asks, lookin’ completely bothered to find us standin’ here.
“Strut, good to see you as always,” Alder says dryly. “We’re here to talk to your bosses.”
Strut takes another moment to look over us with bored derision before steppin’ aside. “Fine. Second floor, fourth door on the left. Do not track dust into the house.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Flint says, clappin’ him on the back as he moves aside for us to pass. The male glares at Flint unflinchingly before movin’ his gaze over to me.
I’m not sayin’ I run a little to catch up to Alder, but...okay, yeah, I do. This butler guy is an asshole. And scary. I definitely wouldn’t wanna find myself in this mansion alone with him, that’s for sure. Especially if I accidentally tracked in any dust.
As soon as my feet hit the stairs, I start rubber neckin’. The inside of this place is just as pristine and opulent as the outside. There’s an old-world elegance to it, and the size alone leaves me dumbfounded. We could probably pile up every damn trailer in the trailer park, and they would all fit in the space of this mansion. I don’t know how Delta and her Guardians don’t get lost in this place.
“Well, at least we know they’re here,” Alder muses as he leads the way ahead.
“Yeah, which means they’ve just been ignoring our calls. Dicks,” Flint says at my side.
Alder nods in agreement, and I open my mouth to ask how many times they called these Guardians, but at the sound of voices, the words die in my throat.
“Fuck!” The feminine shout makes all three of us falter on the last steps of the stairway. We share a look as murmurs of more people speakin’ filter into my ears.
“Should we...wait?” I whisper nervously.
It sounds like someone is pissed or maybe arguin’. We could be walkin’ in on them at a bad time, and we’re totally unannounced.
Alder and Flint hesitate a moment.
“Find who?” someone asks, this time, a different female’s voice.
“Come on,” Alder murmurs, and the three of us start makin’ our way down the hall. The closer we get to the door, the faster my heart starts beatin’.
My ears are strainin’ to hear what they’re sayin’, even though I know it’s rude to listen in on someone else’s conversation. But I swear I hear someone say my name. My footsteps stutter a bit, but then the guys start to pick up their pace, and I have to hurry to catch up as chills crawl over my skin.
“...guess is that Morax is going to go after her just like he did with you.”
I hear the tail end of those words spoken by the same feminine voice who first shouted, and my worried gaze shifts over to Flint. He reaches down and gives my hand a comfortin’ squeeze.
As soon as we reach the room where the voices are comin’ from, I hear, “What the fuck, Nefta?”
The three of us stop in the open doorway, and I suddenly feel so damn country standin’ here in their mansion in my frayed shorts and sneakers, purposely eavesdroppin’.
Alder and Flint don’t look awkward or nervous though. Nope, they look pissed. “Yes, what the fuck is exactly what we were thinking too,” Alder says, makin’ everyone in the room jerk around at the sound of his voice.
A girl around my age with bright violet hair and matchin’ wings spins around, her gray eyes sweepin’ over us. She’s got four hot-as-sin demons standin’ around her. My guess is that this is the famous Delta.
“Alder, what are you doing here?” a large blue demon with horns asks as he takes a step toward us.
Alder answers, but I don’t hear what he says, because my eyes are fixed on Probably-Delta’s face. There’s somethin’ strangely familiar about her.
“Who are you?” she asks curiously, starin’ straight at me.
I swallow and then give an awkward wave, because I don’t know what the hell else to do, and I’m feelin’ a little guilty for bargin’ in here like this with no warnin’. “Umm. I’m Medley Bell.”
The moment my words come out, it’s like I dropped a bomb in the middle of their rich room. Every single one of them flinches, and Probably-Delta’s face drains of all color as she gapes at me like she’s starin’ at a ghost. “Holy fuck.”
“No fucking way,” a blond guy next to her says. He looks pretty human, but then again, so do I. “Did we summon her somehow?” he asks, his features and tone bewildered.