The Slaughtered Lamb Bookstore and Bar (Sam Quinn Book 1) Read online

  The Slaughtered Lamb Bookstore and Bar

  Seana Kelly

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the writer’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  The Slaughtered Lamb Bookstore and Bar

  Copyright © 2020 by Seana Kelly

  Ebook ISBN: 9781641971546

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

  No part of this work may be used, reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without prior permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  NYLA Publishing

  121 W. 27th St., Suite 1201, NY 10001, New York.

  http://www.nyliterary.com

  Contents

  1. Wherein a Werewolf, a Wicche, a Vampire, and a Demon Discuss the Likelihood of a Zombie Apocalypse

  2. We Now Join this Nightmare, Already in Progress

  3. Wait. We’re Using the Word Demon as a Metaphor, Right?

  4. Werewolves: Serial Killers or Misunderstood Furries? Discuss

  5. Middle-earth, California

  6. In the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room

  7. Let It Go…

  8. Pole Dancing Is Harder Than It Looks

  9. Who Invited the Wolves?

  10. In Which Sam Is Forced to Question Who Her Allies Are

  11. Never Piss Off a Banshee

  12. Wherein Sam is Shot. On the Bright Side, Mermaids Are Real. So, There’s That

  13. Wherein Clive Freaks Out Shakespeare

  14. The Strange Case of the Wolf Puppet

  15. Ow

  16. How the Posh Vampires Roll

  17. How Many Enemies Could One Book Nerd Have?

  18. At the Bottom of a Ravine, You Say?

  19. I Could Have Danced All Night

  20. In Which Sam Learns the Fastest Way to Piss Off a Wicche

  21. Eye of Newt

  22. In Which All Hell Breaks Loose. Literally

  23. “Merry Christmas, You Wonderful Old Building and Loan!”

  24. Wherein Sam Makes a Shocking Discovery

  25. Mind the Claws, Darling

  26. Never Sneak Up on a Vampire

  27. There’s a Curse?

  28. Time to Shed This Skin

  29. Wherein Sam’s Anxiety Has a Drink in the Bar and Leaves Her the Hell Alone

  30. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

  31. It’s a Hard Rain

  32. In Which the Princess Saves Herself

  33. Little Shack of Horrors

  34. The Aftermath and New Beginnings

  Sneak Peek at THE DEAD DON’T DRINK AT LAFITTE’S

  Acknowledgments

  Dear Reader,

  Want more books from Seana?

  About the Author

  For Gregory, who never tires of

  discussing which drinks should be paired with

  which books at The Slaughtered Lamb.

  He might have a spreadsheet somewhere.

  One

  Wherein a Werewolf, a Wicche, a Vampire, and a Demon Discuss the Likelihood of a Zombie Apocalypse

  No one can sneak up on you if you keep your back to the wall. No one can hide in the shadows if you never turn off the lights. No one can hurt you if you never let them touch you. Trust issues? You bet. I have my reasons, but we’ll get to those later.

  “Give me a break, Sam.” Owen, my trusty boy Friday and wicche extraordinaire, smirked.

  “All I’m saying is that zombies have undergone more of a transformation over the years.” Hiding a grin, I blew on my tea and watched the waves hitting the glass wall of my bookstore and bar.

  “Speed, maybe,” he said as he stacked glasses under the bar.

  Perched on a stool, I sipped while Owen checked the liquor bottles, replacing empties. Tables were scattered throughout the bar, green leather chairs surrounding them, with small stained-glass lamps topping most. I scanned the room, checking if anyone needed a refill, but it was a ruse. Clive, a certain ridiculously handsome vampire, drew me like a zombie to brains.

  “Nuh-uh,” I continued. “Remember the whisperers in The Walking Dead? Speech requires thought.”

  “I beg to differ.”

  Ignoring him, I forged ahead. “In I am Legend they could reason, and in 28 Days they were wicked fast. No more shambling around and bumping into trees for modern zombies.” I paused. “You know what, I’ve changed my mind.”

