The Mermaid's Bubble Lounge, page 18
I rubbed my forehead. This was crazy. “There’s no way Arwyn did that on purpose.”
“Oh, no,” Meri said, shaking her head. “No one thinks she made the doorway. Maybe more like her spelled glass focused the fae-ness, like a magnifying glass in the sun.” She grimaced. “When a lot of us are all in the same area, the veil between realms becomes thin.”
“That seems dangerous,” I said. “I’m surprised the queen lets the fae stay in this realm if their presence here destabilizes Faerie.”
Meri nodded sadly. “It’s true, but I don’t want my dad to leave. The queen wants them back in Faerie—not us halflings, of course, but the true fae.” She glanced out the window. “But the queen loves her people and wants them to be happy. A lot of fae have lived in this realm for so long, this is home. They don’t want to go back. They have lives and loved ones here.”
“Like your dad.” I reached out and rubbed her arm.
“Yeah.” She looked down a moment and then shook her head. “I haven’t told you the important part yet. Dad was told that the only way to kill a pooka was to attack when they were in their in-between state. He said they never go directly from one form to another instantaneously. There’s a state in between when they are vulnerable, and completing the shift won’t heal them.”
“Okay,” I said. “Thank you and please thank your father for us. I’ll pass it on. Hopefully we can figure out a way to stop it.”
Owen walked down the stairs. “Hey.”
“I’ll go back to shelving now,” Meri said before ducking back into the bookstore.
Owen watched her go. “Everything okay?”
I nodded. “She was passing on some information about pookas.”
“Oh, good.” He stared down at the phone in his hand, clearly not paying attention to my response.
“Owen, is everything with you okay?”
“George wants to fly to Brazil,” he said, “and look for Jade’s family now. Alec overruled him, saying she wasn’t ready.” He ran his hand through his hair. “The thing is, George isn’t sure if that’s really what’s best for Jade, or if it’s Alec who isn’t ready to let her go.”
“Nothing needs to be decided now,” I told him. “My great-uncle knows the family. You guys wandering around the Amazon looking for them makes no sense. When everyone is ready, he’ll call, and they’ll likely come here to get her or maybe tell you where to meet. Either way, there’s no rush. I think Alec is right.”
“Yeah.” Owen dropped onto the stool beside me. “George wants to go now because he remembers how torn up he felt when they were in the same position as Jade’s family is now, not even knowing if Alec was alive or dead all those years. It’s killing him to knowingly do this to other people.”
“I get it. Maybe if he understands that my uncle can contact her family at any time, that he doesn’t have to go find them, it’ll ease the anxiety a bit.”
“I’ll tell him,” he said, pulling out his phone again.
I stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. “Just go. We’re fine. Go to the zoo and meet him at the merry-go-round to talk it out.”
He nodded, pocketing his phone and grabbing his backpack from behind the bar. “Thanks, boss. I will.” And he was up the stairs and out.
Thankfully, after all the hubbub, the afternoon was blissfully quiet and uneventful. Liam and Dermot donned their seal skins and went back to the ocean. The wicches who’d joined us for lunch had gone. It was too early for the after-work crowd, so Grim was on his stool with his mead. Meri was pretending to shelve while reading in the stacks, Dave was baking, Rose, one of my regular wicches, was drinking tea and reading a paranormal romance, and I was sitting on my stool behind the bar, wondering if my dog wished he was Vlad’s.
I was feeling sorry for myself and my lack of pooch to keep me company when there was a loud thump at the water entrance. What in the world? I rounded the bar to check as Grim looked over his shoulder.
When I got close, I could see it was Liam. He was pushing at the ward, but it didn’t give. Shit. Did I adjust the ward wrong?
“Why isn’t he in his seal skin?” Grim growled from beside me. “His eyes are wrong.”
I yanked out my axe and plunged it into the water. It hit the Liam-looking pooka in the face, causing a large red welt to form on his cheek.
He bared his teeth, his eyes now glowing red, as he punched the magical water membrane. There was another loud thump, but the ward didn’t give.
He began shifting and I pulled the axe back to throw it through the patch of water, but Grim grabbed the axe handle, stopping me.
“That axe is too valuable. We can’t lose it. Only use it when you’re sure you can kill him; otherwise he could destroy it and we’ll have no weapon against him.”
Liam shifted into a large orca. He eyed us, looped around to swim away, and then torpedoed through the water to smash into the window, the asshole.
Rose stood, her fingers twitching as she built a spell. Dave pushed out of the kitchen and fire engulfed the orca. He smashed his fiery body against the glass again and again. My eyes flew to the edges, looking for cracks or leaks. This was just like that horrible vision my sadistic aunt had trapped me in last year, the one where the Kraken squeezed and broke the glass, causing tons of seawater to wash out my bookstore and bar. My stomach dropped.
