by Peter Glenn
I left the bathroom without another thought and headed over to the next room, LaLuna in tow.
This room had one of those fancy door handles that looked similar to the one on the outside of the house, with a small keyhole over a squeeze handle that sloped gracefully downward.
I moved to the door and forced it open quickly once again. The room on the other side was equally empty, but it managed to take my breath away.
In the middle of the room sat one of those old-style, four-poster beds, with pink satin fabric looping over the wood in the top of the frame and gliding down gently, framing the bed and its satin sheets nicely. A nightstand with a big mirror and a rather large closet rounded out the room.
But what really caught my attention was the large, glass window on the opposite side of the room next to a door that led out to a balcony overlooking the lake. The moon filtered into the room through the glass window, leaving everything glowing in a slight silvery sheen.
It was heavenly. I thought about what it must be like to go to sleep every night in a room like this and felt a tinge of jealousy. What a heck of a view.
That said, it probably wasn’t the right room, seeing as I didn’t see anything in here that could possibly belong to a baby.
We spent a few minutes rifling through things and checking under the giant bed anyway but came up empty. And knowing a little more about LaLuna’s mother’s taste in underwear than I’d ever wanted to know, but that couldn’t be helped.
Blushing like a virgin, I left the main bedroom behind, and we headed toward the last door on the upper level.
This one had to be it. I was certain of it. The doorknob looked like nothing special, but the door itself was freshly painted a pink color like one might do for a nursery. I pushed open the door with as much force as I had the others, and was rightly rewarded.
“Eureka,” I whispered over my shoulder. “This is it.”
We gingerly stepped into the room and closed the door behind us. There was a small crib against the far wall next to a rocking chair and one of those old-style changing tables against the far wall next to an empty trash can. This room had a door leading to the balcony as well. It was definitely the right place.
I crept over to the crib and peered inside. There, sitting on top of a half-folded blanket and a pink onesie, was a small, silver rattle. It looked like the kind of toy you would have given your rich uncle’s kid fifty years ago, but it was also most likely every bit Grace’s.
I snatched up the rattle and held it in my greedy little hand for a moment, then looked over at LaLuna and smiled. Her eyes lit up as well. There was a happiness there at the find, but also something else. Recognition, perhaps? Had this rattle meant something to her at some point?
As much as I wanted to ask her about it, there would be plenty of time for that later. For now, we had to get out of here in one piece.
We started heading for the door to the hallway with our treasure in tow, but a strange noise stopped me short. I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand on edge as the noise came again. It was a creaking noise, like someone skulking about on the lower floor.
I froze, putting out a hand to stop LaLuna from moving as well.
“Do you think they’re still here?” A high-pitched voice asked.
“Shh!” Another voice commanded. “If they are, you’ll give us away!”
That second voice I recognized. It was Alyta’s. Somehow, the djinn had tracked us all the way here and was out to kill us once more.
My free hand instinctively went to Grax’thor’s hilt. If there was battle to be had, I’d be ready for it.
The voices died down, but I heard several sets of feet scuffling about downstairs, creaking on those floorboards. How many exactly, I couldn’t be sure, but neither did I want to stick around and find out.
“Let’s check upstairs first,” I overheard Alyta say in a hushed voice.
Heh. So much for getting out without being seen.
My mind raced. We needed cover, and fast. Then I remembered the balcony.
I stuffed the rattle into my fanny pack and took LaLuna’s hand in mine, then bolted for the back door, throwing it open without caution, no longer caring how much noise it made. We piled onto the balcony, and then made our way across it back over to the main bedroom. There’d been a large closet in there. Large enough to hide two people in.
We ran into the main bedroom and into the closet, being as quiet as we could, where I promptly closed it from the inside as quickly and gently as I could.
And just in time. Not a moment later, I heard the distinct sound of someone pressing down on the door handle to the main bedroom and the click-clack of the mechanical lock opening.
My heart was racing so fast that I could hear it pumping away in my chest, suddenly afraid that the noise would somehow give us away. I tried my hardest to calm down and still my breathing, but to no avail. Untold numbers of the enemy were on the other side of that door, and we didn’t have much room to maneuver. Much better to avoid conflict altogether, if we could.
Several people rushed into the room a moment later, crowding out what little I could see as they darted about. Peering through the slats in the closet door, I thought I made out four or five distinct sets of wings, but there could have been a dozen. And that was just the ones in this room.
I’d been right to avoid conflict. Now I just had to hope they didn’t look in the closet.
“Find anything?” one of them asked.
“Nope, nothing here. Though it looks like someone’s been through here already. Look at the place, it’s in shambles.”
One of the fae ambled over toward the closet door and rested her back against it. The closet door creaked, and I thought it was going to break inward for a moment. I braced myself for the ensuing fight, but the door held and nothing happened.
“Tear the place apart anyway,” the first voice said.
I looked over at LaLuna. The jig was up. We’d be found soon enough, I was sure of it. But looking deep into her blue eyes, I started to feel myself calm down. She looked happy and peaceful somehow, and it made me feel that much better.
She looked up at me with those eyes of hers, then, and I felt a hint of a longing there.
