Page 30 of Dragon Her Heels

For a being without a head, Michael could heave sighs with the best of them. “I will verify you are not interfering with her races, then. I do enjoy racing, and if I am present and there is an accident, I can attend to the horse and jockey. This sort of benevolence pleases me.”

I considered the archangel with interest before hauling the first of the boxes to the garage. Lucifer snagged a box, as did Michael, making certain we could get them all inside before the skies opened. Once I had them placed on the concrete floor, I concentrated, wove my magic into a protective barrier around them, and regulated the temperature and humidity so they would be comfortable until in their new coops.

The coops would receive similar treatment, minimizing their odds of becoming ill again.

In the twenty minutes it took for me to convince the Devil and his brother I could handle a pair of coops and a bunch of rowdy pullets alone, thunder boomed and the rain fell, and I hoped Zenzi possessed the common sense to follow the other horses to their shelter.

While I waited for the weather to clear, I went to work assembling what I could of their new coops so I could get on with the rest of my day.

* * *

In retrospect, I should have conned the Devil and his brother into doing the handiwork for me. I managed to finish the job to my satisfaction, lay the magical groundwork to keep the coops safe and healthy for the birds, constructed three small coops for my three males with spare materials, used even more magic to make sure the birds would get along rather than fight each other, and otherwise confirmed I was a pushover.

Roosters would complicate my life, but I wouldn’t get rid of them despite the inconveniences.

The frizzle proved to be rather problematic; where I went, she wanted to follow. She vocalized her displeasure when I let myself out of her coop and locked her in. After making the mistake of looking the brat in the eyes, I permitted her to tail me as I went on my chores, picking her up when I wanted to hurry along.

The cows cooperated when it came time to herd them to the paddock closer to the barn, and I took the time to pet each one, as I wanted them tame when calving season came. If the cows liked me, tagging their babies wouldn’t cost me my life in addition to my sanity. In truth, I’d recruit Isaac to help weigh and tag the calves, and I might attempt to impose on Lucifer if it turned out I needed three pairs of hands rather than two. With the pullet in tow, I tended to the horses, settling Zenzi and the colt in the largest of my stalls, leaving the gate to their additional paddock open. As the other horses would complain if the newcomer got special treatment, I made certain everyone could go outside if they wanted.

Only when I finished all my chores, I returned the frizzle to her coop, ignoring her complaints and heading back inside so I could have my dinner and get some rest.

I finished washing my hands when my cell rang, and I considered flinging the damned thing into the trash. Rather than throw away the device, I checked the screen to discover the Queen of Hell wished to speak with me.

“Why me?” I wailed before swiping my finger across the glass to accept the call. “Crystal speaking.”

“Hello. My name is Darlene, and after stealing my husband’s phone, I acquired your number. He wanted to talk to you, but he’s bothered you enough today, so after I beat on him a bit, I opted to handle his business on his behalf. He’s in the corner until he decides to behave himself for a change.”

I stopped, my eyes widening at the thought of someone being able to put the Devil in the corner with the expectation of him staying there. “I see. How can I help you, Darlene?”

“Aren’t you just a polite little thing,” the woman purred. “He has some minor work tasks for you, but he hasn’t set you up with an email account yet. I need an email so I can send you the list in the meantime.”

Some problems were easier to solve than others, and I told her my email address, taking care to spell it at a stately pace. “I haven’t had a chance to set up the laptop he gave me,” I confessed. “It’s been a little busy today.”

“It sounds like it, judging from what that lout said. You rescued how many chickens?”

“Fifty-two, and apparently, I made an archangel heal them. I’m still confused about how that happened.”

“You’ll get used to them showing up and doing what they want, so try not to worry about it. Angels can’t handle imperiled innocents, and helping chickens doesn’t really hurt the balance any. He doesn’t mind when His angels get uppity now and then. Anyway, Lucy wants you to do some research into some business opportunities in Florida for him, as he would like to have a portfolio prepared when your new neighbor comes calling. As far as dragons go, yours isn’t bad. He can be taught. That’s better than the rest of them.”

“Dragons is plural,” I noted, and for the first time since the Devil had come calling, I worried. “I won’t have to deal with two dragons, will I?”

“At current count, six of them have woken up thus far. To my dismay, more will be waking up sooner than later. Only one has a reputation, but according to the idiot in the corner, that’s normal. The first one wakes up hungry, rampages a bit, and the rest are a bit more leisurely about getting out of bed, which means the wise are prepared with a herd or two of cattle to toss at them while they’re waking up. The nasty business in Georgia was necessary, alas. Try not to let it worry you.”

If she thought I wouldn’t be worrying, she was crazier than her husband, and I’d already gotten a glimpse at the Devil’s insanity. Rather than call her out, I drew a steadying breath and replied, “As long as I’m not required to feed my cattle to a dragon, this is fine.”

“Your pets are fine,” she assured me. “The dragons can afford their feeding bills, I promise. How is the little colt you rescued doing?”

“Zenzi is taking good care of him from the looks of it. When I brought them in for the night, he seemed lively.” I would have a lot of work ahead of me taming the beast, but I held some hope the loaned mare would teach him his manners before I started earnest work with him. “Are you someone I can talk to about a small issue?”

“Sure. What do you need?”

“Did Lucifer make any progress on registering my colt?”

“He did. The previous owner put up a fuss, but the paperwork has been filed. The colt’s registration name is Long Shot Once in a Blue Moon, as the asshole doesn’t see any value in the horse. I recommend that you call him Moon for his barn name. For the record, that’s the name picked after Lucifer started posturing and making promises about what would happen if the idiot gave that poor foal a shitty name.”

Did drama follow Lucifer like a demented puppy—or worse, my frizzle? “Please thank him for me. If you could email me with the registration information so I can track it, that would be appreciated. After dumping a colt without even trying to find him a nurse mare, I don’t trust him.”

“I wouldn’t trust him, either. But don’t you worry about that waste of air. Lucy promised a rather long and extended visit to the dungeons should he try anything. Moon is yours, and that’s that.”