Impatient to wash off the stench from the bus and the heat, I hopped into the shower, grateful for the delightful and soothingcaress of the water on me. I had just begun lathering some soap all over my body when a loud sound startled me. I gasped, turned off the water, and strained my ear to see if I was hearing something else or if my imagination was playing tricks on me. When the silence continued, I shrugged and resumed my ablutions.
Moments after I began rinsing, I heard another loud crack followed by what sounded like a hiss. This time, I no longer believed I’d imagined it. I quickly rinsed off to avoid slipping and breaking my neck then wrapped a towel around me. Cursing myself for not pushing my magic training further, I grabbed a pair of scissors and carefully opened the door.
“Is anyone there?” I called out, wondering if this was stupid to let them know I was on to them or a good way to scare off any potential intruder.
For a split second, I considered putting some clothes on before I went to investigate. But then I figured I’d much rather run outside bare ass and alive than to get stabbed by a serial killer with one leg halfway stepping into my panties.
As the sound came from downstairs, I didn’t want to remain cooped up here on the second floor with no way out. Straining my ears for any suspicious activity, I carefully made my way down the stairs, my long scissors held firmly in my right hand. Never more than today did I rejoice that my floors didn’t creak.
My brain immediately registered that the front door was still closed and the bags remained undisturbed by the console. No visible sign of disturbance indicated the presence of an intruder. However, as I reached the landing and glanced to the right towards the kitchen, my heart skipped a beat at the sight of a pulsating reddish glow. I half ran into the kitchen thinking that something was on fire only to stop dead in my tracks when I saw the source of the glow.
Many more cracks had appeared on the surface of the egg visible over the towel wrapped around it. From where I stood, it literally looked as if a heart was beating inside. With a will oftheir own, my feet carried me to the island upon which the bowl sat. With great care, I pulled the towel away to expose more of the egg. A network of cracks covered its dark surface. And yet, it retained an apparent integrity.
For a reason I would never be able to explain, my stupid brain decided it was a good idea to pick it up. The intense burn I expected never came, even though it appeared filled with lava. It was very warm but in a pleasant way.
What the fuck is hatching out of this?
Angie often collected exotic stuff, but she was too selfish to raise pets. Well, except for her black cat, Merlin, as he was fairly low maintenance. When we were roommates, Sophia and I shouldered the brunt of grooming and feeding the cat. Now, Angie had her cleaning lady do it except for feeding. Everything about Angie focused on acquiring more power and increasing her magic or leverage over others. She had no time for anything that would demand she care for it. So what in the world was this about?
As I was still very much a novice in the arcane world, I didn’t know jack shit about the kind of funky critter that could pop out of a black egg.
Unsure as to what to do, I glanced around the room debating where I should put it to hatch. It needed a safe place as I didn’t want it to fall from the counter if it couldn’t fly. But even as that thought crossed my mind, images of nightmarish creatures took over. What if it was some sort of flying flesh-eating monster that came out and chewed me out? Should I find some sort of cage or containment device to put it in while I call the Council of Witches for help?
Calling Angie would have been the easiest solution, but I had attempted to reach her in vain at least three times this morning since Mrs. Hopkins demanded I come to pick up her stuff. I couldn’t tell if she truly was too busy or was deliberatelyignoring my calls knowing that I would likely berate her for dumping her shit on me.
Any such musings flew right out of my mind as a loud crack resonated again. My heart nearly jumped out of my chest as the egg violently wiggled in my hands. I screeched and instinctively dropped it in shock.
“No!” I shouted as I watched it plummet to the travertine tiled floor of the kitchen as if in slow motion.
To my dismay, the egg didn’t shatter and spill its fiery red goop onto the floor. Instead, countless cracks slithered all over its obsidian surface, and it shuddered violently once, twice… And then the top flew off as a black, clawed hand shot out of the egg. I screamed again and quickly backed away until the wall stopped my retreat. Frozen in fear, I just stood there, wishing for the wall to swallow me whole.
Before me, a humanoid shape sprung out of the broken shell like a genie from its lamp. He quickly took shape as a muscular male with a haunting human face, a long pair of horns poking straight up, glowing red eyes, long wavy black hair, and pointy ears. Except, he wasn’t a genie. As his entire body emerged from the egg, so did a long pair of muscular legs. He appeared to slowly float back down onto the floor where he stood in his glorious nudity. His entire skin was the darkest shade of gray, almost charcoal. Beneath it, fiery lightning pulsated as if lava wanted to erupt from him.
Under different circumstances, my gaze would have zeroed in on his massive cock—limp though it currently was—covered in unusual ridges.
A predatory smile stretched his plump lips, giving me a glimpse of perfect white teeth framed by a pair of sharp fangs. He flicked his right hand, and it glowed an angry red. Simultaneously, the scattered fragments of his shell began to sizzle and wither before vanishing in a puff of smoke.
“Hello, Mistress,” the demon said in a deep, sensual voicethat had goosebumps erupting all over my body. “So lightly clad. Someone is eager... I approve.”
He added those last two words in a purring voice as he began to prowl towards me. That finally snapped me out of my terrified daze. I screeched again and made a mad dash towards the front door.
A discreet swoosh resonated behind me half a beat before a ball of fire flew past me at dizzying speed. At first, I thought the demon had shot a fiery ball at me. But the blazing sphere stopped directly in front of the door before shifting into the dark demon. I tried to stop but lost my footing instead. I slipped and watched my feet go up in front of me as I landed with a loud thud on the hardwood floor. Pain radiated from my right butt cheek, down my leg, and up my lower back. Carried by my momentum, I slid a few extra feet towards him, flashing him with both my butt and cooch on full display.
“Ow!” I whimpered, hurt, humiliated, and terrified.
To my shock, an air of real concern—oddly mixed with disapproval—descended over the demon’s face.
“Mistress! Look at what you did to yourself! Where are you running off to?” he asked, lunging towards me.
Before I could even scramble back onto my feet, he picked me up effortlessly, holding me tightly against him as the treacherous towel just fell off. My breath caught in my throat, and I emitted the weirdest gurgling choked sound when he casually rubbed his left hand over my butt cheek while holding me firmly against him with his right arm wrapped around my back.
“What a perfect behind,” he mused aloud. “You can’t damage it with such reckless behavior.”
I screamed again and shoved against his chest to free myself from his embrace. He winced at the shrill sound and looked at me as if I was mentally impaired.
“Put me down!” I shouted.
He immediately released his hold. I gasped, shocked to findmyself falling. My feet landed on the floor at a bad angle. Gravity being a ripe old bitch immediately started pulling me backward. Eyes wide, I instinctively reached forward for something to hold onto. Moving at lightning speed, the demon caught my wrist, steadying me before I crashed again.
