by Richard Amos
“Seriously?”
“Yep.”
“That’s amazing.”
“They’re bloody hardcore, mate.”
The goblin looked up, big brown eyes blinking rapidly. He gave me a curt nod, never stopping his work.
I returned the gesture.
“Come on,” Greg said. “This way.”
I followed him across the square, down a side strip of shops where a café sat at the end of the row. It was called Ruby’s, the sign big and red neon. Sparkly crimson beads hung in the windows.
“Get ready for the feeding of your life.”
He entered first, a bell dinging above my head. It was pretty busy inside, but the atmosphere was instantly welcoming. Sure enough, there was a goblin there. This one, with what looked like a unicorn horn jutting through her red hair, was sitting in the far corner, watching the world go by beyond the window as she knitted.
I didn’t stare too long.
The walls of the café were red and white candy stripes, as were the tablecloths. There were pictures of old film stars on the walls from Marilyn Monroe to Cary Grant, all sitting in glittery red picture frames. It made me smile. I loved its attitude, the way it seemed to be done all out of love and not caring about any kind of taste level.
We grabbed a free table. No sooner were we seated when a plump woman, looking to be in her fifties, with big blonde hair and bright red lipstick strode over to us. She was wearing a red apron over a white dress and her blue eyes sparkled with curiosity.
“Alright, Ruby?” Greg greeted her.
“Hello, sweetheart.” She grabbed him and planted a kiss on his cheek. “And who’s this gorgeous boy?” She looked at me inquisitively. Oh, no! She recognized me from the modelling days!
“I’m Jake. N-nice to meet you.”
“Oh, you’re so nervous. Don’t be, sweet. You visiting?”
“I, er, just moved here.” Phew! I was wrong.
“Oh, right.”
“Staying with me,” Greg said. “On my sofa until he finds a place.”
“Oh lovely. Well, welcome to Coldharbour.”
Ruby stood taller. “I’d better learn what your usual is, which means you’ll need to be coming in here more often than not. Like Greg.” She winked at me good-naturedly before pulling a tiny notepad and pen from her apron pocket. “Now, what’s it to be?”
I picked up the menu and paused before I could read it properly. Sod it. To hell with the menu. I was loving the vibes of this place, “I’ll have today’s special.”
Ruby chuckled. “You didn’t even look.”
“I’m in the mood for a surprise.”
“Could be haggis.”
“It’s not … right?”
“No, sweet. I wouldn’t have that in here. Though my husband is quite partial to it.” Her laugh was a joyful sound. She turned her head and called out, “One special, Dave!”
A door at the back of the café swung open—obviously the gateway to the kitchen. A skinny man in his fifties, donning a white chef’s hat and tunic stepped out. “Finally! Someone’s having the pie and mash. Who ordered it?”
Ah, I was well pleased with my risk-taking. I bloody loved pie and mash.
“Our newest resident.” Ruby jerked her head in my direction.
I raised my hand in greeting.
Dave smiled. “Well, Jake, you’ve just made my morning. No one ever orders it. London lad?”
“Yeah, Hackney.”
He gave me the thumbs up. “Nice one.”
All eyes were on me.
“Usual, Greg?” Ruby asked as Dave slipped back into the kitchen.
“And a tea, please.”
“I second that,” I said.
“No problem, boys.”
“Cheers, Ruby,” Greg said.
“Anytime, sweet.”
“Is Crystal in?”
“She is. I’ll grab her.”
“Thanks.”
She sauntered off to the kitchen.
“Dave’s her husband,” Greg said.
“I guessed. They seem so nice.”
“They are.”
“Crystal? She works here?”
“She does.”
“What do they say about the whole Crystal thing?”
“You grilling me, sir?”
“Ha!” An old lady gave me a funny look. “Er, was just wondering.” The lady looked away, probably disgusted with my loudness.
“They don’t get involved, though they’re quite close to her—like a mum and dad.”
“Seems so cruel to mess with the minds of these nice people.”
“It has to be done.”
“I get that. Did Wendy used to eat here?”
Greg shuffled in his seat. “Yeah, we all did.”
She wasn’t brought up very often, but Wendy was a massive void that hovered over everything. They’d obviously been close.
“Sorry,” I said. “Just curious.”
“Don’t be sorry, mate.”
“Does anyone know about the beasts here—any human?”
“No. You think they could handle knowing there were beasts in their hometown?”
“I guess not.”
“We walk a fine bloody line, Jake,” he said. “I often think about when it’ll all come crashing down. How long can it go on? Will it fail one day and all of this blown into the open?”
Man, that was so depressing.
“Well,” I said, “Karla did say we still have our lives, and only one of you has to be with me at one time. I don’t see why it has to change. You can still have fun with Crystal, have an escape from all this. And it’s me they’ll be wanting to kill the most. I probably shouldn’t ever stay over your flat.”
He chuckled. “No, the mansion it is for you, mate.”
“Bossy.”
“Always.”
Ruby came over with the teas. “There you are, my sweeties.”
“Thanks,” we both said in sync.
“Jinx!” Greg yelled.
