"You have to-Trillian"s waiting for you," Delilah said. "And it will only be for a couple of days. We"ve been hunting for Stacia for weeks now. Two or three days aren"t going to make any difference."

"I hope you"re right." I hesitated, then looked at Iris. "What do you think? Your instincts are usually right on the nose."

Iris pursed her lips together and motioned for us to be quiet. She sat down on the edge of the ottoman and I could tell she was drifting into a trance. As the Talon-haltija sank lower into her meditation, the ebb and flow of her aura beckoned me in and I hesitantly reached out to touch her energy with my own.

The moment our energies met, she gasped and yanked me into her world.

We were standing in the snows, high on a mountainside, in the middle of a snowstorm. Iris was bundled in a long, thick coat that was midnight blue, her hair hidden beneath the fur-trimmed hood. In the center of her forehead, a brilliant cobalt star glistened-whether it was inset or affixed, I didn"t know, but it gleamed with power, pulsing gently to her heartbeat.

She raised her eyes to meet mine and I found myself gazing into a swirl of mist and fog and ice. Iris"s power came sweeping over me, knocking me to my knees. I dropped into the packed snow. It was wet, dense, and would harden to ice before long. Soaked through to the skin, I couldn"t take my eyes off the woman who was suddenly much more than a sprite.

Iris held out her hands, and in the palms rested a crystal ball, the color of blue topaz. Aqualine, the crystal she"d asked for from Otherworld. As I struggled to stand, she cupped her fingers around it and closed her eyes, murmuring something under her breath that I couldn"t catch.

At that moment, a great shadow began to cover the mountain, creeping like inky fingers across the snow-blanketed landscape. The shadow clouded my vision and something told me to run from it, but I couldn"t move. As it approached the outskirts of where we were standing, Iris"s eyes flew open again and she raised one hand toward the approaching murk.

"Pysayttaa!" Her voice was strong and clear and the shadow stopped where it was. Iris stepped forward and her words thundered through the snow. "Retreat. Return to your cavern, creature of the dark. It is not yet our hour to meet."

As I watched, the shadow slowly began to retreat, a long, fluttering sigh lingering as it rolled back up the mountain. I turned to ask Iris what was going on but she was focused on the crystal ball again, and then, as big fat snowflakes began to fall in earnest, I blinked and found myself back in the living room, lying on the sofa.

"Camille, are you all right?" Delilah was leaning over me as I struggled to sit up. "You fainted."

I swung my feet onto the floor and scooted forward, looking for Iris. She was still sitting on the ottoman, eyes closed, but as I watched her she stirred and stretched, yawning. She gave me a long look, pleading for my silence. What had happened out there-wherever we were-she wanted to keep secret for now.

"I"m fine," I said. Iris was our friend and if she wanted to keep this quiet, then I"d play along, unless it looked like it was going to affect us or the war against the demons. "I guess I"m just tired. Iris, what did you see?"

A look of relief swept over the Talon-haltija"s face and she smoothed the skirt of her dress. "We must go. There are things afoot in Otherworld that will have an impact on what we"re doing here. We need to bring Trillian back-we can"t afford to lose him. And . . . there"s something waiting for you in OW, Camille. For both you and Morio. You must must make this journey. Major changes are afoot and we"ll all be caught up in them." make this journey. Major changes are afoot and we"ll all be caught up in them."

"I guess that answers that," I said. "All right, we"ll leave after we talk to Menolly. Delilah, can you fix dinner? The three of us should rest if we"re jumping portals tonight."

Delilah nodded, helping me up. As Morio and I climbed the stairs to take a nap, I couldn"t help but think about the shadow that had come racing after Iris and me. But had it really been after me me? When I really thought about it, I sensed the creature had been aiming directly for Iris. And what was it she"d said? "Retreat. Return to your cavern, creature of the dark. It is not yet our hour to meet." "Retreat. Return to your cavern, creature of the dark. It is not yet our hour to meet."

What did it want with her? And why did I have the feeling she"d already met the creature? Trying to push thoughts of the Bonecrusher, and of the shadow on the mountain to the side, I focused on Trillian. He was coming home, he was coming back to me. But through the joy, a little voice inside began to whisper doubts. What if he freaked when he found out I"d married both Morio and Smoky? What would he do? And what would I do if he decided he didn"t want to put up with the situation?

Unable to shake my worries, I set the alarm for just after sunset and climbed into bed. Morio seemed to sense my discomfort and slid his arms around me, holding me gently as we both drifted off to sleep.

CHAPTER 8.

"Camille, Morio? Time to get up." Her voice was soft, almost a hiss in the dim light of my bedroom.

