hard, causing a chain reaction like an explosion.
First, the guys surround Rez, as Knots and I jump to our feet. Before we have a chance to move, two red portals crackle to life on either side of our seated congregation, and to our horror, demons appear on their surface. Five lesser demons run out of each, leading a small horde of demons dressed in battle armor with their focus honed in on the stage. An alarm blares as Dean Caldron quickly projects his voice, telling everyone to head for safety or the dorms and wait for further instructions.
Chief Cloak shifts into his bear and lumbers off the stage, joining the fray of guards who have ripped off their clothes and shifted into their animal forms, clashing with the demons by the portals.
‘Get us to Rez, Wood Pecker,’I yell as I shift into my smaller furry marten form and start crawling up Knot's leg.
‘Don’t you think you would be better as a bigger animal?’Knots growls out, grabbing Rez’s backpack and shoving it in his S.I.N. box before making his way to the stage. My claws rake against his sensitive neck, but I’m unconcerned about it beyond ensuring I don’t nick an artery… too deeply.
‘Suuuure,’I drawl out.‘That’s what we need: me, big enough to squash everyone between my toes. That won’t draw the attention of the demons or the guards around here. We might as well ring the dinner bell while wearing lamb chops around our necks.’
I swear he’s not using his brain at all. Yes, the larger size would help part the crowd, but that would only draw more attention from the enemy and make us targets. It’s the same reason why he doesn’t have his wings now. With an annoyed huff, I wrap myself around his neck and grab his hair in a death grip as Knots cuts through the wave of supes running down the stairs.
Peeking out through his strands, I catch sight of a man holding Rez in his arms as he’s following Steinbeck and Dean Caldron off the stage towards the Administration building. The rest of the guys follow and play defense with any stray spells or cocky demons who must think she’s a weak target.
Knots gets shoulder-checked hard enough that it sends me spinning around like a tilt-a-whirl, but I hang on with my death grip to his hair, and I catch a flash of pink. Straightening out, I see Emer and her Harpies pulling someone off to the side of the building amongst the chaos.
‘Am I going blind, or is the Queen Harpy stealing our Robot?’I point out, giving Knots whiplash as I yank hard on his hair, and causing him to stumble.
‘What? Where?’
I yank again, leaning so I can swivel his head in the right direction while I let the insults fly on how an angel can be so blind. It’s a good thing Rez doesn’t have to worry about this deadwood anymore. I swear, he’s become such a drag.
‘Can you ask him what he’s doing?’I probe my damn taxi.
‘A change of plans, rodent,’is the reply I get before he shakes his head and takes off in the harpies' direction.
‘Wait, what about Rez?’I shriek, not wanting to be separated since I don’t know what’s going on with her.
‘If the guys, her father, and Dr. Steinbeck can’t handle it, what makes you think us being there will help?’Oh, so that’s who must be holding her.‘I think saving Levi would be more beneficial since no one except us has noticed he’s been taken hostage at knife point,’Knots’ makes his excruciating point clear.
I’d rather cough up a hairball from my rectum than admit he’s right, so I keep my mouth shut as Knots jumps off the stage and lands in front of a couple of demons. Dodging a blade, he spins and immediately pulls out Alexis to block the second blow from his partner. These demons are nothing but fodder or a minor distraction for Knots as he spins and takes down demon by demon. I almost feel useless as I cling to his back until I see a glint and chuckle to myself as I shift.
Knots grunts under my new weight and peers over his shoulder to see my black Manticore tail blocking a Demon’s sword. The whites of the demon’s eyes reflect off of Knot’s sword briefly before its head rolls off its shoulders.
‘Did you see where they went??’Knots calls out, moving toward the Administration building, but slowly trying to figure out which door to take.
‘Umm. I.. Uhhh. Well... I wasn’t… Shit. I lost track after they looked like they were rounding the building,’I admit, feeling like a failure.
Knots jolts upright for a second, then laughs manically and pats my body hard.
‘Hold on, Flufflestiltskin, you’re about to see the inner workings of the DKs that I completely forgot about,’Knots gleefully says before taking off toward the closet door.
‘Um, Knots? Want to give me a hint?’I ask as he seems to speed up and square himself directly dead center of the double doors in front of him.
‘First hint: only DKs have ever been here. Second hint, even DKs have forgotten that it exists,’he says with a chuckle, and dread hits me as Knots lowers his head and allows the door to pull us into darkness.
As the blackness clears from my vision, I feel Knots grab me and set me down on a hard surface, where I quickly shift back into my human form.
