bedeviled & beyond 06 - bedeviled & befouled by sam cheever Read Free Book Online Page A

hours in my bed the night before.
    Even after climbing out of it and moving determinedly through my day, the nightmare from the night before still clung to me. I couldn’t shake it no matter what mental exercises I’d used to try to rid myself of it.
    I planned to ask Gus about the nightmare when he came in.
    The door opened and Mx. Pickles stuck her head through. She observed me with her usual stoic expression. “Gus isn’t going to be in for a while, Mx. Phelps. He’s asked me to tell you that your aunt Myra is waiting for you in the physical training area.”
    I nearly groaned. Physical training was the last thing I was interested in at the moment. I pushed to my feet. “Okay, thanks.”
    Mx. Pickles’ dark head started to retreat back through the crack.
    “Mx. Pickles?”
    The dark head returned. “Yes.”
    “Do you know what Gus has planned for me today?”
    “My understanding is that he wants to test how long your powers last under the stress of battle.”
    I nodded. Made sense. “Okay. Thanks.”
    The woman started to retreat again and then stopped, opening the door wide and staring at me.
    I swallowed the coffee I’d just tasted and waited.
    “I just wanted to tell you that...well...I overheard Gus saying that he thought you’d regain your magic eventually. I just wanted you to know that. Sometimes Gus likes to keep things close to the vest.”
    I nodded, my smile widening. “Thanks. That helps.” But I couldn’t shake the feeling that the dream I’d had was a warning. As happy as it made me to think about getting my magic back, none of it would mean anything if Dialle was lost to his darkness before I could get back to him.
    With that thought, I made a decision I hoped I wouldn’t regret. Setting the coffee down, I started toward the door. Then I remembered I still had some magic in reserve from my session with Myra the night before. Not fully trusting that the borrowed energy would work, I took a deep breath and thought about the physical training wing, praying I wouldn’t drain my battery before I got there and end up splashing down in the women’s waste removal throne along the way.
    Sound and movement returned and I looked around, only half believing I’d landed where I’d wanted to. The floor was covered in thin mats and the walls were adorned with all manner of blades, firearms and even more prehistoric weapons. The entire back of the place was a shooting range, with a clear, soundproofing wall dividing it from the rest of the facility so the people using the range could be observed.
    One whole side of the remaining space consisted of an interesting assortment of barriers and obstacles for space-shifting practice. I couldn’t help wishing I’d had access to that course before I’d tried to use my fledgling shifting power for the first time. I still vividly remembered what it had felt like to be embedded inside that worm-headed demon in the Shadows.
    I shuddered at the memory.
    The place at first seemed to be empty. But then my gaze lit on movement in one corner and I turned toward it. That was the moment I realized there were more horrible things in life than being embedded inside a demon.
    “Bleurgh.” It’s a frunkin’ wonder I didn’t go blind from what I saw.
    Aubrey and Myra guiltily jumped apart, their angelic countenances blushing an attractive pink from being caught in a fiery lip lock.
    Myra quickly cast off her discombobulation and favored me with a glare, as if it was my fault she got caught climbing Aubrey’s delicious torso like a slut monkey. “Stop skulking around, Astra, and get over here. You’re late for your training.”
    I grinned. She wasn’t going to distract me from making fun of her. “Fortunately you weren’t bored waiting for me.” I started toward them. “Is that even legal? I mean, aren’t you guys a thousand years old? That’s just disgusting.”
    Aubrey laughed but Auntie Myra’s glare turned lethal. “Mind your own business, Astra.”
    I