Short Stories

Last Call

The Templverse just can't be contained in novels, apparently. In 2018, Argento published Last Call, an anthology of three short stories. One is serious. The other two are hilarious side trips into the more bizarre side of the Templeverse (if that's even possible).

**Collins**: A prequel to the Phantom Queen series pits Quinn against a necromancer: *Every story has a beginning, but not every story has a happy ending. When you live in Boston, you make peace with that, or you find another town. A softer, gentler town. But Quinn MacKenna—a black magic arms dealer just coming into her own—isn't a soft, gentle person, and Boston suits her just fine. Which is why, after getting caught up in the middle of a kidnapping case, she sticks around for a night of blood and mayhem guaranteed to give her new nightmares.* *Walk with Quinn as she and her old friend, Jimmy Collins, reconnect, forging a new bond of friendship under fire, even as their very beliefs are put to the test. Prepare yourself for wizardry and ritual, for victims and violence. For walking corpses and cleansing fire. Prepare yourself for the worst of what Quinn's world has to offer.* *Because when the things that go bump in the night come out to play, sometimes you have to bump back...*

**Motherlucker**: This romp, aided and abetted by none other than Dorian Gray, takes place after Feathers book 4, and Phantom book 3. *Coming-of-age can be an awkward time in any young person's life. Hormones flair. Hair grows in weird places. Wrestling becomes foreplay. But at no point in any would-be adult's life is the transition more obvious than the 21st birthday—an American tradition as rich as drinking to celebrate other cultures. But for some, this transcendent experience is rockier than others.* *For Aria and Sonya, weredragon sisters and birthday girls, it's about to be downright turbulent.* *Head out for a night out on the town with Callie Penrose, Quinn MacKenna, Othello, and the Reds as they do their best to break the "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" adage by taking on the leprechaun mafia, hitting on Johnson Beaver, avoiding were-strippers, donning Dorian Gray's clothing line, robbing a bank, and drinking everything they can get their hands on, of course. If these girls thought Lady Luck was on their side, they should have known better.* *Because in Vegas, the House always wins...*

**Beerlympian**: Gunnar's bachelor party happens after Temple book 5. *There comes a moment in every man’s life when he chooses to settle down with the love of his life. To put all those childish games and hobbies away to focus on building the rock-solid foundations of a true, everlasting, committed relationship—marriage.* *Gunnar Randulf, the Alpha werewolf of St. Louis and Nate Temple’s best friend is ready to make that plunge. But before the wedding bells chime…* *It’s bachelor party time.* *Join Nate, Alucard, Achilles, and the Minotaur as they rip through New Orleans on a last-ditch effort to ruin Gunnar’s life—erm, remind him why he loves his fiancée so much—with a Stag Night scavenger hunt marathon that introduces them to ungodly amounts of alcohol, mermaids, major felonies, Nicolas Flamel, ridiculous drinking rules, Valkyries, and a slew of other local supernaturals. And you thought you knew just how crazy the boys could get when left unattended. It’s cute, really, your naivety...*

### Plot

With Ashley’s help, the Unicorn gang - Nate and the Triple A - kidnap Gunnar.  It’s Stag Night, let there be boobs!

Gunnar, along with Nate, Alucard, Asterion and Achilles begin their fun in New Orleans.   In a pool full of naked mermaids.  The Unicorn gang gets stripped and the drinking games begin.  They play a game called Sea Horse where girls ride on the guys’ shoulders and get stuff thrown at them, trying to knock each other down in the water.  Every infraction, you must drink!

Next up, the Alcochemist bar, where they learn about a specialty drink called Beerlympian.  More than once…..they drink one and the guys are having a blast.  They get into a bull riding contest against Valkyries and lose.  Asterion falls in love with Betty, the bull and Achilles makes a fool of himself over one of the Valkyries, Herja. While there, Gunnar gets a voodoo bride doll that he must protect!   The catch?  Anything that happens to the doll, happens to Gunnar.  For example, pinch the boobs…Gunnar feels the pinch as well.

With Gunnar holding onto his voodoo bride doll, the guys must run around the block naked as vampires are doing their best to get the bride doll from Gunnar.  Alucard doesn’t trust the vampires and he has reason not to!

As they make their run, they run into police but get away on Skegways.  There is faulty steering and they tumble into each other.  The night gets crazier when the guys must sing a song every time one of them needs to pee. How hard is it to find a strip club, their designated destination?  They end up at the Crocodile Skins instead of the right club, the Foxies.  Chaos ensues.

At the end of the night, Nate tells Achilles that he thinks he can do magic.  Achilles promises him that the feeling will pass.  They finally return back to earth in St. Louis. A place far far away.