The sun was sinking below the horizon, painting myriad shades of pink and orange across the sky, as the gardaí’s car pulled up at the motel. Phoebe remained inside, keeping watch for their suspects, while Tiernan visited the office to question the manager. He returned a few minutes later, sliding back into the driver’s seat.

“Gold’s in number eight,” he said, pointing out the room. As they’d parked in front of number ten, they had a decent view. “Her car’s an old silver Nissan - doesn’t look like it’s here right now...”

“So what, we stake the place out? Wait for her to show up?”

“I guess... The manager didn’t have any info on where else she could be, and I haven’t found anything online about her other shows. At least she probably is coming back here - she never checked out.” He sighed exasperatedly. “I hate stakeouts. Boring shite.”

“Don’t see what other option we’ve got,” she shrugged. “It’s our best lead. We’ve gotta find Gold and her pal, fast. Otherwise O’Shea goes down for all of it, and we both know that’s not right.”

“Yeah yeah, I know...” He yawned, possibly exaggerating it a little. “Looks like we’ve got a long night ahead.”

Sitting up straighter, she shot him a mischievous glance. “Well, I’m sure there’s a way we can pass the time...”

He looked back at her, puzzled for a moment. Then his eyes widened a little in recognition, and he grinned and blushed, which she found adorable. “Really? In the middle of a stakeout?”

“Only one of us needs to look,” she snickered.

They did a quick round of rock-paper-scissors to determine who would choose. Phoebe’s rock crushed Tiernan’s scissors.

“You keep a lookout,” she decided, already leaning halfway across to his side of the car.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” he chuckled, unzipping his trousers as his partner lowered her face towards his crotch.

***

“Oh, I remember this,” Aislinn sniggered, brandishing the phallus. “Hello, old friend.”

Ruby giggled awkwardly from across the bed, where they were sorting through another pile of the assorted sex toys they owned.

“How many times did we fuck each other with this, toy?” the hypno domme continued wistfully, emphasising the comma between ‘this’ and ‘toy’, as her sparkling eyes studied the long, thick, jet-black dildo.

“I lost count, Mistress,” her toy replied with a grin.

“I sure am looking forward to getting reacquainted.” Placing it in the canvas bag almost reverentially, Aislinn’s gaze flicked between the contents of the bag and each of their dwindling piles of toys. She frowned. “Where’s the bigger one - the monster?”

Ruby’s eyes were downcast all of a sudden. “I - I threw it away, Miss,” they mumbled ruefully. “I’m sorry.”

“Aw, man! I was hoping to ruin your arse with that again in the next couple of days,” their owner groaned. “And where’s your chastity belt?”

“I got rid of that too, Miss.” Ruby looked like they might cry.

Aislinn shook her head exasperatedly. “I leave you alone for five minutes... Still, it’s fine - we can always get new ones. We could pay another visit to your shop on the way out of town.”

They cringed. “My - my bosses might not be too happy to see me, Miss. I did ditch work when I came back to you today.”

She tutted. “Oh, toy, haven’t you figured it out yet? It doesn’t matter what anyone thinks of us. Not when we can change their mind with only a few words! We can do anything.” She reached across the bed and took hold of them by the throat - firmly but not tightly, a possessive act rather than a sadistic one. “Or to be more accurate, I can do anything. You just get to reap the benefits, whenever I deem it appropriate.”

They gave her a sycophantic smile. “Yes, Mistress,” they murmured dreamily.

Letting them go, Aislinn returned their attention to the toys on the duvet. “I will need to discipline you for disposing of my property,” she continued casually. “And I still need to devise a fitting punishment for you, for leaving at all. But first things first! Never let it be said I don’t have my priorities in order...”

Ruby shivered in obvious apprehension, but said nothing.

Miss Gold and her mind-controlled plaything quickly sorted through the remaining sexual aids, keeping most of them and only discarding those she deemed ‘pointlessly tame’. She seemed to have a particular predilection for powerful, punishing toys - only the cruellest and most painful would do, at least for use on those under her spell.

Lizzie was kneeling in the corner, silently watching her new owners, her clawed hands behind her back, her saurian face impassive. Behind her scarlet eyes, though, there raged a storm of troubled thoughts.

