Marty stuck her neck out and widened her eyes. “Yeah, Mistress Nina. Let the kids be,” she teased.
Wanda hopped up from the table, taking the last sip of her wine before she said, “Okay, we need to be up bright and early tomorrow for this expedition. So let’s get this mess cleaned up and let those who need to sleep get a good night under their belts. Namely, Nova, Bellamy, and Murphy. They’re not used to going without sleep the way we are.”
Nina must have seen Sten and Murphy’s reluctant expressions, because she teased, “Aw. Don’t look so sad, lovers. There’ll be plenty of time for that shit later, when this is over and you two are all officially doing the do.”
“Nina!” Wanda chastised with her stern teacher’s face. “You don’t know if they’ll end up a couple. That’s presumptuous at best. Hush and busy yourself clearing the table.” Then she shook her finger at Murphy. “Don’t you listen to her, Murphy. She has a big mouth and nowhere to spew.”
The vampire cackled her husky laugh as she stacked bowls of food she hadn’t even eaten. “Fuck you, Wanda. That’s how every single case we’ve ever had ends up. The accidental victim always makes goo-goo eyes at the accidental perp. Why do you think we have so many damn kids running around at the bi-annual barbecue? You know that shit’s true, and I know that shit’s true. It’s gospel.”
Murphy’s face went red as she grabbed her plate and began to help clear things away, keeping her eyes on her task, even if she did have to fight a smile.
Did everyone who was accidentally turned always end up with the person who’d accidentally turned them? Was that really true?
Because if that was true, she wouldn’t hate it.
There were worse things.
Maybe she should put that in the accidental suggestion box?
Murphy snuck down the long length of stairs in Castle Doom, praying they didn’t creak. She was a mess of raw nerves, worrying about going to Troll Hill and finding whoever had sold the curse to Bellamy.
The gorgeous bedroom Marty had made sure she was as comfortable as possible in was supposed to be soothing, but the warm, soft-as-a-baby’s-cheek comforter and the fluffy pillows did nothing to soothe her.
At midnight, after she’d spent what felt like hours staring at the shadows the big tree outside made on the soothing pale blue walls, she gave up and decided to make a cup of tea and do what she did best—overthink the situation.
She wasn’t exactly the adventurous type, but she was no chickenshit either, and at all costs, she was going to make sure Nova got the cure to this mess.
Her parents would do the same, and if there was one thing she tried to do, it was care for Nova the way they would have.
Slipping past the couch, she tiptoed to the kitchen where a small light glowed over the gorgeously shiny eight-burner stove. The stove only made sense in the context that apparently Arch came over frequently to cook for this tight-knit clan of people, and Nina’s fridge seemed to have as much human food as it did synthetic blood.
She clearly kept her fridge and freezer stocked for Carl and her food-eating friends, so if Murphy could just look past the bags of synthetic blood and find a bit of milk, she’d make herself some tea. Maybe that would help her sleep.
“Miss Murphy?”
Murphy nearly jumped out of her skin. Clutching the tie on her bathrobe, she whirled around and gasped in relief when she saw Darnell, Arch, and Carl at the dining room table, where Pancake was curled up at Carl’s feet.
He’d really taken a shine to Carl and little Charlie.
“Oh! You scared me!” she breathed as she looked at them, noting a plate of cookies sitting in the middle of the long table and a bowl of broccoli for Carl. “I didn’t mean to disturb you. I’ll just head back up.”
But Darnell hopped up and pulled out a chair with a smile. “Can’t sleep? Come sit a spell.”
Murphy nodded. “It’s silly, I’m sure, but I’m having all sorts of anxiety attacks about things that probably don’t even exist.”
Arch shot her a warm smile as he began to rise. “Then do join us, Mistress Murphy. We’d welcome someone as lovely as you. I’ve made a spot of tea. Care for some?”
She gave him a grateful smile as she moved to sit in the chair Darnell had pulled out for her. “That would be really nice, Arch. But I can get it.”
