Squad Goals

by Kate Karyus Quinn

  Tina stares open mouthed. “That is the worst idea I ever heard.”

  I laugh at her bluntness. “You’re right. I wasn’t really thinking straight…”

  “Look, I get it. Val and I are close, and I know you and Edie are too. We have to find out what happened. I know shit got weird between you and your d—”

  “Don’t say it,” I warn.

  “You and Hermes. But you don’t have to plan a prison break to confront him. I’ll be your back up.”

  “Just you and me?” I ask.

  Tina flashes me her fangs. “Do you think we need anyone else?”

  I shrug, but she’s right. I can’t hide behind other people. I have to do this.

  I have to confront my father.

  7

  “Oh wow,” Tina says as we stand in front of ChiXXX & DiXXX.

  “Is that ‘wow’ for the unbelievable sleaziness on display or the gigantic hole next to the front door?”

  Tina tilts her head in consideration and takes a moment before answering. “Both. I’m gonna go with both.”

  The place is skeezy. The front of the building is lit up even in the middle of the day under the blinding Florida sun. A neon man and woman gyrate, their asses sticking way out and then in the next move their hips shift forward until their pelvises meet.

  A sign above the door declares “We Welcome ALL Types,” which seems nice; at least naughtiness is equal opportunity. But then it’s ruined by the text below, clarifying: Deviants and Perverts of all kinds - Come On In!”

  There’s one more sign. More recent and clearly made hastily with some markers and a bit of cardboard.

  Open During Renovations.

  That’s next to the gaping hole that’s covered up with some sort of plastic wrap and presumably all the duct tape in the state of Florida.

  “The incubus said some sort of creature came out of the portal and then escaped. He didn’t mention the thing apparently didn’t know how to use a door.”

  “Didn’t know, or maybe just didn’t feel like it,” Tina says. And then with a note of admiration in her voice, she adds, “It’s a badass move.”

  I shake my head and then open the door. I must hesitate because with an elbow to my side, Tina pushes past me to enter first. With a growl of frustration, I follow behind her into the dim interior of the club.

  You would never guess it’s a Thursday afternoon. This place is hopping.

  A lot of the activity seems to be clustered around the bar, so we head that way. As we get closer I hear a familiar voice above the pounding bass of the music. And then suddenly the ogre in front of me shifts to his left, and there she is.

  Cassie sits on the bar with a gigantic smile on her face. She holds one hand to her forehead, while the other grasps an empty martini glass.

  “Kidnapped, huh?” Tina says.

  I don’t bother to answer her. Something is wrong here. I’m just not yet sure exactly what that is.

  “Okay, it’s Billy’s turn,” Cassie points to the bartender as he refills her glass. Wiping her mouth with the back of her sleeve, Cassie gives the crowd a bright smile.

  “Never has Billy ever…” Cassie pauses and her eyes roll up into her head so that only the whites are showing. No one seems concerned or worried. Instead they simply watch her with anticipatory silence.

  Finally, her pupils slide back into place. “Never has Billy ever gone downtown on a girl!” She declares triumphantly. But then she blinks and frowns. “Wait? Does that mean what I think it means?”

  “Hell yes, it does!” One of the girls in the crowd yells out. “That man is selfish in bed!”

  “Hey, hey, we’re playing a game here,” another person says. “Everyone who’s gone downtown on a lady—Drink!”

  “Well, I wouldn’t say she was a lady,” a girl giggles in between sips of her cocktail.

  I get it now. They’re playing a version of Never Have I Ever, but with Cassie’s sight providing the nevers.

  I rush to Cassie.

  “Cassie, are you okay? Mac said you were kidnapped…”

  “Oh wow, Mac is hot stuff,” Cassie says without looking at me. “I accidentally on purpose licked his elbow. Don’t tell Greg.”

  I pull her chin toward me. “Cassie, are you okay?”

  “Mavish?” she stares at me with glazed eyes that could maybe be from the alcohol, but I’m pretty sure it’s more than that.

