Page 45 of On A Rift’s Edge (Riftworld #2)
K at urged Pogo into a full gallop, determined to beat Lyall back to the monstertown.
Both of them had wanted to blow off steam before the big event.
Pogo was far from the fastest horse at Moon Star Ranch, but he had become comfortable riding next to a hellhound.
So Kat had saddled his mount, and Lyall had changed into his Riftworld form.
Lyall set a blistering pace, his huge jaws opened into a wide grin as he raced along on four legs.
Pogo, who hadn’t been given a chance to reach a full gallop since Lyall and Kat had outrun a pack of phantoms trying to eat them, took to the task with enthusiasm.
Lyall was still in the lead though, and Kat urged Pogo to go faster.
They had set the finish line as the monstertown’s horse pasture shelter, or as Remi called it, the pony parking garage.
As fast as Lyall was, Pogo had stamina and apparently something to prove. The spotted gelding put on a last-second burst of speed and ran neck-and-neck with a panting Lyall.
And then passed over the imaginary boundary, winning by a nose.
Kat let out a loud whoop and slowed Pogo to a trot, then circled back to Lyall, who sat, chest heaving, near the shelter. As Kat swung off Pogo and did a few victory fist pumps, Lyall dunked his huge head into the horse water trough and gulped down his fill.
He prowled over to Kat and shook himself like an Earth dog, sending water from his sodden fur all over him.
“You are such a sore loser.” Kat wiped off his face with sleeve, laughing. “This means you give me a blowjob.”
Lyall stiffened, his ears going back, and stared. Kat was going to say he was happy to also go down on his lover as a consolation prize, when he realized Lyall was looking past him, toward the entrance to the monstertown.
Kat whirled around. The two of them hadn’t paid much attention to their surroundings as they finished their race, but it was still amazing they had missed the huge horse-drawn bus that was parked near the front gates.
The double-decker carriage pushed the limits of Earth-Riftworld technology.
It had modern springs and axles, with a graceful, curved staircase leading to open-air seating above.
The sides were made of gleaming wood set off with wrought iron, and wide glass windows allowed the passengers seated underneath a full view of the scenery.
A team of draft horses was harnessed to the front, and the bus’s four passengers had disembarked and were gaping at Lyall and Kat.
Kat’s mom and dad, along with Naomi and Jenny, had arrived a lot sooner to the monstertown than planned.
They had also seen Lyall charging after Kat in his hellhound form, and maybe had overhead the whole blowjob bet thing, too.
Lyall shifted back to his human form, this time speeding up his living leathers so he didn’t flash Kat’s family. He gave them a tentative wave, and the tension broke. They all came over, and Kat spent a few minutes being hugged by everyone like he had been away for months.
He had seen everyone at Sunday dinner three days ago and had long since come clean about his risky mission to save Lyall.
Granted, he downplayed the worst parts, but he felt better getting it all off his chest. This week he had asked his family to visit Cactus Flower Estates and meet his friends—both from Earth and the Riftworld.
“I thought you were arriving around noon.” Kat was relieved to see his father come up and shake Lyall’s hand. “The two of us decided to come out this morning to help with the party preparations, and we thought we’d get a little exercise on the way here.”
“Dad made us get to the ranch three hours early,” Jenny said with a long-suffering sigh. She was not a morning person. “Javier scrambled and got the horse bus ready for us.”
“Quite comfortable.” Winkie waved at the carriage. She had come out to the monstertown on Fluffy, her robot wheelchair, which could handle off-road terrain. “And safe. Not like you two, racing along like wild beasts.”
“Hellhounds can run as fast as horses, I guess.” Naomi had hung back a little, but she was the first to include Lyall in the conversation. “That was awfully impressive.”
“Considering that I lost the race, I’d say Pogo was the impressive one.
” Lyall gave the horse a pat on the neck, and the appaloosa sniffed meaningfully at his living leathers.
Lyall, who had learned a thing or two about horses, produced a treat, which Pogo accepted with the pride of a derby winner getting a rose garland.
“It’s nice to see you all under less stressful circumstances. ”
“Well, we did come here to be introduced to monsters.” Kat’s mother had never been diplomatic. “Might as well start with one of the scariest. Show us where we’re going, and we’ll help set up the party.”
They all walked off together into the monstertown. Kat had been so nervous about his family’s second meeting with his boyfriend. Now Lyall was asking his father about the mischievous cats who had blown his cover, and the two of them were laughing.
