Nora returned to her throne. She looked like a woman who wanted to smile but was trying very hard to keep it to herself.

“You think I’m a sucker, right?” he asked.

“You’re a very good man, and Paulina is very lucky to have you.”

“I appreciate that.”

“But you should probably eat her pussy anyway.”

“Nora, come on.”

“I’m serious. You want to, right?”

“Is that a real question? Really? A real question? You’re asking me that like it’s a real question you don’t know the answer to?”

“So do it.”

“We said we’d wait.”

“You made the rules. You can break the rules. Or bend them.”

“We are not bending anything.”

“Go to her house, pick her up, carry her to bed, put her down and say, ‘I’m going to go down on you until you come on me and you’re going to like it. That’s an order.’”

“She would not go for that.”

“Hmm…good point. We don’t know if she’s kinky yet or not. Better just ask nicely. ‘May I please eat your pussy?’ Try it. Dare you.”

“Dare me? You just dared me? Are we in the seventh grade now?”

Who was this woman and, better question, why did he like hanging out with her so much? Poor judgment. He owned that.

“Double-dare you.”

“Why do I talk to you?”

“Bet you’re good at it.”

“Hell yes I am.”

“Because if you aren’t, you can ask Søren for tips. For a priest, he’s surprisingly good at eating pussy.”

“I hope that witch hexes you.”

“You go to her and tell her you want to make her feel as good as she makes you feel…no way would she say ‘no’ to that. And if she does, I’ll give you a hundred dollars. Cash. Today.”

“I’m going out there.” He pointed at the door to her fancy waiting room. “And you’re staying in here. And I am never talking to you again.”

“Does that mean I don’t get to come to the wedding?”

Cyrus jumped off the med bed and onto the floor. He held out his hand, finger pointed at Nora’s face.

“Yes?” she said.

“You’re ten kinds of crazy.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Only ten?”

Nora reached out and grabbed his finger.

“Thanks for keeping me company,” she said. “I feel a lot less freaked out now.”

“That makes one of us.”

Laughing, she released his finger.

“Goodnight, Mistress. Please call your demon dog in here. I am not sleeping—”

Cyrus heard the sound of an organ playing terrifyingly eerie music.

“What the hell?” Cyrus glanced around looking for the Phantom of the Dungeon.

“Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor,” she said. “Søren calling.”

“You gonna answer it?”

The strange, but oddly familiar organ music continued.

“I’m considering not answering it,” she said.

“Nora.”

“Fine.”

The organ music stopped and the phone buzzed. “Text,” she said. “Shit. He says he stopped by the house to check on me, wants to know why I’m not home.”