  “Cassie, you know her?” A burly bartender asks. He looks genuinely concerned. Leave it to Cassie to make friends with her kidnappers.

  “Mavish is my second best friend. Well, third,” she holds up three fingers and stares at them cross-eyed. “Greg is first. Edie is second. Mavis is…” She pauses. “Wait, should I count my mom?”

  “Ladies, what a delightful surprise.” From behind comes Hermes’ voice and then a second later his hands clamp onto my shoulders and give a squeeze. Vomit rushes up from my belly, filling my mouth.

  Swallowing it back down, I jerk away from him.

  I took one of my pills on the way here, which is the only reason I’m still standing instead of lying on the floor in the fetal position sweating through my own clothes.

  Still, I can’t quite manage speech. Not with the feel of his hands still on me.

  Luckily, Tina steps in. She regards Hermes coolly, her arms crossed in front of her chest. “Hermes. Still a piece of shit, I see.”

  “Tina.” He smiles and then reaches for a strand of her bright green hair. Tina used to use her plant powers to keep a single lock of her hair bright green. It looked punk and totally fit her. But since being outed as a Moggy she’s leaned into the look. Now her hair is an even mix of bright green and jet black.

  “Letting your Moggy side loose, are you?” He makes a soft tsking sound. “That’s too bad. You were one of Zee’s favorite students, you know. But when he found out about your mixed blood, well, it was a terrible disappointment.”

  I can’t believe Hermes is baiting Tina like this. She is not a ‘turn the other cheek’ type. She’s more of a ‘get the right angle for your jugular’ sort of vampire.

  “Zeus is dead,” Tina replies. And then with a movement so fast it only registers as a blur, she’s behind Hermes with an arm around his neck, bending him backwards so that only his toes touch the floor. “Want to join him?”

  Amazingly, Hermes laughs. “What are you going to do? Break my neck?”

  The crowd around us is no longer laughing and playing their drinking game. Instead they’re all watching us.

  “Don’t,” one of the girls says, a hand to her own neck. “Please.”

  Around her others make the same movement. Weird.

  “OMGeez, Mavish! When did you get here?” Cassie cries. Her face lights up as if she’s seeing me for the first time, even though we just spoke one minute ago. Unaware of the new tension in the room, she stumbles off the bar and lands on the floor in a heap.

  “Cassie, are you okay?” One of the girls asks, but Cassie waves her off.

  “Gotta work on that landing,” she giggles. She stands like a toddler, hands planted on the floor while her butt rises into the air. Of course, it doesn’t work. Every time she tries to get her top half up, she tumbles down again. Finally, I walk over and help her.

  “Mavish!” she says again, throwing her arms around me. “Hermes said you would come. And Greg too. I shaid, I want my Greggy-poo. What took you so long? It’s been...” She frowns and looks around as if seeking a clock or some visual that might indicate the passage of time. “Well, it’s been at least a few hours.”

  “Why didn’t you use your ESP to call me or Greg?” I ask.

  Cassie frowns, tapping her forehead. “It’s been on the ditz.”

  “On the fritz,” I correct.

  “Yeah, that,” She nods and her head looks like it might wobble right off her shoulders. “And it’s been fritzier than usual.”

  “Okay, Cassie,” I put an arm around her. “It’s time to go.”

  “Not
a good idea,” Hermes says from where Tina still has him in a loose chokehold.

  “You should shut up now,” Tina tells him.

  Hermes smirks. He’s got these big puffy lips, so his smirk is really a thing of beauty.

  Or grossness. My stomach roils again in protest.

  A few years back I was imprisoned while I awaited a trial to decide whether or not I’d die. The trial was mostly a sham, though, and everyone—including me—knew that execution was inevitable. During that time Hermes started visiting me.

  While we might have been raised as sisters, Edie and I aren’t actually related. Her father was Zeus, her mother a student at Mount Olympus Academy. My mom was a student too, but my dad…my dad was Hermes.

  Hermes, who came to visit me while I was in prison, and not in the nice “gee, I hope my daughter is okay in the dungeon,” kind of way.

