Lust and Other Drugs

by TJ Nichols

  “Where’d you go?”

  “Had drinks with friends, but it wasn’t what I wanted.” His gaze slid to Edra.

  “Pretty sure sitting at the temple wasn’t it either.” It certainly wasn’t his idea of a good night, but the morning was looking brighter.

  “Hmm. Doesn’t matter now.”

  The waitress brought over their drinks, and Edra took a large swallow of his scalding-hot chocolate. He always asked for it to be extra hot and extra strong. The sugary drink was exactly what he needed after being up for twenty-four hours.

  Jordan cautiously sipped his coffee. “That’s too hot. How did you manage to drink it?”

  “Dragon. I can literally hold fire in my hand without getting a burn.” He couldn’t do it for very long in human form, but it was still a good party trick when people didn’t know he was mytho.

  “And you can become invisible.”

  “Sometimes.” He smiled and took another drink. “You can become someone else too. Though I wonder who’s real and who’s the act?”

  “Maybe both are real. I’m who I need to be at the time. I don’t think many people would take me seriously as a cop looking like this.”

  “They took you seriously last night.” No one had said a word about the way Jordan looked, but they said plenty about the police, and none of it had been complimentary.

  “True.” Jordan scowled at his cup.

  “And I think you look good.” He looked better than good, but Edra wasn’t sure what else he could say. “Pretty?” Was that the wrong thing to say?

  That earned him a smile and a blush. “Thanks.”

  For a few moments, they didn’t speak as they both soaked in the rising sun and the heat of their drinks.

  “So why become a cop?” Clearly it meant Jordan couldn’t dress the way he wanted, and that was an issue for him. “You could’ve done anything.”

  Jordan laughed. “That’s so wrong. Okay, dragon. Time for you to learn a bit about the human world. I’m from Texas. Texas is bad for mythos now, but when I was growing up, it was bad for little boys who liked their older sister’s makeup and dresses, for gay boys who were a little girly. I couldn’t just do anything. I had to leave. The one thing I did learn growing up was that someone needed to stand up to the bullies, and I wanted to do that. I wanted to see them be brought to justice. I didn’t want to go to another friend’s funeral because he’d shot himself after years of bullying. I even considered suicide myself, but my father thought I was weak, and he taunted me to do it. I didn’t want to give him the pleasure of being right. I chose to move here because I’d heard about it and knew there’d be places for people like me to hang out.” He sipped his coffee and gave Edra a rueful smile. “Then you guys turned up.”

  “A great day for everyone.” Edra lifted his cup in mock toast.

  Jordan tapped his cup against Edra’s. “Life has a way of fucking up every plan.”

  “Not all plans. You became a cop.”

  “True, but unless Dr. Lew gets in, I’m committing career suicide by siding with the mythos. The timing of this murder is too perfect. It’s like the perpetrator knew Leonaris wouldn’t be charged. We went to the den, did the PR thing… and then bang.”

  Edra was silent for a moment. He hated to open the mytho world to scrutiny. “There’s a black market for mytho trophies. You could look there.”

  “I know. I worked in Property Crimes for a while. It’s disgusting… but it’s not just for trophies. People think there’s magic in mytho body parts.”

  Edra had heard that too. “I’m sure satyr dick is up there with tiger penis.”

  Jordan winced. “Yeah. No one would hang a dick on their wall.”

  “I would’ve agreed once, but I’ve met far too many humans to actually believe that we’re not the new trophy animals. Humans post photos from their griffin hunts.”

  “Satyrs aren’t animals. You aren’t an animal.”

  Edra didn’t answer. He just smiled and enjoyed the sweetness of his hot chocolate. The knowledge that Jordan saw him as a man was far sweeter and warmed him more than the sun. From the corner of his eye he watched Jordan drink his coffee. He was much more interesting when he wasn’t in his sensible suit with his face scrubbed clean. He was more himself and not the person he thought he had to be. Edra couldn’t judge Jordan—half the time he was pretending to be something he wasn’t. Edra wasn’t human, but it made his life easier if people thought he was. He tipped his face to the sun and sighed.