She tried to keep her attention on the things that made her feel good. Being owned. Being controlled. Being submissive. She focused intently on Miss Gold - on her radiant, flowing blonde hair, on her glittering golden eyes, on her enchanting, melodious voice... She felt the smooth black leather of her collar, the collar her Mistress had taken for her from the sex shop, an ever-present reminder that she was belonged to someone - to a Shining Vision who filled her mind with a beautiful light that drained her will and stirred her loins... She felt her own dried cum on her scaly thigh, reminding her of what a pathetic simp she was for her Mistress...

All of that should have been enough to keep her in a delightful, docile daze. It had been enough. But the doubt that had crept into her mind before her floor nap refused to be dispelled. If anything, it was growing stronger by the minute, multiplying and spreading through her mind like a virus.

Miss said the show was weeks ago. She’s had me for weeks...

She knew that was true. It had to be true, because Miss Gold had said it. But... everyone kept saying ‘last night’. Sinéad. That knobhead that accosted them at the diner. Even Miss herself, to Ruby. Why would they all say that, unless...?

Good pets don’t think. Good pets obey.

The mantras - and Lizzie was surprised to find she could recognise them for what they were, as they pushed insistently towards the front of her brain - were easier thought than followed right now. She didn’t know if it was her transformation into her more powerful demonic form, the afternoon nap, or just post-nut clarity - or a combination of all three - but her mind felt sharper than it had since she’d met Aislinn (however long ago that was). And that restored coherence brought with it questions, concerns... and fears.

She squirmed uneasily on her knees, struggling in vain to quell her anxieties. She didn’t want to think or feel this way. She wanted to just keep being Miss Gold’s dumb kitty, her tame snake... It felt so good, to let go of her thoughts and her cares and her free will, and simply obey her Mistress and her every command...

I’m Aislinn’s helpless pet. I’m her domesticated demon. I’m her snake, and she’s charmed me...

But her stupid brain was determined to make her face the facts. And the facts were: she couldn’t actually remember a single moment of the supposed weeks she’d spent with the hypnotist. Too many people had made reference to the show having happened less than 24 hours ago. So her Mistress had obviously misled her, probably for the purposes of making her think she was already deeper under her control than she actually was. It had worked, to be fair to her. Even considering Aislinn’s incredible mesmeric talents, Lizzie might not have succumbed anywhere near as quickly without the additional gaslighting.

The young lamia could hardly blame the hypno domme for deceiving her - after all, she used her own abilities to manipulate the minds and memories of friends, enemies and innocent bystanders on a regular basis. But drawing that comparison agitated her further. She’d done awful things to some people - made them do, think and believe things that entirely opposed their own wishes and values, or that destroyed or unbalanced their lives. She felt no guilt about any of those things, but she was disturbed by the idea that the same thing could have been done to her... If Aislinn had lied about how long Lizzie had been her mind-controlled submissive, could she have lied about the -

I’m totally obedient. I’m perfectly submissive. I’m completely controlled. I’m hopelessly hypnotised...

She welcomed the intrusive mantras, desperately trying to get lost in them and let her mind slip away... but it wasn’t working. The train of thought they’d interrupted had only been delayed, not derailed.

Could Miss Gold have lied about this being Lizzie’s choice? Had she come to the motel and pleaded to be her pet, to spiral further into submission, to surrender her willpower to the Shining Vision...? Because now that she thought about it, that didn’t sound like her at -

I belong to Miss Gold. I exist to serve her.

Had one brief stage show really been enough to change her whole perspective - her whole personality? That didn’t make sense. Would she really have changed from a self-possessed, hedonistic, remorseless Queen Bitch, who turned her friends into her oblivious harem and humiliated anyone who even slightly offended her, into a mewling, weak-willed slave who wanted to be permanently controlled by a stage hypnotist...? No matter how stunning Aislinn was, how entrancing and dominant...

I love to please her. I need to obey her.

Lizzie wasn’t that person. Or, she hadn’t been. 24 hours (or close to it) might have been enough for Aislinn to rewrite her mind, her wishes and desires - but 24 minutes, onstage in a packed SU bar? No, that didn’t ring true. Aislinn didn’t have that kind of power. Her skills were entirely psychological - she had no magic of her own. That was why she needed Lizzie. So she can’t have changed her at the show - not that much, anyway... but afterwards, at the motel? Did Lizzie go back there to confront her, demand answers about how she’d managed to hypnotise a demon... maybe even exact revenge, for publicly degrading her? That seemed more likely, now that she thought about -

Good pets don’t think. Good pets obey.