I pushed myself a little closer to her to get away from the door, ducking under a low-hanging pipe in the process. Our bodies were practically merged at this point, various bits touching one another, but I had to get away from the fae on the other side of the closet and make myself look scarce, so there were few options.
Once again, I could feel her heat—her warmth, rather—radiating out from her core, enveloping me in its welcoming embrace. My heart rate started to speed up again, and it was all I could do to keep from taking her into my arms.
Looking at her in that moment, it was as if the outside world no longer existed. All that mattered was the two of us. I stared at her for another moment, and saw her lips start to part just a little bit.
A slight gasp erupted from her mouth, and I freaked, thinking our cover was blown. I did the only thing I could think of—I pressed my lips on top of hers to stop the noise.
Her mouth was warm and soft in all the right ways. I felt a little flutter all the way down to my stomach as our lips pressed together, tender at first, then with a hunger I didn’t know I’d possessed.
Then, the most amazing thing happened—she kissed me back.
We melted into each other’s arms, enjoying the feel of our lips against one another as my hands glided up and down her arms, sending a slight shiver coursing through her body. In that moment, it felt like we were one being.
“The balcony door!” one of the fae in the room said. “It’s open! They fled that way!”
Several booted feet scuffled across the floor and out the back door, then we were miraculously alone again.
“Wow,” I whispered to LaLuna, our lips still practically touching. “That was...”
“Amazing?” LaLuna whispered.
“Uh hu
h.”
I backed up just a bit and wrapped my arms around her so I could get a better hold of her and kiss her again, only to smack my head right into that low-hanging pipe from before. I heard a ringing in my ears, and my vision blurred for a half second as I thought I might double over.
“Are you okay?” LaLuna whispered.
“Fine, I’m just fine!” I insisted angrily.
I shook my head, heat rising to my cheeks as I stared over at her, cradling the back of my head with one hand.
LaLuna started giggling, and I saw her put a hand over her mouth as my vision returned. “Well, aren’t you the slick one,” she said in a hushed tone.
“Ugh,” I groaned. “It’s not funny, okay?”
“It’s a little funny, Damian.”
She was probably right. If the situation were reversed, I’d probably want to giggle, too. But what I longed for instead was the feeling of her lips on mine as we melded together once more. I looked deep into her blue eyes, searching, but the longing and the desire were gone, replaced with mirth.
There was nothing I could do about it. The moment was lost.
“Uh, let’s get out of here, shall we?” I offered. “Before more of those djinn come looking for us.”
LaLuna nodded. “Good idea.”
Chapter Thirteen
WE ENDED UP TELEPORTING out of the house a short while later. I’d been a little hesitant to have my atoms ripped apart once again, but there had been far too many fae skulking about that place for comfort, so I agreed to it.
Besides, it hadn’t been very far. We’d only teleported a short distance outside the main gate so we could get back to the car, then drove the rest of the way from there. I was still sensitive to the fact that LaLuna’s magic could be tracked, so we’d high-tailed it out of there as fast as I could make Tacobeh’s little economy car travel.
It wasn’t much, just a little Hyundai Sonata, but beggars can’t be choosers and all.
Anyway, we were safe now at a little hotel several miles outside of Seattle in the SeaTac area, sitting on one of the two queen beds. After the kissing incident, I’d insisted on having separate beds.
I looked at my phone and saw that it was almost ten o’clock. A little late for calling someone that worked at a coffee shop, but I decided to give it a try anyway.
Rummaging around in my pocket, I found Kelsey’s card quickly enough and punched the number onto my keypad. It started ringing. It rang five times before Kelsey finally picked up.
“Hello?” Kelsey said. “Mom, I swear, if this is you, I’m going to–”
“As much as I’d love to hear the end of that sentence, it’s not your mom,” I said, interrupting her.
“Oh,” Kelsey said, her tone shifting from anger to something lighter. “It’s you. Is LaLuna with you again?”
I put the phone on speaker and motioned for her to say something.
“Yes I am, Kelsey. How are you this evening?” LaLuna said.
“Oh, just dandy. I was half asleep when your boyfriend called me out of the blue.”
LaLuna giggled. My cheeks burned red. Boyfriend? I mean, we’d kissed, and it had been magical, but still...
“He can be insensitive like that sometimes, but only when it’s important,” LaLuna replied.
“That’s a man for you.” They both giggled at that one. “So, what’s he got his panties in a bunch about this time?”
LaLuna looked straight at me and snickered before answering. “He’s called to tell you we found an object we believe belongs to the baby I’m tracking.”
“Oh, really?” Kelsey’s voice sounded hesitant. “Well, that’s wonderful news.”
“Indeed.” LaLuna scooted a little closer to the phone. “We’d like you to cast that tracking spell, if you can.”
“Sure thing,” Kelsey replied. “Come by the coffee shop tomorrow morning, and I’ll have it all setup for you.”
“That is wonderful,” LaLuna said, smiling. “We will be there.”
“Sounds good,” Kelsey said, yawning. “Now, let me get some sleep. The coffee shop opens nice and early. Oh, and don’t let your boyfriend keep you up late, either.”