He waved a dismissive hand as he traipsed over to the stove in his well-worn bathrobe . “Bah! You’re a guest in my kitchen. There’ll be none of that. You sit.”
Darnell slid a napkin with a lusciously warm cookie, fat with chocolate chips, in her direction. “You feelin’ okay, Miss Murphy? Can I help?”
Carl reached across the table and patted her hand, wearing his sweet, lopsided smile. “Help?”
She smiled back at them, her heart clenching at the scene they made. Three men, sharing a moment and a snack in the dimly lit midnight hour.
Murphy grabbed his hand and gave it a light squeeze, careful to avoid disturbing the duct tape on his pinky finger.
“I’m okay, guys. I think I’m just a little nervous about tomorrow. It’s the fear of the unknown. This, too, shall pass. Still, I appreciate the offer.”
Carl patted her hand again and went back to his book.
Darnell turned to study her, looking quite adorable in his checkered flannel pajamas. “Lotta strange changes in your life. S’okay to be nervous. But the ladies’ll look out for ya. If I know anything, I know that much.”
Murphy leaned on the heel of her hand to look into this gentle giant’s soft brown eyes. “You really trust them, don’t you?”
He smiled, his round cheeks lifting, his warm, generous eyes sparkling. “With my life. Can’t tell ya how many times they’ve saved somebody. Believe that.”
Arch brought her a delicious-smelling cup of steaming tea, setting it in front of her. “I’ve added a touch of lavender to help soothe you, Miss Murphy. That always works for me when my mind troubles me and I can’t find sleep.”
“Thanks, Arch. You’ve been very kind, allowing us to invade your space the way we have.” Taking a bite of the cookie, she rolled her eyes in appreciation.
Arch reached out and chucked her under her chin. “Oh, it’s no invasion at all, fair maiden. I do so love a crowd of people to nurture. It’s my favorite thing in all the world.”
Darnell scruffed a hand over his dark head. “It sure is. Arch loves to cook for a crowd. He’s the best thing that ever happened to my belly. Musta gained twenty pounds since I met ya.” Darnell rubbed his stomach to prove his point.
Arch threw his head back and laughed, swatting Darnell with a napkin. “Oh, you. Such a fine, upstanding demon needs proper nourishment. I only wish to show you my love through food.”
She took a sip of her tea and looked at the three of them over the rim of her mug. “You all seem so at ease with one another. I know you’re not necessarily related in the traditional sense, but I’d never know from the way you all take care of each other—the way there’s always someone around to pick up the slack. You work as one fluid entity. It’s so nice to experience,” she said, longing for the time when she could turn to her parents for support and advice. “It makes me miss my…” She drifted off, her throat tightening.
Darnell slung an arm around her shoulder and pulled her to his cushiony side to give her a quick hug. “You got us now, Murphy girl. We’ll be there for you the same way we’re there for each other.”
“Indeed,” Arch said as he reached out and covered her hand with his. “It’s what Mistress Nina calls framily. A ragtag lot of strays from all walks of life, we are. And we’re something like legion, and that’s what makes us strong. We have but one initiative. To love one another no matter what. And now you and Miss Nova are part of our framily, too. Miss Wanda wasn’t joking when she said you can never leave. We simply won’t let you.”
Carl looked up from his book and smiled again, his boyish good looks so innocent. “Fram…ily. Framily is al…al…always.”
Tear
s stung her eyes as she gave Darnell a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek, soaking in the warmth of his embrace. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I needed to hear that more than ever tonight.”
Darnell gave her a pat on the back and grinned. “Always, Murphy. Always.”
Sitting back in her chair, she looked at these three men, all so different, yet so deeply connected, and she sent out a wish to the universe. She hoped she’d never lose touch with these people who’d so graciously—okay, and some not so graciously, but whatever—held out a hand in support and encouraged her to take it.
Carl looked at her and held up his book with a question in his eyes. “Read to you?”
She swallowed hard, her chest tight with gratitude. “I’d love that, Carl.”
And as Carl read Love You Forever to her, before the chaos of the coming storm erupted, Murphy sat in the quiet center of it all and relished this peaceful moment with three people who’d offered her kindness when she needed it the most.
