The Good Ones

Chapter 5: These Boots Are Made for Walkin'

Lucinda leaned against the wall and observed the crowd of elves who were getting tipsy off hot tea mixed with bourbon and making fools of themselves, just as they'd done after her ritual the week before. She was still waiting for the effects of the Adderall she'd taken right before the reception to kick in. The crashes she experienced between doses usually had her feeling anti-social at best and completely numb at worst. All the Christmas nonsense was too cliche for her taste. The magic in the air made her skin tingle, but it didn't quite reach her heart.

Kevin was over by the Christmas tree chatting with a group of women. A few of them were smiling at him and fixing their hair with their fingers, but the majority looked less than pleased to have him in their company. Alex and Mavis were at the far corner of the room having a conversation with a pair of Esperanti. It was mostly Alex doing the talking, with Mavis looking at all the other elves with wide eyes, like any one of them could attack her at a moment's notice. She stood as close as she could get to Alex without touching him.

These were her teammates- her man whore of a mentor, an Oklahoma redneck, and a terrified little mouse. She gave a silent, aggravated sigh. Seeing that she was the most competent person in the group, she'd just have to carry the entire weight of the team on her shoulders. She'd had to do it with every other team she'd been a part of and didn't see how this would be any different.

"Watcha thinking about?" asked Kevin.

If Lucinda didn't possess nerves of steel, she'd have tossed her coffee cup straight in the air at his sudden appearance. Her mentor was always attempting to scare a squeal out of her, trying to prove to everyone else that she wasn't a robot. Instead, she sucked in a breath through her teeth. "Just thinking about how I need to have a talk with you about your behavior."

"You and everybody else," said Kevin. "Get in line."

Lucinda folded her arms. It was a rarity to tear Kevin's eyes off of the pieces of ass that surrounded him for more than a few seconds and gain his full, undivided attention. Now was probably as good a time as ever to have this conversation. "You know, I held my tongue when we were at National Geographic because I didn't need you to be competent, I just needed your name."

"When have you ever held your tongue?" chuckled Kevin. "I'd like to have been there."

Lucinda glared at him.

Kevin held up his hands. "My apologies. Please continue."

"Now, things are different. If magic were like science, I could study it on my own. I wouldn't need you. I've been learning that way my whole life."

"Humble little shit, aren't you?"

She disregarded his quip. "But do you know what the problem is with magic?"

"What's that?"

"The problem is that, as my mentor, you are my one and only resource. There's no textbooks, peer reviewed literature, nothing. Unfortunately, the success of my training relies heavily on you. I can't be at my best if you aren't at your best. And you can't be at your best if you spend every night between some blonde's legs, nursing a bottle of vodka."

"Good thing Bum Fuck Egypt has a lack of blondes." Kevin craned his neck to find their teammates at the opposite end of the room. "By the way, while we're bunking with Alex and Mavis at the ranch, I expect you to be pleasant."

Lucinda opened her mouth to retort, but he cut her off. "Yes, you will. And, since Alex is the ring leader of this circus, you'll follow his orders to a t."

Lucinda pursed her lips.

"Solid. Now, if you don't mind, I'm gonna go get my blonde fix in before we move off the face of the Earth." Kevin turned and weaved through the crowd with the grace of a cheetah stalking through the bush.