Health and sanitary inspectors had been here before and seen how awful and unsanitary the place was, but they never shut down the Turtle Bluff. Aside from Goon offering the inspectors a lifetime of free soup and a promise to contain the crap in the back out of public eye in exchange for his permit to run the business, the Washington State Department of Health secretary was married to the leader of the den in Olympia. Awesome connection.
Callum parked the motorcycle beside the pile of sagging wet cardboard boxes. A family of rodents started coming out of old boxes like overflowing black water, probably scared of the sound of his motorcycle.
“Eww! Please don’t tell me they’re shape-shifters, too?”
Callum got off the bike and faced Marisol. She watched the rodents, the corner of her lips pulled down and her eyes open wide. She looked so charming that he had the urge to kiss her. Cupping her face, he forced her to look at him. “They’re just rats, baby.” Marisol met him halfway when he dipped his head for a kiss. It was just a kiss, but powerful enough to make him burn. Their tongues dueled, plunging, seeking, tasting. Somewhere, laughter penetrated his senses, reminding him of where they were. Reluctantly, he broke the kiss. “Keep kissing me like that and you’ll find yourself flat on your back. Naked. Me on top.”
“Promise?”
“Minx.” With one last long drugging kiss, he lifted her off his bike. “I don’t give empty promises. Hungry?”
“Starving.”
“Good. Goon makes great soup.”
“Rat soup?”
“Better.” Holding Marisol’s hand, he led her through the kitchen.
“Hmm, smells wonderful. Oh, I think the cook’s making stew.”
“Keep walking and stop craning your neck.”
“I love bread with my stew.”
“Noted.”
A burly dishwasher with dark long hair plastered on his head from the heat blocked their path, his arms akimbo.
“Hey, Max. How’s the jaw?”
“Still attached, bastard. Next time, Callum, I’ll break your bones and stuff you in the dishwasher.”
Callum responded with a grin that didn’t last. Before he could react, Marisol had the tip of her sword digging in Max’s thick neck. Hot damn. That’s what I call speed.
The noisy kitchen turned quiet. The staff looked unconcerned about the threat, but Callum knew better. “Baby, put down your sword.”
“Not until he takes back what he said.”
“This is Max, a good friend of mine. He’s a prick, but on our side.”
“I apologize, Mark’s daughter.”
“You know me?”
“I knew your father. A good man and a good friend. My condolences to you. “
“Thank you.”
“Please accept my condolences as well.”
Marisol and Callum both turned around at the sound of a gruff, smoke-damaged voice. “Goon, how are you?”
“Getting old. So this is the most talked about woman that fluffed the wolves’ fur? I can finally put a face with your name, Marisol. Beautiful name, with an equally beautiful face.”
“Thank you.”
As if someone had turned on the play button, the noise in the kitchen came back. Everyone went back to doing his or her own business. None said a word. They didn’t have to. The sideways glances and blatant stares said it all. They didn’t like Marisol and he’d bet his guns they knew about him breaking the rules.
“Goon, we’re hungry. Do you think you could send your best soup and bread to my place?”
“No problem. I’ll have fresh bread delivered. Your brothers cleaned my pantry earlier.”
“One thing Seattle’s Best Den doesn’t have is great soup and bread.”
“That’s what I heard. But they boast about their coffee. Well, good to see you, Callum. Oh, Cal?”
“Yeah?”
“It’s gonna be different down there.”
“I know. My brothers warned me. Thanks.”
“Pleasure meeting you, Marisol.”
“Same here, Goon. I’ve never seen a charming goon in my life.” Marisol sheathed her sword and gave the old man a smile.
Callum almost laughed when Goon blushed like a teenager. “I’ve never been called charming before. Don’t think I know how. But thank you.”
“You’re welcome. So you’re responsible for that wonderful smell? I’m not a very good cook. Only last night, someone made a point of reminding me of that flaw. Perhaps someday you could show me your secret?”
“The secret of my turtle soup will go to my grave. Now as for the bread—that I can show you how to make.”
