Something on fire? In the backyard?
"Where's Elvi?!" Victor roared with sudden panic, and immediately chased after
Harper. He was positive that if there was trouble, that was where he'd find Elvi.
He raced out onto the deck, pausing at the sight of the small shed at the back of the
yard on fire. One whole side was a wall of flames. He heard a muffled shout and
several thuds and felt his blood run cold. Someone was inside the burning shack. It
didn't take two guesses to know who it must be.
Not bothering with the stairs, Victor left Harper to wrestle with the garden hose and
charged, leaping up and over the railing that ran around the deck. He was at the shed
door in barely more than a heartbeat. There was a shovel jammed against the handle,
blocking it closed. Victor kicked it aside with his foot even as he reached for the
handle.
He pulled the door open and started to step in, only to grunt and stumble back as a
smoking bundle crashed into his chest. It appeared Elvi had decided to rush the door
just as he opened it. Unprepared, Victor lurched several steps backward, his arms
closing around her even as he did. They both cried out as he crashed into the birdbath
and sent it tumbling as they crashed to the ground.
Victor grunted as his back slammed into the dirt, cursed in pain as Elvi came down, her
knee landing bull's‐eye on his groin, then simply whimpered like a baby when she
realized what had happened and quickly slid off him, only to have the still flipping
birdbath finish its own fall by allowing the base to take her place, crushing his testicles.
"Victor?" Elvi's anxious voice sounded by his ear. "Are you all right?"
Stars exploding behind his eyes and body racked with pain that radiated out from his
groin, Victor lay completely still and merely groaned, amazed that he was able to do
so. He followed that with a moan when water began to pour over him.
"No, Harper!" Elvi cried by his ear. "You have to set it to jet! It isn't reaching the shed!
You're getting us! Set it to jet!"
"What the hell happened here?"
Victor recognized Teddy Brunswick's voice, but didn't bother to open his eyes or look
around. He just lay where he was, waiting for his body to stop protesting the abuse it
had received.
"Victor?" DJ's voice sounded anxious as it neared. "Are you all right?"
"What happened?" Edward asked.
"Was anyone hurt?" Alessandro's question almost had Victor opening his eyes in
disbelief, but it seemed like too much effort, so he stayed as he was.
"I've got it! Out of the way!" That voice belonged to Mike Knight, the fire chief and
Elvi's neighbor. Recognizing it, Victor didn't immediately open his eyes. It wasn't until
he heard the hissing sound that followed the man's authoritative shout that Victor
popped his eyes open to see Elvi's mortal neighbor was the only one who had been
sensible enough to bring a fire extinguisher to the party.
A disappointed sigh to his side drew Victor's gaze to Harper to see the immortal
standing, shoulders slumped, the dripping garden hose in his hands. The hose itself
was a tangled mass straggling between the deck and where he stood. It seemed in his
rush to be of assistance, he'd somehow tangled up the hose and hadn't been able to
reach the back of the yard with the spray.
That explained the small shower he'd got, Victor supposed.
A rustle at his side drew his gaze to Elvi as she sat up beside him to watch Mike finish
putting out the fire. Her face was streaked with soot, and her hat and clothing a bit
singed, but she appeared all right otherwise. However, he'd already expected as much.
Her voice had been strong both times she'd spoken since their crash landing.
His gaze shifted to the birdbath still lying on top of him and Victor grimaced. It had
done some real damage. If he were mortal, there would be some question as to
whether he would ever have more children. Fortunately, he wasn't mortal. Victor
reached down and pushed the birdbath off.
Elvi immediately turned to peer at him. Managing a worried smile, she leaned over and
placed one hand on his cheek as she asked, "How are you? Are you all right? I think
you got the wind knocked out of you."
Before Victor could respond, Teddy appeared behind her, his wrinkled face grim as he
peered down at them. "What happened?"
"What are you doing here?" Victor asked instead of answering. "You left a good fifteen
minutes ago."
Brunswick's eyebrows rose at the question, but he answered calmly enough. "I was
almost back to the station when I realized I left the blood bank cooler here. So I turned
back and saw the smoke about two blocks away. I hit the siren, radioed the fire
department, put my foot down and pulled up just in time to see you and Elvi crash