TWENTY-NINE
Closing It Down
I didn’t know if it was Dave’s new ward or my pooka upgrade, but the glass held tight. The pooka shifted to an octopus and started toward the ocean entrance again, but Dave sent another volley of fire. The pooka then shifted to an eel and disappeared into the seaweed.
Meri went to the window and stared into the ocean. “Do you see my dad?”
The fear in her voice had all of us moving closer to the window to search for him.
“If the pooka was wearing Liam’s face,” Grim said, “then he was watching us earlier. Your dad swam away after you moved back to the bookstore to work.”
Meri looked between Grim and the ocean. “But how would you know that? You always sit with your back to the window.”
“Mirror,” Grim grunted.
I turned to look, and sure enough, there was a mirror directly across from where Grim always sat. It was unnoticeable unless you were bent down, just a rectangular mirror under a shelf of liquor bottles. I realized now that the mirror was the perfect height for a dwarf to see what was going on behind him.
I felt like an idiot. All these years, I’d thought Grim was staring into space when he was really watching the ocean and patrons behind him. In my defense, dwarfs are incredibly warlike beings, so I’d thought he was working through some battle trauma.
“There he is!” Meri cried, waving to her father as he swam toward the ocean entrance.
He popped through the hole a moment later and she threw her arms around his neck. A flood of Mermish was going back and forth between the two, as each seemed to be assuring the other that they were okay.
Grim went back to his stool while I walked Dave back into the kitchen. “Is it dangerous to remain open with this thing trying so hard to get in?”
He leaned back against the counter, his muscular arms over his chest. “Yeah. I’ve been wondering the same. The wards will keep him out, but what about your customers who pass through those wards?” He shook his head. “I don’t know.”
I didn’t want to do it, but I also knew I couldn’t live with one of my friends getting hurt or killed by the pooka because I decided to stay open. I wasn’t curing cancer here. People could take a few days off.
“I’m closing it down,” I said as I went back out to the bar. Meri was still talking with her dad. Rose was back at her table, but she wasn’t reading. She was looking nervously out the window.
“Okay, everyone.” They turned to look at me. “I don’t feel like staying open is safe for you. I’m going to close down until the pooka is caught. Your safety is too important to risk.”
Rose nodded and stood. “I think you’re right, dear.” She glanced up the stairs. “You don’t think he’s up there waiting, do you?”
“I’ll walk you to your car,” Dave said, swinging open the kitchen door.
Meri translated for her dad, who nodded in my direction.
“Meri, you go up with Dave. He can make sure you and Rose both get out of here safely.”
“You two, go ahead,” Grim said. “I’ll take Meri up when she’s ready.”
Dave turned to me. “Everything is stored in the kitchen. I think maybe I’ll do what you suggested and visit Ireland for a couple of days. If they let me stay.”
“Good.” I grinned. “Tell Maggie I said hi and remember to be on your best behavior.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled, going up the stairs with Rose.
I closed the stair and air entrances for anyone trying to enter and then waited for Meri and her dad to finish talking before I sealed that one too.
“Thanks for looking out for Meri,” I murmured to Grim.
He nodded. After a moment of silence, he said, “’Tweren’t spying.” He glanced at me quickly before staring straight out the window again. “I wouldn’t betray you like that.”
I rested my hand on his shoulder and felt the tension ease. “Thank you for caring and keeping watch.”
He gave one decisive nod and then went back to waiting. Meri’s dad dropped back into the ocean and I sealed the ward while she ran to the bookstore to grab her backpack.
I waved them out and then started cleaning up and closing down. On the way through the kitchen, I found a plate of cookies and brownies, so I picked it up and carried them with me.
I expected to find Fergus and Vlad where I left them, but the apartment was empty. I missed my pup, but at least I had a big fat meringue, filled with chocolate. As I munched, I walked home through the folly.
I whistled for Fergus, but he didn’t come. Maybe he was visiting Cadmael on the island. I wasn’t in any rush. If anything, I’d just cleared my schedule for the foreseeable future, so I enjoyed my stroll through the folly. What the dragons had created for us was pure magic.
As I wandered through the Shire, I considered sleeping in our hobbit hole tonight, a staycation of sorts. Of course, Clive had his vampy convention to deal with, so I guess sleepaway camp would need to wait. We really needed to throw a party in the folly for our friends as soon as the dragon builders were done.
When the path meandered into Middle Ages Canterbury and I passed Clive’s family farm, I couldn’t help but remember how he looked plowing shirtless in the sun. They may have originally been Leticia’s memories, but they were all mine now.
At the entrance to the island, I whistled again, but Fergus did not come running. Where was he? I almost turned around and went back to The Slaughtered Lamb in case he’d fallen asleep in the bookstore and I hadn’t noticed when I was closing. Residual fear from the pooka and not seeing Fergus in hours had me jogging the rest of the way home.
I zigzagged through the cars and hit the elevator, which wasn’t waiting on this level. That gave me hope that for some reason Vlad had taken Fergus home. When the elevator opened into the den, I found Vlad sitting in his corner, lamp on and book open. The back door was open as well.
