Page 145 of Demons Dig Donuts

IN

“Excellent! He’s home.” Nyp hummed cheerfully as he opened the door and walked through to the sunny beach. He had a skip in his step as he led them toward the big pinecone house. “Coffee will be so much fun! We can catch up. Gossip! I was honestly wondering if you were ever going to answer my calls—”

“It’s almost as if I don’t like you,” Mr. Heiss grumbled.

“What? C’mon.” Nyp laughed. “We’ve been friends for years!”

“Oh, this is nice!” Gammy looked all around with wide eyes. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been to Faerie. Aw, look at the sand! Oh, the waves! I can’t even remember the last time I went to the beach. We should go to the beach. Back home, I mean.”

“I don’t think I can bring a TV to the beach,” Indy teased.

“We can watch things on your phone, can’t we?”

“Yeah, but—”

“Quiet.” Mr. Heiss grabbed Indy’s shoulder, stopping him a few yards away from the house.

“Ow, what?” Indy squirmed. “What’s wrong?”

“Stay here.”

“Oh, the fuck I think not!” Indy tried to step forward, but his feet melted into the sand and secured him in place. “Asshole!” He teetered forward and had to catch himself on his hands. “What is going on?”

Mr. Heiss stalked ahead toward the house, and it was then that Indy realized the front door was wide open. He strained to see more, but he couldn’t make out anything from his current view stuck there on the sand.

Nyp was right behind Mr. Heiss like a dumb puppy, but he cringed once they reached the front porch. “Oh… Well, that’s not good.”

“No shit.” Mr. Heiss pulled out his phone, turning away with a sour scowl.

“What’s not good? No shit what? What the hell is happening?” Indy groaned in frustration when no one would answer him. “Hey! Gammy! A little help?”

“Right! Of course, sweetie cakes.” Gammy drew a circle in the sand around each of Indy’s feet. She rubbed her hands together and clapped, and the sand dissolved away.

“Thanks!” Indy scrambled into a standing position so he could catch up with the others. He pushed his way past Nyp, but Mr. Heiss blocked him from going any farther. He didn’t understand why until he saw Misingno.

Well, what was left of him anyway.

Misingno was sprawled on the floor in the middle of his doorway, surrounded by a thick pool of black blood. His arms, legs, and head had been ripped from his body, and his limbs were scattered around his torso.

Indy had been about to step on his head.

“The twins need to know about this,” Mr. Heiss said gravely. “It is no small feat to kill a fae.”

“Guess somebody else had the same idea to come ask him about the dream juice stuff,” Indy mumbled.

“It is more likely they were trying to tie up a loose end.”

“By killing a member of the royal family?” Gammy had simply floated through them all to stand over on the other side of Misingno’s body “That seems rather silly.”

Nyp poked his head around Mr. Heiss. “A member of the what?”

“The royal family!” Gammy waved her hand. “Misingno Enigmatica is the eldest son of King Zolrya and The First Man of Bronze Talos.”

“They have children?”

“They have quite a few, as I recall.”

“Absolis and Vilanos are two of them, right?”