Chapter 9

The day had finally come to an end and Keyx was ready to eat and then sleep. But Marcus had decided instead to drag him to some place called Mythos. “So, what exactly is Mythos?”

“To the outside world, it’s an ultra-exclusive club where even the well-to-do in Los Angeles rarely get in. To all of us, it’s a place for employees, Mythics, and a few privileged others, to be able to unwind and relax. We know it’s a safe place where violence is forbidden and we can talk openly,” Marcus explained as they climbed out of his car.

“Are the average, every day non-employee people ever allowed in?”

“Only if they’re guests of a Mythic. Even then they tend to not remember much more than just being here, courtesy of the Mythic bouncers. Speaking of, Keyx meet Samyael. Sam, meet Keyx Sarris, my newest investigator.”

Sam stood up from his stool and smiled as he said, “Nice to meet you. Welcome to Mythos!”

Keyx was immediately struck by how tall Sam was and then by the fact that his eyes were solid black. “Thank you,” Keyx stumbled as he took hold of Sam’s hand and shook it.

Sam smiled at him. “Most of the bouncers here are Daemoni from Ikisat. We’re all marked by this tattoo,” Sam explained, showing Keyx the intricate symbol tattoo that was on his bald head.

“Daemoni?”

“Yeah, my Prince made a deal with Darius to protect Mythos,” Sam explained. Then he saw something odd.

“Hey, is Kira here yet?” Marcus asked, moving on to a topic he much preferred.

“Yup, she’s in the club, with Thea of course.” Before they could enter the club, Sam touched Marcus’ arm and asked, “Hey are you alright? For a moment there I thought I saw a color shift in your aura from that of a human to something that wasn’t.”

“I’m fine! Are you sure you saw a shift in my aura? Maybe it was the Mythics behind us?”

“That’s probably it. I’m probably seeing things since I need a break anyways. Have fun inside!”

“Kewl. Come on Keyx, I want you to meet my lady,” Marcus said excitedly as he led Keyx inside.

“It was nice to meet you, Sam,” Keyx smiled at Sam as he followed Marcus, pausing to let his eyes adjust to the dim lights.

“The restaurant here is top notch. Because of their diverse clientele they literally serve everything and anything. Their menu changes weekly but you can always order off the menu if you have something you’re craving.”

“Really? Kewl!”

“If you get on Liam’s good side he’ll even allow your meals to be delivered.”

“Liam?”

“He and his wife, Lilith, own and manage Mythos. Liam is an interesting character. He was rescued from the Fae as a child. He’s been with the Corporation ever since.”

“Sure have been. I have the distinction of being the second youngest recruit ever, the youngest if you don’t count Thea,” a man with dirty blonde hair, brown eyes, and a slight Irish accent said with a smile as he walked up. “Liam James. You must be the newest member of Marcus’ team, Keyx Sarris.”

“I am. It’s nice to meet you,” Keyx replied with a smile of his own as he shook Liam’s offered hand.

“The girls are on the dance floor. I’m headed to the bar, what can I get you two?”

“Whatever good beer you have on tap, thanks!” Keyx answered quickly.

“Make it two,” added Marcus.

“I’ll send them over,” Liam nodded as he headed off.

Marcus eyed the crowd on the dance floor and after spotting Kira and Thea he said, “There they are. Kira is the redhead with the purple stripe. She’s a Documenter."

“I don’t remember Thea being so tiny earlier,” Keyx muttered, half to himself.

Marcus snorted and said with a laugh, “Man, do NOT let her hear you refer to her like that. She’ll kick your ass.”

“Ok, then, I don’t remember her being so petite,” Keyx rephrased.

Marcus laughed. “Thea may be petite in stature but she’s big in personality. Kira and Thea together can definitely make a night interesting.”

As they headed over, Keyx couldn’t help but appreciate how beautiful Thea was. Even with her high-heeled boots, she was barely over five foot with silky long pink hair that sat just above her delectable backside. She was petite and curvy with a smile that lit up the room.

Coming up behind Kira, Marcus wrapped his arms around her waist and planted a kiss on her neck. “Hey, beautiful!”

“Hello, handsome! Who’s your friend?” Kira asked with a smile as she looked over Keyx.

“Keyx Sarris, meet my girl here, Kira Brown,” Marcus introduced with a smile.

“Welcome to the asylum. I hear you already met Thea,” Kira smiled at him.

“I did. I originally met her at the airport where her neon suitcase got stuck on the conveyor."

"You still have those ugly bright bags?" Kira asked, horrified.

