Banshee Worm King: Book Five of the Oz Chronicles (16 page)

The Myrmidon he’d struck stepped out from behind the hut,
and Lou fired an arrow into the side of its head.
 
The ant-man warrior turned and let out a
deafening cry.

I fired my arrow and struck it in the chest.
 
Before I could load a second arrow, Ajax
barreled past us and launched into the Myrmidon.
 
They tumbled to the ground.

Bostic sat up laughing hysterically.
 
“Good God this is fun!”
 
he picked up his axe and spun to his left,
narrowly missing a kick to the side of his head by a second Myrmidon.
 
The giant destroyer yanked Bostic up by his
neck. Wes took aim at the Myrmidon with his cross bow, but pulled up when he
heard Tyrone scream bloody murder as he ran toward the armored destroyer.

“What in the hell?” Wes said.
 
“He ain’t got nothing but a knife.”

Tyrone leapt on the Myrmidon’s back and brought the knife
down in between its shoulder blades.
 
The
attack didn’t put the giant down, but it dropped Bostic.

Bostic didn’t waste any time with his newfound
freedom.
 
He swung his axe around and
drove it into the Myrmidon’s stomach, causing it to double over.
 

Tyrone removed the knife and started stabbing the creature
in the neck repeatedly.

“Looks like he’s doing just fine with that knife,” I said.

A third Myrmidon stepped out of one of the back huts.
Ariabod came out of nowhere and swept the creature’s legs out from under
it.
 
It hit the ground with a thud.

The fourth Myrmidon approached from the weapon rack and ran
at Ariabod with an enormous sword.
 

I fired my reloaded crossbow and struck the mud hut.
 
The Myrmidon raised its sword and towered
over Ariabod. I yelled out to the gorilla, but he couldn’t hear me in all the
chaos.

As I fumbled to reload my crossbow, I heard the snap and
swish of Lou firing hers.
 
I looked up
and saw the arrow strike the Myrmidon in the neck.
 
It froze for a split second and then fell to
its knees.
 
It tilted its head up and
grasped at the shaft of the arrow.
 
Before it could pull it out, it fell onto its back and let out a gurgled
wail.
 

Bostic freed his axe from the Myrmidon he and Tyrone were
fighting.
 
He turned in the direction of
the wailing creature and then to us.
 
“Don’t take all the fun out of it!
 
Kill ’em slow!”

Wes stomped toward the camp. But instead of going for a
Myrmidon he grabbed Bostic by the shoulder and spun him around.
 
“You damn fool,” he said as he threw a fist
into Bostic’s jaw.
 

Bostic stumbled back giggling madly.
 

Wes turned to the Myrmidon and readied his crossbow.
 
“Get clear, Ty!”

Tyrone hopped off the Myrmidon’s back breathing heavily
from his frantic stabbing.
 

Wes aimed the crossbow and prepared to fire, but the
Myrmidon collapsed in a heap before he could.

Ajax let out a fierce roar and backed away from the now
dead Myrmidon.
 

The only Myrmidon left was having its chest beat in by
Ariabod.

Bostic raised his axe above his head and let out a joyous
whistle.
 
“That was too easy!”

Wes turned his crossbow on him.
 
“You crazy ignorant redneck.
 
You just about got my kids killed! I ought to
shoot your fat heart out of your chest!”

Bostic continued to laugh and celebrate.
 
“You can’t tell me you didn’t get a rush out
of that!
 
Killing these big uglies is
better than going to the movies for entertainment.”

“These things,” Wes said, “used to be people.”

“Put the crossbow down, Wes,” I said.
 

Wes didn’t comply immediately, but after a few moments
passed he lowered the crossbow.
 

“Let’s cut ‘em up and get the hell out of here!” Bostic
said approaching the nearest Myrmidon with his axe.

“Cut ‘em up yourself,” Wes said turning away.

“Fine,” Bostic said lodging his axe into the neck of the
Myrmidon closest to him. “But that’ll take a good while, and the patrol we saw
will be back before I’m done.
 
Personally,
I wouldn’t mind another go around with these freaks, but I’m pretty sure you’re
against that sort of thing.”

Wes started up the hill, “We’re headed back. You do what
you want.”

“That ain’t the deal, fat man,” Bostic said.

“I don’t care what the deal was,” Wes said.

I pulled my knife out of my backpack and headed for the
camp.

“Where you going?” Wes asked.

“We did make a deal,” I said, “and he kept up his end.”

“He’s crazy,” Wes said.

I kept walking.
 
“Doesn’t mean we can break our deal.”

Tyrone bent down and started to help Bostic dismember the
Myrmidon.

I stood over the Myrmidon Ajax had killed. I had no idea
where to begin.

“Gut it first,” Lou said. “Bostic’s got the axe.
 
He can do the rest.”

“I’m not even sure my knife will cut through their skin.” I
thumped its stomach with my finger.
 
“It
literally is armor.”

“Arrows went through.
 
Tyrone’s knife went through.
 
Your
knife will go through,” Lou said with a weird detachment.

“You okay?” I asked.

“I’m getting ready to gut a giant ant man, what do you
think?”

Wes stepped up behind her.
 
“You two handle this one.
 
I’ll
take care of the one Lou killed.”
 
He
shot Bostic an evil look before disemboweling the Myrmidon.

***

The trip back was nearly impossible.
 
The Myrmidon meat was divided among all of us,
although the gorillas carried the bulk of it.
 
