Chapter 4

4

R oni stepped into the warm pub and removed her jacket, draping it comfortably over one arm. Heading toward the bar, she smiled at Jackson—the pub's gorgeous Irish landlord currently dressed as a zombie—who waved in greeting.

"Hey, Roni!"

"Jackson," she replied, then nodded to Olivia and Theo who were standing beside the bar. "Hey." She glanced down at their costumes.

Theo had on jeans and sneakers with a red hoodie. Strapped to his front was Logan in his baby carrier. The carrier had bicycle handlebars sticking out on either side and was made to look like a basket, and Logan was wrapped up in a white sheet like E.T.

Olivia wore a blue and white gingham dress, her midnight hair drawn back in pigtails. Glittery ruby shoes were on her feet and, in her arms, nestled happily with her sippy cup, was Theia, dressed up as Toto in a little furry onesie.

"You guys look adorable."

"No costume?" Olivia sipped her wine and glanced down at Roni's tidy pencil skirt and heels.

"I haven't had time." She shook her head. "I've only just left the museum. Work's been insane today, and I don't meanjust busy. I mean, Halloween's brought out all the crazies. I had a woman in, really pretty, said her name was Belle and kept insisting I tell her where the library was. Then some weird guy by the name of Dick, who was apparently off to London to, and I quote"—she raised her fingers and curled them —"‘seek his fortune because the streets are paved with gold'. Then we had an outbreak of mice who kept milling around and bumping into things, like they couldn't see."

"Sounds like a handful," Olivia replied thoughtfully.

"You're telling me." Roni shook her head. "Anyway, I thought I'd just stick my head in and see if Jake was here before I head home to change."

"I haven't seen him all day." Olivia turned to her husband. "Theo?"

"I spoke to him earlier today." He set his beer down on the counter. "He and Mac were heading out on a call, but I haven't heard anything since."

"That's weird." Roni frowned. "He's not answering his cell, and that's not like him."

Olivia thought for a moment. "Speaking of weird, something strange happened earlier at the pumpkin patch."

"Oh?" Roni replied curiously.

"There was an enormous pumpkin. Literally, Cinderella's-carriage-size pumpkin."

"Wow." Roni blinked. "I didn't think Mr. Lambert had managed to grow anything that big. I heard he lost out to Mr. Sykes at the county fair for biggest pumpkin, so I'd hate to imagine how big Mr. Sykes' pumpkin was."

"Except that it didn't start out that big."

"Huh?"

"It grew," Theo chimed in. "Started off about the same size as the others, but it grew right before our eyes, like an inflating balloon. Then it exploded glitter and pumpkin guts everywhere."

"And that's when it got really weird," Olivia murmured.

"Weirder than a giant exploding pumpkin the size of Cinderella's carriage?"

Theo and Olivia both nodded.

"A trail of footprints appeared," Olivia continued. "We followed them to the barn and found a bizarre naked little man."

"Sorry?" Roni repeated. "Naked?"

"He was um… short, like only a few feet tall, but really plump and hairy, and … naked…with pointy ears."

"What did you do?" Roni asked in confusion.

"Nothing." Theo shook his head. "He dove at the wall and just"—he mimed a small poof with his hands—"disappeared."

"Disappeared?" Roni repeated. Oliviashrugged. "Any idea who he was? Or should I say, what he was?"

"None." Olivia frowned. "I mean, I did have a quick glance through the library after we got home and cleaned up. Closest thing I could find was a hobgoblin, but they're just fairy tales… myths."

"What? Like Hades is a myth?"

"Did I hear my name?" a smooth, cultured voice said behind them.

Olivia turned to find the handsome and enigmatic God of the Underworld leaning against the bar, wearing, as usual, one of his impeccable Savile Row suits, his shiny black hair glowing blue in the muted light.

Her eyes widened in surprise. It wasn't like Hades to be this brazen; the pub was packed with people.

"Hades?" she said dryly. "What are you doing here?"

"It's nice to see you too, Olivia." The corner of his mouth curved. "Theo." He nodded in greeting. "Ms. Mason."

"Hello, Hades," Theo replied easily. "Would you like a drink?"

"Thank you." Hades lifted a brow in Olivia's direction. "At least your husband has some manners. You're turning out to be as cantankerous as I am, Olivia."

"That's probably why we get along so well," she muttered.

"Hades." Jackson sauntered over easily and slid a glass of fine aged whiskey across the counter. "That's the best I have, don't serve it to just anyone." He winked.

Hades lifted the glass and took a slow sip, then nodded in approval. "I like the Irishman," he declared.

