Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 125077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
We? That was the first time I’d heard him use the word we when he was talking about the future. “I don’t know if the king is going to want Tix popping in and out of Frelsi.”
“I love him so much.” Evan held the puppy close. “Kelsey, I’ll take care of him. I’ll get him a crate and a leash, and I’ll walk him and train him. Oh, please don’t make him go back. They’ll kill him. He’s so sweet. Look at him.”
She held the hound out, showing me how cute and wriggly he was, and then he burped and a little jet of fire flew out of his mouth.
“Okay, so we’re pretty sure there’s some dragon in his background,” Gray admitted. “He’ll get control of that very quickly.”
“He burps fire, Gray.”
Fenrir was laughing. “He farts it, too. A tiny bit came out of his butt. That’s awesome, Pop. I mean that is the best. We should call him the Mighty Fire Farter.”
Evan held her new baby close, as though protecting him from Fen. “No, we will not. His name is Puff the Magic Hellhound, and you are not going to make him feel bad about farting. None of you boys should ever do that. Hypocrites.”
“I wasn’t making fun of him. I think it’s cool,” Fen tried.
Chaos. That was what Gray had brought. Pure chaos. I had a murder to solve, and Gray had brought me a fire tooter.
“Where is he going to sleep, Gray? Does he have a crate? Does he have a water bowl? Does he drink water or should I pour out the blood of his enemies?” I started.
“He doesn’t have enemies,” Evan argued.
“Well, I mean they were going to feed him to the others,” Fen pointed out.
“I don’t know. I think anyone who smells his farts might disagree.” Trent sniffed and then shook his head. “We’re going to need to find a proper diet for the little guy.”
“Oh, I have a spell for that.” Jade was finally smiling, petting Puff’s wouldn’t-be-little-for-long head. “I’m probably not good at it though. I bet someone in Frelsi could do it. Or the gnomes have some herbs that erase scent.”
“Did you stop at a pet store?” I continued because this was a terrible plan that Gray had not thought out in the least.
“There’s not a Petco on the Hell plane.” Gray seemed every bit as frustrated as me. “But I can certainly go now. I kind of thought Eddie would do it. I knew you would be upset if I sent Tix, though he would do just the same as Eddie.”
“Except he would buy evil things.” I didn’t even care how stupid the words coming out of my mouth sounded.
“No, he would buy what I tell him to buy,” Gray countered.
“Guys, let’s bring down the heat.” Trent got in between us, putting a hand on both of us. “Let’s go back to our room and talk this out. Gray was trying to reconnect with Fenrir.”
“He did a good job, too. His enemies taste great,” Fen announced. “And the little guy is supercute.”
“I hope you think so when you are picking up his poop.” I wasn’t letting anyone get out of this easy.
Gray had left us and he would leave us again. And no matter how well-meaning he’d been, he’d placed our son in a terrible position.
He’d placed all of us in a terrible position.
“I’m not really good at that,” Fen said with a shake of his head. “I have a sensitive nose… I will get over it and hey, maybe we can train him to burn off his own poop. Problem solved. Please don’t make me choose between my mom and Pop. I know I should choose Mom because of the whole staring down the alpha thing, but I really missed that jerky, and I don’t think Evan is going to give up the hellhound.”
The hellhound was currently trying to lick Evan to death, and I prayed she was fireproof, and what had Jade said?
“I’m going with Casey.” Trent stepped back with a sigh. “I’m not going to play referee for you two again. I’ll go to Dallas and help Nate with anything he needs. I sincerely hope you two can get it together before I get back.”
I knew I should be more upset about that. Trent was practically a saint and I’d managed to drive him off, but I was stuck on what Jade had said as Trent walked away.
“What do you mean the gnomes have herbs that negate bad smells?”
Jade’s eyes widened as she realized somehow in all of this drama she’d become the center of attention. “Well, they do. All smells, really, though we don’t normally use them.”
“Well, that explains how Fenrir couldn’t track anyone from Alvis’s apartment.” I needed to regain control of this situation. There were a whole bunch of moving parts, and they all threatened to go off the rails. “Evan, you’re on dog duty. The first thing you teach that dog is to not eat the brownies, and you better warn them about his fire breathing from both ends.”