by TJ Nichols
He punched the window. The glass shattered and rained onto the floor inside, and he paused to listen for a moment but only heard the noise of cars and people on the sidewalk. Then he cleared the glass out of the frame, carefully pulled himself up and in, and then jumped clear of the glass and shed the remains of the cold.
The safe was out back, beneath the bar. There were two—one for cash and one for Bliss. They were identical. He tried the key in one, but it didn’t open. His heart was beating hard. This needed to be a quick job, because Leonaris was going to report the break-in when he arrived at noon.
The other safe swung open, and the sweet scent of magic and Bliss hit him hard. It filled his lungs and sent lust spiraling through his blood. Bliss didn’t work on lesser dragons… in human-sized doses. But there was enough in the safe to give him a lift. He needed to take it all, because no human thief would leave any behind. They usually took liquor and damaged the place too, but the theft didn’t need to be too realistic.
So he gathered up the blocks of Bliss, left the key in the safe lock, and walked back to the shattered window. But he didn’t need to go out the window, so he simply grabbed the key from the hook and unlocked the door, and listened for a moment. He darted his tongue out, but there was no one there.
When he tried to draw on the cold, there was nothing. He’d sniffed too much Bliss, and his blood was too hot. Fuck.
With no other option, he opened the door and went back to where he’d spat out the parcel. He carefully wrapped up the Bliss with the gloves and the socks. If anyone reported a dragon shifter breaking and entering, he was well and truly fucked, so he double-checked that he was alone and then shifted. He didn’t wait to become invisible. Maybe if he shifted more, he’d get better at controlling his invisibility when he was in human form. But that was a problem for later.
He scooped up the packet, put it in his mouth, and leaped into the air. There wasn’t much room to flap, and for a moment he didn’t think he was going to make it, but he used the edge of the roof for extra leverage and was soon clear.
Heart beating hard at completing another successful mission, he exhaled.
Mythos one. Humans nil.
The only thing he had left to do was to find out how the humans had really gotten hold of the Bliss… and be there for Leonaris when the cops came to investigate the burglary.
It was only then that he realized it might be Jordan and he would have to lie to him. For some reason that didn’t feel quite right.
Chapter 17
JORDAN GLANCED at his phone to see who was calling. It was internal, and he picked up, even though he was going through Barry’s report. Something wasn’t adding up, but he didn’t know what—not yet.
“I’ve got a satyr reporting a break-in at the den. Did you want this? Or I can put it through to David,” the woman said.
He didn’t want it. But if he didn’t take it, David would. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe the place had just been vandalized again.
He needed to check on Vlash to see if everything at the shop had settled down since the teen who stabbed Francis had been arrested. He didn’t know if the charges would stick, but the kid would have a tough time wriggling out of that one. His parents had already gotten him a good lawyer who was known for getting humans off when it came to mytho cases. Maybe the mythos just needed better lawyers.
He flipped over the page in his notebook. “Any idea what was taken?”
“Safeload of Bliss. I hope that makes sense to you.”
He needed to talk to Leonaris anyway. “Yeah. Tell him I’m on my way.”
WHEN JORDAN arrived at the den—which was becoming a far too common occurrence, even if it was for work and not pleasure—Leonaris and Edra were there.
The broken window and the open, empty safe all made it seem obvious that it was a burglary.
“So you were last here on Friday night?”
“Saturday morning, technically.” Leonaris’s nostrils flared. “We didn’t close until five.”
Jordan nodded. They were allowed to be open until five. “Then you were closed on Saturday for the vigil.”
“Yes.”
“When was the last time you saw Darian?”
“At ten. He headed home, and I closed up with Cassius.”
Jordan made a note to talk to Cassius later. “Can I get his details?”
“I’ll give them to you,” Edra said.
“Where was Darian going?”
“To meet some friends before going home.”
“The Bliss was definitely in the safe when he left?”
“Are you accusing my son of stealing Bliss and selling to humans?” Leonaris’s voice had lowered to something close to a growl.
The hair on Jordan’s arms drew tight as Leonaris glared at him. Was he planning which tooth to take if Jordan failed to find his son’s killer? Jordan traced the back of his teeth with his tongue. He was rather attached to all of them.
They both knew that Darian did sell Bliss to humans, but only in the den. Jordan didn’t mention that, because a uniformed officer was hanging around listening to everything. “I’m just trying to establish where everyone was, and I have to look at all leads.”
Edra arched an eyebrow. “Darian was getting murdered and mutilated on Friday.”
“And no one was here on Sunday?”
“No. We took Sunday off too, out of respect.” Leonaris’s ears flicked back, and his rectangular pupils were little more than angry slits.
“I need to follow procedure. This is my job. Let me do it,” Jordan said softly. “I’ll be able to catch Darian’s killer faster if you help.”
That earned him a hoof stamp.
The key was still in the door of the safe. It appeared that someone had attacked Darian to get the key. Was it robbery gone wrong that ended in murder? But why take the penis? His searches for satyr penis online had turned up nothing but some mock-mytho porn in which well-hung human men donned horns and tails and were… well… performing. He hadn’t even known that was a thing, and he wished it weren’t. It wasn’t just pretend satyrs either. There was just about every kind of mock-mytho porn.