"Hades," Olivia replied, "I'm really not trying to be rude, but what are you doing here? It's one thing to drop by unannounced at the house, but we're in public. This place is packed with regular people who know nothing about you and the Underworld."

"Oh, please," he snorted as he lifted the glass to his lips and drank deeply. "It's Samhain. Anything out of the ordinary they'll just assume is a costume. They wouldn't know what's real if it jumped up and bit them on the nose."

He was right, of course. Olivia watched a gray ghost materialize through the wall.

He took one look at the pub filled with customers in ridiculous costumes, then shook his head in disgust and disappeared back through the wall.

Ever since Jackson's pub had become the most haunted pub in the whole of the United States—and, well, probably the world, since there was no longer a veil between life and death within its boundaries—the place had been crawling with spirits.

Although a select few knew the absolute truth and some of the more hardcore residents of Mercy had accepted the unprecedented level of paranormal activity, the rest were convinced it was all an elaborate hoax. They seemed certain that Jackson was putting on some kind of fake light show with hidden projectors, but for the life of them they couldn't explain how he was doing it.

Jackson thought it was hilarious.

"So, I guess you have a reason for being topside." Olivia lifted her glass and sipped her wine.

"I just thought I'd pay a visit." Hades clicked his fingers and a rather ornate rattle made up of a silver handle wrapped around a delicate crystal ball appeared between his fingers.

He presented it with a flourish to Theia, whosmiled as she abandoned her sippy cup and reached out with chubby fingers. She took the rattle carefully and stared at it. Instead of shaking it to produce a sound, she held it up like a mirror, and the transparent crystal ball filled with a swirling dove-gray mist. For a moment, Olivia thought she saw strange images flickering in the smoke.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Olivia frowned. "Glass and babies don't mix."

"Don't worry, Olivia," Hades replied absently, a little distracted as he observed the small child with the rattle. "It won't break, and she knows what to do with it."

"What do you mean?"

Hades waved away her concern and straightened. "The truth is, something about Mercy feels… off, more so than usual." He glanced around the packed pub and his eyes fell on two womenseated at the bar toward the end of the bar.

He stepped closer, his eyes narrowing.

They were both blonde and incredibly beautiful, but one had her head planted on the counter as she snored loudly, her arms folded under her face. One of the fingers on her left hand was bandaged tightly and was marred with asmall bloodstain at the tip.

The other woman had her hand wrapped firmly around her glass as she drained it thoroughly then gave out a loud hiccup. There were several empty wine bottles lined up in front of her. She was murmuring to herself, and in her other hand, she held on tightly to what looked like a glass shoe.

They all inched closer to hear what she was saying.

"You're just no fun anymore." She looked down at her companion. "Ever since you pricked your stupid finger on that spinning wheel."

She nudged her semi-conscious friend sharply, causing her to sit up abruptly and blink.

"Sorry." She yawned and wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth. "Must've dozed off. What were you saying?"

"I was saying," the glass slipper toting drunk slurred, waving said shoe about for emphasis, "that it's just not fair. They're so mean to me. I mean… Why me? Why do I have to do everything? Why can't we just get a maid service like normal people? I don't even like cleaning."

"You should just tell them no." Her friend yawned again sleepily. "I mean, your stepmother's a total bitc—" Her head once again dropped onto her arms.

"This was not how I saw my life." The other woman grabbed the wine bottle and refilled her glass, not noticing that her friend was snoring face-first against the bartop. "I had plans, big plans, but no one asked me what I wanted. They were just like, fix this, mend that, clean this, cook that. What a bunch of fuc?—"

"Bitch." Her friend sat bolt upright, blinking her eyes rapidly to stay awake. "So are your stepsisters. Why do you take their crap? I mean you could just leav—" Her head dropped with a thud again and she was back to snoring, not very daintily.

"I could just leave," the other slurred as if the thought had only just occurred to her. She lifted her glass and downed it without finesse.

"Pardon me," Hades interrupted. "I couldn't help but overhear your predicament. Your name wouldn't happen to be Cinderella, by any chance?"

"Did he just say Cinderella?" Roni whispered to Olivia.

"Shush," she hushed her friend, watching the scene unravel in front of them in fascination.

"How did you know?" The woman's appreciative glance slid up and down Hades' body before landing on his handsome face. "Are you here to rescue me? Are you my prince?"

"Far from it." He snorted. "How did you get here?" he asked in curiosity. "To the mortal world?"

"The what?" She belched loudly and screwed up her face in confusion. "I don't know what you're talking about. I was lying on the floor in front of the fire in the kitchen, just minding my own business and trying to keep warm, and then the next thing I know, I'm here." She waved the hand holding her shoe around the pub.

