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The Demon was acalm customer, she’d give him that. Overtaking an irritating Porsche driver ona hairpin curve that would have had most passengers clinging to the dashboardand cursing her name. Not Kaleb, as he yawned, stretched out his legs, leaninghis head back, closing his eyes.
Their dinner spentwith Grete Chipp had been both amusing and fascinating in equal parts. Turnedout that in order to promote conflict and feed, Kaleb’s mother had chosen tothrow her lot into the conspiracy underbelly that pervaded the Earth Plane.
According to Greteshe ran a highly successful prepper supply business. Selling all kinds of weirdand wacky apparel and equipment that the savvy prepper desperately needed intheir lives. Turning the whole lark into a family business, as her husband,Kaleb’s little talked about father - who didn’t have a social bone in his bodyand loathed all the monarchy malarkey – ran a lucrative underground bunkerbuilding company.
Grete’s talesdescribing the prepper conventions she attended, where she promoted both herown products and the bunkers her husband created, were hilarious. It was clearshe knew everyone in the community and had her petite finger on the pulse whenit came to gossip. Making it all too easy for Grete to sow discord and conflictwhere ever she went and feed upon the results. It kept her young she claimed.And the frequent separations from her busy Demon meld mate kept their love lifefresh and interesting.
With her readyinfectious smile, hiding a biting intellect, Shaw suspected Grete could easilytap into the gossip network and have someone spilling their guts. Grete sharingthat being pleasant to staff was vitally important towards helping keep herabreast of all the gossip here in the Conflict Realm. The servants oftenoverlooked but pretty much always present, effectively seeing and overhearingeverything.
Thoughunfortunately Grete couldn’t provide them with any useful information inregards to which one of Kaleb’s political advisors was the traitor helping theGxthians. All five advisors disliked him for various reasons and none were shyabout it out of Kaleb’s presence.
The outstandingquestion mark of which of them was the traitor proving just as frustrating forGrete, who obviously loved and doted upon her only imp.
The one thingGrete could do was help them escape the Conflict Realm. Providing a distractionwhilst Kaleb and Shaw slipped past the guards and headed to the nearest publictransport Portal. Kaleb insisting Shaw merely knock the guards unconscious whowere tasked with guard duty. Whilst Shaw in turn had insisted Kaleb Portal themto the cliffside resort, so she could collect her baby before the salt airdamaged the mustang’s pristine paintwork.
Shaw’s fingersabsently drummed the steering wheel, merging the mustang onto the major fivelane coast highway, zagging across all the lanes to get to the inside fastlane. She’d been contemplating dropping Kaleb off at a hotel but those peskyGxthians were tenacious, and unfortunately, she still had items on her to-dolist that he could potentially help with. Plus, there was the whole honourthing. She might have agreed to his alliance terms in the heat of the moment.But that didn’t matter. Shaw had given her word and that was more binding thanany contract signed in blood.
Shaw cut off acrazy asshole in a campervan trying to overtake her on the inside lane. Brakinghard before roaring off. She supposed she could take Kaleb home with her… butthat seemed way too intimate. He had no concept of boundaries. Always chatting,asking questions. Always prying. The idea of him in her house, going throughher things, it made her feel uncomfortable. She liked distance between herselfand people, both physically and personally. About the only people she couldstand to have in her personal space were her parents and her biologicalsisters, Monroe and Zuri,
Some might sayShaw’s life was narrow and predictable, but that’s what she’d always likedabout it. Dinner at her folks once a week. Train. Clean her weapons. Train somemore. Work out. Occasionally go out with her fellow Valkyries for a dance andbooze up to celebrate a victory, or just the fact it was a full moon, or thatthere was a y in the day of the week.
Oohhh, she’d justhad a great idea of where she and Kaleb could go. Plus, it would give Shaw an opportunityto check off another item on the dread to-do list.
***
“Cheers.” Kalebraised his pint glass in the air along with thirty nearby Valkyries beforequaffing the icy cold liquid contents. His bones vibrating in time to the throbof the loud music as another two hundred or so of Shaw’s battle sisters jumpedup and down on the nearby dance floor. The dancers had little to no grace, buthell, they were enthusiastic. Which was very much appreciated by the twenty orso dazed males present, who’d stumbled in to the bar for a drink and lingered,mesmerized.
