AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"That's not who I think it is, is it?" He barely muffled his laughter, and I hissed at him. "Oh, yeah, babe. You have a little BO problem, know that?"
"What should we do with her?" Bruce asked.
Iris stared at me, cocking her head, and I could see the wheels turning. "Rozurial, you take her home through the Ionyc Sea. I'l head home with Bruce in the car, and we'l get her cleaned up."
She leaned down and shook her finger at me. It was tempting, but I had learned not to swat Iris while in cat form. She wasn't above scruffing me and holding me off the floor, even though she was barely four feet tal .
"Listen to me, Delilah, and I know you can understand me, so you'd better do as I say. Don't you dare turn back into yourself until we take care of this. I guarantee it wil be far worse with al six foot one of you skunked, rather than just yourself as a little pussycat. Got it?"
I stared at her and blinked. If I disobeyed her on this one, she'd have my hide. Slowly, I let out a complacent meow.
"Good. Now, Rozurial, you take her home. And I don't want to hear any fuss about it-- just do it. Honey, wil you let Camil e know where we're going?" Iris motioned to Bruce, who hurried back inside.
"I'l come with," Vanzir said to her. "I'm not al that comfortable in a tux."
"Good. I can use your help."
Roz picked me up, and I snuggled against the incubus, rubbing my chin on his chest. I had the feeling I wasn't going to like what Iris had in store for me, and I wanted comfort. Purring loudly, I gave him my best good-kitty look, and he snorted, rubbing my ears.
"Eat it up, beauty. Eat it up. Come, you'l be safe enough, just don't try to jump out of my arms." And in the blink of an eye, we leapt into the Ionyc Sea and crossed a world to travel fifteen miles.
Roz set me down outside, warning me not to enter the house until Iris had tended to me. "I'l be back in a moment to keep an eye on you, though smel ing like you do, I doubt anybody's going to be a bother."
He vanished into the studio-cum-shed that he shared with Vanzir and my cousin Shamas. With Camil e's three men staying with us now, and Bruce shacking up with Iris part of the time, we had built ourselves quite the extended family.
I tried to sniff out if there were any enemies near, but the scent of skunk infiltrated every pore. My eyes hurt, my nose hurt, my throat hurt, and I was queasy. It felt like the mother of al hairbal s was churning in my stomach. I hunched near the porch, trying to avoid being seen by any would-be heroes of the animal world.
Roz came back after awhile, dressed in a pair of skintight jeans and a muscle shirt, and he sprawled on the ground near me, on his back, staring up at the stars, his long curly hair spreading on the ground beneath him.
"Look at the sky, fuzzbal ." He ruffled my head. "Look at al the stars whirling around . . . I've walked among them, you know." His voice dropped and took on a sinuous cadence. Even in cat form, I found it soothing and seductive.
"I've danced through the aurora borealis, skated my way through the Ionyc Lands. When I was searching for Dredge, I fol owed any and every lead, wherever the wind blew me. I journeyed from the Northlands to the Southern Wastes, from Valhal a to the gates of Hel, looking for that motherfucker. I've seen so much beauty and terror in my life that you'd think nothing would faze me . . . but the stars . . . they're stil the ultimate treasure. Pristine, luminous, and always out of reach."
He rol ed over on his stomach and plucked a long blade of grass, tickling my bel y as I stretched out beside him. "I know you're worried about Chase.
But, Delilah, you have to let go, if that's what he needs. The Nectar of Life plays havoc with humans when they aren't prepared. You saved his life, but he lost something he wasn't ready to lose. His mortality--in the human sense--is a huge part of what makes humans . . . wel . . . human. When you have such a short time to live, you make the most of it. Now, you need to stand back and let Sharah help him. She knows what to do."
I knew he was speaking the truth; I just didn't want to hear it. But he was right. Camil e and Menol y had been tel ing me that for days, but coming from them, it felt like sisterly meddling instead of advice. I let out a little yowl.
"Yeah, I know you know, and I know you don't like it, but take my advice this time, okay? I understand what it means to have life ripped apart and drastical y changed."
And I knew that Roz did understand. He'd lost his family to Dredge, he'd lost his wife when Zeus and Hera decided to use them both as pawns. He'd been changed from Fae to incubus in the blink of an eye. Chase's life had been turned upside down in that same fraction of a second, though not as harshly as Roz's.
A car pul ed into the driveway. Bruce and his driver. And Iris. They jumped out, and I saw they'd brought Vanzir home, too. Probably a good thing. He wasn't the most decorous guest, and I had a feeling he'd be happier here than hanging out til late at a party where most of the guests avoided him.
Iris ran inside, and in less than ten minutes, she dashed down from the back porch, wearing a rubber apron over what I recognized as a dress she kept for the grungiest chores. She stood over me, hands on her hips.
"Wel , I don't know how you got yourself in this fix, but let's take care of you." She leaned over and scooped me up in her arms, her nose twitching. "You reek, girl. What did you say to that skunk?"
I wanted to protest-- it hadn't been my fault; I hadn't done anything. But I knew that Iris would cal me on it. Truth was, I'd invaded the skunk's territory and threatened it by pouncing.
Holding me against one hip, Iris carried me up the back steps and into the enclosed porch, where I saw something so horrible that I squirmed, desperately trying to get away: a bath ful of what looked like dark, thick water.
Iris struggled, her thick rubber gloves losing their purchase on me. The minute her grip weakened, I bolted for the door to the kitchen, which was standing open.
"Come back here! Delilah, get your fuzzy butt back here right now!"
I gal oped toward the stairs, but before I could get there, Vanzir was standing in front of me, snickering. Faster than I could blink, he reached out and snagged me up.