  Clive sat at a corner table, lost in shadow. His eyes felt like a soft caress and an unfamiliar shiver ran through me. Swirling the tea in my cup, I allowed myself a quick glance in his direction. He took a sip, watching me, his storm-gray eyes crinkled in an almost smile.

  “Are you shitting me right now?” Owen dropped an empty whiskey bottle into the recycle bin and pulled a fresh bottle from under the counter. Owen’s hair glinted in the light, a natural black liberally streaked with electric blue. Or maybe it was the piercings in his ears and eyebrow. The boy sparkled. He reminded me of a shiny Chris Peng.

  What were we talking about again? Clive scattered my thoughts without even trying. He was Master of the City, the highest-ranking supernatural in town. He’d show up once a month, have a drink, and I’d start considering things I had no right to consider. I was not good romantic material. Still, Clive made me wish things were different, that I was different.

  “Sam?” Owen waited for a response.

  “No, what I mean is, I don’t think zombies have changed the most in pop culture; I think women have.” I totally had this argument in the bag.

  Clive leaned forward and cleared his throat. “You believe the depiction of humans has changed the most?”

  Clive never joined our reindeer games. I sat stunned for a moment, his voice a decadent rumble in the quiet room. Shaking it off, I said, “I was just messing with Owen on the zombies. He’s terrified of—”

  “Who wouldn’t be? They’re zombies!”

  “Here’s the thing, though. In Romero’s 1968 Night of the Living Dead, Barbara is worthless. She’s a walking cliché. Weak, childlike—”

  Heavy footsteps pounded down the stairs into the bar. I could have kept arguing, but I’d clearly already won the argument. Clive and his stupid sexy face were making it difficult to hold on to my thoughts.

  “Nice tee.” Dave, my half-demon short order cook, came behind the bar, interrupting the excellent point I forgot I was making. He stared intently at my chest. I was wearing my zombie survival guide tee today. It was what had prompted the argument with Owen over the depiction of supernaturals in pop culture.

  I hid beneath shapeless, sexless clothes to avoid attention. Seven years after the fact, and I still cringed when I noticed gazes drift to the scars trailing out of my sleeves or collar.

  I used to be considered pretty—long, wavy brown hair, green eyes, a thin, athletic build. That was before. My efforts at androgyny, though, were wasted on Dave. He enjoyed fucking with people too much. My issues made me easy prey. He smirked, knowing his scrutiny was making me sweat. Grabbing a bottle of cinnamon schnapps, he poured himself a glass.

  “Glad you like it,” I said. “You can never be too careful. It pays to be prepared for the shambling undead.”

  Dave made a dismissive sound in the back of his throat. “Please. They’re only as dangerous or as focused as the demon who calls them. Most will give out before the fight gets interesting.”

  I never knew how seriousl
y to take Dave. He was a good guy, albeit one with deep red skin, pure black eyes, and occasional bouts of uncontrolled anger. But no one was perfect.

  “I swear,” he continued. “Most demons have ADD. Just when things start to get good, they wander off to start some new shit. It’s why they never get anything done.”

  He winked at me as he walked toward the kitchen.

  I spoke to Dave’s massive back. “I’ll have to remember that. Thanks.”

  Clive, impeccably dressed in a dark suit and snowy white shirt, tapped a long finger on the table. “‘Weak, childlike…’”

  “Hmm? Oh, yeah.” My brain went on hiatus while I watched him take another sip. The man gave good swallow. “Um.” And that British accent did funny things to my stomach. Clive was stupidly handsome, with dark blond hair, intense gray eyes, strong jaw, and broad shoulders. It was good he only dropped in every once in a while. I’d never be able to interact with him on a daily basis.

  “Sam?”

