Snippet Saturday: Weaponry

Snippet Saturday is the brainchild of author Lauren Dane, wherein a group of authors selects thematic excerpts from their work and shares them on Saturday mornings. This week the theme is weaponry.

All sorts of things can be used to hurt other people, in battle or otherwise. Swords, guns, words, sticks, books, you name it. I've chosen an excerpt from Survival of the Fairest, one of my favorite scenes, actually, that has special relevance because I'm currently working on the sequel to this novel and it (SPOILER ALERT!) will include the characters in this particular scene.

***

In the hallway, Agent Milshadred waited for him. “Gotta talk to you,” she said without preamble. “It’s about your skitter.”

“I can assure you I don’t own a baby gnome.” Embor strode off down the corridor and Milshadred fell into step beside him.

“Your runaway. The one who skittered off. I know where she is.”

That stopped him. “Tell me at once,” he said.

“In private.” She cocked a thumb at a door that read “Employees Only”. She pulled a keycard out of her pocket and slipped it through the lock. He followed her into a lounge area with soda dispensers, several tables and chairs, and the unpleasant smell of cigarette smoke.

As soon as the door closed, Milshadred turned to him. Her pale eyes glittered in the fluorescent lights, and he couldn’t help but notice her thin hands trembled. “It’s like this, Elder baby. I want out.”

Not what he’d expected. “I fail to see what that has to do with Talista’s location.”

“It’s time to ante up. My sibs and I get full clearance for Realmside, we get amplified healing privileges, we get retirement packages that would choke a horse, and we never, ever have to see you or your bitch-ass sister again.”

“You know as well as I do early dismissal isn’t part of your contract, Milshadred. Your work here is important. I must admit, I’m impressed by your ability to…blend.”

He meant his words to be a compliment, but instead they made the woman bristle. “Of course I’m blended. I’m blended like a banana daiquiri! I’ve been here an annishag’s age, and I’m sick of it. I’m not much older than you, you mangy coyote, and look at me.”

Milshadred and her sibs were too valuable to release, especially now. But value didn’t give her the right to demand contract modifications from the Elder Court Primary in exchange for doing her duty—especially an Elder Court Primary who wasn’t supposed to be here.

“When your clan received the lien on the manor house, you and your sibs agreed to a sixty-year contract. It was determined by the Agent Oversight Committee at the time that was a fair amount.”

“Contract? More like coercion. We wanted to be researchers, not agents. Your sib—”

“My sister and I spent only a short time with the AOC as part of our Elder Court training. Might I point out we’re no longer with that organization? Nevertheless, I can assure you that your work here will be amply rewarded in time.”

“Your time or my time? I’m tired of drawing to an inside straight. I’m going to die here, you freak of nature! I’m wrinkled, I’m old and I’ve lost my chompers.”

To Embor’s astonishment, she ripped a set of artificial teeth from her mouth and flung them at him. The white and rose-colored dental work bounced off his chest and dropped to the ground, leaving a smear of saliva on his dark gray suit jacket.

Silence swelled like a puff adder. The old fairy’s lips curled in, thinning into nonexistence. Her eyes narrowed to slits nearly as small as that.

Without a change of expression, he pointed at the teeth on the floor. “I would wash those before reinserting them. The floor doesn’t look particularly clean.”

***
To enjoy other authors' takes on the theme of weaponry, visit:

Anya Bast
Vivian Arend
Ashley Ladd
Leah Braemel
Jaci Burton
Taige Crenshaw
Shelley Munro
Sasha White TJ Michaels
Victoria Janssen
Elisabeth Naughton

Jody Wallace
http://www.jodywallace.com/ * http://www.meankitty.com/
Coming Soon from Samhain: "What She Deserves" by Ellie Marvel, in which nobody throws teeth at anybody else: http://samhainpublishing.com/coming/what-she-deserves