Little Music of Night (Creature Cafe #17)

Barista

It had been a long time since I’d hated myself as much as I did right now. Everything in my life was upside down. I’d hurt my daughter, my partners, my family, and yes—it was to protect them. But at what cost?

At what cost?

I leaned against the shelves in the walk-in cooler and stared at the two phantoms in front of me.

They were trapped inside the giant mirror I’d carted back here from the front of the cafe.

I didn’t know who they were, and that was uncommon.

I was familiar with most monsters in our world—perks of living for so fucking long.

But ghosts, wraiths, and phantoms sometimes fell through the cracks with their murky souls.

I couldn’t see the glowing soul strings as clearly.

But whatever I could do to run interference and prevent Layla from matching monsters and humans, I had to do. She wouldn’t speak to me, so I couldn’t explain the reason that went beyond me wanting her to take her powers slowly. It even went beyond beckoning Death back to our doorstep.

I was playing with fate.

I’d been playing with fate for years. It was what Lucifer and I used to fight about so much before Trixie, before the war, before everything.

And gods, maybe he’d been right. Maybe he’d been right all along that I shouldn’t interfere with helping monsters find love.

But it was my calling. At the end of the day, I believed that love made the world better.

One of the phantoms cleared his throat. Of the two, I liked him more.

The other one—the dark haired one—was malicious. There was a cruelty in his onyx eyes, and it already made me wonder if he should have a human mate. But there was an oath I’d made to myself.

Even the worst monsters deserved the chance to find love.

Even the dark phantom before me.

But not Death. Absolutely not Death. And certainly not with my daughter. Severing their fated mate bond had been terrible of me to do, but it was to save Layla from a fate worse than . . . well, death.

“What are your names?” I finally asked.

“You can call me Ray,” the nicer one answered. “This is Erik.”

Ray and Erik. Both of them were tall and looked human, except for their masks. The right side of Ray’s face was covered by a white mask. The left side of Erik’s was covered by a black mask. It was as if they were one soul that had been split down the middle, divided into two phantoms.

“And you are . . . brothers?” Please, not again.

“No,” Erik scoffed. “Lovers. Mates.”

“Sometimes friends,” Ray added.

That made Erik snort, but he crossed his arms, still staring at me.

He did know I could kill him, right? Even through this stupid mirror. I could reap their fucking souls through the glass.

I wasn’t exactly in the best of moods after the last two months of fuck ups. Smiting a smug phantom would probably make me feel a little bit better.

“And so, you’re here for your mate,” I said. “And what do you want? What are you searching for in a mate, exactly?”

“We already know our mate,” Erik said. “But she cannot see us. We want you to bring her to us.”

“Erik,” Ray muttered under his breath. “We do not know—”

“We do know. She is the only one we want.” Erik glowered at Ray. “Do not pretend in this room that you have not been watching her every moment you get.”

“It’s wrong of us,” Ray whispered.

“It is not wrong!” Erik growled. “Watching her, protecting her—it is not wrong.”

I narrowed my eyes on both of them. “Are you stalking someone?”

Erik hissed at me, his face morphing in a horrifying way. Ah, yeah. I’d forgotten just how monstrous phantoms could be. But even though his skin turned gray and his mouth became fanged and his form stretched, I simply crossed my arms.

“I am in a mood today,” I said calmly. “And I am being kind by hearing you out right now. But after the week I’ve had, killing you would be fun. So either put those fucking fangs away and answer me, or get the fuck out of my cafe.”

“Erik,” Ray said, reaching for him. He reached up and cupped Erik’s face, murmuring to him until his form slowly returned back to normal.

The mask had never left its spot, I realized.

They were definitely cursed. It wasn’t unheard of. Being bound to wherever they stood on the other side of the mirror. Probably by some angry witch.

It would be tricky to set up the first date, but I was quickly losing my interest in helping them. They’d both just told me they were stalking a human. Was there ill intent behind that or simply desire? Did that make it better or worse?

“So are you stalking someone?” I pressed.

“Only because she is meant to be ours,” Erik gritted out. His appearance rippled in the mirror as he raked his fingers through his hair. “She is our mate. We know she is. We just need her to see us, and we know you can help. We know you can set up the date.”

He wasn’t wrong.

The real question was: did I want to help?

And did I really have a leg to stand on against being possessive of your mate?

Not really. Trixie and Lucy meant everything in the world to me. Sleeping on the couch for a week had been one hell of a punishment. There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for them.

