Squid rubbed the back of her neck, her face blank. She looked up at Cerberus who seemed to have a three way conversation with himself. No doubt debating whether or not to bite Maorrighan. Each head, she remembered, had a distinctive personality, but it was the one in the middle who was more or less the one in charge. The most level headed. The one who took no bullshit from the other two and was quite an effective guardian to the undead. No doubt Middle [they didn’t exactly have individual names or nicknames as they consider themselves one entity] didn’t care to get the revenge for what Maorrighan did. In a way, it had been justified and he could’ve done a lot worse. Seriously.

“If you’re still peeved about him setting your tail on fire, he only did that because you–”

“I don’t need reminding,” they growled. Ah, it was Righty.

Someone was snippy. They were lucky she didn’t have a rolled up magazine. “He doesn’t like you either so I suppose the two of your are even.” She went over to the passenger side. Squid was not allowed to drive. It was not only the rule of the car, but unspoken within the nonhuman community. She was a shit driver. Then again, Maorrighan had said whatever it takes. The light was going to turn green anyway. And besides, it had only been a ghost. Definitely. Most likely. Possibly. … well, it was a ghost now.

“What did you find out?” Middle spoke. “What made Morgan,” a nickname of Morrighan, “seek you out? He usually sends a fey or a sprite. Occasionally a hobgoblin.” See? Middle was the best out of the three heads.

“The Old Woman,” she said softly, her eyes darkening. “No matter, it’s merely rumor. Nothing to worry about.” She would have to make it that ways. If the Old Woman were ever to truly awake or the curse lifted from her tomb… Squid knew that no one had a chance. She wanted to rule over all: human, nonhuman, mortal, immortal. She believed the world was hers by right. There had been only one strong enough to rival her. And no, it wasn’t Squid. Her eyes flickered to Cerberus as she slid inside.

Cerberus appeared to not believe her but still gently closed the car door after her. They were, if anything, a gentleman. She closed her eyes, taking quiet breaths as she began to mediate. They had long ride to where they needed to go. Better to build up reserves now. It took a lot to deal with old bi- haaag. Grumpy, hateful, greedy hag that she was.

~ ~ ~

“Hello Grandmother,” Squid crossed her arms as a warm, elderly woman hobbled into the store. The wrinkles were soft and alluded to having a happy life. The smell of chocolate chip cookies and cinnamon hot chocolate wafted from whatever hovel was hiding behind the Employees Only sign. Cerberus remained by the door, waiting to be acknowledged by the elderly sorceress.

“Squid, Quid. Quail,” the old woman nodded, her eyes light and highly intelligent. “It’s been several months since you came to visit! Tell me, how did it go with that troll? I heard from my poker group you got slammed into the wall!” There was a sound of glee as she smiled brighter. “Tell me, was it only the one wall?”

“Two,” Squid shrugged. “But it’s nothing compared with what I’ve heard.”

“Mere rumors. No doubt the biddies are jealous of my beauty and treasures!”

Squid sighed. She knew that the old woman appearance was just an illusion. “Yes, yes, you vain crone. Now, are you going to be of actual use or do I need go see Grandfather?”

“If you can find him,” she shrugged. “What? He pissed me off and I vanquished him to mother’s house. Great Grandmother to you.”

“Dragon Witch?”

“She prefers you call her Great Grandmother,” the woman shook off her glamour. Once, Grandmother had been an advisor to an Emperor [ and rallied his troops… only to usurp him and become sole Empress. No one from his harem actually missed him. He had been a shitty, tyrannical ruler. Grandmother… had only been slightly better. She had frightened off the noble lords and ladies and all but ensured her downfall after saying, “Fuck the rich. Their money is my money. Their land is mine. In fact, hey, let’s take all their possessions and give them to me.” Only the commoners hadn’t really been affected by the change of royalty. But there had been less taxes.

Of course, Grandmother’s appetite for food, especially fish, was insatiable. After two decades, she was ousted and replaced by a human. But it was all in the past. Great Grandmother was a much more fearsome figure as she had caused the rise and fall of many empires and kingdoms. It was believed she helped push forth mankind into the forward direction as they tended to go backwards and stagnate.