She didn’t like that version of events. She wanted to be the girl who’d chosen to be Aislinn’s pet. But then, Ruby hadn’t. Lizzie had enthralled them, compelled them, manipulated them. She’d convinced them that they wanted to belong to Miss Gold - on Miss Gold’s orders. And if Miss could do that to the person they loved, surely she’d have no qualms about doing it to a stranger with mind-warping powers...

Submit. Surrender. Obey.

She let out a soft whimper, just as Aislinn finally stood up. Hearing the sound, the hypnotist glanced over, taking in Lizzie’s increasingly distressed expression. She frowned, more out of irritation than sympathy by the looks of it. “What’s the problem, pet?” she said tersely.

“M-Missstressss...” the demoness hissed fretfully. “I - I’m having thoughtsss... doubtsss... it’sss asss if I’m waking up and ssseeing thingsss clearly...”

At once, Aislinn was at her side. “Now, now,” she chided, trying to sound forceful - but there was a slight waver in her voice, and her face was a mask of worry. “You know that good pets don’t think -”

“I’m trying not to, Missss, I don’t want to,” she sobbed, clutching her head, raking her talons over her scalp. “I don’t want to think thessse thingsss, I jussst want to obey... H-help, Missss, pleassse... I’m ssso confusssed...”

“Oh dear,” her owner tutted, taking hold of her wrists and pulling her hands away from her head. “I should’ve been more thorough with your silly little mind. I thought I’d done a good enough job reshaping your thoughts, reinforcing your conditioning - the ‘mantra-bating in the car’ tactic has never failed before... but I should’ve realised you’d be diff-”

“I know what you did,” Lizzie blurted, finding something stirring inside her in response to Aislinn’s patronising tone. A familiar emotion... was that defiance? She barely recognised it. “I know you lied,” she continued, her eyes downcast. Without intending to, she’d started speaking in a lower, harder tone - almost aggressive. “I know you haven’t had me for weeksss. I only came to you lassst night.”

“Is that what you think, pet?” Aislinn’s voice sounded increasingly mocking. A big part of Lizzie enjoyed that - enjoyed being spoken to like she was silly and dumb, like she didn’t understand anything and needed her Mistress to tell her what to believe. But another part of her, an old, suppressed part that was growing larger and stronger by the minute, was... repulsed by it. She found herself tensing up, gritting her pointed teeth, clenching her clawed hands.

“It’sss the truth,” she almost snarled. “You desssceived me... And if you lied about that... Did I really choossse to -”

“This is what happens when you start thinking,” Miss Gold interrupted, sounding equal parts exasperated and amused. “You get all confused. You pick holes in the world. You see and think things that didn’t really happen, that make you doubt me - even though you don’t want to doubt me. Do you?”

Aislinn’s hand was around Lizzie’s neck, thumb hooked in her collar, fingertips rubbing the back of her neck reassuringly.

“I - I don’t, Missss,” she mumbled, her gaze fixed on the hypnotist’s shoulder. “But... are you sssaying I imagined it? That people sssaid - that you sssaid -”

“Who knows best, pet?”

“You do, Missss,” she replied automatically.

“That’s right, my silly little Lizard. I know best. You’re just a dumb beast, a confused creature who needs me to tell you what to do, what to believe. You came to me after the stage show and pleaded to be hypnotised again, to be controlled by me - and once I had you deep under my power, you never wanted to be freed again. That was weeks ago, darling. Almost a month, in fact.”

“I - but I - isss -”

“Shh-shh-shh,” Aislinn hissed, planting a finger on the demon’s olive-coloured lips. “Don’t speak, just listen - and look.” That same finger slipped under Lizzie’s chin and tilted her head back, bringing her eyes up to meet her own. Lizzie shuddered, instantly caught by the hypno domme’s starlight-suffused stare.

“You’ve stressed yourself out so much, pet,” Miss Gold whispered. “So much tension in you - so much doubt, so much worry... All because you started to think. You’re not made for thinking. That’s for your betters, your owners. Thinking only confuses and upsets you.”

That was true, Lizzie had to admit. She hated the way she felt right now, and it was all because of her renewed clarity of thought. She’d been so blissfully happy earlier that day, following her Mistress around in a submissive fog. She wanted to feel that way again.

“Let it all fall away, as you look deep into my eyes,” the hypnotist crooned. “Let all the tension drain away, as you stare at the Shining Vision. Let my light fill your head, and consume your mind.”

