Read Up In Smoke for Free Online

bride and groom?” Sally asked as she posed in front of a full-length mirror, tugging at the neckline of a Pepto-Bismol pink dress. “Oh, I’m sorry; I’m hogging the mirror. I’m sure you want to check yourself.”
    â€œThat’s not necessary,” I said absently, turning in my hands a scanty bit of lamé and leather that Magoth had produced as proper consort wear. “He has to be kidding. This isn’t enough to cover a hamster, let alone a woman.”
    â€œWell, you are positively tiny,” Sally said, turning around so she could examine her backside in the mirror. “Do you think the bow at the derriere is too much? I think it adds a sort of jaunty touch, but if you think it’s out of line with the gravity of the moment, I can snip it off.”
    I shook out the consort garment in hopes it would magically enlarge, sighing when it remained a pathetic little contraption made up of leather straps and what I assumed were strategically placed bits of cloth. “I don’t think it’s really going to matter. Thank god I didn’t tell Gabriel that Magoth wanted him for the consort ceremony. I’d really rather he not see me in this. Magoth went way over the line this time.”
    â€œOh, I’m sure it’s not that bad,” Sally called after me as I escaped to the privacy of the bathroom to don the skimpy outfit. “I’ve found that he has exceptionally good taste. He absolutely loves this dress!”
    It took me a minute to struggle into the skintight leather-strap outfit that Magoth had created for me, and then another couple of minutes to steel my nerve to step out of the bathroom. I knew without even seeing my reflection that I looked like a cross between a bondage princess and a stripper, buckled leather straps the only things covering my naked torso. The straps continued down my legs, ending in a pair of stilettos that would quite possibly leave me lame. There was a bit of cloth at the crotch, but other than that, it was all leather straps. “I think this little item puts the question of Magoth’s supposed good taste to an end.”
    â€œI wonder if I should change into a strapless bra for this dress,” Sally murmured, fluffing her cleavage and leaning down to examine the results in the mirror. “Sorry? Did you say someth . . . Oh, my.”
    â€œDon’t say it,” I told her, only just keeping from looking down at myself to make sure one of my breasts hadn’t popped out of its restrictive strap.
    â€œYou . . . That’s very . . . Oh, my.”
    â€œUh-huh.” I picked up a spiked dog collar and pursed my lips at it for a moment as I contemplated canceling the whole thing, but the image of a silver-eyed dragon rose in my mind. I strapped the dog collar onto my neck and nodded to Sally. “All right, demon of honor, let’s get this done.”
    â€œDon’t you want to . . . er . . . check your outfit?” she asked, waving a hand toward the mirror. The look on her face was a nearly indescribable mixture of horror and amusement.
    â€œI wouldn’t if I could,” I said, giving the mirror a quick frown. “Magoth really is perverse.”
    She eyed me as I slipped my familiar dagger into the sheath at my ankle. “It’s hard to deny a statement like that when faced with your ensemble, but perhaps he didn’t know what it would look like on you?”
    I opened the door, adjusted the large leather strap that ran across my breasts so it hid my nipples, tugged down the minuscule bit of cloth on my rump, and prayed the upcoming ceremony was going to be brief. “That isn’t actually what I was referring to, although it certainly applies. I was talking about the mirror.”
    â€œThe mirror? You’re still going on about that? And you know, I’m not really a demon, so the term ‘demon of honor’ isn’t technically correct. I think I’d prefer the