  “When I went out last night, this wasn’t how I expected the night to end,” Jordan said. He studied the contents of his cup.

  “What did you expect?”

  “Honestly?” He glanced over. “I thought I’d get hammered and be crawling out of a strange bed this morning.”

  Edra grinned. He could imagine Jordan easing out of his bed all too easily, but at the same time, he didn’t want him to ever see his apartment. “There’s still time. The day is young.”

  Jordan laughed. “Yeah.” He was silent for a moment. Then he shook his head and sipped his coffee as though he wasn’t quite sure how to proceed. “This might be the wrong thing to say, but I can’t tell if you’re hitting on me or not.”

  “Neither can I.” Edra couldn’t quite keep things professional. Without thinking, he licked the sediment from the bottom of his cup. Then he realized Jordan was watching. “That was rude of me.”

  “That wasn’t what I was thinking. I’m sorry about trying to kiss you before. I didn’t realize lesser dragons had a thing about kissing.”

  “It’s fine. You humans like to stick your tongues in people’s mouths on a frequent basis. I’ve gotten used to it.”

  “What do you do if you like someone and you want to see if there’s chemistry?”

  “Talk to them.” Edra smiled.

  Pink spread on Jordan’s cheeks. “When was the last time you kissed?”

  “Before the collapse.”

  “That was ten years ago.”

  “I’m not letting just anyone stick their tongue in my mouth.” He couldn’t quite hide his disgust at the idea.

  “But you go to the den?”

  Edra shrugged. “That’s just sex. You don’t even need to like the person to enjoy it.” Humans got all twisted up about something that was as simple as scratching an itch, but it didn’t mean anything… unless it meant everything. He already knew that he couldn’t fall into bed with Jordan and walk away unscathed.

  “Yeah, you do. At least superficially.”

  Was Jordan’s interest superficial? He didn’t know, but he didn’t know how to stay away. He sighed.

  Jordan put his cup down. “I should get some sleep and then do some work. I doubt the killer is going to turn themself in.”

  “Probably not.” Though if Edra knew who it was, he might convince them that they should. “I’ll see what I can find out.”

  “Okay. I guess I’ll be seeing you soon.” He stood and offered his hand.

  Edra shook it, but neither of them drew away at the polite moment, and neither of them looked away. His apartment was closer… no. This was more than something meaningless and random. He wanted everything or nothing, but he wasn’t sure humans were capable of love the way a dragon was. And he wasn’t sure his heart would survive being burned again.

  Chapter 15

  ALTHOUGH JORDAN had no idea what was going on with himself and Edra, he’d still had a great weekend. He went for a run on Sunday, slept some, and did some research into the trading of mytho trophies and allegedly “magical” body parts.

  The evidence didn’t add up to a trophy crime, or a drug deal gone wrong, as one of the officers had suggested. The removal of Darian’s penis was far too personal—the kind of thing one expected from a spurned lover. Jordan wanted to ID everyone in the footage from the protest at the temple. He also wanted to get a list of anyone who’d harassed the den or the satyrs, assuming it had even been written up.

  He planned to do everything he c
ould to make sure Darian got justice before the satyrs started to claim teeth. Edra hadn’t said whether they pulled the teeth while the victims were still alive or if they waited until the victim was dead, but either way, the satyrs would be in trouble. In a couple of days, when Leonaris wasn’t so wounded, Jordan would ask him who his enemies were, even if no record of harassment existed.

  With coffee in hand, he stopped at his desk. On his keyboard was a photo that stopped his heart. It was him smiling and talking to Edra on Sunday morning as they had coffee after the temple gathering.

  He scanned the headline—Cop Too Friendly With Mythos.

  The byline was all he needed to read to know the article would be built out of lies—Carlin Howard.

  “Fuck,” he muttered as he read the article.

