Val enjoyed pretending to be a Bokor way too much.

The captain’s house was dark. Most people had probably gone to bed an hour ago, but that didn’t stop Val from marching up to the door of the lavish two-story house and kicking it in.

I sighed as I followed her inside.

“WHERE'S THE CAPTAIN?!” Val roared as she stomped around the large room.

I heard the release of a spring and a whoosh.

“VAL!” Eveth screamed as the sound of metal scraping glass assaulted our ears.

That was enough to wake Ziggy up. The boy wiggled until I put him down, which I was glad to have both of my hands free even if I still had someone that I needed to stay in front of.

“GUARDS! THERE ARE INTRUDERS IN MY HOME!”

I called fire into both of my palms to light up the room. The pudgy face of the shirtless man on the stairs drained of blood couldn’t get any more words out as he took in the people in his home. The empty crossbow in his hands explained the noise I’d heard as well as the broken crossbow bolt on the floor.

There was shuffling outside, which seemed to snap the overweight man out of his stupor.

“DON’T COME IN HERE!” The older man screamed as he dropped his weapon.

That only encouraged the men outside to move faster.

I half turned, moving Ziggy away from the Humans while pointing both of my palms at the two groups. I could see the guards eyes widen as they realized that they had just run into Bokor.

Val pulled out her sword and the blade shone purple light over the illumination of my flames. She pointed the tip of it at the guards.

“Leave.”

The authority in her voice dared them to disobey. Thankfully the two of them were smart enough not to question her. She was in full Bokor mode, which was more forceful than I’d ever seen Master Bran be. I’d have to talk to her about how far she was taking things later, but stopping her right now would only undermine her authority.

“You.” The redhead swung her sword around to point it at the man who was sitting on the stairs with his back against the wall. “Shot. Me.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Val emphasized each word with enough fury that I was a little afraid that she might outright kill him.

“Are you okay?” Eveth looked over the other woman, but there wasn’t a scratch on her.

“Dreg, is everything okay down there?” A female voice called from the second floor.

“Stay in our room!” The guard captain squeaked as he yelled up the stairs, though his voice was much weaker. “Don’t come down here!”

“As if a Human weapon could hurt a Bokor.” Val bent down and picked up the bolt. She handed it to Eveth like she was giving her a piece of trash. Once the blonde took the ammunition, Val took two steps forward and rested the tip of her sword on Dreg’s left shoulder. “Is this how you treat the Bokor?”

“I didn’t know you were coming!” Captain Dreg held up his hands.

“So you’re rude and inhospitable?” Val glared at him as she leaned closer. “Why didn’t you know we were coming?”

“My men should have alerted me! If they had, we would have thrown you a grand welcoming, even if it’s…” His eyes darted around, looking for some clue as to what time it was. “In the middle of the night!”

“I’m sure…” Val stepped back and put away her sword. “Which brings me to my first question before I decide your punishment…” She motioned out the door. “Why aren’t there any guards on duty?”

“There..?” His eyes widened as he looked at the open door. “Clive! Ferry! Make sure there are men at the docks and on the walls NOW!” He wrung his hands together. “I truly apologize for this oversight…”

“You can apologize by taking us to the mayor.” Val cut him off as she glanced over at me. I saw her smirk before she looked back at the sitting man. “I need to talk to him about the lack of security around here.”

“Let me get my coat…” Dreg started to go up the stairs as he stood up.

“You can take us now.” Val growled. “If you hadn’t ignored our arrival, then maybe you’d be dressed in something more appropriate.”

“Yes, Master Bokor.” He gave her a little bow before hurrying out of the house in nothing but a pair of shorts.

“Master Val.” I let the flames in my palms die as I stepped closer and lowered my voice. “I thought you wanted to show that the Bokor aren’t monsters.”

“They need a reason to stay vigilant.” She grinned as she walked to the door.

“What happened?” Ziggy ran over to Eveth as soon as it was clear.

“The guards weren’t paying attention and Master Val had to remind them not to slack off.” I hoped my explanation would suffice. I could hear someone breathing heavily at the top of the stairs, so I needed to keep an official spin on it.

I nodded at Eveth. “We should move. Are you good taking over?” I nodded at the boy.

“Sure.” The blonde took Ziggy’s hand and led him to the door. “Let’s go.”

I shook my head as I followed after them. Hopefully Val wouldn’t kick in any more doors while we were here. While the Humans needed to have respect for us, I didn’t think it was right to make them fear us. But they had been slacking on their guard duties. I could see her reasoning that a little fear might make them stay vigilant for a while, which could save lives if a Zombie horde attacked.

I tried to hold on to that reasoning while I hurried after the others. Maybe we wouldn’t have any more problems tonight.