Page 4 of Taking Orders in the Underworld

“No,” Nika said, staring at her now-empty glass. “But that’s not to say you won’t.”

CHAPTER TWO: Needs must

She needed a tar-black coffee and a freshly-baked bagel, in that order.

Nika groaned as she locked up her house – just one of the many rooms underneath this particular tree cavern – and stumbled out into daylight. Making her way though the alleyway and out onto the main road, Nika headed straight for the only place that could sort her out.

It was a tiny hole-in-the-wall establishment, really. It was one of those spots in the meadows where those who didn’t know it existed walked right past it, but those whodidknow of it would always stop by. The sign overhead was old and battered, covered in cobwebs, and in desperate need of a lick of fresh black paint. But Nika could still make out what it said; KNEADS MUST.

“Needs must alright,” Nika scoffed as she knocked on the open window-frame that connected the customers with the store. There was a door, to Nika’s right, but no one ever came in or out of it. The owner – a big, burly, bald daemon – was the only one in his shop, and he operated right out onto the street.

He appeared at the window and smiled at Nika. “What will it be today, darling?” Christos grinned at her, as he looked her up and down.

“Don’t even think about saying whatever it was that was about to come out of your mouth next,” Nika warned.

Christos’ grin widened further. “Rough night, huh?”

“It’s about to be a rough day if I don’t get that delicious coffee you make.”

“Coming right up.” Christos turned his back to her for a moment and flicked the coffee machine on, the mechanism yawning through the steam wand and getting to work.

Christos turned back to Nika. “Another early morning shift for you? I’d have thought Garth would just keep you on the lates.”

“Oh, Garth is quite happy to put me on double shifts lately. Courtesy of his new favourite Arae, Rae, aka Sunshine.”

“She can’t be that bad. It’s been, what? Three months of lunchtime shifts? She’s got to be bringing something good to the team if your lunch service has picked up.”

Nika scowled at Christos, who was clearly baiting her. They’d had this discussion several times over the last few months. Nika grumbled about how well Rae was fitting into the team, and Christos gave her a hard time about it – and then usually gave her a coffee for free.

“That’s exactly my point. She’s fartoogood. There’s a whole new bloody lunch menu – as if I needed any more dishes to memorise and sell. Garth says it’ll help profit margins, but right now all it’s doing is adding to my workload and lack of sleep.”

“Someone’s grumpy this morning.”

“At least when I had three pm lie-ins I had a chance to sleep off dreaded headaches like this one.”

“A headache, huh?”

“You know what? Why don’t you throw in one of those bagels too, huh? Maybe I want to be taken pity on and taken care of. You ever thought of that?”

Christos laughed. “You don’t need anyone taking care of you. You do just fine for yourself.”

“Does that mean I don’t get my bagel?”

Christos turned again, Nika assumed only to grab her rich, double-shot coffee with three sugars – but when he came back, he presented her with a brown paper bag, the grease stain on it growing by the second.

“Here you go. Something sharp and something sweet, just like you.”

Nika didn’t particularly care what was on the bagel, only that she desperately needed something to soak up the rest of the alcohol in her system. It took alotto get a spirit like Nika drunk.

Gods,had she opened the spiced liquor when she got home? The memory of it was fuzzy, but now Nika thought about it – definitely there.

“What do I owe you, Christos?”

“Put in a good word for me with your mother? I’d like to go home to visit my folks.”

“You want to go back to Tartarus? Why in Hades playground would you want to do that? Why not just get your folks to come out here?” Nika began shaking her head even as she finished her sentence. “You know what? Never mind. I don’t want to know. Sure, I’ll put in a good word for you next time I speak to her.”

Christos nodded. “Appreciate it, Nik.”

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