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“We’re going to continue by ourselves to see what fun there is. I’ll make sure Brina gets back home safely,” he added, sparing only the briefest nod of thanks to the orc as she set their food in front of them. He didn’t grab it and instead fussed with his jacket, leaving Sabrina to pick up their food. He gave her an indulgent smile when she handed him a crisped cake that definitely looked like a funnel cake to MaryAnne. “Come on, I want to see what sort of hideous creatures they have waiting in here,” he chuckled.
Sabrina giggled, nodding in agreement though her eyes shifted uncertainly to MaryAnne.
“This wasn’t what we planned,” she pointed out. “We’re supposed to stay together and return to the home together.”
“Please, MaryAnne. Jamie is going to take good care of me.” Sabrina’s chin wobbled as she looked to her boyfriend for support. He grinned and mouthed the words ‘very good’ with an innuendo that a blind person would only miss, and MaryAnne sighed.
She definitely didn’t need to know any of that. But Sabrina was almost eighteen, and MaryAnne was under no illusions of exactly what she planned to get up to with Jamie. In any case, she couldn’t save the girl from herself forever. Not in the mood for any more of Sabrina’s tantrums or accusations, MaryAnne nodded absently as she took her own place at the front of the line. She couldn’t quite keep the frown of disapproval from pulling at the corners of her mouth, however, as she met the girl’s eyes.
“Just make sure she’s home before dark,” she said as she edged closer to the counter and pulled out her coins.
She tried to grimace at Sabrina’s excited thank you and instead waved the children closer to the counter where she could keep an eye on all of them. The grin had returned to the orc’s face as MaryAnne recited their order that only grew longer and longer as the children requested more treats. It was worth it, however, when they departed the stall, a few coins lighter but a happy smile on every face—even MaryAnne’s as she took her first bite of her funnel cake when they paused to watch a male with green hair juggle brightly painted sticks adorned with numerous little ribbons.
The atmosphere was enticing, and it was not long before they continued further into the carnival to see what other entertainment it had in store.
ChapterSix
Raskyuil wrinkled his nose as he grabbed the human and hauled him up out of harm’s way. The male stank of filth and mead that the centaur, Galovios, made. And it was the human’s current state of obvious intoxication that was causing the current problem. Raskyuil would have to have a word with the centaur regarding when to cut humans off. They could not hold their alcohol.
The female harpy with whom he’d been drinking giggled, her feathery wings flapping as she struggled to keep her balance. Unlike their cousins, sirens, harpies looked closer in appearance to humans outside of their wings, tails, and the odd sprinkling of feathers over their bodies. Like their cousins, they were maneaters, which was something the human appeared to be blissfully unaware of as she waved goodbye with a sharp grin to the belligerent male cussing up a storm.
“Lemme go, disgusting creature,” the human slurred as he attempted to wriggle and duck out of Raskyuil’s hold.
It worked briefly, and the human was able to twist out of his grip since Raskyuil was trying to be gentle. Raskyuil growled impatiently as he effortlessly snagged the male once more, catching him by the back of the neck, this time in much a firmer hold that made the human squawk angrily.
“Lemme go, I said!” he bellowed, his arms and legs swinging as Raskyuil lifted him easily off the ground. “She liked me!”
“I’m sure she did,” he grumbled.
Stupid humans never knew when they were potentially putting their lives in danger. Sirens were notorious for weakening males before attacking. Although that particular siren looked three sheets to the wind, he wouldn’t put anything past her.
Besides, there had been some complaints that the human had been overly loud and aggressive among the performers, and some of the least friendly among them were threatening to eat him if he wasn’t removed. Raskyuil could have just let fate play out with the siren, but the sun was sinking below the horizon and it was time for the male to go if Raskyuil wanted to enjoy any peace that night and not have a potentially disgusting cleanup to supervise.
“Come on,” he grunted, not entirely happy to be the one left to lecture the human. Several curious humans turned to stare as he dragged the human toward the entrance, and more than one jumped when he tossed the male onto the dirt outside.
The human shot up shakily to his feet and shook his fist in the air. “Touch me again and I’ll fucking kill you. You don’t belong in our world! Nothing but fucking vermin,” he shouted, drawing the attention of a few of the fae closest to the gates. “You all need to just get out of here! Go back to where you fucking came from, you fucking disgusting monsters.”
The fae crept forward slowly, their eyes glowing faintly in the dimming light, and Raskyuil sighed heavily and patted his pants pocket, hunting for his cigar case. This idiot was determined to get himself killed, and he needed a smoke. Dragging the case out, he scowled down at its contents and huffed. Empty. Damn.
He had a couple of backup cigars in his coat, but with the warm sun beating down on him, he had elected to leave it behind in his tent. It seemed that he was out of luck, and so was the human if he didn’t leave before the last vestiges of Raskyuil’s patience disappeared. Narrowing his eyes on the male, he growled deeply, startling the human enough that the male jumped and stumbled back with wide-eyed terror.
The humans filtering out of the entrance gave them a wide berth as they hurried past, but Raskyuil ignored them. Humans seemed to react better and be comforted if he simply pretended that they weren’t there and let them get about their business. That typically worked for him—when it worked—but the idiot male in front of him simply raised his fists as he swayed sloppily and stumbled on his feet.
The corner of Raskyuil’s mouth inched up in amusement. He might have been tempted to just let the human have at it and see where the spectacle carried him except several offended fae were creeping closer, a predatory stillness encompassing them as they slipped silently nearer. It seemed that if he let the male continue, the carnival would likely end up hosting a very dead guest.
Not exactly a good way to start off his first day on the job since this was what he was hired to prevent. Scrubbing a hand over his face, he wiped away the faintest trace of his smile and stalked forward. He didn’t so much as reach for his ax or do anything particularly threatening, but the human’s eyes immediately rounded and he began to shake as a pungent stream soaked the front of his pants, making Raskyuil recoil with a curl of his lip. Had the male truly just pissed himself? He immediately began breathing through his mouth, not curious enough to breathe in the foul odor. All bravado fled the human in the next moment as he suddenly sank to the ground in front Raskyuil, his arms coming up around his head.
“Don’t eat me!” he shrieked, his fingers tightening into the long, scraggly hair on top of his head.
Raskyuil peered down at him, taken off guard. Despite the disgust curdling in his belly, he took a quick sniff of the human and gagged. Rank sweat, piss, filth, and among all that the musky smell of fairy mushrooms. Just what the human needed when his mind was already addled by mead. Crouching down, he spoke softly in slow words to the spooked human.
“Nothing’s going to harm you. Go home and sleep it off. You will feel better in the morning.” Assuming that the toxins were out of his system by then. It was difficult to know for sure when it came to substances that were fairy-made.
“It’s still early,” the human muttered. “I paid to get in. I don’t see why I should have to leave just yet.”
“It’s not so early,” Raskyuil assured him. “The carnival is preparing to close. It closes at sundown. There is a little light in the sky, but that is better so that you have something to see by to get home safely.”
“It’s bullshit,” the male croaked, and he gave the spectators a bleary look. “I still wanna have fun.” He rubbed at his crotch and Raskyuil’s nose wrinkled at another blast of stench from the male rolled toward him. “I wanna fuck.”
