Page 4 of The Chosen Son

The door was camouflaged as a shelving unit, and when I slid it back into place, the DVD cases filling the shelves jostled. My eyes snagged on one of the titles.Woof: Daddy’s Good Dog. I snorted a laugh. Puppy play wasn’t my jam, but I tried not to yuck someone else’s yum. It took all kinds, and I liked for my business to cater to everyone’s tastes. If that was what got your engine revving, then who was I to judge? Besides, that movie was one of my bestsellers, and a collar, leash, and butt plug tail were an easy upsell.

Weaving through the rows of dildos, restraints, and paddles, I emerged by the front counter. We were just about to open for the day, and Marie was counting out the float into the till.

“Morning, boss,” she said. “You’re looking mighty fine today. Any special plans? Maybe a hot breakfast date?” Marie was, at my best estimate, 70 years old, but it could’ve been anywhere between 40 and 100. I wasn’t a great judge of human age; they got old so quickly.

“No such luck, but you never know. Maybe I’ll come back with the waiter for a little afternoon delight,” I replied with a smirk, tipping my Fedora on the way out the door.

Valleywood’s undercity was a curious thing. After a devastating fire back in 1918, it left an entire neighborhood abandoned—buildings, possessions, the streets themselves. When rebuilding, the city planners decided to build overtop, saying it would be easier and more cost-effective. This had led an entire little village right under their feet, like a slice of history. Well, except for the neon lights advertising my sex shop; that wasn’t exactly historically accurate.

Parts of the undercity weren’t safe, between shoddy structural integrity and a higher crime rate, not to mention the occasional magical blackhole. Absolutely anything could happen down here. The mayor’s office had even issued an official warning, saying they would not be responsible for anyone’s safety.

“Typical Loki,” I muttered, stalking off toward the stairs leading topside. “Always only looking out for himself. Selfish asshole.” That earned me a couple stern glances as I stepped out onto the busy downtown sidewalk.

I had to walk another six blocks down to where I had my breakfast meeting, but it was a beautiful day. Spring had decided to come early. There were small mounds of dirty, slushy snow lingering in the shade, and even though there was still a crisp bite to the air, it seemed everyone was determined to make the most of the warm sun. Wide-brimmed sunhats and flowing dresses, dark glasses and shorts,and so much glaringly pale skin, seeing the sun for the first time after the long winter; it was nearly enough to blind a person.

Food trucks were already lining up along the curb to take advantage of the crowd, and the tantalizing aroma of breakfast burritos tempted me on the way by. My stomach growled in complaint for being ignored, but I was about to sample a whole menu’s worth of food, so it wouldn’t do to show up to my meeting with a full stomach.

As I tipped my face up to the sky and enjoyed the warmth, I could almost forget how much my life had sucked these last 300 years, maybe let myself feel the slightest bit of contentment.Almost. But as always, the lingering resentment snuck through my defenses. The curve that had begun to pull at my lips admitted defeat, and my usual scowl was yanked back into place as I imagined Loki, Valleywood’s beloved mayor, also enjoying the sun somewhere in our fair city.

Not for long, I vowed. Before the end of the summer, his time on this earth would come to an end. It was now or never—and never was not an option I was willing to live with.

Arriving at my destination, I shoved my anger to the back of my mind for now, under lock and key where it belonged. I knew better than most how negative emotions could cloud one’s judgment. Besides, I couldn’t show even a sliver of weakness in front of my newest employees.

I pulled open the door of my newest acquisition, a quaint little place called the Sizzle & Sip Brunch Lounge. I’d already hired a decorator to make some changes to the décor and hired a new manager to take care of things for me. I enjoyed the investment part of buying up new businesses, not so much running them.

Nicholas saw me coming. He was a young gopher shifter I’d lured away from the competition down the street with the promise of a hefty raise. Money could buy nearly anything. I was glad to see hewas impeccably dressed in a white button-down, navy tie, and pressed black slacks, not a hair out of place. It looked like he’d been perched at the entrance to the kitchen, waiting for me. He waved eagerly and scurried across the restaurant. “Good morning, Mr. D. You’re early.”

I grunted, glancing at my watch. “Is that a problem?”

“No, no! Come have a seat and I’ll pour you a coffee. If you like coffee? We have tea, hot chocolate—”

“Coffee is fine.” Nicholas was a little high-strung, but it seemed to work in his favor. He was certainly willing to do whatever it took to make me happy. I appreciated a little ass-kissing, especially when paired with competence.

It was still early to be considered brunch, but there were a few people seated at tables throughout the restaurant. Nicholas led me over to a corner booth and tried to hand me a menu, but I waved it away. “I want to try a sample of the breakfast menu. Tell the kitchen not to bother making it pretty. I don’t give a shit what it looks like.”

“Uh… okay…” He backed away, looking a little wary, before turning and heading for the kitchen at a clip.

Most people didn’t know how to take my attitude, but I saw no reason to smooth over my prickly edges. It was in my nature to make people uneasy—like, literally, I was the god of dread, it was in my DNA—and I saw no reason to pretend otherwise. My twin brother, Phobos, kept trying to be the “good guy.” Uuuuugh. So fucking boring. Where was the fun in beingnice?

Nicholas was back just one minute later with the coffee he’d promised, setting the plain white mug down in front of me. It smelled amazing, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. He’d have to work harder than that for my praise. I let a teeny bit of my dread seep out from my pores, watching with malicious glee as the man began to sweat, hislower lip trembling. His eyes flicked around the room, trying to figure out what had caused his shifter senses to go haywire.

It wasn’t anywhere near what I was capable of. I had an entire ocean of untapped power at my disposal, but I was saving it for a good cause. And, you know, I didn’t want the manager to quit, either. “Off you go now. Shoo. Don’t come back until you have my food.”

The man, like, legit bowed as he shuffled backward away from the table, as if I were royalty or some shit.I could get used to this.

The truth was, I hadn’t been around people much for the last few hundred years. I’d been having myself a good old-fashioned sulk for the longest time after my lover was taken from me. And once the wallowing was over, I’d moved straight on to simmering in the rising tide of fury. Even my family had been cautious to approach me—and that was really saying something, seeing as my father was the god of war. In the end, though, between my mother, Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and my sister Harmonia, we’d called a kind of truce.

Being back in the mortal realm was kind of… dare I say it? Nice. I’d really made myself at home in Valleywood. There were plenty of other gods and goddesses here, as well as shifters and other kinds of beasties, and even angels and demons. I fit right in! So far, in my attempt to get a foothold here, I’d purchased a sex shop, a burger joint, a Mexican restaurant, and a restaurant specializing in fine Italian cuisine. At first glance, they didn’t have much in common. However, if you looked a little deeper, you might something else…

They were all located above abandoned sections of subway tunnels and sewers, leading back to my underground lair. Sure, it might’ve seemed a tad cliché, but I was eating up this whole supervillain image. All I needed now was a really cool scar and a few tattoos.

As for this new brunch place, I already had my personal construction crew lined up to “improve storage” downstairs, also known as installing a secret access panel for me.

Thanks to the little thrill of adrenaline moving through him, Nicholas moved quickly in bringing out the food. I was actually secretly impressed with his ability to function under my influence. It was clear I’d picked a good manager to run my business.

Plate after plate, the dishes were placed in front of me. Most people wouldn’t be able to eat this much food, but I wasn’t exactly human, was I. French toast, ham-and-gruyere quiche, herb-and-tomato frittata, eggs Benedict with lox, and even though it was a tad early for it, a glass of mimosa to celebrate my investment.

“Will you join me for a drink, Nicholas?” I called across the restaurant, gesturing for the man to come have a seat.

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