I need to interrupt that spell, and then take away her artifact! The fae nobles were unable to wield magic without an artifact.
I pulled a dagger from my belt—a small one that wouldn’t do much damage if the fae tried to throw it back at me, but would break her concentration—and threw it, aiming for her face.
It sliced across the fae’s face, jarring her.
Brody started to slump as the fae pressed her fingers to her face, then studied them. She turned white when she saw a few droplets of blood on the pads of her fingers, and her lovely face twisted. “You!” she screamed at me—too late.
I was already on her.
I grabbed both of her wrists—not normally my first target, but I wanted that carving out of her grasp—then violently shook them until she let go.
Brody collapsed in a heap, and the magic that had been sparkling around the fae snuffed out.
The fae noble screamed, but she must not have been versed in hand-to-hand combat because she almost fell when she tried to kick at me.
With her already that off balance, it took a single hip check from me to send her sprawling to the ground.
I planted a foot on her back, then yanked her hands up and behind her, slapping my second—and last—pair of magic canceling cuffs on her.
The fae noble wriggled, peeling her face off the dead grass. “You wretch!” she screamed.
I kept my foot planted on her back and ignored the insult. “Brody, are you okay?”
“Yeah.” Brody shook himself like a dog shaking after a bath. “Ugh, that was horrible.”
Beyond us, the brownie was still sneezing—he had tears streaming down his face as he tripped and staggered. Grove patiently trailed after him.
“We’re good!” Grove waved to Brody and me, then took a single step to catch up to the brownie—who had staggered a step and collapsed with a sneeze that was so big it rattled his entire body.
April had subdued the centaur by singeing his tail with blue fire and had herded him over to the fae we’d already knocked out/apprehended.
Brody rubbed at his throat—which had red marks where he’d half strangled himself. “Should I call it in?”
April exhaled, her breath crystalizing into a visible puff from the icy cold temperatures the night had dropped to. “Go for it.”
He cleared his throat as he pulled his radio off his belt, then spoke into it. “This is Team Blood. The fae fight was successfully put down. What do you want us to do, Sarge, with the perps?”
I stepped off the fae noble so I could retrieve the mini throwing dagger I’d chucked at her and replaced it on my belt.
The fae struggled to stand—falling once on her knees before finally rocking to her feet. She tried to take a step, but I grabbed her by the cuffs and tugged backwards. She fell down hard on her rear.
“Team Blood, we are in route to your location,” Sarge said. “Prepare perps for transport back to the Curia Cloisters. Headquarters intends to make their monarchs come pick them up.”
And, probably, pay a hefty fine to release them.
The Cloisters didn’t usually hold lawbreakers, but the government was starting to make an exception with all the fae fights so they could extort the monarchs for money in return for the time and trouble it took the task force to stamp out fights.
Brody glanced around at our teammates, then answered. “Understood, Sarge.”
I picked up the marble carving and tucked it away in a pouch attached to my belt, then stabilized the fae noble when she tried to stand up again, muttering under her breath.
“Mongrel, low-born, ingrates!” she declared.
I ignored the spat insults. “This way,” I directed, pointing to the subdued centaur.
The fae noble drew up to her full height, her dignity growing even though there was a dead leaf sticking to her orange bangs, and dirt was smeared across the front of her fine dress. “I am a lady! You shall address me as such!”
“Then this way, Lady.” Using my grip on her cuffs, I pointed her in the direction I wanted her to go.
“I shall not move!” the lady declared.
I eyed her—she was a little taller than me but had a thin figure and looked light enough. “That’s fine,” I said.
She sniffed, raising her nose up so it poked the air. “You will see how you will pay once My King—” she broke off in a horrific squawk when I kicked the back of her knees, making her legs buckle, and helped her sit down again. “Stop! What are you doing?”
I let go of her cuffs and instead grabbed her by the back of the leather chest piece she was wearing. “You don’t want to move, so you don’t have to. Instead, I will move you.” I hauled her backwards, her legs dragging behind her like a rag doll, and her backside collecting frost. Her body left a cleared trail across the lawn, particularly when I dragged her through a pile of brownish-purple leaves.