  How did a single syllable undo me? “Barbara was weak and childlike, tripping and falling. She’s almost comatose with fear in the 1968 version of the film. When Romero remade it in 1990, Barbara was a warrior. She strapped on the ammo and started blowing away zombies.”

  He tilted his head, studying me. “Better to be fearsome than fearful?”

  “Yes.” Seven years of battling back the fear that wanted to swamp me, wanted to pull me back down into the dark, pushed the harsh sound from my lips.

  Nodding slowly, he stood. “I’m glad to hear it. Good evening.”

  Like a slavish zombie to a juicy frontal lobe, I watched him climb the stairs and leave. What was it was about today’s conversation that prompted the normally brooding vampire to speak? Zombies? It felt more like it was women fighting back that had piqued his interest.

  The sky tonight was a brilliant purple, the water almost black as it crashed against the windows. My bookstore-bar was nestled into a cliff face at the waterline. During low tide, waves swirled around the bottom of the window. At high tide, the window-wall was almost completely submerged.

  My home lay hidden beneath one of San Francisco’s scenic spots. Land’s End had a long stairway that led down to an overlook. When humans reached the bottom of the steps, they found themselves on a platform that overlooked the meeting of the Bay and the Pacific Ocean. When supernaturals walked down the steps, they passed through a magical entrance and kept going deep underground to my bookstore and bar.

  As much as I thought the bar was a work of art, it was the view that got all the attention. It was also why I’d decided on dark wood throughout. When you had an uninterrupted glass wall looking out on the ocean and Golden Gate Bridge, additional eye-catching décor seemed pointless.

  To the left of the stairs was the bookstore. An old-fashioned pub sign, The Slaughtered Lamb, hung down from the carved entrance. It was an exact replica of the one in the film An American Werewolf in London. It was my nerdy nod to being an American werewolf behind the bar. The Slaughtered Lamb was for supernaturals only. After all, everyone needed a strong drink and a good book.

  “Samantha.”

  Looking up, I found two bright yellow eyes staring intently at me. “Ule, it’s nice to see you.” His cup was full, thank goodness. “I see Owen has set you up this evening.” The concoction smelled foul and I had no desire to refill it. Owen brewed some kind of rodent tea for customers like Ule, an owl shifter. “Do you need anything else?”

  He gazed down into his cup for a moment, before his large, unblinkingly eyes found mine again. “No.”

  I tapped the bar and smiled. “Good talk.”

  Something large thumped against the window.

  “Oh, dear.” A wicche’s concerned voice drew the attention of the room. She was staring out the window at the black, teeming water.

  An object was drawn away with the tide before rushing back and smashing into the glass again. A body. Female, naked, and torn up. I came around the bar, horrified. Well-hidden scars burned in recognition. The tide slammed her back into the window, and I jumped.

  The body jerked in the swirling water in a kind of grotesque ballet. Closing my eyes, I felt my gorge rise. I couldn’t leave her out there alone. I knew what it was like to be torn up and alone.

  Turning, I looked for one of my regulars, a selkie. He was slight and dark, with translucent hair and brown, sealskin-colored eyes. I gestured to the window, hand trembling. “Will you get her, please?” Her body slammed into the window, and I recoiled.

  The selkie hung the modesty robe back on a hook by the water entrance, wrapped his sealskin around himself, and dove out into the ocean. We saw him seconds later, navigating through the strong tide, pushing her body toward the square of water in the floor of the bar. It was held in place by a magical membrane. Ocean nymphs and other water fae could cross back and forth, but the water never broke the barrier.

  He nudged the body towards the entrance. Leaning forward, I grabbed her and pulled. She slid a few feet across the floor before rolling onto her back.

  Milky eyes stared sightlessly up. Her body was blue and bloated. Bloodless slashes exposed muscles, ligaments, and organs. The cuts were ragged. Who knew how long she’d been in the water. Her injuries might have been the result of rocks or sharks. The extent of them, though…my own hidden scars flashed through my mind.

