The black-skinned ogre stood as the blood flowed, stunned long enough for me to drive the point of my second blade through his neck. Liam and Dox pinned the last ogre between them and the triplets. The triplets worked over the ogre with shouts of glee blasting the final black-skinned ogre, literally pounding him into a pulp, the spray of flesh and blood like some sort of macabre splatter paint art on the courtyard tiles. That wasn’t what shocked me, though. Dox joined in, sprays of blood flicking up along his bare arms and face. He didn’t seem to mind; no, he seemed to be enjoying himself.
I backed up, unable to stop the way my stomach rolled. Even for me, that was a bit much. Overkill suddenly held new meaning. I needed to stop their spree or I was going to lose my lunch.
“You boys done?” I calmly wiped my blades off on the few scraps of un-bloodied cloth left on the bodies. The triplets paused in mid-swing, turned, and stared at me and Liam. With grins splitting their faces, they rushed us, scooping up Dox in the process. I let Tin grab me in a crushing hug, seeing it for the camaraderie it was. Liam dodged their advances, lips curling in a snarl.
Lop gave him a salute. “Damn, that was some fuckery, wasn’t it? We’d have been toasted without you three. Mind-blastingly brilliant, that was!”
Tin put me down and gave me a salute. “Respect, in our world, is earned. Tracker, you might be, but you fight well enough to have that much from us.”
Dox let out a big sigh and clapped his hand on Dev’s shoulder. Something in him had loosened, the fight bringing out the ogre in him. I wondered if he’d ever killed anyone before. I doubted it.
I sheathed my swords. “We need your help, if you’ll give it.”
They shared a glance. “Does it involve fighting?”
I nodded. “Sneaking past a number of Gangs and stealing a unicorn foal back from a Roc. Probably some high speed chases, knowing my luck. We need you to help us avoid as much detection as possible.”
Dox’s eyes bugged out, and even Liam lifted an eyebrow at me. They thought me reckless, but I knew when a gamble was weighted in my favor. These three might come off as goons, but if I remembered my recent studies correctly, now that they respected us, there would be no going back.
Dev, who turned out to be the oldest, put one hand on his knee. “And if you’re wrong?”
I shrugged. “We’ll find you someone, or something, to fight. Sound fair?”
He held his hand out and I set mine in it, shaking it as firmly as I could, considering the size difference.
“We need to go now—”
Lop interrupted me with a swing of his ridiculously large hands. “Tonight, under cover of darkness is best. If your unicorn truly has been taken by the Roc, it roosts at night and getting past it will be easier.”
Before I could answer, things took an unexpected turn.
A set of high-heeled footsteps turned us all to the side.
What had to be the most striking woman I’d ever seen swayed toward us. In heels, she was well over six feet, close to Dox’s height. Her curves flowed from the gentle swell of her hips up to the rather large swell of her breasts. Sheathed in a cream-colored low cut, sleeveless dress, there was a lot of skin showing. Pale violet skin that peaked in a rosy color across her cheeks and the tops of her ample breasts seemed to have every male’s attention. Even Liam’s. Not that I could blame him. She really was stunning, right down to her violet eyes, which were shadowed with silver dusting that only accentuated the color. Crap, I suddenly felt how very tomboyish and unfeminine I was. This felt like standing next to Milly when she was all dolled up. I let out a resigned breath; at least I was used to it.
Her hair was done in tiny dreadlocks beaded up with jewels and stones that clinked lightly with each step she took toward us.
“You three boys, are you done with the fighting for today? And more importantly, are you ready to move on with the more interesting activities I have planned?” Her voice was husky and sensual and it curled around the six of us. There was magic in her voice that skittled off me, but I could sense it nonetheless.
The three triplets bobbed their heads, the crotch of Tin’s pants swiftly tenting. That, along with the way they looked at her—I was guessing they weren’t related, despite their similar skin color. Her eyes drifted over us, pausing on Dox. “And you brought me a new friend. Who is he?”
Dox cleared his throat. “Hello, Sas. It’s been a long time.”
Her eyes widened and she put a hand to her throat in an elegant gesture that I never would have applied to an ogre. Then again, I’d never met a female ogre. To say she surprised the shit out of me was an understatement.