CHAPTER 46

"But I'm also lonely. I still have Lala and Uncle Foot. And always Emery. But that's it. My whole world can be counted on one hand. Mike showed up with four other people, and that's not even all of them! Do you remember when Dana and Lily came? It was all we could talk about, even after you died. What if every day could be like that...hmmm?" Velvet looked over at a nearby bush. "No, there aren't any birds nearby. Yes, I'll keep watch while you fix your web."

Is she talking to a spider? Fascinated, Abella continued to watch.

"And Mom? I know you and I didn't always see eye-to-eye, but I could really use your advice on something. I've been having these strange urges ever since Mike came, and I'm worried that it's...well, you know."

No. Abella felt every alarm in her body going off. It didn't take much to realize exactly what kind of urges Velvet was having.

"Lala isn't even here," Velvet continued. "So I can't ask her if she feels the same. She's always been nonchalant about it, but we've never been around a man other than Dad, so...what do I do? What can I do? What if I can't control myself around him, like you did with Dad? What if I lose myself?" Her voice rose an octave. "There are too many things, too many emotions, it's like I can't breathe. I don't know what to do."

Oh, I know what I want to do. Abella briefly wondered if it would be possible for Velvet to suffer an accident. Maybe fall off the side of the cliff or get smashed by a boulder. The others would never suspect her.

But she would know. And it wouldn't surprise her if Yuki could do magic to find out what had happened. She didn't dare imagine the look of betrayal on Mike's face, the very idea of it broke her stone heart a little.

"Merde," she whispered. The only solution would be constant vigilance.

Velvet finished her conversation with the dead and left.

Abella waited a bit and then flew down to the memorial. The two stones were made of marble. One had a spider carved into it and the other a human, and they both overlooked the valley floor. The cabin was visible through the branches of the pines, making it a perfect resting spot.

She looked over toward a nearby bush and saw a spider frantically repairing its web. The impulse to crush it was strong, but that would make her no better than an Arachne. Besides, the last thing she needed was for the spiders of the forest to tattle on her. If Velvet could talk to arachnids, then she needed to assume that nothing she did was private.

Abella stretched her wings and waited for a bit longer. When the spider was finished, it scurried back into the safety of the bush, leaving the web out for its next meal. Satisfied that the spider was safe now from birds, Abella threw herself off the side of the cliff and let the air currents carry her across the valley.

"I'll be watching," she muttered under her breath.

And when the time came, she would be ready.

🏠🏠🏠

Beth burst out of the closet, water soaking her clothes and seeping into the floorboards. Over the winter, Tink had built a special drain beneath the floor of the closet so that it wouldn't make such a mess. A process that used to feel like rushing down a slip-and-slide was now more akin to having a bucket of water dumped over her head.

A small crowd had formed in the front room. Beth shut the door and reopened it. The magical portal was one way, so now she was greeted by coats, a stack of towels, and a hula hoop with glowing runes embedded along the outer rim.

"Strange man outside house!" Tink ran up to Beth, a hammer clutched in her diminutive hands. "Been looking in the windows!

Beth held the hoop over her head and let go. The runes flared as their magic forced the water off of her and onto the floor. It had been a gift from Ratu, but it could only be used a couple of times a day. When the hoop clattered on the ground, she picked it up and stuck it back in the closet. "Where's Lily?"

"Oh, I'm around." The succubus was standing up on the third-floor landing, leaning over the edge. She tumbled forward and into the air, then landed gracefully on the hard wood below. "Time to be the man of the house?" she asked.

"Maybe not yet, let's see what we have." When Beth looked outside, she saw a man in glasses standing just off the porch. He was clearly trying to see into the windows of the home and was pacing.

Beth opened the door and stepped outside. "Can I help you with something?"

The man was wearing a brown sweater vest and a long-sleeved button down beneath it. His glasses were perched on the edge of his nose like a squat bird, ready to fall off at any moment.

"Where's Mike?" he demanded.

"May I ask who's calling?" Beth had a pretty good idea.

"Tell him his neighbor is here to talk to him again about the noise." Murray finally seemed to notice Beth, and his cheeks flushed. He promptly adjusted the hem of his vest and pushed his glasses further up his nose. His fingers went through his thinning hair like a comb.

"What noise?"

"It was a woman screaming. Around lunch time." Murray's face became smug as he held up his phone. He tapped the screen a few times and Beth heard shrieks come from the speaker that she immediately recognized as her own. She fought the burning sensation in her cheeks, hoping to hold a poker face.