One Bite Stand

by Nina Bangs

  Kal answered her frantic pounding on his door with a calm “Come in before you bring down the whole inn.”

  She stumbled into his room, only dimly aware that he wasn’t wearing his harpy face. Why not? She’d ask him later. “I can’t go back to my room. Sparkle sexed it up when I wasn’t looking, and I don’t know what to do. She put pictures of naked men on the walls—” no need to get specific “—and she’s pumping in scents that’ll trigger arousal.” No need to tell him whose scent was in her room. And maybe she’d leave out the part about feeling Declan’s body pressed against her in the shower.

  Kal closed the door behind her. “You have to admire a woman who understands the nuances of revenge. She’s going to make you pay for that broken nail.”

  “Maybe I should complain to Ganymede, threaten to quit unless Sparkle stops hassling me.”

  Kal shook his head. “Sparkle holds the key to his stomach.”

  “What?”

  “Ganymede can’t do his own cooking in cat form. Katie the cook told me Sparkle makes sure she keeps his stomach filled with his favorite foods. Ganymede and food have a loving relationship.”

  “So?”

  “I hear the one time Sparkle decided to cook for the inn’s guests, food poisoning took on a whole new meaning. If she threatens to cook again, Ganymede will cave. You can’t win that way.”

  “So you’re saying I have to stay in that room?”

  Kal exhaled impatiently. “The whole thing’s a pain, but I don’t see what the big deal is. Try to ignore it. Keep focused on grabbing someone. The faster you do it, the sooner we can get out of here. Until that happens, you need to keep your job.”

  “But I—”

  “Look, if it really bothers you that much, we can trade rooms;”

  “No.” If she was definite about anything, it was that Kal couldn’t see her room. This had nothing to do with logic. It was purely an emotional reaction. “I’ll deal with it.” She could turn all the posters to the wall and blow out the candles. A little Vicks under her nose would get rid of Declan’s scent. The shower? She hadn’t a clue.

  Kal flung himself across the bed. “Since I saw Declan come in ahead of you, I assume you didn’t get a chance to take him.”

  She glanced away.

  “Did you, sis?”

  This was her brother, her twin, the only one she’d always believed would understand her. Still, she felt uneasy talking about Declan. “I had the chance.”

  He waited.

  “I had the chance. I didn’t take it.” No excuses.

  “The sex thing?” Now it was his turn to look away. But he was giving her an out.

  “We were, um, involved. I lost sight of the ultimate goal.”

  “It happens.” No ranting, no condemnation, just unconditional acceptance.

  “As brothers go, you’ve got an Al rating.” She didn’t say stuff like that much. Maybe she needed to say it more.

  “Hey, you know I’ve always got your back, sis. But if this guy’s your target, make your move soon. I guarantee Eris won’t let any hellfire grow under her ass.”

  She nodded. Time to change subjects. “No harpy face tonight?” He usually kept his magic going even in private.

  Daria cocked her head to study her brother. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen his real face— violet eyes with thick dark lashes, a straight nose, and sensual lips. The faint shadow of his beard and an expression that said, “I’m dangerous so don’t mess with me” made him look like a sexy pirate.

  “Sometimes I get tired of the magic.” He looked guilty. “Don’t you ever wonder what it’d be like to just be accepted for yourself?”

  She looked at him blankly. Shock made her speechless.

  “Guess not. Forget it.”

  What could she say to that? Nothing came to mind, so she figured she’d better get out fast before he laid another bombshell on her.

  She paused with her hand on the doorknob. “I haven’t spotted the judge yet. Any ideas?”

  “None.” He seemed to make an effort to draw his mind back to Daria’s test. “If you decide against the vampire, I have a few options for you.”

  “Sounds good. We’ll talk later.” Not waiting to find out if he had anything else to say, she left.

  On her way back to her room, she thought over what Kal had said about being accepted for himself. That was the first time her brother had ever voiced any dissatisfaction with the official harpy party line—all harpies must be ugly enough to scare the hair off of Big Foot.

