I trotted and sneezed my way back to where Lore waited for me. When his eyes met mine they twinkled with amusement. Seriously, here I was working my butt off, and he was entertained that I died! The urge to punch his gorgeous face practically overwhelmed me. I satisfied my desire by sauntering up and violently sneezing on his shoulder.

  The horrified look on his face made dying almost worth it.

  I laughed maniacally as he darted back towards the respawn point.

  That was so funny I had to do it again! With a smirk plastered on my face, I ran after him. He turned a corner. I followed. The tunnel appeared empty, but I could feel eyes upon me.

  “Lore,” I said. “Ahchoo! Get back here!”

  He didn’t reply. I continued forward.

  From out of nowhere elegant masculine hands shielded my eyes without touching my skin.

  “Got you. Now you’re dead.” I hadn’t noticed before, but his husky voice sounded like velvet and sin. Chills ran down my spine, and not in the "I'm scared" way. My gutter-mind spun into all sorts of directions I needed it to not go. Like, ever. I mean, this was Lore who was probably a classic “love’em and leave’em” bard. He was not boyfriend material, not that I was looking for one. No, what Lore was, was one hell of a seductive bard.

  I cleared my throat and felt pressure in my sinuses. I used my sleeve to cover my nose and mouth.

  He released me just before I sneezed again. I turned to look at him.

  “And why exactly did you attack me with your germs?”

  “To wipe that amused look off your face. Dying fucking hurts, you know?”

  The smile in his eyes disappeared, replaced by deep shadows. “Oh, I am aware.” He gestured towards the mining cave. “Ready?”

  I sighed. “Yeah.” Another unwelcome sneeze burst from me. “Ugh! I hate sneezing!”

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  We only just started walking when I stopped and turned to him. My eyes bulged. “Wait a second. How the hell did you hide from me? That tunnel had, like, zero good spots.”

  He gifted me with a smug smirk and kept going.

  “You’re also blue and white in a dark cave. You shouldn’t be able to hide from anything.”

  His chuckle didn’t give me the answer. He kept walking. I ground my teeth and jogged after him.

  “So,” he said, obviously changing the subject. “With the death penalty you earned, your ability to stealth is ruined. Do you have a plan to kill more rats?”

  We reached the ledge above the miners, and I peered down to see the changes made to the group in the aftermath of my attack. The enforcer and the grunt rat were now closer to the wall. They searched their surroundings with diligence.

  When an awesome stupid idea popped into my head I smirked. “Well.” I backed up a few yards. “Why don’t you watch?”

  I drew my swords and cast Add Air onto them. I crossed my arms to cast invisibility then bolted for the end of the ledge. As I pushed myself forward, I aimed my body at the armored rat. As my body went into freefall a rush of adrenaline hit me. I neared the rodent, lifted my swords and then plunged them down into its thick skull. His head burst like a watermelon. A fresh meat and old sock scent filled the air. It also splattered all over me. Gross.

  As we both tumbled down the ground flew toward me. Pain shot up my legs and arms. I screamed. My vision dimmed.

  I had about a third of my health left but at least the rat under me was dead.

  I skimmed the prompt as I tried to recover. A pinprick jabbed into my back and two burning points brushed my neck. Warm sticky liquid drenched my sweater. I couldn't breathe... until I sneezed.

  I rolled forward and turned to face a grunt rat and one of the miners who wielded a pickaxe.

  Wait! A miner was attacking me now? What the actual fuck? Seriously, the gall of this guy! I speared it in the heart. It let out a monstrous screech. A billion nails scratched my eardrums. I pressed my wrists to the sides of my head as if I could make the agony stop. The creature collapsed and died. But the ringing in my ears just began.

  I turned just in time to have a trident miss my face. Surprised, I jumped back. I blew on my swords to cast Add Air again then charged the last motherfucker, a grunt. I aimed at its eyes and buried my blades in. It squeaked and jerked my swords out of its head taking its eyes with it. Ewww! Unfortunatly, while it looked like it was almost dead, it still had a little life left in it.

  Its two front incisors glinted in the green light just before its teeth plunged into my neck. It must have caught an artery because blood splattered over the rat and everything, really. while still in its mouth, I struggled, but that made the pain worse.

  Then someone turned off the lights.

  As I appeared near the entrance, I growled. Then I sneezed. When I took a step, I winced with pain.

  “Arg!” I stomped my foot and immediately regretted my decision as the nonexistent rock dug painfully into the soft arch of my foot. “And you. Prompt thingy. Stop interrupting my fights. If you have something to tell me, let me know after I’m out of battle!”

  I sighed. “If it’s absolutely necessary to my survival go ahead, but if it’s just damage explanations or level ups on skills then save it for later.”

  Sheepfarmer's Daughter (Paksenarrion Series Book 1) by Elizabeth Moon. They are both fantastic series.