Death Moon by Michael La Ronn

Author:Michael La Ronn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Author Level Up LLC

CHAPTER TWENTY

The house filled up with smoke fast. I put my arm in front of my face and coughed.

The smell was vile. The stringent chemicals stung my nose. No wonder bugs succumbed to the stuff. Whoever wanted us out wanted us out bad.

I pushed my way through the haze. Thad, Gillian, and Cassandra were right behind me.

Bo opened the front door, letting in a rush of fresh, cold air.

I held my breath and pushed into the night. Slowly, the gray swirls disappeared as I jumped off the porch and onto the grass.

We all lay in the grass, coughing. The insect foggers still whizzed smoke into the house. The gentle noise was a counterpoint to our coughing.

Natkaal's voice sounded from somewhere.

"Say a prayer, wolves!"

I cursed and looked around. I didn't see the grasshopper demon.

"Natkaal, don't do it!" I cried. "Change of plans."

"You don't have to speak under duress," Natkaal said.

A green missile rained down from the sky and grabbed Cassandra. She screamed as Natkaal carried her into the air.

"Put her down!" I cried.

"I'm your reinforcement," Natkaal said. "I heard screaming inside the house, and I initiated my backup plan. It seems I have to be the hero tonight. Good riddance, wolf."

He rose higher into the air. "Did you like the insect fogger? I picked up the idea from Lester. A perfect way to show you the vermin you truly are."

"Let her go!" I cried again.

"Very well," Natkaal said.

Natkaal grinned maliciously and let Cassandra go. She plummeted toward the grass.

Bo dashed under Natkaal and caught her at the last moment. She held on to him, surprised that she wasn't dead.

"What are you doing, dead man?" Natkaal asked. "I just saved your life!"

Natkaal flew down and grabbed Cassandra by her braid.

"Release her so that I may finish the job," he growled.

"Not gonna happen," Bo said.

"Then I'll yank her head off!" Natkaal cried.

Cassandra flashed into a wolf, and her braid disappeared. She pushed off Bo's chest, slammed into Natkaal, and sent him crashing into the grass.

Gillian and Thad turned into wolves and rushed in front of her. They surrounded Natkaal, growling.

"How about you chill for a minute and let us give you an update," Bo said.

Natkaal hovered in the air, evading the wolves. His face hardened.

"Have you forgotten the plan, necromancer?" he asked.

"The plan changed," I said.

I told the wolves to stand down. They didn't listen.

"It turns out we have mutual enemies," I said.

Natkaal hissed, "That wasn't what we agreed."

"Sometimes life happens," I said.

Natkaal buzzed into the canopy of a nearby tree. He stuck his head out of the branches, and his ruby eyes glowed with anger.

"You work for me," he said. "This isn't your usual adventure. Did we have a deal or not?"

"If you'll listen, I'm trying to help you," I said.

"You have two minutes to explain yourself to my satisfaction," Natkaal said.

Good thing he left out a threat. It meant I could influence him. If he threatened to kill me, we would have had a problem. My gamble paid off.

I told him what happened.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.