  The only conclusion she could come to was that this was the first time either of them had spent even a few hours in one place talking to ordinary people. Okay, not-so-ordinary people. Always before, they’d only ventured out of Tartarus for short periods of time and never talked to anyone but each other. Didn’t get to know the locals very well that way. Were the guests at the Woo Woo Inn corrupting Kal? Wow, a frightening thought.

  She stopped thinking about Kal once she stepped back into her room. Humming to herself to drown out Declan’s amazingly creative whispered suggestions, she methodically turned all the posters to the wall.

  Then she blew out all the candles. No Vicks, so she dabbed a few drops of Eau de Yuck perfume under her nose. Kal had brought it along to make her smell bad— grossness should encompass all the senses—but she’d decided dousing herself with it would endanger her job security.

  But no amount of climbing on furniture or crawling around on the floor revealed where the sexy talk was coming from, so she had to abandon the search.

  Finally, she peeked into the bathroom. Fine, so she was a wuss. She’d use Kal’s shower when she got up.

  With that settled, she picked up the laptop Kal had insisted she bring, relaxed onto the couch, and hit the power button.

  While it was doing its thing, she stared at the backs of the posters. Nope, she absolutely did not want to see yummy expanses of Declan’s toned male body everywhere she looked. Yes, she had her priorities straight— career first and ogling last. Nothing could break her resolve. She was strong-willed, impervious to temptation, and able to resist taking even a tiny peek at his smoking-hot whatevers.

  Sighing, she got up and turned all the posters face-out again. They were like a box of chocolate creams. Once the box was sitting in front of her, it was all over. End of story. She just hoped the judge hadn’t set up surveillance equipment in here.

  Before returning to the couch, she also rubbed off the smelly stuff under her nose. If she could see him, she might as well enjoy his scent as well. Never let it be said she was a hypocrite.

  That done, she settled back down with the laptop. She Googled Fenrir and began reading.

  A half hour later she sat staring at the nearest poster, but she wasn’t seeing Declan. Memory played back the scene in which they’d confronted the werewolf. Fenrir. Everything she’d read filled her mind with gibbering voices that all sounded like hers.

  And they were all very, very afraid.

  ———

  Declan woke at sunset, but he didn’t go downstairs right away. For once he was glad vampires didn’t dream. He had enough nightmares to deal with while he was awake.

  Fenrir. He couldn’t wrap his thoughts around the how and why of it. Fenrir shouldn’t be here. It didn’t make any sense.

  One thing did make sense. He’d probably overestimated his power when he’d said he could take care of the problem. Pride would have to be tossed, and he’d have to ask Ganymede for help. Ganymede was the most powerful entity at the inn. If the two of them couldn’t take down the werewolf, then the world was in big trouble.

  Since worrying about Fenrir wouldn’t solve anything right now, he chose to think about Daria. What hadn’t she told him? And did she really think she could drag him off to Tartarus? The mystery and challenge that was Daria excited him. But something else stirred in him. He liked being with her. Talking, fighting, and making love. Yeah, he was really looking forward to the making love part.

/>   And as he pulled on his black pants and shirt before flinging his black leather duster over his shoulder— damn, he hated the council’s dumb dress code—he chose to rationalize his decision to make love with Daria.

  Sure, he never went back for seconds with a woman, but last night didn’t qualify. Next time would really be the first.

  Declan was halfway out the door when the pain began, a steady pressure at the back of his head. What the… Vampires didn’t get headaches, didn’t feel any pain unless they were wounded. He leaned against the door as he tried to cope with the forgotten sensation.

  But the voice in his mind superceded the pain. “Come to me, Declan. Tonight. I grow stronger, and you will not defy me” Then the pressure was gone.

  Yeah, like he’d do that. He locked his door and headed down the stairs. The pain and voice-in-head added a whole new dimension to the general weirdness of his life. He needed to talk to Ganymede right away.

  Daria was coming out of the kitchen when he reached the bottom of the stairs. She looked a little harried.

  “One of the things I’m supposed to do is check with the cook about the nights’ meals. She’s a witch, and she practices her craft in the kitchen. When I suggested the kitchen should be a no-magic zone, she got ugly.” Daria cast a cautious glance behind her. “Ganymede couldn’t pay me enough to mess with her again. She can change all the guests into broccoli stalks for all I care.”