“Oh, goody! I’m a quick learner. Show me what to do just one time and I’ll remember it.”
“I’ll save a day just for you.”
Marisol giggled. “Thank you.”
“Mari, let’s go.”
“Where are we going? Could we eat here? I saw people eating and I do believe they have an empty table. We can sit in the corner and enjoy the view.”
“We’ll eat in the room.” He practically shoved her in a hallway that twisted and turned.
“A dead end. Did we miss the elevator?”
“No.”
Endy, the busboy, sat on a stool, his back against the wall, flipping the pages of a book he held too close to his face.
“Endy, we need to get in.”
Endy just grunted and kept on reading.
“We’re already inside. Get in where, Callum? I don’t see a door.”
Callum opted not to reply. He’d explain everything about the secret passage later. “Endy.” He smacked the side of the kid’s head none too gently.
“Oww! Christ, Callum. What the fuck, man?”
“Watch your mouth. If you want to teach kids, better learn to curb your tongue.”
“What are you doing here? Uhm, does she need to use the ladies’ room? You passed it already.” Endy let out a big yawn then made a move to continue reading.
“Damn kid. Will you stop for a minute and let us in?”
“Unlike you, Callum, I have tests to take. What do you want?”
“We need to get in,” Callum repeated.
“We? But Callum...” Endy glanced at Marisol. “You know outsiders aren’t allowed. Is she... I heard about—”
“My brothers are expecting us.”
“They are?” Endy and Marisol said simultaneously.
Damn, he’d better remember to brief Marisol next time. “Endy, have you seen Youven’s sword?”
“No.”
“Marisol carries it on her back.”
Endy’s eyes couldn’t have gotten any bigger. His jaw dropped. Sleepiness left his eyes. “Really? Is it true it has engravings written in Gaelic on it?”
“Wanna see it?” Marisol offered.
“Later. Open the door, Endy.”
“Callum, I can show the sword to Endy right now.”
“Not here, Marisol. We’re still outside. It’s not safe.”
“Right. Well, later Endy. Promise I’ll show you the sword.”
Callum watched Endy’s face turn bright red when Marisol gave him the same smile that she gave Goon—seductive. Her smile could make anyone think of a sunrise, green grass on the meadow, rainbows and butterflies. Man, did she have to smile like that?
“Thanks. Okay, here we go.”
Callum listened as Endy recited a poem in Gaelic, pronouncing each word with the right accent and diphthongs. He didn’t aspirate the consonants, but uttered the letters the way it was written.
Callum was impressed. The boy really worked hard learning the language; one would think it was his native tongue. Just like their ancestors, the Gaels.
A deep mechanical whirring sound, like a quickly spinning ceiling fan, sounded before the cement wall slid to the left, revealing a passage Callum had entered many times before.
“Wow. That’s incredible.”
“I know. Who would have thought there’s a door there, huh?” Endy said, pride in
his voice.
“Oh yeah. The wall opening’s cool, but I’m talking about your proficiency in Gaelic. You’re awesome.”
“Sheez, thanks. Not very many appreciate my hard work here.”
“Callum, isn’t he wonderful? Gaelic’s a hard language to learn.”
“Good job, Endy. Let’s go, Marisol.” He tugged Marisol’s hand, but the dratted woman dug her heels in so she could talk to Endy.
“I like your poem, Endy. Elizabeth Barrett Browning is my all time favorite poet. How Do I Love Thee in ancient Gaelic sounds sweeter than English.”
“Eh?” Endy’s face turned pale. He swallowed visibly and then started breathing fast, as if he’d just run a marathon. The boy looked ready to pass out. “You…you know the sacred language of Nuada, where your sword came from?”
“Uh-huh. I can read and speak the language. Studied it before I learned to ride a three-wheeler.”
Endy started rubbing his palms on his apron. “I’m fucked. I’m going to lose this job.”
“Why?”
“Babe, to open this door, Endy’s job is to come up with tough passwords that only he would know. This time he came up with a poem.”
