The Vigilante & The Dragon - Book 1 of the Guardians Saga [COMPLETED]

Alex Calls Out Rile Ch. 9.3

The three teenage boys walked behind the woman. They didn't talk, laugh, or nudge each other like normal teenagers. They stalked.

Gabe, watching from a safe distance, trilled a short note. Cale withdrew his staff and started back to Gabe's location, cautious but not rushed. That trill meant 'not urgent'.

Rile withdrew his sword and ran. He skidded to a stop in front of the three teenagers. "Hunting the little sheila?" Rile asked.

Gabe looked at Cale, who shrugged and said, "Australian movie marathon. Those humans call their females 'sheila'."

Gabe hissed in exasperation. Cale started forward, but Gabe blocked his way with his staff.

"Rile bounded into the middle of this against my orders. Rile can get out of it," Gabe said.

The three teenagers looked at each other and a silent signal was passed. They drew knives and Rile smiled.

"That's not a knife," Rile said with glee. "THIS is a knife! Or rather, a sword, but the point stands." Rile swished his sword, just a bit.

The teenagers separated and tried to encircle Rile, who stepped back and sliced his sword along one teenager's shoulder, still with enough time to whirl on a second thug closing with him. The knife slid down the base of Rile's sword, clanging to a stop on the cross piece.

The third teenager rushed Rile, knife slashing. Rile twisted and the knife creased the second teenager. Cursing, the second teenager dropped his knife and rounded on his friend. The friend took off running, the other two close on his heels.

"There will be no living with him now," Cale whispered to Gabe.

"We can live with him now?" Gabe asked. "Time to escort Alex back from work."

*****

Once home, Alex watched the brothers practice staffs.  They moved with hypnotic grace and speed. Or maybe the hypnotic part was that they each had the upper body of a male jeans model without being human. As she watched their bulky biceps and triceps bunch in contraction and relax, her heart fluttered in her chest and her mouth dried out.

Now I know the meaning of the phrase 'arm porn.'

Alex shook herself.

Stop being an idiot. Don't be lured down the way of pain. Fight until you die. Eat good food like a true New Orleanian until then, but nothing else.

"Do you want to learn the staff?" Cale asked with a kind smile.

"What?" Alex flushed. "Oh, yeah, it was fascinating."

Sure, that's what I was watching, the stupid stick and not y'all.

Rile snickered. "Really?"

Alex gritted her teeth.

Jerk.

"I prefer the sword. Sharp edges leave more of a mark on the bad guys." Alex tried to ignore Rile's gaze.

"You should start with the staff first," Gabe said.

"Here." Rile handed Alex his sword. "Give it a swish. Just like in the movies."

"Not like in the movies," Cale said. "Dr. Dewey loaned us some. They were not realistic."

"I loved Errol Flynn movies. I thought they were realistic sword fighting. Were they Errol Flynn movies?" Alex examined the sword. "I'll buy a television and DVD player so you can watch them. We'll watch the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. You need some culture." She held up the sword and swished it like a movie pirate.