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“They are definitely mine, and one thing’s for sure, Bez, I missed out on a wonderful childhood. Could you imagine all the Hell they would have raised down here?” he chuckles.
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Bez mumbles.
“Aww. Here we are. This is the Lilith section,” Astaroth says, stopping in front of an alcove that’s eight bookcases wide and two tall. Well, that ain't too bad.
Astaroth reaches for a book and pulls on it, releasing an audible click. He smirks before pushing the bookcase in and slipping through the doorway.
I take it back; this is Rez’s wet dream and my worst nightmare.
The floor is set up with little nooks and places to lie down and read. Soft pillows decorate every surface except for the one table in the middle with a couple of plush chairs. Looking up, the book stacks continue up to the same height as the ones in the normal library outside of this hideaway. Fairy lights twinkle, giving off a soft magical glow. If it wasn’t for all the books ruining the atmosphere, this would be a great place to get hot and sweaty with my woman.
If I brought her here, she would be more interested in the books than me, though. Don’t judge me; it’s happened before. It wasn’t even her girl porn books that I was shut down by, some kind of magical world that she got lost in, and I got nothing. Now that I think about it, I think Jillian would have skinned me alive if I would have done anything with Rez then.
My jaw drops as the thought of Jillian hits me. When Jillian was murdered, we went to live with her grandparents, but now that I think about it, we never brought up how she died. Why didn’t we ever talk about her to Rezzi’s grandmother? Isn’t that odd? Not once did we mention it to them, or ask her to look into Jillian’s death.
‘Rezzi, I need to ask you something!” I yell, and I hear her yelp in surprise.
‘Can it wait? I almost just got skewered by Murmur. I promise you’ll have all my attention tonight,’ she calls back.
‘Ugh. Yeah. I was just wondering why we didn’t ask Grams or Pops about your mother’s murder. Isn’t that weird?’ I ask, not at all waiting as she wanted.
‘Huh. Yeah, it is. I guess that’s something we’ll have to ask them when we get back to Earth. Dammit. I gotta go. This blue-balled Demon is yelling at me to get my head in the game,’ she tells me.
‘His balls? Now, why does he get to show you his balls and you always yelled at me when I tried?’ I whine.
‘It’s not his ballsack, Lynx… He’s throwing balls at me. Think of dodgeball, but with blue balls that fucking hurt! Fuck! I gotta go!’ I feel her push against the link with urgency, and I finally get the point.
Tuning back into my surroundings, I listen to the last part of Lilith explaining where she believes the book might be, and I try not to die of boredom.
“So let me guess, we’re all supposed to spend all our waking moments reading through these books, trying to find something about portals and not fall asleep,” I ask with a yawn.
Lucifer smiles in my direction. “Not exactly. So you don’t die of boredom, we’ll be dividing your time between reading and training.”
“I think I got my shifting down, Hoss. No need for training,” I wink at the big scary Pride Demon.
Bez throws back his head and lets out a hefty laugh, making me and everyone besides Lucifer and Lilith jump. I think I just peed a little. Forget his scary posture, glare, or his constant playing with fire. Have the fucker laugh, and you too will immediately want to run out the door.
“Not that type of training. Now, you’ll be training with me and Lucifer.” Bez smiles, and my asshole puckers as I try to shift away.
“Bez and I will join in with training while all of us rotate through and search the books. Since you are here for an extended stay, it’s best to be trained up. Hell isn’t the most hospitable place, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. If you’re trained properly, we won’t have to watch out for you. We might as well start searching while lunch is being prepared,” Lucifer says before walking down an aisle and grabbing a book off the shelf. Everyone follows his lead, but I grab Levi’s attention.
“Hey, Levi. Can I have a minute?” I ask, trying to taper down my nerves. I’m a little embarrassed to ask, but he’s the only one I know that can help me.
“Sure. What can I help you with, Lynx?”
“Um. I was wondering if you happen to have any BC potion I could use? You know,” I fumble and run my fingers through my hair. Fuck, why is this so hard for me? I’ve dreamed about this chance for years and never thought it would happen. I admit, I’m nervous, and a part of me is scared that Rez won’t want to cement our bond since we are such good friends. Ugh!
Levi smiles and saves me from further embarrassment. “Say no more. I have a fresh batch, and I have a few extra vials in my room. Feel free to take one. It’s in the right night stand,” he says and heads back toward the Parlor where everyone else is going, but I have a better idea.
Now that I have my memory back and feel as if the bindings that were once holding my magic are gone, I want to do what I’m good at. Question is, what’s the best version to get around here as. Just as I think it, Reaper comes running down the hallway chasing a rodent.
Perfect! But first, I need to take my birth control meds.
* * *
I don’t know how in the world this hellhound functions with this weapon of mass destruction. I swear, it has a mind of its own. As a Storm Shifter, I’m blessed with not only being able to shift into whatever animal I want, but I’m also able to take on their abilities. Unfortunately, that means taking on Reaper’s damn uncooperative tail. You know those old books that were written back in the late 1990s, the Animorphs? I swear, Katherine and her hubby had met a damn Storm Shifter and decided to write about them. They just made them aliens, painted them blue, and voilà—animorphs. Granted, we’re rare, but it doesn’t mean we are extinct.
I was going to snoop around the mansion and maybe delve into Lucifer’s secrets, but another scent drew my attention. Trometh. My gut hasn’t failed me yet, and it’s telling me he’s a rat. I decide to follow his scent and see what he’s really up to. Imagine my surprise that it leads outside. It’s pretty easy to slip out of Lucifer’s mansion, but it’s a different story to leave without tripping his ward. After rounding around the premises, I do find a weakened point in the barrier to slip through and head down the road, picking up Trometh’s scent once again and finding the path that leads to this mysterious Crucible. I need to tell L.A.M.B. about that spot I squeezed through. It looks like someone has been picking at it for some time. With Trometh’s stench being strong there, I can only guess who’s been doing it, but I’ll wait until I come back.