“Please help us,” Ray said. “We only want our mate. We want to make her happy. We know she is meant to be ours.”

Fuck. I wrinkled my nose and looked away from them, weighing the pros and cons.

Pros: matching two monsters with their fated mate, keeping my daughter from getting into more trouble, and perhaps winning back a little bit of love from my family and friends.

Cons: this human was definitely being stalked by two phantoms she had no idea existed.

But, I could help with that. Plus, I could probably drum up enough magic to loosen their curse and let them come to the cafe for just a morning.

“Okay.” I blew out a breath. I really hoped this wasn’t a bad idea.

Because gods knew I’d had a lot of those recently.

“I will help you. I can give you a momentary reprieve from your curse so that you can go on a date with her. Be at the cafe two weeks from now. Friday, nine in the morning. Not a minute late or there will be consequences. Got it?”

“Yes,” Ray said, grinning at me. “Thank you. I can’t remember the last time we saw the world outside of our home.”

He almost had the energy of a golden retriever.

“Thank you so much. We appreciate you agreeing.”

“You didn’t give me much choice,” I muttered.

Ray chuckled nervously, his attention sliding to Erik. I met his gaze and cocked my head.

“I do appreciate polite phantoms,” I said, raising a brow.

“Thank you, Barista,” he sneered.

Then he turned and—was he wearing a cape? My brows shot up even higher as the two of them disappeared from the mirror, leaving only my reflection staring back at me.

I scowled. Fucking phantoms. I’d never understood the magic of matter.

A knock on the cooler door echoed, and it opened. Bell poked his head in, his gaze darting to the empty mirror.

He’d been staying closer to everyone recently, which I appreciated. Mostly because I missed him when he was off traveling the world.

“Hey,” I said. “Everything okay?”

Bell nodded. “Yep. Just checking on you.”

My chest warmed as he stepped inside and let the door swing shut behind him. He had that look in his eyes, one he’d had since he was a little boy running around causing mischief. “They’re all squared away,” I said. “Did you have a question? You look like you have a question.”

Bell hesitated, but then nodded. “Would you tell us if you knew of our mates? Like if I was ready to find someone, and you knew who it was. Would you tell me?”

Oh gods. It was something I’d thought about many times. After countless discussions, Trixie, Lucy, and I agreed I’d only interfere if I were asked to by our children.

“Only if asked to help.” I swallowed hard as the memory of severing Layla’s bond resurfaced, opening like a fresh wound. It had hurt me too. “I know I made a mistake, possibly, with Layla—”

Bell shook his head. “I don’t want to talk about Layla right now. I’m talking about me.”

I scowled. “As in . . .”

“As in, what if I’m ready for my mate?”

“But you’re so young.” So, so young. He was just a baby to me still. All of them were only born a blink ago.

“I mean, I’m twenty-six. By human standards, that’s a normal age to start dating seriously.

I just . . . I want a mate. Everyone is so happy with their mate.

Marina and Demi. Fitz and Sage. Malachi and Leo.

All of my aunts and uncles and our extended family.

Every monster who has their mate is happy.

Even you, Mom, and Dad are perfect for each other. ”

“They’re perfect for me,” I sighed. “I am unsure at times if I am perfect for them. I try my best.”

Bell shrugged his shoulders. “I know they’ve been mad at you, but it’s like you always said growing up. Just because you’re mad at someone does not mean you love them any less.”

Some of the tension eased in my chest and I smiled at him, leaning my head against the wall. Despite feeling like I was constantly making mistakes, I was reminded in this moment just how proud I was of our children.

“I think I needed that,” I said. “Thank you.”

Bell’s soft smile spread into a wicked grin that reminded me of Lucy. “So. Are you going to find me a fated mate?”

“Not yet,” I said. “Sorry. It’s not your turn.”

“But you’ll tell me if you find them, right? And not sever my bond with them?”

I winced. “No, I don’t think I’ll be doing that again. Also, have you had any . . . magical occurrences?”

“Do you mean am I like Layla or Luca?” Bell asked. “Probably. Who knows. I wouldn’t worry about it.”

Well, that was suspicious. No child of mind ever told me not to worry unless I absolutely should have been worried.

“Have fun matching those phantoms. I’ll be working the shift that day just so I can see how that goes.”

I snorted as Bell waltzed off.

I decided I’d worry about him later. I had a human to introduce to the monster world.