Page 5 of A Subtle Scar
“Aww, Chandler. Come on, you’re getting strawberry tarts. All of them.”
“Oh, sounds good.”
I got three steps into the building before I heard the clicking of several claws on the marble floor, and moments later the pack found me. They were quite a sight.
Soul, the white, beady-eyed poodle with the deadly bite, I’d already seen in action. But her hellpuppies had been just big enough to fit into a hoodie pocket the last time I’d laid eyes on them. Now they were both about the size of labs, one with a snake for a tail and a few black spots in his white poodle fur. The other was blue-eyed with two tails, which didn’t really wag in sync, and her head was black, the fur there smoother than your average poodle.
The beast that followed after those three was the most impressive and with three heads, I had no doubts as to who that was.
“Cerberus, right?” I indicated the large black dog even as Soul came and sat down right in front of me, her beady eyes expectant.
“The very one. Hades and Sephy are early. They are on Scotland time, or just eager to party.”
I bent down to scratch the poodle. From her happy growl, I was doing a good job, so I didn’t take the string of drool escaping from her mouth as a point of criticism.
Cerberus watched with interest with all three sets of eyes, and the leftmost head licked his jowls. He was probably hoping for food.
“Come on, I’ll show you around,” Metatron said.
This was already more interesting than most of the parties I had been to, and a curious part of me was excited to meet all the immortals on the guest list.
“Lead the way,” I told Mistress Trony.
Chapter Two
TheDevilhadaboyfriend now, and going by the rumors, Lucy had decided to keep said boyfriend. I stood outside the Devil’s front door and considered whether I should knock, ring, or just mess with Lucy’s wards until he opened the door for me.
I could hear the party from out here, and tongues of darkness snaked across the sky already, finding the balance of this day in tender twilight. Personally, I liked a more somber celebration of an Equinox, but Lucy didn’t do somber.
I smoothed a strand of my hair, the dark sheen of it blacker than my very nice shirt, and knocked. The door opened almost before I could pull my knuckles back.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” said the ass who was neither Trony nor Lucy.
“Hermes. Since when are you the Devil’s welcoming committee?” I regretted not having curled my hair. It looked very impressive curled, the top half domed up at the crown of my head.
Hermes was a little pest, except not little, and much too golden-haired. He had the prettiest caramel-colored eyes and rich russet brown skin, a packaging that made him the poster image of the kind of Greek athlete artists would bribe or fuck to get into their studio, back when Greek athletes competing naked was still a thing.
“I’m not Lucy’s anything, but you’re late.” Hermes had the audacity to beam at me. He had nice teeth, very white, but not the fake white of human cosmetics treatments. He smiled as if we were friendly. Which we were not.
“I am not late.” I pointed at the sky. “See that? It’s the Equinox, and dusk is proper.”
He lifted a triangular cocktail glass to his lips and took a sip of the pink whatever-it-was therein.
He swallowed and said, “Mmm-hmm. Sure, Ronny.”
“Do not call me that.”
“Ro-ro?”
“So help me, I will drown you, Hermes. I will take that cocktail from you, and I will toss it all over you so that it stains your T-shirt. Through which I can see your nipples, by the way.”
He grinned like the complete and utter hare-brained idiot he was. “You’re paying attention to my nipples, Ronny? That’s so sweet. And you can only take my cocktail from me if you can catch me.”
He poofed off because he couldn’t not have the last word in a conversation. Fucking teleporters. They were show-offs, all of them, but Hermes more so than all the others combined.
I crossed the threshold and was attacked by a black-headed double-tail-wagging helldog before I could unlace my boots and leave them at the door.
“Hello there,” I told the hellcreature, scratching her under her chin. Her blue eyes immediately reminded me of Cerberus, Hades’ three-headed hound. “You look as if you belong here.”
