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The male ran down the hallway into a huge bathroom. An enormous tub sat sunken in the marble platform, enough for six or eight to comfortably fit. He padded across the floor strewn with sex toys and fruit, and jumped into the tub, holding Andrea above the surface.
Aunt B knocked some sort of leather and steel contraption off the marble and sat on the edge. “Who else knows?”
“She had a wolf with her,” the female said.
“Who?”
“Derek,” I told her.
Aunt B nodded. “Good. The boy will go straight to Curran. I can reason with Curran. It’s our luck that the Bear is away. As long as none of the older guard find out, we’ll be fine.”
What the hell was she so happy about? Curran was about as reasonable as a mad elephant.
She leaned over to Andrea. “Stupid, stupid child. You know what you are?”
Andrea nodded. The effort rocked her distorted body.
“It will go easier then. Strip her.”
The female leaped into the tub and brushed away the shreds of fabric, still clinging to Andrea’s flesh. My stomach clenched. Acid washed my tongue.
“You’re going to gag, go outside.” Aunt B nodded to Andrea. “I will guide you into the natural form.
Your face is turning gray. You know what that means, so concentrate if you want to live. Chest first.
Picture two wings growing from your back. Large wings. Spread them, child. Spread them wide.”
Andrea’s chest bone crawled down. Her shoulders lowered, stretching her chest…
I ran out of the house.
CHAPTER 19
I SAT ON THE PORCH. THE DOOR BANGED AND Ahyena female sat next to me. Or maybe she was a he. It was hard to tell with hyenas: they were a weird androgynous lot. In the wild, female hyenas were dominant. The hierarchy went females, pups, and only then males. Considering that spotted hyena females grew larger than males and sported a clitoris big enough to rival any male’s penis that could, and frequently did, get erections, the hierarchy made sense.
This particular hyena was short and had blue hair that stuck out straight up from her head. She saw me looking.
“Like my do? I’ll tell you who did it. Of course, it won’t look as good on you as it does on me.” She winked.
“I’m sure. So how much does it cost to get a gas burner installed on your head?”