“Who knew Darian had a key?”
“He’s my son. He runs the den half the time.” Leonaris caught himself. “Ran the den. That wasn’t a secret.”
Edra crossed his arms. “This is just another attempt to shut the den down. We’re already getting the blame.”
Jordan shot him a glare. “You’re here as a rep, not to offer suggestions. I’m well aware of what’s at stake and also that the timing of this with the election next week is all very suspicious.”
Edra hissed and flicked his tongue out, reminding Jordan that even though Edra seemed like a handsome man in a suit, Edra only looked human, and the resemblance wasn’t even skin deep. Attraction warred with desire, and he knew that once he stepped over that edge there was no coming back. He may have taken a quick glance at the fake lesser-dragon porn, but only a quick glance, because the porn star had been dressed as a dragon, and Jordan was pretty sure that was all kinds of wrong. But then, it wouldn’t have been mock-mytho porn if both men had been human.
He swallowed and stared blankly at his notebook for a few moments. “We’ll check the traffic cameras.” But he didn’t hold out much hope. The time period was too great, and the den was in the middle of the block. He was more worried about the amount of Bliss on the street. How many more humans would die?
“How much Bliss would a human need to take to overdose?”
Leonaris shook his head. “It’s not an overdose. The pleasure just lasts for longer. That can be dangerous because one can forget to eat and drink, and being erect for hours on end can also do damage to men.”
“And in a human female?”
“Same,” Leonaris said. “They have a tiny erection.”
Edra snorted. “Sorry.”
No doubt everything looked smaller to a satyr.
“Is there any way a person could overdose with Bliss?
”
Both mythos were silent. It was Leonaris who finally answered. “I will speak to my wife. The women make the Bliss.”
“I would like to speak with her. I need to know how this drug works.”
“I’m sure you would,” Leonaris said so quietly that Jordan almost didn’t hear.
“Leo, give her a call. I’ll take Kells around,” Edra said.
Leonaris flattened his ears and huffed out a breath.
“Fine. I’ll call her.” Edra pulled out his cell and searched up the number.
Jordan glanced between Edra and then addressed Leonaris. “Why won’t you?”
“I will not use magic I don’t understand. Darian handled that and the computers.”
“It’s not ma—”
Edra waved his hand in a sharp motion, and Jordan scowled but shut up while Edra chatted to Mrs. Leonaris—Helena. He hung up. “You came by car?”
“Yeah. I’ll be in touch, Leonaris.”
THE OFFICER didn’t look thrilled that he had to sit in the back while Edra sat in the front. Jordan wished the officer weren’t there at all, so he could talk to Edra in private.
“So, why won’t Leonaris use a phone?”
“If you don’t know how the magic works, you don’t use it. Too many people have been tricked by spells they’ve bought without reading the fine print. Young mythos don’t carry the same fear because they’ve grown up here. But Leo’s grandfather turned himself into a toad for a year by accident.” Edra shrugged as though that was just a thing that happened.
“What? When?”
“Before.” Edra stared out the window. “Bits of our world are in your stories. It’s not all true or correct, but it’s there, and it’s all we have.”
“Why not write more stories?”
“What makes you think we aren’t?”
“Oh.” They just weren’t making them available to everyone… to humans.
“Turn left up here. It’s the blue house.”
The building was full of satyrs. Several kids—which was what they were properly called—ran around the yard, braying and leaping and falling over each other as they played some ball game with three identical balls. Leonaris and Helena had a ground-floor apartment because of their age. He’d never thought of Leonaris as old, but maybe he was. He had an adult son.
Helena wore an elegant sheet that was clasped and draped. It looked very Roman or Greek and didn’t hide her hooves. Her hair was short and her eyes dark but not dark enough to hide the rectangular pupil.
Edra hugged her, and she clung to him for a moment while Jordan showed his best detached police face and the officer next to him studied the peeling paint.
Helena showed them into the small, tidy apartment. There were no chairs, just cushions, much like in the den. The decor wasn’t a den thing. It was a satyr thing.
She invited them to sit, which Jordan did, and when she offered hibiscus tea, he accepted. The officer stood by the door looking like he’d rather be somewhere else, and as much as Jordan would have liked to tell the man to step outside, he couldn’t, even though they’d both be more comfortable.
“You want to know how to make Bliss?” Helena asked when they were all sitting more or less comfortably.
“No. I want to know how to overdose with it.” He didn’t want to know their secrets. “Though I do wonder…. I thought there was no magic left.”
“Strega have little magic here. They lost it in the collapse. But magic is here. Your world has always had magic. If it didn’t, we’d all have died.”
“So you use it to make the Bliss.”
Helena nodded, and Edra sipped his tea as though he were only the mytho rep and not a cop.
“People have died from too much Bliss. Like everything else, too much is always a bad thing.” Helena sipped her tea. She clearly wasn’t going to volunteer what Jordan needed to know.
“So Leonaris was saying. Though it would seem that a person would die of dehydration first, not heart failure.” The coroner’s report listed the official cause of the human girl’s death as heart failure caused by the overdose.
