The Accidental Troll Read online

  Chapter 6

  “Muuurphyyy! Nooo!” Marty yelled as Murphy grabbed ahold of Bellamy’s chic trench coat and hauled her upward like a floppy ragdoll.

  She didn’t even stop to think about how easily she’d been able to pick up Bellamy, or the fact that she did it with only one hand.

  She just did it—and when she had both hands on the collar of her jacket, when she dragged her to the counter and pressed her up against it, Murphy snarled in her beautiful face.

  “I’m going to kick your stupid ass from one end of the Internet to the other for what you’ve done, you spoiled, selfish brat!”

  As her chest puffed and her breath came in rasps, as her lungs fought for air and Bellamy looked at her from eyes wide with shock, she felt a hand on her arm. A band of steel, gripping her and pulling her away.

  “Let her fucking go, Murphy,” Nina demanded in her ear.

  But she was so lost in her anger, even the scary vampire didn’t scare her in this moment. “Get off me,” she seethed.

  And apparently, that was that for the scary vampire. Nina wrenched Murphy’s wrist with so much force, she was sure her arm was going to explode and detach from her shoulder. Nina yanked her away and gave her a hard shake as she pressed her up against the far wall of her enormous kitchen.

  Nina flashed her fangs at Murphy, her eyes two hard bits of coal. “When I say fucking let go, you do what I say, or I’ll rip your motherfuckin’ arm off and beat you with it. You got that?”

  All at once, the room crashed back in around her, the pump of blood roaring in her ears subsided, and her heart slowed. The rush of adrenaline now felt like mud in her veins.

  Marty and Wanda helped a sputtering, outraged Bellamy as Nina grabbed hold of Murphy’s chin and forced her to look into her eyes.

  “Got that? I won’t ask again.”

  Looking up at Nina, wincing when she did due to her sore neck, Murphy nodded on a deep breath. “I do. I’m sorry. Oh my God, I’m sorry.”

  Leaning into her, the vampire’s eyes glittered. “I’m all for beating a bitch senseless, and little princesses like this Bellamy are right at the top of my list, but you can’t do that shit with Mother Hen One and Two over there. They get fucking parental with dumbass rules and PC bullshit. Otherwise, I’d be all for it. I might even help you because she’s got a lesson to learn, but they won’t have it. So it’s a no-go. Understood?”

  Gulping, Murphy nodded, all at once both comforted and terrified. “I was wrong to get physical. I don’t know what came over me. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

  “You’re angry. That’s what came over you,” Marty said, giving Nina a nudge out of the way. “And you have every right to be angry. This was a shitty thing to do to someone. But that won’t get us anywhere. We need answers, not cage fights.”

  Licking her lips, Murphy brushed her shaking hands down along the tops of her thighs. “You’re right. I’m not usually violent. I promise. But…”

  “But Bellamy’s inconsiderate approach to this was more than you could swallow?” Sten offered in his husky, sexy voice.

  “Yes,” was all she could manage, especially when she had to look at him because, green hair and all, he was a snack.

  A whole damn snack, and that was going to be hard to ignore on this journey to troll-hood.

  “I apologize, Murphy, even if my sister won’t. I do that a lot. Apologize for her, that is.”

  Murphy snorted. She knew exactly what he meant. She was always making excuses and apologies for Nova. “You and me both, buddy.”

  He grinned and winked, his face so open and handsome. “Look at us—something in common already.”

  She bobbed her head slowly. “Yeah. Look at us.” Then she stood up straight and shook off her impulse to choke the very life from Bellamy. “So what now, Troll King? Nova’s going to wake up soon, and I’m sure if she sees your sister, it’s going to get ugly in this really pretty house, really fast. I don’t want anything broken. How can we avoid an all-out brawl and fix this?”

  Murphy twisted her fingers together, terrified of Nova finding out Bellamy was responsible for all this. War wouldn’t even be the appropriate word for what would happen if Bellamy didn’t make this right.

  “Ladies and gentleman,” Wanda said on a whisper. “Sleeping Beauty awakes.” She pointed over her shoulder with a wince to the living room, where Nova still lie on the couch.

  She’d begun to stir, her stubby legs twitching as she stretched her equally stubby arms upward toward the beautiful light wood, planked tray ceilings.

