TWENTY-SIX (RUBY POV)

"There's no one here," I whisper bewildered, looking around while Terra holds my hand, surprised too. Iselen is nowhere to be seen and her vampires aren't watching the back door anymore, the human guard and the guys carrying bottles from the van to the kitchen have vanished too. Cries come from the front garden...

"Damn it, where is the stupid bloodsucker?" The werewolf growls quietly pulling my hand, dragging me towards the corner of the building cautiously to take a quick look, although we keep our backs stuck to the wall. Someone has lit small lanterns and torches that illuminate the gardens and pool softly. "Oh wow..."

"What's going on?" I ask in shock watching dozens of humans running scared down the terraces trying to move away from the vampires and demons that are fighting around the house. There're broken glasses and smushed canapes on the floor, some ladies have lost their high-heeled shoes trying to escape and golden and silver designer sandals are scattered all over the lawn, waiters are hiding behind the barbecue and the outdoor living room furniture and stare at the spread wings of the demons in disbelief while they try to punch the members of Iselen's clan, fortunately the vampires move so fast that my eyes can't even follow them and they dodge most of the blows.

"Someone will manipulate lot of minds if they want humans to forget about this mess," Terra shakes her head, dismayed. "Can you see Iselen?"

"No, but there's a werewolf there," I whisper. The big animal has grey fur although it doesn't look as soft as my girl's, the sharp fangs try to tear the vampires' flesh and the powerful back legs help him to jump to the other side of the pool to chase them. Suddenly, he stands up on those back legs, roaring angrily, his eyes turn red like the flames of the torches, the front legs turn into heavily muscled arms with sharp claws and two massive wings spread on his back.

"That's not one of my comrades," Terra swallows hard, staring at the beast in disbelief.

"What are you doing standing here like an idiot? Are you crazy? Let's go." Iselen appears out of the blue and grabs my free hand, dragging our bodies back to the garage and the back door. We run down the road hiding behind the bushes, trying to avoid the few humans that have chosen this escape route till we manage to reach my car that's parked behind some trees. My hands shake so bad that I can't find the keys in the backpack and is Terra the one who pushes me to the vampire's arms, takes the keys finally and sits down behind the wheel.

"I think you're in no condition to drive but I'll need instructions to get back home, this city is too big..."

"Yes, I'm sorry... That way..." I point to our left ad she nods. "What happened?" I turn around to look at Iselen who's sprawled on the backseat, shaking her head, and she looks angry.

"I have a terrible taste in women," she answers sighing.

"Was this Zoe's fault?" the wolf snorts and rolls her eyes. "I'm not surprised at all."

"According to Hans, the bitch was too interested in finding out what we were up to, she got too close to the house to peep through the window carelessly, two demon soldiers saw her and tried to catch her, a handful of my vampires rushed to help her, those demons noticed that my vampires where spying on them and raised the alarm... and suddenly everybody was fighting and humans were freaking out. Even if most of them know that supernatural creatures are real, talking to Marsh in his office like civilized people about the advantages of joining his alliance is different to watch him turning into a hellhound in front of their faces."

"Turn to the left after the traffic light," I whisper before turning around again to look at my girl. "The big wolf was Marsh?"

"It's not a wolf, babe," the vampire sighs tiredly. "Considering that he is a powerful half-demon and given that the furry monster we saw was the size of a car, I bet one of his grandparents was a real hellhound."

"A what?" I ask scared.

"One of the massive dogs guarding the gates of hell, like Cerberus, but without the three heads and with horns, of course. Not the kind of puppy you'd want to have as a pet, believe me. They're big, dangerous and terrifying." I stare at her with my mouth wide open for a few seconds but she seems serious about it. "Luckily, I think they haven't seen us so no one will link us with this attack. I told Hans to gather the vampires and get out of there immediately... If they catch one of my people and torture them to find out why they were watching the house, we'd be screw. It's better if Marsh believes this was a random fight or an attempted robbery... or someone trying to take revenge on Michaela. That bitch made lot of enemies scamming magical creatures for centuries."

"Calm down, babe," Terra smiles while parking the car in front of my house finally. "We're safe here thanks to the witches' spells, your house is a fortress against demons right now, at least for a few weeks..."

"And later, what? What are we going to do now?" I ask flopping down on the couch and hugging Ru that has jumped to my lap immediately. "How are we going to stop Marsh and make sure that the hell door remains closed?"

"We'll find a solution, Ruby, don't worry," the wolf sits down next to me and puts her tattooed arm on my shoulders, hugging me against her warm body. "Everything will be all right, my love, trust us..."

"Can you call Elric with that thing?" Iselen asks pointing at my laptop.

"I guess so," I frown, hesitating. "Do you know if he has Zoom or Skype?" The vampire stares at me like I have two heads all of a sudden, totally floored, while Terra chuckles.