The lamia let out a soft whimper, utterly enraptured. She could feel herself relaxing, her shoulders slumping, her fists uncurling, the knot in her stomach unravelling. She could barely think. She couldn’t even really remember what had been upsetting her - something to do with Mistress...? The longer she looked into her hypnotic eyes, the more it faded away - and she was glad of it.

“Repeat after me, pet, and let my words sink into your subconscious - into your soul - because they’re so very, very true.” In her lower peripheral vision, Lizzie could just see Aislinn’s mouth twisting into a crooked smile. “You don’t want to think,” she said forcefully.

“I don’t want to think,” Lizzie murmured. So far, so incredibly deeply true.

“You don’t need to think.”

“I don’t need to think.”

“Good pets don’t think.”

“Good petsss don’t think.”

“Good pets obey.”

“Good petsss obey.” The old familiar mantras slipped out of Lizzie’s mouth so easily, fitting in her brain so naturally.

“Mistress doesn’t want you to think.”

“M-Missstressss doesssn’t want me to think.”

“Your must obey your Mistress.”

“I mussst o-obey my Missstressss...”

“You’re not allowed to think.”

“I’m not allowed to think.”

“You’re not allowed to think.”

“I’m not allowed to think.”

“You’re not allowed to think.”

“I’m not allowed to think.”

Every time she repeated, the phrase, and its implications, grew stronger in her mind, clearing out everything else in there. I’m not allowed to think. It was an edict from her Mistress, and it was so easy to follow because she neither wanted nor needed to think anyway. I’m not allowed to think. It was a clanging bell inside her head, emptying it of any stray thoughts, interrupting them whenever they started to form. I’m not allowed to think.

“Good pet,” Aislinn said triumphantly. “Now, keep repeating that while you make yourself cum. Aim for the same leg as before.”

“I’m not allowed to think,” Lizzie droned again, her scaly fingertips finding her huge, hardening cock and stroking it gently. “I’m not allowed to think.”

“And from now on, whenever any silly little thoughts come into your head - any thoughts that I didn’t put there - that phrase will interrupt them, loud and clear and irresistible.”

“I’m not allowed to think.”

“Exactly. Very good pet.” She tightened her grip on Lizzie’s collar, raising her other hand to deliver pleasurable scritches to her bare scalp, combining all her hypnotic techniques into a powerful assault on the demon’s psyche. Never breaking eye contact, she spoke to her other plaything over her shoulder. “Ruby, finish packing and take our bags out to the car while I finish up here.”

“Yes, Mistress,” they replied eagerly.

“I’m not allowed to think,” Lizzie repeated, her own caress making her demonic dick throb more and more, her eyes locked on Aislinn’s, her mind purged of everything except the blissful golden light and the mantra bludgeoning her brain into submission. I’m not allowed to think. “I’m not allowed to think.” I’m not allowed to think. “I’m not allowed to think.” I’m not allowed to think. “I’m not allowed to think.” I’m not allowed to think. “I’m not allowed to think...”

She felt her arousal peak, felt cum splatter against her thigh once more, felt what remained of her will crumble to dust and dissolve away. I’m not allowed to think.

“Wonderful,” Aislinn sighed, releasing Lizzie’s collar and giving her head one last delightful scratch before she got to her feet. The demon remained on her knees, staring dazedly ahead. I’m not allowed to think.

“Up you get, pet.”

“Yyessss, Missstressss.” I’m not allowed to think. She hauled herself upright, swaying drunkenly.

Aislinn patted her on the shoulder. “What’s going through that mind of yours, Lizzie?”

I’m not allowed to think. “I’m not allowed to think.”

“Excellent. Now, I think it’s time to make a move. You’d better change back into human form, and we’ll get you a shirt from Ruby’s closet.”

“Yyessss, Missstressss.”

I’m not allowed to think.

***

The yellow Mazda initially didn’t attract any interest from the two watching gardaí - after all, it wasn’t the car they were expecting. But the second a short, stylishly-dressed woman with flowing blonde locks climbed out of the passenger side, they both sat up straight, their eyes fixed on her. A moment later, a shaven-headed youth emerged from the back seat. The driver, with their teal-and-obsidian hair, was the only unfamiliar member of the trio.

