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Dair really did have a strange voice, like death on an ice-cold day, it curled around your spine as if to rip it from your body, while luring you in so you welcomed death. Only the tether to Nithe and the other two kept her grounded, as she felt them tug her backward from the precipice.
But Theus wasn’t looking at any of them as he read from the thick, creamy vellum the gorgon had slipped him. When he was finally done, his gaze rose and landed on Jezzie with unerring accuracy. A slight smile tugged at the corner of his quite lush lips.
“It looks as if Tana’s going to gain a friend. Let’s hope she’s in the mood for a surprise.”
Never had she seen a group of men look simultaneously excited and fearful as Theus passed the letter around to each of them. Whoever this Tana person was, Jezzie had a feeling they’d either get on like a house on fire or fight like banshees.
When Jezzie finally got her hands on the letter she saw it was a very brief note from Ballzy explaining he’d sent her and Nithe through, to protect them, get them to the safe point . . . yadda, yadda, yadda, complete with continuing vagueness that told her no more than she already knew and caused her curiosity to raise it’s head.
“Um, boys? I’m assuming that’s from Ballzy, yes?” Jezzie queried.
“Yes, it is. Why? Also, do I want to know why exactly you call him Ballzy? And does he actually allow it to his face? If so, how are you still here?”
“Because he was an asshole, and it bothered him, like, a lot. Yes, he did. And I guess I’m just that fucking lovable.” She winked at Novarian as she answered his questions playfully.
She was careful to keep her feelings attached to Nithe’s. Monitoring his reactions. His trauma was semi-dormant right now, too much adrenaline, too many surprises, and a fuck load of danger drowning out the voices in his head. But she felt them there, biding their time as they searched for a moment of weakness. Each time they threatened to break through, she beat them back. Now was not the time nor the place for what was to come.
“As to the why . . . If you only just received this letter, how did you know to come find us?”
Surprisingly, it was Grimm who answered.
“It is our job to monitor those who enter this realm. No one enters without our explicit knowledge. Normally we are informed directly when a prisoner is sentenced and when to expect them. Sometimes that doesn’t happen. People slip through the cracks, accidentally portal to the wrong place. Those who don’t belong are mind-wiped, and returned to where they came from.”
“We personally check each new arrival, just in case. Especially unexpected ones. We made that mistake one too many times before, and we’re still trying to rectify it,” added Thad.
“You mean we’re still paying for it, don’t you?” Dair intoned. “And at the rate it’s going, we’ll forever be on the shit list.”
“I’d even settle for less than forgiveness. I just want more than disdain.” Grimm pouted.
“Dude, we don’t deserve forgiveness. We’re fucking lucky we get disdain. It could be much worse,” Rian added, weirdly upbeat compared to the tone the others set.
“Disdain is definitely a step up from where we started, remember?” Theus reminded them.
They all shuddered in unison. Looking at each other they nodded their heads in agreement as one.
“Never again.”
Chapter 24
Shaggy pushed his chair back from the table and stood, looked at his bulky black watch, then shook his head in dismay.
“Alright fuckers, times up. I’ve already missed the first five minutes, I refuse to miss the rest. So anything else can wait until morning.” He practically ran from the room, leaving Jezzie bewildered. What sport was so important he had to be such a dick about missing five minutes?
“Why’s this game so important to Shaggy?” Jezzie asked, her curiosity piqued.
“Well, as you may have surmised, we don’t get out much, and being stuck here with these buffoons, as lovable as they are, can drive even the sanest person stir-crazy. Especially when we can’t even really tell the gorgons to fuck off,” Theus offered.
“And nobody could ever claim Grimm’s completely sane, even before coming here. I mean, have you ever heard of a one hundred percent sane hellhound?”
“He’s a hellhound? But they’re . . .” Jezzie drifted off.
“Yeah, they’re super rare, like manticore. They’re also the rightful rulers of all canine shifters, even if they pretty much let the packs manage themselves most of the time.”
“Add in the fact his kind is extremely loyal to blood and family, and the fact he’s here instead of with them . . . You can’t really blame him for being an ass half the time. Every now and then it doesn’t hurt to blow off a little steam, ya know? Time moves differently here than in any other realm, so one year for us equals roughly every twelve years everywhere else. Our earth TV reception is actually pretty shitty, and only one OtherRealm species televises their sport, but only once every two decades so you bet your ass we all want to watch it. Some of us are just nicer than others, is all.”
“So, what exactly are you guys watching then?” Jezzie asked.
Nithe chuckled behind her.