The old woman who’d given me a funny look almost dropped her fork. She threw me another disapproving glare.
A woman came out from the depths of the café’s kitchens. Her blonde hair was tied back and encased in a hair net, and she was all done up in a white pinafore and all very ready for cooking.
“What a nice surprise,” she said to Greg. Her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“Hi.” He stood up, kissed her on the cheek.
“Didn’t think I’d be seeing you today.”
“This is Jake.”
“Hi,” I said, offering a hand.
“Oh, sorry,” she said, “cooking hands.” She giggled softly and wriggled her fingers.
“Nice to meet you,” I said, putting my hand back down.
“Jake’s new in town.”
“Well, welcome. What brings you down here?”
“Just moved here. Wanted to start a new life.” The lie was dirty on my tongue.
“I wish I could do that, move away.” Her eyes went wide. “Not that I’m trying to put you off living here! Sorry! Just that, I want go out into the big, wide world.”
“You will,” Greg said.
“With you by my side?” she questioned.
Greg was lost for words, standing there and leaving her hanging.
She shook her head. “It was lovely meeting you, Jake.”
“Call you later?” Greg said.
“Sure.” She returned to the kitchen.
“Shit!” He sat back down.
“That was awkward.”
“What am I supposed to do? Make all these promises when we can’t leave the city?” He ran a hand over his face. “Fuck this.”
“I get it, mate. Seriously I do.”
“Cheers.”
I leaned in a little closer. His smile faded as mine was obviously the definition of concern. “You think this café could be attacked? Right now?”
“Whoa! Smooth way to change the subject.”
; “Well?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “They’ve never been flashy enough to do that before, apart from the major showdown. They prefer the creeping around stuff. Could change, though.”
“I hate this could change business.”
“But it could. Things are different now.”
“Shit.” I took a gulp of my tea. Good job, I liked it hot.
“We’ve got this.”
“Yeah.” Another gulp. Someone was gonna die. They were. I wasn’t stupid. There would be another lung murder, or maybe even a bloody massacre. Someone in this building could be next. I couldn’t help but feel responsible. My presence had exacerbated the situation. It just didn’t seem fair.
I chewed my nails.
“You alright, mate?”
“I guess so.”
I didn’t say anything more. Not long after, the food came.
Chapter 18
The pie and mash had been superb. Things had un-tensed a bit when the food had arrived. Not that I was relaxed, but I wasn’t too wound up. For now.
We walked off our lunch, taking in the city. Greg pointed out ‘Stone Motors,’ his garage, on the perimeter of Mystique Square, but we didn’t approach.
“I’ll feel bad seeing Nick on his own.”
“You can go in if you want. I’m—”
“You’re forgetting the golden rule. You don’t fly solo out here.”
“Oh. Yeah.”
“You really need to get that rule stuck in your head, Jakey.”
“Jakey?”
“Suits ya.”
“It does?”
“Hell yes, Jakey.”
I actually kind of liked the sound of it coming from his mouth. He had that way about him, a cheekiness, a warm and perky charm. There it was again, a smile creeping up on me.
We headed down to the beach, following the path that ran alongside it. The briny wind was making itself known, as were the waves attacking the shore. No one else was really braving the beach, which was completely understandable. It was such a gray day. At least the lights of Rainbow Mile would cheer things up later. Not the pier though, all shut up and dark for the coming winter. And flippin’ hell was it cold!
“Good to get the sea air in your lungs,” Greg said.
“Yep. Never had air so fresh fill them up.”
“Not like the Big Smoke, eh?”
“Definitely not.”
“Gonna take some time to adjust to this place. But you’ll learn to love … well, as much as you can love a place that’s crawling with things that want to kill you.”
“Sounds great.”
“Oh,” he said.
“What?”
I followed where his gaze went. A man and a woman were approaching, decked out in jeans and puffer jackets. The woman’s dark hair was pulled back, a scar cutting through her pale cheek. The man was dark-skinned, and his braided hair was tied back, sitting in his hood.
His icy blue eyes were quite the startling feature.
“Eric? Bliss? What you doing down here?” Greg asked.
“Fucking beast,” Bliss said. “Damn thing came up and messed with us—took Ben’s left hand.”
“Oh, shit! Is he all right?”
“He’ll live, but the poor bastard’s left-handed.”
“Well that’s crap,” I said.
Eric, the guy, was staring at me. I looked at him, he lowered his eyes and scraped at the ground with his boot.
“Poor man,” Greg said.
“You seen a clownfishdude about?”
“A what?” I interjected.
“Fishy men,” Eric said gently. “Look like clowns.”
“Like clownfish?” I said.
“Kind of.”
Wow, did Eric have a quiet voice—I just about made him out.
“Why did it come your way?” Greg said. “Never normally go that far inland.”
“We’ve been hunting it,” Eric said. “Led us down here.”
“Getting restless, ain’t they?” Bliss said. “Ever since he came along.” She pointed at me. Her amber eyes were hard and glaring. She’d rip me in half, no problem. “Name’s Bliss, but you already heard that. Nice to meet ya.” She stuck out her hand.
