with them, but they politely declined.
"We've gotta get up early," Sunny explained, "and we need our beauty sleep!"
Though clearly disappointed, they hugged them and parted with friendly farewells.
Green-hair and Eye-patch asked them back to their inn.
"You guys just don't give up, do you!" Eile said, but she spoke with a grin, and they all laughed as if at a joke. They parted with handshakes and mock punches, and while she wouldn't have wanted to meet them in a dark alley some night, she doubted they were enemies anymore.
Edjertan tried to give back part of the purse's contents, after deducting the cost of the drinks and repairs, but they demurred.
"Keep it, as a tip," Eile said, "for havin' ta put up with us."
"But be sure to share it with your waitresses!" Sunny admonished.
He simply grunted as he pocketed the coins, but Eile noted his good eye looked softer.
"Come on," she finally suggested, "let's go ta bed." She and Sunny snatched a couple of pieces of garlic bread off a plate and walked out into the street.
They paused under a street lantern to eat their snack. Most anywhere else in the Dreamlands they would have to grope their way back to the inn in pitch blackness, but Creachabh had fairly decent public lighting. Though another of Sunny's talents was the ability to see in the dark as well as a cat.
Sunny stretched her arms as she yawned. "Oh, my goodness! I didn't know I was this tired."
"Heh, yeah, it was an eventful evening. Of course, you realize that brawl was no accident."
Sunny threw her a wide-eyed look of astonishment, the lamp-light reflecting off her glasses. "Whaddya mean?"
"Well, think about it: that whole scene was staged. First, that m'Esad character scopes us out, tryin' ta get us to accept a commission sight unseen. Then, after we refuse, those two goons molest us and goad us into a fight. It just feels like too big a coincidence."
"You think she was trying to kidnap us?"
She shrugged. "Either that, or she was testing us, ta see how we'd react and how we'd handle ourselves. Like she wanted ta know if our reputation was legit."
Sunny flashed a skeptical frown. "You think so? But that kinda thing happens to us all the time!"
"You know what Mayv says: trouble always follows us like a lovesick puppy."
"Then it's about time we find that mutt a home of its own!"
She chuckled as she slipped her arm around her partner's waist. "Heh, good one, ya ditz."
Sunny giggled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they started off down the street.
"By the way, what happened to that bag those guys gave us?"
"That's what I gave Edjertan to pay for the damages and drinks."
She chuckled. Sunny was just full of surprises for once. "Nice slight of hand, there."
"Well, I figured it was only right."
"What was?"
"They caused the fight, so they should pay for it, and the celebration afterwards. That includes the commission I took, as middleman and for our 'services'."
"I knew there was a reason I kept you around."
"You mean, besides the mind-blowing sex?"
She burst out laughing, and Sunny joined in seconds later.
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Epilogue
Ravaroc watched Team Girl disappear beyond the glow of the street lantern, listening to their echoing laughter fade. The Lady m'Esad stood beside him, while behind them Maccabrie towered over them both.
"They certainly live up to their reputation," he remarked in a casual manner.
M'Esad spared him an irritated leer. "I underestimated them; twice. I will not make that mistake a third time. Still, watching them during that fight has eliminated whatever doubts I had that their services are exactly what I require. We just need to figure out a way to coerce their cooperation. Ravaroc, I need you to follow them, wherever they go, even if it's back to Ulthar. Observe everything they do, no matter how trivial. With diligence and a little luck, we will yet discover the means to control them."
"Yes, My Lady."
Her voice turned diabolical. "And when we do, the power of the Outre Gods will finally be mine."
He shuddered from dread. He had no love for his employer or her machinations, but he owed her his life. He regretted being forced to play a part in the girls' coming macabre fate, but he consoled himself with the belief that better them than him.
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For more information on Eile and Sunny, Team Girl, see the official site [https://www.teamgirlforever.com/].
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About the Author
Kevin L. O'Brien was born with a pen in his hand.
Well, not quite, but he has been writing for as long as he can remember, at least since First Grade. Writing has always been his first, true love, but it hasn't always been his career. He worked for 15 years as a biomedical researcher, then for 3 years as a web designer. However, after 30 years of trying to be published in print with little success, he has decided to try his hand at self-publishing. Most of his works will be sold as ebooks through various online retailers, but he also plans to make some available for free exclusively on Goodreads.
