Chapter Two
I woke up in pain, and I blamed it on Stanton.
Oh, I know, I know, it wasn't his fault. It was completely mine, but it was much easier to blame him. I didn't want to move as I woke up to bright hot sunlight bleeding through my pale curtain windows and splashing into my face as I laid on my stomach, face against my pillow. A heavy weight crushed me and it took me a moment to realize it was Stanton and he was snoring quietly against my hair.
I held my breath, trying to fight down the stupid giddiness that rose up inside of me at the fact that we'd woken up like this. I don't know why, but I liked having him wrapped around me like this. Even though it was a bit uncomfortable, mostly due to the heat, I preferred it over waking up to silence and loneliness.
I bit my lip and turned my head slightly so Stanton's face was resting against mine. I made a face at his horrible morning breath that smelled more like booze and rotten fruit. I tilted my head a little more and licked at his nose. He smiled faintly in his sleep and tightened his arms around me, hiding his face against my neck. I almost thought he'd go back to sleep, but instead he buried his face against my throat and started to suckle on it. I moaned, squirming a little as I felt his hand sliding up my torso to rub and pull at my nipple.
"Stop," I breathed, reaching up to push at his hand, but he didn't stop, "Stanton, I'm too tired and it hurts." That gave him pause before his hands wandered down. I started to complain until I realized he was massaging my hips. I breathed out a sigh of relief as he sat up and dug his fingertips gently into my skin. Although, it felt nice on my sore throbbing muscles, it was also turning me on and I mentally cursed my sensitivity.
"So," Stanton said as he continued to massage me, his hands wandering up my back, "Today Lucifer has a meeting at the United Pantheons, and because Dania is MIA, he's asking that you go in his stead, in which case, I have to go with you." I groaned and buried my face against the pillow in protest. Stanton laughed at that, ruffling my hair before he leaned on top of me to kiss at the space beneath my ear, making me shiver as he ran his fingers down my sides. I wriggled away from him and rolled over, falling off the bed and taking a majority of the blankets with me. I grunted and Stanton chuckled, peering over the edge of the bed as I threw the blankets back off my head with a scowl. He leaned down and poked me in the nose.
"Come on, take a shower so we can go. Wear blue this time." He added, then rolled away so he could get dressed and go use one of the guest bathrooms. I sighed heavily and heaved myself to my feet, grumbling under my breath as pain rocketed up my spine. I leaned on the bed for support, rubbing at my butt and passing a glare at the door where Stanton had left.
The jerk.
I made my way to the bathroom and showered again, cleaning off before heading to my dresser. I muttered as I fished out a pair of dark blue lacy panties that tied in a bow in the back. I slipped them on, then went for my uniform. Due to the new use of guns in our realm, I was required to wear a bullet proof vest. Not that it would matter, because hello, immortal? But I suppose it did hurt a bit. I kept that in mind as I clasped the buckles on the vest, then adjusted a turtleneck and black pocketed vest with a hood on top of that. By the time I was done jerking on a pair of knee high buckled boots, I was sweating.
God, I hated summer.
I headed out of my room, wiping the back of my hand across my forehead as I made my way down the hallway with the intent to inform Lucifer I was off to do his bidding, yet again. But I wasn't going to complain, not out loud anyway. I knew very well why he'd chosen me to go in Dania's stead. Aside from the fact that Dania was gallivanting about with her husband and two fiendish tricksters, he could've easily chosen Jaques, but he didn't. He just wanted to distract me from going to Hades to bring Akin here.
Like Hell that would distract me.
I rounded the corner and whacked right into a rock hard chest, making me curse and step back, grimacing as I had to lift my head to glare up at Devereaux, who stepped back with a sheepish smile. I hated that smile, because it made him even sexier. And against my will, my cock leapt at his mere presence. It was just his curse as the Deadly Sin of Lust. Built of bulging muscles honed for raw power with fashionably highlighted hair, a long aqualine nose and high cheekbones with lips that begged for rough kissing. He was decked out in leather from head to toe, but oddly enough, I didn't find it as attractive on him as I did on Stanton, and I mentally cursed myself for that thought.
"Hey, kid, where's Raven? He told me he'd meet me out in the foyer, but he wasn't there when I showed up." He added, wrinkling his nose. I twitched at being called "kid". He always did that to me and nothing turned me off further. I narrowed my eyes at him, annoyed by his presence.
"I don't know. I'm not my brother's keeper," I snapped, making him pout at my hostile response, "Get outta my way. I have a UP meeting to attend." Dev arched a brow, appearing surprised by that. What was so surprising about it? Jeez!
"You? Dania still AWOL?"
"She's always AWOL. Now move it, gorilla."
"Fine, Abu." Dev snorted, referring to that nasty little monkey from Disney's Aladdin. I curled my lip at Dev before shoving past him and stalking down the hallway toward the guest bathroom, whacking my fist on it to get Stanton's attention.
"Hurry up, oaf, or I'm leaving without you!" I called to him, then stepped back and folded my arms over my chest, tapping my foot impatiently. I was irritable and sleepy again. I just wanted to sleep, but it was impossible for me to get any kind of sleep. Why hadn't Lucifer built me with that already installed? I scowled at the thought, then relaxed as Stanton came out of the bathroom all fresh and clean, wearing a new pair of tight leather pants, his black leather jacket with a skull sewn into the back, over a v-neck top and his scythe necklace hanging around his neck, and a pair of black wrap around shades hiding his black eyes. Goddamn, he wore a lot of black.
And goddamn did he make it look good.
My mouth watered at the sight of him and I swept a tongue across my lips before biting my bottom lip hungrily. My body instantly roared back to life at the sight of him. God, why did he have to be so incredibly sexy?
"Keep staring at me like that and we'll never get to that meeting." Stanton's chuckle interrupted about a hundred fantasizes. I twitched and glared at him before I stepped forward and touched his arm, teleporting us both from Lucifer's palace. I skipped letting Lucifer know I was going. He'd probably lecture me or notice my hard-on. We flashed into the room where the United Pantheons meet.
And believe it or not, it wasn't like those super sci-fi movies where it's all white and prestine and beautiful, glowing with godly aura. Nah, it was actually an empty meeting room at the top of an old office building. The entire top floor was hidden from mortals so they wouldn't interrupt the important workings.
Like any business meeting room, it was large with walls made entirely of glass to look out over the city of Seattle. Because who'd expect the United Pantheons to meet in Seattle when New York seemed to be the hub of supernatural movies? The floors were made of a cheap navy carpet that matched the cushioned seats that sat around a very large circular table; said table was a symbol that no pantheon was higher than another. On one side of the room was a long table with coffee, tea, and a variety of sodas, and water with foam cups along with a tray of strange looking crackers and a box of donuts.
"Ooh, donuts." I walked away from Stanton, who snorted as I picked up a chocolate glazed donut.
"Hey, I saw that one first." I twitched, dropping the donut, and snapped my head to glare at who'd spoken and I found myself staring at the supermassive Norse god, Thor. Unfortunately, he was nothing like the Thor from my favorite comic books. No, this Thor was a prick to the core of his pompous soul. He was gigantic, about as tall as Stanton and only slightly taller because he wore a pair of heeled boots. His auburn hair was swept back from his face with a shiny black headband that looked like it belonged to a Gothic little girl, matching the short scruffy beard on his face. His brown eyes danced with dark humor. He wore a long brown leather duster, a pair of skintight jeans and a green tunic.
"Ew, get away from me." I snapped at him and his mouth twitched in obvious irritation. He took a step toward me and Stanton was at my side in an instant, making Thor pull up short with a sharp intake of breath.
"What are you doing here?" Thor sneered, raking Stanton with a less than approving glare, but I knew as well as Stanton did that Thor was terrified of him, like a good portion of other gods. I couldn't read Stanton's expression because of his sunglasses, though. All I saw was a regal brow lift over the top of his sunglasses as he folded his arms over his chest and leaned his weight to one side, my side to be specific.
"I decided to referee this time. Is that a problem?" He asked, daring Thor to disagree with him. Thor clenched his teeth, then gave me a withering stare that promised he'd return for me. Not that I gave a rat's ass. I'd wanted to kick the crap out of him ever since he'd made an attempt on Dania's virginity. That was my sister he was threatening. If the room wasn't considered an All Peace Zone, or APZ, I'd be all over him like a dog on steak.
A few minutes later, a few other gods began to arrive. Quetzalcoatl from the Aztecs, a gigantic man with caramel skin and deep dark eyes with a slitted pupil. He wore brightly colored feathers woven into the black braid that fell over his shoulder. Camulus from the Celtics appeared next, and he looked a lot like the Marvel movie portrayal of Loki with Tom Hiddleston complete with long nose and slicked back black hair. Nabu from the Sumerian pantheon came in seconds afterwards, his tanned skin setting off the red tribal tattoos running the length of his arms, his dark brown hair crazy curly and falling above a pair of warm brown eyes. A red scaled dragon about the size of a Pomeranian was perched on his shoulder, its wings tucked behind it and its tail wrapped around Nabu's neck gently.
One by one, the other gods began to join the group and everyone began to take their seats, so I went to the one that was marked Hell on the back of it. Stanton stood right behind me, surveying the room with a lethal aura that threatened anyone to stand against him. I was almost glad to have him with me, especially when Heaven's representative, Michael, came into the room.
Like Lucifer, Michael was tall and incredibly beautiful with curly blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, but while Lucifer's were warm and gentle, Michael's were cold and stern. He wore a black business suit with a blue tie, a cross printed across the front of it. Worst of all was that his seat was across from mine and the moment he sat down, he pinned me with a glare that told me I was unfit to breath the same oxygen as him.
"I see Jesus is skipping out again." Thor said as he took his seat beside him and Michael raked him with a glare. It seemed like Michael thought he was the only one deserving of being at this meeting.
"No," Michael said heatedly, his voice a surprisingly higher note than most males, but it was sharp enough to dare anyone to mock him for it, "He is busy. Don't speak his name, heathen."
"Is this asshole kidding me right now?" Thor demanded, pointing a finger at him and looking across the table at Nabu, Camulus, Quetzalcoatl, and I. I held my hands up in silence and Nabu just narrowed his eyes, unamused with Michael's pompous attitude. Camulus just sighed and covered his face with a hand, resting his elbow on the seat of his chair.
"We better not do this again. I still have a migraine from the last time they went at it. Can we just get on with this before I have an aneurysm?" He asked, looking up at the other gods, who nodded in agreement. Quetzalcoatl was scheduled to go first as he stood up and reported the recent happenings in his pantheon. Things that would effect the UP as a whole, of course, not silly things like civil wars. He just had to report those so other pantheons would know to stay away. After Quetzalcoatl went, I stood up, trying to ignore dozens and dozens of pair of eyes that watched me, almost like they were waiting for me to fuck up as I cleared my throat.
"The battle between Hades and Hell ended on March 6th with the death of Former General Julius Alexandrite. The borders have been reopened to outside citizens..." It was so boring that even I was having trouble concentrating on what I was saying. I was relieved to be finished with the report and sat down so Nabu and Camulus could go next. And once they were finished, the representative of Hades stood up, and instantly all the faces in the room became disgusted and annoyed, and even Thor made a sound of disapproval.
Normally it was Hades or his son, Zelios, who came to the meetings, but would appear this time they sent someone else and this someone else was oddly beautiful and deadly. He was tall and lithe with hair as red as blood, wavy and falling to one side of his very Greek face and eyes just as red narrowed on everyone like they were beneath him. He wore a snug sleeveless burgandy turtleneck and tight black jeans with tall Gothic heeled boots.
"Shut your fuckface, Thor," He snapped, making me arch a brow, "Don't give me your whiny bullshit. Nobody likes you either." Thor gave him a droll stare.
"I don't torment my own family." He pointed out and the Hades representative curled his lip in a sinister smirk that made my skin crawl. Oh yeah, he was the thing of nightmares. He reminded me of an incubus, except I didn't want to have sex with him. Rather, I wanted to kick him in the nads for being cruel and cocky.
"They started it," The guy replied with a shrug, then stepped back and folded his arms over his chest, "Anyway. For those of you who are uncultured swine born in the darkest depths of your dad's sac, I'm Theo, seventh son of Hades, and literally nothing has happened in our realm since the ending of the war and thank fuck for that, because I was losing funding for that damn thing." Dear Lord, he was more obnoxious than Hades himself! How was that even possible? My fingers twitched, wanting to ball up into fists and slam into this guy's face. Just who the hell did he think he was? And he was more vulgar than I was on my worst day. What was his problem?
"You don't have to be crude," Nabu said, trying to keep the anger out of his voice at Theo's introduction, "You are to give us a log of events, then take your seat." Theo appeared disinterested as he held out his hand and ticked his fingers off as he listed the events.
"War started. War ended. Julius was killed, again, thank fuck for that. Ambrosius was moved to Purgatory. Some dude won the lottery last week. Aaand I bought toilet paper for fifty percent off yesterday. Is that a good enough log for ya?" He asked. Nabu twitched, but said nothing. His dragon hissed and Theo hissed back, making the dragon shrink away. Jeez, he even scared dragons. He plopped down in his seat and the rest of the meeting continued with obvious tensions.
And I found it difficult to ignore Theo as he sat there, making rude comments every so often and looking at his fingernails with disinterest. Something about him was feminine, yet oddly masculine. Did that even make sense?
Either way, it didn't matter to me. Theo was allowed access in and out of Hades, which is exactly what I needed if I wanted to find Akin. It was just a matter of convincing him to take me with him.
I sat in frustrated silence as the meeting seemed to drag on forever. It was one of the most boring things I'd ever been forced to attend. I couldn't sit still and I kept glancing over at Theo, who appeared about as restless as I was. Except he was more obvious about it with his dramatic sighs and the way he drummed his fingernails on the table to the tune of what sounded like the Pirates of the Caribbean theme song.
The meeting was finally over two hours later, but a lot of the gods stuck around to converse with one another, to grab some drinks and a snack before they left. Theo was leaning on the wall near the coffee machine, taking a sip of his cup as I approached.
"This is gross," Theo decided and poured it into the garbage can, making the Goddess Izanami curl her lip in repungence at his rudeness, to which Theo gave her an arched brow, "Problem, Jap?"
"You are abhorring and disrespectful. I cannot fathom why Hades chose you as his representative." She sneered, her deep brown eyes momentarily flashing red to match her painted lips. Her skin was a ghostly pale and her long black hair was done up in a fashionable pink flowered hairclip. And while she was tiny and pretty, like any Asian female, she had a nasty temper when it came to disregard of manner. Theo dismissed her accusation with the wave of his hand and Izanami flashed out of the room angrily. Theo smirked after her, then seemed to realize I was waiting for him to pay attention to me and he scanned me up and down with a look that pissed me off.
"Hey, short stuff, what can I do for you?" He asked at last, meeting my eyes. I glared at him.
"I'm Alaric." I stated. Theo nodded slowly.
"Yeah, Lucifer's baby."
"I am not," I gave up trying to argue and just shook my head before clearing my throat, "Listen, I need to get into Hades and avoid running into your Cerberus." Theo smirked, folding his arms over his chest and cocking his hip.
"So you thought I'd just sweep you off your feet and bring you to my father's realm just weeks after we ended a war? If Hades catches you there, he'll just start another war." He replied. I clenched my teeth at that before replying, trying to keep my calm. No point in pissing him off if I was trying to gain his favor.
"I just won't get caught." I told him firmly. Theo laughed.
"Let me reiterate. Hades will catch you, sooner or later."
"How do you know?"
"In his words... He's Hades, bitch. It's his realm. He snoops around in different forms so no one knows its him. He'll probably see you on the streets and throw a hissy fit. Do you really want to put your realm at risk for a vacation?"
"It's not a vacation," I snapped impatiently, watching Theo raise an eyebrow, "I'm trying to get in contact with someone. His name is Akin and--"
"Him," Theo said with a disgusted tone, "Seriously?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded, offended by his tone. Just who the hell did he think he was? Obviously he inherited his charming personality from Hades, because they were both obnoxious and cocky as all get out.
"Nothing," Theo replied dryly, "Just that that guy has been a pain in my ass since he got together with his boyfriend. I had riots in the streets over that thing, then I had to actually go out into public to address the issue. Then Akin actually had the balls to ask me to protect that prick, so then I had to announce to my entire city that Hannibal was protected under my name. Now, people sneer at me over it... and then I kill them, of course, but still. It's such a pain."
"Well, sorry for your troubles," I said flatly, "But I'm actually going there to bring Akin to Hell." Theo appeared amused by that.
"Yeh? Good luck with that. He's a bunny. He won't leave, even though half the city treats his pet like shit."
"I thought you said boyfriend."
"They have one of those relationships. You know, bondage, submissive and dominant."
"Oh," I said, feeling uncomfortable at knowing that tidbit about my own brother, "Well, anyway. I need to get into Hades and I need to get Akin. I won't cause any problems for you." Theo gave me a droll stare.
"Just by asking you're causing me tons of problems. What if Hades finds out I did it," He paused at that and his eyes instantly brightened, "Actually, that doesn't sound like a bad idea. Pissing Hades off is my favorite pasttime. All right, fine, but you can't come into my palace."
"I don't see why I'd need to."
"I'm irresistable." Theo assured me. I grimaced and started to step back when I smacked into something hard and tall. I cursed and whipped around to see Stanton glaring at me, his sunglasses pushed up on top of his head. Theo whistled low, raking Stanton with twinkling red eyes.
"Hot damn, the air is just sizzling right now." He commented. Stanton ignored him and continued to glare at me with enough malice to make my tongue thick in my mouth as I swallowed hard.
"You're not going." He stated. I twitched and glared back at him.
"Yes, I am. I don't give a shit what Lucifer hired you to do. I don't need a babysitter."
"Apparently you do. You're not going."
"Am to."
"Are not. If you go, Lucifer will fry my ass over it."
"I thought you were more powerful."
"Hell hath no fury like a parent in distress. Lucifer will rip me to shreds if he finds out I let you go to Hades. There's no way you're going and that's that." Stanton stated, shoving his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. I fumed. Who the fuck did this asshole think he was? He wasn't the boss of me, no matter what Lucifer said. I turned to Theo, who was still eyeing Stanton with interest.
"Take me to Hades." I told him. Stanton grabbed my arm in a vice grip and I cursed, wrenching my arm out of his grip and smacking him in the stomach for touching me, more of a warning of what else I'd do to him if he kept pushing my limits.
"Shit!" Someone cursed and we turned to see Thor standing at the coffee machine, which had crackled over with ice and the coffee was hanging out of the drip and into his cup as an icicle. Theo stared at it, then at me. Heat crept into my face as I looked down at my hand to see frost coating the tips. I quickly rubbed it on my pants, avoiding Theo's probing stare, and Stanton's stern glare.
"Alaric, don't do this. You're only causing trouble."
"Akin's my brother. I'm not leaving him in that hellhole." I snapped. Theo's eyes glowed with interest.
"Brother? Akin's a son of Lucifer? No wonder why Hades didn't rip him to shreds when Akin stood up for Hannibal. That's... That's interesting." He mused. I cast him a sharp glare and he just smirked before I looked back at Stanton, who looked extremely reluctant now.
"One week," I told him, "We'll stay for one week. After that, you can drag me back. I'll just tell Lucifer we stayed in Seattle after the meeting. Just give me this, Stanton. I need to bring Akin back."
"And if he doesn't want to come back after a week?" Stanton challenged. I clenched my teeth.
