Chapter 8

                                    

                                          
Douxie glanced around the room uneasily, eyes flitting from person to person. He counted at least three head secretaries for the generals, two of which were not doing a very good job of hiding their constant glances at Carter. One scientist standing at their commander's side, and his assistant, whose gaze also seemed to be drawn towards the lone demigod. Douxie subtly shuffled closer to him in the crowded room. Archie sat between their feet, hiding easily in the crowd of soldiers. 
	Carter was tense next to him, jaw grit and eyes calculating as he looked around. He could feel their gazes on him. He knew they weren't what they appeared to be. "Three." He whispered. "Three blood-thirsty little pricks who can't find someone else to pick on."
	Douxie found his hand, squeezing it gently. "Stay calm. They can smell fear."
	Carter whipped his head towards him, eyes wide. "Are you serious?"
	"Unfortunately he is." Archie's voice rang in their heads. "I can smell the fear on you, Carter. Take a deep breath. Calm down."
	Carter took in a rattling breath, closing his eyes and trying to settle his nerves. His palms were sweaty, but Douxie still held tight to his hand. He started counting to ten under his breath, then slowly let it out. "I'm good. I'm fine."
	"You're okay." Douxie whispered. "They won't attack you in this crowded of a room. They'll wait until you're alone."
	"And luckily," said Archie. "They don't know you can defend yourself well enough without Douxie's assistance."
	Carter mentally sighed very loudly. His frustration flooded Douxie's brain through the mind-link. "Three against one aren't very good odds. Even for me."
	"Three against three." Archie corrected. "We won't leave your side."
	Carter smiled appreciatively, though in the low light of the war tent, you really couldn't see it. He didn't say anything else, just fixed his attention on their commanding officer, who was laying out the attack plan. It was going to be bloody, and there were going to be losses. But if they did this right, they would be one step closer to winning the war.
*~*
Douxie hovered by Carter as they got ready to leave. Anxiety pounded in his stomach as he looked around, catching the eye of one of the secretaries from earlier. She scowled at him, but didn't do much else. Her eyes flit hungrily to Carter for a split second before she turned sharply on her heel and walked away. Douxie let out a breath. 
"Nervous much?" Carter joked, slinging his pack over his shoulder.
"Very." Douxie looked over his shoulder one more time before following Carter to the line up trucks that were waiting for them. "I've got a bad feeling, love. Something isn't right here."
Carter spared him a glance. His expression was calm and collected, but his eyes betrayed him. He was terrified. "We'll be fine."
Douxie doubted he even believed that himself. "How are you so sure?"
Carter shrugged, loading his bag into the back of one of the trucks before swinging up into it. He held his hand out to help Douxie in. "Am I ever?"
Douxie snorted, taking his hand. "No."
"Exactly." He found a seat against the wall of the vehicle. "If worse comes to worse, you could always just," he wiggled his fingers.
It took Douxie a moment to realize he was miming magic. He rolled his eyes, swatting his hand away. "I told you multiple times why I can't."