Chapter Two #2
This amateur hadn’t been here for Nico or any of his siblings.
He’d headed straight for the kitchen, one refrigerator in particular.
One plus one surely equated to the fact that this glo-worm’s intentions had been to inject whatever shit was in that syringe into one or more of the bar’s foodstuffs.
And then what? Wait for people to start dying?
Random people and times? since who could guess who would be a customer and what they would choose to order.
Presumably, whoever had sent this idiot intended to set the Yanez family up to take the blame for the first strike in their campaign against the Southern Sanctuary.
Likely considering them perfect patsies since they were relatively new in town.
Although both his siblings had married into the local extended eccentric magical family and they’d been welcomed into the fold with open arms.
Staring at the body wasn’t giving Nico any answers.
He should call the local police. Except, knowing his luck, one or more of the McKenzie brothers would be on duty.
And those guys loathed him. He didn’t fancy spending what was left of the night in lock up until Sheriff Hughes cleared up this mess. Yeah, so the local police were out.
His second option was also out. His new brother-in-law, Elijah, Head of the Enforcers, had whisked Copper away to Greece. Not a honeymoon, they had loudly proclaimed, a hunt. Okay, so that just left—
“Third choice. Really? That’s kind of galling.”
Spinning around, heart pounding, Nico glared at Darcy Montgomery, currently leaning against the door leading into the walk-in freezer.
Saint Medard. Most people might start babbling out an explanation of why they’d been discovered standing over a body with a snapped neck in their kitchen in the wee small hours of the morning.
Not Nico. Who just continued to glare. Was she eating an ice cream?
Thanks to running the bar, Nico had spent a little time in Darcy’s company. Plus of course he’d read the warning pamphlet regarding her - that they’d been given when they first moved here - cover to cover and memorised it.
Darcy couldn’t read minds. Though thanks to her Spider Mage magic she was pretty darn good at guessing what people were thinking.
Nor did she have the entire Sanctuary wired with cameras.
She was just often bored, especially when her meld mate was assigned night duty, tending to wander the district, testing her skills against her family’s determination to keep her out of their abodes.
Locks and magical deterrents fell by the wayside wherever Darcy went.
More than one disgruntled relative too often woke in the morning to find Darcy had reorganised their furniture, or left them a shopping list regarding items they were running low on in the fridge.
“Do you recognise him?” Nico stepped slightly to the side so she could view the body better.
“I recognise the type. He looks like he runs with the deity crowd. Probably low on the power scale, given you snapped his neck rather tidily.”
“He glowed before he died.”
“Interesting. He might be a party boy, one of the Bacchanal lines, but he doesn’t have that dissolute look about him.
Not a hunter, those feet are too pristine.
Scars are old. And he looks soft. Former tough guy.
Taking orders from someone, why else would he be here?
I’ll get the library researchers to investigate, see if we can identify him.
” Darcy snapped a couple of photos with her phone.
Making sure to include the tattoo and the scars.
“Well, his boss, whoever that might be, gave him a syringe, a detailed description of my bar layout, and this.” Nico unwrapped the tissue, holding the ring out for Darcy’s inspection.
“Payment or a token, perhaps both. Either way, I’m guessing he was expendable, and they assumed effectively untraceable.”
“Luckily you love a challenge. You want me to wrap him up to go in some tarpaulin for you?”
With two bites Darcy finished her ice cream, leaning back against the nearest kitchen counter, crossing her legs, casting a quick admiring glance down at her lime vinyl thigh-high boots. “I have something for you.”
It was pure reflex that had Nico grabbing the silver plastic object Darcy pulled out of her left boot and flung his way. A star? No, a child’s plastic sheriff’s badge. At least it wasn’t any of Darcy’s extensive Japanese steel edged throwing stars or shuriken.
“And this is?”
“A symbol.”
“Of…?”
“Your new status, congrats, you’ve just been promoted to Secret Special Liaison Deputy.”
Yeah, Nico didn’t need to think about that. Throwing the plastic star back. “You’re joking.”
“Does this look like my joking face?”
“I’d have to double check the pamphlet, but no, I don’t believe it is. You’re serious? Thanks, but no thanks, I’m good.”
“But are you happy?”
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing. Now, as I was saying, this grave honour I’m bestowing upon you is non-negotiable, non-returnable, and highly fraught with potential death and disaster.”
“So not interested in any of that.”
“What about the end of life as we know it? Any thoughts or feelings about that particular subject?”
Okay, Darcy definitely had his attention now.
His brother-in-law, Elijah, liked to joke the local Enforcers dealt with an apocalypse every other Tuesday.