  It wasn’t that damning. He’d been at the temple all night, socializing with mythos. There was no mention of the murder—which was the whole goddamn point of the gathering. But the picture was the worst. He was in eyeliner and mascara, his hair swept back in a failing pompadour, looking like he was having a great time chatting with the enemy—according to the article. If his name hadn’t been under the photo, he might’ve been unrecognizable. From the profile shot of his face, his identity wasn’t obvious.

  The office was quiet. He scanned the cubicles and wondered who had put the article on his desk. Was it a friendly warning or something else? He’d done nothing wrong, yet the prickle of guilt was under his skin, and a bead of sweat rolled down his back.

  His cell phone rang. “Kells.”

  “Barry, from the medical examiner’s. I have a body you might be interested in.”

  He really needed to be more careful about what he wanted. He was never hoping for another body. “Why’s that? Not another satyr?” There’d be enough blood on the streets to make gang warfare look like a picnic.

  “No. A college kid overdosed Saturday night. I know you’re working the mytho cases, and this kid took Bliss. You want to check it out?”

  He was already getting the reputation he didn’t want—the cop who dealt with mythos. “Bliss. You sure?”

  “Yeah. Her heart stopped. Never had this before.”

  “No…. I didn’t think it was possible to overdose on Bliss.”

  Barry chuckled. “Well, I’m sure there’s worse ways to die, but either way, someone had better start asking questions. I thought you’d be the best person.”

  “Send me the report.”

  “Will do.”

  Jordan drank his now-cold coffee and went through his email. Barry’s report hit his inbox, and he flagged it for later.

  The printed article lay on his desk, but he didn’t know what to do with it or who was calling him out. He stared at it for a few seconds and then scrunched it up and threw it in the trash. He had bigger problems—like a dead college kid and a dead satyr.

  If word got out that humans were overdosing on Bliss, there would be even more problems. Where had the Bliss come from? Or had Darian been selling Bliss to college kids?

  Would Barry be able to distinguish between the different types—red, green, blue, and purple? Each delivered a different type of pleasure. Or maybe it depended on biology. For him blue was okay but purple was too intense.

  As much as he didn’t want to call Edra, he needed some answers. And he’d have to speak with Leonaris sooner rather than later. He grabbed his coat and walked out of the office, dialing Edra on the way. He needed another coffee.

  As soon as Edra answered, Jordan went straight to the point. This was business, not… not social. “Hey. Quick question.”

  “Yes, Howard is a twerp,” Edra answered without missing a beat.

  Jordan smiled. “I didn’t need to call you to know that. But that means you’ve seen the article.”

  “I see everything he writes. That’s part of my job.”

  Jordan made a mental note to get more out of Edra about his actual job—an excuse to have drinks on Friday, maybe. Fuck, he was already looking for reasons to see him socially. “Is it possible to overdose on Bliss?”

  “No. Why?”

  “I’ve got a human body that says otherwise.”

  Edra was silent.

  “I’m going to have to follow this. If it turns out it happened on-site, that’ll be the end of the dens.”

  “None of the dens were open last night. Everyone likes a night off.”

  She hadn’t died last night. She died on Saturday—the night everyone had been at the temple. “Who was at the den on Saturday?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t know the inner workings of every business that mythos run.”

  He needed to try a different tack. “If it’s impossible to overdose, why does someone watch?”

  “There can still be a bad reaction, but it’s mostly to make sure no one ruins someone else’s experience. No one wants to be groped while Blissing.”

  “And what is a bad reaction? What do the satyrs do if someone reacts?” He stepped into the coffee shop. The morning rush had ended, so he was able to walk straight up to the counter.

  “A rash… I don’t know. I can give you the name of an ogre who can go through the medical details.”

  “An ogre?” The barista looked at him as though he were some kind of weirdo. “Flat white, thanks.” He put a bill on the counter. “Sorry, I’m getting coffee.”

  “So I heard. Look, I’m telling you what I know. All I can do is pass you on to other people.”

  Who may or may not want to talk to him. “Okay. Send me the details. I suppose Leonaris will only talk if you’re there?”