And that she’d done it with an ex-vampire, a demon and a zombie who loved broccoli, made it absolute perfection.
Chapter 15
“Wow, nice digs,” Nina said as they stood in Sten’s backyard in Brooklyn, bright and early on a freezing-cold day, ready to begin their journey through Troll Hill to the north end of The Realm.
And the vampire was right, even in the dead of winter, his backyard was pretty great.
An archway at the edge of the lawn, painted white, granted you access to the small patch of winter-brown grass at the entrance to Sten’s garden utopia.
There were trellises along a privacy fence, bare now but for the barren vine left clinging to the wood that, in the spring and summer, surely harbored something beautiful and abundant, with flowers like wisteria or maybe even clematis.
Decorative pots were everywhere, all devoid of plants but colorful and vibrant, placed in every corner and atop a beautifully crafted round, wood table with a closed umbrella and two chairs.
Edison lights hung across the back of his small two-story brick house and along the fencing. A garden snaked along the base of the fence, outlining the bottom of it, mulched with a dark brown bark. There were several trees, also bare, but draped with the same lights, their limbs gracefully falling over in winter slumber.
But that wasn’t what made his backyard so fantastic.
It was the things he’d whittled.
A delicate fairy house, and a tiny sprite with wings on the roof.
A tall log fashioned into a treehouse with an elf peeking out of the doorway and several holes drilled into it for summer annuals.
Dozens of his creations dotted the landscape, each as unique and whimsical in detail as the next.
“It’s really beautiful, Sten,” Murphy said on a sigh, thinking about how lovely it must be to sit outside during the summer and have a glass of wine under those Edison lights. Or even in the fall, wrapped in a blanket with a good book.
He smiled at her, pulling his knit cap over his ears and rubbing his hands together. “I’ve worked really hard on it. I’m pretty proud of it.”
“You should be,” she murmured, trying to imagine what it would look like all lit up.
“Maybe you might want to come by and see it at night? You know, when it’s all lit up. After we get through this mess, that is.”
Warmth crept along her spine and all the way to the tips of her new pointed ears, but she didn’t have time to answer before Nina came up behind them and draped her arms around their shoulders, pulling them close to her sides.
“Listen, lovers, this shit is real cute, and I’m glad you’re fucking getting to know one another because that’s an important part of any new goddamn relationship. But here’s the score—the sooner we find this motherfucker, the sooner you two can put on your crash helmets and bang like two test dummies. Amirite?”
Murphy snorted a laugh as she turned to look at the vampire, her eyes covered by dark sunglasses and her nose slathered with zinc.
“You’re right, Nina. We’re dawdling, and that’s mostly my fault. I’m terrified, and I’m not sure if it’s because we’re going to hunt a bad troll or because I’m about to meet my new people, and I want to make a good impression. I mean,” she stopped to gulp down some of her terror, “what if they don’t like me?”
And that was true. She was terrified of these people. She was terrified they wouldn’t accept her because she was only an accidental troll.
She’d listened very carefully this morning over a much-needed cup of strong coffee as Nina, Wanda, and Marty had told her about their experiences with acceptance into their respective clans and packs.
Acceptance wasn’t always a given, and as bizarre as it likely sounded, pink skin and hair, purple eyes and all, she wasn’t at all hesitant about what had happened to her.
She’d discovered last night while she’d chatted with Arch, Carl and Darnell, she didn’t hate being a troll. She wasn’t angry it had happened to her at all. In fact, she looked forward to learning about what it took to be one, because it meant she was a part of something. A part of a community. A part of history and heritage she was eager to learn about.
But what if they didn’t like her? What if they didn’t want her?
Wanda tucked Murphy’s hair into her hat and brushed off the collar of her coat. Then she pinched her cheek and smiled her serenely warm smile. “Who wouldn’t like you? You’re pretty, and smart, and funny. Of course they’ll like you, honey. Of course they will.”