LaLuna giggled again. “I won’t. Rest easy, friend.”
With that, the line went dead and LaLuna looked up at me, her eyes glinting in the bad lighting of the hotel room.
“Sounds like we should get some good rest so we’ll have strength for tomorrow,” I told her, then instantly regretted it.
I should have said something suave or cool, but nope, I’ve got a girl I’m attracted to all to myself and what do I do? I tell her we need to get some sleep. No wonder she wasn’t that into me.
LaLuna looked a little disappointed, but she nodded. “Indeed, Sir Damian,” she said. “We should both get lots of sleep. Kelsey requested as much.”
There she was saying “sir” again. Yep, I’d botched it. Only the great Damian could go from passionately kissing a girl one minute to formal terms the next.
I grunted and hid myself under the blankets, willing sleep to come.
“KELSEY?” I ASKED AS I pushed open the door to Magical Brews. It was mid-morning of the next day. We’d caught the earliest ferry we could, but it had still taken its sweet time, so we weren’t blindingly early. Thankfully, the interior of the coffee shop looked to be mostly deserted. I surmised we’d missed the morning rush.
Which was just as well.
“Yes?” Kelsey replied, barely lifting her head out of the book she was reading. She was standing behind the counter, looking just like we’d seen her several days earlier before the fae portal incident. “Oh,” she said, “it’s you two.” She put a bookmark in her book and set it down, then looked up at us and smiled. “Ready to cast the tracking spell, then?”
“Yessir,” I said, flashing her a smile. I fished around in my fanny pack and pulled out the silver rattle and held it toward her. “One object that used to belong to baby Grace, at your service.”
Kelsey made her way around the counter and approached us. She held out her hand, and I gave her the rattle. She stroked the silver metal a couple of times. “Oh, my,” she said as she fingered it. “The silverwork on this thing is amazing. It’s almost a shame I’ll have to destroy it.”
“Destroy it?” LaLuna asked, a hesitance to her tone.
Kelsey nodded. “Uh huh. It’s part of how the magic works. I’ll need to take apart the rattle so I can include part of it in the spell.” She straightened up and looked at both of us. “That’s not a problem, is it?”
“No, I don’t think so,” I told her. “Grace won’t miss it.”
“Indeed. I doubt she’d even remember it,” LaLuna added.
There was that tinge of sadness again. Or longing perhaps. I couldn’t quite tell which. As eager as she was to find the baby, I could tell LaLuna wasn’t eager to lose the rattle.
My mind went back to the previous night, when we’d found it in the crib. LaLuna’s eyes had lit up at the sight of the rattle. Was I right in my assumption that it had once been hers? It would make sense. The rattle did look rather old and well to do. LaLuna very well might have used it once upon a time, many years ago.
Briefly, I wondered if that would mess with the tracking spell at all, but even if it had been LaLuna’s once, I hoped it was long enough ago that it wouldn’t matter anymore. Even possessions faded with time, unless it was magically enhanced.
“Okay, then,” Kelsey said. “Let’s do this thing. Come with me and don’t touch anything.”
We followed her through the main room and into the Staff Only door at the back. The back room was full wall to wall with plants of every variety I could imagine. It was a veritable herb garden the likes of which I’d never seen.
And there in the back, partially hidden by what looked like a fern, was a small, black cauldron sitting on a low table.
“This is where I’ll work the spell,” Kelsey told us. “Like I said, just stay back and don’t touch anything. I wouldn’t want anothe
r person’s death on my shoulders.”
“Another?” I didn’t much like the sound of that.
“Don’t ask.”
I let the matter drop at that, but took extra care to make sure I wasn’t touching anything, either. As much as I longed to one day leave this mortal coil, doing it at the hands of a rogue plant was not how I wanted things to go down.
“Can I be of any help?” LaLuna asked.
Kelsey shook her head. “Nah, I’ve got this. If anything, your magic might actually hamper the spell. Wouldn’t want that now, would we?”
“Definitely not, Mistress Kelsey,” LaLuna replied with a slight bow. She backed up a half step. “I shall endeavor to stay out of your way.”
Kelsey grinned at both of us. “Good. Well, I’ll get started, then.”
She pulled a screwdriver out of her back pocket and started working on the rattle, humming softly to herself as she did so. Within a few minutes, she had the thing open, and she pulled out a small object from inside of it that looked like a ball bearing. That tiny thing must be what made the rattling sound.
“That should do the trick,” Kelsey said. She screwed the rattle back together and handed it back to LaLuna. “Hopefully, I won’t need more than that.”
“Much appreciated,” LaLuna said, accepting the rattle gracefully.
Kelsey returned her attention to the cauldron. There was already some sort of clear liquid in it. Water, perhaps? I had no way to be certain. She placed the small ball bearing into it and flicked a little switch on the side of the table. Tiny flames appeared underneath the cauldron, heating it up.
She went back to humming as she examined several of the herbs in the garden, taking a small cutting of several and placing the leaves into the cauldron after crushing them softly with her fingers.
“Anyone have any blood I can borrow?” she asked a moment later.