Page 71 of Dragon Her Heels

“I am confident in my abilities to punt his annoying ass in the direction of his castle once he’s used up the permissible whining time he is owed as my boss. But after fifteen minutes, he best have a legitimate reason to be fussing.”

Both dragons eyed me, and Saurrel snorted, tendrils of smoke rising from his nostrils. “Do you plan on telling him he has a fifteen minute time limitation?”

“No. He’s smart. If he can’t figure out he’s getting punted into the lake after a consistent period of scolding, that’s his problem rather than mine.”

Isaac giggled. “Living here is going to be so much fun. Ashley will be at work until four. Do you think she’ll mind if we just mysteriously relocate everything she owns here today?”

“Pick a room or three for storage near the suites you want, and we’ll figure out where everything goes. I’ll see if I can find a cleaner who can come in after her actual stuff has been removed.” I winced. “And yes, I caught a glimpse inside, and she’s likely overwhelmed. I’ve been thinking about how to address the clutter problem. If left to her devices, the place will get messy again. It’s hard to climb out from depression.”

“It is,” the incubus agreed. “For now, we’ll be cleaning up after her when she lacks the will to do it herself. In time, she’ll heal. Her husband was incubus enough for them to bond, and that left a hole in her soul. In time, we’ll fill it, but the process is slow without divine intervention. Honestly, the fact her hole is healing is remarkable—and probably divine intervention of a sort. You’re not quite a divine. Perhaps one day you will be, but you don’t have the resonance of a divine.”

After having meddled with Him, I understood what Isaac meant by resonance, although I would have personally selected radiance as my descriptor of choice. “It doesn’t matter to me either way as long as I can feed my neighbors, take care of my animals, and enjoy my home. If Ashley needs a fresh start here, move everything in today. After Mr. Magic the Bold is done with Lucifer, we’ll make him earn his keep. I’m sure we can force Mr. Durant into serving as a mule. I’ve seen his larger form. He can pull David’s cart with ease. He can just pick it up and hold it next to the window while we empty it.”

The trio regarded me with wide eyes. Kanika and her mother smirked while Malcolm’s expression promised he worried over the mayhem I’d be sowing throughout the day.

“Mom, we can herd a bunch of the freeloaders into doing the work, and we can have some of the fucking assholes handle any extras she needs—and we can put stuff into storage, especially if her soul needs her furniture in her space in the house.”

“It likely does. A good thought, Kanika. Malcolm, please help the others. We’ll take care of getting enough bodies to hurry this whole process up and make it so both houses are fully cleaned no later than four.”

Malcolm checked his watch. “That’s going to be pushing it.”

“I’ll recruit the angels if I must,” the Queen of Hell swore before she took hold of her daughter’s arm and the pair vanished.

Heaving a sigh, Malcolm bowed his head. “I apologize for all of them, Crystal. Once this lot gets an idea, that’s it. It’s all over. They go do insane and unnecessary things. Well, in this case, insane. It seems necessary enough for a change. That poor woman is on the edge.”

Isaac nodded. “Honestly, I’m more impressed you were able to start mending that hole so rapidly, Crystal.”

I stared at him. “What do you mean? All I did was promise her eggs and take her on an errand. She made the decision to take you home with her all on her own.” After a moment of thought, I gestured to both dragons. “Them, too.”

“That’s exactly what her soul needed at the time, though. She needed to feel wanted, and you gave her that in spades, enough the hole began to heal.” The incubus shrugged. “The cleaning is probably going to be a problem for a while, but as long as she has purpose, she will be okay.”

Ashley being okay would have to be good enough. I wanted to see her thrive, but I understood that took time. “Can you make certain Lucifer knows he is providing lunch for everyone once he’s done playing with my babies? Dragons, try to send that other dragon off to wherever he goes when I want to be productive without him being in the way. Lock him in the castle dungeon or something if he puts up a fight.”

“He does not have a dungeon in his castle,” Realt informed me in a solemn tone.

“Well, why not? What’s the point of having an entire bloody castle if there’s no dungeon in it? Ridiculous.” I headed into the kitchen, dug out everything needed to make tea, and put the kettle on the stove. “Saurrel, if I give you some cash, would you mind going grocery shopping? I’m in the mood for a turkey, and I may as well feed everyone while I’m at it. Well, everyone who was here this morning. While you’re at it, if you happen to see Yuless when you’re in town, invite him to come join us?”

If the cards weren’t going to fall in the way I needed to meet the tall, dark, and handsome again, I’d take action. No matter what He said, if I wanted what Lucifer and Darlene had, I’d have to get off my ass and hunt for it myself.

I doubted anything would come of it, but I’d at least make a little effort with Yuless.

He seemed nice.

The seemed was the problem, as everyone had secrets, and I had no idea what sort of darkness hid within him.

One way or another, I’d find out.

“No need to give me any cash,” the dragon replied. “I am a spoiled and rich dragon, and the least I can do is provide supper as you are providing housing worthy of even six dragons. I will bring three turkeys and a few friends. Dragons, to be specific. It’s been a while since we’ve all gotten together. Realt?”

“You handle the dinner acquisitions, I will go make the phone calls. Isaac, do you have Ashley’s house key?”

“I swiped her spare this morning when she wasn’t looking,” the incubus replied with a sly grin. “She made the mistake of leaving her front door cracked before leaving for work, as she’s ashamed of the conditions of her home, even after we handled a lot of it already. Her home life will be hugely improved by tonight—and she can sell the house that he made her home so her soul can continue to heal. She’ll make great strides early on, which is good. She’ll still struggle, but she will be able to handle the burden now.”

At the end of the day, that was the best I could hope for, so I accepted it with an easing sense of relief. “Then it’s agreed. I will prepare to accept there are even more dragons around than I care to think about, I will get a chance to cook a proper dinner, and I won’t be worried about a few of my neighbors if there’s another bad blow. And please, if you at all like me, do not tell that old biddy down the street what I did. She’s already bad enough trying to kill me with pie. Also, Isaac? I need pie. I need it.”

“I will make certain your pie needs are attended to this evening,” the incubus promised. “Now, after tea, we get to work.”

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