The Terror Gaze: Book 2 of The Mortal Guard Series

Chapter 18 - Boris: Yay! A New Mission!

Chapter 18 - Boris: "Yay! A New Mission!"

Days went by slowly for a while, and Boris had to keep himself from constantly asking King what they were getting done by waiting. The fox remained aloof and never told him what he originally had the otter meet the Black Cross for before pulling him away to listen to music while high. He was a strange leader for sure.

The mustelid barely interacted with any members from his gaggle of vampire bodyguards, as he sparsely even saw them, considering he was awake during the daytime. Sometimes, he caught them just before going to bed, but they never spoke long.

What he did learn were the tendencies of each, allowing him a bit more understanding of the animals he would be working with, in the near future. Tamaryn was the intense one, Violet was the frustrated one, Jeff was the shy one, Cage was the mysterious one, Garrett was the joyful one, and Ivan was the one who took his job much too seriously.

The otter couldn't shake the fact that these were the same animals that held him and his family hostage, which, to him, meant they could never be friends. Still, Ivan had been right; it was smarter to stay allies rather than turn against one another. It wasn't like Boris was going back to Prostasia any time soon.

=^.^=

The day came when he was awoken for the first time since he had arrived in the underground base. It was late at night.

One of King's random workers came to get him, and when Boris asked what their name was, they didn't tell him. The animal, a zebra, took him to a place where breakfast would be waiting, a large cafeteria lower in the base where there were maybe a hundred nameless animals consuming food, talking, and laughing about who knows what.

It reminded Boris of high school, which he had been attending not too long ago.

As soon as he entered the large blue double doors, he heard a voice from his left. "Aha! There's the otter guy I've been ordered to wait for."

Boris turned his head, seeing the tuxedo pattern of the bloodsucking cat, Garrett, smiling a mile a minute at him. The otter gave a big yawn, covering his mouth. "This is the first time one of you has met me here."

"Yep! Big day today," the cat announced, pushing with his foot off the wall, and walking forward. Looking him up and down, Boris could see that he wore black boots, pants, and even a black jacket that went past his waist. Including the fur on his head, it was quite a lot of black for one animal. "I'm gonna escort you to get breakfast, then we're gonna find a table to sit at and eat."

Boris raised a brow. "I'm usually left to my own devices down here. No one's escorted me before."

"Well, yeah, but since we got a big mission we're going on today, I gotta keep an eye on you to make sure you get to the meeting room and stuff." The cat showed his slightly yellowed fangs, and Boris was curious as to what he could be so damn happy about. "I promise I won't be annoying."

"I don't care," the otter sighed, shaking his head. The first few days after Leah's death had passed by relatively normally, perhaps from the shock of the deed Absalom had Boris commit. On one of the days, it slammed into Boris from behind that his sister was dead and that he would never see her again. After that realization, he grew depressed, a stark contrast from the happiness he felt a week before.

Maybe, normally, he would find Garrett's ridiculous smile annoying, or his sunny disposition, but as of now, Boris couldn't be bothered.

"Oh, well that's good, I think. Come on, let's go get you some mortal food," the feline purred, grabbing his arm.

Boris let himself be dragged into the line for food, and Garrett helped him gather a pile of fluffy eggs, toast, and a glass of juice on a dark blue plate on his tray. Unlike high school, there was no payment required, and Boris wasn't sure where King got the ingredients. After they exited the line, the otter looked around at the ocean of tables. "Are all of these animals mortal?"