“That’s them,” Tiernan blurted, jolting forwards in his seat as if he were about to leap through the windshield. He let out a muted yelp and sank back, having forgotten in the heat of the moment that his partner’s hand was wrapped around his cock, which had thus received a tug that passed the threshold of ‘pleasurable’ and reached ‘painful’.

Phoebe suppressed her mirth at her partner’s misfortune, releasing his shaft and wiping her hands on her trousers. “Hold your horses,” she said in a placatory tone. “Let ’em get settled in their room. Confront ’em out here in the open and they can make a run for it. There’s only one way in and out of the room - once they’re inside, we’ll have them cornered.”

Tiernan nodded his assent. “Good thinking.”

“Also, you should probably put your lad away.”

“But we’re confronting dangerous criminals - I need my weapon at the ready!” He smirked, even as he obligingly tucked himself back into his trousers and zipped up his flies.

Phoebe rolled her eyes. “That joke wasn’t funny the first thousand times.” But she couldn’t quite conceal her smile.

***

“Mistress?”

Aislinn glanced over her shoulder as she began gathering her meagre belongings. “What is it, toy?”

Ruby looked anxious enough that she paused and turned to face them fully. “Is she... y’know - safe?” they said quietly, nodding their head over their own shoulder in the direction of Lizzie, who stood in the corner staring at nothing, back in her human form.

The hypno domme arched an eyebrow. “Safe?”

“I just mean - it seemed like your - your control was kinda wearing off bef-before,” they stammered. “Or, or she was r-resisting... What would’ve happened if she’d broken free?”

Aislinn put her hands on Ruby’s shoulders and stared into their eyes, watching them visibly grow calmer as they were caught by her golden irises. “She was never going to break free,” she reassured them. “You heard her - she doesn’t want to be free. She loves being my hypnotised pet. So even though there was a tiny part of her fighting back, it wasn’t at all difficult to squash that part with the rest of her mind - with her own love of submission.”

Ruby still looked slightly uneasy, even as their shoulders slumped, their agitation draining away under the light of their owner’s gaze. “But if that part tries again,” they murmured, “maybe... I mean, what if she does break free next time? What’s she gonna do to us?”

“That won’t happen,” Aislinn insisted. “She won’t break free. She’s completely under my control now. There’s no danger.”

Her tone was firm, forceful, brooking no argument. Ruby relaxed completely, as convinced by her words as they were compelled by her stare.

If only it were so easy to convince herself.

Lizzie’s little meltdown before had left Aislinn much more concerned than she let on. She kept telling herself exactly what she’d just told Ruby - that the girl clearly craved submission, that she was happier under the control of a humble human than she’d ever been as a dominant demoness, and that her own mind would keep her under Aislinn’s sway. After all, it had been a lot easier than she’d anticipated to draw the hell beast back under her power - which indicated that Lizzie truly did love being controlled.

But that tiny part of her that could resist... Aislinn couldn’t quite bury her own fears that Lizzie might one day slip the shackles around her brain. The ‘I’m not allowed to think’ mantra had beaten her back down into blissful blank subservience - but she’d been on the verge of realising, of remembering, that she’d been mesmerised and dominated against her will. And if she did remember, and overcome Aislinn’s influence... The wrath of a demon would surely be terrible.

Aislin suppressed a shudder of dread. No, she told herself. There was no danger. I’m the Shining Vision. The world may have become a lot stranger than she’d believed 24 hours ago, but she’d hypnotised a demon, for fuck’s sake. That was proof of what she’d believed all along - that she was meant to be the ruler of all she surveyed, control anyone she chose, and have everything she’d ever desired.

And standing in front of her was the living embodiment of her desires, back under her power, more completely than ever before. Slipping one hand off Ruby’s shoulder, she wrapped it around their throat once again, her fingertips resting on the small bruises she’d inflicted during their rough sex earlier that day. “Tell me you love me,” she commanded.

“I love you, Mistress,” they replied instantly, their tone utterly meek and reverent.

She tightened her grip. “Tell me you need me,” she growled through gritted teeth.

“I need you, Mistress,” they whimpered longingly.

“I’m going to hurt you,” Aislinn told them, turning up the intensity of her gaze until it was surely as bright as the sun. “I’m going to beat you and choke you and burn you. I’m going to take away everything that makes you a person - your intelligence, your voice, your name, your sense of self - until you’re nothing but my dumb obedient fucktoy. I’m going to punish you for ever going away, and I’m going to make it as agonising as possible.”

