"I keep trying to tell you that," Gabriel whispered. There it was. He had to say it. Gabriel was having his ‘I told you so’ moment.
"Lucian will be out of the bathroom any second," I said. "And it's not that dark out here yet. Can you do something about it?"
"Oh, yeah, sorry." He waved his hand. I didn't notice a difference, but he smiled at me. "He can't see us now, even if he looks out."
"Thanks. I want you to make this dog look like a golden retriever."
He scratched his head. "Why?"
"Because I want to keep it."
"We could just zap it back to Hell," he suggested. "Or kill it."
His body emitted a soft glow as he considered using his Light to destroy the hound.
"No," I said fiercely. "You're too kill-happy lately, what's gotten into you?" I unfroze the hound and scratched his head.
He stared at me like I'd sprouted horns. "Lil, you'd normally be the first one to suggest killing a demon loose on Earth."
"Well, not a hound." I snapped my fingers, and the animal bounded to my side. "Sit," I commanded. He sat. "He got out of Hell but look. He found his mistress." And he could help guard me and Lucian if demons were running around loose.
Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Is he one of yours?"
I had a pack of hounds in Hell. They lived on the grounds of our estate in Limbo. The puppies weren’t this big when I last saw them. "Not sure, but he will be now. Make him look like a golden retriever then go back to whatever you were doing."
Gabriel snapped his fingers and the massive, black Hellhound transformed into a fluffy golden pooch. The poor fella looked back at his body and whined at me. "It's not permanent," I assured him. Hellhounds were far more sentient than anyone gave them credit for being. They understood a lot.
Wagging his tail, the good boy accepted his new look and stared at me with love and devotion in his eyes. "See?" I pointed to the dog. "He wants me to keep him."
“Whatever," Gabe said. He popped a kiss on my cheek. "I'm trying to get a hold of Raphael to see if he has any insight into this Lucifer fiasco. He's good with spells and curses."
I nodded. "Okay. Tell him I said hello."
Lucifer, Michael, and Gabriel were decent spellcasters as well, but they generally deferred to me, or good sense, in the end. Raphael never did. I couldn't abide by a man that refused to see reason. There had been plenty of times over the years that I'd accepted something from one of the men in my life and changed my mind, but I'd never known Raph to do so.
"And Gabriel?" He looked at me before disappearing. "Stop trying to kill Lucian."
"No promises." And poof, he was gone.
"No promises, whatever," I grumbled.
Lucian stepped out onto the back porch. "Connie," he called. "What are you doing out there?"
I tapped into my limited supply of magic and used it to make my words resonate with the hound. "You act like a dog and do as I say."
He woofed.
"Go greet Lucian like a dog happy to see his new owner."
The hound bounded across the backyard as I walked forward. "Honey, we're keeping him," I said.
Lucian's face lit up. I smiled because Lucifer also loved the hounds. He played with my pack and exercised them frequently. "He's a sweet dog, but don't you think he might have an owner?"
Gabriel had done too good of a job on him. His coat looked freshly brushed and he looked healthy as if he had an owner that took good care of him.
"I'll post on social media," I said. "And tomorrow I can call the pound and give our info in case someone tries to look for him there."
Lucian nodded. "Come on in, boy, I've got a nice steak thawed you can have for dinner."