  No, he came to screw with my head. He was bored and Edie had pissed him off, so he came strolling down into the dungeons where I was being kept in the dark to kill some time.

  He always brought a lantern. And a bit of food. Something delicious that I was craving. At first, I was strong. I’d turn my back and tell him to leave. But time passed and the days got longer while my time left to live grew shorter.

  I started begging him to stay. He trained me to do that. And to call him, “Daddy.”

  And all the while that same smirk was on his face.

  “Cassie is on a powerful drug,” Hermes says in his silky oozy voice.

  I press my nails into my palm, forcing myself to hold it together.

  “If you take her away and she doesn’t get another dose within a few hours, the withdrawal will kill her.”

  “Give us the drug,” Tina snaps. “We’ll wean her off.”

  “Make me,” Hermes replies, his smirk turning into a shit-eating grin.

  Tina’s arm tightens, cutting off his air supply. He should be gasping and choking. But if anything, his smile grows wider.

  There’s a choking sound to my right. All of my concentration had been on Hermes. Just like when we were in that dungeon together—the whole world narrowed down to just the two of us in the circle of the lanterns light.

  But now I remember that we’re in his club. Cassie is still hanging on to my side and we are surrounded by dozens of people.

  And right now, many of them are choking.

  The bartender and several of the people who’d been surrounding him are arched backwards, their hands over their throats as they gasp for air. I scan the room and see several others in the same position, including the two girls on stage, who are no longer gyrating around a pole. They’re on their hands and knees, gasping for air, their faces purple. I’m pretty sure that’s not part of their stripper routine.

  “Tina, stop,” I say.

  She releases Hermes, pushing him away from her. He falls forward, banging his knees hard against the wood floor.

  Immediately, the choking people around us relax and breathe easily again, but they grab their knees and grimace like their funny bones just got tickled.

  “What the Hades, Hermes?” I demand.

  His eyes dance with glee. “I am a genius. That’s what. Oh, everyone always underestimates me. I’m just the good time boy. But Zee has fallen and Hades is locked away. The rest of the gods have decided to play nice while they wait and see if this whole Triumvirate thing works out. Not me, though. I’m the mastermind now. I’m the one making things happen—”

  “Yeah, we get it,” Tina interrupts. “Can we get the TLDR version of the villain speech?”

  Hermes’ eyes narrow. “I own these people.” He gestures, his arm swinging wide, taking in the whole expanse of the club. “Everyone who works here signs a contract. They swear to protect and serve me. They also vow to take my pain as their own so that I will never suffer from so much as a hangnail.”

  Oh shit. The evilness of this leaves me speechless. I glance at Tina and a hand covers her mouth.

  “Hermes! It’s your turn!” Cassie cries out into the horrified silence. She points at him, “Never have you ever performed an unselfish act!”

  Somebody in the club titters nervously and then quickly smothers it.

  I can’t help but notice that her eyes didn’t roll into her head on that one. Cassie is in there somewhere beneath all the drugs, fighting to get out.

  Hermes must be thinking the same thing, because he turns to Cassie and casually backhands her. His hand whistles past me, missing by less than an inch. Cassie stumbles right out of my arms, falling to the floor.

  Rage like I’ve never felt before burns its way through my bloodstream. I shift and launch myself at him—claws and teeth out—the desire to draw blood my only thought.

  Tina grabs me by the scruff, plucking me out of the air before I can strike.

  “Easy kitty cat.” She gives me a little shake as I let loose a yowl of with rage. “We’re gonna kill him, but not yet.”

  Hermes just smiles at this. “You can’t touch me. No one can. I’m invincible.”

  I shift back, my whole body trembling. One of my hands wraps tight around Tina’s wrist for support. “I bet those were Zee’s last words too,” I spit, along with some actual spit.

  Before I can say anything else, two big burly bouncers come and stand in front of me and Tina.

  “Time to go,” one of them says in a deep bass voice. We’re being kicked out.