"And your friend?"

"Aurora," she told him. "I don't know, she sleeps a lot. It's hard to have a conversation with her."

"Sleeping Beauty?"

"If you like that sort of thing." She scoffed and slid off the stool and pressed up against Hades, swaying drunkenly until he was forced to wrap his arms around her to keep her from ending up in a heap on the floor. "Don't you think I'm prettier than her?" She attempted a coy flutter of her eyelashes, but it just made her look like an intoxicated barn owl.

"Um." Hades tried to extricate himself from her. "I'm sure you're very attractive."

"Don't you want to run away with me?" She smiled up at him. "We could live in your castle."

"I don't have a castle." He pushed her back slightly, but she was like an octopus.

"We could live anywhere you want," she crooned and rubbed up against him.

"I live in a demonic hell pit thousands of miles below the earth." He removed her hands as they slipped under his jacket. "It would never work out."

"I don't mind a little heat." Her hands snaked down and squeezed his ass.

"Madam! Do you mind!" he replied indignantly. He pushed her back down onto her bar stool.

"I'd stay where you are, sweetheart." Olivia stopped Cinderellaas she tried to reach for him again. "Trust me, you don't want to cross his wife. Persephone is not known for her patience."

"Arghhhhhh. Why are all the good ones married?" she howled, then folded her arms on the counter, burying her face and wailing loudly enough for several people to stop and stare.

Hades flushed as he smoothed his suit.

"What's going on, Hades?" Olivia asked, both concerned and amused at his obvious embarrassment. "She's not actually the real Cinderella, is she?"

"I'm afraid she might be," Hades mused. "I'm not sure what's going on, but there's old magic at work here. The whole town reeks of it."

"Here." Theo reached for his daughter. "I'll take Theia and Logan upstairs. Shelley should be settling Miller down about now, and she did say earlier that she didn't mind watching them for us this evening. I have a feeling we're going to end up with a bit of a mess on our hands."

"You might be right." Olivia sighed and kissed her son before handing his sister over. "Would one night off from supernatural crises really be too much to ask?"

Theo gave a sympathetic smile, then leaned in and dropped a kiss on her lips. "I won't be long."

"Hey, honey." A squeaky young-sounding voice from behind Roni and Olivia had them turning around, but they couldn't see anything. "Down here," the voice added.

Standing in front of them was a small wooden puppet with hinged joints. He was a couple feet tall and wearing a feathered cap and a trench coat. "You want me to tell you I love you and want a commitment?" He grinned. "My nose isn't the only thing that grows when I lie." Then the puppet whipped his coat open and flashed them both.

Olivia's mouth fell open in shock and Roni's eyes widened in complete disbelief.

"Hey!" the puppet squeaked as he found himself scooped off the ground and held, legs dangling, by the scruff of his neck.

Hades glared at him dangerously as his hair burst into blue flames.

"Whoa!" The puppet held up his hands. "Ease up, big guy! Some of us are flammable."

They all turned their gazes as the main door to the pub burst open with a loud crash. A huge man stoodin the threshold. He wore baggy harem pants and curved silken shoes. A sash of crimson was tied at his waist beneath an elaborately embroidered waistcoat that was open to expose bare,golden skin and a very hairychest. His hair was concealed beneath a rich silken turban and his black beard and mustache covered most of his face. In one hand he held a huge, wickedly curved scimitar and when he grinned, it was to reveal teeth punctuated with gold.

"I am Ali Baba!" he proclaimed. "My men and Ihave come for your women and your gold! HA HA HA!"

The patrons of the pub roared with laughter and broke out into a loud round of applause.

"I don't think they're taking this very seriously," Hades murmured, still clutching the puppet in his fist.

As Ali Baba threw his head back and laughedmaniacally, the sound of smashing glass filled the air. Dozens of thickly muscled men dressed and armed just like Ali Baba came crashing through the pub windows, and several more swarmed through the door.

"Damn it,"Jackson swore throwing a glance at Hades. "There go my insurance premiums again."

"Don't look at me," Hades replied mildly. "They're not mine."

Theo appeared at Olivia's side, slightly wide-eyed as he surveyed the chaos. "I heard the commotion and ran down. What's going on?"

"Ali Baba decided to crash the party," Roni told him.

"Who are the others?" he asked in confusion.

"Those would be his forty thieves." Olivia sighed.

"Forty thieves?" Theo repeated slowly.

"Forty thieves," Roni confirmed with a sigh that matched Olivia's. "Where the hell's Jake when you need him?"