She gave me the hardest handshake I’d ever had in my life.
Eric’s was gentler, a grip with trepidation.
“Good to finally get some leverage,” Bliss said. “Can’t wait for you to kill the fucker.” She was scanning the beach.
“Werewolves,” Eric said to me. “We look after the north west of the city.”
“I heard,” I said. “Nice to actually meet you.”
“Yeah, don’t get too comfy,” Bliss said. “Once we’ve got this beast, we’re outta here.”
“I get it,” I said. “No worries.”
Though it would’ve been nice to have them properly with us, and even cooler to see one change!
I swallowed any questions about how the mechanics worked, if the myths were true about full moons and all that stuff.
My sparks came to life.
“There it is!” Bliss roared and went hurtling down the beach, Eric on her heels.
I caught site of orange and white by the shoreline. It was the color of a clownfish but looked more like a creepy clown from a horror movie waving amongst the waves. I couldn’t quite make it out. Only thing it was missing was a balloon, but what was that in its hand? It threw it as Bliss and Eric and dove into the water.
Within seconds, my power shut off. The beast was gone. Bliss was not happy about it.
“Motherfuckingpieceofshitbastardfuck!” She stomped and kicked at the sand, clouds of grain flying everywhere. There was a severed hand in her grasp. “Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!”
I didn’t know what to say apart from, “He’ll come back out again, right?”
“They can … stay in there for as long as they want,” Eric said. “On land, in the sea—they’re really flexible.”
Bliss growled, and I backed the hell up. “Move, Officer Kelly!”
She charged off.
“See ya,” Eric said and followed the raging woman.
“Okay,” I said. “She seems fun.”
“Don’t think she knows the meaning of the word.”
“Is she the top wolf?”
“The alpha? No, that’s Sabrina West. Bliss isn’t even the beta.”
“What’s that?”
“Second-in-command, protects the alpha too. He’s Mark Shield—ironic name, eh?”
“Yeah. So, who were these too?”
“Two of the best werewolf officers,” Greg said. “That’s what they call the soldiers—officers. Officer Kelly, that’s Eric, and Bliss is Officer Storm.”
“She has a cool name,” I said.
“Only cool thing about her.”
“Noted.”
“Come on, let’s head back.”
The beach house …
I froze. A pulse of darkness went through me, energy beyond my understanding. The creepy female voice again. I stuffed my hands into my pockets. Gnawing my bottom lip, I glanced over my shoulder. I couldn’t see those houses tucked away behind the rocks. But I could sense them as if they were right there to touch.
Houses …
“Greg?”
He looked back at me, stopping when he saw I had.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. I keep getting this … voice in my head.”
“What kind of voice?”
“Female.”
“Female? The goddess?”
“I don’t know.”
“What’s it saying?”
“The beach houses.”
He frowned. “Really?”
“When I first saw you near them, I got a weird vibe from them. They’re creepy anyway, so I didn’t think anything of it. But now this voice. She’s spoken before.” I told him about the two previous times.
He folded his arms. “Damn, I wish we had more information on how you tick.”
“Want to head over there?”
I nodded. “Can we take the sandy route? I’d rather not take the road.”
“Sure.”
The power was pulling my strings.
The sand was uneven and wet, sticking to my boots. After a few minutes, the houses came into view, dark smears in the distance. They were wrong, very wrong. My senses prickled, my skin breaking out in gooseflesh.
My hands erupted in white sparks.
“Shit!” Greg yelped.
I couldn’t see any beast. It was those houses! It had to be those houses. Any moment, something would come crashing out of one them and charge at me. Oh, would I be bloody ready.
Feed …
Yeah, I would feed. Damn right, I would feed. I shuddered at my desires, bathed in them, a battle of hunger and confusion. I was in the shallows, on the verge of submerging into the depths. That bit I did understand. I … enjoyed the kill, made me feel so good afterward.
Feed …
“We’ve got this,” Greg said, pulling the hammer from his backpack. “Got to be a lesser. Where is it?”
A lesser? Those houses didn’t give off the vibe of anything short of a grander brand of nasty.
I scanned the beach, my sparks still going crazy.
The ground shook and sand sprayed in my face. I staggered back, using my arm to wipe it away.
It had a bulbous body, brown and dripping with slime. Like a slug, it was crawling with parasites. Unlike a slivery blob, it was as big as a horse, swollen and fat, stinking to high heaven of sour milk and dog shit. Jutting from its body were big red crab claws and thousands of legs holding it up. Three black beady eyes sat on a jutting bulge that was its head, above an open hole filled with rows of nasty pointed teeth.
My poor gag reflex.
“Ah, the creature who imprisoned my sister!” Its voice was that of a human suffering from a nasty cold.
“Another one,” Greg said.
The scar-maker part two, it appeared.
It swung a claw at Greg. He leapt back in time. “My mission in life is to bring her back to freedom!”
“Yeah, yeah,” Greg said.
The sluggy crab’s body wobbled. “A shame she didn’t finish the job.”
Was there anyone watching this spectacle?
“Anyway,” I stepped in. “Your dreams are dead ‘cos here I am.”