by TJ Nichols
“If that’s true, then why haven’t they gotten the men who crapped on our temple?” Darian snapped.
“I’ll put pressure on.” That was all Edra could do.
Darian shook his head. “They’ll never see us as people. To them I’m a talking goat. They don’t understand.”
Humans had a very narrow definition of what a person was. The sooner the UN got their list sorted out, the better it would be. No one would ever be totally happy, but it would be a start. “If you go smearing shit everywhere, you only help the anti-mythos. The election is coming up. Think. If the pro-integration mayor gets in, we have a chance. Look around the country, around the world. Things are changing.”
Darian fisted the car keys. “Not everywhere.”
“No. But if enough cities and enough states become pro-integration, the country will turn. Look at Greece.” People were making pilgrimages to see the gods. Greece was leading Europe in integrating mythos into society.
“Look at Egypt. They killed the gods they used to worship.” Darian stared at the ground. “I don’t remember much about our world. I grew up here, but I don’t want to live in fear. I want to do something. I need to take the teeth of my enemy.” He thumped his chest.
Edra nodded. The night air was cool on his bare skin. “Even your father would say diplomacy should be tried first. That’s all I’m asking. Give me a chance to work with the cops. This is a new thing for them too.”
The dragon nosed his back. “Now can I go? You haven’t said cow. Tell him.”
Edra hooked his thumb at the dragon. “You owe her two cows for this inconvenience. Consider yourself lucky that I got here before you did something you wouldn’t be able to undo.”
“Two? That’s not….” He broke off into a growl. “Are you going to write this up?”
“I have to. But I don’t have to tell the human cops.”
“How will you explain her leaving the mountains?” He nodded at the dragon.
“That’s my problem to deal with. Your actions affect us all. We’re trying to make things better, and that means me liaising with the cops. I’ll talk to my contact tomorrow, and I’ll update you on the progress. Okay? I’ll find out when your father’s bail hearing is and make sure it gets posted. No one, least of all your mother, wants him in jail at this time of year.”
“She was pretty angry. She’s told him plenty of times not to let humans in.” He huffed out a breath. “But not all humans are idiots.”
“No they aren’t….” An idea began to form. “We need to make the dens less secretive. Perhaps if the cops knew exactly what it was like inside?”
“They get a tour and a free ride?” Darian’s ears fanned outward. He wasn’t keen on the idea.
“No riding, no Bliss.” He doubted any of the human cops would enjoy seeing naked and aroused satyrs. They’d either faint or feel very insecure. “But maybe a look around before everyone arrives for the reopening.”
“Maybe. We’re able to open again on Friday.”
Edra would have to put out an invitation, but would any cop be interested in looking around? “I’ll update you before then. Unload that crap here, wash your truck, and head home.” Darian glanced at the truck. “Don’t even think about it. If dragon shit turns up anywhere, I’ll know it’s you, and I’ll turn you in to the cops myself. That’s an official warning.”
“You’re supposed to protect us, not hand us over.”
“I’m here. I’ve tried to stop you. I’ve told you what will happen. If you go ahead, then I’ll have no other options. I don’t want to do that.” He really didn’t need to spend more time with Kells than he already was. “Your choice.”
Darian stomped the ground several times with his hoof as though he were warring with himself over the risks of disobeying. He stilled. “Very well. I’ll see you on Friday night.”
Edra smiled. “For work.”
He wouldn’t be visiting for pleasure anytime soon, nor would Kells, and that gave him a certain amount of smug pleasure that would be most unflattering if anyone knew.
Chapter 8
TWO OFFICERS were already at the mytho store with their guns drawn when Jordan parked the car badly and got out. He ran to the scene, hoping no one would pull a trigger.
Francis, the ogre teen moonlighting as a security guard for the corner store, was holding a human boy two feet off the ground.
“For the last time, put him down,” the uniformed cop ordered.
“No.” Francis’s face went from panicked to a smile. “Inspector Kells, I did what I was supposed to. I caught the shoplifter.” He swung the human, and the teen screamed.
Kells pulled out his handcuffs. Francis was in the right, but everyone was expecting him to arrest Francis and let the human go. He’d become a cop to do the right thing, not the easy thing. Hopefully he wasn’t committing career suicide as he stepped forward and smiled.
“Well done, Francis.” Jordan glanced at the officers. “Francis caught the criminal and you want to let him escape? You aren’t threatening an innocent ogre, are you?”
“He’s hurting a human.” But the officer lowered her gun.
“Is he? Or is the boy just wailing because he got caught?” The kid in question looked like the one on the CCTV footage from the night the dumpsters were set on fire.
“They’re monsters. Why am I in trouble?” The human teen had stopped screaming and looked surly. He knew the game was up.
“Empty your pockets, and then Francis will put you down.” Francis was being as gentle as a mother cat, holding the teen up by the back of his jacket. If the kid were smart, he’d have undone it and slithered out. But anyone who shoplifted from mythos was either not that bright or didn’t realize how dangerous they could be.
The teen pulled several candy bars out of his pocket.
