The Villain Wants to Quit

Meeting the Boss

"Can't you just squeeze a few tears out?" Theo begged while waving chopped onion under Carrot's nose while Scourge nipped at Carrot's ankles.

Unicorn tears were supposed to be excellent of healing wounds. However, Theo happened to know the world's most stoic unicorn.

"It's not that I don't want to. I'm just not a crier." Carrot huffed.

"But Dullahan will ask why I'm huuuuuuuuurt." Theo cried, pulling on Carrot's ears.

Carrot reared back. "Stop that, Mortal Turd!" Carrot whinnied.

Theo jumped back to avoid flashing hooves.

He didn't quite make it. Carrot clipped him on the shoulder, hitting his mangled shoulder. Theo yelped.

"Ah-" Carrot settled all four hooves back on the earth before tossing his head, "well you deserved it."

Theo just groaned. "This is a disaster. How do I explain away this? It looks like a wolf snacked on my shoulder."

"I know!" Scourge shouted. "We could say a wolf bit you."

Theo and Carrot ignored Scourge. The situation was pretty bad.

They were just outside Dullahan's base, but if Theo entered injured, there would be too many questions. And Dullahan with questions was not a Dullahan you wanted to meet.

Dullahan preferred to talk with torture than little, unrefined things like words.

"Maybe I should just hurt myself worse," Theo said. "If you can't tell what caused it, I can claim anything happened."

"No," Carrot said. "I am not letting you mangle yourself worse...besides, I think you are getting an infection."

Scourge scrambled up Theo's shoulder. He sniffed. "It does smell bad," Scourge reported.

Theo pulled his bandages off. It looked terrible, too. He shuddered. Theo grimaced and settled for changing his bandages. Hopefully, nobody would bother checking on his injuries.

His stomach rumbled, but Dullahan would expect him to come immediately. And he didn't like to meet Dullahan on a full stomach.

Carrot bopped Theo's arm. "Going in already?"

Theo gave a short nod. "I'm already too late," he said while plucking Scourge off his good shoulder.

He put the squirming dragon in one of Carrot's saddle bags.

Carrot whickered but followed Theo as he pushed aside some thick vines to reveal a small path. It was barely noticeable, really just an area with a few more stepped on twigs than the rest.

After an hour of walking, the path became wide enough for a pair to walk along. A few minutes later, the base was in sight.

There weren't any visible walls, but the air hummed with thick magic. It made Theo's skin prickle. Two guards dressed in dark green cloaks stood in the magic's only gap.

Theo recognized one, the shorter, more muscular one. The other was new. The old guard stepped aside, but the new one held a blade to Theo's heart.

"Identification," he growled.

The older guard put his hand on the new one's forearm and angled himself between Theo and the newbie.

"Sorry, he's just trying to do everything by the book. Very new," The guard said. Sweat dripped from his brow. "You don't need to show anything."

Theo shrugged and pulled a silver medallion from his bag. It swung from a leather strap. He held it up, the medallion spinning slowly.

"You may pass," The new guard lowered the sword. When Theo was only a foot away, he could hear the veteran guard berating the new one.