“I got a Call from the local Paranormal community. The Merpeople and Selkies have an issue, and while Barbara usually handles problems on this side of the country, since it is ocean related, it made more sense for me to come.” She reached up and hugged him again, her normally sunny disposition even more shining than usual. “Oh, wait until Barbara and Bella find out you’re here! They’re going to be so happy I found you.”
Alexei sighed. So much for hiding out. “I don’t suppose your issue has anything to do with a sea monster,” he said. “I was actually just out looking for one.”
Beka’s blue eyes widened. “That’s great. You’re already on it. It will be just like old times.”
Hardly. “I’m not a Rider anymore,” he reminded her gently. “I’m not anything. Just your average mortal.”
“Pfft. You’ll never be an average anything. Have you looked in the mirror lately?” Beka squeezed his arm, not so much missing what he meant as telling him she intended to ignore it.
“But we’d better talk about this later, when your friends aren’t here.” She nodded her head in the direction of Bethany, who was slowly wheeling Calum down the rough surface of the dock. “She’s pretty. Is she your girlfriend?”
Alexei seriously considered throwing himself into the sea. “NO,” he said, maybe a little more forcefully than necessary. “She’s my employer. That’s it.” All he needed was a perky Baba Yaga matchmaker. He’d rather deal with a sea monster.
* * *
Bethany arrived in time to overhear the last part of their conversation. She was distracted from the bits she didn’t understand by the unexpected pain of Alexei’s adamant denial of a personal relationship. Not that she wanted one - with that giant, bearded brawler? No thanks - but still, he didn’t have to sound so repulsed by the idea.
It was bad enough that seeing a beautiful woman throwing herself at Alexei had made Bethany unaccountably jealous. It was ridiculous. She didn’t own him. Hell, she barely knew him. And didn’t like him more days than not. Still, it stung a little. Just because…well, it just did.
She plastered a welcoming smile on her face anyway, although she might have been gritting her teeth a little. “Hello,” she said. ‘I’m Bethany McKenna and this is my father Calum. I had no idea Alexei knew anyone out here besides us.”
“And all the guys at the bar,” Alexei added.
The blonde rolled her eyes. “Well them, of course. Nice to see some things haven’t changed.” She held a slim hand out to Bethany, who was taken aback to find unexpected calluses in familiar places.
“You work on a fishing boat?” Bethany blurted. The woman looked like a model or an actress or a California surfer girl, not like someone who would do physical labor for a living.
But the girl just laughed. “Is it that obvious? My husband has a fishing boat he runs out of the Monterey Bay area. I help him when I can, although it’s partially just an excuse to spend time with him.” She blushed becomingly. “My name is Beka, and I’m an old friend of Alexei’s. This is my companion Chewie.” She patted the dog on the head and the mammoth Newfie barked as if saying hello.
“I had no idea Alexei was in the area when I came out here, but it certainly is a pleasant surprise. It has been too long.” She mock-scowled at him, although the expression just looked cute on her open all-American face.
The gorgeous girl was married, and clearly madly in love with her husband. Who was a fisherman. Bethany suddenly liked her a lot better. Also, the fact that she referred to her dog as her companion was just adorable.
“Your dog is amazing,” Bethany said. “Is he a Newfoundland?”
‘Most days,” Beka said. “So how did you meet Alexei?”
“I run my father’s bar, The Hook and Anchor. He showed up there one night and I haven’t been able to get rid of him since.” Bethany grinned to show she was kidding.
“Shocking,” Beka said dryly. “Alexei at a bar. How unusual.”
“Well, to be fair, he isn’t just hanging around,” Bethany added. “He ended up helping out with my dad after Calum chased off the last home health aide. He’s staying in our guest house.”
Beka raised one eyebrow. “Huh. That is unusual. Alexei being helpful. Go figure.”
“It’s just temporary,” Alexei growled. “I’m mostly staying for the dog.”
“And he’s not all that helpful,” Calum said with a wink. “Just bossy and annoying.”
“There’s a dog?” Beka sounded slightly bemused. “At the bar?”
