“Oh, magical mirror, grant my wish, take me to Nali, the Empress of the Monsters,” he instructed.
He slid his finger over the rose thorn to activate the magic. He looked down when the portal’s swirling colors appeared. A look of dismay crossed his face an instant before he fell through.
Oh, boy, Nali will really be pissed at me this time, he thought with wry amusement.
Chapter 10
Ashure fell through the air until his feet hit the soft surface near the foot of the bed. He pinwheeled his arms as he fought to keep his balance on the unstable surface. A sudden movement behind him caused him to fall backward on the bed. He bounced on his back several times between the pair of startled and distinctly irate lovers. He grunted in relief when his head landed on a soft pillow.
While the landing had been soft, it was probably the worst place and time to suddenly appear. He gave an apologetic smile to soften the impact of his intrusion. Given the heated glare he was receiving and the dagger brandished in his direction, his effort wasn’t working.
He swallowed when he felt the dagger’s tip press against the soft tissue at the base of his throat. The appearance of a tiny, animated gold Gryphon on the hilt of the dagger caused him to blink in surprise. The diminutive winged lion shook his head in disgust and snorted at him before it looked up at the man who was holding the dagger.
Ashure’s smile turned into a grimace, and he sent a beseeching look to his beautiful but equally furious friend. She had scrambled out of the bed and was tying the belt of a dark forest green robe around her slender waist.
“Ah, good morning, Nali,” he mumbled, trying not to move his throat as he spoke. “Do you think you could ask your lover not to skewer me, please? I promised Tonya that I would return unscathed.”
“Asahi, you can release him. He is not a threat. Ashure, what are you doing here? I told you not to come unless all three beads turned red,” she angrily hissed.
Ashure breathed a sigh of relief when the man above him pulled the magical dagger away from his throat. He curiously followed Asahi’s movements as the man rolled off the bed. Amusement struck him when Asahi walked naked across the room, picked up a black duffle bag from a chair near the bathroom, and disappeared out of sight.
He lost his enjoyment in the situation when he glimpsed the worried expression in Nali’s eyes as she, too, watched Asahi disappear into the other room. Deciding that sprawling in the center of the tousled bedcovers would not help, he sat up and scooted to the edge. Nali turned to face him. He stood and gave her a slight bow and his best contrite expression.
“Nali—” he started.
She waved her finger at him. “Don’t you ‘Nali’ me, Ashure! What are you doing here?” she growled.
He looked over her shoulder when her lover silently stepped back into the room. He relaxed when he caught the amused expression on Asahi’s face. Nali’s low growl warned him that the mood she was in was not as understanding.
“I was worried about you. When the first bead turned red, and then the second started turning, I wanted to help… and… I... um, I had no idea that you were… you know…” He waved a hand at them. “The mirror didn’t show me…. I apologize,” he said with a remorseful expression.
“Mirror?” Asahi and Nali exclaimed at the same time.
He grinned and held up the mirror that he was still holding. “Yes. This thing is utterly amazing, Nali. I discovered that it not only shows my true heart’s desire, but it will take me to it, if I prick my finger. Tonya and I finally figured out how the magic works—quite by accident,” he admitted.
“Ashure, can I see the mirror?” Nali asked, walking around the bed.
“But of course,” he said.
“What if the alien can do the same thing with this mirror as it did with yours?” Asahi asked.
She glanced at him before looking at the mirror. “I don’t know,” she murmured.
Ashure looked back and forth between them with a frown. “What mirror? What happened?” he demanded.
Asahi looked at him. “Nali was using the Goddess’s Mirror, and the alien came through it,” he explained.
Disbelief swept through him. “Came through… Nali, how is that possible?” he exclaimed.
She shook her head. “I don’t know,” she impatiently hissed. “How does this thing work again?”
Ashure shook his head. “Give the mirror back to me. I will do it,” he grimly replied.
“Ashure,” she growled.
He shook his head. “Perhaps you should get dressed before we do this,” he suggested.
Nali glared at him before she turned away, grumbling that she could kill aliens half-naked if she felt like it. Instead of going into the other room, she snapped her fingers. The forest green robe vanished and was replaced by midnight blue trousers and a matching silk blouse underneath a black leather vest. Black knee-high boots completed her outfit.
“Happy now?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
He grinned at her. “Well, I was hoping you would show me your lovely ass to replace the memory of Asahi’s—but… Yes, this is nice,” he hastily finished when she twitched her fingers in warning.
“The spell to work the mirror, Ashure—now,” she growled, snapping her fingers.
He gave Asahi a pained look. “She can be grouchy when she is rudely awakened,” he observed before he grimaced at Asahi’s frown.
“You are about to join the world of the Bogleech if you aren’t careful,” she retorted.
Asahi tilted his head inquisitively. “The world of the Bogleech? That doesn’t sound pleasant.”
Ashure grimaced and nodded. “She excelled at transformation spells when we were