He writes primarily speculative fiction--fantasy, science fiction, horror, and their sub-genres--but he also likes to try his hand at thrillers, suspense, mystery, and even westerns. However, his stories tend to have a fantasy element, no matter how subtle.
Most of his stories involve the following three main characters:
Medb hErenn [https://www.medbherenn.com/]--One-time queen of Ireland, she is over 3500 years old. A warrior and a sorceress, she cannot be harmed by any weapon made by the hand of man.
Eile and Sunny, Team Girl [https://www.teamgirlforever.com/]--They are two adorable, vivacious, fun-loving young women whose motto is ONWARD TO ADVENTURE!!! Yet trouble follows them like a love-sick puppy wherever they go.
Sir Differel Van Helsing [https://www.sir-differel.com/]--The descendent of Abraham Van Helsing and King Arthur, she heads the Caerleon Order, the premier monster-hunting organization of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. She commands Dracula, the most powerful vampire extant, and the greatsword Caliburn, better known as Excalibur.
He also writes a series of sword & sorcery stories set in an alternative universe known as the Lands of the Dreams of Men.
Kevin lives in Denver with his family and 4 cats.
For more information, see his website, Songs of the Seanchai.
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Discover other titles by Kevin L. O'Brien:
A fidus Aranea, Adventurer's Honeymoon, Barbarians R Us, The Beast of Exmoor, The Christmas Vampires, Dark Vengeance, Desperate Acts, Disposable Commodities, Do Unto Others, Far-Sight, Feline Savior, Felis ex Machina, The Golden Mushroom, Gourmand Hag, Gratuitous Crossover, Gruff Tolls, Immanuel, In an Octopus's Garden, Inseparable, The Lions of Inganok, Man Friday, Masie's Mind, No Torrent Like Greed, Oak Do Hate, One-Percenter Vendetta, Post-Traumatic Redemption, The Price of Folly, Pride and Fall, Redshirt, Rhapsody in Orange, Sacrificial Offering, Shenanigans, The Steel Gazelle, The Temple of Ubasti
Enjoy these other titles at fine ebook retailers everywhere.
Available on Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/story/list/20075368
A Deliberation of Morality, The Denver Walker, The Differential Damsel, Dribble & Maggot in the Land of Dreams, Fun 'n' Games, Jigsaw Dragon, A Little Hospitality, The Peril Gem, Pyrrhic Victory, Road to Hell, The Surrogate, Youthful Indiscretion
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Connect with Kevin L. O'Brien Online:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KLOB_writer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kevin.l.obrien.1
Website: https://www.seanchaisongs.com/
DeviantArt: https://teamgirl-differel.deviantart.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/Kevin_L_OBrien
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Sample Excerpts
From "Redshirt"
Theodore Thompson? Man, does that take me back! Yeah, I knew Ted, very well in fact. We were boyhood friends, went to the same high school and college, started a band together, shared an apartment, dated the same girls; the whole nine yards. We even worked for the same company, a web design firm in San Francisco. I was one of their designers and Ted was a salesman. He was really good, too; in his best year he brought in close to $2,500,000 worth of new business. Kept us pretty busy for as long as he lasted.
Okay, mind you, I don't know if any of this is true. I wasn't there, he told me about it later, when I went to see him after he was committed to that loony bin in Cairnsford. But Ted had never been a fanciful guy. He and I were classic left brain/right brain types; I was the imaginative one, he was the analyzer and planner. So I can't see him making up such a fantastic story. Yeah, sure, I've seen the doctors' report: paranoid schizophrenia with delusions of persecution. It's bullshit--pardon my French--all of it. You want to know what I think? I think that dame screwed with his head as well as his body.
Well, anyhow, a few years ago he was in Colorado on a business trip, trying to land us a few more clients. One of his stops was in Cairnsford. He finished his meeting early and decided to go back to his hotel to rest. He said it was a rainy, cold day, and he couldn't get a cab, so he tried to walk, but he ended up taking refuge in some bar off Gilpin Street. It turned out to be one of