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Cobh’s eyes glow and he lowers his arms, dropping the wall a little. ‘Hey! We good?’
‘Clear!’
Cobh looks back at her. ‘You’re safe now.’ Then with a flick of his tail, he disappears under the surface of the reservoir, the wall of water following him.
Scarlett slowly lifts her head and faces the most intimidating group of men she’s ever seen. The five men are solely focused on her and Nick, bodies of fallen Púca all around them.
‘Hey Cobh! Cover up.’ One of them throws something towards the water and a minute later Cobh joins them, adjusting a pair of boxers on his wet skin. None of them make a move to introduce themselves, but by looking at them she can guess who each of them are. Like Nick, they each show subtle traits of who they are in their appearance.
There’s someone missing though.
As one, they look towards the trees. A tall man appears, but instead of the lights highlighting him, the shadow seems to follow, covering him as he walks over to her. The rest of the men look back to Nick as the shadowy figure joins them. The shadows disappear and Scarlett gets her first proper look at the Boogeyman. He’s easily as tall as Nick, with jet black hair and eyes, every inch of visible skin covered in black tattoos. But it’s the thick horns and massive wings that hold her attention. She has no doubts meeting him on a dark night would be truly terrifying.
‘You’re Damon.’
He frowns, then smiles, or at least she think he does. It was either a smile or a snarl. Whatever it was, it lasted just long enough to give her a good look at his enormous fangs. ‘Nick told you about us.’
His heavy Spanish accent surprises her, but he doesn’t give her a chance to dwell on it. Damon turns to the others. ‘Hunter and Jok, head upwards. Make sure we’re alone. Everyone else, secure the area while Flint takes care of the bodies. Move!’
They walk or fly away, leaving Scarlett alone with Damon. He shudders once, his wings and horns disappearing. He crouches beside his friend and feels for a pulse.
‘How long has he been unconscious?’ he asks.
‘About ten minutes I think. I lost track of time when those things attacked us. Is he going to be okay?’
Damon stands, brushing snow from his black jeans. ‘I don’t know. We need to get him home. The workshop will stabilise his magic.’ He holds out his hand to help her up, smiling when she hesitates. ‘Don’t believe all the stories. I’m one of the good guys... most of the time.’
She takes his hand, surprised that his flesh is warm. For some reason she assumed it would be cold.
‘What’s your name.’
‘Scarlett.’
‘You better come with us. Nick would kill me if I just left you here. We’re heading back!’ he shouts to the others, startling Scarlett.
‘I’m sorry. What?’
‘Lapland. We need to get him back. You’re coming too.’
‘Púca are taken care of, Damon,’ the Horseman says, the flames surrounding him extinguished.
‘Anything else heading our way?’
Scarlett squeals as a huge man drops out of the sky, his black feathered wings folding neatly behind him when he lands. He fastens the bow to his belt and grins at her. ‘What? You were expecting me to be a short round dude wearing undies, right?’
If the situation wasn’t so precarious she would laugh at the real life Cupid, but Damon isn’t in the mood for joking around.
‘Hunter! Anything else?’
Cupid shakes his head. ‘Clear. We’re good to get him home. And can we make it quick. I’m not a fan of you being in charge. No offence.’
Damon snarls at him, then grabs Scarlett’s arm, dragging her over to Cupid. ‘This is Hunter. He’s a dick, but he’ll get you back safely. If he doesn’t, Nick will hang his fucking wings on the wall as trophies.’
‘Fuck’s sake, Damon. Ease up on the Boogeyman shit before you terrify the poor girl.’
Scarlett isn’t keen on going anywhere with any of these guys without knowing Nick will be okay. But it’s not like she can fight them off.
Damon releases his wings again and crouches down beside Nick. ‘What are you all standing around for? We’re on the clock here!’
