"Am I . . . ?"
"Yes, you're a beautiful bluebird. Now flap your wings and see if you can fly." I did my thing, becoming a mockingbird and Rafe became a blackbird. We did a few laps around the hilltop before we settled on a branch near the top of a tree to watch.
"Come on up!" I was talking in my mind now. We all were.
"I-I can't." Penny sounded panicked. "Get me the hell out of here!" She looked up at me, then hopped a few steps. I flew down to land beside her.
"Calm down. Take it easy. Hey, you did shift. Great first step. But if you could just flap your wings and come up a foot or two, I know you'd like it. It's really amazing to fly." I took off and soared above her.
"Says you." She sat in the dirt. "I'm not flapping anything. How do I get back to me?" Her voice was shaking and I could see panic about to set in.
I landed beside her again. "Okay, Penny. Just relax. Maybe we tried this too soon."
She stabbed me with her beak. "Get me back to myself. Now!" Her bird eyes were wild.
"Calm down and we will." Rafe flew down to her other side and his quiet voice finally seemed to penetrate her panic.
"I'm a failure." Bird tears dripped off Penny's beak. "Intellectually I should be able to overcome this ridiculous phobia. Talk myself out of it." She trembled, her feathers quivering. "But, but I can't." Big birdie boo hoos.
I wanted to reassure her because I'd been where she was now, but I still smarted from that stab with her beak. Hey, she'd drawn blood. I let Rafe handle her.
"No, you're not a failure." Rafe moved closer. "Glory's right. We did rush you. Now let's get you back to your human form. Imagine yourself Penny as usual. Don't overthink it, just picture feet, body, head. I'm right here, watching you." Rafe spoke gently, with an assurance that didn't allow for doubt. Then he took off. I bet he was remembering how I used to have meltdowns, positive I'd never look human again. He'd talked me through the whole thing.
I sat beside Penny, proud of her when she suddenly transformed without a hitch. I did the same, totally at ease with it now.
"Fantastic. You're a natural." I patted her shoulder, deciding not to mention the puncture wound on my arm that was already healing.
"Oh, my God! That was a total freak-out! I'm not turning into any more flying things, but now that I know I can get back, I can see shifting is definitely doable." Penny wiped tears off her cheeks. "What else can I be? What else have you been, Glory?"
"You can be just about any animal you're familiar with. Rafe was a Labradoodle for years. I tried my hand at being a golden retriever." I smiled. "You could be a cat too, a house cat. I'm sure your own pet would find that interesting."
"No kidding." Penny shook her head. "Don't think I'll go there."
"Isn't this just the coziest scene ever," a male voice said from the other side of the clearing.
"I'm getting teary just witnessing all the bonding going on." Another male voice.
Rafe and I stood in protective mode between the voices and Penny, when two men shimmered into view. One was tall and lean with long dark hair and an expensive black suit. His white shirt and gold tie were immaculate. The other man was a bit shorter but not by much. He was more casually dressed but you could tell he had an expensive tailor too. His trousers had an Italian look and his sport shirt was silk. He was dressed all in black, down to his leather loafers. But his hair was a golden blond. Both men were handsome enough to make Penny shove at me so she could get a better look.
"Well, well, I knew this was a demon's playground and here's the demon spawn himself with some of his playthings." Blond guy flicked his hand at the burned bush Rafe had taken out when I'd tried to dump him. Oops. Rafe had warned me that act might have stirred interest in him down below. So these guys must be ambassadors from hell. A slight breeze brought a whiff of sugar to me. I recognized it instantly. Demons put on the sweet smell along with a beautiful fa?ade when they came up to be around mortals.
"Glory?" Penny tapped me on the back.
"Hush. Rafe and I will handle this." I hoped and prayed we would anyway.
"Gloriana!" The dark one strode across the clearing, his hand outstretched. "I'd never have recognized you from Alesa's description. Though she was a bit rattled by her visit here, there is no excuse for missing the mark like she did. You are obviously a natural blond." His gray eyes swept over me, like he'd peeled the clothes right off to see down to my skin underneath. Rafe growled and stepped between us.
"You've gone far enough, Caryon." Rafe held up his hand. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Steady, demon child." Blond guy was at his cohort's side. "We're here on legitimate business. Some with you, some with the delicious Gloriana here." He smiled at me, suddenly around Rafe as if he didn't exist. "Alesa says hi."
