Page 3 of The Party

Mae scowled at the gargoyles. “Why, I ought to come up there and teach you guys a lesson!”

“Oh-oh,” Gargoyle Number One mumbled uneasily. “Crazy witch is about to go on a rampage.”

Hellreaver snickered. Brimstone started wheezing.

“What’s going on here?”

They turned.

A Jeep Cherokee had stopped next to their vehicle.

A pretty brunette and a young man with dark hair and curious blue eyes climbed out of it.

“Hi, Mila,” Mae greeted.

Nikolai dipped his head.

Mila Jackson’s expression cleared. “Hey, it’s great to see you guys again. Why are you—?” She froze at the sight of the gargoyles atop the pillars. Her face turned weary. “Gerry, Larry, what did we tell you about loitering on Artemus’s gates?”

“You said not to do it,” Gargoyle Number Two replied sullenly.

Nikolai’s lip curled. “Gerry and Larry?”

The guy with Mila grinned. “Man, Artemus is gonna have a cow when he finds out about this.” He took his cellphone out and started texting someone.

Gargoyle Number One looked at him with mounting dread.

“And why did we say not to do it, Gerry?” Mila asked patiently.

“Because Artemus will go apeshit, shift into his angel mode, and rain down terror upon all and sundry with his heavenly blade,” came the low sullen mumble.

Mila shuddered. “We all know how that ended last time, so how about you guys be good gargoyles and return to Hell? FYI, I’m sure Astarte will be thrilled when she finds out you sneaked inside the portal after her.”

“The Goddess is not here,” Larry confessed. “Vozgan let us through.”

Brimstone brightened. Vozgan is here?

Hellreaver hummed happily.

They’d become friends with the helldragon after meeting him in the underworld a few months back.

Mila frowned. “That overgrown lizard is going to get his tail whipped by Artemus if he’s not careful.”

This Artemus guy sounds like he has a short fuse, my witch, Brimstone said skeptically.

Yeah. Hellreaver sniffed. We already have one unhinged witch in our lives. We don’t need any more lunatics.

Mae’s mouth pressed to a thin line.

“What’d they say this time?” Nikolai asked warily.

The guy with the cellphone spoke before Mae could reply.

“Serena has a message for you two,” he told the gargoyles with a grin. “You have sixty seconds to scram before she comes down here and kick your ass.”

Larry and Gerry traded a troubled glance. They turned with a torturous creak of stone of stone and climbed down the pillars into the estate.

“Come, Gerry. Let’s go say hello to Martha,” Larry rumbled.

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