I blinked and opened my eyes to find Menolly leaning over me, a toothy grin on her face. A couple tiny drops of blood on her chin told me she"d had her nightly drink and I smelled chicken soup on her breath.

Morio had left several charmed bottles of blood in the fridge for her to drink while we were gone. Though she never asked, he went out of his way to make sure she had a variety of choices available, giving her a break from the unending taste of blood on her tongue. Through some sort of illusion/ alchemical magic, Morio had managed to alter the structure of the taste.

He"d even managed a good subst.i.tute for pizza. I knew, because I"d tasted a few drops, wondering if Menolly had just forgotten what food tasted like or if he"d really discovered a talent for blood cuisine. It gave me a weird sense of relief. If it ever came to it-being a vampire with Morio around wouldn"t be quite so bad.

She backed away as I slid from beneath the covers. I was naked, but she"d seen my goodies before. Morio yawned and pushed himself up to lean against the headboard as I stretched. Even though we"d only slept for about three hours, the nap had done me a world of good.

I scratched my stomach and sniffed the air. "Delilah cooking dinner?"

Menolly grinned. "Nope. Roz is."

"Roz? I didn"t know he knew which end was which on a skillet."

"Apparently so, or it looks that way to me. He"s frying up some sausage links and eggs, and has Vanzir making fruit cups and toast. Iris stumbled in on them, offered to help, and they chased her out of the kitchen. I will grant you this: The boys come through when we need them," she said, her fangs beginning to recede.

"That they do," I murmured. I picked up a towel and slung it over my shoulder. "I need to hit the shower. Can you hunt through the closet and lay out my traveling clothes?"

Menolly nodded. "Yes, but Camille . . . please, be careful. I have a feeling something could go horribly wrong over there, and you know that I"m not p.r.o.ne to premonitions." She sat on the bed, glancing at Morio as he slipped from beneath the covers-naked as a jaybird and standing full at attention. "Down boy, unless you"re pointing that thing Camille"s way. Don"t wave your freak flag in my face."

I snorted. "Don"t worry. I"m happy to say he always wakes up bright and perky like that."

"I bet you are," she countered with a laugh. "Get in the shower, both of you, and I"ll lay out your things. Morio, I a.s.sume that your clothes are in one of these dresser drawers around here?"

"I"ll be wearing jeans and a sweater," he said, blowing her an air kiss as he wandered past and joined me on the way to the bathroom.

Once I had the water running full tilt, we climbed in and quickly lathered up. Morio reached around from behind me, soaping my b.r.e.a.s.t.s and belly. His hair fell forward, tickling my shoulders. He let out a low grunt and slid his fingers down my stomach to rest against my c.l.i.t. I moaned, leaning back against him.

"Do we have time?" I asked.

"We always have time," he said, then quick as heat lightning, stroked me with that featherlight touch that sent me into orbit every time. "Besides, it may be a few days before we can find privacy for this again."

I moaned softly and spread my legs, and he slipped deep into my p.u.s.s.y from behind, his c.o.c.k slick from the soap and water, his girth widening me with a delicious stretch. He reached around to finger me with one hand, and with the other, caressed my b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

I braced myself against the wall of the tub, making sure my footing was steady, as he began to thrust, taking long, smooth strokes that kindled the fire growing in my belly. The shower rained down on us like a waterfall and the drops trickled between my b.r.e.a.s.t.s, trailing down to where his hands played against my skin.

Pulling away, I stepped out of the tub, Morio following. He grabbed me and shoved me against the wall, rattling the shelves as he forced his knee between my legs. His hands traveled over my b.r.e.a.s.t.s, my belly, and he buried his face in my neck, nuzzling, nipping, sucking deeply. I knew he was leaving marks, but we always played rough.

"f.u.c.k me," he said with a low growl. "Let me inside you."

I broke away and grabbed a bath sheet, throwing it over the mat on the floor, which was plush and thick. Morio lay down, quick as a fox.

"Come to me," he said, a willful smile curling the edge of his lip. "Come with with me, Camille. Ride me." me, Camille. Ride me."

I obeyed, straddling him, sinking down on his c.o.c.k as he thrust upward to meet me, his hands gripping my waist.

"Touch yourself," he whispered hoa.r.s.ely, and so I did, sliding two fingers down to stroke myself gently while I cupped my breast with the other hand and squeezed hard. I leaned back, reveling in the fire raging between us, in the feel of Morio watching me with an eager glint.

He tightened his grip on my waist, then flipped me over and as I rolled beneath him, his breathing grew harder and his eyes took on the edge that I recognized so well by now. As he hovered over me, trapping me between his knees, he began to change and grow.

In his full demon form, Morio was eight feet tall, and his face lengthened into a muzzle. He was also as flexible as a gymnast. I found myself staring into the eyes of my demon fox man. His arms and legs took on thick waving fur, and black taloned claws replaced black nails.

