by Devon Monk
“No comment.” Myra finished off the fritter. She was ahead of me, working her way through the brush and trees.
Inside these woods, lay a specific kind of magic. The kind the gods who had first created this vacation space had decided would be warded and hidden and spelled up. A small building was built here.
Just big enough for two rooms—one outside the bars, and one, flexible in size due to the nature of the prisoners it had to hold, inside the bars.
Our magic prison. Our spelled jail. Our hinky clink.
One minute we were walking among the trees and ferns, and the next there was a small brick building in front of us. We were the Reed sisters. Protectors of the rule of law of this very special town. The only way this building ever revealed itself was when one of us was in front of it.
“There it is,” Jean said. “I love how it just shooshes into view. How long has it been since anyone has used it?”
“Before Dad…” Myra winced and looked at each of us in turn.
“Before Dad left us.” I squeezed her arm. “Bigfoot, I think, wasn’t it?”
Jean grinned. “That’s right. Midnight magic mushrooms with Odin. What a mess.”
They’d thought it would be funny to film Bigfoot riding around town peeking into shop windows. Odin hadn’t been caught, but Bigfoot had gone ahead with Odin’s “Oscar-winning inspiration” and stolen a car for his joy ride.
Thank goodness he hadn’t gotten any farther than the curb before he hit a trash can and passed out. That’s where Dad had found him.
“Ready?” I walked up to the door.
They both nodded.
I pressed my palm on the door, and it opened for me. We stepped inside.
The fresh air and soft sound of wind chimes always surprised me. Just because it was a magical jail didn’t mean it wasn’t also a decent place.
From the outside, the building had no windows. But inside, the light came through high, wide windows that made the daylight look even sunnier.
The walls were brick. Across each brick was scrawled a mark or line—the unique magic and power set into the place.
Magic could be used here, outside the cell. But inside the cell was a magic-free zone.
The bricks closest to the jail cell, which took up the far corner of the room, had new marks carved into them. Marks put there by Myra, so that we would have something extra to hold demons.
The dragon pig had pulled all of the metal objects in the room into one pile and was perched on top of it like an eagle on its nest. I could make out several wire baskets, an antique fan, a slightly newer desk lamp, the base of two swivel chairs, all the silverware, including a giant novelty spoon that I didn’t remember being stored here.
I walked over and scratched the dragon pig’s head. “Hey, good job keeping an eye on him. Spud is outside. He misses you.”
The dragon pig yawned, showing way too many sharp teeth, then stood. It looked over at Amy, then back at me.
“No, I got this. We got this. Go ahead.”
The dragon pig hopped down off the pile, pulled the giant spoon out of it, then trotted toward the door, dragging the spoon along the ground. With a small poof of smoke, the dragon pig disappeared.
I turned to study our prisoner. He didn’t look the least bit rumpled or inconvenienced.
“Delaney and all the other Reed sisters,” he said. “How pleasant to finally see you again.”
“We saw you yesterday, Amy.” Jean positioned herself between Myra and me and the demon. “I’m surprised the dragon pig didn’t eat you.”
“Yes, well. We did have a long conversation. Not a big talker, that dragon. Has a bit of a temper, doesn’t it?”
“Run me through your demands again,” I said.
His eyebrows rose. “I already told you, in private, what I want.”
“Refresh my memory in front of my sisters. We’re all in this.” I folded my arms over my chest. Jean and Myra crossed their arms too.
He glanced at Myra, then Jean. He seemed to make a decision and stepped back from the bars to pace, hands behind his back. “I am requesting you break the contract between the King of the Underworld and the Queen of the Underworld.”
“And if we can’t find a way to do that?”
“I will make you, your family, and your town suffer.”
“How?”
“I am bound to your soul. Since I have a piece of you, I have leverage over you.”
“You’d think, right? Okay, tell me. Do you want to stay in Ordinary?”
“Yes?”
“We have a contract you can sign that will allow you to stay here.”
He stopped pacing and strolled up to the bars again. “So you have said.”
“But?”
“But I have…inflicted myself upon you and your town.”
“And?”
“And I do not expect you’ll offer me citizenship out of the kindness of your heart.” He scoffed.
Jean groaned. “Oh, you really don’t know her, do you?”
“Between the King of the Underworld,” Myra interrupted, “and the Queen of the Underworld. We aren’t in the business of forcing those kinds of changes without full cooperation from at least one of the parties involved.”
“If anyone in this world could manage such a feat, it would be the Reed sisters.”
“Not the god of contracts?” she asked.
“He and I are not on speaking terms.” Final. Angry. Oh, he did not like Mithra.
Join the club.
“You think pretty highly of us,” Myra said.
“So does my nephew.”
There was a beat of silence.
“What does Bathin have to do with this?” I asked.
“I’ve spoken to him. When he was forced out of Ordinary, he returned to my lands and told me about this town. He told me about each of you.”
Bathin had possessed my soul for over a year. He probably had a lot to say.
“Well, let’s just get this clear now,” Myra said. “We can’t break the contract, and we won’t without permission from Xtelle or Vychoro. All this,” she waved at me, at him, at the room, “is for nothing. Bad move on your part.”