Beyond being unbelievably heavy, it smelled like rotten eggs.
 
Bostic insisted that if we could get past the
smell we were in for one of the best steaks we’d ever tasted.

“It’s like cattle that’s been fed chocolate chip cookies.
Big gooey chocolate chip cookies.
 
You
bite into a Myrmidon steak and you’re struck by a sweet, sweet savory taste
sensation that will knock you off your feet and send you to heaven!”

“I think you got a problem, man,” Tyrone said struggling to
hold up his bag of meat.

“You sound like a stinking drunk,” Wes said having slightly
less trouble carrying his payload.
 
“Like
you’re addicted to this stuff.”

“If this is an addiction, I don’t want to be cured,” Bostic
said.
 
His demeanor had completely
changed since he’d entered the Myrmidon camp.
 
He’d gone from being almost likeable to being barely tolerable.
 
“You people are going to love this stuff.”

Lou repositioned the bag of meat draped over her shoulder
and said, “Excuse me, but I’m not touching that stuff.”

“I’m with Lou,” I said.
 
“I’ll pass.”

“No passing,” Bostic said.
 
“You have to enjoy the spoils of the hunt or you will offend the gods.”

“Dude,” Tyrone said, “there’s no way I’m eating this crap.”

Wes made it unanimous.
 
None of us were going to eat it.

Bostic stopped dead in his tracks.
 
Since he was leading us through the treeway,
we all came to sudden and awkward stops.
 
“Am I hearing you right? You’re refusing the hospitality of your
host.
 
Ain’t you got manners?
 
Didn’t your mommas ever teach you that you
eat the food you are offered no matter what?”

“As strange as this may sound,” Wes said, “my momma never
advised on matters of eating monsters that used to be people.
 
I’m a little out of the loop on those rules.”

“Fine,” Bostic said holding up his hand.
 
“I can’t force you to eat it, but you should
know I am deeply hurt by your refusal to do so.”

“Whatever,” I said.
 
“You should be happy because it just means more meat for you.”

He grinned and pointed at me.
 
“Now I didn’t consider that silver lining,
Oz.”
 
He turned and skipped to the next
platform singing, “More meat for me.
 
More meat for me.”

I looked at the others.
 
They were as confused as I was.
 

“You think he took something?” Wes asked.

“I think he’s just really excited about the meat,” Tyrone
said.
 
“Really, really excited.”

***

We set the sacks of meat down in the kitchen and stretched
our aching backs. Bostic could not erase the grin from his face.
 
He immediately pulled out an iron skillet and
started preparing the wood burning stove.

 
April and Gordy
joined us and examined the blood-soaked bags.

“That looks completely disgusting,” she said.

“Smells even better,” Gordy said holding his nose.

“Oh my God,” Bostic said, “you people and your obsession
with smells. Give it a rest.”
 
He dropped
the skillet on the stove and pointed a butcher’s knife at April and Gordy.
 
“Your cohorts over there have passed on the
best tasting meat in the world.
 
What say
you two?
 
You game?”

“They’re not,” Lou said.

“Hold on,” Bostic said. “Are you allowed to speak for
them?”

“Yeah, that is kind of rude,” April said.

“Trust me,” Lou said.
 
“You do not want to eat that meat.”

“Why? Because you say so?” April asked with a smirk.

“Lou’s right,” I said.
 
“You don’t want to eat that meat.”

“Of course you’d agree with her,” Bostic said.
 
“She’s your girlfriend.”

I hesitated and then said, “Her being my girlfriend has
nothing to do with why I don’t think they should eat that meat.”

Suddenly all the attention shifted to me.
 
I had just called Lou my girlfriend.
 
That was beyond huge.

April sat down at the counter.
 
“I’ll have some meat.”

“April,” Lou said, “you seriously don’t want to eat that
meat.”

“I said I’ll have some meat!” She slapped her hand down on
the table.
 

Lou backed away with her hands in the air.
 
“Fine.
 
I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.”

Bostic’s smile got bigger.
 
“What about you hopalong?” he asked Gordy.

Gordy looked our way before answering.
 
We all shook our heads.
 
“No, no, I’m cool.
 
My appetite comes and goes.
 
It’s gone now, but thanks.”

Bostic reached into one of the sacks and pulled out a hunk
of raw meat.
 

Lou and I left before he started cooking it.
 
We walked out on the back porch.
 
I couldn’t bring myself to make eye contact
with her because of what I’d said in there.
 
She seemed to be having the same problem.
 

Wes burst out the door before we had a chance to break down
and look at each other.
 
“So, what’s this
girlfriend business?”
 
If I didn’t know
better, I would have guessed he was her father.
 
I suppose he was, more or less.

“I don’t know,” I said.
 
“It’s just something that came out.”

He squinted one eye.
 
“It’s just something that came out?
 
What in tarnation does that mean?”

“We were just talking in there and it was something I
said.” My voice was cracking as I tried to explain myself.

“I know it was something you said,” Wes said.
 
“That’s the point.”

“Are you mad?” Lou asked Wes.

“Hell, yes I’m mad.
 
I’ve known you two kids for... more years than I can remember.
 
I should know about this kind of stuff.”
 
He grabbed us and pulled us in for a big bear
hug.
 
“I couldn’t be happier.
 
Not even if you buried me in Twinkies to eat
my way out.
 
This is about the best news
I’ve heard in a long, long time.”