Page 33 of Blood and Bone
“Yeah, I’m fine, Eoghan. Do your thing.” He widened his eyes, silently hinting that he hoped he’d make it fast.
Eoghan got the hint because he gave an almost imperceptible nod and then grinned, walking off to the restrooms.
Ari turned to look back at the woman behind the counter. He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Ahem. So…a…cephalopod,huh?”
She grinned. “That’sss right.” She batted her eyelids flirtatiously. “Do you like sssea creaturesss?”
“Ah,yeah, I like them just fine. In fact, sushi is—” He stopped himself as if realizing that he’d just fucked up royally when her alien eyes flashed a startling neon green. “…is one of the most tragic things out there,” he rushed to say, dissembling quickly. The green faded a bit as he shrugged, forcing himself to lean an elbow on the counter. “I mean, can you believe people actually eat that shit—I mean sea creatures?”
“It’sss tragic,” she said.
“It really is.” He drummed his fingers on the counter, staring at her. “I mean, I’m a huge believer in cuttlefish culture.”
“What do you know about cuttlefisssh culture?” she asked.
“Ah—” He straightened up, darting a glance at the back of the store and wondering how fucking long it took to pee. “Not enough. I don’t know nearly enough about cuttlefish culture.”
She nodded, as if in agreement.
“Now, Octopussy,” he babbled on. “That was a great movie.” He glanced at the back of the store again before turning back to the creature who was watching him closely. He grinned. “You gotta love that James Bond.”
“Jamesss Bond?” she asked.
“Yeah, you know, I thought it was terrible when that creepy bitch used ringed octopus venom to kill that guy.” Heheard the door in the back open and shut as her eyes flashed neon green again. When he spotted Eoghan coming back, he almost fainted with relief.
“Octopusss venom?” she asked, opening her mouth. For the first time, Ari noticed a black beak-like thing sitting within her mouth. Her pale skin had now turned yellow, and it was covered with neon blue and black rings. He gasped and stepped back.
“So, you ready to head out?” Eoghan asked, sauntering up to the counter, and putting a cold Monster drink down on the glass. He was smiling but the moment he spotted the way Ari’s mouth was hanging open and then turned to look at Kaycee, he went pale. He grabbed Ari’s arm and turned. “Ah, see you later, Kaycee,” he said, dragging him bodily to the door as the woman behind the counter began making some sort of wet, squishing sound. “What the fuck did you say to her?” he practically shouted as he slammed a hand onto the glass door, smashing it open with a crash and dragging Ari out into the parking lot. They broke into a run, charging at the car as a high-pitched, inhuman squealing began behind them.
Ari watched in horror as Eoghan fumbled with the key fob, unlocking the doors just as a man with bright red hair came charging around the building. They jumped into the car, slamming the doors even as Eoghan started the car and tore out of the lot. Ari twisted to look behind them and spotted something coming across the lot after them. He blinked rapidly, almost a hundred percent sure that the creature had eight arms and was half running and half gliding over the asphalt, moving faster than he could imagine as it chased them, tentacles flailing.
Eoghan gunned the engine, leaving the truck stop in the dust behind them, and only then, did Ari breathe out a sigh of relief and turn back around. He pulled on his seat belt andglanced over at Eoghan who was speeding down the road, darting glances between the windshield in front of them and the rearview mirror. Only when they were finally back on the freeway, headed toward the motel his partner had in mind, did Ari allow himself to let out a shuddering sigh and put a hand on Eoghan’s knee.
“I’m so fucking sorry, Eoghan,” he said meekly.
“What in the hell did you say to her?” Eoghan asked, clearly exasperated.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I swear all I did was try to make small talk. One thing led to another and all of a sudden, we were talking about cuttlefish culture.”
“Cuttlefish culture,” Eoghan repeated, deadpan. “What do you know about that?”
“As it turns out, not a hell of a lot,” Ari muttered, looking sheepish.
“Then why’d you fucking do it?”
Ari bit his lip, trying not to laugh at his tone. He shrugged. “Honestly, it all started out fine until she asked me if I liked things from the sea. I mentioned something about sushi which led to a discussion about octopi and James Bond and then everything just went tits up.”
“James Bond?” Eoghan asked. “How’d that come up?”
Ari shrugged again. “I don’t know. One thing led to another. Who knew mentioning some bitch killing a guy with ringed octopus venom would set her off like that?”
Eoghan made a choking sound, and Ari felt terrible. When Eoghan didn’t say anything, he glanced over to find him holding one hand on the steering wheel with the other firmly clamped over his mouth. Shoulders shaking, Ari realized he was silently laughing.
“What? Are you laughing or crying?”
Eoghan burst out laughing, unable to contain his mirth any longer as Ari sat there with his mouth hanging open and feeling more and more stupid with every second that passed as he roared with laughter. When he was finally gasping in breath and wiping away tears, Ari spoke up.
“I hope you had a great laugh. We were almost killed back there. What’s so fucking funny, Eoghan? Did you know she has a damned black beak in her mouth?”