  Declan would’ve made a few sympathetic noises, but his voice was momentarily unavailable. The outfit she was wearing had Sparkle Stardust written all over it. Short animal-print dress, a neckline that would’ve taken away his breath if he had any to take, dangly earrings, and heels that were so high he wondered how she could walk in them.

  She seemed to forget about the cook as she narrowed her gaze on him. “We have to talk about Fenrir.” Her tone said arguing would be useless.

  Since she’d already seen Fenrir, Declan figured keeping her out of the loop would be next to impossible. “Is Ganymede in the kitchen?” Knowing Ganymede, nine out of ten times the answer would be yes.

  “Yes. Along with the Dark Queen of Sex and Sin. I would’ve killed Sparkle right there between the pork roast and the apple pie, but that would’ve ticked off the witch. So I’ll wait until later.” She announced that matter-of-factly before spearing him with a warning glare. “Now explain your connection to Fenrir.”

  What the hell had Sparkle done now? Instead of answering, he motioned her into the kitchen. She followed, grumbling about vicious cosmic troublemakers, stubborn cooks, and secretive vampires.

  Declan realized a moment too late he’d stepped into a war zone. Ganymede crouched on the counter, his face buried in a dish of ice cream, while Sparkle and the cook glared at each other over his body.

  “Get that fat-assed cat off my counter. I don’t have any recipes that include cat hair.” The cook waved her spatula around to emphasize her point.

  “That ‘fat-assed cat’ is in charge of this inn, and don’t you forget it, Katie.” Sparkle poked her bandaged index finger at the cook. She’d upgraded. Her finger was now wrapped in white silk. She’d accessorized by gluing two small rubies to the silk.

  “Yeah, well, if the Health Department catches his royal tubbiness here, you won’t need a cook anymore.” Katie smiled at that thought.

  Ganymede didn’t bother to lift his head from the bowl.

  Sparkle shot a sullen look at the cat. “He eats where he wants to eat.” What was going on?

  “Then I’ll quit.”

  “Then I’ll cook.”

  Ganymede’s head popped up. “That’s all right, babe. I wouldn’t ask you to get all hot and sweaty over a stove.” The cat’s amber eyes widened. Probably remembering the horror of Sparkle’s previous attempts in the kitchen. “Put the bowl on the registration desk. I’ll finish there.”

  “Fine.” Sparkle whipped the bowl from under his nose. “And don’t call me babe.”

  Uh oh. That didn’t sound good. Declan trailed out of the kitchen with the others, leaving Katie smiling. She’d routed the enemy and was once more the supreme ruler of her personal kingdom.

  Once settled on the desk with his bowl, Ganymede lost interest in the ice cream. Was that normal? The cat seemed pretty intense about his sweets. Declan checked to make sure no guests were standing close by.

  Since everyone at the inn slept during the day, breakfast was served right after sunset. Most of the guests were in the parlor now waiting for Sparkle to lead the nightly meeting. After the meeting each guest would go his, her, or its separate way.

  “Time to tell all, Declan. Fenrir?” Daria met his gaze and then let hers slide away.

  Declan decided that more than Fenrir was bothering Daria. At least the sexual attraction thing was still going strong. He’d seen the flare of hunger in her eyes before she looked away. Good. He needed something positive to think about, because tonight was building up to be a major bust.

  “So what does everyone know about Fenrir?” He wanted to explain as little as possible.

  “I Googled him last night.” Daria’s expression said it all. Fenrir was trouble. “The oldest child of Loki, the Norse god of mischief and fire. Loki’s a shifty character. Bad news for the other gods.”

  Ganymede looked awfully miserable for someone with vanilla ice cream coating his face and whiskers. “Yeah, but last I heard, Loki’s chained somewhere. He’s been out of commission for a long time.” He began to clean his face with one gray paw, but his heart didn’t seem to be in it.

  “So what’s that have to do with Fenrir?” Sparkle glanced down at her shoes. The toes were dusty. She didn’t lean down to wipe off the dust.

