Homosexual Supporting Cast Vs. Evil Minions

Homosexual Supporting Cast Vs. Evil Minions

Ominous shadows shrouded the tower. Brendon, Franny, and Kit all eyed the pitch-black windows with varying degrees of worry and—in Kit’s case—battle-ready eagerness. Her hand clenched at her side as if grabbing a sword hilt and she wished she hadn’t returned the Whatever Its Name Was sword back to the Good Wizard. What would it take to earn her own legendary sword? Would whatever was inside that tower be enough of a challenge?

“Oh Freddy, what have you done,” Franny whispered, hand covering her mouth. She knew her brother had some … questionable methods, but this was beyond anything she had seen before. The shadows pulsed a warning: Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here.

Brendon gritted his teeth. He didn’t for one moment believe it was Rick’s magic. The fact that it was Franny’s first thought irritated him further. Arguing about it now would only delay Rick’s rescue, so he focused on what was important. “The door’s closed. How do we enter?”

“When I was here, the Good Wizard broke it down,” Kit replied.

“Do either of you know any magic?”

Franny shook her head, then hedged, “Would you consider this an emergency?”

Brendon looked at her blankly before stating firmly, “Yes. Yes, it is.”

“Then I might be able to open it.” She strode toward the door and reached for the knob. Her hand shook as it inched slowly … slowly forward.

“Fran?” Kit called, voice gentle. “Everything alright?”

“It’s just … What if the door is the only thing keeping the shadows inside? What if opening it will unleash darkness onto the kingdom?”

“What if your brother’s dying in there?” Brendon snapped. When she didn’t move fast enough, he grabbed her hand and forced it onto the doorknob.

“Brendon, no!” she shrieked even as the door opened.

As she’d feared, the darkness spilled out of the tower in an unnatural wave. Brendon flinched, expecting it to fill the whole forest. Instead, it slowed to a trickle, puddling at their feet.

A figure rose from the shadows and shook itself out. “Fucking towers,” it muttered. It looked around, then a black hand pointed to Kit. “You!”

“Me?” Kit asked, pointing at herself in confusion. To her knowledge, she wasn’t familiar with any shadow-people. Unless … she squinted. “You’re a lot smaller than you were the first time.”

The shadow swelled, taking on a new draconic form. “No sword or wizard to help you this time, knight,” it roared, shadows pouring from its mouth like smoke.

Kit grinned and cracked her knuckles. “I can still thrash you.”

Trusting his best friend to take care of this first challenge, Brendon entered the tower, calling out, “Rick! Rick, are you in here?”

A purple imp floated in the air, perusing the books on the highest shelf. It looked toward Brendon with wide eyes. “Hey! You can’t be in here! We’re busy with important business!”

“Where’s Rick?” Brendon demanded.

The imp looked to the stairs, still pitch black, then back to Brendon. “Nowhere. He, uh, doesn’t exist anymore. Be on your way, foul human!” He plucked a book from the shelf and chucked it at Brendon’s head.

Brendon ducked and the book hit Franny instead, right in the chest. She gaped at the book, lying facedown on the floor, then at the imp. “You hit me!” she exclaimed, scooping the book up off the ground and throwing it back at the imp.

Unfortunately, Brendon had straightened too soon, and the book hit him in the back of the head. He turned around and scowled at Franny, who looked properly contrite for one full second before her eyes widened and she shouted, “Down!”

A second book hit Brendon in the back hard enough to leave a bruise. “Stop! Fucking! Throwing things!” he shouted, reaching for the imp. It floated just about his head, a large stack of books in his arms.

“Oh? You don’t want me to throw them anymore? No problem!” The imp dropped the whole stack onto Brendon’s head with an evil cackle.

Franny swooped in and picked up the fallen books, throwing them at the imp as it floated around the room, sticking its tongue out and shouting taunts.

“You throw like a girl!”

“I am a girl!” she shouted back and threw another one, finally hitting the imp.

It rolled over and over in the air, then straightened and snarled at her, baring its fangs. A shiver ran down her spine as she remembered the state Rick was in after this thing—she hoped it was the same imp, or it might have backup coming from somewhere—had bitten him.

The imp dove toward Franny, teeth first.

Outside, Kit was doing her best to fight a shadow beast with no armor, no magic, and no weapon. She’d grabbed a fallen branch from the ground and tried giving it to her shadow, but it just plopped into the dirt with no reaction.

The shadow beast’s claws swiped through the air, cutting a bloody line across her thigh as she dove out of the way.

She scooped the branch back up and searched her pockets. If her shadow couldn’t fight it, the next best thing was to eliminate all of the shadows. “Light, light,” she muttered to herself as she danced out of the beast’s reach.