  Pushing herself up, she called, “Murph? her voice squeaky and groggy.

  “Oh, my God!” Bellamy yelped, appearing out of thin air, looking no worse for Murphy having roughed her up except for the two bright red spots on her striking cheekbones.

  As Sten went to grab for Bellamy’s arm, she pushed past him effortlessly and gawked at Nova, who’d managed to sit up on the couch, slinging her squat legs over the side.

  “Bellamy!” Sten called, his tone a warning.

  But that didn’t thwart her. She stood over Nova, arms crossed at her chest, and cackled, appearing quite pleased with herself.

  “Holy hell, it worked! I can’t believe it worked! It’s really real.” She let out another chuckle. “Who knew?”

  Nova’s big head flopped back on her shoulders as she looked up at her perpetrator, and Murphy watched as the dots now connected in her sister’s brain the same way they had in her own.

  But she wasn’t quick enough to stop her sister from taking action.

  Nova screamed out, “You did this to me? You dreadful bitch!”

  Then she hurled herself at Bellamy, wrapping her short arms around her nemesis’s thigh, opening her mouth wide, and sinking her pointy teeth into Bellamy’s skin.

  “Oooow!” Bellamy screamed as she swung around, clawing at Nova, who managed to hang on, her teeth deeply embedded in Bellamy’s thigh. “Get her off me! Get the crazy bitch off me!”

  “Nova!” Murphy grabbed at her sister’s leg as she clung to a shrieking Bellamy. “Let go now!” she ordered, pulling at her so hard, she nearly flung her across the living room.

  Damn, were trolls this strong? Because she’d done some intense workouts with Nova, and while her ass was firmer, her strength wasn’t exactly Herculean.

  Nova landed with a hard thunk on the floor, but sure as the day is long, she hopped to her flat feet and waddled right back after Bellamy, who had a blood stain on her winter-white jeggings where Nova’s teeth had penetrated her clothing.

  In that moment, one so surreal, Murphy almost couldn’t believe it was happening, she fought the urge to burst out laughing again.

  Nova looked a little like the doll Karen Black brings home from vacation in one of her favorite classic horror films, Trilogy of Terror—the only thing missing was a spear and a grass skirt.

  Murphy grabbed her just in time to keep her from getting to Bellamy again, once more surprised by her strength. She hiked her sister up from the floor and imprisoned her against her chest, all while she kicked and struggled.

  “Nova, knock it the hell off! You’re not helping things here. Stop behaving like a feral warthog and quit!”

  “She bit me! The little monster bit me, Sten!” Bellamy howled as Marty stalked toward her with a first-aid kit and Wanda ushered her to a cream-colored dining room chair.

  “Do not let that bitch bleed out all over those fucking oatmeal-colored chairs, Wanda!” Nina warned. “They cost a GD fortune.”

  “Wait until I get my hands on you!” Bellamy sneered, pressing her hand to the towel Marty held against her leg and rearing up to yell at Nova over Wanda’s shoulder. “If you’ve scarred me, I’m going to rip your little hobbit face off!”

  “Scarred you?” Nova returned in her helium-balloon voice, fighting against Murphy’s grip. “Scarred you? Are you serious? Look at me, you stupid clown! Look at me!”

  “Hah!” Bellamy shot back. “Who’s the clown?”
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br />   “Bellamy, Nova!” Sten finally bellowed, clapping his hand down on the island counter so hard, a fissure of a crack appeared, stunning everyone into silence. “Shut up! Both of you shut up and settle down, or as your king, I’m going to throw you both in isolation for a hundred years! Do you hear me?”

  “My king?” Nova hissed, twisting her small body against Murphy. “What the hell—”

  “Stop it and shut the fucking-fuck up!” Murphy whispered in her sister’s pointy ear.

  Nova instantly stilled in her arms, her breathing labored. “Murphy! You never swear…”

  “I wouldn’t be swearing now if you weren’t acting like some kind of animal caught in a trap. Cut it out, Nova. I mean it. We can’t come to any sort of solution if you don’t stop behaving like a savage. Now, if I put you down, will you knock it off and leave Bellamy alone?”

