Out of all of us, Ambrose hated humans the most. He never spoke about it much, but I knew that his story and what led him to come to Port Haven was horrific to say the least.
I’d known about his disdain for humans before, but something in his tone irked me.
“Don’t worry about it,” I told him gruffly despite the fact that I’d asked the same question only a few moments ago. “Now can you three help me clean the desk off?”
Ambrose looked like he wanted to argue with me, but when Fiero and Heath immediately jumped in, he begrudgingly started clearing papers and boxes off of the desk.
Most things would need to be organized and filed by the human.By Daphne, I mentally corrected myself.
What had Effie meant when she said it wasn’t me that Daphne was scared of?
My tail, which was normally hung sedately behind me, swished back and forth with irritation.
“Can you not whip me with that?” Fiero yelped when the end of it caught him on one of his furry legs.
“Sorry,” I mumbled as I finished filling a box full of things that would need to go in the storage closet upstairs.
Leaving the trio to finish cleaning up the desk, I hurried up the stairs with my box in hand and my mind twisting with strange thoughts.
Then a muffled moan made me freeze at the top of the landing.
“It’s backed up because you put it off yesterday,” I could hear Effie’s voice as she scolded Dallan breathlessly.
“That’s not why it’s backed up,” Dallan’s voice was tight, followed by another whisper of a moan.
I turned on my heel and headed back down the stairs before I could hear anything else.
Monstrous Ink was one of the most famous monster tattoo parlors in the United States. Our tattoos stayed longer, were more vibrant, and were done by a group of artists that prided themselves on their craft.
We all knew where the ink that made it possible came from. I just didn’t want to listen to it happen in real time.
I’d just have to put the box away later.
Five
I’d gotten the job. I couldn’t believe it.
I was so sure that Effie was going to take one look at me and toss me out on my ass, but instead she’d offered me the position.
Several times throughout the interview she would ask me a question, whether it was about their scheduling software or my knowledge of the tattoo business, and I wouldn’t even know how to start answering it.
My last job was in college as a desk assistant, so I figured that would be good enough. But that had mostly been answering phone calls and checking the English department’s meeting calendar.
Monstrous Ink’s scheduling software was sophisticated, and by sophisticated I mean complicated. Effie told me they would get requests from all over the world because they were able to tattoo most supernatural creatures, an apparent rarity.
Never before had I considered the implications behind tattooing supernaturals before. I’d seen them with tattoos when I was out and about in Boston, but now that I was thinking about it… it really shouldn’t be possible.
Most monsters had fast healing capabilities. Meaning it would be difficult to get a needle with ink to puncture their skin and for it to stick. Their skin was also all different types and textures, making the tattooing process complex on a case-by-case basis.
I thought back to the gargoyle who had greeted me at the shop. His sleeves had been rolled up, revealing smooth gray skin and a few tattoos littering his forearms.
How had he gotten his tattoos? I didn’t know much about gargoyles, but I did know that they had stone skin that wasn’t easily punctured.
I thought about it as my feet carried me back toward Peep. I wished I could ask him about it when I started working, but his thunderous expression when he saw me made me think he wouldn’t welcome my questions.
Regardless, I had a job. Effie had every reason to turn me away, but she didn’t, and I was going to do my damndest to not make her regret it.
Peep was still sitting in the same spot as I’d left her and I hopped into the front seat and tried the engine one more time, hoping against hope that a break was all the bug needed.