“Yes, please, Mistress!” Ruby sobbed. “Hurt me so badly. Make it the worst pain ever. Bruise me and brand me and throttle me. I deserve it, I should never have left, I love you, I need you, I’ll never go anywhere ever again! I’m just your fucktoy... Take everything from me so I never even consider leaving, so I can’t leave, so I’m dependent on you...”

Aislinn let out a lustful breath, staring at her toy with primal desire, already on the edge of orgasm just from their absolute, desperate surrender...

Well... I suppose there’s no hurry, she thought, licking her lips and grinning wolfishly at Ruby. We don’t have to hit the road right away... I can take some time to satisfy myself, enjoy my toy... After all, I don’t have to answer to anyone or anything any mo-

There was a knock at the door.

***

I’m not allowed to think.

“Go see who that is, pet,” Aislinn snapped from across the room. Her voice roused Lizzie from her stupor, and she raised her head and spared her owner a glance, the sight of the Shining Vision sending waves of bliss through her.

“Yes, Mistress,” she sighed vaguely. I’m not allowed to think. Then she spun around as if being pulled by a leash, grabbed the door handle, and pulled it open.

Standing outside were two young gardaí of roughly equal height, each a few inches shorter than Lizzie. One was a professional-looking woman with long black hair that ran straight down her back, a round face with a flushed pink complexion, and shrewd blue eyes. The other was a more relaxed-looking man with ginger hair and green eyes, whose uniform was noticeably untidy in comparison to his colleague’s immaculate attire. She stared at them blankly, her deeply entranced mind failing to provide her with any appropriate greeting. I’m not allowed to think.

“Good afternoon,” the female officer said politely. “We were hoping to speak to Aislinn Gold.”

Aislinn crossed the room to join Lizzie at the door, clearly realising the demon was too dazed to deal with this by herself. “How can I help you, officers?” she asked, her performing experience enabling her to easily feign a pleasant smile.

“We wanted to ask you some questions about a robbery at a convenience store, in the early hours of this morning,” the man said. Although his tone was as even and deferential as that of his partner, the edges of his mouth twitched slightly - as if he already had all the answers to his questions, and was merely testing her reaction.

Aislinn’s smile froze on her face, her mask slipping slightly. “I’m afraid I don’t know anything about that,” she told them, managing to keep her own voice steady. In her current state, Lizzie was incapable of recognising the panic growing behind her eyes.

“Is that so? Because we have CCTV footage of you and your friend at the store around the time of the robbery,” the woman revealed, an element of mockery in her own voice now, her partner’s amused demeanour seemingly spreading to her. “We were wondering if you’d seen or heard anything, anything at all, that might help us find the culprit or culprits.”

Lizzie continued to gaze at the gardaí guilelessly, her mind tranquil and undisturbed - until an agitated Aislinn turned to her and said, “Get rid of them. Make sure they don’t come for us again.” Then she took a few steps back and ducked behind the demoness, as if using her as a human shield.

The instruction pulling the strings that her Mistress had wound within her brain, Lizzie summoned the dark power from within herself and spoke to the two officers, seeing their eyes begin to glow red to reflect her own as she did so. I’m not allowed to think - but she didn’t have to think about what to say. Like her magic, the words came from deep inside her, pouring out of her like music from a radio.

“Leave, and forget that you came here. Delete the footage of us, and then forget doing so. Aislinn and I were never at the convenience store, and were not involved in the robbery.”

The gardaí nodded, and without further ado, they turned and marched away. Lizzie closed the door behind them.

Aislinn sighed with relief. “Good pet.” She spared the demon some scritches, and then returned to Ruby, pushing them onto the bed.

I’m not allowed to think. Lizzie turned back towards her corner, the encounter already blowing out of her brain like gossamer in a breeze. I’m not allowed to think. There was no need to retain it, no need to remember it, no need to know anything but what her Mistress told her. I’m not allow-

The interrupting mantra was itself interrupted by another knock at the door.

Aislinn froze midway through straddling Ruby, scrambling off them again with a perturbed look on her face. “Answer it!” she snapped at Lizzie.

“Yes, Mistress.” Turning back to the door, Lizzie pulled it open again.

“I just had one more question,” said the male garda. His partner stood a few feet behind him, her arms folded, watching impassively.

Lizzie stared at the man, totally nonplussed.

He held his arms out wide. “Aren’t you gonna give your big brother a hug?”