“So he bought candy. The ogre shouldn’t have touched him.” Suddenly the officer didn’t sound so convinced.
Jordan kept an eye on the situation, but he beckoned her over and left her partner to watch Francis. “This store has been targeted by human teens for weeks. I’m the only cop who’s come out to speak to the owner about the reoccurring theft and vandalism. Now, I don’t want to think that they’re being ignored because they’re mytho. They’re taxpaying residents.”
“Have you seen what they sell in there?”
“Candy?” And pigs’ heads for hungry lesser dragons. How had Tendric eaten that? With a knife or fork? Or had he turned into a dragon? As much as Jordan tried to wrap his brain around that one, he couldn’t quite work out how it happened.
She stared at him. “You’re actually going to bring the kid in? He’s just a boy. He made a mistake.”
He’d heard those words before, used to excuse the school bully. “He’s looks about fifteen, has stolen from here at least six times that I’ve seen, and is facing a possible attempted-arson charge. Once is a mistake. This is a pattern of behavior, probably because he thinks he can get away with it.”
The officer stepped back. “He’ll get off. It’s a waste of resources even trying.”
“Maybe. But if we don’t try, if we don’t uphold the laws, then who will?”
He walked over to Francis and cuffed the human. “Thank you, Francis. I’ll take it from here.”
Francis carefully placed the human boy on his feet. The human immediately tried to run, but he got about ten steps before the other officer caught him and read him his rights.
Jordan was sure the arrest would bite him on the ass. Humans had been known to get away with actual murder of a mytho. Arresting one for shoplifting wasn’t going to be a good look when most of the department just shrugged.
Once the kid was in the patrol car, Jordan followed them back to the station.
JORDAN HAD known as soon as he put in the report that he’d be called into the captain’s office. Word traveled fast. The arresting officers made it clear they hadn’t wanted to bring in the human teen.
“You’re taking these mytho
cases very seriously.” The captain looked at Jordan’s report as though it were something the dog had chewed. If Jordan were at school he’d have expected an F. “Just because you have to work with their liaison officer doesn’t mean you have to listen to everything he says. He’s not a cop. He’s a jumped-up social worker for our furred arrivals.”
Jordan pressed his tongue to the back of his teeth. He wasn’t going to get into it with his boss when the order to work with Mytho Servo had come from higher up, and neither of them could do a thing about it except obey. “I’m following procedure.” Instead of ignoring it. “Until something else arrives on my desk….”
The captain nodded. “Did you hear about the dragon flyover the other night?”
“Saw it.” He knew it wasn’t Tendric. It had been too big. “Pretty amazing.”
“And not allowed. Go and chase that one down.”
Jordan frowned. That was barely even a case. “Am I going to be stuck on the mytho problems now?”
If the current mayor remained in place, and Jordan kept pursuing humans instead of ignoring their crimes against mythos, he’d find himself forced out.
“For the moment. Unless you want to go back to Property Crimes?”
Jordan clamped his teeth together. “No sir. Mytho cases are fine.”
“Good. There’s some rally at that dick temple tonight. They aren’t happy that someone took a dump on the steps.”
“I’m sure humans would be just as unhappy if someone took a dump at the cathedral.”
The captain stared at him as though he wasn’t sure if Jordan was human. “Not the same thing at all.”
“I’ll go through the footage from the temple and chase up leads.”
“It’s lost.”
“Lost?” Jordan hoped he’d misheard.
“Yeah.”
Jordan pressed his lips together, counted to three, and tried to put together something more diplomatic than what he really wanted to say. “The mayor’s son was involved again, wasn’t he?”
The captain shrugged. “I don’t know. All I know is the footage got lost.”
“Maybe the satyrs have a copy.”
“Maybe it’s best you don’t find it if you want the next homicide to be yours.”
“I’ll find out about the flyover and make sure the temple rally doesn’t become dangerous.” He stood. He would ask about the footage, but he’d also need to talk to Edra.
While he didn’t wish anyone dead, it would be really nice to deal with a corpse instead of politics. He hated politics.
THE TEMPLE was a pretty building that had appeared on the day of the collapse. It had a Greek look about it—or what Jordan considered a Greek look because it was made of white stone and had lots of columns. All of the structures that appeared in the collapse had been inspected by the city, and most had been deemed safe. Some were torn down, and some had been set alight as humans struggled to adapt.
While the first three months were terrifying, a part of Jordan found it fascinating. The creatures he’d only read about were real, and they had lives and families and religions. He sat through a course on mythos at the academy, but it didn’t prepare him for what it would be like when he started out as a uniformed cop.
Back then he fell into step with the man he’d been partnered with and ignored what was going on, even though he wanted to speak up. What did a rookie know? He needed to shut up and learn.
When he arrived, the satyrs at the temple were sitting quietly under the domed roof talking. The structure was open on all five sides with a central fire—hardly a rally. A few uniformed cops paced around waiting for trouble.
Tendric leaned against a tree not far away. Jordan should’ve known he’d be here. He needed to talk with him anyway, so he made his way over. “Expecting trouble?”
“Only if humans show up. Got anything I can tell my boss about the defilement?”