Next up was introducing his family to more of the “monsters” they had been fearful of for years.
After a round of introductions to the two komainu guardians—who impressed Kat’s parents by being both made of stone and fluent in Japanese—they proceeded to the town park.
It was a Wednesday, farmers’ market day, so most of the stalls were already set up. Kat was hoping his family would be distracted enough by the Riftworld products and people around them that he could talk to Lyall about their plan.
George and Winkie stopped dead at the sight of Flutterberry, who was lapping up a bowl of goat milk as Snow and his phoenix girlfriend took turns hopping on her back.
“You must be the alien cat who saved my son.” Kat’s mother clutched at her chest for added drama, and Flutterberry lifted her head up from the bowl and preened. “You’re so beautiful!”
“Yes, I am,” Flutterberry agreed. “Greetings, parents of Kat. Welcome to our monstertown.”
Kat next introduced Naomi and Jenny to the Goat Sisters, who could carry on goat-related conversations indefinitely, and then made his escape.
“So far so good.” Kat now had a chance to talk with Lyall alone. “At least for my side. What time is Gremory supposed to arrive?”
“Whenever she feels like it.” Lyall didn’t have to spell out his apprehension over one of his mothers coming to the monstertown, even if it was under a specific truce invitation brokered by the guardians.
Kat now knew that unlike him, Lyall didn’t find talking about his emotions therapeutic.
He did like it when Kat acknowledged them, though.
“Speaking of mother-son relationships, I need to find Remi and warn him that Giana accepted the truce invitation as well.” He glanced at his new watch, which showed both the time and a pair of vibrating antennae.
Bug was quite excited to see Evangeline again.
“It’s ten am. There’s no way Remi’s awake.
The livestream isn’t supposed to start until noon. ”
“I have years of experience getting that little rat’s ass out of bed.” Lyall pressed a kiss to Kat’s cheek. Jenny, who had not-so-subtly been watching their conversation, gave Kat a thumbs up. “You can find Kaveh and make sure he’s not getting cold feet.”
Kat grinned and gave Lyall a kiss back.
Lyall headed off, and Kat started looking around for Kaveh, but his sister Naomi pulled him aside.
“Everything good?” Kat asked, hoping there weren’t problems already. He was nervous about what he and Lyall had planned, but in more of an anticipatory way.
“It’s overwhelming here, but yes.” Naomi squeezed his shoulder. “I wanted to apologize again for how I reacted to Lyall when I first met him. Not to mention introducing you to a mafia boss who kidnapped you.”
“It’s not your fault.” Kat gave his sister a big hug. “You’re not the only one Ari’s conned, and Lyall didn’t exactly come across as friendly when he met you and Jenny. But if you want to make it up to me, I could use your help.”
He spent another several minutes telling Naomi the plan, then walked around the park until he found Kaveh.
Not surprisingly, his friend was hard at work getting everything set up, focusing on preparing outdoor grills for the potluck luncheon.
Today was the six-month anniversary of the phantom attacks, and the town council had voted unanimously to mark the occasion with a “Peace Day at the Park” celebration.
Invitations had gone out to the staff and any current guests at Moon Star Ranch, along with the various Riftworld clans in the area.
The phantoms hadn’t been invited, although Lyric could make an appearance if they felt like it, since the mysterious phantom fetus had created a mini-hellmouth in the park before.
Zale’s petition for asylum in the monstertown was pending approval from the town council, and although the half-kraken had so far done a reasonable job of staying out of trouble, Kat was hoping he would miss the party to spend quality time alone with Lyric.
Speaking of trouble, the Saguaro Rift drakones had also been asked to attend, but only Tarasque had accepted, which meant Kaveh didn’t have to face the matriarch of the adoptive clan he had decided to leave.
On the positive side, a contingent of trash scorpions had sent a message through the guardians that they would attend, so cleaning up after the party should be a breeze.
Kaveh smiled as he caught sight of Kat. “Your parents and sisters are here. I’m so glad they decided to come.”
“I am too.” Kat came over to help his friend lift the bags of mesquite wood. “So, are you ready for this?”
Kaveh chewed at his lower lip, a rare sign of nervousness. “I hope so.” He patted his pocket. “I have it right here, and I have my friends around me for support, so I think I’ll be fine when Remi and I talk later on tonight.”
Kat smiled, mostly to himself. “I have a good feeling about that. Let me help you get the grills set up.”