Our Shellfish Desires Read online

  “More if there’s a lot of big words!”

  “I’m not leaving until that entire book is translated.” Alexander incinerated the cigarette butt between his fingers. “We need every page. Do you understand?”

  “Totally fine, little dude!” Ollie scowled. “But you’re not gonna be here for every single second of it. I need time and some serious solitude to do this.”

  “Not happening. I’m not letting that book out of my sight.”

  “Then we are at a serious imposter.” Ollie leaned back, blowing out a lazy cloud of smoke. He seemed more confident now, and he smirked. “If you want me to do this, then you’re gonna have to play nice.”

  The fuck I am.

  Calm down, Rota piped up. We need him. Don’t you see? It’s fine.

  And wait, did he just say imposter? Did he mean “impasse”?

  I… I don’t know.

  “That’s totally what I said!” Ollie protested.

  Oh fuck. He’s an idiot. Alexander tried to keep his expression blank.

  Ollie pointed a finger at him. “And you’re short.”

  He can hear us, Rota reminded gently.

  “Yup! He can totally hear you, and he wants you to leave so he can get trashed and translate your stupid giant book.” Ollie took another long puff. “Remember! Two gods! Speed dial!”

  “Two?” Alexander quirked his eyebrows. He was curious, though not especially impressed.

  “Yeah!”

  I assume one is certainly Azaethoth the Lesser. Who is the other?

  “Wouldn’t you like to know,” Ollie huffed.

  Yes. That is why I asked.

  “Oh. Right. It’s Gordoth the Untouched. Except now he’s touched by my uncle, like, on the regular. And he’s Azaethoth’s uncle—”

  “We know who Gordoth is,” Alexander cut in. “I don’t care if you know a hundred gods. We need the book translated. Now.”

  “Tough cookies.” Ollie was at the end of his cigarette and reached for another, then lit it with the old one. He belched loudly and coughed. “Those are my terms, and I don’t make exceptions for gods or cute dudes, okay?”

  Did he just call you cute—

  “If you don’t want to cooperate, I am more than capable of forcing you!” Alexander snapped, breezing right by the compliment. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if I have to—”

  Okay, now hold on, Rota pleaded. Perhaps we should allow him time with the book as he’s asked. We’ve already waited this long, haven’t we?

  “And you want to trust him with the only copy of the one book that can help us?” Alexander hissed. “You’re both idiots, then!”

  “Hey, that’s not nice.” Ollie frowned. “He’s just trying to de-escalator the situation.”

  “Idiots!”

  Everyone take a moment to calm down—

  “No!” Alexander stood up so quickly he almost knocked the chair over. “I’m tired of waiting. We searched the entire world for months tracking that damn thing down.” He glared at Ollie. “You have no idea what we’ve been through or what I am willing to do to unlock the secrets that book holds. Now sit down, have yourself another fuckin’ drink, and start reading.”

  Ollie blinked.

  “Well?” Alexander growled.

  “Is he always this grumpy?” Ollie asked Rota.

  No, not always. He’s really quite lovely once you get to know him. Great sense of humor.

  “Is he hungry? Is this like a hangry thing?”

  No, no. He’s, mm, a bit impatient, I’m afraid.

  Alexander wanted to scream.

  Before he could tear into them for being so ridiculous, there was a shift in the air around them, and Alexander turned to see someone standing in front of the door.

  It was a young man, definitely not human, definitely something else.

  He was wearing some kind of glamour magic to alter his appearance, but Alexander couldn’t quite make out what it was hiding. All he saw was a man with long dark hair and a nasty sneer who did not look the least bit friendly.

  Rota, he thought urgently, summoning a swarm of ghostly tentacles to shield himself.

  “Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!” Ollie jumped up on the couch, clearly terrified. “The wards! You broke the wards—”

  The man leaped forward, and everything slowed down.

  He was altering time itself, bringing it to a stagnant crawl, and he was headed right for Ollie. Alexander tried to move, but it was like being trapped underwater, and he couldn’t get his limbs to cooperate. He could sense the time manipulation was limited to himself and Ollie, not the entire room, and he knew he could break it.