“In the guesthouse,” Alexei said. “But to be fair, she was there before I was. A very pregnant Great Dane named Lulu. I think she and Chewie would get along quite well. They both talk a lot of nonsense.”
“Goodness,” Beka said. “I can’t wait to call Barbara and Bella. This just gets better and better.”
Alexei rolled his eyes. “Barbara and Bella are also old friends. Kind of like Beka’s sisters,” he explained to Bethany. “Family. There will be teasing.”
“I look forward to seeing that,” Bethany said. “But in the meanwhile, I think we should get my father back home. It has been fun, but this is his first excursion out, so we probably shouldn’t push it.”
“I’m fine, girl. Don’t fuss,” Calum said. But she noticed he didn’t protest any further, and his drooping posture gave away his fatigue.
“It was lovely to meet you,” Beka said, giving Alexei a meaningful look. “Do give me your address so I can stop by and visit. I’ll tell you what, Alexei; give me your address and I’ll come by later and we can catch up. I just need to talk to the harbormaster about renting a boat.”
“Ah,” Alexei said. “You mean for the thing.”
“Yes, the thing,” Beka nodded.
Bethany had no idea what either of them was talking about. “What thing? Fishing? I know almost everyone here who owns a boat, so maybe I can help you find one, if I have a better idea of what you need it for, and for how long.”
Alexei narrowed his eyes, glancing from her to Calum and back again. “Actually,” he said slowly, “I was going to talk to your dad about maybe borrowing The Flora MacDonald now and again. What do you think, Calum? Would you trust me with her? Beka is an able sailor, and has logged plenty of hours on her husband’s boat. Together, we’re more than capable, I promise.”
“And what would you need a boat for?” Calum asked. “You’re tired of breaking up my bar and you thought maybe you’d try your luck on a moving target instead?” He waved one hand through the air when Alexei protested. “Ach, I’m just having at you. Sure, the boat is just sitting here doing nothing. Worse comes to worse, you sink it and I collect the insurance. Buy one of them fancy electric wheelchairs with it.”
He nodded at Beka. “No need to look any further for a boat, miss. If this giant oaf says you’re okay, I expect you are. Come to dinner later and we’ll talk about what the two of you have planned. But for now, I think I’ll go home and have a bit of a rest. I’m not used to all this fresh air after being locked in my house for so long.” He glared at Bethany. “Well? Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to drive me home?”
Bethany shrugged. “Sorry,” she said. “He’s a rude bastard, but at least he’s loaning you his boat.” She was amazed by that, and puzzled by why Alexei wanted one in the first place, but for now, she needed to get her obviously exhausted father home. She’d deal with the rest later. Plus, of course, figure out what the hell she was going to make for dinner. Who knew what blonde goddesses from California ate. Twigs and leaves, maybe, with some tofu on the side. Not likely in their house. It was going to be a long day.
Chapter 9
Alexei helped Calum get into bed for a much-needed nap (with only a token protest, so the old man must have really been tired) and borrowed the truck from Bethany, who was acting odd. Women. You could live thousands of years and never understand them. Alexei had given up trying long ago. Of course, he’d spent most of his time with Baba Yagas, who weren’t exactly normal wom
en, so that probably hadn’t helped.
Bethany had asked him if Beka ate twigs and leaves for some reason, to which he’d responded with a baffled, “Not that I know of. I think she just eats, you know, food.” Then he grabbed the truck keys and ran away before she could get any weirder.
As he’s expected, Beka was waiting for him at the docks, sitting patiently in front of Calum’s boat with Chewie stretched out in a patch of sun at her feet. Dragons enjoyed lying in the sun almost as much as cats did.
“I like her,” Beka said as Alexei walked up to her. “She’s tiny, but she’s tough.
“The boat?” Alexei said, not sure that’s how he would have described it.
Beka rolled her eyes. “Your friend Bethany. I’m glad you’ve finally met someone nice.”
Alexei scowled at her. “Bethany is not ‘nice.’ She’s a pain in my ass. Never lets me get away with anything. I’m just hanging out for a little while because I get free drinks and a place to stay. It’s not a big deal.”
“Uh, huh. How long have you been here?”