  Grim, an aptly named dwarf, offered the blanket I kept behind the bar.

  I nodded my thanks, unable to speak. Shaking out the blanket, I covered her with it.

  “Do you know her?” Owen asked.

  Voice unsteady, I responded, “Not sure. She’s a wolf. I can smell that under the seaweed and brine. I’ll call my uncle, see if he has anyone missing from his pack.” Alone, lost in the cold, dark ocean. “If she’s not his, I guess I’ll have to contact the Bodega Bay pack.” How had the woman ended up here of all places?

  Owen rested his hand on my back. “Can I help?”

  I stiffened. I didn’t like being touched, not even when I needed it. Maybe especially then. It had been seven years since I’d been attacked and turned. Werewolves, like many other supernaturals, weren’t supposed to age. I’d been seventeen when I was turned, but I looked older now. Being the lone wolf in San Francisco meant I hadn’t had anyone to teach me fact from fiction. Maybe the books were wrong about werewolf aging. Regardless, my body might be a horror, but it was that of a strong, healthy twenty-four-year-old. Emotionally? Well, there were some things you never recover from.

  After getting the dead woman photographed, wrapped, and placed in the far corner of the cold-storage room, I sat in my office. Breathing deeply, I tried not to remember the soft pop the knife made as it broke the skin and sliced through my body, the harsh intake of breath as teeth tore and claws ripped. No. It was better to be fearsome than fearful. I wasn’t going down that path again.

  Sitting up straight, I scrubbed my face clean of tears. Enough. I willed my pulse to slow. I needed to call Marcus. I barely knew him, had only met him right before I’d been attacked and then had been pushed away afterward. He reminded me of too many things I’ve tried to keep hidden.

  I hadn’t realized it growing up, but the reason my mother never allowed me to see or speak with Uncle Marcus was because she knew he was a werewolf. Right after she died, when I was seventeen, he reached out, wanting to get to know me. I didn’t remember my dad. He was gone before I was able to form and keep more than the vaguest of memories. No matter how I asked, Mom wouldn’t talk about dad, saying it was dangerous to give the dead too much of ourselves.

  Even though I had promised my mother never to contact Marcus, when he sought me out at her funeral, it felt like a second chance at family. He seemed kind, but I should have listened to Mom. I’d agreed to visit him on what I’d later learned were his pack grounds. I’d been attacked, tortured, raped, and turned by a werewolf he couldn’t identify and never found.

  Staring at the Degas postcard on the wall of my office, I forced my mind to think a
bout delicate ballerinas in blue, letting them take the place of suffering and humiliation. When my hands had stopped shaking, I uploaded the photo of the dead woman and sent it to Marcus. Maybe he’d know who she was. If not, I wasn’t sure what to do with her. We never handed over our dead to the human authorities. The less they knew about us, the better.

  The phone rang six times before a voice clicked on, asking for a message.

  “Marcus, it’s Sam. I fished a dead woman out of the bay in front of the bar. I just sent a picture of her to your email. If she’s not one of yours, I’ll contact the other Bay Area pack.”

  Hand clenched, short nails digging into my palm, I struggled with how to continue. “I guess I just didn’t want her to be alone.” I cleared my throat. “Anyway, could you let me know if you recognize her? I’d appreciate it.” I let the receiver fall into the cradle.

  After closing, I decided to go on a run. I needed normalcy and control of my own body. Exercising to exhaustion helped me sleep. I refused to let the memories isolate me from the world again.

  Jogging up the stairs, I inhaled deeply. Cold, salty wind skated off the ocean as I stretched at the cliff’s edge before heading out. Muscles warm and relaxed, I sped up, running hard and fast, away from open ground and through the woods. Fallen pine needles carpeted the ground. A muffled foghorn bellowed in the distance. It should have been calming, but I couldn’t shake off the feeling I was being watched. A rustling in the trees brought me up short. I scented the wind. Stilled to listen. Nothing.