As my lover shifted form, my hunger for him increased. When we were alone, we didn"t play easy unless the mood called for it. No, he was demon and demon he acted. He leaned his head back and let out a yip of l.u.s.t and joy and I grinned, delighted, at him.

"Come on, take me, show me how much you want me," I dared him.

"Never start anything you aren"t willing to finish," he said. And then he grabbed my wrists, bruising them gently as he pressed them against the floor above my head. A knot flared in my stomach as he held me fast and spread my legs wide with his knees as he forced his way between them.

"Tell me what to do," I whispered.

"Wrap your legs around my waist," he ordered, and I whimpered as he let out a guttural sound from the back of his throat. I entwined my legs around his stomach, and his c.o.c.k hovered inches away from me, fully erect and smooth.

"You want me?" he said, leaning down to nip at my breast. I caught my breath as he demanded again, "Do you want me?"

"Yes, oh yes, please." I couldn"t stand it anymore. His energy flared, reaching out with long tendrils to tease me on. I swallowed the lump forming in my throat.

"What do you want me to do to you?"

My heart racing, I let out a long sob. "f.u.c.k me, f.u.c.k me hard."

"Ask politely," he said, playing me like a fine-tuned violin.

"Please, will you please please f.u.c.k me?" I squirmed under his hold; the only thing I could think about was how much I wanted him to screw my brains out. f.u.c.k me?" I squirmed under his hold; the only thing I could think about was how much I wanted him to screw my brains out.

"As is your pleasure, my sweet," he said. And then, with one slow, sinuous motion, he drove himself deep into my core, stretching me to the point where I could only let out little screams.

The feel of Morio"s weight against my b.r.e.a.s.t.s, the cold steam that rose from his flared nostrils, the gentle touch of his silken fur against my skin-everything was so alien, so decadent that all I could do was give myself up to the pa.s.sion. And yet it was all so right.

I met him, thrusting in return as he plunged into me. He was a demon, Morio was, with glowing topaz eyes and razor-sharp teeth and a face not wholly human. And yet, he was still my lover, my husband. Feral and wild, but all him. And then we were caught on the slipstream of energy, riding it as it raced so high and so far I wondered if we"d ever be free.

After Morio shifted back and I managed to stand on my own without turning into a mound of Jell-O, we jumped back in the shower for a quick rinse and hurried back to my room. Menolly had laid out our clothes and filled our packs, and we dressed and headed downstairs.

Menolly and Delilah were watching Jeopardy Jeopardy. Chase had shown up, and he was sitting next to Delilah, holding her hand. Maggie was on Menolly"s lap, playing with a Barbie doll wearing a ballerina outfit. She"d torn off the head and Menolly had replaced it with a head from a Yoda action figure. The look was so wrong, but somehow so right.

"Yobie, Yobie!" Maggie waved the doll at me.

I snickered. "Strong with the pink tutus, we are?"

Roz didn"t even bother to look up from the video game he was playing with Vanzir. They"d conned us into buying them an Xbox and were hooked on Halo. "I packed you some sandwiches when we figured out you weren"t going to be down for dinner. You can eat them on the way."

But Vanzir shot a glance our way. "You guys sound like a herd of elephants. What the h.e.l.l kind of freak show do you put on when you f.u.c.k and where can I get tickets?" His eyes were luminous and hard to read, but I could sense an edge of arousal behind the look. He flashed me that snarky grin that I didn"t trust, even though I knew it was just part of his nature. His demonic heritage was a lot darker than Morio"s.

I shook my head. "I"m not a roses-and-candy type of woman."

"Didn"t think so." He leapt on an opening Roz had left him and dusted their enemy. "More like handcuffs and whips. Next you"ll be ordering me into a ball-gag and have me begging, "Please whip my a.s.s, Mistress Camille." "

I so didn"t want to go there, for more reasons than one.

First, the thought of him crawling nekkid at my feet in a ball-gag so made me cringe. Submissive men were not my cup of coffee. Even more daunting was the thought that Vanzir"s life hung on a whim. If my sisters and I or Iris ordered him to crawl on the floor and bark like a dog, he"d have to obey or the soul binder living right below the skin of his neck that bound him to us would kill him immediately. None of us were comfortable with the idea that his life-in fact, every action he made-was entirely within our control. But the cold truth was that Vanzir might as well be our slave. We owned him, body and soul, and we could kill him with the whisper of an order.

I shook my head. "Dude, just wear earplugs next time."

Chase arched one eyebrow as he glanced up at Morio and me. "In Vanzir"s defense, you were were really loud. It sounded like you were having a knock-down, drag-out fight up there." really loud. It sounded like you were having a knock-down, drag-out fight up there."

