The air turned chaotic as George opened the crate.
Squeaks and chirps sounded out as the elementals burst onto the scene with adorable annoyed expressions on their tiny faces. Arthur didn’t know what changed their tune. Nor, truthfully, did he care. On the ground, earth elementals slid on the freshly wet glass. In the sky, water elementals looped and spun around the imps that tried to grab them.
A clicking sound followed by two gunshots. As Arthur scrambled to pick up a section of cane, he saw Jemima throw the gun. It brained an imp who proceeded to fall next to Augustus. Arthur moved to collect the corpse.
No point in letting them litter the battlefield.
A blue-skinned imp flew into his face. Without hesitation, he stabbed at it with his cane. Though considering its length, it was more of a dagger now. A hiss escaped the imp as it stopped pursuing the earth elemental and took to the skies.
“To the dig site!” Arthur called out as he surged after the tiny creatures.
Insults and squeaks mixed in the air above him. He ignored them. His rage burned as he fell on anything that threatened the magical constructs. Jemima and Augustus were beside him. Jemima swung around a vine whip she took from one of the demonic creatures.
Leo, George, and Benny all stood back to back, a few feet away. They had only their fists until George grabbed the lid of the box that sat between them. He swung it laboriously through the air; the imps dodging easily.
“Come over to us!” Arthur called again as he tried to stab an imp.
None of the trio so much as moved. With a growl of frustration, Arthur took a step toward the treasure. He needed it to complete the ritual. As soon as he started moving, an imp dived at him. Pain flashed across his back as it slapped him with a vine whip. His cursing helped him ignore the pain as he killed the imp.
The demon’s body exploded as he placed a hand on it, and he waved away the prompt. Now wasn’t the time. Pydes would need to deal with the fake coins that came in. That done, he started forward again.
“Protect the elementals!”
Augustus squeaked as he swung his bat. An imp flew past him backward before crashing into a tree. The branches shook, and coins fell to the ground. Another imp laughed as it swung the bag of coins it carried at Arthur’s face.
He ducked it, before stabbing the broken section of cane into the imp’s arm. The imp howled as it dropped the bag and flew away. Still enraged, Arthur grabbed the bag and held it in one hand. It was heavy, but nothing he couldn’t handle. With quick motions, he spun the handles around his hand to make it easier to swing.
“Each swing is going to be expensive.” The thought made him smile as he smashed the face of an imp with the bag.
He continued to fight his way to the trio, helping them batter away the group of imps that harassed them. Back to back, he swung, snarled, and smashed. However, it wasn’t enough. It was as if the imps were being summoned. No matter how many they killed, others sprang forth.
That was when he checked the notifications he received and noticed something disturbing.
He wasn’t getting cores or fake coins. Instead, all it said was a jar of purple mist. With a shake of his head, he growled.
“Their fakes! We need to get this done; the orchards are spawning more.”
“Are you sure?” Leo asked as he punched a four-armed imp in the face.
Arthur smacked another imp. “No! But do you have any better ideas?”
“No, sir.”
“Good,” Arthur said. “Grab the treasure we need to—”
The imps diving on mass interrupted him. They didn’t attack; instead, they aimed for the box. With effort, Arthur and the others beat most of them back. Still, one grabbed a couple of items.
Arthur hurled insults as it flew away with its treasures in tow.
“Do we go after it?” George asked as he slammed an imp into the ground.
Temptation filled Arthur before he looked at Augustus and Jemima. The golden mist slowly surrounded them as it drifted to the ceiling. At first, he didn’t understand why. Then he saw an imp grab a water elemental. With a screeching laugh, it squeezed the creature until it exploded.
The golden mist spilled into the air, joining the rest that flowed up and through the ceiling.
“No,” Arthur said. “Grab the box; we need to get back.”
George took the box, and Arthur helped to cover him until they were back in the circle. Behind them, the earth elementals continued to dig frantically. Clumps of earth spilled up and out as they did.
The next few minutes were hectic. Imps exploded. Elementals cried. Arthur could feel sweat covering him as he fought. Heat filled his limbs as he swung the bag. There was a loud squeak. He turned to see the elementals crawling out of the hole before they headbutted his legs.
It was his turn to shine.
“Cover me!”
With that said, he jumped into the hole and clawed out a section of dirt. That done, he motioned to George.
“Toss me the gold!”
George didn’t need to be told twice. He tossed down the box, and Arthur tipped it over, letting the treasures spill out. Rage and sadness intermingled as he climbed out of the hole. His eyes watered as he kicked dirt into it, but a squeak stopped him. Earth and water elementals alike tugged and beat at him. None of their attacks were effective.
Still, he knew what they wanted.
“It’s not enough, is it?” he asked.
Their squeaks told him the answer. With a sigh, he looked around, but he didn’t see the imp that had taken his gold. Annoyed, he slipped off the signet ring and tossed it in. They continued to squeak. Any gold he had on him went into the hole until all that remained was the locket around his neck.
It burned under his touch, and he winced at the idea of taking it off. As he hesitated, more imps spawned. Both the water and earth elementals tugged at him.
“I don’t want to let it go,” He thought as he lashed out with the bag. “It’s mine!”
“Arthur!” Jemima yelled.
When he looked over, he saw her and Augustus under attack. His rat bodyguard swung his bat, the movement pulling at the cuts and scraps that ran across his body. Their eyes met, and Arthur growled.
“FINE!” Heat seared through his throat as he ripped it off and tossed it into the hole. The Elementals kicked dirt into the hole. Once they’d filled it, light exploded, and Arthur toppled to the ground as his limbs turned to ice.
***
Augustus was the one who woke him up.
