The Devils Gambit

-Prologue-

Clyde straightened out and hovered mid flight using his wings to keep his position.

Overhead, three C-5 Galaxies painted solid black with the Red Blackwolf emblem charged across the sky.

He stared up through his visor and marveled as the hatch opened and the ARCEs were Airborne.

Turning to refocus his attention to the battle on the ground, he found himself laying on his back in a room, wrapped in a sleeping bag using a backpack as his pillow.

Only a few feet away, a child sat on her sleeping bag drawing the sun as it peeked over the horizon. She turned to face him and gave him a familiar smile as he stood to his feet.

When he turned his back to grab his bag he was face to face with an army of humanoid creatures with half his usual eyesight. Towering at ten feet, each had a pair of burnt black wings. At the center of the formation one sat dressed like he was going to a wedding. A black tux with red vest and tie. He didn't look half bad, except when you got to his face, the one with the third degree burn scars. Patches of red covered his skin.

All around Clyde, darkness  consumed him in a wall of black fire.

=<>=

"Clyde," Josh shouted through the door, "Clyde! You're missing your own breakfast surprise! Get up, let's go!"

'Mr. King is right Boss,' I whispered in what tiny conscience though he had, 'You need to get up. Remember the last time you slept in through a breakfast date?'

"I'm well aware Shadow," He uttered through his pillow and sat up, "Welp, cue the music."

For the duration of 'Old Time Rock and Roll' Clyde got dressed the way any quarblood would.

Sliding his hands down his chest and up his thighs, a cloud of shadows covered his body and replaced his PJ's with a purple button up and dark denim pants. Then slid his fingers parallel to each other and tapped his fists together for socks and shoes.

"Remind me again why we use A-S-L for these tasks."

'Because when the shadows are dressing you Boss, you want them to know what you want."

"And Shadows speak Sign?"

'That they do boss, voices are for bodies."

"Good point."

With a two finger tap on his wrist he completed his outfit with the vintage IWC watch his mentor gave him for his high school graduation.

"How do I look Josh?"

Josh walked in and looked him up and down, "Not bad. Now get out there before the miss grabs the kitchen knife again."

"Roger that brother."

He walked out of his room to the crowd gathering around the Kitchen Island, grabbing the breakfast packed away in Tupperware containers and ziplock bags and starting out the door.

Clyde grabbed two of the bags and followed them outside to the cars.

"Ready to surprise your cousin dude," Niki laughed at his tardiness.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Clyde gave her a fist bump, grabbed a bag of food and opened the front door for them, "Let's do this."

I won't bore you with the details of the drive. For the most part it was a quiet ride with a sustained conversation about the lovebirds that are Josh and Niki's jobs and the events of the last week.