He shrugged. “Dunno. Couple of weeks. Maybe three.”
Chewie made a coughing noise that might have been dragon-dog laughter.
“And you’re living at her house, taking care of her crippled father, and her pregnant Great Dane?” Beka grinned at him. “Sounds like kind of a big deal to me.”
Alexei growled at her. “I’m living in the guesthouse. I’m just helping with her father for the free drinks and because the old bastard scared off his last minder, and it’s not her Great Dane. Bethany is just fostering Lulu until she has her puppies and they’re old enough to be weaned. It’s a temporary situation, just like me hanging around here. Do not make something out of nothing.”
“I saw you when you got off the boat earlier. You were smiling. That’s a big deal.” Beka patted him on the arm. “I’m just glad she makes you happy, that’s all.”
“I’m always happy,” Alexei protested.
“Sure,” Beka said. “So happy you’ve been avoiding all your friends and your own brothers, who you love more than life itself, and drinking your way across the country.” She sighed. “I get it, Alexei, I do. Mikhail and Gregori both had a hell of a time getting over what happened too. It’s okay not to be okay. But maybe it is also okay to let yourself find a new path, the way they did. They both found a purpose and someone to share their lives with. There’s no reason you can’t too.”
Alexei crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t want a new path, Beka. I want my old path back. I’m never going to find a purpose as satisfying as being a Rider. It was what I was born to do, and there’s no second choice. It’s who I am. At least it was, until that damn Brenna stole it from me. From us. I’m glad Mikhail and Gregori have made their peace with it, but I’m not them.”
“So what?” Beka asked, a blonde eyebrow quirked up. “You’re going to spend the rest of your life drinking and fighting and never staying in one place for more than a few days at a time? That’s your plan?”
Alexei felt tears of frustration pricking at the back of his eyes. It was ironic - the evil witch had tortured him and his brothers for days, and he had never gotten emotional about it. Never cried, or begged for mercy, or gave in to the gnawing beasts of hopelessness. But since he’d recovered, it seemed as though he fought those things constantly. Nightmares haunted him. It was…hard. And being here had only made it worse.
“That was my plan,” he said flatly. “But lately I don’t seem to enjoy drinking and fighting either. Now I got no plan. No plan at all.” He shook off his melancholy with an effort. “So why don’t you tell me yours? I assume that you’ve got one, or you wouldn’t have needed a boat.”
Beka looked as though she was going to continue to argue with him, but Chewie butted her in the leg and said, “Leave it, Beka. He’s a big boy. He’ll figure it out. We have a job to do.”
“Spoken like a true Chudo-Yudo,” Beka said. “How would we Baba Yagas manage without you?”
Chewie gave one of his barking laughs. “What makes you think you would?”
She bent down and kissed him on the top of the head, her fair hair a stark contrast against his curly black coat. “Well, I hope I never have to find out.” Straightening up, she was suddenly all business, the pretty surfer girl replaced by the powerful witch with a mission to accomplish.
“Okay, yes, I have a plan. Or at least the start of one. We got word that the local ocean dwellers - Selkies and Merpeople, primarily - were having a problem with some kind of mysterious sea monster that suddenly appeared out of nowhere. So I figured the first thing I would do was search out some of the Paranormal folks, so they can tell me exactly what’s happening.”
“Hmm.” Alexei nodded, and gestured her toward The Flora MacDonald. They might as well get underway while they talked, since he had to get back for dinner. “I might know a little something about that. A few of the fishermen who come into the bar have been complaining about the fish vanishing, and one guy swore his boat was attacked by a giant squid.”
“A giant squid?” Beka shuddered. “Ugh. That’s not good.”
“It’s worse than not good,” Alexei said, steering them carefully out into the open sea. “I saw some fish from his hold, and the sucker marks were as big as a dinner plate. I think we’re dealing with a kraken.”
“A kraken!” Beka turned pale under her California tan. “There hasn’t been a kraken sighting in over a hundred years. Where the hell would it have come from, and why show up here now?”
“I guess that’s what we’re going to have to find out,” Alexei said, a trifle grimly.
“Ha! You said ‘we.’” Beka jabbed him in the chest with one pointy finger. “I knew you were going to help me.”