“In Gaelic! And you know the language, too, Callum?”
“Very few of us can read and speak it. It’s old and dying. Endy here took the task of studying it so he could teach the new generation.”
“Do you think How Do I Love Thee sounds sweeter in Gaelic than English?” Marisol asked.
“Yeah. Okay, can we go now?” He’d never met such a chatterbox.
“Oh my God! I so love Gaelic. Sorry, Endy. Don’t worry, no one will know.”
“I do.”
“Come up with a different password then.”
“That means memorizing another poem.”
“I’ll help.”
Endy let out a deep breath. “Cool.”
“Okay, can we go now?”
“Sheez, Callum. I didn’t know you were such an impatient man.”
“You bring out the best in me, love. Let’s go.”
“Love?”
“Shut up, Endy.” He shoved the boy none too gently and then took Marisol’s hand in his.
***
Marisol followed Callum to a narrow passage that led to an elevator. When it opened, she was surprised to see how big the elevator was. Why, they could put a whole car inside and there’d be room to spare. A man who must have been in his eighties, with glasses as thick as the bottom of a glass bottle, sat inside on a stool. He blinked his superimposed eyes and then smiled real big when he recognized Callum. Deep wrinkles around his eyes showed that he smiled a lot.
“Ah, you didn’t disappoint me. I’ve been expecting you.”
“You always say that.”
“Not to everyone. So you brought someone with you.”
Marisol and Callum stepped inside. “This is Marisol. Baby, meet Cray. Only he can make this elevator go up and down.”
“So it’s true what they say. You possess a beauty like no other.”
Marisol smile. She liked him already. “Pleasure to meet you, Cray. How do you make this elevator go up or down?” Unlike any elevator she’d been in, this one didn’t have a console for floors.
Cray laughed. “Cheeky, huh. I’ve met a lot of beautiful women in my lifetime. None of them managed to trick me the way you’re trying to do now, although I’m tempted to give you a reply. It’s your eyes, you know. They’re hypnotizing.”
She didn’t know exactly how to reply to that comment so she took the safe route. “Thank you.”
“All right, I detained you long enough. Hang on.”
She had no idea where they were going, but she had the feeling that once they were inside, it would be tough to get out.
“We can’t go up. So I’m assuming we’re going down?”
“Great assumption.”
“Stop it. Where are we going?”
“Just wait.” Callum winked.
With bated breath, she watched Cray. She expected him to chant or sing. Instead, he fished a cellphone out of his pocket and started pushing buttons. Marisol was surprised to feel the elevator move.
“That’s it? You use a cellphone to make this elevator work?”
Cray looked at Marisol, his eyes unblinking. “Easier than reciting a ridiculous poem in a different language. Isn’t that what Endy did to open the passageway?”
“I wouldn’t know, Cray,” she replied without batting an eye. She’d made a promise to Endy. She wouldn’t break that promise.
Cray grinned. “You’re a good addition to this clan. They’ll realize it soon enough.”
“Thanks, Cray.”
“You know what makes this old man happy, Callum.”
“I know. I’ll see you soon.”
Callum placed his hand at the small of her back as they both stepped out of the elevator.
Marisol found herself staring at a beautiful town with a gazebo fountain in the middle of what seemed to be a roundabout. Marisol made a quick assessment. The place looked like quintessential small town USA. There was a variety store, a bakery, theater, hardware store, and Kinder Britches—a baby clothing store. Two women in bicycles, one with a baby carrier, rode past them. And then she noticed there weren’t any cars around. Only bicycles parked in designated areas. Except for the spindly, discolored, and about twelve-foot tall trees, there weren’t any trees like cedars, pine, or madrona around. “Wow.”
“Welcome to the Turtle Bluff Den.”
“This is your den?”
“Yeah. We have dens like this all over the country. Sorry to disappoint you, baby. You must be thinking about a hole in the ground.”