Considering all the stories he’d heard from the locals, that estimate wasn’t far off.
But for Darcy to involve herself in a potential cataclysmic event?
The threat potential had to be off the scale.
“Excellent. Good to have you on board. Well, you probably want to get our friend here on ice.” Darcy stood up straight, stretching, covering her mouth as she yawned. “See yah.”
“Wait. You can’t drop a bomb like the world is going to end and not give me any details regarding who, what, how and when.”
“A Cabal of asshole Deities want to remake the Earthly Plane so they can rule it for shits and giggles.”
“Who exactly? How? When?”
“All excellent questions. As to the who, unfortunately, most are hiding their involvement and operating through a range of high end contractors, with the odd expendable amateur thrown into the mix.” She cast a quick look at the dead body.
“I’ll arrange some kind of briefing for you. In the meantime, suspect everyone.”
“I spend most of my days behind a bar, and my customers are all locals. Unless I get another four in the morning surprise visitor, I doubt I’ll be breaking this conspiracy wide open for you.
I’m just saying, my contribution in all this is probably done.
I’ll put glow bug here on ice, but do I really need a stupid secret title and a briefing? ”
Darcy’s eerie ice-blue eyes frosted over for a millisecond.
“You tell me? Someone who can hire or bribe a deity hanger-on knows enough about the Sanctuary to send them here, to your bar, into your kitchen, to a specific refrigerator armed with a deadly toxin. And something else for you to think about, you know who else is about to mix with a whole passel of deities? Do the meet and greet thing? Your sister, the newest official member of the Goddess club, K’in. ”
“Mierda.” Copper.
“Exactly. Can it really be a coincidence that the moment your sister officially steps up to Goddess status some golden dude in a toga and the ancient equivalent of flip-flops promptly turns up at the Yanez family business, packing a deadly poison?”
“I don’t know how useful I can be, stuck behind the bar.”
“You stopped goldenrod in his tracks. And whoever sent him, they have a specific target in mind, we just don’t know who, where, or when yet.
Or even if their target is a personal one or weaved into the bigger take over the Earth plot.
Either way, I think they’ll try again. You know how one note the Gods can be. ”
“Considering the threat, it might be a good idea to have a couple of the local Enforcers work at the bar undercover for the foreseeable future.”
Darcy laughed. “Yeah, because my overly suspicious - can’t keep a secret - family would never twig that something big was going down if some of the Enforcers began working here. Like I said, secret deputy, just act normal, keep doing what you’re doing, and suspect everyone.”
“When’s the briefing?”
“Um, soon… ish?”
“It’s not going to be some slap dash barely legible notes scrawled on the back of a torn receipt, is it?”
“Well, not now it’s not. I’ll organise something more formal, happy?”
“Not really. I have a dead asshole in my kitchen. Have discovered a Cabal of Deities is secretly plotting to take over the Earth. Potentially targeting my sister. And to top it all off, I find I’ve been co-opted by the scary ass Southern Sanctuary Special Liaison to act as her secret knows-nothing dogsbody. ”
“Awww, you called me scary ass. For that I’ll do you a favour.”
“Please, no more favours. I fear your definition regarding what constitutes one differs vastly from my own interpretation.”
It took a moment for Nico to recall which number smile had just tilted up the edges of Darcy’s lips. Mierda, the number forty-eight. The - I love you but this will definitely hurt you more than it will hurt me – smile.
“I completely and humbly apologise for any and all transgressions against you.”
Darcy chuffed a laugh but the number forty-eight remained fixed in place. “I like you, Nico.”
“Then grant me dispensation or for the love of all the Saints, amnesty.”
“No. No. You’re going to love it, probably, eventually. Well, okay, yes, at first, you’re going to loathe and despise it.”
“I’m begging you, Darcy, no favours. I’ll be your secret special deputy for as long as you want. No complaints. You say jump, I jump. I’ll dig ditches and store as many bodies in my freezer as you need me to. Just don’t do me any favours.”
“Hmmmm, well, I do believe we might end up getting a little tight on freezer space. A second storage option would be useful. And the no complaining and ditch digging offer is undeniably attractive.”
“You say how wide and how deep, I promise they’ll be the best ditches you’ve ever seen.”
“Six foot usually does the trick. Fine. But the no complaining starts now. And I’ll be assigning you a partner.”
A partner? That sounded… useful. Someone no doubt trained in combat and intrigue.
An extra pair of ears and eyes to look for anything or anyone suspicious.
If something did hit the fan, then back-up would come in very handy.
Except, this was Darcy he was talking about here, and that number forty-eight smile wasn’t shifting.
A partner? Someone who Darcy considered suitable?
Crap.