Page 39 of Her Psycho Beasts

“Celeste,” Damien spits harshly, “is still in meditation, and as such, has no say in this.”

If I was a laughing sort of beast, I would have laughed at the clearly troubled look Damien has on his face right now. Celeste had been in meditation for longer than would be considered normal for a phoenix, but it’s important work and the school is ensuring she’s not disturbed by securing the door to her apartment.

I throw a winning hand onto the table. “Aurelia has agreed to your terms.”

That shuts the phoenix lord up. He wasn’t expecting it to be so easy, and frankly, neither had I. It seems that none of us expected Aurelia’s level of loyalty to her friends.

“Well.” Damien’s aura suddenly flashes an elated yellow. “She has some sense, I see.”

Lyle abruptly stands as if he can’t stomach sitting here any longer. “You can expect her during dinner service at the jungle gym. It’s the best place for this.”

Damien purses his lips but has no choice but to acquiesce as Lyle stalks for the door. Marduk sweeps a courtly bow before also leaving.

I stare at the phoenix for a moment, simply watching the colours of his aura tremble and shake around him, just as my ghosts and ghouls swarm around me. Damien meets my gaze for as long as he can before looking down. Despite his draconic protective charm, he is still frightened of me.

But I am not interested in his fear. There is something notable hovering in the air next to him that is new. A transparent female figure, slender and older. Possibly a mother or aunt, long dead but not long gone from this plane. She hovers there, watching over him with sad eyes. She shakes her head, red hair floating in its own ghostly breeze.

Sometimes it’s hard to discern whether a vision is a hallucination or an actual ghost. But my hallucinations are almost always negative or malevolent in nature, and this woman appears sad, not evil.

She shakes her head at me again, signalling with her hands. She shows me a photo of a little boy, undoubtedly a young Damien, then moves her hand in the shape of a path, crossing her fists together to make an X.

I sigh. When I first arrived here, any negative entity, ghost or spirit immediately fled upon feeling my presence. I didn’t like talking to them, and I made it clear I was no messenger. But every so often, usually mothers or children, persisted through the discomfort of me.

“Can I help you with anything else?” Damien’s voice is stiff as he marks his papers with irritable strokes of his ballpoint pen.

“No,” I say flatly. “Your mother is a different story, however.”

His head snaps up, golden eyes blazing with fury.

I hold his gaze steadily, and for a breath in time, I consider not telling him. But this may actually benefit me. “She’s saying that the path you travel is the wrong one. Your downfall lies at its end.”

Damien’s fist closes around his pen before he shoots to his feet, pointing at me. “Is that a threat? Howdareyou! You?—”

“When spirits give you warnings, you heed them,” I say dryly.

Damien’s nostrils flare, shoulders heaving under heavy inhalations.

I rise to my feet, turning to the old Lady Agnis. “It’s up to him now, my lady.”

Her eyes glisten, but she can only stare longingly at her son.

As I leave, my gathering swarm leaves with me.

Chapter 19

Ghoul

Iaccept my plate of rare beef and potatoes from the pretty jaguar with the red lipstick and even redder bra and panties. Cain Clawson likes his female subordinates scantily clad around the house, and while none of the males complain, it leaves a lecherous scent permanently in the air.

This new place is smaller than the last, and made with a lot less money. The dungeons are a lot smaller, but effective at detainment nonetheless. Once Titus gained some of his brains back, he’d asked for him and the girl to be moved to his father’s property. He has some grand plans, I’ll give him that. But if he’s going to pretend to be a rex of a new, self-built pack, he has to get out of the hospital bed first. I chuckle into my plate, making the females waiting on me glance at each other in panic.

I’ve barely tucked into my food when a snivelling lynx rushes into the room, smelling of sweat. “My lord!”

I raise my head, swallowing my mouthful before gesturing to the floor next to me. He dutifully slows down his steps and kneels by my side with his head down.

“What is it? Speak up, son. You’re among friends.” I take another mouthful of meat.

“There’s a…situation that requires your attention, sir.”

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