  “I think you made a good impression. Don’t muck it up.”

  Jordan collected his change and shoved it into his pocket. “Look, this is bad. It could get worse.”

  “Someone wants the den shut down. How about pursuing that angle?”

  “I’ve got no proof.”

  “You have two bodies and a reporter with a bee in his butt.”

  “In his bonnet,” Jordan corrected.

  “That’s stupid. No one would put bees in a bonnet.”

  “Or their butt.” The coffee was hot. Jordan squinted in the sunlight. For a brief moment, he thought his life had been easier when he was lying to criminals.

  “Hmm… okay.”

  Jordan nodded absently, and then his brain processed what Edra had said. “What? No one puts bees in their butt. Do they?”

  “Not anymore, but it was a method of getting warriors riled up to fight.”

  That would certainly rile up most people. “Really? Or are you just making shit up to see what the gullible human will believe?”

  Edra laughed. “You decide. As nice as it is to hear from you, I need to work.”

  “Right. Later.” Jordan hung up, not sure that he’d gotten anything useful. But the overdose concerned him. It shouldn’t have been possible at all, and certainly not in a den. So where had she taken Bliss?

  Chapter 16

  ON THE roof of the Mytho Services building, Edra shucked his clothes and crouched low to stay out of sight. The breeze was cold and drew up gooseflesh. He shivered and let it rush through him as his muscles stretched and his arms lengthened into wings. He flexed everything and swiveled his head, enjoying the extra range of motion, but knowing he’d be back at Tatiana’s tomorrow to get the tightness worked out. He really should be flying daily.

  Just another thing on his list.

  With his tongue he picked up the small packet and held it in his cheek. He usually would’ve carried it in his claws, but he didn’t want people to see only a flying package, and he had to be invisible for his plan to work. After another couple of breaths, he drew the cold to his silvery scales. They shimmered brightly to him, but no one else would be able to see him. Then he leaped into the air and flew toward the den, taking the shortest possible route over the city.

  When he reached the den, things were going to get tricky, but he liked tricky. Tricky was fun.

  He swooped low and circled the den to
make sure no one was around. Then he landed in the back alley. He already knew how best to break in and what he needed to do, but he had a niggling doubt that by rushing to protect the satyrs from the suspicion that they were dealing outside the den, he could be making things worse. But if he did nothing, the situation would definitely get worse, and Ardel wanted him to act. It was a direct order from his boss, and the vampire in charge couldn’t be ignored. Though he’d like to see Carly do something like this. She never got her paws dirty. He’d been Ardel’s sword for too long, but what else could he be?

  He landed next to a dumpster. Two rats scurried away, but he was quicker and caught one with his foot and the other on the end of his index claw. He spat out the packet and swept the rat off his claw with his tongue. Then he crunched once to kill it and swallowed—little furry nuggets, the perfect premischief snack. The other rat squealed as he wrapped his tongue around it, but it was gone just as fast.

  It was only then that he remembered he was still invisible. If anyone had been watching rats disappear in midair, it would’ve looked very odd.

  He glanced around, tasted the air, and listened.

  He was alone.

  It would’ve been easier to break in as a dragon, but the break-in had to look human, not mytho. It wouldn’t be the first time a human had broken in and stolen Bliss. Maybe if the cops had done something last time, there wouldn’t be Bliss on the streets. But the overdose and the possibility it could be Bliss bothered him more than Bliss being on the streets.

  He shifted, but he wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to remain invisible as a man. The ground was slick, and there was a faint whiff of piss. He glanced at the dumpster. He probably shouldn’t have eaten the rats raw. They were better cooked, but shifting took energy, and he worked better if his stomach wasn’t growling like a manticore.

  The packet was slippery with saliva, and he needed to work fast before he accidentally became visible. A pair of socks, industrial leather gloves, and a key fell out when he ripped the packet open. He put the key between his teeth and then put on the socks and gloves. His skin was still silvery, but it was getting patchy. He needed to get inside quickly.