Flying. Check.
Cloaking. Check.
Crawling into the minds of other Demons? Only one way to find out . . .
Peeking out the window I focused on the strongest looking one I could find and I slid in. Bingo. He was bored and was attracted to the male guard named Tony to his right. He knew Tony was seeing a woman, but felt that with his skills he could turn Tony . . .
I slipped right back out. TMI. Next experiment . . . I willed my sparkling black gloves to appear. I did need to find my inner-angry-bitch to do it, but she was readily available. However my inner-slut had all but disappeared. Thank God, because Ethan was nowhere in sight. Closing my eyes I silently commanded the gloves to disappear. They did. Score. Grabbing the little book and shoving it in my back pocket in case I needed it I cloaked myself in invisibility and stepped outside.
No movement from the guards I could see. I was sure there were many that I couldn’t see so I planned to stay invisible until I found my babies and had to reveal myself. Then I’d cloak their in-trouble little asses and bring them home. Wait. This was not my home. I’d bring them back to Dixie’s.
I easily walked right past the guards and through the manicured yard. The uncanny resemblance to Kentucky was bizarre. The flowers and trees and rolling hills were lovely and strangely familiar. Did it look this way to everyone or was it an illusion catering to the likes and needs of those it hosted? What the hell did it matter to me? I planned to do whatever I had to do to help out and then leave. Permanently.
Slowing my pace, I tried to detect the energy of my babies. I concentrated and let my mind wander . . . I sensed them, but they weren’t nearby. The thread of energy was distant and weak, although it was stronger to the north. Moving quickly through the overgrown grass on the outskirts of my cousin’s property, I felt the connection to my little Demons increase. I’d probably travelled several miles away from Dixie’s house before the terrain went from manicured-lovely to wild-beautiful.
The scent of the grass tickled my nose and I giggled. No one would ever believe me if I told them how stunning Hell was. Running toward the energy, I froze when I saw a free-standing door approximately twenty feet ahead. What was a door doing in the middle of a field? It stood about eight feet tall and was made of intricately carved wood. The shiny black lacquer finish glistened in the sun and the handle looked as if was encrusted with jewels. Was that a portal? There was no fucking way it could be this easy.
Approaching slowly in case it was a trap I moved closer. I kept myself cloaked and levitated off the grass so I didn’t accidentally rustle anything on the ground. The air on either side of the door shimmered and moved in the gentle breeze. Was something there? I couldn’t tell. I floated around the door. It truly was freestanding. There was nothing but grass behind and all around it . . . and it was making me horny. My nipples hardened and a tingling started low in my abdomen. What was happening here? Was the door a succubus? Could an inanimate object be a succubus? When had I lost my mind and thought humping a door might be a good idea? I realized it wasn’t the door I want to do the horizontal mambo with and I heaved a huge sigh of relief, but what was it?
The aroma of freshly baked brownies accosted my nose and . . . Brownies? No way.
I needed to become corporeal if I wanted to open the door, but was unsure if the owners of the brownie scent would be happy to see me.
“General George Patton? Bambi? Is that you?” I whispered, hoping to God I wasn’t attracted to them. “It’s me, Astrid. I’m Dixie’s cousin and she said you wouldn’t, you know, um . . . eat me because we have the same . . . ”
They materialized and I screamed. They were heinous. I hadn’t remembered the Hell Hounds being quite so big. Moving away slowly while keeping my eyes on them, I debated on whether or not to run or hump them. Please tell me I didn’t just consider humping Hell Hounds . . . Their eyes narrowed and they lifted their bulbous snouts in the air.
“Astrid, it’s lovely to see you again,” a deep goofy male voice said. Neither one of the Hell Hounds mouths moved. I whipped around to find the owner, but no one was there.
“It’s me, General George,” the voice huffed. “I speak through my eyebrows.”
WTF?
“You have eyebrows?” I asked, stepped closer and noticed the bushy wiry tufts of hair above his beady eyes.
“Yep. All Hounds speak through the brows.”
He was right. They bounced in rhythm with his words. Bizarre.
“If you talk with your eyebrows, what do you do with your mouth?”
“Eat pizza and destroy those that threaten the life of my master.”
“Right.” As much as I was repulsed by the duo, my inner slut was telling me a different story. Shit. This was not happening.
“Um, I was wondering where this door led. Do you know?” I asked, dying to run my hands over my breasts. I slapped them to my sides and held on to my pants. I wasn’t attracted to them last night. Why was I attracted to them now?
“Are you okay?” Bambi’s eyebrows asked me in a high squeaky voice.
“Not really,” I whispered. “Do you guys feel anything weird?”
“Always,” General George told me. “Why? What are you feeling?”
Truth or dare? If I came clean and they felt the same way this could be a clusterfuck of massive proportions. Pun intended. But if I lied would they know?
“I’m, um . . . ” I wrung my hands and cursed Satan for making me stay in Hell. There was no way I could tell animals that I thought I wanted to do the nasty with them, no matter how much they smelled like brownies. Omission is not lying. “I lost something important to me and I was looking for it.”