“It’s best that no one goes near. The remote control was a splendid idea,” Magpie said, relaxing while Malachite cooled him down with an enormous fan like a servant eager to please the pharaoh, but despite having shade and all other comforts, Magpie still wore a scowl when he looked toward the barbeque with a theatrical cough. “Does this thing have to send smoke my way? It’ll soak into all my things. And worst of all, my hair.”
“Did you hear, brother? The king of New York City wants you to move shop whenever the breeze changes,” Gray said, glaring Magpie’s way.
The demon raised his nose and didn’t even bother answering, so Gray raised his voice. “Hey, your majesty! Is that what you want? We are at your command.”
Magpie groaned and turned his head toward him “I don’t appreciate the smell of burnt meat.”
Vars, who stood behind Magpie’s back, rolled his eyes so obviously it was meant to be noticed, but Fox had heard the conversation and put down his tongs. “You have staff for that. Have them blow away the smoke or something. Ridiculous.”
“Maybe his majesty should go back to his carriage,” Gray said in a biting tone, though whether he meant the helicopter or the golden Hummer, Beast wasn’t sure.
At this point, Beast really wished Magpie wasn’t there. His presence at the clubhouse was enough of a nuisance, but to criticize a man for cooking a meal for everyone was a borderline crime. “How about some beer?” he proposed to mend the atmosphere, but Magpie picked up a little glass of brandy and showed it to him.
“I’m good, thank you,” he said in a tone that suggested he considered their beverage of choice beneath him.
“Keep at a distance and look out for anything unusual,” Shadow said to Gray. “If anything happens, stay back, and I will deal with it,” he said as if he were a knight protecting his princess.
Beast ran his hand down his face and turned away when Gray leaned into Shadow, his eyes glistening as if he’d been hypnotized.
“Knight? What’s taking so long? I came here for a show,” Magpie called out. “It’s very hot here, so perhaps the performers should start their dance.”
The performers being two giant harvesters capable of cutting grown trees into planks in a matter of seconds. It was beyond ridiculous.
“Look at his majesty. He thinks we’re his jumping monkeys,” Joker snorted. He widened his mouth in a predatory grin and ran up to the harvester, climbing on top of the cab with the ease of an animal used to such stunts. Jake whistled his appreciation and sipped his beer, leaning against Vars.
Beast was too preoccupied with the spectacle of monkey sounds Joker put on to notice Knight approach until his friend sat on a foldable camping stool with both consoles.
“Wait, man! Stay where you are,” Knight yelled and pressed a button.
Something beeped, a light on the side of the harvester went on, and the beast of a machine rolled forward, squashing a tiny tree with its tracks. For a moment, Joker was wobbly on his feet but then widened his stance and pretended to look ahead like a captain at the helm of his ship.
Knight laughed. “Here he is. Hannibal leading his army through the Alps on the back of the biggest of elephants.”
Fox frowned. “As in, the cannibal murderer? I don’t get it.”
“Is this a spoiler?” Jake asked. “‘Cause I’m only done with season one.”
“Pretty sure he means the ancient general. It’s been too long to consider it a spoiler,” Vars said, grinning.
The stench of sulphur in the air reminded Beast of his past encounters with Baal, but the casual atmosphere made him relax. Even Magpie’s nosy behavior was reassuring in a way. He still wondered how much time the half-measure of cutting down the trees would give them, especially since Marcel could become the target of Baal’s revenge. A permanent solution was needed, regardless of how effective their plan would turn out. Beast tried to avoid thinking about it and focused on the task at hand, but the doom ahead and what it could mean for his son kept niggling at the back of his mind.
Knight drove the harvester in a large circle, but in the end the fun got old, and he decided to deal with the job at hand first. They could all party later, even if Fox was already calling the guys for the first steaks of the day.
Beast trusted Knight, he really did, but that trust came with the addendum of knowing that Knight charged into things sometimes, so he stepped closer and squatted down next to him. “Easy. We don’t want to frighten our grand guest,” he whispered.
Knight shrugged. “Everyone’s eating it up. Even Magpie. I think after three hundred years, he’s looking for excitement wherever he can get it.”