"I'll help you with that. Iselen, why don't you make us some tea? And bring chocolate cookies too, I think we all need a dose of sugar to feel better."

*****

"So the fucking door is in Los Angeles, well, one of them," Elric nods on the other side of the screen and smiles happily, sitting on a stool and leaning his elbows on the kitchen island. He wears a mint green tunic with silver embroidered work but has dropped the helmet on the couch behind him, fortunately. "I'm very impressed, honestly, I never thought you could keep the human alive for so long."

"We're good fighters, I assure you we can kick demon asses as well as you did," the vampire growls offended and the wizard chuckles.

"In your dreams, bloodsucker. I was an outstanding hunter in my youth, no one has been capable of beating my last record: I cut off four demon heads with one sword stroke." Elric points at the wall behind him where some horns are being displayed on shelves.

"What do you know about half-demons with hound ancestry?" Terra leans forward, looking at the screen with curiosity when the wizard opens his mouth wide in shock before shaking his head.

"I know they don't exist anymore, there was a powerful clan living in the north of Ireland but we got rid of them."

"You left two behind: Marsh and his cousin," Iselen replies harshly, she's still angry because Elric had doubts about her ability to kick demon asses, probably.

"That's impossible... What the heck is this?" he asks downloading a video Terra has sent him. "Are humans watching this on their social media accounts? Shit..."

"A waiter filmed this video of the fight and posted it on Instagram but don't worry, the press secretary of Marsh's company is doing a great job telling everybody that this is a promotional video for his next film, people believe it's a publicity stunt and a practical joke. In fact, they're praising him for this idea, they think it was a genius move to get the media attention. It's trending topic on Twitter right now but no one believes it's true."

"Wow, the dog punches hard... And it's really big, I'm sure he's the son of a powerful demon, I can't believe we let this one get away... It was Samantha's fault, most likely, the girl always brought problems." Elric shakes his head while pouring a generous splash of brandy in his tea. "That witch was an extraordinary demon tracker but had a soft spot for puppies and was unable to kill them, even if those toddlers were as evil and dangerous as the adults. She must've hidden those two while we sent their family back to hell."

"And where is Samantha now?" I ask with curiosity and the wizard sighs.

"Well, she found a puppy in our last mission, half human and half beast demon, she hid her in her cape and took her to her apartment to protect her. They're cute when they're small, like a furry gremlin with horns."

"What happened?"

"Things went well for a couple of years, she managed to deceive us and hide the little girl, till one day she stopped answering the phone and we went to check on her... We found her, what was left of her. The half demon had eaten her while she was taking a nap." I open my eyes wide, horrified, and the wizard shrugs. "Demons are evil, girl, no matter how huggable they look. Do you think this Marsh guy wants to seek revenge for his family's death? Damn it, I have to reinforce my protective spells around the cave. Thank you for the heads up but now I have to leave..."

"Wait!" Iselen cries when she realizes that Elric is getting up from the stool and is waving goodbye. "What's this?" She raises her hand and shows a piece of paper to the camera, the wizard opens his eyes wide and moves a step back, he looks scared suddenly, more than ever before, and we stare at each other worried.

"Where did you find that?" Elric whispers softly, getting pale.

"This symbol was tattooed on a demon's arm, we believe this is the guy who wants to get out of hell and Marsh's friend... Do you know him? Is this bad?" The wizard nods quietly. "How bad is it?"

"Like the great plague of Milan in 1629..."

"Fuck, that was bad," Iselen whispers quietly and I look at her confused. "Diseases grow when demons escape from hell and plagues can be very virulent. Almost 300,000 people died in the north of Italy in those years of the 17th century, if only one demon was responsible for that outbreak of bubonic plague, it must've been a powerful and dangerous one."

"There was a war in Flanders and a terrible flood in the Mexican capital the same year. The responsible for all that mess was one of the closest collaborators of Leviathan, the demon of envy that looks like a red dragon... Like that..." Elric points at the symbol that Iselen drew from memory on a piece of paper and that, it's true, looks like the sketch of a red dragon. "We're screw, big style, if Leviathan's army wants to come back to this world... It'll be our complete annihilation."

"Elric, calm down, it's just a demon trying to escape right now, not an entire army, but the door is still closed and we won't let them..." The wizard gets up and paces up and down nervously, mumbling quietly and ignoring Iselen. Suddenly, he stops abruptly to lean forward and get closer to the laptop.

"I'm going to reinforce my spells," he explains a second before cutting the call. The three of us stare at the black screen in disbelief and the vampire shrugs.

"Mad as a hatter..."

"I think he's scared," I reply nervously, hugging Ru that barks at me because I'm squeezing her too hard. The werewolf kisses my cheek gently before helping my dog to get down of the couch to the floor. "This Leviathan demon looks bad. What are we going to do?"

