The smell of sulfur woke him up. This was followed by a husky voice bellowing, “Goddamn you arseworms. I swear you’re good for nothing but bumfodder. I can’t believe you pissed on the Gates of Hell again. Your litter pans are…well, all right, they aren’t clean, but still. How the hell—Hell—did you open the door this time? You little fuzzy hell-spawns, why I ought to…oh, you’re awake?” This latter was addressed to Sky, who was stretching and yawning. “Good morning, honey. How did you sleep? Oh, it’s not morning, technically, but…uh…shit.” Two cats ran between Slade’s legs, leapt onto the bed, and started purring and cooing around Sky, their apparently new beloved human.
While Sky laughed and tried to dodge their scratchy tongues, Slade smiled and shrugged. “I’ll get a meal ready for us. An