“I’ll remain bound to Delaney until you come up with an answer. I have time.”
It all hit me at once.
He said this was about breaking the contract, but the real reason was he loved Xtelle. He wanted to live in Ordinary to be near her. If he set us Reeds on an impossible quest to break an unbreakable contract, he’d be here in Ordinary with Xtelle forever. Since he was bound to my soul, theoretically, I wouldn’t be able to throw him out either.
New plan.
“You have one way out of this,” I said. “Just tell Xtelle you love her.”
Jean and Myra startled. Right, I hadn’t told them that part yet. Oops. “Tell her you want her to break the contract with the king so you can court her. Use small words and enunciate. Clear the air. Be mature. ”
Gee, where had I just heard that advice?
He looked like I’d just popped his brain balloon.
Jean coughed to cover a laugh. Myra rubbed at the bridge of her nose and sighed loudly.
“Xtelle?” Myra demanded. “Him? He loves…her?”
“So he says.” I pinned Amy with my gaze. “The problem you’ve got here is that you are assuming Xtelle wants what you think she wants. That’s not your place. Xtelle can make up her own mind. If she wants to be bound to the king, she’s going to stay bound.”
“But if she just—”
“Stop. Just stop right there.”
He shut his mouth. I walked closer, but didn’t cross the line of symbols carved into the floor. I probably should have been mad, but at this point, I was only mildly annoyed.
“She makes her own decisions. Period. You need to tell her how you feel.”
“I…can’t.” His expression was cool, but I felt the anguish in his words.
“Then we’ll just leave you here for awhile to thin
k about what you’ve done.” I nodded to Jean. She strolled to the wooden stand with a large, flat-screen TV on it and wheeled it over to face the cell.
“What is this? Entertainment?”
Myra snagged the controller off the cart and flipped through channels until she found the one she wanted.
“No,” he said.
“Yes,” she said.
Amy pressed his back against the far wall. “You wouldn’t.”
“Think about your decisions. You have two options for getting out of here.” I said. “Break the binding between us, or talk to Xtelle.”
“But your soul…” he said.
“Just because you think you have me in a lock, don’t forget that I have you in a lock.” I gave him a toothy grin. “You’re mine, Avnas, until I throw you out of town.”
Myra turned up the TV. The sweet meowing and purring of tiny kitties got louder along with the little puppy yips and growls.
The cute animal channel was a delight.
“They’re…so…fuzzy,” he said weakly.
“Wait until they add the bunnies,” Jean said. “Ooooh. And baby otters.”
“Baby otters.” We all swooned at the same time.
“You wouldn’t.”
“We already have,” I said. “Make a decision, Amy, or it’s cute animals for days.”
He scowled at me, but when I opened the door for my sisters to leave and glanced back, he was staring at the screen, his expression a mix of horror and fascination.
It wasn’t torture, but all those cute fluffy creatures were bound to get annoying eventually.
I stepped out and shut the door. The building disappeared in a shoosh, leaving behind nothing but scrub brush and trees.
A crow called out. Another answered. We grinned wildly at each other, then burst out laughing.
“Did you see his face?” Jean asked.
“Baby otters was brilliant.” I high-fived her.
We headed back to where the cruiser was parked.
“Why didn’t you just call Than and break the binding?” Myra asked.
I shrugged. “I think Amy actually has feelings for Xtelle, and he didn’t think I’d let him into Ordinary. He needs some time to decide what’s most important to him. Love or power. I hope it’s love.”
“Aw,” Jean said, slugging me gently on the arm. “You old softy.”
“I know he’s a demon,” I said. “I know he’s here in a breach of Ordinary’s rules. But so was Bathin. And look how that turned out.”
Myra made a little thoughtful sound. “Not every demon is like Bathin. Amy used you to steal things and cast a spell. I don’t like that.”
“Oh, I don’t like it either. But I plan to use it to my advantage.”
“How?” Myra asked.
“I don’t know yet. I just have a gut feeling it’s good to have the counselor to the King of the Underworld on our side, if push comes to shove.”
Jean paused, and we stopped and looked at her.
“Jean?”
“No,” she said, “I’m okay. It was just a…like an echo. Not a doom twinge, but almost.”
“About the King of the Underworld?” I asked.
“I think so. I think that’s going to be a problem.”
I took a deep breath and blew it out. “So there’s a reason demons close to him are suddenly looking for a place to hide out.”
Myra nodded. “War?”
“War,” I agreed.
“Great,” Jean said. “Just what we need. Ryder hasn’t even asked—”
“—for a raise,” Myra said, too suddenly and too loudly.
“What are you talking about? Why are you being weird?”
“It’s not weird,” Myra said. “He’s our longest standing reserve officer.”
“We don’t pay any of our reserve officers. It’s not in the budget.”
“We were going to talk to you about that,” Myra said. “Right, Jean? About Ryder asking her for a raise?”
“Yes.” She nodded. “That is what we were going to talk to you about. Money.”
They were lying. I just didn’t know what they were lying about. “Is this about Mithra?”
Myra tipped her head. “You mean how he’s got Ryder going every damn direction all the time?”
