Page 58 of The Sasquatch and the Hairdresser

Astraea grinds her teeth, glaring at the giant opening to the unknown. “I suppose it’s better than a portal to the Fae Realm, at least. Who knows what kind of trouble that could bring.” She purses her lips.

I’m getting the sense she doesn’t like the fae. But I’m not gonna ask for any details.

Hal continues embracing me from behind like a big, hairy cocoon of comfort. I use my free hand to stroke his arm while I hold my bottle weapon at the ready with the other. If I thought I could use a sword, I’d ask Akram if he has another one lying around. But I’m pretty sure I’d be more likely to injure myself. Despite the tension in the air, I have to fight to stay alert since Hal’s warmth envelops me like a blanket and fills me with a kind of peace that’s worth its weight in gold. For real, he could run a profitable business selling his hugs.

Not that I want him to. I kind of want to keep his hugs all for myself.

Focus, man!

I tighten my grip on the bottle’s neck. If it means keeping Hal safe, I’ll cut a bitch. Even if they’re from the Demon Realm.

Kassiel strolls closer to the vortex in order to study it. “Hmm. No sign of where it’s opened up on the other side, but I could pop over and get the lay of the land if you’d like.”

“Please,” Astraea says, nodding firmly. “We need to know what new clusterfuck could be on the horizon.”

Kassiel raises a finger to have us all pause, then pulls a cell phone out of his suit coat pocket. He taps the screen and holds the phone to his ear.

“Dearest darling, it’s me,” he coos. “We’ve got a bit of a sticky situation down here at Akram’s place.” He nods. “Indeed. As I suspected, a portal to the Demon Realm has quite unexpectedly opened here.” He shakes his head. “No, we’re not certain, but I’m going to pop over there to check things out.” He’s quiet for a moment. “Yes, come and meet me down here, please. I promise I’ll be back in a jiffy. Love you too, darling.”

He hangs up and beams at us. “My mate, Yuki. He’d have my hide if I didn’t let him know where I was going.” He sighs dreamily. “He’s so deliciously possessive of me, you know.”

Astraea rolls her eyes. “Congratulations. Now that’s all taken care of, can you hurry things up before I’m tempted to start breathing fire in here?”

Akram clears his throat loudly. “Ahem. Please don’t.”

Kassiel flicks some invisible lint off his lapel and strolls over to the portal. “No need to get testy with me, goddess. I’ll be back in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.”

With that, he steps into the black hole.

Astraea begins pacing. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” she mutters.

My chill is gone. When a dragon goddess is this worried, I’m starting to think we might be fucked.

Maybe we should take Akram’s earlier advice and bail, although I have no clue how to convince Hal.

We all jump when the door to the bar once again slams open and Baxter strides inside, his bull-like nostrils flaring.

“What fresh hell is this?” he demands.

Astraea points a long, electric blue fingernail at the swirling vortex. “A godsdamn portal to the Demon Realm has decided to randomly open here without any warning.”

I tap Hal’s arm and he lets me go. My earlier chill has fucked off and I’m jonesing for a cigarette right about now.

Baxter shoots Akram a suspicious glance, but the djinn holds up his hands. “Don’t look at me, I had nothing to do with this. A portal opening in the middle of my bar isn’t exactly good for business.” He sets his massive sword on the bartop—still keeping it within easy reach, I notice—and arches a dark eyebrow at the minotaur. “In fact, I’d very much appreciate it if you would get your act together and find a way to close it. You know, the whole protect and serve thing?”

Baxter groans. “Just what we need right now.”

Astraea stares at the portal, gnawing on her bottom lip. “Kassiel is already scoping things out on the other side so we can get a better sense of what we’re dealing with.”

“Well, that’s something. I’m definitely glad we have a demon living in town at this moment,” Baxter grumbles.

The seconds tick by as we wait for Kassiel’s return.

Seeming to notice my jitteriness, Hal pulls a familiar homemade goody from his apron pocket and offers it to me. “Do you need a lozenge?”

My. Fucking. Hero.

“In the worst way,” I admit, taking one of Hal’s Craving Crushers and popping it in my mouth. I suck on the sweet, citrusy lozenge and try to stay calm.