“I recommend stopping by the Obscure Bookstore. He’s mouthy for a human,” Grandmother smiled brightly. “He’s interesting. For a human. I believe a siren and a goblin work for him.” She reached out a hand and gently held one of her beanie’s tentacles. “There is a spellbook in his hidden safe. He will not ask money for it. But, he will give you a hard time. Don’t take it personally.” She released the tentacle. She pulled Squid to her and wrapped her arm around her. Squid remained still. She bent her head down and whispered something in her ear.

Squid closed her eyes.

Grandmother always knew just what to say. She would remember it.

~ ~ ~

Better not dwell. There wasn’t anything she could do now. No, now she had to think of plan – set up precautions, alert packs, tribes, covens… It didn’t really matter at this point. She slid into the driver’s seat, Cerberus giving her an incredulous look. They remained in front of the vehicle, arms cross and huffing.

“Get in or I run you over!” she promised, pointing to the seat next to her. “You drive like Maorrighan. And he’s a shitty driver.”

[It should be noted that Maorrighan doesn’t drive cars but rides motorcycles and he has an absolutely clean record. He follows traffic rules and laws and signs and lights. He does not, unlike a certain someone, drive with reckless abandon.]

They eventually gave in, the standoff not really worth it, and slid into the passenger side. They tightened the seat belt and braced themselves. Squid rolled her eyes. They were exaggerating. She peeled into traffic going eighty miles and hour. Speed limit: 45. Squid didn’t have road rage as she weaved through traffic, honking at the ghost she ran through last time. (Pretty sure was ghost!)

Cerberus, she turned her head to see, looked… a little pale. His eyes kept flashing, no doubt all three heads not sure how to react.

“WATCH THE ROAD!” they roared as she was barely able to evade a pig demon. The woman threw her hands up in the air.

“YOU LET HER DRIVE?!” the woman was heard shouting behind them.

Squid brushed it off. “See? She’s fine,” she rolled her eyes. “Hog and pig demons are indestructible. I don’t see why she’s complaining.”

They only huffed, barely able to glare at her.

The only reason she had been allowed to drive was because she knew exactly where the bookstore was. It seemed to change location whenever someone needed it. But the owner was never aware. Never seemed to notice. More than once she had wondered if Barrowstone was a ghost.

She slammed on her breaks when they finally reached the bookstore. It was a simple shop. It functioned in both the human and nonhuman world. He catered to both, although some sections were bespelled that would make humans decide they didn’t want to go there. Barrowstone, better known as EJ, was a human with a foul temper, a hatred for anything social and despised dealing with idiotic customers. Her eyes flickered to the sign.

 

Obscure Bookstore

 

It would surprise her if he was just to stubborn to die and decided that he wouldn’t and so became some sort of undead but totally living human or zombie depending on the perception or belief of life, death and all in between. There was something different about him. Not many humans could function as he did without becoming overly stressed or… well, somewhat insane? Perceived as insane, at least.

Three sirens sounded behind them. She sighed and rested her hands on the wheel, looking over at Cerberus once more. the door had been opened and half his body was handing out. Either he had thrown up, was attempting to or… he had passed out trying to get out while still wearing the seat belt. The nonhuman officer [wait, detective] stopped next to the window and let out a groan. “Seriously? He let you drive?”

“He let me nothing,” she shrugged. “He didn’t know the way and I did.” And I wasn’t going to tell him, was totally left understand but completely understood.

The detective was not amused. “You know, we’re all dealing with enough shit from internal business, Grand Inquisitor and the one indifferent witch who consistently makes me work overtime.” His eyes were two distinct colors, one purple and the other amber. There was a slight elegance to him that always reminded her of those tall birds. His dark brown hair was iridescent in the moonlight, marking him as part harpie. Iridescent hair was once signified of a specific type of harpie that had nearly died out. They were hunted for their feathers and prized as pets (showing off a human’s status usually). No doubt his father was less than pleased that he’d become a detective.

“Tell Maorrighan I said your welcome,” she replied.

The detective glared at her. “If you weren’t my godmother–” instead, he stopped, closed his eyes and summoned one of the officers to him.

 

It was not surprising she received a speeding ticket. It was not surprising Cerberus been slapped with a fine. What was surprising was seeing Sire standing outside of the bookstore with a rolled up newspaper. And an unamused human on crutches. “No. No. No. No. Go away. And take that dog with you! I am not getting involved with you Otherworlders! I’ve had enough! Go! Scat! Shoo! Don’t you fucking dare, Squid!”