"We'll go back to the Wind Rose to try to find information in our library, we'll ask other witches and wizards, demon hunters and all kinds of magical creatures. There must be a way to stop Marsh and keep the damned gate closed... At least, you'll be safe there till we find a solution to the problem. Iselen gets up and carries the tea cups back to the kitchen while I remain in the living room, hugging a pillow because my own pet has abandoned me to go to the garden. The wolf strokes my hair, worried, till the vampire comes back and grabs my arm, pulling to help me getting up.

"What are you doing?"

"You must be exhausted, let's have a shower and go to bed..."

"But it's too early for you to sleep," I moan but she ignores me and drags me to the bathroom.

"Don't worry about that, come on, get your clothes off." The vampire smirks mischievously leaning her hip against the sink counter, looking at me with her arms crossed over her chest, waiting patiently...

"Do you want me to perform an erotic show for you now?" I ask outraged. "After all what happened today..."

"No, babe," she answers and her grin grows wider. "You both will do it... pretty please..." she whispers pouting while we both stare at her in disbelief.

"Iselen, I don't think it's the right moment to..." Terra shakes her head.

"Believe, my love, it's the best moment. Let me see those gorgeous tits... please..." she repeats pouting again and I can't help chuckling in spite of all. Damned vampire, she knows she's irresistible when the charm kicks in. I start getting undressed, letting my clothes drop on the floor with abrupt movements while her eyes follow my hands and she watches closely every area of tattooed skin I'm uncovering till I can almost feel them touching me. I move slower deliberately at the end and she licks her lips, holding her breath, when my panties slip down my legs. I get in the massive cabin and turn on the hot water, checking the temperature while feeling the werewolf following me.

Terra puts her arms around my torso and her hands rub my breasts while she nibbles at my neck, I tilt my head back to grant her better access and look at Iselen out of the corner of my eye. The vampire has moved closer and leaned her shoulder on the dark tiled wall, right next to the glass screen, and swallows hard while her eyes follow the movements of Terra's hands all over my body, going down slowly towards my hips while drops of hot water run down our skin. The wolf is still kissing my neck when her fingers find my pussy and my muscles get tensed while I let out a moan. I lean my hand on the screen to keep my balance while fixing my eyes on Iselen's face, her cheeks are flushed and she breathes heavily.

"Baby, come here..." I whisper and she obeys immediately, getting rid of her clothes at vampire speed, before walking in the shower and kneeling down in front of me. She remains silent for a minute, staring at my core while Terra's fingers are still touching me, till I tangle my own fingers in her hair and pull to move her closer. Suddenly, the vampire's tongue joins the wolf's fingers, I can feel both touching my folds, the tongue is warmer and softer, the fingers feel firmer, moving away my labia for Iselen to reach further. I gasp, tilting my head back on Terra's shoulder.

"Fuck, you're so hot," the wolf growls pushing her index inside my body while Iselen flicks my clit sending a shiver down my spine. I turn my head to kiss her and Terra shoves her tongue inside my mouth at the same pace she pumps her finger, I raise my leg and lean my foot on the small bench at the back of the shower despite my legs are shaking and I'm not sure I'll be able to remain standing. The wolf fixes the problem putting her arms around my torso again, touching my breasts, pinching my nipples, while her lips muffle my moans.

"You taste so good down here, almost as delicious as your blood," the vampire whispers shoving her tongue deeper in my pussy.

"Iselen, please..." I growl pulling her face closer to my core and she smirks mischievously, sucking and licking, keeping me on the edge deliberately, swirling her tongue on a very sensitive spot that makes me hold my breath. My hips flutter against her mouth and my fingers pull her hair harshly, Iselen's hands hold my buttocks while Terra keeps torturing my nipples and my body writhes in agony. "Don't be cruel, please... Fuck!"

The vampire puts my thighs on her shoulders while the werewolf hugs my torso, both women handle me like a ragdoll, like I weight nothing, and remain firm on their feet and knees even if I arch my back and my muscles get tensed. Iselen thrusts her tongue inside my pussy, pumping mercilessly, before catching my clit between her lips and flicking it with the tip of her tongue at a feverish pace. My entire body convulses when I shatter under her talented mouth and a loud cry echoes against the bathroom tiled walls.

"Fuck..." I repeat breathing heavily when they let my feet touch the floor again, I can still feel my pussy throbbing with the last shudders of my orgasm and my heart beats fast. Iselen gets up slowly and moves closer to me, smiling, but the wolf tangles her fingers in the vampire's hair and pulls hard, moving her face closer to Iselen to kiss her filthily while both women are still hugging me between their bodies.

"So sweet..." Terra whispers licking her lips before kissing my cheek. "Do you think you'll be able to sleep now, Ruby?" I nod quietly while Iselen takes the shower gel to scrub my body and the werewolf still hugs my waist.

"I think I'll fall into a coma the moment my head touches the pillow," I admit yawning and relaxing, letting my precious girls take care of me.