  “And if you don’t cut it the fuck out, I’m going to chew your sausage nose right the fuck off your Shrek face. You got that, shorty?” Nina added for good measure. “All this screaming and yelling is gonna wake my kid up, and if you wake my kid up, you have to die. Understood?”

  Nova visibly gulped. “I’m sorry. I’ll be quiet. I’ll be very quiet.”

  “And that means you, too,” Nina ordered, flicking Bellamy’s silky hair, making her flinch. “Oh, and by the way. My name is Nina. The bitch you don’t want to fuck with. That’s who I am.”

  Marty shooed Nina away, making quick work of examining Bellamy’s wound as Wanda pulled out some bandages from the first-aid kit.

  Murphy set Nova down and, for the first time since she’d woken up on the couch, her sister gave Murphy the once-over.

  Her tiny eyes went wide as she covered her mouth. “Oh my God, Murph! What happened to you?”

  “I happened to her,” Sten admitted, guilt in his eyes. “Your sister’s turning was my fault.”

  “Who are you? What the fuck is going on?” Nova asked, her voice shaky as she looked up at Sten. Murphy had to fight off more hysterical laughter when she noted the comical difference in height between Sten and Nova.

  Nova literally stood no taller than the top of his knee.

  “Murph?” she asked again, cowering. “Who the hell is he?”

  “Your king,” Murphy provided with a chuckle she couldn’t stop from escaping her lips, because this was all so bloody absurd.

  Sten smirked in Murphy’s direction. “Technically, that’s true, Nova. I am your king. The troll king, to be precise, and you are a troll.” Holding out his hand, he offered it to Nova. “I wish we were meeting under better circumstances.”

  “I wish we weren’t meeting at all,” Nova said, her words dry with sarcasm, refusing to take Sten’s hand by hiding it behind her back.

  Murphy sighed, nudging her sister’s shoulder. “Knock it off, Nova. It’s not his fault this happened. He’s trying to make things right. He’s Bellamy’s brother, and he came to help us.”

  She planted her hands on her hips, the recessed lighting from the kitchen making her troll face look even angrier. “Then how did you get like that if he’s here to help. Did she do this to you, too? And why are you gorgeous and pink, and I look like a Keebler Elf?”

  “Hah! You wish you looked as cute as a fucking Keebler Elf,” Nina remarked with a snort.

  “Nina. Shut your trap and help me wrap this wound,” Wanda instructed.

  As Murphy explained what happened, and the difference between the kind of troll she was and the type Nova was, her sister rolled her eyes.

  “So, I guess you get to be the good-looking sister for once. At least for a little while, huh?” Nova said, her words sarcastic and, without a doubt, bitter.

  And it felt like she’d slapped her in the face.

  All the air evaporated from the room, leaving a dry buzzing sound in Murphy’s ears.

  She shouldn’t have expected any different from Nova. She knew her sister was vain and as shallow as a drop of water. She knew her needs would always come first, and for the most part, she’d accepted that. Nova thought about Nova and Murphy had enabled that.

  It wasn’t that she didn’t love Murphy. She did, but she loved her fame and her money and her beauty just a little more.

  And Murphy had also accepted that.

  What she couldn’t accept? Nova’s callous vanity.

  Yes. Nova was the prettier sister. She was skinnier, had longer limbs, higher cheekbones and a tiny button nose with naturally full lips. Yes, she’d had work done on to make them fuller, but it really hadn’t been necessary.

  Murphy was rounder all over, shorter, and her lips weren’t exactly thin, but they didn’t have that pouty look Nova’s did. She looked like their father, and Nova had inherited every last drop of their mother’s beauty.

  But those were all forgone things. She’d never been jealous of how beautiful Nova was. In fact, she was proud of her beauty, and even if the game she played on Instagram was cutthroat in terms of keeping people’s eyes on her, Nova had achieved what she’d always wanted—she’d become rich and sort of famous, even if it was only on the Internet.

  But pointing out how she looked at this moment, that Murphy had fared better than Nova, was the stupidest, vainest thing Nova could have said to her.

  And she said as much as she looked down at her sister in outrage.