Nina lifted her glasses and rolled her eyes at Wanda. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, Wanda, did you pack her a lunch in her Paw Patrol lunchbox and cut the crust off her bread, too? Jesus. This isn’t her first day of kindergarten. Stop coddling her and let’s move this shit along.”
Marty yanked a piece of Nina’s shiny hair she’d twisted into a ragtag ponytail. “You, shut up. Do you remember what it was like to be the outsider?”
Wanda agreed with a curt nod of her head. “She’d better, and if she doesn’t, I’m happy to remind her.”
Marty jabbed a finger at the vampire. “You bet your ass we’ll remind you, because we were there when it happened. And while you didn’t cry, because you can’t cry, you did your fair share of whining. We all did. So leave the child alone. It’s okay for Murphy to feel hesitant.” And then she looked at Murphy with a smile. “But guess what? In the end, it doesn’t matter if they like you, because we like you. Don’t we, Elvira?”
“What-fucking-ever,” Nina groused, covering a T-shirt that read, “Good Morning. I see The Assassins Have Failed,” as she zipped her hoodie. “The longer we stand around yapping and giving out fucking participation trophies, the longer Golum here stays like this, and from the looks of these two divas and the constant clicks of their damn cameras, we’d better reverse this curse or they’ll wither up and die from lack of fucking attention from complete strangers.”
Sometime last night, after dinner and before bed, Bellamy had promised Nova she’d go dark on her Instagram page until Nova was returned to her former glory.
An allegiance Murphy had thought was actually pretty sweet. Yet, that hadn’t stopped them from taking pictures of their surroundings, and Bellamy posed to the high heavens to post later. Once an Instagrammer always an Instagrammer seemed to be their motto.
Still, it was really nice to see them getting along so beautifully.
Murphy gave the gate—the special gate that led to the portal—a hesitant glance before she looked to the women and Sten for guidance. “So this is like a portal to your world, right? Like, we step through and bam, we’re there?”
Sten nodded his green head, looking particularly handsome in some jeans and a puffy jacket. “That’s how it works, but rest assured, you can only get into Troll Hill if you’re a troll, or traveling with a troll.”
She glanced at the gate again with skepticism. “Why am I the only one who’s freaked out that right here in Brooklyn, there’s a portal to another dimension? I mean, what’s next? If I g
o to the bodega on Ninth and use the bathroom, is there a spaceship waiting to take me to the moon on the other side?”
Nina planted her hands on her hips. “You never fucking know. Listen, chickenshit, we’ve seen some motherfucking wild stuff. Maybe while we’re on this damn hike through the land of the crayon-colored people, I’ll tell you all about the underwater world in fucking Staten Island where a mermaid and her merman live. Or shit, we could fucking talk about what Hell’s like, if you think that’s a better story. I’ll let you decide.”
Sten took Murphy’s cold hand in his warm one and led her toward this infamous gate, where he stopped and looked into her eyes. “Don’t worry, Murph. I’m not. I’m pretty sure everyone’s going to think you’re as awesome as I do, and if they don’t, I’ll order them to because I’m the what…?”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re the king, but isn’t that sort of the equivalent of the popular kid being forced by his mother to invite the unpopular kid to the party because it’s the right thing to do? I don’t want you to make them like me. I just want them to like me because they like me. Get the difference?”
He chuckled as he put his hand on the gate, which only came up to his waist. “I get the difference, but it’s not the same. It’s not the same because you’re not the unpopular kid.”
“That only goes to show you didn’t know me back in ninth grade,” she said with a nervous giggle.
He brushed the hair stuck at the corner of her mouth. “Nope, I didn’t, but I wish I had. Listen, it’s going to be okay. Trolls aren’t like vampire clans or werewolf packs. We don’t have alphas and territorial issues for the most part. You’re not usurping anyone’s place in Troll Hill. You’re not taking anything from anyone. We’re mostly peace-loving, happy-go-lucky people, with few exceptions.”
“You mean like the troll who wants to work my sister to death?”
“Okay, we have some bad apples, mostly in the north end, but it isn’t the majority. Promise.”
The Accidental Troll Page 14