"I'll bet she does." I didn't smile back. "I have no business with the likes of you. Go back where you came from." The sugary smell was so strong it was nauseating.
"Get away from her, Spyte." Rafe thrust an arm between us.
"Spite? Carrion? Are you kidding me? What is this? A bad comic strip?" Penny made the mistake of giggling.
"Oh, does the new vampire need a demo?" Caryon smiled, suddenly showing a mouthful of deadly looking fangs. His hunky fa?ade vanished and he was the stuff of nightmares, all scaly skin and snout. Beside him, Spyte chuckled when Penny clutched my skirt, then sank to the ground, whimpering.
"Quit it!" I don't know where my nerve came from, maybe from carrying around one of their evil sisters for weeks. "State your business and then go."
Caryon was back to his pretty-boy self. "Rafael, aren't you proud of your woman?"
Rafe glanced at me, sending me a mental message to be careful. "Of course I am. She's not afraid of your butt-ugly self or interested in your pretty one. Now what do you want? Come to collect a debt for Lucifer?" He glanced at the bush he'd burned with a look from his eyes when they'd gone red with fury that night. "For flaming that thing?"
"That will be collected at a date to be named later." Spyte laughed and brushed an insinuating hand down Rafe's black N-V T-shirt.
I grabbed Rafe before he could start something he'd regret, my stomach heaving at the idea of hell's payback. Then I looked around. "Penny! Where-"
"The little rat scurried away into the brush. She's cowering over there. Thinks we can't find her." Caryon smiled. "Don't worry, little girl, we're not interested in you tonight. Just your mentor."
"What do you want with me? And you will leave Penny the hell alone." I stayed shoulder to shoulder with Rafe, though I knew he wanted me behind him. Not happening.
"Oh, Alesa was so right." Spyte put his hand on Caryon's arm. "She does have a weakness. Glory, we are so glad to know that."
Rafe growled and surged toward them until he was suddenly turned to stone. It was a demon trick and I was surprised the two hadn't whipped it out sooner. Rafe was frozen in place, only his eyes moving. I knew they could have relaxed their hold enough to let him talk, but obviously I was the one they wanted to chat with this time. I felt chilled right down to my black boots.
"Weak? I don't think so. I handled Alesa and I can handle you two." I glared at them though I knew I hadn't exactly been a tower of strength when the female demon had taken up residence inside me. Still, she hadn't managed to turn me into one of her disciples of evil either. So I considered it a victory for the good guys. "You're wasting your time here. Go back to hell where you belong."
"No, not yet. Your weakness is so obvious." Spyte moved in a blur and returned the same way, a wiggling white rat in his hand. "For example, check out this cute little rodent. Look in her eyes. Recognize anyone?"
I hate rats, even the obviously pet kind, but I recognized the frantic golden brown eyes. Penny. She sent me hysterical mental messages as Spyte held her, first by the tail, then in his hand, alternately squeezing then petting her.
"Put her down!" I lunged toward him but he danced back. Caryon slipped his arm around my waist, anchoring me in a death grip that I couldn't escape.
"Ah, yes. Glory loves her little and not-so-little friends." Caryon glanced back at Rafe, whose eyes glowed red. "Some more than others, eh, Rafael?" His laugh was full of innuendo and I felt like he'd watched me in dirty videos. What had Alesa told these bastards? Oh, God. And what was Spyte going to do to Penny?
He dropped her in his pants pocket and grinned at me, letting me see his real teeth, sharp and horrifying.
"Morning snack, right, Car?"
"Chopped up in an omelet?" Caryon smacked his lips. "Garlic or cilantro?"
"Both. I saw the most wonderful recipe on this cooking show-"
"Stop it! What do you want?" I jerked against Caryon's hold, the reek of him this close making me gasp, like I'd been dropped in a vat of boiling sugar. I swallowed bile.
"We come with a proposition. From the big boss down below." Caryon frowned at me. "Don't you dare throw up on my new shoes. Italian leather, custom-made." He thrust me away from him. "Stay."
My feet stuck to the ground but at least I could inhale fresh air again. I saw Spyte's pants wiggling and he grimaced. Guess Penny had bitten him through the cloth. Good for her. But I sent her a mental message to be still. He could kill her with a hard smack against his thigh.