Shaded Vision: An Otherworld Novel Read Online Free

off for home to finish partying where we wouldn’t chance ruining anybody else’s evening.
    We pulled in the driveway and slid out of the limo just in time to see Vanzir and Roz tossing each other around the yard. They were both stripped to their waists, oiled down, and involved in what looked like some sort of Greco-Roman wrestling match.
    “What the hell…?” Camille stared at them, then shook her head.
    “I’m not
even
going to ask.” My head was pounding. Apparently the Demented Zombies weren’t agreeing with me. As I squinted, I saw Bruce stumbling around, chasing a dog that looked suspiciously like Speedo, the neighbor’s basset hound. He was carrying a pair of bunny ears. Bruce, that is. Not Speedo.
    “Holy crap, how much have they had to drink?”
    “I dunno, but we’ve got a pair of dragons on the roof.” She pointed to where Smoky and Shade were sitting on top of the roof, dangling their legs over the side. Neither looked too cozy, but they were talking and not arguing for once. A pileof rocks near the cars told us they’d been taking potshots. At least they hadn’t broken any windshields.
    As we stumbled our way into the house, we found cousin Shamas, Morio, and Chase in the living room, playing poker. The table was covered with change and dollar bills, and it looked like Chase was wiping the floor with both of them. Empty bottles of Nebelvuourian brandy and Elqaneve wine were strewn about, along with a couple empties of Irish whiskey. The smell of cigars made me want to hurl, and I glanced at Camille, who was also wrinkling her nose. She opened the window to air out the place.
    “Honey, you’re home!” Morio glanced up at Camille. As he stood up, he tripped and went sprawling at her feet, where he stayed down, reaching out to play with her strappy shoes.
    “You’re drunk.” She moved her feet just out of reach.
    “Ya think?” Morio burped and promptly dragged himself to his feet, where he threw one arm around her shoulders and one arm around Menolly’s. Camille glanced at Menolly, who quickly sidestepped out of Morio’s embrace. He still wasn’t over the bond that had developed when some of her blood was injected into his veins, but Menolly seemed to have shaken it off…or at least she acted like it.
    “You’re
all
drunk.” I glanced around as Shade and Smoky followed us in, clutching Bruce between them. “Well, maybe not those two, but geez…”
    The pair seemed relatively sober, but then again, they were dragons and it probably took a whole keg of hard liquor to even
begin
to get a dragon bombed.
    Smoky took the cake from Sharah and carried it to the kitchen, returning with Trillian, who had his nose in a book. One look at Iris’s pained face and Trillian set down the book and slipped back into the kitchen, returning a moment later with a package of saltines and some ginger ale. She smiled and sipped the soft drink.
    As the guys sprawled out in the living room and we joined them, Iris made the mistake of telling them about the stripper.
    Smoky leaned forward, his eyes whirling. “You watchedanother man remove his clothing for entertainment?” He glared at Camille.
    “Chill out, Iris threw up on him and that killed the mood.”
    Trillian snorted. “You’re lucky we live Earthside and not back in Otherworld. You’d be punching out guys right and left for the way they look at Camille there. Get used to it. Your wife’s hot and people notice.”
    “Smoky, give it a rest. Trillian’s right. Just accept it and move on,” Iris grumbled. “And it’s not my fault that I have morning sickness all the damned day!” She looked hurt and Camille slipped over to give her a hug, then settled onto Smoky’s lap. His hair reached up to stroke her shoulders and entwine around her waist.
    “I’ll bet the gentleman wasn’t expecting
that
response.” Shade laughed.
    “I’m not so sure he was that much of a gentleman.” Camille repeated what the dancer had told her about the potion