Synchronicity

By Shelby Morgen

Jody's won the masquerade costume competition for four years running. She should be a shoo-in for first place this year, as well, except that she's being badly upstaged by a tentacle monster costume. Tara's got to come to the rescue or it'll be one miserable drive home. Besides, Jody's a fantastic costumer, and she deserves all the attention she's not getting. When Tara springs into action to divert the audience's attention, the last thing she expects is a chance to experience some real live tentacle play herself!

Only problem is, her Tentacle Monster's costume doesn't come off. He's really a shape shifting alien on the run from some real live alien bounty hunters dressed in what look like leftover eighties costumes from the set of Flash Gordon, and now Tara's got to help him escape, or she could end up crated off to Zenon to stand trial for aiding and abetting a fugitive.

Where are the Men in Black when you need them, anyway?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Changeling Press
• Release date: Feb 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9780726002342

Book preview

Chapter One

Morning sunshine.

Fuck you.

You know you love me.

No. Talking. Before. Noon.

It’s not before noon.

Shit. Tara rolled to her side and yanked the clock around her way. Shit, shit, shit, she repeated. Coffee?

Jody handed her some abysmal hotel room blend with powdered fake stuff dumped in to turn it a pale pasty gray-white.

Why didn’t you wake me?

You’re welcome. And I did.

Hell you did. Thanks.

Jody yawned. You told me to go fuck myself.

That sounded plausible. Did not.

Whatever. You missed your first panel.

Shocker. Fucking idiots. Not like she hadn’t marked every entry form NO PANELS BEFORE 1:00 PM. Tara threw off the tangled sheets and stumbled to the bathroom, losing underwear along the way.

Five minutes later she was toweling her hair dry and lacing up the corset on a skimpy Steam Punk outfit with a skirt that barely covered her ass. The ray gun was the last thing to sling around her corseted waist. She paused to stare at Jody with a slight raise of an eyebrow. Where’s your costume?

Jody shrugged. Maybe later.

Right… Jody never missed a chance to change costumes. And she hadn’t come back to the room just to get Tara up. Her elaborate wicked fairy costume littered her bed. If Jody was back here at noon-thirty and not wearing a costume when she’d obviously either gone out dressed or come back to change, there was a damn good reason. OK. Spill it.

What?

Tara shrugged. You want to bitch. I have coffee. What happened?

Nothing.

Fine. What didn’t happen?

Not a damn thing. Jody untwisted her long legs from under her and padded across the room to grab a Sprite out of their cooler.

Uh-oh. "Not a damn thing -- as in nothing? Really nothing? No crowd appeal?"

Nothing. There was the whole sulk coming to the surface. Nobody was paying any attention to me at all.

Wait. Jody. Costumed. No crowd. That never happened. Not ever. The power’s out in the main hall, right? No one can see you?

Oh, the lights are working just fine.

So… Upstaged?

You could say that.

What the fuck. How is that even possible?

Rage flashed across Jody’s gorgeous features, spoiling the carefully groomed I-am-a-goddess look. The storm was about to break.

Tara split her attention between Jody and brewing another cup of sludge. She had a feeling she was going to need it.

"This -- this -- thing showed up. Like a fucking mop head off a string mop. Seven foot tall and dripping ooze and just sprawling everywhere. Worst costume ever. Can’t even see his feet. Only way you can tell it’s a he is it’s so friggin’ tall. Friggin’ Goddamn Flying Spaghetti Monster. People are all over him, following him everywhere he goes, not paying attention to any of the rest of the costumes."

Flying Spaghetti Monster… damn clever costume idea. Still. Jody. This was her thing. Tara downed her third cup of coffee, and a few more brain cells jarred awake. Don’t you have a class this afternoon?

"What’s