Page 95 of The Misfit Mage and His Darling Demon

Weather obeyed, tail wagging excitedly. I brought the fire close to Sunny’s snout. Cloudy attempted to chomp down but I diminished the flames to crackling embers instantaneously, which he still licked off my palm, greedily indulging in the blistering crunchy snack. Little piggy.

“How many times have I warned you about that, Cloudy?” I recreated the flames, condensing them tight and small in my hands, adding a trickle of wind that would add to the buoyancy, giving it a real ball-like effect.

The one benefit of Wally’s rest was it gave me a chance to properly train this untamed Mythic beast which Wally simply gave affection too freely, caving into the baby tyrants’ demands, and refusing to scold his naughty behavior. Not in my home. I simply wouldn’t allow it.

“Fetch.” I hurled the ball down the hall, watching Weather race after it, working in tandem with his personas until he reached the first of many treats he’d get during our hike.

Stormy nipped Sunny’s neck when the center head attempted to snap up the treat. Then, true to form, Cloudy whipped his head around, flipping the entire body the three shared as one over, and perfectly positioning himself to catchthe fireball in his greedy gullet. Cloudy might have been mild mannered compared to the other two, but showed incredible tenacity when it came to food. A trait I completely understood. His appetite was better than the other two, as well, actually indulging in the time-consuming meals I’d made for myself as a distraction.

I walked over, tossing two more fireballs toward Weather. “A for effort, I suppose.”

Sunny stuck out his tongue, clearly delighted by the sizzle of fire popping off it.

Stormy swallowed his fire, pouting, then glared at Cloudy and barked.

“All right, move out.” I nodded toward the staircase and led the Cerberus out of the villa through the front doors of the foyer.

Since Kell had finally fixed the flaws in her tinkering, we could come and go from the villa as we pleased. No need to recite the former baron’s dimensional traveling spell or rely on the singular entrance located in the helm where Kell hunkered down since we’d cleansed the place of Eligos and the other Diabolics.

I preferred the crunch of snow to the debris in the labyrinth. That was a chore on the checklist I’d mostly avoided working on. Too many spots there served as reminders of my failures.

Weather wiggled his body from heads to butt; the purple flames outshined the blue fire around his necks and grew into a sturdy mane that trickled flames down his spine, the tip of his tail, and around each of his ankles. Fire melted snow making Weather’s plodding through the slush splash with boiling puddles.

I unveiled my wings, flying overhead and leading the hound on a trek across the barren wilderness for miles. When we looped back, I caught the faint, careful steps of a moose nearby. Hmm. I cracked my neck. Perhaps this was the perfect opportunity to train Weather in hunting for his meals since he’dspent his entire stay snacking on my food along with whatever fire we hurled his way.

A bell chimed, echoing loud in the open space and making all three heads of the Cerberus perk up, ears sticking straight up. Without a moment of hesitation, the hound bolted back to the villa.

“Stop,” I shouted.

That vindictive old hag.

I flew after the pup, conjuring flames to lure his attention, which garnered nothing. He reached the front of the villa, nearly fumbling over his feet as he leapt for the raw steak Mora tossed in the air. Stormy and Cloudy clamped down on the meat, growling in a feud of tug-of-war over which would get to savor the filling flavor. Sunny took this adventitious opportunity to snap his jaw between the pair and swallow the perfectly seasoned meat he wouldn’t have an ounce of respect for.

“I hate you.” I glowered at the happy puppy who wagged his tail, then butted my knee with his center head, seeking praise and pets. “And I hate you more.”

Mora smirked, ignoring my comment as she raked her fingers through her long, wavy curls. Now that we’d dealt with the Diabolic threats, she’d put Maurice back in storage and jumped into a different host body. A petite blonde, wearing a long-sleeved, low cut cocktail dress with a poofy bottom.

“That was my last steak.”

“It can’t be helped,” she replied. “You’ve been feeding him scraps all week.”

“And fire. More than the little bastard deserves.”

Sunny frowned, the kind of judgy stare he must’ve learned from Wally. I turned my head. It wouldn’t work on me.

“Magic doesn’t have the necessary calories a growing baby like him needs.” Mora extended her hands, petting Weather,deliberately avoiding Stormy’s head since he wanted none of her affection or anyone else’s.

“Oh, shut up.”

“You can still go track your moose,” Mora said, a coy smile which remained the same no matter what body she possessed with new features. Of course, she was listening in on our hike, probably evaluating the shift of my posture when I honed in on the nearby hunt. “You can get more steaks and I can make jerky. Yum.”

“Now that Weather’s satiated, no thanks to you, he won’t want to go tracking.” Which meant I’d have to attempt that training another day, another day without Wally.

“Well, since you’re done with your chores, perhaps you can join me in the helm. I’d love to share some news on the progress Kell and I have made.”

“What have you been doing to my home?”

“Mine too.” Mora winked, letting out a devious and destructive giggle. “Squatter’s rights.”

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