“You will find no light here! No solace from the darkness!” the beast bellowed.

“Do you always talk like this when you’re in this form?” she asked as her hands finally closed over a box of matches.

The beast paused and though it didn’t have any facial expressions, it somehow glowered at her. “We’re supposed to. You’re the one not following the script.”

“I wasn’t given a script,” she replied. “Do you happen to have a copy on you?”

The beast grumbled and explained, “It’s not a literal script. Haven’t you read any adventure books?”

“Oh lots, and plenty with dragons.”

“Then just say the things the knights in those books always say,” it informed her testily. Then it took a deep breath and raised its head to the sky, spewing black flames. “I will devour your body and soul, foolish mortal!”

“And I will … um …” Kit drew a blank as she struggled to pull off her outer shirt and wrap it around the stick. “Fuck you up.”

“That’s not—” the shadow began, then screeched in shock as she lit the fabric on fire and waved her makeshift torch in the air.

Brendon grabbed Franny’s arm, yanking her back as he shoved a book into the imp’s mouth. The thick leather stuck to the sharp teeth, stretching its jaw wide open and distracting the creature as it struggled to free one of its best weapons.

“Go get the Good Wizard!” he shouted, shoving Franny toward the door.

“But I can help!”

“That would help!” Brendon snarled as he grabbed the imp by its dangling tail. It scratched at his hands frantically but couldn’t prevent him from smashing it heavily against the wall. “Now, Franny, dammit!”

She nodded and ran out of the tower, skidding to a stop as she saw Kit flailing a torch through the air. “Kitten!” she cried, then clamped a hand over her mouth as she realized she might be distracting her lover.

Kit barely glanced at her. “Franny, get out of here! Go get the Good Wizard!”

Franny didn’t know if Kit had heard Brendon say the same thing or if her fiancé and her lover were that annoyingly in tune. It made her jealous of their relationship, a feeling she didn’t have time to explore yet.

Since they’d both asked the same thing of her, it was pointless to argue. She cast one last worried look at the tower before racing through the trees.

Brendon swung the imp around, hitting it on every available surface, until he finally knocked it unconscious. If he had time, he would have tied it up with the ropes still piled on a nearby chair. The sight of them filled him with a strange, possessive rage at the idea of someone else tying Rick up.

Fueled by anger and adrenaline, he raced up the stairs, slowing down as he plunged into the solid darkness. He wanted to keep running but slipping on the stairs and breaking his neck seemed counterproductive for any rescue attempts.

Words echoed around him, the tail end of a grand speech.

“—scorned everything I offered you!”

Franny had been running for three full minutes before she realized she’d gone in the wrong direction. “Oh, gods dammit!” she screeched, turning immediately around. Except, what was the right direction? She could see the tower but no signs of the castle. Frustrated, she threw her head back and screamed.

“Oh my,” someone said behind her. “That was quite fierce, darling. Are you part banshee?”

Franny gasped and turned to see a remarkably beautiful woman with black hair liberally streaked with silver. Her dress was a deep wine color with a low neckline that exposed a generous portion of cleavage.

“I—no—what? I’m sorry,” Franny said, shaking her head. “I don’t have time—I’m looking for someone.”

“What a coincidence!” the woman exclaimed, smiling kindly. “So am I.”

Brendon reached the top of the stairs just as that booming voice shouted, “These were a gift from my wife!”

Before him stood a figure draped in black, only distinguishable from the shadows because of a circle of glowing light. Directly in the center of that circle lay Rick on a bed, glaring up defiantly as a black sword plunged down toward him.

“Rick!” Brendon cried, running forward, hand outstretched to stop the blow from landing.

“Brendon?” Rick’s eyes widened in shock.

Brendon collided with the figure, pushing him to the side. The blade swung wildly in the air as they both crashed to the ground. Though it never cut anyone, a blast of magic broke the windows, sending glass shards everywhere.

The shadows receded and the figure under Brendon thrashed around. It took him a moment to realize that he’d trapped the edges of a black cloak, effectively encasing the mage in their own costume.

“Release me, dammit!” the mage cried in irritation.

“Don’t release him!” Rick shouted.

“I wasn’t planning to,” Brendon said through clenched teeth as the mage bucked, almost throwing him off.

“Well, isn’t this quite the scene.”

Brendon froze and looked over his shoulder to the newcomer in the doorway. A strange woman gazed down at them with a mix of exasperation and amusement. Franny hovered behind her shoulder, nibbling her lower lip in concern.

The figure under Brendon also froze. Then a weak, contrite voice called out, “Sweetie, I can explain.”