Page 25 of Sinful Curses
Lost in her melancholy, she trudged fifteen feet behind the others with her head bowed and her shoulders slumped. At least she’d have a bed again tonight, even if she had to share it with Elsa, who muttered in her sleep.
They were almost to the pub when a small, scratching sound traveled to her. The noise wasn’t loud, but it was as if dozens of rats were running across the rock, and then it stopped.
Sahira stopped to search the town but didn’t see anything. Orin’s words about the shadow returned to her, and she lifted her gaze to the sky; it remained clear and blue. The roadway also remained empty.
What was that?She hadn’t imagined it, she was certain of that, but what caused it, and where had it gone?
When he realized she’d stopped walking with them, Orin turned back to her, but Elsa and Zeth continued.
“What is it?” Orin asked.
“I heard something.”
“What?”
“I don’t know.”
He started back toward her and had almost returned when a flurry of movement erupted from the ground. Sahira stepped back as small creatures released a vicious war cry while scampering toward them.
CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE
Orin’s eyeswidened at the movement racing toward him and Sahira. He pulled his sword free as the dozens of small bodies flowed over one another like water over rocks.
It took him a second to realize they weren’t running over each other. There were so many that they became a rolling tidal wave coming toward them.
“What the fuck?” he muttered.
They didn’t unnerve him; the damn things were so small he could stomp on them, but he had no idea why the small creatures were screaming at them while they charged.What are they doing?
With the speed of a passing second, they piled up in front of him, rising high until one of them stood directly across from him. Its whiskers twitched as it thrust a tiny spear forward; the weapon stopped inches from Orin’s nose.
His eyes crossed, and his lip curved into a sneer as he looked from the weapon to the six-inch man holding it. He had a mouselike face with a pointy nose that wiggled when he spoke.
“You’re trespassing on our land.”
The tiny voice, with its hint of a Scottish brogue, was stronger than Orin anticipated. The man, and many of his friends, wore brown pants and a matching brown coat that revealed the bare skin of his chest.
His big front teeth became visible when he spoke, and scraggly brown hair poked out from beneath a lopsided, brown hat. A tail twitched behind him before standing up behind his back and going still.
Orin had never seen anything like it but heard Sahira whisper, “Brownies.”
The one in front of Orin thrust his spear forward again. “You’re not welcome here.”
Orin rolled his eyes and looked past the tower of tiny people blocking his way to discover another one in front of Sahira. Her lips parted in awe, but he knew she was having trouble suppressing a smile when the corners of them twitched.
These brownies had to know they were a bit of a joke, but he suspected laughing at them might incite a tiny, spear-pointing frenzy from them. It wasn’t like they could do much damage; all he had to do was kick out the bottom one, and they’d topple like dominoes, but these feisty critters didn’t realize it.
“Get off our land,” the one before him shouted.
Apparently, he was the leader. Orin ignored the spear to survey the rest of the creatures. Over a dozen stood before him with their feet on the shoulders of the one below.
With a glance back, he confirmed that more towers of brownies had assembled behind him. One stood before Elsa, another stood between her and Zeth, and a third was behind Zeth.
They each held a weapon while maintaining perfect balance on the ones below them. This must be their way to fight anything, and since they’d survived this long, it must be at least somewhat effective, but he doubted they’d ever taken on someone the size of him or thedemon.
They were either as dumb as a box of rocks or had balls the size of cantaloupes, even the women, as he spotted some of them in the tower too. Since he didn’t see anything the size of a cantaloupe hanging between their legs, he was leaning toward them being stupid.
These things must have been the source of the shadow he saw. They’d emerged from a hole in the ground to attack and probably had dozens of them dug throughout the town and the cliffs.
