Free My Royal Pain Quest (The Lakeland Knight series, #2) by Laura Lond

higher. “I wouldn’t advise trying to use force or to run away.”
    They didn’t heed the advice. Rather unwisely, I might add.
    “That’s where we come into play,” I said to the Swirgs. “Fighters are mine, cowards are yours.”
    We dashed after them. I caught Degren, jerked the sword out of his hand, and used it to knock out another man’s blade. Baltazar tripped a fleeing guy, Frederick picked up the dropped blade. Swirgs, it turned out, could emit bloodcurdling shrieks, which came in very handy. That and the sight of two swords flying around by themselves made the thugs change their mind about fighting, so now it was all about chasing and intercepting runaways.
    The Swirgs proved to be creative and efficient, throwing pinecones, grabbing men’s feet, pulling off boots. One guy tried to crawl under a sourberry bush, but Baltazar chased him out, rattling empty bowls. A big bearded fellow took it into his head to climb a tree, much to Reggie’s delight.
    “Oh, let me get that one!”
    The little Swirg ate a red berry, flew up and shrieked in the guy’s ear, instantly bringing him down.
    I never had so much fun in my life.
    “Seriously, gentlemen,” said Cassandra, still hovering above all this mayhem. “You seem to be battered enough, why do you insist on creating yourself more trouble?”
    How she managed not to laugh was beyond me.
    The thugs gave up at last. They huddled together at the burnt down fire and stared at Cassandra.
    “W-what do you want from us?” asked Degren.
    She lowered herself almost all the way to the ground.
    “You should have started with this question, it would’ve saved time. I come to ask you, how dare you plot against Lord Arkus the Fearsome? Do you not know that powerful spirits are helping him?”
    Degren blinked. “We—we know that, and we never thought of plotting anything! I wouldn’t come near Lord Arkus!”
    “That’s what you get for lying.”
    She snapped her fingers; I picked up the empty pot and slammed it on Degren’s head.
    This time Cassandra bit her lip to stay composed.
    “First you tried to fight Lord Arkus at the tavern,” she went on, “and now you plan to go after him with this silly potion.”
    “That man was Lord Arkus?! We didn’t know, I swear!”
    He appeared to be telling the truth. Cassandra saw it as well.
    “Now you do know. Give me that bottle.”
    Degren hurried to find his bag and pulled the bottle out.
    “Here, take it! I want nothing to do with it!”
    “Good.” She accepted the potion. “Do I understand correctly that you are ready to convey your apologies to Lord Arkus and promise to never bother him again?”
    “Yes! I promise, upon my life!”
    “In that case you may go. And you may take the pot off.”
    The ruffians scurried away. The Swirgs and I could at last let out our long-suppressed laughter. Cassandra joined us, getting down on the ground just in time: her ten minutes of flying were over. Our invisibility ended as well, so she could see us.
    “That was quite a show!” I said, applauding. “Have you ever thought about performing at a theater?”
    “Imagine that, I have, but it doesn’t pay much.” She lifted the bottle. “What shall we do with this?”
    “Let’s take it with us, it might come in handy.”
    “She made them think you’re Lord Arkus, the villain!” Baltazar laughed. “That was smart! Only…” his grin faded. “Aren’t you afraid that he might find out and come after you?”
    “Honestly?” I glanced at Cassandra. “Not a bit.”
    “I had no idea that humans are so much fun!” little Reggie declared, still snickering. “Why can’t we be friends with them?”
    That brought a deep frown from Frederick . “Now, Reggie. Have you forgotten everything you’ve been taught? Humans are dangerous to us. Mr. Arkus here and his friend are a rare exception because they have proved their trustworthiness beyond any doubt. As to the rest, the less they know about us, the better. All right.” He