Page 9 of Fiends and Familiars
“Ooo, Adriennecoulduse some animal action in bed,” Sylvie teased.
“Eww.” I made a face at her. “I’m not doing it with any animals. Doggy-style, yes. Doggies, no.”
“I totally picked the wrong time to come in on this conversation.” Glenda made her way through the door carrying a pie.
It smelled heavenly and I smiled, feeling completely at home here in the place I’d grown up, surrounded by my sisters and the demons who were as good as my in-laws at this point. Everyone else arrived and we all were busy preparing the meal and catching up. I didn’t say anything further about the squirrels, my dream, or the dog-thing until all the food was in the oven or on the stove and we were relaxing in the living room with beer and chips.
“So tell me about this sexy dream,” Sylvie said.
“No, tell us about these squirrels,” Ophelia chimed in.
“I want to hear more about the dog.” Babylon sighed. “I’ve always loved dogs.”
“You have always loved dogs,” Glenda said. “Remember the Schafers’ black Lab?”
I reached out and touched Babylon’s arm. She’d adored that dog and animated him after his death, but as nice as zombie Rocky was, he wasn’t the same as living Rocky. After he’d started to smell, Cassie had convinced our five-year-old youngest sister to let zombie Rocky rest, and gotten Babylon a hamster instead.
“He’s huge—like Mastiff huge,” I started. “Black fur. It’s not fluffy or smooth, but kind of wiry. He likes freeze-dried liver and rib bones—”
“Doesn’t every dog?” Hadur laughed.
“True. But this dog had weird shoulders and haunches, and huge white teeth, and glowing red eyes. And a forked tongue.”
Lucien frowned. “Sounds like a hellhound, although I don’t know why a hellhound would be eating rib bones off your front lawn.”
“Those ribs were amazing,” I countered. “And there was still a little bit of meat on them too. Any dog, or not-dog, would totally love them.”
“What if itisa hellhound?” Nash asked. “They’re dangerous and vicious.”
“I don’t think Adrienne needs to fear anything from hell,” Lucien drawled. “And the days of rogue hellhounds are long in the past. The last two thousand years, they’ve been under rule of a skilled demon.”
Cassie shrugged. “So one slipped his leash and found his way to Adrienne’s? He doesn’t sound as if he’s a danger to her, but maybe you should let this demon know one of his hounds is roaming around and scavenging for food scraps.”
“Maybe Adrienne can catch him next time and keep him in her garage for the demon to retrieve,” Babylon said.
“If there is a next time.” I thought of the way I’d yelled at the dog-thing and felt ashamed. Poor guy. I hoped he did come back so I could give him more liver treats and apologize for my behavior.
“Enough about the hound, let’s hear about the sexy dream,” Sylvie chimed in.
“After dinner,” Glenda told her. “Xavier and I made some shrimp puffs and we need everyone to taste test them.”
My stomach growled. Glenda was an amazing cook, and Xavier wasn’t bad in the kitchen either. The pair of them always had these running contests to see who could make a certain dish better, and I loved it when I got to taste test. Both shrimp puff recipes would, no doubt, be amazing, and there would be all sorts of laughing and joking over whose was best.
It was so cute how Glenda and Xavier had this friendly rivalry with each other in the kitchen. And it was especially cute to see them together, hand-in-hand and slipping each other mushy glances. I looked around the room at my sisters and their boyfriends, feeling a pang of jealousy. Being alone never bothered me before, but suddenly with nearly all of my sisters in serious relationships, I felt particularly lonely. It was just me and Babylon that were single out of the family. Babylon didn’t seem to be bothered one way or another by her single status, but as Xavier brought in the trays of shrimp puffs and Glenda playfully bumped his hip with hers, I found myself wanting what my sisters had.
The horned dude from my dream appeared in my mind and I almost laughed. Not that. That was sex, and I wanted more than sex. Besides, a sexy horned monster in a dream was a whole lot different than what I was envisioning as a life partner.
We tested the shrimp puffs, deciding that they were both equally good, then we all sat and caught up on each other’s lives until the oven buzzer sounded. Everyone sprang into action, putting the final items on the table and helping bring in the food. Once they were all seated and eating, the conversation turned to the situation in Accident.
“How are things going with the werewolf move?” Glenda asked Cassie.
Cassie grimaced. “One step forward, two back. Clinton’s group was supposed to be moved out by now, but there’s been one problem after another.”
“The word in town is the mountain’s cursed,” Nash chimed in.
Cassie snorted. “There is no curse. I’ve been up there and the only problem is that we’re trying to move a community of werewolves onto a bunch of land that hasn’t been occupied in ages.”
Bronwyn shook her head. “Even using one of my magic dousing wands to find the best spot to place a well, it took nearly a week from drilling to putting in the pump, to running the main line. And don’t get me started on trying to put in a septic field with all those rocks up there.”
