"No deal," Arvil shouted back. "You think I care about any of them?"
True to his word, Teeg went through the emergency exit on top of The Moontide while Arvil shouted at the wizards below. Pocketing the electronic key, Teeg stealthily made his way through the crawlspace next to the electrical conduits. He knew where all the connections were. If he wanted to plunge the entire casino into darkness, it would only take the flip of a few switches. He was heading swiftly toward the control panel to do exactly that.
Stellan folded inside one of the casino restrooms. Any remaining security inside the casino had moved the guests toward the back of the building. All the casino's doors were electronically locked, thanks to the keys the rogue wizards held. The windows couldn't be penetrated by the weapons the guards held either—Arvil had ordered special glass because he didn't want attacks from rivals to come in that way.
"No casualties if you can prevent it," Teeg had instructed Stellan. Stellan nodded at Teeg and went to do his job.
Teeg held the knife he'd brought with him—it was the best he could find and quite sharp. He still could hear Arvil shouting at the wizards from outside as he crept toward the overturned gaming table the rogue wizards had hidden behind while holding three female hostages. Teeg knew Arvil didn't give a damn about the hostages, male or female. He would attempt to get them out alive. Teeg could see Stellan on the other side of the darkened casino—the warlock had taken short folding jumps from place to place, in order to sneak up on their prey. Teeg nodded to Stellan to stay where he was; he was about to take care of this himself.
"I'm about to start shooting," Arvil shouted. "You think those glass windows will hold up against a ranos pistol? Do you?" Arvil knew they wouldn't, just as the wizards did. Their hostages would only survive one direct blast and then they'd be useless. "Fuck you, answer me!" Arvil screamed.
"Stand down!" Teeg yelled from inside the casino. "We've got them, they're all dead." To prove his point, Teeg walked out of the casino, dragging one of the dead wizards one-handed. The wizard had been nearly decapitated. Teeg's clothing bore bloodstains and he carried a bloodied hunting knife in his other hand. Stellan followed, dragging the burned and blackened corpses of the other two wizards, dumping them on the decorative flagstones that fronted The Moontide. Teeg dropped his burden and wiped his brow with a sleeve.
"How is everything inside?" Arvil almost hissed the words as he kicked the body Teeg dropped at his feet.
"There's a blood trail on the marble, but that should clean up," Teeg said. "All the guests are alive. Your wizards killed four security guards before the others got out of the way. I've called for medical personnel to come and tend to the hostages."
"How did you manage to do this?" Arvil was quite pleased with Teeg and Stellan's efforts.
"They were too occupied with you, Master San Gerxon," Stellan nodded toward Arvil. "That allowed us to sneak up on them. It was easy."
"They were too stupid for words," Arvil muttered, aiming another kick at the dead wizard. "Well, Teeg, this means I need a few more personal guards. We'll put out notices tomorrow. Send my apologies to Reah, but I'll be keeping Tory and Ry as my personal guards. Tory managed to get one of those f**kers by himself. I like that kind of fearlessness."
"I'll let Reah know," Teeg nodded. "Now, with your permission, I think I'd like to clean up. Stellan may want to do the same." Teeg nodded toward Stellan, who also had bloodstains on his shirt.
"You're right, I would. I'll take us back to Arvil's palace." Stellan disappeared with Teeg, when Arvil gave his approval.
"Well, young man, you'll be getting a raise in pay after tonight." Arvil nodded to Tory. "Now, if you two will help me wrangle my security and get rid of these bodies." Arvil swept inside his casino. Tory and Ry exchanged a look and followed him.
"I know they were hired for you, sweetheart, but we'll find other bodyguards for you." Teeg had wakened me early after I'd spent a restless night. I worried that I'd kept Farzi and Nenzi awake with my tossing and turning. They'd plopped off the bed and went into the other room the minute I answered the comp-vid call from Teeg.
"Teeg, if I can keep Farzi and some of his brothers, I'll be fine." I raked a hand through my short but growing hair.
"Baby, your hair is growing out, I can see it."
"My hair looks like shit right now. Admit it." He was up and freshly washed and dressed; I'd seen that the moment his image appeared on my screen.
"Sweetheart, you always look good to me in the morning." Well, I didn't want to go there. With my limited experience with males, I think any woman would look good to them in the morning.
"You'll be all right where you are for a couple of days. I think Arvil will come back by then. Ry and Tory can be extra security for you when they get back. In the meantime, tell Farzi and the others they have permission to use any force necessary to keep you safe."
"I'll let them know," I sighed, feeling defeated.
"Reah, hold your head up, baby. We're counting on you."
I wanted to tell him that his statement sounded foolish to me. I didn't. "Good-bye, Teeg," I said instead and shut off the transmission.
"Farzi, you and your brothers just got assigned as my bodyguards, since Master Arvil took Tory and Ry," I told them after I'd dressed and brushed my teeth.
"Then we will protect Reah," Farzi nodded.
"Farzi," I went to put my arms around him. I wanted to cry, actually, but I was working hard to hold the tears back.
"Reah, not take this so badly," Farzi's arms were around me and Nenzi was rubbing my back. The others crowded around to touch me, somehow.
Later, when I got myself in hand, we went to the kitchen to start breakfast. The reptanoids were served first, and they ate in the kitchen. Astralan wandered in. I gave him a cup of tea while I fixed his plate. He settled down at the island to eat just as the others had.
"I like this—having breakfast made to order when I get up," Astralan sipped his tea with pleasure. I made it just the way he liked it, with milk and honey. "Reah, I know how young you are," he went on, causing me to jerk upright after pulling rolls from the oven. "You don't need to wear that frightened look. None of my brothers are about to jump you because you're here alone."
"Farzi and his brothers are here." I went back to pulling trays of rolls from the oven. I served two to Astralan with some fruit spread. He'd already had his eggs and sliced pork.