Fiends and Familiars - Debra Dunbar Page 0,11
over when you’ve named them Hemorrhoid,” Cassie commented.
She had a point. “I’m hoping once the weather warms up in the spring, they’ll leave my house and head for the woods, but I’m pretty sure they’re here for the foreseeable future.”
“So they’re hanging out in your attic?” Lucien asked. “That’s not too bad other than the noise of them running around.”
Crap. Here’s where I admitted I was a total softie. “Um, they’re living downstairs. They’re actually sleeping in my bedroom,” I confessed. My sisters already knew I was weird. One more thing wouldn’t send me over the weirdness cliff in their eyes mainly because they believed I’d already gone over that edge.
“That’s gonna totally kill your sex life,” Cassie said.
As if I had a sex life.
“I’m pretty sure Drake is enough of a mood killer on his own.” I laughed. “The squirrels did ruin a really awesome sexy dream last night though. Actually, it wasn’t really their fault. That huge dog-thing was back in my front yard and they were all freaking out about it.”
“I totally want to hear about this sexy dream,” Sylvie said as she walked into the kitchen.
“Me too.” Eshu, her main squeeze, was right behind her. He had a case of beer and handed us each one before he began stacking them in the fridge.
“Please tell me you’re not going to take in the stray dog as well,” Cassie pleaded as she popped open her beer. “You’ve already got a vulture and a bunch of squirrels. Soon you’ll be sleeping on the couch and all the animals will be in the bed.”
“Ooo, Adrienne could use 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 it is a 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