“Silly. This is amazing. And what a lovely fountain.” It was a conical shape sculpture made out of rocks that were piled on top of each other, with water cascading down to splash on the rocks at the base. “But why is it inside the gazebo?” The gazebo part was made out of shiny steel rods and with a metal gate. Some kind of a climbing plant with shiny dark green five-pointed leaves covered one metal post. Around its foundation were tulips in full bloom. It looked so romantic.
“To keep the kids from getting closer to the fountain and putting soap in the water, the council decided to put it inside the gazebo.”
Marisol studied the fountain. She’d seen it before. “Cairn. Isn’t that what you call that rock formation?”
“Right.”
“Cairn,” Marisol repeated. “Like a man-made pile of stones. I read about it. Cairns are found all over the world. In uplands, woodlands, mountaintops. Everywhere. They’re stone markers, right?”
“Right. That fountain marks the center of this town. Since prehistory, cairns have also been built as sepulchral monuments, or for ceremonial purposes. See the tulips?” Callum pointed at the flowers planted at the base.
“Yeah.”
“We grow plants here using artificial lights. Later, I’ll show you the greenhouses.”
“How big is this town?”
“Maybe about twenty square miles. Just imagine quarter the size of downtown Seattle. Or smaller.”
“People… I mean, shape-shifters…live here?”
“Yeah. We run different businesses here to finance our cause.”
“How did you guys manage to build this town?”
“Baby, you’d be surprise what’s under the ground in cities around the world. Do you know what’s beneath the Space Needle?”
“Another den?”
Callum nodded. “Seattle’s Best. When the architects started building the Space Needle, they built a replica beneath it, but in an upside down position.”
“To withstand strong earthquakes. I read that somewhere.”
“Right. When it was finished, we built a den around it.”
“And because of your connections, no one outside your clan knows the den exists?”
“Yup. That’s why we keep our connections happy. One of them could easily expose us.”
“They wouldn�
�t dare though.”
“No.”
“Good.” Marisol took a deep breath. The air tasted so clean down here.
As though Callum read her mind, he said, “Clean air, huh? We have an air purifying system here. But I’m not going into detail about it. That’s a boring topic. Later, though, I’ll show you Christie’s.”
“Christie’s as in the world’s most renowned clay pot maker?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow. Who would have thought Christie is a shape-shifter? I’ve been to her gallery in Seattle and seen her collections. They were remarkable. Do you think I could meet her?”
“I’m sure she’d love to meet you. You could ride a bike and see this whole place in one day. Let’s go.”
“Neat. I might do that.”
“Not without me.”
“Of course. You’ll be my tour guide.”
“This is the safest place for you. You can stay here while I go back up to—”
“Whoa. Hang on, buddy. You’re not leaving me here. I don’t care if this is paradise, or if the president of America hangs out here. I am not staying down here while you go up there to fight Atos, Blood Robbers, or the ugly ones that chased us.”
“You will do what I say, Marisol.”
“Or? You’ll kiss me again? You should know by now that your threat is not a threat at all.”
“I’ll take all of your clothes and lock you up in the room naked.”
“Well now, that’s a threat. Okay, I’ll do whatever you ask me to do.”
“Marisol,” he sighed her name.
“I said okay, didn’t I?”
Callum shook his head at her. “For your own good, baby, you need to stay where I put you. Need anything at the store?” He pointed at the small building with a brown façade and red roof. Above the door, painted images of chamomile, clover, thyme, and other leaves she didn’t recognize, was the only sign that the place was a pharmacy. “Um, do you think we can find Chapstick for my lips in there?”
“No, but we can get pig’s fat in a jar. Of course, we can get one there. Anything else?”
“No.”
A minute later, Marisol regretted going inside the pharmacy. It was bad enough that the cashier glared at her and other shoppers avoided standing near her as if she were a plague, but when Callum tossed six boxes of Trojans beside the Chapstick she put on the counter, she felt like melting from embarrassment. When she glared at Callum, he just raised his brows and said “What?”
Beyond The Veil: A Paranormal & Magical Romance Boxed Set Page 306