Guardian's Hope (45 page)

“Twenty-one and before you ask, no, I don’t
have any big plans,” was Col’s indignant reply, “Damn, what kind of
guy do you think I am? Dov’s the one that nails anything that
moves. I have standards.” And then he grinned, looking like the
devil’s twin rather than Dov’s. “Besides, now I can tell my mom I
took a nice girl from the Sanctuary out dancing. That should shut
her up for a while.”

So much for standards. “Did you bring her
here?”

“No, she came with her
brother and a few friends. They’re video gamers and big fans
of
Demon Destroyer
, so when I said I knew the guy who wrote it…” Col shrugged
and grinned.

“The guy let you walk off with his little
sister?”

“Yeah, well, that’s your fault. Your
characters give the impression that we’re some kind of knights in
shining armor. All that chivalry shit. And I got to tell you, man,
that may be your deal, but it’s not going to pull in any recruits.
In the new one you need to put in something about our great
‘appetites of the flesh’. Sex it up some. That’ll reel ‘em in.” Col
shrugged and grinned.

“So noted. Now take the lady back to her
brother and tell them to get home. Their head honcho called Canaan
and we’re supposed to clear this place out. Tell them to spread the
word and then you can report back to me.”

“This is my night off,” Col protested
loudly.

“You fuck up, you pay up.” Dov couldn’t
resist aggravating his twin.

“Shut up, asshole.”

“Shithead”

“Lady!” Nardo barked.

“Oh yeah. Sorry honey. Let’s go find your
brother.”

He sent Dov with Col to round up those who
wouldn’t take a polite suggestion and began to search the room
again. He wandered around the edges of the crowd, tapping a
shoulder now and then, telling the recipient of the tap to move
along, playtime was over. And all the while, he searched for the
woman in black. She was gone and if he didn’t believe in order and
discipline, he’d turn his shift over to the twins while he went to
find her. There was something about her that intrigued him.