There were nofashion plates here amongst the Valkyries, but tight trousers, tighter tiniershorts and tank tops did seem to be the common theme amongst them. The vastmajority present were tall, 6ft and over, and very fit. Other than a ratherfierce arrogant expression on their beautiful faces they ran the gamut of bodyshapes, skin colours and nationalities. Freyja broke the mould when she createdher Valkyries.
Literally broke itin a fit of Goddess pique.
Shaw, standingbeside Kaleb, currently in the process of purchasing them two fresh pints ofale from the bartender was no different from her brethren. Fierce, tall,bloodthirsty and gorgeous. She shouldn’t have stood out in a room packed withgorgeous women, yet Kaleb found he couldn’t take his eyes off her. Oh sure, hecould appreciate the attributes of those present. But his gaze kept coming backto that gorgeous knot of springy curls Shaw had piled on top of her head.Several curls having escaped to brush the mocha caramel of her flawless skin.Fascinated by the lushness of her lips. So perfect. Even when they were thinnedas she clamped them together, glaring fiercely about the bar trying to pick outwhoever she’d dragged him here to meet up with. And he liked that Shaw was onlytwo inches shorter than him. Making those dangerous curves of hers so mucheasier to reach.
Absently Shawhanded over a fresh pint, grabbing Kaleb by the shirt, dragging him around theother side of the bar, where the noise abruptly dropped several decibels.
“I need to speakto the bartender.” She caught Kaleb’s incredulous look. “Not him.” Referring tothe bulky wide man who’d just served her. “Her.” Pointing out a busy lookingyounger female who was handling customers in a brusque efficient manner.
“Okay. I’m good.”And he was. Though Shaw had disappeared the long sleeve top she’d chosen towear on the drive here, what brought him the happy, given they were packed sotightly together in here, was that Shaw couldn’t possibly fault him forenjoying the view down her tiny fitted leather waistcoat. Smack. Okay, maybeshe could, rubbing his ear to soothe away the pain of the slap she’d justdelivered to the side of his head.
“Stop that. Go.Dance. Annoy.” Turning back to the bar, Shaw waved Lexi Bao over.
Even amongstValkyries Lexi had an impressive reputation as a battle-hardened bitch. Anextremely high compliment in their world. Perhaps it was because she was partFury, but there was just something about the murderous gleam in Lexi’s eyesthat made psychotic blood drinking assholes wet themselves.
Of course, Lexiwas no slouch in the looks department. At 6.5ft she was an interesting mix ofher father’s Asian Fury heritage and her mother’s Germanic Valkyrie ancestors.Her eyes dark like her dad’s, but the waist length mane of shimmering red waveswas all due to her mother’s people. She had a great rack, that went withoutsaying. But the first thing most people noticed about Lexi, after her height,was her muscles. Especially her arms, given the vivid sleeve tattoos decoratingthem. Raging Furies on her right arm, raining down vengeance and curses. Whilston her left, a red headed Valkyrie leapt high, her gleaming spear burstingthrough the chests of three foes. A tribute to Lexi’s mother, Galgeral, who’dbeen beheaded in battle just over five years ago.
That was whenLexi’s life had gone into a tail spin. Her Dad mired in misery, a volcano ofemotion threatening to erupt. Her younger brother, Timo, acting out his owngrief, resulting in a run in with the mundane police, sending eight of them tothe hospital.
Lexi had done theunthinkable, turning her back on the battlefields to work at the family barwith her dad, doing her best to haul him back from the brink of despair.
“Hey Lex. How’sthings? Your Dad’s looking good.” Shaw glanced over at Tonal Bao, a 7.4 ftmassive mountain of a man. Muscles bulging on his muscles. His thick black hairslicked back, all the better so he could glare at everyone with liquid blackeyes. But for him, the current death glare on his face was positively upbeat.
“He’s startedhelping out at the local community centre teaching boxing. It’s been reallygood for him. He keeps threatening to quit. Calling the kids snot nosed punks.But he keeps going back.”
“Ah, that’spositively cuddly for your dad.”
“I know. Evenbetter, we’ve just heard Timo has been granted early parole. He gets out nextweek. How we’re all going to fit back here behind the bar is anyone’s guess.He’s just finished another growth spurt.”
“I can’t wait tosee him. So, are you thinking of heading back onto the battlefields?”