Arthur struggled to understand his surroundings as he pulled himself into a sitting position on the golden grass. Elementals squeaked and played all about him. More flew from the trees and dug themselves out of the ground.
Healthy trees sat in orderly rows, and he could see the lake’s pristine surface. A laugh escaped his throat as he stood up.
“We won!”
Leo stomping over cut his celebration short. The man’s eyes were wide, and he looked stressed. Wounds covered him, as they did all his companions. Arthur did his best to straighten his suit and look professional. Though the way his head spun made that difficult.
“We need to go, sir,” Leo said as he gestured towards the elevator. “The others are waiting.”
“Right,” Arthur said as he started toward the door. In his hand, the bag of counterfeit gold swung, and he gripped it tighter. He didn’t know what changing the orchard would affect, but he doubted it would put everything back to normal.
As a group, they moved, each gripping whatever weapons they had tightly. George and Benny both snapped heavy-looking tree branches as they moved. Armed and ready, they stepped into the elevator.
“We need to go up a floor, to the boardrooms.” Arthur gripped his bag tighter as Jemima hit the button.
In silence, they rode the elevator before they charged out the doors. Jemima moved first, brandishing her empty gun around. Leo shoved past her, hurrying towards the door at the end of the hall. Before he could reach it, it banged open.
Several gangsters stood there, all brandishing broken coffee mugs. Upon seeing Leo and Jemima, they dropped them.
“We’re not with the board!” One of them, a blonde woman, called out.
Leo stepped forward, and Arthur could hear the anger in his voice. “Where is Miss Heady?”
“In the boardroom!” Another called out. “Everyone in charge moved in there as soon as the Archdemon vanished. They’ve been trying to contact him but can’t.”
Arthur moved towards them, the sack of coins clanking in his hand. “Lead us there. I need to take my new employees.”
That got him several confused looks, but to his shock, they complied. As they moved through the office, he could see others cowering at desks. Several held staplers or pens like weapons. None made any motions to stop him.
When they reached the door, Arthur pushed his way to the front of the group. A smile stretched over his face as he grabbed the handle and shoved it open. To his surprise, they hadn’t locked it.
The same faces as last time greeted him, though this time without Richard and Lisa. His eyes met Clarissa’s, who trembled at the sight. Behind her stood two of the muscular demons, with Carina held between them. There was a broken coffee cup in her hand, and from the red stain, it appeared she’d used it recently.
“Hello,” Arthur said as he moved into the room. “Nice to see everyone again.”
“What are you doing here?” Clarissa snapped.
With a wave, he gestured the rest of his group in. “Me? I’m here to inform you that I’m taking over your business. You’re becoming a subsidiary of Apocalypse Assortments. While this take-over has been a bit of a traumatic process, I do hope we’ll be able to work well together.”
“This is preposterous!” Clarissa’s voice was shrill as she looked around at the other members of the board. “Guards! Seize him!”
Arthur watched as her face grew redder as the two muscular demons moved toward them. That was when Carina struck. She slammed a coffee mug into the demon’s side. It howled, even as Augustus rushed over. His bat swung, and the one Carina had ignored hit the ground.
Leo ran as well, but not before the muscular demon Carina fought lashed out. Its fist collided with her stomach, and she crashed into a wall. The board members scrambled to get away as Leo screamed in anguish.
“How dare you!”
“Get them!” Clarissa screamed again as she almost leaped over the desk.
Jemima was there to greet her, even as Benny moved to help Leo. Arthur ignored it all. He simply walked around the table, shoving past the others. When he reached the seat that Rathnil had used, he noticed a pentagram stitched on the seat.
With a smirk, he grabbed a broken piece of furniture and scratched at it. Symbol destroyed, he sat down and readjusted his hat. A quick glance showed Carina was clutching her side as Leo and Benny held her up. Neither of the demons remained moving. On the other side of the room, the board members cowered away from Jemima and George.
“Now then,” he said as he kicked his feet onto the table. “Your orchard is gone, and we’ve destroyed your demon production. Lisa works for me now, so you won’t be replenishing them. There are two choices before you. Work for me, or go say hello to Greenwine.”
Even as he spoke, he could feel a pale imitation of the heat fill him. The fearful faces on the board looked at him in horror. He didn’t care; he wanted this done. When no one spoke, he dropped his bag of coins onto the desk.
“Augustus?”
The rat looked at him, his muzzle stained with purple blood. He squeaked.
“If they don’t answer in the next few minutes, make them.”
That got the board members talking. He could see Sandy standing nearby as well, eyes downcast. A part of him wondered who she worked for now. Not that it mattered, he supposed. It would be him soon enough.
“Um, sir. When can we start? And will there be changes in leadership?” Clarissa asked as she cowered.
Arthur paused at the question. Did he want to change this up? He didn’t really trust anyone here, for obvious reasons. That meant he needed to put someone else in charge, at least temporarily. As he looked around the room, he met Carina’s eyes.
They narrowed.
“Yes. Carina here will look after you.”
“What?” Clarissa squawked. “But she’s a coffee girl!”
A smug grin crossed his face. “Who is now your new boss once I get her healed up. But this is a boardroom. Let’s take a vote. All in favor of me taking over and appointing Carina as the manager here. Please, raise your hand.”
Jemima looked as smug as he did as she raised her hand, as did Leo, Benny, Carina, and George. Augustus joined in too, staring at the rest. The men whose names he didn’t know followed suit, leaving Sandy and Clarissa as the only ones who kept their hands down.
“Excellent.” He said it with a clap of his hand. “In that case, I’m glad that’s settled.”
With that, he rose from his seat.
“Come on then, everyone. Let’s see what’s waiting for us upstairs.”351Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBdGEzFamnj
