ℤ𝕒𝕟𝕖
Ava rests in my lap while Kami walks in circles around the kitchen island and talks on the phone to one of her contacts. She's been bouncing from lead to lead for hours now.
"If I knew a Fury, don't you think I would be contacting them instead of you?" she snaps.
"Kami is still on the phone?" Ava asks, stirring from her nap.
"Yeah," I say. "We expect it to take a while. Fury smoke is relatively hard to come by."
"Because it makes people stronger?" she asks.
"Not exactly. It makes people, well... angry."
"They why did Kami say you needed it for strength?"
"Sirens get their strength from their passion—love, hate, lust—and that intensity is at the core of our powers. That's why I've gotten stronger and faster since I met you. Being in love, especially with your soulmate, is a hell of a power boost."
A few years ago, if I had gone toe-to-toe with a demon, they'd wipe the floor with me. Now, I can overpower Kieran, which he's not very pleased about.
"So why not try to increase the other good emotions instead?" she asks. "Taking something that makes you angry seems like the worst option."
I smile and stroke her hair.
"Because, love," I say. "No one could love anyone more than I already love you."
Her cheeks redden and she gives me a shy smile.
"Okay, shut up and stop being so sweet," she says. "I can't handle it."
"Alright!" Kami says, setting her mobile down on the kitchen counter. "Do you want the good news or the bad news?"
"Oi, just tell us," I say.
"Good news is I have located someone who has Fury smoke," Kami says, joining us on the couch. "The bad news is it's your old friend Dionysus."
Bloody hell.
Dionysus is one of the only Immortals as old as Asmodeus. The Greeks worshipped him and other early Immortals as gods.
"I take it we don't mean an actual friend?" Ava asks, sitting up from my lap.
Not even close.
"Dionysus would consider Zane a friend, but..." Kami says.
"But in reality he just likes to toy with people, and I'm his favorite plaything," I explain. "He has the power to free people of their inhibitions. Kind of like Siren venom mixed with alcohol, at a thousand times the potency. After I got a reputation for being well-controlled, he was desperate to test his powers on me."
"Did they work on you?" Ava asks.
The last time I saw Dionysus I woke up in a phone booth in the middle of East London wearing nothing but one boot.
"Um, yeah," I say. "They worked."
"Dionysus isn't dangerous," Kami says. "He's just the immortal equivalent of too many Jägerbombs."
"Sounds like he and Kieran would get along," Ava says.
"Oh I'm sure they would," Kami replies. "But what Dionysus really loves is the bottled-up, repressed types like Zane."
"I'm not repressed," I grumble.
"Maybe not anymore," she says, "but we both know he has a special fondness for 'liberating the oppressed.'"
It's true. Dionysus has gone by many other names—Bacchus, Zagreus, Liber—but one of his favorites was Eutherios, aka The Liberator.
"Fine," I say. "Call him. But don't tell him anything about Ava. I don't want her dragged into this."
"Okay," Kami says. She grabs her phone and steps away.
As she does, I hear Ava's mobile ring.
"Sorry," Ava says, picking it up. "It's one of my clients. I have to get this."
Kami leans on the kitchen counter while waiting to be connected to Dionysus. Ava steps out on the porch to handle the call from her client.
I lay back on the couch, watching the ceiling fan spin.
"Okay, no problem," Ava says, speaking to her client. "What about it isn't working for you?"
She's a little too far away for me to hear the voice on the other line.
"You mean the scroll bar?" she asks. "I mean, technically yes, we can remove that but you really need..."
I can see her face scrunch up in irritation.
"You do?" Kami's voice says from the other room. I turn to her and she gives me a thumbs-up gesture. "And exactly what would this social call entail?"
"Well, the scroll bar is supposed to move," Ava says, the subtle frustration growing in her voice.
"One hour seems reasonable," Kami says, looking to me for confirmation. I nod.
"Yes, he'll be there," she says. "And you'll have the smoke ready?"
"It really can't be in the center of the page beca-" Ava says. "Yes, I un-"
"What??" Kami asks. Her tone immediately draws my attention and I stand up.
I listen closer, attempting to pick up the other voice.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Kami says.
"Kami, darling," Dionysus says through the phone. "News travels fast... gossipy demons..."
I can only understand bits and pieces of what he says.
What exactly is he getting at?
"Well, don't believe everything you hear," she says, looking at me with concerned eyes.
"...both visit... only fair..." he says. It's too quiet to make out his exact words, but it seems he wants both Kami and me to drop by for a visit.
She looks at me with questioning eyes, which I return with a shrug and a nod.
"Okay, agreed," Kami says. "We'll call to arrange details."
She hangs up and lets herself fall over the side of an armchair and collapse into it.
"Well, that ought to be interesting," she says with a sigh. "Honestly, I'm surprised you agreed to it. But it's good, because it's pretty much our only lead and Dionysus is a powerful friend to have in a crisis."
"Why are you surprised?" I ask.
"Because you're so crazy protective of Ava and Dionysus is, well... he is who he is."
"What??" I ask, a slight growl trailing behind my voice. "Nobody said anything about Ava."
"Shit, Z, I thought you were listening to our conversation!"
"I was! I heard most of it. I thought he was asking you to come too."
"No, he insisted Ava come," she says. "He found out about you two through the demonic grapevine and he wants to meet her."
"He doesn't give a shit about meeting her, Kami," I spit. "He wants to use her to torture me!"
"He won't hurt her," Kami says. "You know Dionysus isn't evil, he's just a troublemaker. He's all about wine and sex and partying. It won't kill you to spend an hour with him."
"It just might," I say. "You're bloody lucky we're desperate."
I exhale and flop onto the couch, burying my face into a pillow.
"Well, that was a clusterfuck of a phone call," Ava says with a sigh as she walks back in from the patio. "Hopefully you guys have some good news."
Kami and I both look at her silently.
"What?" she asks. "What did I miss?"
𝔸𝕧𝕒
You would think the "God of Partying" would live in Las Vegas or New York or something, but here we are—a short flight later—in the middle of friggin' Utah.
Yep. Utah.
Zane is driving our rental car—a grey sedan that he looks completely out of place in.
"I can't believe I agreed to do this," he says through his clenched teeth.
"Are you sure you're not overreacting?" I ask. "I mean, Kami seemed to think it would be no big deal."
"That's because she's Kami. Getting pissed off your arse, sticking your tongue down a stewardess's throat, and demonstrating naked backflips would be her idea of a good time."
"That was oddly specific."
"My point is," he begins to say.
"You don't like being out of control," I say, giving him a reassuring pat to the shoulder. "I get it."
Zane is always so sure that he is a monster. That if he loses control of himself, he'll hurt people. He says he's worried about Dionysus hurting me, but I think he's far more worried he'll hurt me himself.
"Try not to resist him," he says. "His powers are strongest when you try to hold yourself back. And he can sense lies, so don't try to deceive him."
"How do his powers work? Does he have to touch me?"
"No, his powers don't have the same limitations mine do. He can use them intentionally if he feels so inclined, but otherwise his power will just radiate from him and affect everyone within 20 feet of him."
I nod as we pull up to a rather large strip club in the middle of the dessert. It's so in the middle of nowhere that it almost seems like a mirage. The building has a large, grey exterior and a big flashing neon sign on its roof. The sign features the shape of a red apple with a snake wrapped around it and pink lettering that reads "Garden of Eden."
"Fuck," Zane curses as he comes to a stop and pulls the parking brake.
"You can do this," I say. "Maybe it'll even be good for you. Maybe you'll see that it's not that bad."
He shrugs in response as we both step out of the car and toward the front entrance.
The club interior has no windows and dim lighting, despite it being mid-day. The room is sprawling and filled with plush, white couches surrounding multiple circular platforms with poles, several of which are occupied by male or female dancers. The patrons are completely wasted, some dancing with their limbs waving wildly in the air, others having aggressive make-out sessions with their hands down each other's pants. In the corner, a woman is singing karaoke while her friends seem to be involved in a fistfight.
This place is like Octoberfest if in place of beer there was nudity. And more beer.
"Hello, gorgeous!" a voice calls.
A grey-haired man with bronze skin approaches Zane and gives him a tight hug.
"Dionysus," Zane says stiffly.
That's Dionysus?
I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I wasn't expecting young-looking hipster with a pompadour haircut.
"And this is Ava?" he asks, pulling me in for a hug too.
I expect Zane to growl but I don't hear him. Maybe he's finally becoming less possessive.
"Hi," I say. "It's nice to meet you."
"Well come, sit, enjoy!" he says, guiding us to a white couch in front of a podium beneath a purple spotlight.
He gestures toward a man and woman, both in risqué clothing, who walk over at his command.
"Zane, my dear," Dionysus says, bringing the woman forward. "I know you enjoy women in particular, so I brought her for you."
"No thank you," Zane says with a clenched jaw.
"No?" Dionysus asks with one brow raised. His eyes rake over Zane before turning to me.
"Don't worry, lovely, I got you one too," he says with a smile.
Oh good. This is awkward.
"I wasn't sure what you liked," he continues, pulling forward a towering, buff, blond shirtless man in low-slung pants. "But Charles here can be anything your heart desires."
"Um, I'm good, thanks," I say. "No offense Charles."
Charles nods and Dionysus purses his lips.
"Well, she clearly goes for the dark and brooding type," he says, waving a hand at Charles.
In a moment, the man's overbuilt body morphs into a trim and fit physique. Tattoos appear on his chest and arms as his hair turns jet black.
Damn.
Okay, I'm not saying 'dark and broody' is my type, but the makeover is working on this guy.
"He's a shifter?" Zane asks, his jaw tight.
Shifter-Strippers are actually a really good idea.
Strip-Shifters? Shippers? Stripters?
"They both are," Dionysus says with a smile.
"We're not interested," Zane says.
"Yes," he says, looking Zane over again. "I see that. Perhaps your tastes have gotten a bit more... specific."
Dionysus leans over to whisper in the stripper's ear. She begins to transform, her skin lightening, and her hair shortening as it becomes... purple. Oh wow.
The woman now stands before us with an identical face and body to my own in a very intense lingerie set, fishnet stockings, and impossibly high heels.
I turn to Zane, whose eyes have gone wide and turned bright green.
Should I be jealous of myself right now?
Dionysus laughs, seemingly pleased with himself.
The woman walks up to Zane and attempts to give him a lap dance, but he pushes her away with so much force she lands several feet away.
"Dick!" she shouts at him, standing up and dusting herself off.
"Zane," Dionysus says in a warning tone. "Are you denying my hospitality?"
"No," he says, his jaw clenched. "I'm just not interested in this type of entertainment. I've made that clear."
"Well," Dionysus says with a smirk. "Guests in my club either receive dances or give them. No exceptions."
Wait... is he trying to get me to strip?
Actually that sounds kind of fun.
"Fine," Zane huffs, standing up and approaching me. He stands in front of me and puts his hands on my knees, leaning in to whisper in my ear.
"Ready for a show, baby?"