  Frantically, I look for Cassie, immediately ashamed for forgetting her in my anger. But she’s okay. The friends she’d been partying with earlier are gathered around her. The bartender refills her glass, while another girl holds ice to her cheek. It might not be the best crisis support team I’ve ever seen, but they’re helping her the best way they know how. She’ll be okay for a little bit longer. At least I hope so.

  Moments later, Tina and I are back on the curb outside of the club, blinking against the glare of daylight. Normally the Florida sun is unbearably hot. But not today. My teeth chatter as if I’m still inside...or in a dark dungeon—with my birth father the source of the light, darkness, and everything in between.

  8

  “Hey, hey, wait!” someone calls as we start walking down the sidewalk.

  A girl comes running out of the club, her high heels clacking against the cement. As she gets closer it becomes clear that she doesn’t need those heels—the girl is a skyscraper. Tall and solidly built with only small scraps of clothing covering her body. After a moment I recognize her as one of the girls that had been up on the stage.

  I am wiped out from my showdown with Hermes, but melting into the cement below my feet isn’t an option.

  Tina steps in front of me, giving me a shield. “No lap dance, thanks.” But the girl only narrows her eyes.

  “Did Hermes send you after us?” I ask, not in the mood to play around.

  “Obviously not.” She rolls her eyes. “I hate that shithead. He used me—” Her face crumples and she scrubs at her eyes, fighting tears. “I was there at that big party, the one where Griff went crazy—”

  “Griff?” I ask, suddenly on alert. That big dumb bear shifter ruined his one chance at probation in a big spectacular way.

  She nods. “We grew up together. The same bear clan. I’d lost track of him for the past few years and ended up here.” She gestures to the club behind us, the neon dancers still bumping and grinding away.

  “When Hermes invited me to be his date at this fancy party, I was really excited. Life is better for the ones who get in good with Hermes, but he always said I smelled too gamey for his taste.” Her face goes hard at this. “I should’ve known he was just using me. He got Griff off to the side and showed him how I’d be hurt if Griff didn’t do what he wanted.”

  “And what did he want?” I ask.

  She shakes her head. “I don’t know. But it had something to do with why Griff attacked that lady—”

  “Aphrodite is a god,” I correct.

  The bear shifter shrugs. “Whatever. God status is me
aning less and less these days. I just know Griff wouldn’t hurt a fly. I mean, unless that fly messed with him. But otherwise he’s a softie.”

  “Yeah, a two hundred and fifty-pound, tooth and claw, blood-crazed softie,” I say, dripping sarcasm.

  “You just don’t know him!” She sniffles, fighting tears again. “Just tell him I’m so sorry about what happened and I wasn’t part of any of that. If I’d known what Hermes was gonna do—”

  “I’ll pass that on,” I announce to the bear shifter, surprising even myself. “That you’re sorry and stuff.”

  “Okay great, are we done with the sad stories?” Tina says, miming like she’s looking at a watch that doesn’t exist. “Can we go now?”

  The shifter ignores Tina. “I’m White Tail,” she tells me over her shoulder as she turns to go.

  She approaches the club, chin up and shoulders back, almost like she’s going back into battle. I don’t want to victim-blame or anything, but why would she—or anyone else—ever have signed that dumb contract? It boggles the mind.

  “Hey you!” White Tail calls out to a man walking up to the club’s front doors. “Third day in a row! You must really like this place.”

  He turns to smile at her and as he does it’s impossible not to recognize a familiar face. There’s not that many guys with pirate-style eye patches walking around. Even less so a guy whose eye was personally removed by yours truly.

  Tina sees him too. “Nico,” she says.

  “Not a coincidence,” I answer.

  “Obviously,” she sneers. Then drawing in a deep breath, she bellows out, “Nico!”

  He spins—gracefully, of course. Werewolves tend to be light on their feet. Leaning into White Tail, he says something softly that makes her laugh. The boy always was a horrible flirt.

  She sashays into the club with a little extra bounce, and Nico sticks his hands in his pockets and comes strolling down to us.

  “Why do people always say ‘small world’ like it’s a good thing?” he asks us in greeting. “Sometimes I’d really rather not bump into old...acquaintances.”