  Ollie was frozen as the man came at him, his expression stuck in an almost comical mask of terror.

  Rota! Now! Alexander flexed the tip of one finger, and it was all he needed to unleash a rush of Rota’s full power.

  I’ve got him! Rota surged forward, his tentacles breaking through the bubble of time and snatching Ollie out of harm’s way while whipping the man back against the wall.

  “Oof!” The man grunted as he rolled to the floor, coughing up a splatter of blood and staring in shock at Alexander. “How the hell did you do that?”

  Alexander pushed Ollie squarely behind him and stalked toward the man. He’d heard legends of time magic before, but he’d never seen it done. It wasn’t very hard to shrug off, which meant this man was either a novice, or the magic wasn’t as powerful as the stories had said. “Better question is what I am going to do to you now that your little trick failed.”

  He teleported in here. Whoever he is, he must have been waiting for a chance to get through the wards. A chance we provided. Rota sounded upset. He’s not here for us. He was going after Ollie!

  “I’m not here for you!” the man protested, confirming Rota’s thoughts. “I need Ollie to come with me for a little chat! That’s all!”

  “Nope!” Ollie shook his head vehemently. “Absolutely not! Negative! Nope to the nope!”

  “Sorry, Ollie is a little busy at the moment,” Alexander drawled. “Leave.”

  “If he doesn’t come with me, it’s gonna be a whole lot worse,” the man warned.

  “Let me be very clear.” Alexander continued to advance. “Either leave now or leave in pieces.”

  The man threw up his hands as if to cast again.

  Alexander sent Rota’s tentacles out, curling around the man’s neck and chest and squeezing.

  “Wh-what?” the man gurgled as he squirmed against Rota’s grip. His magic was fizzling out, and he growled, still trying to escape.

  Alexander focused on the man’s neck, applying enough pressure with Rota’s tentacles to block his airway, and waited for his face to change colors before he spoke again. “You will leave now and tell whoever sent you that Oleander Logue is not currently available for… whatever it is you’re doing.”

  “Ugh… ughrl….”

  “I’m sorry, what was that?” Alexander smirked. “Is that you saying, yes, I understand?”

  “Gurgh….” The man attempted what may have been a nod.

  “Good.” Alexander released him.

  Wheezing and rubbing his neck, the man hissed, “He’s… gonna come… you’re so fucked.”

  Who?

  “Who?” Alexander asked out loud for Rota.

  “Fuck… you!” The man gave Alexander a defiant middle finger before teleporting away in a blink.

  Should we follow him? I can track him if we go now.

  “No.” Alexander frowned. “We should probably put up new wards, though. Something to keep—”

  Big, strong arms wrapped around Alexander from behind and squeezed hard.

  It was Ollie, hugging him.

  “Thank you!” Ollie gushed. “That was so cool! You totally just kicked Nathaniel’s ass!”

  Alexander swallowed a squeak and forgot how to work all of his muscles. Ollie was so warm, and he smelled like alcohol, cigarettes, and patchouli oil with a hint of vanilla.

  “Seriously, that was amazing!” Ollie turned Alexander so he could beam down at him, still hugging him close. “I mean, okay, it’s kinda your fault he got in here, but thank you.” He smiled wider. “Whoa. Your eyeballs are turning all pink.”

  Alexander was torn between pushing Ollie away and melting into his arms. The simple affection was making his knees weak, having for so long only experienced physical touch that was designed to hurt. His brain refused to cooperate, and all he could do was stutter, “Y-yeah, they do that.”

  Who was that man, Ollie?

  Alexander slipped away from Ollie, mourning the loss of contact the second he did. He scrambled to get another cigarette. “Yeah, and what was he? I’ve never seen magic like that before.”

  “His name is Nathaniel Ware.” Ollie fidgeted and dipped back into the kitchen, still talking. “He is so not fuckin’ human. He’s, like, a troll dude with tusks and a long tail.”

  An Absola? Rota sounded intrigued. Here on Aeon?

  The gods had created many monstrous creatures before mortals, including a troll-like race of beings called the Absola. They, along with the other so-called everlasting people, were said to have gone with the gods into the dreaming, and neither Alexander nor Rota had heard of any living in this world for thousands of years.