“Wait. You knew about that?”
“I figured it out.”
“And you didn’t want to let me in on it?”
“He didn’t tell you?” Jean frowned. “Why didn’t he tell you?”
“Maybe he was going to get around to it,” I said with confidence I didn’t feel.
Myra stopped. “Are you okay? Are the two of you okay?”
“We’re good. It’s just, you know. Relationship stuff.”
“Uh-huh.”
“And now I’m changing the subject. Is everything in place for the High Tea Tide? Is Bertie bossing everyone around?”
“When isn’t she?” Jean groused.
I grinned. “Let’s not make the Valkyrie angry, ladies. This High Tea Tide isn’t going to happen without us.”
“I just remembered. Hogan said he needs my help at the bakery,” Jean said.
“Nope.” Myra pushed her ahead of us. “Don’t make me frog walk you to your volunteer duties.”
“No, really.” Jean twisted so she could see us over her shoulder. “He super needs help, and since you two are available for traffic flow I should just—”
I stumbled as sharp pain knifed through my chest. I caught myself before falling to my knees, and just stood there, palm flat on my breast bone, breathing hard.
“Delaney?” Myra grabbed my elbow.
“What?” Jean’s blue, blue eyes were suddenly too wide. “What’s wrong?”
My heart drummed. Hard. I knew that hook-in-the-bone, that tug. There was a god in Ordinary. Not on vacation. A god here to do business.
Chapter Twenty-One
“God,” I said. “Here. Full power.”
“Where?” Jean scanned the forest.
“Station, I think.” I had my breath back now, the initial pain fading. I waved that way. “Yeah, station.”
We jogged to the cruiser, where Spud and the dragon pig were snorting and sniffing their way around a bush.
Myra opened the doors. I called for Spud and the dragon pig and was the last one to jump into the cruiser.
“Who?” Myra said, flooring it, throwing me back in the seat.
“Mithra.”
“Well, shit,” she said.
We made the station in seconds. Before she’d even put the car into park, I was out and striding toward the front door.
I strong-armed it. “What are you doing here?” I demanded.
Ryder stood to the right, arms crossed, squared off against the god. He looked gorgeously furious, hard muscles locked across his shoulders, bulging along his forearms, his jaw clenched.
I could feel the heat of his anger, the force of his strength.
My love for this man shot through me like a bolt of summer lightning.
He slid a look my way. There was heat in his eyes—something more than anger. Something deeper that licked with passion and need.
In that second, he and I were together. Connected in a way we hadn’t been for what felt like months. Forget gods. Forget demons. This—he and I joined—was all the power in the world.
“Ah, here we are now,” Mithra said. “The Reed sisters. I only need to speak to you, Delaney. The others are dismissed.”
“No,” Myra said. “You get her, you get all of us.”
I nodded slightly at Ryder, unable to take my eyes off him. Are we okay?
His answer was a quickly quirked eyebrow. Yes.
“What are you doing here, Mithra?” I asked again, finally turning my attention to him.
“A god can enter Ordinary on business. I have business.”
“Make it fast. We have work to do.”
A flash of anger rolled across his face—a burn so fast, it devoured itself before it could
catch.
“I demand you recognize my connection to Ordinary through the Warden Ryder Bailey. I demand you recognize that that connection gives me the right to rule over and enforce all contracts in this land.”
“No.”
“I am a god, Delaney Reed,” he went on as if I hadn’t spoken. “Even you must bow to me.”
“Not here. We have rules about gods coming here and throwing around power. This is a vacation town. Gods vacation here. They want to do so peacefully. So,” I repeated, “no.”
“Perhaps this contract, and the rule I have over it, will change your mind.” He held up a document I was very familiar with. A wedding license.
Everything in me went still for a moment. All I could hear was the rushing in my ears.
How dare he dangle that in front of me? Threat or bribe, I didn’t care. He had no say over my future.
I took three steps forward and grabbed the paper out of his hand.
“Delaney,” Ryder said. “Don’t—”
I ripped the paper in half.
Mithra blinked. Stunned.
Ryder rubbed his hand over his mouth. I glared at him. “Don’t what?” I asked.
He shook his head, his hand still over his mouth. From the curve of his eyes, I was pretty sure he was trying to stifle a laugh. “Nothing. Carry on.”
“You have no authority in my town, Mithra.” I waved the shredded paper at him. “The contracts we enact are legally solid and morally clear. I can’t say the same about your motivations for trapping Ryder into serving you, or for trying to force me into handing Ordinary over to you. Yes, he’s a Warden. But this land was made by the will of thousands of gods. This land follows the laws they set in place. You can join us, but you can’t own us.”
“Do not put yourself above me. You are nothing. Demons bind your broken soul. The man you’re living with won’t even marry you—yes, I know you were spying on me last night.”
“He what?” Jean said.
“Wait,” Myra said.
But it was Ryder who took over. “You heard Delaney. She told you to leave. Leave.”
Mithra just scoffed. “How pitiful you are. You have no control over me.”
“Maybe not,” I said striding up to stand in front of Ryder. “But I do. Business hours are over. Go away.”
