Chapter 5

When the battle is over, you’re supposed to return home, and life slowly drifts back into a normal, mundane routine. No more fighting. No more bloodshed. No more death. That was supposed to be normal. At least for normal people that would be normal. However, Rhychard Bartlett, Warrior of the Way, understood that he could no longer be considered a normal person. That life ended four months ago. Now, his normal consisted of faeries and gnomes and demons and dark elves, some fighting alongside him, some fighting against him. His normal would blow most people’s minds.

He stood in the shower, his six-five frame bent slightly so he could allow the stream of hot water to beat into his scalp and soak into his long, dark hair before flowing down his back. His entire body ached, bruised and battered from the nightmare he endured earlier that evening, and the sad part was, he wasn’t even the one who did the major fighting. No, his sweet Renny did the fighting and saved the day. Or rather, the night.

Once the battle was over, and Renny cast Aradhon back into the Nether, Rhychard had grabbed Renny and escaped to Embers for a drink, a cigar, and some much-needed quiet. Well, as much quiet as he could get with four gnomes tagging along. Still, he just needed some time alone. Renny had called Laci to make sure she was all right, and Rhychard felt guilty that he failed to make it back to the hospital to check on her. She had gone through as much as any of them. He vowed to himself that he would make it up to her somehow. For now, he just needed to be with Renny.

Rhychard tipped his head back, allowing the water to stream over his face, the warmth soothing his mind if not his body. The day had been long and the night even longer, and he looked forward to climbing into his bed and wrapping his arm around Renny’s waist, snuggling tightly against her back. He needed the comfort of the peace and quiet, the normalcy of the two of them sleeping off the day for it would probably be the only normalcy he was to have in his life for the foreseeable future.

He stayed in the shower until the water turned cool, and then he shut the shower off and dried his beaten body. This will suck if every day is like this from now on, he thought as he stared at his whiskered face in the mirror. A long day of moving furniture and boxes didn’t even leave him feeling this bad.

He slipped on a pair of pajama pants and stepped out into his bedroom, Renny perched on the bed staring toward the window. She sat there, a light blanket around her bare shoulders, her face pinched in concentration.

She turned when she heard him coming out, staring at him with a curious look. “Pajamas? Since when do you wear pajamas to bed?”

He sighed as he tossed the towel over the back of a small chair in the corner. “Since my life became a fantasy novel,” he answered. “I never know when someone will pop into the room, disturbing my sleep and my quietness. Tryna pops in and out whenever she feels like it, those damn gnomes climbed all over us the other morning, and who knows when Famallumi will find something amazing and bust in here to share his discovery of how a toaster works.” He shook his head as he sat on the bed beside her, wrapping an arm around her waist. “I’m not even sure a locked door would keep them out. Hell, we know it won’t keep the gnome squad out. They’ll just burrow through the earth and come in another way. No, enough people have seen me in my skivvies, thanks.”

Renny ran a finger along his shoulder, down his chest and over his stomach. “Well, it’s going to be a little hard to be romantic if you’re wearing pajama pants,” she said in a pouty voice. “Surely, we can do something to get you some privacy.”

:I could stand guard when you wish for privacy, Warrior, and inform you if anyone is coming toward your room,: Kree sent through the coshey form of mindspeech.

Rhychard groaned, gesturing toward the porch that rested on the back of his condo where he knew the coshey snuggled down on the cool concrete. “You see?” Rhychard said with a whine. “Even when they’re not in my room, they still know what’s going on in this room. It’s unnerving.”

Renny leaned over and kissed his cheek as she patted his stomach. “I’m sorry,” she said as she pulled away. “The life of a Warrior is hard, I know.”

Rhychard gave a harrumph and shook his head. “Oh no, you don’t,” he assured her. “You’ve only dealt with this fairytale world for a few days. I’ve lived it for four whole months.” He then pointed a finger at her, his eyes narrowed in warning. “But you will, trust me. You will come to know how hard it is, and it will drive you as crazy as it does me.”

:Really, Warrior, I think you are making too much out of the whole scenario,: Kree sent. :Sex is a natural part of…:

“Stop!” Rhychard yelled toward the wall where he knew the elven hound lay on the other side. “I do not need a birds and bees talk. Thanks.” He rolled his eyes as he fell back on the bed, arms stretched out wide. His life had become so bizarre.

Renny just sat there giggling. Finally, she laid back beside him, her hands clasped and resting on her stomach. “Well, if it helps, I put the gnomes up in a small cupboard in the kitchen, far away from our bedroom. Famallumi isn’t here tonight. I think he’s still with the witches and Laci is at the hospital. When she gets out, she’ll be moving in with her mother, and Kree will tune us out once we’re in this room.” She turned to the wall and shouted the latter part, knowing Kree still listened in on their conversation.

They both felt Kree give a mental nod and then it was almost as if a wall closed between them. Rhychard knew they were truly alone again. “How did you get Pux to agree to leave you alone for even a night?” he asked her. The gnomes had arrived a week ago, following Renny around wherever she went ever since, even to the Nether earlier to protect the Warrior’s Blade, which is what they called Renny. Rhychard took a deep breath, finding it hard to believe that the fight with the dark elf, Aradhon, was only a few hours old. How confusing had his life become that he had a major fight with the Unseelie just a few hours ago, watched his girlfriend send that dark elf to the Nether to face judgment, and even saved Trace’s new girlfriend from the clutches of the elven Warrior, Halafarin? Now, he was about to simply climb into bed like any other normal person who just came home from work. No one would ever believe the life he led.

Renny rolled over and kissed his cheek, her gaze troubled when she pulled away. “I owe you a lot,” she said. “For not believing you, for doubting you, for everything I did to cause the stress in your life. I’m sorry for all of it. Truly.” She turned her gaze so she stared up at the ceiling. “Everything you’ve been through is just…” She shook her head. “And you did it all alone for so long. I just don’t know how you did it.”

He gave a soft chuckle. “I didn’t have much choice,” he told her. “Between Tryna and Kree, there was no such thing as giving up.”

Renny giggled as she glanced back over at him. “I can understand that having met them. I’m glad they were here for you when I was being an idiot.”

He reached out and took her hand in his, squeezing it as he smiled at her. “They’ve become family.” As he said it, Pux’s words from earlier filled his mind.