It was at that moment that a small black creature with a bullet shaped head appeared beside Nissim. “And who are you to speak for the other peoples of our world?” he whined.

Nissim looked down, and instantly became annoyed. “Begone, Imp! The decision is already made.”

“By Trolls and Elves,” protested the creature. “You didn’t ask our opinion.” The other Imps murmured their agreement. “We want an Imp to go, too.”

“No,” answered Nissim. “You only came to see what kind of trouble you could start. Your opinion was not asked, because it was not wanted. Now, begone, I say!” Nissim tried to backhand the Imp, but the creature disappeared in a small puff of smoke. The other Imps disappeared just after him.

Jael and Dagan both approached Nissim. “It may not have been wise to anger an Imp, son,” said Jael.

“He could be trouble in the future,” warned Dagan.

“It’s best to deal firmly with their kind,” answered Nissim. “Imps have never been anything but trouble, to anybody.”

Just then, the Imp reappeared; this time, standing on Nissim’s shoulders, and leaning over his head to look him in the eye, though he was looking upside down. “One thing’s for certain,” he said, “We’ll be trouble for you. See you soon, Nissy.” The Imp disappeared again, just in time for the butt of Jelena’s spear to smack Nissim’s head, rather than the Imp.

Jelena dropped her spear, horrified, and instantly knelt before Nissim. “Lord Nissim! My apologies! Please forgive me, my Lord! I promise it will never happen again!” Jelena was red faced, and looking down.

Nissim, rubbing his head, looked at Harbin, who still had the same stoical look on his face. He looked back to Jelena, and helping her to stand, he said, “There’s nothing to forgive, Jelena. You couldn’t have known he’d disappear like that, any more than you could have known he’d appear in the first place.”

Jelena smiled awkwardly, still redfaced, and bowed her head slightly as she backed away. “Thank you, Lord Nissim.” She backed up a little further, squatted to pick up her spear, and kept backing up, until Harbin reached out a hand to stop her. Jelena jumped at Harbin’s touch, and reaching behind her to smack his hand away, she bowed again quickly, and repeated, “Thank you, Lord Nissim.”

Nissim and Jael exchanged goodbyes, as did Dagan, Jelena, and Harbin, though Dagan never mentioned that he was leaving his children behind as well. After this, the Trolls and Elves departed for the Triangle. Nissim watched until the last one disappeared through the fog, and Jelena and Harbin stood close behind him, to either side, watching with him.

When they were all gone, Nissim turned to Officer Bradbury, and smiling warmly, said, “Now, how about showing me to your mayor’s office?”

Officer Bradbury had taken his hat off, and was rubbing the back of his neck again, wondering at everything he’d seen. At Nissim’s request, he was all movement. He snapped his hat back on his head, and said, “Yes sir! Right this way. You can ride in my car, sir.” Nissim, Jelena, and Harbin followed Bradbury to his car. The other officers started getting back in their cars, and backing away from the rubble of Main Street. They turned down various side streets, and headed back to the police station. Everyone had paperwork to fill out, and they all hoped that everything else would be quiet until sunrise.

.

Story and characters owned by Chris Bishop, copyright 1997, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022.

Thanks for stopping in! :^D

@cbishop: Any reason for the itallics other than emphasis?

@4donkeyjohnson: In this story, just emphasis. Where that is concerned, I may have read too many comic books. ;)

In some other stories, I also use italics for thoughts. I don't see it done very much anymore, but when I was growing up, it was a common way to show a character's thoughts in prose.

Is it too distracting? I honestly couldn't decide.