he vanished just as he’d done before.
I slammed the window back down, still pissed off that my dream had been interrupted. Would it continue if I went back to sleep? Probably not. With my luck I’d have a dream about rolling in sticker bushes, or finding one of Drake’s roadkill dinners in my fridge. Glancing at the clock I realized it was three in the morning—far too early for me to get up, especially on my day off. Climbing back into bed, I bundled the sheets and blankets up around me. That’s when I realized something.
I was naked. Why was I naked? I’d been wearing pajamas when I went to bed.
Sitting up, I flicked on the light. My pajamas were crumpled and across the room on the floor. Chuckling, I got up and put them back on.
“That must have really been an amazing dream if I stripped down while asleep,” I said to myself.
Getting back into bed and turning off the light, I lay there for a while, trying to go to sleep. I’d been kind of nasty to that dog-thing. True, he’d woken me out of a really good dream, but it’s not like he’d known that. It hadn’t been his fault. And I had kind of encouraged him to come back by feeding him and putting the bones out for him. Sighing, I rolled over and resolved to be nice to the dog-thing if he returned. If he was here in the morning, I’d give him breakfast. Maybe I’d even invite him to stay. Might as well. I had a vulture and four squirrels in my house. One big dog-thing wouldn’t make much of a difference.
Chapter 3
Typhon
Yeth stood before me on his rear legs, a long line of drool hanging from his jowls.
“Master, I went to the address you gave me and picked up the scent. He was there. He definitely was there.”
“Was?” Had I lost him again after searching for so long?
“I searched the area and found nothing but a human woman. I traced his scent and discovered that he’d left in a conveyance, so I began to search the city, using the distinctive odor of the conveyance. It smelled of dead things, of creatures, of human and greasy take-out food.”
I nodded, waiting for Yeth to continue. That bastard Faust wouldn’t escape me this time.
“There was a dwelling…it smelled strongly of the conveyance, but not of the soul you seek, but as I was checking the house, the conveyance arrived—and I smelled him. I sensed him. He’s there. He’s hiding, but I felt the brush of his essence. He’s there.”
“Is this my torture?” The soul next to me moaned. “To stand here while you both yammer on about vehicles smelling of greasy take-out food?”
The damned, they were so impatient. Turning away from Yeth, I unscrewed the cap from a bottle of milk and sniffed it. Ugh. It was so horribly spoiled that there were chunks floating in it. Perfect.
“Well, why is my lost soul not here?” I asked Yeth. “You sensed him. Why did you not bring him to me?”
Yeth eyed the milk, sniffed it, then made a gagging noise. “I…I wasn’t able to retrieve him, Master. He is there, though. I am positive he is there.”
I handed the milk jug to the human soul I was torturing. “Drink this, then get on the treadmill.” He knew better than to argue. The soul chugged down the chunky milk as quickly as he could then shuddered. “Hurry it up. No dawdling. Get on that treadmill.” The soul groaned, but did as I said. I turned the machine on, then cranked it up all the way. Once the soul started retching as he ran, I turned back to Yeth.
“Then go back and get him. What’s the delay? I’ve waited for centuries. I don’t want to wait any longer.”
“Ummm.” Yeth dropped down onto four legs. “There was a woman.”
I frowned. “So? Remain invisible to the human eye, and go bring me my lost soul.”
Yeth stared at the ground. “That woman…I don’t think she’s a regular human.”
The soul on the treadmill made a heaving noise. “Don’t you puke. You puke and it’s another quart of spoiled milk.” I pointed a finger at Yeth. “What in the third circle are you talking about? What woman? And what do you mean she’s not a regular human?”
“The one who owns the house where he is. I don’t think she’s totally human. And she’s got a really big pet bird. I mean seriously big. It’s