“Weak heart?” Edra lifted an eyebrow.
“It’s a possibility.” But there was no mention of any medical history or any underlying condition in the report. Jordan would have to follow up.
Helena glanced at Edra. “Perhaps too much is toxic to humans?”
“No. That was ruled out before the dens were allowed to open.” Tests had been run on the compounds, and the chemical makeup of Bliss was less harmful than many pharmaceuticals on the market. It was magic that made it work. Labs had tried to replicate it, and had managed something that only produced a smile. Satyrs had then been banned from selling it to humans. “Too much magic?”
“You can’t overdose on magic, officer.”
“Inspector,” Edra whispered.
“I’m sorry.” Helena ducked her head.
“It’s fine.” He didn’t want to get caught up in a panic about using the wrong title.
“Then how would someone die from using Bliss?”
Edra looked at him. “Perhaps it wasn’t the Bliss that killed her.”
That was the only drug in her system, besides some alcohol.
Helena frowned. “Bliss is broken down fast. Even if you were to take a massive dose, the body would digest it eventually. It’s not toxic. It’s just distracting.”
But it had still been in her system. Her body hadn’t broken it down. He sipped his tea.
Helena glanced at Edra, and Jordan watched them for a moment. There was something there. What was he missing? “What happens if someone takes all the different Blisses at once?”
“The sensation won’t be as pleasant. It will be jumbled, but no death. The victim did eat it?” Helena looked serious now.
Jordan opened his mouth and then shut it. Had she? “Why does that matter?”
“Because there is a big difference between eating it and, say, smoking it.” She sounded just like a teacher Jordan had once had. He’d turned in a crappy essay, and she’d been very disappointed in him. He had that same feeling now—that he hadn’t quite done his homework.
Edra didn’t look thrilled with the conversation, which only made Jordan more curious. “And if one were to smoke it?”
“Then the stimulation would be mental, not physical.”
That wasn’t what he was looking for—she didn’t die from thinking herself to death.
“Imagination is a powerful force, Kells.” Edra finished his tea and leaned back, his palms on the floor. “People imagine all kinds of things and then look for the proof to make what they believe true.”
“People said that about the gods, yet there they are, drinking wine on Olympus,” Jordan said. The idea of going to Greece on vacation was starting to tempt him. He wanted to see what it was like in other countries.
“Or dead in the Nile. Even gods can be destroyed.” There was an edge, a warning in Edra’s voice, and his gaze flicked to the officer by the door. He had more to say, but he wasn’t going to say it there.
“Thank you for your time, Helena. Again, I’m sorry for your loss.”
“This is all connected. A Strega saw it.”
Jordan stared at her. “What do you mean? I thought the Strega had limited magic.”
“You don’t need magic to see what’s in front of you, Inspector.”
Chapter 18
EDRA WAS early, but they let him into the den. He wasn’t there for pleasure, and every satyr there knew it. He stormed through to the bar area, where all the local satyrs had gathered. He’d already met with the rival clan. They swore no Bliss had left their hands, and he’d tasted the truth. If Helena’s Strega friend had seen connections, then the Bliss had come from here. One did not fuck with a Strega if one were smart. Edra had just been following protocol when he saw the rival clan.
“You all know why I’m here.”
“You’re not looking into Darian’s death. You’re helping the cop with th
at human woman,” Cassius said.
Edra didn’t even look at him. “Everything connects to here. The Bliss came from this den, and while we know Bliss can’t kill, that’s all the cops have right now. The woman didn’t take the Bliss here, so how did she get it? Who’s been selling to the humans outside the den?”
The last theft had occurred too long ago for it to suddenly show up—not including his own staged break-in.
A few hooves shuffled and tapped on the wood floor. There were snuffles and snorts, and Edra could taste the lie forming. He took off his jacket and then his tie. They were watching him. He didn’t have a sword to lay down to make it official, but he didn’t need one. He was there as a knight, and they knew it.
“Someone is damaging our community.” He undid his shirt cuffs and then the buttons down the front. “Darian is dead. A human is dead, and there are elections next week. If the current mayor gets in again, we’ll all be sunk like mermaid treasure.” Mermaid treasure was lost to the world forever. No one ever got anything back from a mermaid. He put his shirt on the counter and toed off his shoes. “I will know who is lying when I shift. Are you going to make me?”
No one stepped forward. There would be punishment for that too. Satyrs valued honor and honesty. They were lovers until they picked up their knives and bows and saw through a haze of rage instead of lust. If he didn’t find the problem, the rival clan was ready to draw blood and claim teeth. The threat had already been made. By selling to the humans, someone had betrayed what trust had existed. The rival clan would call this clan weak and take over. Edra didn’t want Leonaris to lose anything else.
“Who sold Bliss to the humans outside the den?” His voice echoed.
He stripped off his pants and didn’t bother about his socks. They tore as his claws poked through the fabric and clacked on the floorboards. His wing tips touched the walls, and his head nearly scraped the ceiling. He was hemmed in, trapped in a tiny room with two dozen satyrs. Panic made his heart quicken, and he hissed to hide his discomfort.