He set his jaw. “I’m just here to drive the boat. I told you; I’m not a Rider anymore. This isn’t my job.”
Beka grinned at him, her blue eyes sparkling like the water that surrounded them. “Maybe not, but it sounds like you need a new hobby. Kraken hunting sounds like an excellent place to start. You know, unless you want to take up needlepoint.”
Alexei just growled at her. Women. They were all going to make him crazy.
* * *
Beka had him sail to the small island of Monomoy. Once inhabited but now abandoned, it was home to about three thousand seals, and apparently, a number of the local Selkies. Not that most people knew about that second part, of course.
During the summer, visitors to the Cape took tours of the island, but at this time of year, they had the place to themselves. Alexei steered The Flora MacDonald into a quiet cove and he and Beka rowed the dingy into shore and settled themselves onto a couple of rocks to wait. It didn’t take long.
Two men and a woman walked out of the wind-battered trees, dressed in only jeans and tee shirts despite the cool weather. All three had straight dark hair, intense black eyes, and strong, lithe physiques. A few steps behind them were an older couple, both of them with long greenish-blonde hair, green eyes, and an odd, slightly limping walk. The Selkies and the Mer had arrived.
They all came to a stop before Alexei and Beka, and when Beka rose to meet them, they bowed in unison. Alexei and Beka bowed back. The Paranormal folk tended to have Old World manners, much more formal than the modern era they now found themselves living in. Of course, they rarely mixed with Humans, so that wasn’t so surprising.
“Baba Yaga,” the male Mer said, clearly the senior member of the greeting party. “I am Niall, and this is my mate Niamh. Our companions are Connor, Sean, and Anna, of the Selkie people. We are grateful you came.”
“Of course,” Beka inclined her head gracefully. “I am honored to come when my Selkie and Mer brothers and sisters Call me. As I’m sure you know, I have many friends in the communities of the water people back home.”
“Indeed,” Connor said. “It was they who suggested we ask for your help.” He shifted his dark eyes, as deep as the caverns of the ocean, in Alexei’s direction. “Is this n
ot…that is, we had heard…”
“Yes I am,” Alexei said, gritting his teeth. This was why he’d stayed away from anyone Paranormal for the last year, and why he hadn’t wanted to get sucked into this particular task. He couldn’t stand the pitying way people looked at him. At least Humans just gave him strange looks because he was so large and intimidating, not for any personal reason. “And yes, it is true. I am no longer a Rider. I’m just along - ” he couldn’t say because “because Beka twisted my arm.” “I’m just here to help out an old friend, because I happened to be in the area.”
The Selkies and Merpeople bowed again. “We count ourselves fortunate that it is so,” Niall said smoothly. He glanced from Beka to Alexei and back again. “I suspect this challenge will require all the strength and magic we can muster.”
“There seems to be a monster infesting our waters,” Niamh said, twisting her hands together. “None of our people have seen it as yet, but we are hearing strange rumors from the fishermen who sail these seas, and our scouts have reported many fewer dolphins and whales than would normally be around in this season. Even the fish are disappearing, and if they don’t return, we face a hungry spring and summer.”
“I think you’re facing much worse than that,” Alexei said in a grim tone. “It is possible that your monster is a kraken.”
The Paranormals looked more resigned than shocked, as if this possibility had already occurred to them.
“You don’t seem very surprised,” Beka said, clearly having expected a bigger reaction.
Anna shrugged. “There are tales from our parents’ time that tell of such a creature infesting our waters during the age of the last pirates. The early seventeen hundreds, that would have been, as Humans measure such things.”
“What do the tales say?” Beka asked. “Perhaps they have nothing to do with our current situation, but it can’t hurt to know.”
Niall shrugged. “Supposedly there was a particularly fierce pirate who had a magical talisman that could call a kraken to do his bidding. Mind you, in the tales, all pirates were fierce. And it seems unlikely that a Human pirate could ever have controlled such a creature. But those are the tales. According to my father, both the kraken and the pirate disappeared over three hundred years ago and were never heard from again. As I said, a story told to children.”
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