  “Yeah, but not, like, all the way?” Ollie mused. “He’s like a diet Absola.”

  “But the Absola don’t control time or space,” Alexander pointed out. “The Faedra do.”

  “Whatever! Look, he’s a freaky monster guy, and he works for Sullivan Stoker. Do you know who that is?”

  “No.” Alexander grabbed the book to put back in his pocket and followed Ollie. Unsurprisingly, the kitchen was as much of a disaster as the rest of the apartment.

&n
bsp; Ollie was pouring red wine into two glasses as he explained, “He’s a crime boss. Like, this big drug lord. And okay, so I may have had a tiny drug problem before. When I first got the eyeballs of Yeris, I had trouble dealing with it.” He thrust a glass at Alexander.

  “No thanks.”

  Ollie poured it into his glass and sipped off the excess. “I made okay money translating, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with my habit, so I started taking product on credit. Like, so much. And I kinda owe him a lot of money, and he’s very unhappy with me. I’ve been trying to make payments, and he’s been chill ’cause my uncle is a cop, but—”

  “He’s tired of waiting and he’s sending goons after you?” Alexander finished.

  “Yeah. Damn. You should be a detective.”

  “How about this?” Alexander crossed his arms. “I’ll keep the criminal scum from hounding you in exchange for you translating the book?”

  “I, I guess that could work.” Ollie frowned. “Will you…. Will you stay here? I need some time to figure out how to deal with Stoker, and, and I’ll find a way to make the translating work, okay?”

  “Okay. I’ll put new wards up, and if anyone is stupid enough to come back, I’ll—”

  “Where are you gonna sleep?”

  “What?”

  Ollie scratched his head. “My bed is kinda small, but I guess we could share—”

  “Your couch is fine.” Alexander blushed miserably. He could not handle the mere thought of being anywhere near a bed with Ollie right now. He had to be going insane. That’s all it was. “Once it’s cleaned up, of course.”

  You should take better care of your home, Ollie. It’s quite a mess.

  “I know.” Ollie sighed. “It’s so damn bad. I just never have the energy, and I’ve been really depressed. Like, forever depressed. I died a little, my ex is getting married… it’s been a whole thing.”

  Alexander had the inexplicable desire to reach out for Ollie. It was obvious he was upset, and Alexander wanted to feel his arms around him again. He stayed where he was, taking a step back for good measure, as if the distance would quell the urge.

  So, you’re single?

  “Rota!” Alexander barked, angrily chanting inside his head, Shut up, shut up, shut up!

  “Yeah. Duh.” Ollie snorted and slurped more of his wine. He swayed and leaned against the counter, eyeing where Rota was hovering behind Alexander. He grinned. “Okay, wait. Are you hitting on me?”

  I believe we are, yes. We’re not very good at it, but we’re making an effort.

  “No, we’re not!” Alexander gritted his teeth. “Hey! You look good and drunk. Book. Now.”

  Say please.

  “Please,” Alexander hissed.

  “Okay, okay, sure thing.” Ollie was still grinning. “You know, if you were hitting on me, I would have to tell you—”

  A portal opened up and a hand slid through, snatching Ollie so fast that he dropped his wine. The glass hit the ground, shattering as the portal closed.

  Just like that, Ollie was gone.

  Chapter 3.

  “SHIT!” ALEXANDER quickly reached into the air where the portal closed, feeling around with Rota’s tentacles.

  Oh no! I’m so sorry! We should have put up the wards—

  “You think?” Alexander snarled. “You were too busy trying to flirt with him!”

  But you’re very attracted to him, and he would be a suitable vessel!

  “Don’t you think I already know that? You’re making this weird!” Alexander tried to focus on finding the trail of the portal. It was like having a hair stuck on his tongue, slippery and just out of reach.

  I believe he would be receptive to a proposition. He said you were “cute.”

  “Oh sure! Yeah! That would go great! Let me borrow your body for a minute to have sex with my boyfriend for the first time! Not weird at all!”

  Certainly we would request more than a minute?

  “Rota!” Alexander snapped. “Help me focus!”

  I’m sorry!

