?It looks a bit dry? said Mistress Suzi and spat onto it. The other two did the same. Suki placed the plate on the floor by her feet. ?Kneel Lucy and ...lick up your food and our spit?. They sat giggling and kicking me as I licked up the contents of the plate. I was not allowed to stop until I had licked the plate totally clean.Mei Ling sat thoughtfully for a while then said. ?The rent is due on your basement flat tomorrow Lucy, and you will have to find a way to pay it?. I looked at her and knew. Exhausted they all dropped to their knees and prayed as I laid there unable to move and barely conscious. “Thank you my sons. Drink.” Father said and passed the wine goblet around again. “You may go. I will call on you if your help is needed again.” “Thank you Father.” they said and washed themselves up and then dressed. Letting them out, he closed the door again and walked back over to me. “Emi?” he said. “Get up child and pray that the demon is dead.” Slowly I tried to get up and cried out. "Not now!" The Colonel's voice sounded strained but I ignored his words and opened the door to enter his room."Just why the hell did you do that?" The Colonel demanded"Colonel, do you mind if I sit down?" I asked him and did so after receiving permission. "I did that to show you that it's impractical to ask a mage to sign in. I probably could arrange a spell that would note down who is visiting and when they leave, if only in cases of fires, but in that case we could most likely put it out. She paid particular attention to my lips and eyes, telling me several times to hold them halfway open, a position that was difficult for me considering that I don’t think I had ever tried it. And just as with the weighty fingernails, one of her ministrations left me feeling that my eyelids were now substantially heavier. The first several times that I blinked, I put two and two together: the bottle of super glue on the counter in front of me meant that those new lashes of mine were going to be.