  Okay, full disclosure followed by semi-panic, soon to be replaced by full panic once everyone understood the situation. “I was a Viking before I was anything else, and Norse myths say Loki will free himself just as Ragnarok begins.”

  “Ragnarok?” Sparkle stopped glaring at Ganymede long enough to look at Declan.

  “The final fight between good and evil. Odin will lead the forces of good. So that means we’ll have the ultimate battle of the gods.” Daria looked troubled. “Guess which side Loki will be on?”

  “Battle of the gods?” Sparkle showed a little interest. “That would make a kick-ass reality show.”

  Declan picked up the narrative. “When Ragnarok takes place, Loki, along with his three children by the frost giant Angrboda, will lead the forces of evil.”

  Sparkle looked thoughtful. “Evil and powerful? This Loki sounds like someone I wouldn’t mind meeting.”

  Ganymede hissed. “Over my dead and decomposing body.”

  “That’s a possibility.” Sparkle threw Ganymede a cold stare. “So which way does the battle swing?” She didn’t sound overly concerned.

  “No one will survive.”

  “No more gods? So sad.” Sparkle shook her head to show her regret over the loss of so many deities.

  Declan exhaled deeply. “No one, Sparkle. No you, no me, no one. Supposedly, the universe will begin again, but we won’t be a part of it.”

  “Oh.” Sparkle frowned.

  “Tell them about Loki’s three children. The ones who’ll join him to battle Odin’s forces.” Daria’s grim expression must have mirrored his own.

  “The prophecy can’t be fulfilled unless Loki’s three children join him in battle.” Drumroll, please. “The kiddies are Midgard, a giant serpent, Hel, the Queen of Death, and our old friend Fenrir, a werewolf that frightened the gods so much they bound him to a rock a mile under the earth.”

  “Hmm.” Ganymede looked like he had other things on his mind. “He’s trapped under our church? How’d that happen? New Jersey isn’t a hotbed of Norse gods. I guess a lot of the mob got whacked here, though, so maybe the gods said, ‘Hey, if it’s good enough for the mob, it’s good enough for us.”’

  “I don’t know why he’s under the church. I don’t believe in coincidences, so I have to assume there was a reason why a
Mackenzie ended up owning this place.” He had a hunch Fenrir would be eager to explain everything to him.

  “He showed up in my head right before I came down. He wants me back at the church. That can’t be good.” Declan decided against mentioning the pain. No one could help him with that.

  “So when’s this Ragnarok supposed to go down?” The chance for a good fight cheered up Ganymede a little.

  Declan shrugged. “No one knows the year, but it’ll start on the summer solstice.”

  “The night of June twentieth this year.” Daria had done her homework.

  “And this is…” Sparkle glanced at the calendar on the desk. “June fourteen.”

  Silence. Declan figured they could put the clues together without him. Armageddon in six nights. At least that was his conclusion since Fenrir had gained enough power to take physical form. But the werewolf still couldn’t leave the church area, so maybe there was a chance for the universe.

  “And your connection to Fenrir is?” Daria wasn’t afraid to ask the tough questions.

  “He’s my father.”

  “Damn.” Ganymede’s eyes widened as soon as he said the word. “Check to see if my candy bar is still in the desk.”

  Sparkle pulled open the drawer. “Gone.” She seemed to get lots of satisfaction from passing on that info.

  Daria didn’t seem to notice anything wrong between Ganymede and Sparkle. “What do you think he wants with you?”

  Declan shrugged. “Who knows? We never had any contact until back there at the church. Hell, I didn’t even know if the tale Mom told me about him was true. No one did. It was only her word. No proof. Guess I have proof now.”

  “What do we do?” Daria didn’t know about anyone else, but Declan’s story made her harpy test seem sort of trivial. If the universe went away in six nights, there wouldn’t be any harpy hierarchy to worry about.

  “We go into the parlor so I can talk with the guests. They’ll expect it. And until the world officially goes boom, life at the Woo Woo Inn carries on as usual.” Sparkle seemed to reconsider her words. “Whatever usual is here.”