“A little help here guys.”
No one made a move to help me or move the dog.
“If you want to keep that thing, then you need to train him,” said Lochlan.
“How exactly am I supposed to do that? It’s a devil dog.”
“Figure it out before he destroys my house,” he said.
“I believe Marty has a reason for calling us together — and it’s not to discuss her pet’s poor manners,” said Sterling.
I shot him a grateful look. I appreciated the support. I’d need it once they realized the risk I posed to all of us. First a threat from my caustic magic and now my father.
I cleared my throat. This was harder than I thought. The dog’s chewing was distracting and Lochlan was giving Muffin a death glare.
“I’m gonna tie him up outside. I’ll be right back,” I said.
I snatched up Muffin’s leash and the dog didn’t budge. I tugged, but he refused to let go of his newest chew toy.
Everyone was staring at me. I really didn’t want to deal with this dog. Frustrated, I brought my hand down hard on his backside. The dog was startled enough to let go of the couch. I snatched him by the collar and hauled him towards the front door. I really didn’t want to go out alone and Sterling looked worried. He followed me to the door.
Nearly at the door, I heard the others snicker. They didn’t realize the potential danger that might await me outside, or they wouldn’t be amused.
“Next time you take him out,” I said.
I was brave in front of the others, but I didn’t like being outside alone with only Muffin as my companion. I didn’t know if my father, a.k.a., the Crimson Fiend, was still out here, watching me. He would be back, and I better be ready to face him.
There was a gargantuan oak tree, not far from the house. The tree had to be hundreds of years old and could easily keep from breaking under the force of a devil dog. Although, I doubted how well it would hold Muffin seeing how he was hell-bent on destruction. With my luck, I’d find him eating his way through the tree.
Surprisingly, the dog didn’t fight me and was docile as I tied him to the tree.
“So now you behave. What am I going to do with you?”
I straightened from where I was crouching and smacked into a large male’s chest. Automatically, my fist shot out to incapacitate my adversary. It was a good thing that Sterling had amazing reflexes because he stopped the punch I’d thrown at his head.
“What’s wrong? I’ve never seen anyone startle you, certainly not me.”
“We can talk inside.”
“I know something has you spooked.”
“Did your shifter senses tell you that?”
“No, I didn’t need them to pick up on the fear pouring off of you. I’ve known you for five years. Never have I smelled such fear from you. And it smells odd out here.”
“Forget the smells. I’ll tell you what made me this way when I explain what happened to everyone. It’s going to be hard enough to tell it once. Don’t make me tell the story twice.”
He searched my eyes, staring for an uncomfortably long time, before looking away.
“Very well, I’ll walk you back to the house.”
Neither of us spoke on the short walk back to the house. I settled into the couch as best I could. My nerves and fear had me clenching my hands. Would they throw me out when I told them about my father? Would they even believe me?
“We’re waiting, Marty,” complained Zander.
Our resident brat jolted me out of my pity party. This was one of the few times I was thankful for his rudeness.
“So, basically, the short of it is –”
“Spit it out already,” said Zander.
“You don’t have to be so rude. And she was trying to tell us before you interrupted her,” said Callie.
“I just ran into my father outside.”
“What?! The Crimson Fiend,” shrieked Callie as she threw herself over the back of the couch in an uncharacteristic show of athleticism.
Sterling didn’t wait to hear the details. He shifted, tearing his clothes to shreds as he transformed into his Kodiak bear. He took the shortest route outside, which unfortunately for Lochlan, was the living room wall. Zander looked scared and Jennica looked confused. Lochlan was calm and quiet, so I couldn’t gauge his reaction.
“I certainly didn’t expect to start my day with a bear crashing through my wall,” said Lochlan.
I laughed, which sounded off and contained a trace of hysteria.
2
The ragged edges of the crumbling wall resembled a monster with an open mouth, full of teeth – just waiting to swallow us up.
“One of us needs to go after Sterling. I think it’s better that it’s not you, Marty,” said Lochlan.
That pissed me off and relieved me at the same time. I didn’t need coddling, but I’m not sure that I’m prepared to confront my father again. Seeing him was a huge shock.
“I don’t supposed arguing will change your mind about that?”
“Nope.”
And with a snap of his fingers he was gone. Why can’t my magic be something normal like that? And something I could actually use. Mine was only good for death and destruction.
Speaking of destruction, this wall wasn’t going to fix itself. I walked over to check out the remains of the wall. Up close it looked even worse.
I gathered up what I could salvage and started separating broken things from anything that could be restored.
Callie and Jennica joined me in the cleanup efforts. I looked in disgust at the growing pile of ruined furniture, art, and pieces of the wall. The pile of ruined things was twice the size of what we could save.
“Did everyone except me know about your father?” asked Jennica.
“No, I just told them about it when I demolished the Agency.”
“That
