Page 11 of Demon Queen
“That’s not necessary. I wouldn’t want to bother you anymore.” Ever. Forever and ever the end.
He flashed me a smile that showed his sharp teeth, like they’d all been filed into points. Those teeth were way too much. “Drigo requested that I escort you until you return to the club this evening for your first shift. It’s probably because he’s worried that you’ll skip town before paying off your debt.”
Tom snorted. “That’s hardly likely. He has her scent. He could just track her down.”
“He has my scent?” I whispered and then shuddered and wrapped my arms around myself. “I need to go home.” And never leave again. I could board the whole shop up from the inside. Spikes embedded in the exterior. That would also work for my Halloween theme.
“Have a boiled egg,” Tom said, handing me the cool thing. “I’ll take you home, and Straldi can follow unobtrusively. She’s had enough monsters for at least a few hours, particularly if she’s going to get up the nerve to go back to the den tonight. She doesn’t ever leave her home, not for anything, so to throw inmonsters, and a bodyguard, is a bit much. Sandy was always one of the most delicate of the fosters.”
“A bodyguard?” I asked, staring at Straldi. What kind of name was Straldi? A monster name. I still didn’t know what he was. And I wasn’t sure I could handle knowing about it. I would have denied being delicate, but compared to Honey and Lucy, I was positively helpless. Also, I’d just thrown up. At least I hadn’t lost control of my bladder.
Tom nodded. “Yes. Straldi is here as your bodyguard, or I wouldn’t allow him in. Drigo has claimed you as an employee under his protection, so he sent Straldi to protect you while you are vulnerable.”
“When did he claim me as his employee?”
“When he carried you here last night.”
I gaped at Tom while a new horror welled up. “He carried me here?”
Tom nodded shortly. “He stayed until Honey and Lucy left. I don’t believe he trusted me to protect you from the danger.”
I gestured at the tentacled guy. “He trusts this guy but not my own foster sisters?”
“It was the full moon. Ordinarily, Honey would be perfectly stable, but her dark wolf… Let’s get going. I can answer your questions on the way.”
He headed out while I followed, clinging to my egg. That’s right. He’d said she was a real werewolf. My brain came up with a wolf in a karate gi, karate chopping right and left. Sure. Honey had turned into a furry. My brain could probably handle that. Dorian had carried me in his arms all the way from his club to Gloria’s house. Why would he do that? Because he wasn’t going to let me go until I gave him his money. He wouldn’t let me die until I gave him his money. It was either that, or he wanted everyone to think he was as crazy as Gloria.
I climbed in the passenger’s side while Tom held the door open for me, but he was looking back where Straldi was standing next to a pale blue sports car. Straldi wiggled his beard at me, and I hurriedly climbed into the cupcake van, buckling up while Tom closed the door firmly on me.
“So,” Tom said once he got settled and started the van with a groaning whine. “I don’t know a lot about demons, but I will try to answer any questions you have.”
I took a shaky breath then exhaled. “Is he really four hundred years old?”
“With those spikes? At least. From what I’ve read, it usually takes thousands of years to develop into that kind of war beast. Then again, with the Zombie Queen wiping out his kind, it’s probably triggered the change even with the younger ones.”
“Wiping out his kind?”
“Mm. They can’t turn into zombies.”
“Nice.”
“Except that they can still be killed.”
I rubbed my forehead. “What’s Straldi?”
“No idea. Some kind of sea creature. Not sure he knows what he is, either. I do know that the Zombie Queen personally hates him, possibly because he helped Drigo go into Wonderland to rescue the baby demon.”
Wonderland? Of course. We’re all mad here. Dorian had rescued Wilkie? If it was him. Why did that make my heart ache? “Oh. Straldi told you all that?”
“Drigo when he was waiting for things to settle down last night before he left. Honey didn’t want to leave until he was gone, and he wouldn’t leave until her and Lucy were gone, so it was quite a standoff until the alpha showed up and Drigo claimed you as his protected employee. Demons don’t usually swear to protect a human.”
I tried to process. The alpha showed up? Drigo was in a standoff with Lucy and Honey? I was suddenly so glad I’d been unconscious through that whole thing. So awkward to throw up in the middle of threats of violence. “Humans don’t usually steal from demons.” Obviously.
“I wouldn’t think that you’d steal from anyone. You were always a stickler.”
I gave him a wan smile. He’d warned me from dancing at certain places where the men were nothing more than monsters in suits. Funny that he’d been so right. “It was an emergency.”
“I’m sure it was. Like last night was an emergency. You wouldn’t leave the house for anything else.”
