Summon Lyght(64)

"Not at all. It's a cinch." He snapped his pinchers in the air with a devious wink, the massive claws crashing together like diamond sledge hammers.

Tyler jumped in response and Peggy glared her displeasure at Robert. Showoff.

"Well, let's figure this out." Francis paced before them, all business, raking his hand through his gorgeous red hair. "How about we form a little operation?"

"In human form?" Peggy squeezed Tyler's hand in excitement. Every moment spent in human from with him was an exquisite treasure.

Her ruby brother paused briefly, giving her a speculative look. "Yes, human. We have to go undetected."

Peggy smiled sweetly when Robert rolled his eyes at her.

"What sort of plan do you have in mind?" Maxwell crossed his legs several different ways before finally leaving them uncrossed. She'd need to insist on a crash course for male human mannerisms before they stepped into the world. Otherwise they would be easily spotted.

Francis turned and swung his arm at the dense ruby wall, turning it to liquid that he directed to the right of the huge TV screen just beyond. He swirled his fingers and the liquid ruby stayed put. "Operation…" Francis paused and muttered, "Ruby Crush."

"Oh Heavens." Robert rolled his eyes. "The ostentatious prince and his austere presumptuousness."

"This is an area called The Bottoms in Columbus" Francis went on, ignoring the ridicule. Peggy admired her brother's confidence and courage. He took after his father in that respect. "It's a simple plan. We infiltrate this gang, the Kings of the Bottoms, and break its core by taking a few of its most valuable members."

"Taking?" Maxwell, put his arm on the top of the couch.

"Yes. Legally, of course." Francis moved his hands over the screen and pulled up a group of people, then zoomed in. "I've been studying their profiles and lives. See this one?" He pointed to a young boy. "He's my prime target. He's at the perfect age for my operation and his position in the gang will guarantee to shake the core as well as gain us invaluable Intel."

"Why him?" Robert asked.

"He's under the secret protection of the leader of the female counterpart to the Kings. His best friend is also important to them. He's the younger brother of one of the main leaders. They have high plans for both of them."

"She looks scary." Maxwell pointed to a figure slightly to one side, close but separate from the others.

Peggy stared at the lone female in the group with the hauntingly brilliant blue eyes encased in pitch black make up. Matching black and blue tattoos and piercings covered her pale skin. She was beautiful. Beautiful human art.

"She is lethal." Francis paused to stare at the girl. "She's the leader of the female counterpart of the gang, and the secret protector of our primary target. His dead mother was her best friend and she swore to look out for him. Another reason he's the perfect choice."

"How do you…plan to go about this?" Robert shifted his limbs, the sound of twenty crystal chandeliers blowing in the wind. "Ask her on a date?"

Snickers erupted, but the idea of them dating was delectable to Peggy. "Surely she's taken as beautiful as she is."

"Nobody owns that one." Francis had that faraway look again. "She doesn't seem to be into the opposite sex."

"Don't tell me she's into…"

"No. Neither sex. She's a loner. And a total bad ass."

Bad ass? Peggy wondered over the term.

"Bad…ass?" Robert tapped his claw idly on the floor.

"It means she's a formidable enemy," Tyler said.

Peggy glanced at the human boy and smiled when he looked at her even though it was barely a glance.

"Yes, formidable." Francis walked up to the screen and pointed to one of her tattoos. "These are not art, but seals and badges, signifying what she is and what she's capable of, as well as what she's done. She's twenty-four years old and has trained in several martial arts from childhood, learning from some of the deadliest fighters in the world. She's a Picasso in that she mixes her gifts into lethal abstract fighting styles. The demon muses she's adopted aid her in seeing beyond the natural. It's cost her any semblance of a normal life, setting her apart from the rest of humanity. She was raised to be a leader, fortified from the fires of hate and despair. She's never been normal, and has submitted to her fate as a machine of wrath. A dark warrior."

"You seem to know an awful lot about her, brother." Humor lit Maxwell's innocent words.

"It's my job to know everything about her. As well as the rest of them." Francis went on to demonstrate he'd not played favorites in his research and recited every fact about each member that stood motionless on the screen. But Peggy had caught something in his tone when he was describing the girl. The emotion was familiar to her. She was sure it was sadness. Maybe. It would be understandable. They all knew what it was like to not fit in. To not belong.