"Then we'll come back anyway." I replied tightly. Stanton glared at me for the longest time. Judging by the look he was giving me, he'd already killed me three times in his head. I didn't care, though. I needed this. It was almost like a physical necessity. Akin deserved to be with his family, not wallowing in the cesspool of Hades. He was technically a prince. He needed to be treated like one.
"Alright," Stanton said at last, then sighed in frustration as he took his sunglasses off his head so he could rake a hand through his hair, replacing his sunglasses over his eyes, "Alright, alright. God, I am going to regret this so hard. You owe me for this. The last thing I need is a lecture from Lucifer." I almost sighed in relief, then turned to Theo, who shrugged nonchalantly as he stepped forward and touched our shoulders.
"One way ticket to Styx, Hades. Comin' right up."
We flashed out of the meeting room in Seattle and reappeared in what was Styx. We appeared on the step of a very expensive looking one story mansion that stretched out behind us, made entirely of some sort of marble that was so red, it appeared black. It matched the steps that led down to a long walkway, to a pair of golden gates guarded by sinister looking soldiers. Beyond that was the city of Styx. It seemed to stretch on for miles and I felt like I was looking at a skyscraper-less version of New York City.
"Welcome to my city," Theo said as I stared at the city itself, then to the black river that traveled beside it, "And stay away from the river. Jumping into it could lead to an unfriendly counter with annoing ghosties. Aside from that, find yourself a tour guide. Not my job." I glared at him, but he ignored me as he turned to the mansion behind us.
"This is your home?" I asked. Theo appeared offended by my question.
"Of course it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an Egyptian to pester. Good luck, short stuff." Without another word, Theo went inside the mansion and slammed the door shut. Stanton stared after him, then turned to stare out at the city with a weary sigh.
"This place seems to get dingier and dingier the more I come here." He muttered. I scowled at him in confusion as he headed down the steps and led the way into the town square outside Theo's gates.
"You've been here?" I asked. Stanton nodded as we looked around the square, which was occupied by a large streaming fountain and hundreds of people.
"I'm a Death God. We're granted immunity from the teleportation laws placed on realms. We need to be able to reach the souls that count on us to take them to their destination."
"But I thought you only came in times of catastrophe."
"Over a decade ago, Hades and his sons were struggling to keep the Titans from escaping. Unfortunately, they escaped and killed thousands of people. Some of them were Hell bound, some of them Heaven bound, and a few headed to Purgatory. Not all of Hades's soldiers worship the Greek gods. Some of them were good Christians that were looking for purpose and Hades gave it to them." Stanton explained. I frowned at that. How weird. Sometimes this world confused me with all of this mixing of cultures.
And it didn't help that Styx appeared to be the melting pot of the underworld. We made our way into the main part of the city and passed hundreds of shops. A variety of music wafted through open windows and from stereos positioned outside shops. I picked up on jazz, hip hop, some rap somewhere in the distance, and exotic belly dancing music that made me think of Thorn's boyfriend, Ambrosius. The guy could dance like no other.
The hot powerful scents of food lingered in the air, making my stomach cramp up eagerly. So many seasonings and herbs, some I couldn't even identify, but they still managed to smell heavenly. Meats and breads, steamed vegetables, and we passed a cart that was selling Japanese deserts. There were restaurants lining the streets with lines that drifted all the way out the front doors. People crowded the streets, chattering and laughing. I picked up on several different languages, a couple I couldn't even I guess at.
I felt like I was experiencing a culture shock. There were so many different things going on and once that I was confused and had no idea what to do. How the hell could I find Akin in all of this mess?
"Calm down," Stanton said suddenly, making me look at him helplessly as we came to a stop at a corner, "Styx is always like this. In fact, we arrived at a good time. It's the lunch rush hour and midnight fiestas you have to avoid. It's like Mardi Gras and St. Patrick's Day had a baby kind of busy." I shuddered at the very thought. That sounded just awful. This was already freaking me out. How could it possibly get any worse?
"How are we supposed to find him in all this mess?" I asked in frustration, pausing to wince as a man shoved past me, his elbow driving into my ribs. I shot glare after him, but he just hurried on as if he'd never done anything. Stanton watched the man go with a murderous glare behind those sunglasses before he looked down at me.
