True Love's Kiss (A Slow Burn, Orc Romance)

CHAPTER XVII

VULTOG

Chidimma was sitting all alone on the street curb outside the venue, waiting for us.

The second Sir Saddiq's vehicle rolled to a stop, Rayna and I unbuckled our seatbelts and climbed out. Rayna strode to the open window by the driver's seat, and offered the young man an extra hundred pounds to wait for our return. We didn't know what kind of beast we were potentially going up against. Having a getaway car was a smart idea.

Whilst the negotiation took place, I crossed the empty road to join Chidimma. Juno's lover rose on shaky legs and catapulted into my arms. Despite the moderate humidity of the summer night air, the girl quivered as though she had been baptised in ice. I hugged her tightly. She needed stability, so I was her rock. The role of protector wasn't a duty I had ever predicted for myself, but it was hard to turn off that specific mode after consoling Rayna during the car ride over.

I gently extracted myself from Chidimma and held her by the shoulders. Assessing the gravity of her condition, I noted her tear-smudged eye make-up, the large brown drink stain on her rainbow-patterned dress and her strange eyes. Blank white spaces occupied where her irises and pupils should have been.

The purring of the car engine seized, and Rayna speedily walked over to us. Behind her, Sir Saddiq sat inside the motor vehicle twiddling his thumbs. The talks had been successful.

Upon seeing Rayna, Chidimma's face crumbled and she burst into a new flood of tears. I stepped aside as Rayna rushed forward and swept the girl into a fierce hug. They rocked from side-to-side for a moment before Rayna released her.

"I need you to be strong for me, okay? And for Juno." Rayna cupped Chidimma's smeared cheeks, and frowned at her white eyes. "Vultog and I are going inside to get her, but we need your help. You need to tell us exactly what happened."

Chidimma tried to speak, but was trapped in a fit of hyperventilating. I rubbed circles into her back, as Rayna and I waited patiently for her account of the night so far.

When she calmed, Chidimma recounted, "Some guy approached us when we were dancin'. I thought he was just a p-pervert looking to have a th-thr-threesome, so I didn't feel guilty about using him for free drinks. But then him and Juno really got talkin'. About AWTF..."

Chidimma held herself back from divulging the rest straight away, not wanting to incriminate herself.

Rayna gave her a verbal nudge, "I don't care how bad it is, just tell me."

"What is this..A-W-T-F?" I enquired, hoping Chidimma would be disarmed by my genuine cluelessness and continue.

"Away With The Faeries," Chidimma supplied us with more information. "On the train, Juno kept talking about AWTF being a drug–like LSD or sumn. She showed me a bunch of social media posts, with people saying it helped them to 'see beyond glamours'. I dunno man, it sounded dumb and magicky. But I thought it was Juno being Juno. Innocent fun."

Rayna swore under her breath.

I thought back to our failed deal with the faerie at the Tower of London. Juno had been disappointed about not being able to see the foul creature. Evidently, she was determined to see the vermin for herself, by any means necessary.

Chidimma pushed onward, "The guy said he could get some for us. He seemed like he'd say anythin' to get into our pants. But Juno was convinced. I must've looked away for a second–maybe less–then sipped my drink and..." Her breaths quickened in panic. "Then everything looked so fucked up. There were hundreds of creatures and monsters in there with us. Partying like they were...normal? Some were dancin'. Others were touchin' and sniffin' people's hair. One of those things had two dicks, a-and it was masturbatin' on this woman and she didn't even know-"