Jordan was about to say no, but the word froze on his tongue. He should just tell the truth. It wasn’t his fault the footage was lost. If there was going to be any kind of trust between them, they had to start with honesty.
Tendric glanced at him. “What?”
“The footage has been lost. It’s political.”
“Isn’t it always?”
“You can let Vlash know that I’ve identified four of the shoplifters and arrested three. I’m making progress. What can you tell me about the dragon flyover? You know it’s prohibited.”
“I stopped something from happening and had to make a deal with a dragon.” He grimaced. “I can’t give details. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t fine us.”
“I can’t take that back to my captain.” It was disheartening to know Tendric didn’t trust him enough to share what had happened.
Tendric took a moment and gazed at the temple as though he’d rather be anywhere else than talking to Jordan. “She was helping track down a mytho who broke one of our laws.”
“You’re supposed to get approval so we can warn people.” That was the official reason, but Jordan was sure it was simply about control. Most people liked the flyovers now that the dragons weren’t hunting in the parks.
“Where would you like me to stick my phone when I shift?” He turned to Jordan and lifted his eyebrow. His blue eyes were black in the dusk, and the light from the temple cut across his cheekbones.
Jordan’s heart was weightless for a moment, but he swallowed it down. Lusting after a mytho was weird, even for him.
Tendric flicked his tongue out and smiled as though he knew exactly what was running through Jordan’s mind.
There were things Tendric could do with that tongue that Jordan couldn’t unthink. Jordan looked away. “I hadn’t thought about that. What do you do with your clothes?”
“Take them off, of course. Hard to fit a tail in these pants.” Tendric straightened, suddenly alert. “Trouble is about to arrive.”
“Let the cops deal with it.” He couldn’t hear or see anything. “How can you tell?”
“I can hear and smell ten times better than you.” He flicked his tongue out again. “The feeling is mutual, by the way.”
He was striding toward the temple before Jordan could even work out what Tendric meant. Jordan watched him walk away and wondered how he grew a tail and wings and whether it hurt.
Then he heard the chanting.
“To the zoo you go.” While they weren’t brandishing pitchforks or torches, they were holding collars and leads and had white polo shirts with Zookeeper written on them.
Jordan sighed. The officers who’d been watching the temple for trouble now realized it was coming from the outside, and they appeared confused. The zookeepers stopped in front of the cops just outside the temple grounds. “We’re allowed to protest their perversion.”
“You aren’t allowed on temple grounds,” one of the uniforms said.
“They worship dicks. That isn’t a religion.”
The temple columns were rather phallic when examined closely. They were a sign of fertility, and the fire pit was distinctively feminine, according to the photos Jordan had seen—he’d never been inside to look.
Jordan made his way over to the cops and zookeepers. “They’re allowed to practice their faith.”
“Not when humans come here to be blessed.” The young man slapped a dog collar against his palm.
“Humans can come here and ask for blessings. The satyrs don’t have to give it.” Though they often did, according to reports. Some people claimed to have had miracle babies because of the blessing.
“And when they go to the dens? What happens when humans have hoofed babies?”
Jordan had never heard of any hoofed human babies. “This is a peaceful place of worship. Do you have a permit to protest?”
The man’s mouth opened. “Maybe we’ve come to worship again.”
“So you admit to being here previously?”
“Uh?” The man stepped back. The ten college-age protesters huddled closer. The mayor’s son, Andrew,
didn’t appear to be among them, which was unfortunate.
“You aren’t here to worship, and you have two minutes to disperse.”
The men backed up, not used to having someone stand up to them.
“Yeah, maybe you’re just here for satyr dick,” someone brave at the back said.
“Humans not good enough for you?” one of the others chimed in.
Jordan clamped his teeth together. There wasn’t enough lube in the world for him to even think about letting a satyr near his ass. He stepped back in line with the officers. “One minute.”
IT WAS after ten when he got a text from Tendric. I forgot to ask you if any cops were interested in touring a den, in the interest of building bridges, nothing else.
Jordan twisted the cap off a beer and the strap of his black satin slip slid off his shoulder. He stared at the message, not sure what to make of the invitation. Was Tendric serious about taking cops through the den, or was there something else there? Was it another hint that he knew about Jordan’s Bliss usage?
What had he said at the temple? “The feeling is mutual.”
What the hell did that mean? Did it mean what he thought it meant? He wasn’t even sure how to process that—that lust shouldn’t exist. The screen of his phone flashed again, reminding him he hadn’t responded. He could stall, pretend that he’d gone straight home to bed, and answer in the morning.
But he couldn’t walk into the club and pretend he’d never been there. What if a satyr gave him away? What was it like in the back of the den? He’d spend all night thinking about Tendric and what he did there…. Jordan closed his eyes and wished he hadn’t started to think about Tendric like that at all. They had a professional relationship.
But the feeling was mutual, and he could find out what that meant. He messaged Tendric.
Did you want to discuss in the office tomorrow or meet somewhere tonight?
The message pinged back immediately. Tonight. Need to get it signed off tomorrow.
Had Tendric asked his boss, or was he pushing another agenda?