"I don't know, Alaric. You're the one who wanted to do this. I'm just along for the ride." He replied sourly. I scowled at him.
"The least you could do is help me. The sooner we can find Akin, the sooner we can get out of here and get back home." I told him. Stanton just sighed and looked around the streets, probably finding it easier since he was taller than ninety percent of the people that passed by us.
"Well," Stanton said after a moment, "Let's at least find a hotel to stay at. That way we can split up and just meet back there." I nodded in agreement and he led the way down the crowded street. Thankfully, most people cut Stanton a wide berth so as to avoid him and his long angry strides that were a struggle to keep up with. I hadn't meant to piss him off. Didn't he have any idea how important this was? Why didn't anyone understand? I had tried to explain it to Raven and Lucifer and Thorn and even Jaques, but everyone kept telling me to leave it alone. How could I leave it alone? Akin was our brother. He needed to be with us, not here. Not in this crowded place.
It was suffocating and frustrating. I couldn't walk more than an inch without someone bumping into me, and even worse was how rude they were about it. I was elbowed several more times and no one apologized. One girl stomped on my foot and told me to move out of her way. God, any more of this and I might just go on a rampage.
We finally made it to a less crowded street, standing just outside a small Gothic shop called Six Feet Under. In the window were two headless mannequins, one dressed in a sheer red teddy made of lace with little bows at the hips while the other was dressed in a very skimpy maid's outfit. Stanton stopped to stare in the window and I glared at him, folding my arms over my chest and tapping my foot impatiently.
"No." I stated. Stanton gave me a droll stare.
"I said you owed me, didn't I?"
"No way!"
"You can pick either one, but you have to get one. Otherwise, I can easily just take us back home right here, right now, and you can live in misery knowing that you couldn't bring your big brother home because you were too scared to dress nice for me." Stanton said flatly. I fumed, flushing red at his proposal. It was so stupid. I didn't want to wear either one of those. As if the panties weren't enough, now he wanted me to just dress like a woman completely? Next thing I know, he'll be asking me to wear make up and have gender reassignment surgery. Even worse, those outfits came with everyone, garter belts and long stocks, so much lace and ribbons. And my cock trembled at the thought of wearing one of those while having sex with Stanton. I swallowed hard and shifted uncomfortably before shoving past Stanton, heading into the shop.
A triumphant smirk crossed Stanton's lips and I wanted to punch it right off. I was the one who usually called the shots in our relationship. What the hell made him think he could boss me around? He didn't have to come with me to Styx anyway. He just came on his own.
I walked into the store, trying not to cringe as my ears were assaulted by a Marilyn Manson song. The shop was heavily designed with Gothic and BDSM features. One wall was completely covered in leather gear, from muzzles to collars to tight panties. There was even a mannequin wearing a leather puppy play outfit, complete with rubber tail and muzzle. I blushed hard, stepping away from it as I searched the store from the outfits displayed in the window.
"Hello, welcome to Six Feet Under!" I jumped and turned to see the store clerk standing there. She was a tiny thing with her black hair cut in a pixie style, her lips painted as red as the 50s style dress she wore. Well, save for the black colors and the skulls printed around the skirt of the dress that flared out. Instantly, I recognized her as a vampire when her fangs flashed in a smile. My skin crawled at the sight of them.
"Hi." I said awkwardly. She smiled warmly.
"My name's Bella. What can I help you with?" She asked. I glanced out the corner of my eye to see Stanton standing by the door, watching me intensely, silently urging me to get on with it. I looked back at Bella uncomfortably.
"Er, those... I dunno, outfits? The ones in the windows? Do you... have anymore?" I asked. Bella didn't judge me at all, much to my surprise. She seemed more than happy to show me to the corner of the store where the outfits were displayed, and she even managed to find the right size for the red teddy.
"We have plenty more where that came from," She added as she gestured to several more skimpy outfits that made my face redden further, "We're getting that one in purple and blue next week too. I really think blue would suit you."