"And this bothers you because. . . ?" As Chase"s ears began to turn bright red, I relented. "Eh, get used to it, Johnson. And be happy you weren"t in there with us. If the worst we get are a few bruises, we"re happy." Though I had to admit, there"d been a few times Morio had gotten a little too excited and I"d ended up with some nasty bites.

Chase grunted and took another sip from the beer he was holding. "Klingon s.e.x."

"Say what?" I must have looked confused because Delilah burst into giggles.

"Klingons-on Star Trek Star Trek. They"re pretty much tear-it-up in the s.e.x department, like you and Morio."

"Not to interrupt this lovely discussion, but are you ready?" Menolly glanced at the clock. It was quarter of eight. "Iris is in the kitchen making a list of ch.o.r.es for us to do while she"s gone."

Delilah grimaced. "I forgot to clean out my cat box again and she carried it up to my room and dumped it on my bed."

Ugh. "Kitten, face it, you"ve become a professional slob. Not so nice. Not so appealing. And I"ve seen that room of yours-it"s no spring clean fling. Whatever happened to the idea that cats are supposed to be clean?"

Delilah shrugged. "I dunno-maybe it"s the human side of me."

Chase cleared his throat. "Don"t go blaming your human blood. I"m an FBH and I"m not a slob." He turned to me. "I tell her to clean up when she stays at my apartment and she does it." Delilah started to protest but just then, Iris poked her head around the corner.

"I"m ready. The list is on the refrigerator. Don"t just look at it, okay? Actually get your b.u.t.ts in gear and do do some of the ch.o.r.es. And take care of our little Maggie girl," she added, leaning over to give the baby gargoyle a big fat kiss on the head. some of the ch.o.r.es. And take care of our little Maggie girl," she added, leaning over to give the baby gargoyle a big fat kiss on the head.

"Iss . . . Iss . . . kiss me." Maggie held her arms up for another, then looked at me. Her wings fluttered gently and I could tell she was worried. She"d gotten very clingy over the past couple of months and according to the book we"d been using on the care and feeding of woodland gargoyles, this was a phase she"d be in for some time. As in several years. "Camey-kiss?"

I joined Iris and planted a soft kiss on the Magster"s cheek. She giggled and gave me a wet smooch on the nose.

"Be good, little one. Be safe."

Menolly grinned. "We"ll treat her like fine china."

Suddenly near tears, I nodded, biting back the fear that rose in my throat. I wanted to go home, I desperately wanted to see Trillian and bring him back, but with all the danger in our lives, I was terrified that something would happen while I was gone. Something I might be able to prevent if I were here.

Iris patted me on the hand. "I know, girl. I feel it, too. These are uncertain times. The potential paths are merging at a rapid rate. Life is becoming a blur of possibilities and so many of them dark. But we must take this trip. I know it in my bones. You and Morio are headed toward another leg of Fate"s journey, and I . . . I have to confront something I left behind long, long ago, if I"m to be free of my past and able to move on with my future."

We all gazed at her, but she fell silent-the silence that said, "Do not ask, I will not speak." When Iris didn"t want to talk about something, nothing would pry the info out of her.

"Not to mention the most important thing: We need to bring Trillian home." Morio wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

We were dressed for the road. I was wearing a spidersilk skirt that skimmed the tops of my granny boots, and a burgundy leather corset under my unicorn"s-hide cloak. The cloak had come with the horn of the Black Unicorn when I earned the right to use it. Now, against all common sense, my instincts urged me to wear it back to Otherworld, and to take the horn with me. The items would put me in danger from any number of mages and wizards who"d sell their grandmother"s p.u.s.s.y to own the artifact and cloak.

Morio was wearing black jeans and a turtleneck, and he"d slipped on a hip-length gray buccaneer"s jacket with silver buckles. His motorcycle boots came up over the legs of his jeans.

Iris had changed into a walking skirt, indigo blue in color, and a matching long-sleeved top. Over the sweater, she"d donned a thin chain tunic. The links weren"t steel, but some bespelled silver, and it radiated with a faint white light. Over that, she"d draped a short capelet with hood, and her ankle-length blond hair was woven into braids that were wrapped around her head.

"Have your weapons?" Delilah asked, suddenly serious. "I wish we were coming with you."

"I wish you were, too, but you have to stay here and keep guard. We"ll give Father your love." I parted the side-slit in my skirt to show her my dagger, strapped to my thigh by a leather garter. "I"ve got my dagger right here, and the horn is in its secret pocket."

Morio winked at her. "I never go anywhere without my daggers, throwing knives, and various goodies."

"I like your goodies," I said, sidling up to him.