CHAPTER 84

"Well, you could fuck her." Yuki scowled. "But you would have to keep doing it until the poison was gone. I honestly don't know how that would work. One dose was enough to knock Bigfoot on his ass for several days. I estimate Dana got well over thirty. It may be something we need the centaurs to solve."

"Shit." He thought about the small supply of potions that Zel had sent with him. Most of it was for injuries, though she had tossed in some stuff for water purification and some energy bars. He didn't think those were made with his spunk anymore, so they probably wouldn't work. She had also put in a couple of vials with warning labels on them, but he figured he wouldn't need them with the Nirumbi gone.

"Where's Bigfoot?" he asked. "It sounds like we may need to leave soon. How is he feeling?"

The front door slammed open and Bigfoot limped out. He squatted down on the front porch with a groan, then sat on the steps.

"I was feeling better until I had to wrestle her outside." Bigfoot spat in the snow. "She trashed our kitchen before I could get my hands on her. Then she tried to bite me, but my fur is pretty thick. I've wrestled bears weaker than her, it's uncanny how strong she is."

Velvet left Mike's side and ran into the cabin. Puzzled, he watched her go.

"I'm sorry about that," he told Bigfoot while shaking his head. "Do you think you would be up to helping us get home? I think the Nirumbi are gone, so it should be safe to leave."

"And then what?" Bigfoot leaned back, a frown on his face. "Am I coming to live with you? Gonna be your big, hairy roommate?"

Mike shrugged. "That's your call. I assume you prefer the forest, but I'm sure we could buy a bed big enough for you. But what I want to do is bring a few rats back here. We can open a portal in your barn or wherever and this place would be just like part of the house. You can come and go as you please, you'll just have a shortcut across the country."

Velvet opened the door and came out holding a couple of pans. "I really like that idea, Uncle Foot." She looked down at the pans in her hands. "Oh, right." The Arachne went back inside and Mike could hear the sound of pots clanging. From where he stood, he could see that she was trying to clean up Dana's mess. He hadn't realized that she was so tidy. In fact, he didn't know much about her at all.

Bigfoot grunted. "I suppose tomorrow may work. I got winded dragging her out here, and don't want to get stuck in the woods at night. If we leave first thing in the morning, it should be easy enough to get you all home by nightfall."

"Thank you." Mike walked next to Yuki. "Do you think you can keep our girl on ice for another day?"

"Oh god, he made that joke on purpose," Dana muttered, her teeth chattering. Her nipples stood up prominently against the thin fabric of her undershirt as she arched her back, causing one of her breasts to pop free. "Please just leave me out here if he's gonna do that."

"Let's get some real clothes on her." He took off his coat and draped it over Dana's torso. "Let her keep some dignity until we get this sorted."

Dana made eye contact with him and mouthed the words "thank you," just before baring her teeth and hissing.

Disturbed by the turn of events, Mike went inside to dig through Dana's stuff for clothes she could wear. He saw Velvet humming to herself in the kitchen, her whole back end swaying from side to side as she tidied up the room. The fridge had been emptied onto the floor, and there were a couple of broken glass bottles. Velvet stepped around them with delicate feet.

After picking out a sweater and some pants, he headed toward the front door, but not before making a detour toward the kitchen and swatting Velvet playfully on the butt.

Velvet jumped, flipping over in the air and landing with her legs spread between the counter and the table. When she saw that it was Mike who had swatted her, she blushed.

"You startled me," she told him as she stepped back down. "I'm a bit distracted is all. Gotta clean this up."

"I'll be in to help." He went outside and had Yuki and Quetzalli assist him in getting Dana dressed. It took almost half-an-hour, and she had calmed down considerably by the time they were done. Still, she often bared her teeth while talking, so they put duct tape over her mouth. Mike was very apologetic during the whole thing until Dana told him that it was fine and to please stop bringing it up.

Yuki stayed outside with Dana while Mike went inside to help Velvet and make sure they were ready to leave in the morning. He was sure that Abella would be grateful to get home, and wondered if she was still sulking.

He and Quetzalli were in the middle of eating grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner when Yuki burst through the front door carrying a tiny gray bundle in her arms.

"Mike!" She ran to the table and opened her arms. Emery rolled out of them and went limp on the table. He looked up at Mike and let out a sigh of relief.

"I didn't think I'd make it," he muttered. "Need to...tell you something."

"Emery, where's Abella?"

"Captured."

When Mike stood, his magic roared inside of him. A blast of energy sent his chair skidding across the floor and into the pantry. Everybody jumped, but he was too worried about Abella to care much beyond that.