  “Is that the most important thing right now, Nova? Is that your takeaway?” she asked in disgust. “Who’s better-looking? Not, ‘Hey, Murph, I’m sorry this happened to you, too’? Not, ‘Gee, Murphy, if it weren’t for me and my entitled loose lips, you wouldn’t be in this position’? Did you even ask if I’m okay? Did you? Is it really about whether you’re still better-looking than me? Are you really that shallow?” Murphy shook her head in disbelief. “Jesus Christ, Nova. Jesus-Jesus Christ.”

  With that, Murphy turned on her heel and walked out of the gorgeous kitchen and toward the front door. She needed some fresh air and time to gather herself before she punched her sister right in the face for being so selfishly shallow.

  “Phew, Middle Earther, you’re an even bigger fucking asshole than me,” she heard Nina crow just as the front door closed behind her.

  Chapter 7

  A hand, strong and warm, settled on her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze before it moved away. “Murphy?”

  She looked up at the clear night, stars dotting the black sky, and turned out of the shadows, where she’d gone to give herself a moment to prevent clocking her sister in the mouth, fighting tears.

  Looking down the long front porch, she avoided Sten’s eyes and said, “Yeah?”

  “Are you all right?” he asked into the cold night as he came into better focus.

  All right. What was all right anymore?

  But she wouldn’t dare say that. She’d say what she always said. She’d say she was fine. Everything’s fine. That’s what she always said. She’d said it to her parents before they died, when they’d asked how college was going, and she’d been really struggling with her economics class and close to failing.

  She said it to Nova when she cared to inquire. She said it to their cleaning lady, who was the sweetest person on Earth and always asked if she was all right.

  And she’d say it to Sten, because that’s what she did. “I’m fine. I just needed a minute. Nova can be a…a handful, and the urge to coldcock her was real. I had to walk away before that scene turned into a boxing match. But really, I’m fine.”

  Sten clucked his tongue, his lips thinning. “You’re not fine, and you shouldn’t be fine. It’s okay not to be fine, you know. But I get the feeling that’s your standard answer for everything.”

  How astute. Murphy shrugged her shoulders. “Sometimes she says things she doesn’t mean. Nova’s just upset.”

  “Aw. Poor Nova,” he crooned, his deep voice warm in her ear. “We’re all upset, Murphy. That means you’re allowed to be upset, too. What your sister said was crappy, and there’s no reason for her to say crappy things to someone who very obvious
ly takes such good care of her.”

  Nova said lots of crappy things, and then she made up for it by buying her something. A car. A new wardrobe. A trip to Fiji. An apartment.

  But a genuine apology, one she truly meant rather than simply repeated because that was what she was supposed to say, would go a lot further.

  But she didn’t say that to Sten. Instead, she shrugged it off. “That’s just Nova.”

  “Uh-huh. And that’s just an excuse for Nova to be a shitty person.”

  Swinging around, Murphy looked up at him and eyed his chiseled face and crazy green hair. “You don’t know anything about Nova.”

  Sten smirked, driving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “On the contrary, I think I do. I think my Nova’s name is Bellamy, and while I’m not her assistant, and I would never allow her to speak to me the way your sister spoke to you, they’re exactly alike. Shallow, vain, selfish little troublemakers who think the world is theirs to shit on as they please. I spend a lot of my time keeping Bell out of trouble, as I suspect you do for Nova. I don’t need to know Nova personally to know she’s a carbon copy of my sister, and it’s okay to be exhausted by her.”

  Murphy blew out a breath and tucked her hands under her armpits to keep them warm. That was an understatement. “I will admit looking out for her is exhausting.”

  He grinned an infuriatingly handsome grin and nodded. “There. Was that so hard to say?”

  With a small giggle, she shook her head, feeling a little less tense. “I guess not. I mean, I’m only thirty, but I feel like a hundred sometimes. Chasing after her is like chasing after a car without brakes.”

  Sten sucked in his lean cheeks. “If you only knew the half of it.”

  Tucking her flyaway hair behind her ears, Murphy asked, “How old are you?”

  He grunted and cracked his knuckles. “Old. Really old, in fact.”

  Murphy held up a hand. The implication he was old probably had to do with immortality. The women had made mention of something along the lines of immortality, unless staked through the heart or a beheading, but right now, she wasn’t ready to digest living forever.