  Alexander pointed his finger, twirling it in the air to guide the end of Rota’s tentacle. He kept spinning in a circle, finger and tentacle together, sensing the trail and making the circle smaller and smaller until—there!

  He grabbed the trail and pulled, popping through the path of the portal.

  They were now standing in an old theater. No, it used to be a theater, but it had been turned into a strip club. The stage had a catwalk with a pole, and there was a bar with neons. Large carved murals of sea creatures and tentacles were posed above the stage, but they were faded and cracked.

  The place looked like it had been through hell.

  Standing before them with a very curious expression was a man with graying hair and sharp blue eyes. He was wearing a black suit, was irritatingly handsome, and he reeked of old magic, though Alexander couldn’t immediately discern what he was.

  He doubted he was human.

  Nathaniel, the man from before, was cowering behind him. “That’s him! That’s the guy!”

  “This is the one who gave you so much trouble?” The gray-haired man did not appear impressed.

  No sign of Ollie, but I sense another portal.

  Find it, Alexander directed inside his head. He focused on the two men. “You took something of mine, and I want it back. Now.”

  “My apologies.” The gray-haired man tipped his head. “I’m Sullivan Stoker. That ‘something’ owes me a lot of money, and he’s been very difficult to get in contact with.” He stared Alexander down, his eyes narrowing.

  Alexander could feel the press of a powerful perception spell. He didn’t care that Stoker was trying to figure out what he was or that he was able to cast without speaking or using his hands. It vastly decreased the chances that Stoker was human, but Alexander wasn’t worried.

  “You….” Stoker seemed curious. “Are very interesting.”

  “What I am is pissed off,” Alexander said. “Return Ollie right now.”

  “Oh? And if I don’t?”

  Alexander remained motionless, using his thoughts to send out a wave of magic that rattled the entire building and cracked the bar down the middle. Glasses fell off the shelves and shattered, the stage groaned as the wood warped, and a fresh cloud of dust rained down from the shifting rafters.

  He enjoyed seeing Stoker flinch in surprise.

  He assumed it didn’t happen often.

  Nathaniel scrambled to duck back behind Stoker, as if he could hide from all the commotion.

  I already found the portal, but it doesn’t make any sense. The trail leads here.

  What? Alexander used his thoughts to reply, but he kept his gaze on Stoker.

  The portal leads right here to this building. It doesn’t seem to lead into another world, but it does.

  I don’t understand.

  Watch out, Rota warned. Stoker is casting something.

  “Well, that was adorable.” Stoker’s eyes flickered. “My turn.”

  Rota. Alexander tensed.

  With Alexander’s psychic guidance, Rota brought his tentacles up in a dense shield. I’ve got you, my love. I’ve got—

  The magic that hit Rota’s tentacles was focused, controlled, and very powerful. It blew back Alexander’s hair and whipped his coat around, and he had to take a step back to steady himself as he rode out the blast. Yes, it was strong, but this couldn’t be everything. He raised his arm to block his eyes and thought urgently, Something’s wrong!

  What?

  This doesn’t feel right. He’s obviously stronger than this. If he wanted to show off—

  Portal, portal, portal! Rota screamed in alarm.

  Alexander became aware Stoker had magically appeared right behind him, and he’d cast a portal, no doubt about to drag Alexander right through it. Fields! We’re taking him to the fields!

  Got it!

  Just as Stoker grabbed Alexander’s shoulder, Alexander whipped several of Rota’s tentacles around his wrist and pulled him forward. He opened a portal of his own in the floor, letting himself and Stoker fall forward right into it.

  Rota released Stoker and wrapped himself all around Alexander to protect him and slow his fall as they dropped to the ground of the new world. Because Rota was invisible, it appeared as if Alexander was simply floating down and landing gracefully on his feet.

  The fields was what they called one of the worlds they’d discovered several years ago when they first learned how to portal together. Pocket dimensions like this one existed in between the realm of earth, Aeon, the home of the gods, Zebulon, and the bridge that connected them, Xenon. Most had been created by the gods as sacred places of worship, though it was unclear what they would have done here, as it was nothing but a giant field of dead grass.