“Fine. Hold out your hand.” She glanced at him expectantly, holding out her own hand in offering. The move seemed a little more than foolish, but Ara figured it was her best bet for getting out safely. She hoped that placing memories in his head might possibly make him disoriented enough for her to slip away.
“I can show you something interesting.”
He glanced at her hand but made no move to touch her. He knew what his mother could do with the smallest touch of her hand, had heard stories of seers that could read a person like a book with the barest graze of skin to skin. There was nothing she could show that would be worth that sort of risk.
“Touch me and I start breaking bones, little girl.”
It was all the same as far as Casey was concerned, but how would she know any different? “At this point, I think my dad’s the only one who wants to deal with my mom and fuck if anyone knows why.” Maybe Casey didn’t have the grasp on emotions required to understand her parents, but she didn’t think anyone really did.
“Thank Khaos for that one. Could you imagine how easily your mother would destroy anyone else? Your dad’s the right kind of disaster for her and I don’t want to see what would happen if he ended up dying again. Think your ma would torch the Underworld.” Which was probably why Hades didn’t want her there in the first place.
Characters::Cord and Drifter Word Count::324
“Dammit, Drifter, I ain’t tellin’ your kid that you’re dead. What the fuck kind of question is that?” the demon growled, glaring at the woman sitting calmly at the bar. “It’s bad enough that you dropped that boy on Grayson when you of all people know he can’t take care of himself and now you want to completely ditch out?”
The trickster didn’t move despite the sigh that left her lips as she watched Cord pace. She knew it was a long shot, but she had also known Cord since the 1800′s so she knew how to play him better than most.
“It is for his own safety and protection, Cordae. I would not ask otherwise,” she stated plainly, dark eyes unreadable.
He hated when she pulled that sort of shit. She had centuries on him in age and was better at avoiding touch than anyone he had ever met. “Ik, don’t do this to that boy. You pull something like this on him and we ain’t friends anymore.”
The last bit made her ache a little. Cord was the oldest standing friend she had. Hell, the demon might be the only friend she had left. But, it was for the best and no amount of her real name would persuade her otherwise.
“I have a burial plot purchased, the headstone engraved, all you must do is tell Chayton where it is. He does not need to be involved beyond that.”
“I ain’t doin’ your dirty work and you can get the fuck outta my bar if you’re gonna keep on with that shit,” he snapped, slamming a glass down on the bar and not even wincing when the shards embedded in his hands.
Drifter stood gracefully, her gaze dropping to his hand for a moment before she met his stare. “Harming yourself will not do anyone any favors,” was her parting remark as she left him to clean up both of their messes.
Characters::Rhodes and Evangeline Word Count::872
He was just passing through, really. The place had stood out like a damn beacon with it’s warding and curiosity had gotten the better of him. What kind of place needed that much heavy magic in the middle of nowhere?
Passing through the barrier had been…interesting, to say the least. It carried an odd sense of peace and, for the first time in nearly three years, Rhodes relaxed a little. If nothing else, he could hopefully crash for a couple of days before heading out on the road once more.
The bar itself didn’t look like a whole lot from the outside, but it was almost cozy feeling inside. The man behind the bar didn’t pay him much mind when he ordered a beer and the music was alright. But it was the girl that had caught his eye. He couldn’t remember the last time anyone had given him such a predatory look and it would have been unnerving if it wasn’t for the little smirk on her lips.
With a slight grin of his own, he saluted with the beer and tried his best not to pay her too much mind. It never did him too well to get his hopes up and she was definitely out of his league.
It was enough of an invitation for Evangeline and she sauntered over to the bar and turned, pulling herself up to sit on top of it. It was definitely a trait she had picked up from her mother, not that Cord really approved.
The hound gave her a look, but she ignored Trigger easily. Her attention was fixed firmly on the man trying his hardest not to check her out. Honestly, it was enough to make her laugh.
“You’re new.”
“That obvious?” he asked, glancing over at her and raising a brow. “Not sure how many bars let people sit on top of the actual bar though.”
“My mother owns the place, I know all the regular faces. We don’t get a lot of new around here.”
That made a little more sense but it also marked her as completely off limits. If he was looking for a safe place to lie low for a few days, nailing the owner’s kid was the worst way to go about things.
“Rhodes. Just passin’ through, looking for a place to crash for a couple of nights. Places glows like a fucking lighthouse in a storm,” he replied, shrugging before finishing off the bottle in his hand.
“I think something can be arranged,” she purred, batting her lashes at him before twisting enough to grab a set of keys from the side of the register. “We’ve got apartment style set ups, but I can think of a few more comfortable places to crash.”
Rhodes glanced between the girl sitting on the bar and the man behind it, trying read the vibe. Whomever the guy was, he seemed awfully protective of the girl and he had to figure she was his little sister or something.
“Weird thing to offer a man before telling him your name.” It wasn’t the best response, but it was all he could think to say in the moment.
Her laugh was like wind chimes, melodious and higher in pitch than he had been expecting. But it suited her.
“Evangeline. Mostly go by Eva,” she introduced, leaning in just a little bit closer.
Her perfume made him crinkle his nose, the scent of rose and vetiver was nice, but the chemical scent wasn’t. She smelled off underneath that too and he couldn’t place what it was and he wasn’t sure it was polite to actually ask.
“Eva. Why the hell do you live in a bar?”
“Because my mother owns it and runs the whole property as a sort of supernatural sanctuary. Didn’t really get a lot of say in it.” She toyed with the keys in her hand, wondering if he was going to decide to take her up on either of the offers laid out before him.
He nodded, the warding making a lot more sense now. “Do you make it a point to hit on people passing through?”
“Only the cute ones,” she shot back quickly, giving him a rather appraising look. He was definitely one of the better looking ones she had come across, but the most she done with anyone was a little kissing before they figured out what her parents were. That tended to scare most people off, she supposed.
Rhodes snorted at that, a genuine smile touching on his lips. “Haven’t slept proper in nearly two weeks, not sure you’ve got the best definition of cute.”
“You pull it off.” Eva paused before slipping off the bar top and holding a couple of keys up. “But if you’re telling me you look better after a good night’s sleep, I’d love to see that and save the trying to hit on you for after.”
It couldn’t help to look at the place at least, and he stood and dug out his wallet, unsure of just how much a beer cost here.
“Don’t worry about paying,” she interjected, fingers skimming his wrist as she nodded at the bar tender and led him out of the bar.
Anyone wanna do a thing? Muses are being super needy today
ofviolentdeath 