Lustlocked

[sawyl]

In the second story in Matt Wallace's Sin du Jour Affair, Lustlocked finds the supernatural catering company contracted to cover the wedding of the goblin crown prince to a human woman.

Darren Vargas, experienced D&D player that he is, thinks he knows about goblins. But Boosha, Sin's resident expert on the otherworldly, quickly puts him right: goblins are actually astonishingly beautiful and owe their bad reputation to human jealousy. When the royal family arrive to sample the food, Bronko Luck, Sin's executive chef, reveals his great coup: two separate but identical-looking menus, with normal food for the bride's family and a diet of gemstones and precious metals for the groom's side. And while the food is a success, princess-to-be Bianca has a weak moment and ends up confessing to Lena Tarr and Nikki Glowin, the pastry chef, that the goblins treat her appallingly.

The preparations for the wedding go smoothly, New York Public Library is closed for the big event, and Bronko is in the process of celebrating when he discovers Jett Hollinshead, Sin's event coordinator, has turned into a giant lizard. A giant, lust-crazed lizard. The transformation immediate sparks a chain of events, causing both the library and Sin du Jour's headquarters to go into magical lockdown. Stuck in the library with the servers, Nikki shoulders the responsibility of saving the day, while back at Sin, Lena and Dorsky, sous-chef and serious asshole, find themselves on the run for their lives.

Another fun story that plays fast and loose with the classic scenario of a group of people trapped in a building full of monsters. There are plenty of subversive moments: Nikki ends up riding a giant wedding cake to the rescue, while the stocking and receiving team, Sin's very own crew of omni-capable heroes, remain stuck outside, unable to penetrate the enchantment keeping the monsters away from the public. Wallace has a great deal of fun with his goblins, most of whom are celebrities, slyly implying their identities — the goblin king once played himself in a movie — without mentioning any actual names.