Page 86 of Sugar, Spice, and Magical Midlife

“Don’t do it,” Serena warned while jerking me upright.

“Mama,” Des called behind me.

“Don’t let her die!” Ethyl pleaded.

“Only a few grains left,”MagaSagredo taunted.

“Don’t, Luciella!” Serena grasped my wrist. Looking into my eyes. “She’s trying to control you. Don’t let her!”

“I can’t let her die!” I murmured, the wand feeling too heavy in my hand. I thought I heardSignoraOscura’s laughter echoing around me.

“Time’s up!”SignoraOscura taunted.

A snap sounded above me, and a frayed piece of rope fell just a few feet away from us. I looked up to see Frederica had broken free of her bindings, no doubt with Puffy’s help, and she was climbing up the rope toward the ceiling. Ethyl transformed into a full-sized witch and flew toward the minotaur at breakneck speed. Frederica flipped upside down, her floppy dildo horns flailing.

I gasped when several robed witches flew toward Ethyl and the minotaur. Frederica fought them off, swinging at them like an ape while trying to shield herself when they hit her with firespells. Clutching my wand, I hunched over from the agonizing pain in my head.

“Kill them!”SignoraOscura screamed.

Kill Ethyl? No!!!

I felt the tremors in my bones widen and expand, and then the earth shook beneath my feet, rattling the walls. For a second, I thought that the troll had lost his battle with Taco Tuesday, but the very air around me started vibrating as debris fell around us. Frederica and Ethyl fell in front of my feet, Ethyl’s wings still buzzing, right before Serena threw another shield around us. I clung to Des as a powerful crack rent the air, followed by several screams and another giant tremor.

Rays of sunlight streaked through the smoke as the dust began to settle. The fog in my skull had lifted, though my head still hurt. Had the quake killed the succubus?

The first thing I noticed was the troll on the giant toilet, gaping at us with his pants around his ankles, an open nudie troll magazine in his hands. Whisps of clouds slowly passed over us, visible through the massive hole above his head.

Great Goddess! Had my tremors blown the roof off the Tribunal? I sure as heck hoped they didn’t bill me for the repairs.

The second thing I noticed was that several Vindicti witches were buried beneath the rubble. And standing on top of that rubble was the biggest beast I’d ever seen, a winged lion as big as a dragon with a familiar pair of golden eyes. He didn’t have a man’s face like in old husk illustrations. Other than the wings, he was all lion, with a flattened nose and razor-sharp fangs. But most shocking was that he hadSignoraOscura trapped beneath his paw.

Wait a minute. How did he get here? Had I caused that avalanche, or had he?

The succubus tried squirming out from beneath his grip to no avail. “You think by killing me you’ll get rid of the threat? Mychildren will find me a new body and summon me back from hell. You’ll never defeat the succubi!”

He let out a roar that shook the walls again, and then he pushed down on her before popping off her head with one talon.

Well, that was one way to kill a succubus. The last vestiges of my headache dissipated, and I felt as if I was waking from a dream. No, a nightmare.

I looked at the lion and he at me.

“Ric,” I breathed.

In a flash, he shifted back into a tall, tanned, and gorgeous hunk of manflesh wearing tight denim and a form-fitted t-shirt thanks to a spell that prevented shifters from appearing in all their naked glory, and he crossed over to me. “You okay?” he asked, standing close enough for me to throw my arms around him, though I still clung to my son.

I struggled to speak, much less think. I ran my tongue over the roof of my dry mouth, coated with dust. Yuk. I needed a stiff drink and a hot bath. “I-I think so.” I looked at Des. I had thought I was holding him in my arms, but no, he held me. “Are you okay, darling?”

He nodded while holding me tighter.

“When did you get free?” I asked Ric.

He gave me a curious look. “I escaped yesterday.”

Yesterday? Wouldn’t my aunt have known that? She had a network of spies, after all. Why didn’t she tell me?

“How?” I asked.

He puffed up his chest, his chin regally tilted as if he was still in lion form. “I had help breaking my bindings, and then I transformed.” He flashed a fanged grin. “The entire eastern side of the prison is rubble. There isn’t a cell strong enough to hold a sphinx.”

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