Dervishes Don't Dance (Valkyrie Bestiary Book 2) by Kim McDougall

Author:Kim McDougall [McDougall, Kim]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Fantasy, Paranormal
Publisher: WrongTree Press
Published: 2020-10-12T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter

15

I kept my promise to Leighna and returned to the Winter Court the following day to rout the leeches that were wreaking havoc with her electrical system. My new apprentice tagged along. Jacoby had insisted on having his own tool belt, just like mine, but his hips were too scrawny and the belt kept slipping down around his knees. We stopped twice in the parking lot so he could hike it back up.

“That’s not going to work,” I said finally. Jacoby clutched his precious belt as if I might take it from him.

“Let’s try it another way.” I unclipped the belt and re-fastened it over one shoulder and around his skinny chest. “There. Now you look like a bad-ass commando.”

“I haves bad ass?”

“Definitely.”

He strutted the rest of the way, until we met the troll guard at the door, and he scooted behind my legs.

I flashed my widget to the troll to prove my identification. She scanned her screen, looking for my name on the approved list of visitors. Her thick fingers worked the device with surprising ease. Trolls weren’t the brightest bulbs on the string so I was surprised to find one in such a position of authority. Deep-set black eyes stared at me from a flat, round face. She wore makeup—sparkly turquoise eyeshadow and vivid red lipstick. Her green-gray cheeks were lined with deep wrinkles that sprouted moss-like hair. The top of her head was covered in the same green fuzz, only longer. Some kind of small rock troll? I was too polite to ask, but I’d search my database when I got home. Collecting and identifying new species was a hobby that got me into trouble more than once.

“I have only you on the list,” the troll said in a grinding voice. “Who’s this?” She pointed at Jacoby.

“My assistant.”

“Not on the list.” Clearly the list was everything.

“Well, if you expect me to find leeches without an assistant, you’ll have to come and do the dirty work.” I smiled. “Fancy crawling into an air vent or two?”

She pinched her brightly-painted lips and made a call. After getting approval for Jacoby, she pointed to a door. “Basement.”

“Thanks.” I wouldn’t get any more help. That was fine. I preferred to work unsupervised.

Electricity leeches could be messy. They laid eggs on power lines, and when the babies hatched, they fed off the current. They were immune to most poisons, so foggers didn’t work. The only way to eradicate them was to pull them off, one by one, like grubs. Usually, all the wiring needed to be replaced, and one missed leech meant the infestation could blossom again.

Most pest controllers wouldn’t take on leeches because they couldn’t guarantee success. They weren’t my favorite job, but I had an advantage. I could keen the little buggers down to the last egg. So I was pretty confident that I could fix the problem.

Now I just had to find them.

The stairs to the basement were brightly lit, but as I descended, the lights whined and flickered. We halted on the staircase and waited it out.

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.