"Oh god." I managed at last, unable to contain my humiliation. Bella grinned.
"It's totally fine, sweetie. I have a friend who shops here all the time and he's a guy. Well, he shops for his boyfriend, who is one of those huge buff guys and he wears this stuff. Don't worry about it." She said in an attempt to comfort me, but it still embarrassed me to no end. And I could see Stanton's smirk as he made his way over to us, obviously amused.
Friggin' jerk.
"Uhm," I said after a moment, scanning the shop once more to study the BDSM gear when I remembered what Theo had said about Akin and I looked at her, "This is probably a long shot, but do you happen to know someone named Akin?" Bella's smile vanished and her expression became guarded.
"Yes, actually. He's... the friend I mentioned." She said slowly. I sighed in relief.
"Wow, that was easier than I thought," I said more to myself than her, which made her look at me oddly, but I shook my head, "I'm looking for him, but I don't know where he lives. Do you know?" Bella frowned further.
"Akin is super paranoid about where he lives. He wipes the memory of anyone who goes there that he doesn't trust. My husband knows where he lives, but I don't know if I feel safe sending someone I don't know to him." She said. Oh, for cryin' out loud.
"My name's Alaric..." I started, then I noticed her face pale at my name, making me scowl curiously, "Do you know me?" Bella shifted uncomfortably, even more so when Stanton came to stand beside me and stared her down.
"Nope," She said after a moment, then plastered on a fake smile and took the teddy from me, "I'll go ring this up, yeah? It's fifteen percent off on any lingerie. If you'll follow me." She went to the register and I followed, frowning at her suspiciously. She acted like she knew who I was, but I'd never met this woman before in my life. And she wouldn't tell me where Akin lived. What had made Akin so paranoid that he wouldn't tell people where he lived? And what kind of friend was Akin if he didn't trust Bella, who seemed to like him very much? I didn't understand it at all.
"Would your husband be able to take me to Akin?" I asked as Bella rung up the teddy and stuffed it into a small plastic bag with the picture of a grave drawn from a side view to show the corpse six feet below the surface.
"I don't think so." Bella replied curtly. I was getting extremely impatient. I didn't want to wait forever to convince her I was safe. This was my brother. Why would I ever want to hurt him? If she knew me, surely she'd know that much.
"I need to speak with him," I said impatiently, "It's really important."
"I'm sorry," Bella said, holding the bag out to me, "I don't speak for my husband."
"Can I speak to him, then?"
"He's out on business."
"Can I come back later?"
"Probably not. Please leave. I have other customers." Bella informed. I twitched, about fed up with her and her secrecy, but before I could call her out on it, Stanton had me by the arm and was dragging me out of the shop, making me curse angrily at the way his fingers bit into my arm. Once we were outside and a good ways down the street, Stanton released me and snatched the bag from me.
"What the hell was that for," I demanded, bewildered, "She knew where Akin lived!"
"And she wasn't going to tell you. She's as a submissive, Alaric. They take their positions very seriously. If her husband, her dominant, told her not to say anything, she'll die before she breaks that rule. Don't put someone in that position, Alaric, it's rude. You can't talk her into it. We'll figure it out tomorrow. It's getting late now and I'd rather not run into the night crowd. Let's just go to a hotel." Stanton explained sternly. I glared him defiantly. I wanted to go back in there and make her tell me, even if I had to be rough, but Stanton seemed to know more about this place, and that particular hobby, more than I did. So against my natural instincts, I just nodded and Stanton relaxed.
We didn't have to go very far before we found a nice affordable hotel. Our room was on the third floor with a huge bed, a dress across from it with a flat screen television and a connected bathroom with a huge triangle bathtub that I was eager to use. We got settled in and Stanton faceplanted on the bed while I went to go use the bathtub, sinking in up to my mouth.
It wasn't fair.
We'd found Akin a lot faster than I had hoped, but the vampire wouldn't tell me where he was. Didn't she understand the meaning of important?
I guess there was always tomorrow...