Thea laughed, "Sure do and your reaction matches Glen's. But you know what, I've never had a bag go missing in all my travels unless I'm not using those bags. Besides, they match my hair.”

"Because no one, including airport staff, wants those bags around long!" Kira teased. "Your hair on the other hand, I’ll always be envious of that color! Anyway, it’s nice to meet the new guy.”

“In many ways peeps here are sequestered from the rest of the city and world. This makes us all gossipy teenage girls. So, when we hear of someone new joining our ranks, well, it spreads like wildfire,” Thea explained with a smile.

“Ahhh.”

“But don’t worry, the nature of this life is the fact that something crazy happens regularly,” Thea reassured him. “We’ve all been the talk of the town at least once.”

“Ain’t that the truth! And if you’re Thea, you're always part of the talk.” Kira teased. "What is it that Glen says? Oh yes! If Thea isn't part of your story then it's probably a boring story."

Thea stuck her tongue out at her friend just as Ajax walked up and handed beers to Keyx and Marcus. As he draped his arm over Thea's shoulder, he said to Keyx, “Welcome to Mythos.”

Taking Ajax’s offered hand, he replied, “Thank you. Keyx.”

“Ajax, resident werewolf and bartender. Thea, my love, Liam wants to know if you want to try a new appetizer he’s come up with?”

"Sure thing. And can you get us another round?” Thea requested.

"You got it, gorgeous!" Ajax replied as he headed back to the bar after placing a kiss on her cheek.

Just then, over the crowd and music, a voice very loudly bellowed out, “Where the hell is my favorite dance partner? She comes back into town and never even bothers to say hi to me.”

“Oh geez!” Thea groaned as she tried to hide behind Keyx and Marcus.

Kira started to laugh wickedly as she said to Keyx, “Be prepared... oh never mind you can’t prepare for Danyael.”

“Danyael?”

“A Daemoni from Ikisat but a bit more... well, you’ll see, here he comes now,” Marcus chuckled, as he watched Thea try to make herself even smaller than she already was.

“Theanna Daniels! There you are! Girlfriend, I’m hurt. You come back into town and don’t even say hi,” Danyael pouted with a flamboyant flair.

“I got back yesterday, Danni, and you weren’t here. Heaven knows I wasn’t going to go to your home. The last time I did it scarred me for life!” Thea shuddered.

“Whimp!” Danni responded with an evil giggle.

During this exchange, Keyx didn’t know what to think about Danyael. He was huge, standing close to seven feet tall with a bald head and similar tattoo to Sam. His solid black eyes and well-defined muscles would deter the average person from approaching him. But what really threw Keyx for a loop was the hot pink lip gloss, 70s retro-style clothing, and the flamboyant way he moved.

“Damian wants to know if you received his summons?” Danni asked distractedly.

“Yup,” Thea replied, popping the p.

“And will you be answering said summons?”

“Nope,” Thea once again said with a popping of the p.

Suddenly, Danni’s demeanor completely changed as his eyes glowed red. In a deep voice, not his own and one that reverberated with power, he asked, “And why the fuck not?”

“Because I don’t want to! I’m not some minion to be summoned like all I do is wait around for your beck and call like a lower Daemoni.”

Danni growled as he angrily replied, “It’s time we talked, Zoqa.”

Suddenly Thea’s eyes started to glow red as well and her horns quickly appeared and were several inches long. Her voice became deep as she switched to royal Daemoni and said to him, “Not like this! You don't just summon me and make me come crawling back. You want to talk so badly, treat me with the respect I deserve. Until then... *Xa kaera*!”

As Danni’s demeanor changed back he muttered, “Well wasn’t that just buckets of fun. You know he’s gonna be livid.”

Thea shrugged nonchalantly, her Daemoni side once again subsiding, as she replied, “Oh well. He’ll get over it.”

“Well, I won’t be returning to Ikisat any time soon. Best to stay clear of that.” Then, as if to change the mood, Danni suddenly switched gears and asked, “Who is this cutie patootie?” as he turned towards Keyx.

“Keyx Sarris...” Keyx started to respond. He wasn’t sure what had just happened between Danni and Thea but whatever it was had pissed her off.

“...a new investigator and he’s with me tonight,” Thea interrupted with a forced smile that showed her fangs.

Danni looked at Thea skeptically. “Girl, you’re being a major cock-blocker and for that I will take my beautiful self elsewhere and pout... at least until a decent song is playing and then I expect a dance to make me feel better."

“Fine, just bellow for me. After all, we can’t have you pouting and being a drama queen,” Thea snorted, watching Danni walk away.