Lisa and then get back to Julian before it was too late.
Lisa had looked so small and defeated. Not like the butt-kicking girl she met in front of
Lloyd’s house.
“I don’t mean to be the voice of reason here,” Reggie’s small voice whispered. “Because that’s so not me. And I like Lisa a lot, but do you think it’s the first time they’ve done something like this? Or the last time?”
The hair on Val’s arms stood up at the horrible thought. “I’m not here other days, or I’d try to do something then, too.”
“It’s because she’s a fallen angel, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Yeah, you do. It might be at a subconscious level, but you know exactly what I mean. You want to rescue this ex-fallen angel who got tempted and taken to Hell because you look at her and see you.”
She stopped walking for a second and turned her head to see Reggie’s whiskers twitch. “I what?”
“You think what’s happening to her could very well be happening to you. So by helping her in a way you’re actually helping yourself. Does that make sense?”
Val frowned and began walking again. “Not even remotely.”
She felt Reggie shift position on her shoulder. “Well, I kind of confused myself somewhere along my line of thinking. But this is still a bad idea.”
“Maybe I should just leave you right here in case Yasmeen’s pet is looking for a snack later.”
“You wouldn’t let that happen to me, would you?”
“Just watch me.”
He shifted again. Nervously. “We should definitely find poor Lisa. And rescue her. It is the right and noble thing to do.”
“See?” Val braved a smile. “Now you’re talking.”
The faeries stopped and opened a door, and the two of them disappeared inside with their struggling prisoner. Val waited with her back pressed against the wall, barely breathing, until the door reopened and the faeries exited, shutting the door behind them. They began walking in the opposite direction to Val but then one of them stopped and turned his head a little as if he sensed something. She stopped breathing completely and crushed herself up against the wall, hoping the loud banging of her heart wouldn’t give her away. After a long moment, the faery continued to walk away.
“Whew,” Reggie breathed. “That was a close one.”
With her back still against the wall, Val slid along until she reached the closed door, freezing at every little sound, even if it was just her stomach telling her that a brownie and three piña coladas did not meet all of her daily dietary needs. Then she wrapped her hand around the handle and turned it, expecting it to be locked and surprised that it wasn’t. It turned easily and she pushed it open a crack to peer inside.
It was a bedroom, large and ornate with a great round bed in the middle. The room was in shadow, but she could see that Lisa was on the bed, tied up and helpless. She looked over her shoulder to check if anyone was coming down the hallway but she and Reggie were completely alone. She slipped into the room and silently closed the door behind her.
“Lisa,” she whispered. The girl’s shoulders tensed. Her hands were tightly tied behind her back and attached to her feet with the same piece of rope.
Val searched the darkened room with a sweeping glance. Was someone waiting in the shadows just for the opportunity to jump out at her? That would be just her luck. She thought she’d probably deserve it with how careless she was being.
But the room was empty other than Lisa, Val, and the shivering rat on her shoulder. This was a demon party meant for the darkest, nastiest creatures around. No one would expect there to be a rescue attempt. Lisa wasn’t anything more to them than a mild diversion, probably on par with a tasty, but quickly forgotten hors d’oeuvre.
When Val got to the bed she reached out a hand to touch Lisa’s shoulder. The girl jumped and tried to scramble farther away.
“It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you,” Val whispered. “I’m here to help you.”
She made a mournful sound, muffled from the gag in her mouth. Val tried to untie it but Lisa cringed farther away from her.
Val frowned. “It’s me. I’m not going to hurt you.”
The scared look in the girl’s eyes didn’t go away. Val couldn’t understand it. They’d just met a short time ago when Lisa tried to drive Nathaniel’s gonads into his throat. Didn’t she remember?
Oh. Val looked down at herself. Right. The glamour. Forgot about that.
Not that the high heeled boots or the corset had gotten any more comfortable, but she hadn’t been staring at herself in the mirror every five minutes, so she’d nearly forgotten what she looked like.
“It’s me, Valerie. We met earlier. Nathaniel, remember? I’m a fallen one, too?”
Lisa looked confused.
“This is just a glamour, so don’t worry, okay?” Val continued. “I’m here to help you. Now hold still so I can get this thing off your mouth.”
She reached out with her long, sharp red fingernails, but this time Lisa didn’t move, though she did look scared. Val worked on the knot for a moment—it was pretty tight—and finally got it loose enough to pull it away from the girl’s mouth.
Lisa swallowed a couple of times. “My hands.”
It took Val longer to get those knots untied and she ended up breaking a nail in the process.
She didn’t usually have long nails, but she could now see why breaking one could make you mad—it just ruined the whole look.
“Are you okay?”
“No.” She still seemed confused. “Why do you look like that?”
Val looked down at her cleavage, then back at Lisa. “Um, Happy Halloween?”
Lisa just stared at her.
Val shifted her feet nervously. “I needed to get in here and I couldn’t let them see who I really am. This is temporary.”
“You looked better the other way.”
“I agree,” Reggie said from Val’s shoulder. “Although I don’t mind the twins.”
“Twins?”
“Yes, your two round and beautiful”—his whiskers twitched—“eyes. Yes, your eyes are lovely.”
Lisa frowned. “Your familiar is talking.”
“He’s not my familiar. Although, I think he’s getting a bit too familiar, truth be told.”