Orchid

Call 1-800-FOD-HERO For Your Own Personal Butt-Kicking Security

Kyo stands up from her crouch, her arm swinging on her hip as she glares at the left guard.

The left guard clucks. "If you come with me voluntarily, I won't make it so hard on you."

I glance into his cold, shining eyes. Kyo turns back to me and back. But in her swift look, I can tell she's not swayed. At all.

"Over my cold, unmoving body," Kyo swears.

"I'm not talking any shit, little girl." The left guard moves forward. His eyes are cold and cruel, fathomless and empty, with no sign of any goodness in them. "No shit. I promise."

"No shit? Really?" Kyo sounds incredulous as Pink-fox pulls her ears back and snarls.

The right guard is occupied with Hero, who's yelling her head off and combating him with a Hero-glare.

"No shit," the left guard repeats. "I'll even give you a token of my favor. Names have power. The name I go by is Kent."

 "Like Clark Kent?" I can't help it. I burst out laughing. How ironic. The last name of a superhero and he's actually a villain.

 "Yup." Kent drills his dark eyes on mine, baring his teeth.

 "That's a good name. Kent," Kyo muses. "Before I came to Vidalia, I knew a guy named Kent. Hottest cutie in my class."

 Kent leans forward, his hand going to an athame at his belt in interest. "And what about me?"

 I sense it's a trap but keep my mouth shut. Kyo might be dense on some things, but she's sly.

 "Hmm," Kyo muses and rubs her chin. "For you, if the Kent I knew was the top of the hotties list, I would say you're at the bottom at the list of nobodies."

 Kent's interested face quickly contorts to an anger-filled rage which makes him raise his athame. Even courageous Kyo scrambles back at the sight of the death weapon back to where I squat.

 Hero has slipped through the right guard and is demonstrating a show of kicking him in his balls. "That's a small kick for Vidalia and a huge kick for FOD," she says happily, and burns the right guard with fire.

 "Remind me, if I ever need an ass-kicking specialist to call Hero on the spot." Kyo yawns, try to add a little humor to the scene where someone wants to kill us, but it hardly has any effect except add to my laughter. "And remind me, Orchid, not to get on her bad side."

 Kent doesn't seem to notice the fall of his partner and lunges at us. I can imagine he'll be able to slash both of us with the athame without any problem. We'll be the Orchid-Kyo shish kebab. Today's special. Slow-cooked with boiling oil.

 "Peek-a-boo," Hero calls behind him, and that's enough to distract him and turn around. Fortunately, Hero jumps up so the athame misses her by just a hair's length.

 "Aren't athames supposed to be used in ceremonial events?" I call just to tease.

 Kent is totally pissed right now. His nostrils flare with absolute hatred. He wants to kill us all, with no doubt.

 "Yes. Ceremonial events include sacrifice." Kent's eyes glow.

 "Your puppet mistress wants us alive," Kyo reminds him.

 "Um...excuse me, Kyo, but your butt is lounging on my knees." I try to tell her.

 "Are you serious?" She turns fiery eyes on me. "You're supposed to be obsessed with saving the world, and you're obsessed with my ass on your knee?"

 I shove her out of the way when I see Hero needs some backup. Kent is stamping his feet and tugging at his hair.

 "Air, blow the fricking athame from his hand," I order. Air, which had been teasingly lifting my hair, surges around me and not only does my bidding, but knocks him over on his side too.

 "For FOD!" Hero leaps on Kent and scorches him in a big flame. When she steps back, all left of Kent is a pile of black ashes and a shiny athame.

 "I forgive you once for shoving me," Kyo says in a dangerous voice, "because it was for the good of Vidalia. Next time, you're burned. Like I quote, when there is desire, there's going to be a flame."

 "You're quoting P!NK, my friend," Hero tells her. "That's from her song Try."

 "Whatever!" Kyo's eyes flare a bright sunrise orange, then returns to her usual warm brown with anger smoldering in her eyes. She's really really pissed by my movement. I mean, nobody wants to be shoved over and useless, do they? I really don't blame her.

 "C'mon, guys," Hero says and hurries toward the direction Lycaeon went to. "We have a ruler to save and a pair of balls to kick."