“Shouldn’t you be working?” he asked, looking annoyed at the interruption.
“What the heck are you doing here and how did you open the door and not die?” Seriously, what the hell did he get up to during the day while I was busy?
At the sound of my voice, Fergus raced in and launched himself at me. We both fell back onto the couch, as he did his best to lick my face and I tried to save myself.
“Fergus. Door,” Vlad said.
Fergus hopped up, ran to the back door, and nudged it closed before returning to the couch.
“He needed to go out,” Vlad stated simply, as though that was obvious. “He enjoys lounging in the garden. There’s a squirrel that’s been driving him to distraction. And Fergus opened the door himself. He’s quite clever.”
I hugged my horse of a dog and then scratched his belly. “Is that true? Are you an extra special clever boy? Yes, you are.” He kicked his giant feet in the air—almost punching me—as I rubbed his tummy.
“The question remains,” Vlad said. “Why are you home during the day?”
“Oh, that.” I explained our pooka encounter to him and my decision to close it down until the pooka was dealt with.
He’d leaned forward as I spoke but finally relaxed when I said I’d sent everyone home and that our two vulnerable people had been escorted out by warriors.
“So,” I said, standing up, “as we’ve got hours before we have to go to your vampy tea party tonight, I’m going to join my husband and take a nap.”
“You should eat first.” His gaze dropped to the plate of cookies on the coffee table. “And something more substantial than sweets.”
I almost argued but bit it back. “I could eat.”
Fergus joined me in the kitchen, hoping for snacks, so I gave him a bully stick. He went back to the den to enjoy it while I made myself a sandwich. I ate it at the counter and then put my plate in the dishwasher.
“I’m going up now,” I called, heading for the stairs.
“You should learn to chew more quietly,” was his response, which made me laugh.
I closed the bedroom door, stripped to my undies, and then slipped back into bed with Clive. When I rested my head on his chest, his arms wrapped tightly around me. Releasing a sigh of contentment, I let the exhaustion pull me under.
I woke to kisses up my throat and along my jaw.
“Such a lovely surprise to find you in bed with me,” Clive rumbled, his voice deep with sleep.
My fingers plunged into his thick hair, and I pulled his mouth to mine. When I finally came up for air, I confessed, “I was walking through the folly earlier and thinking about young, hot, human Clive plowing the field, sweaty, straining muscles on display…”
Clive grinned. “Were you now?”
I nodded, my hands creeping down his body. Suddenly, my panties were gone. He nibbled under my ear, driving me crazy. Holding himself over me on one elbow, he dragged his other hand down my side and then slipped it between my legs. When he found me ready and my hips lifting toward him, his eyes went vamp black.
He kissed me again, hooking his arm under my leg, opening me to him, and then he was sliding in. He held himself still as we shared one breathless moment, and then the chain broke. Fanning the flames, he created an inferno that burned us both. Toes curling, I wrapped around him, meeting him thrust for thrust, thinking I would burst, that I couldn’t possibly hold him tighter or love him more.
Groaning, I fell off the edge—or I suppose was pushed—but Clive was right behind me, his fangs deep in my neck.
My brain was so scrambled, it took me a minute to realize I was hearing a persistent buzzing. I smacked Clive’s shoulder. “That’s probably Bram. Talk to him while I shower and get ready.”
He rolled to his back and reached for his phone. Grinning at me, he swiped it open. “Bram. It’s good to hear from you.” He paused. “You did? She hadn’t mentioned, but we haven’t had much time to talk.”
Blushing, I grimaced and scampered off to the bathroom. When I was almost done blow-drying my hair, Clive walked past me and stepped into the shower.
“He’s taking the position.”
I turned off the hair dryer. “Really? I thought he loved what he was doing.”
He ducked under the water. “He does, but his second has been ready to be a Master for a long time and Bram is ready to try something new. Like me, he’s been doing the Counselor’s job—in his case, Sebastian’s—for quite a while. The Masters call him if they’re having a dispute and need advice. Sebastian was apparently too busy to take these calls, so they stopped calling him and started contacting Bram.”
I had to tear my eyes away from Clive soaping himself. My brain was going to short out.
“Nonsense.” He crooked his finger. “Come here. I think you could use a little more cleaning.”
I turned the hair dryer back on and pretended I couldn’t hear him, though I did hear the laughing.
As he stepped out and grabbed a towel, he said, “We’re going to meet at The Bubble Lounge before going to the nocturne. The visiting Counselors want to see it and investigate for themselves.”
“Oh, I forgot. Meri gave me some pooka info.” I told him about our pooka visit and her father’s tip for killing one.
Clive wrapped his arms around me, his front to my back. “I know you didn’t make the decision lightly, but I think you were right. It’s too dangerous to stay open when he seems to be fixated on you.”
I gripped his arms. “I’d never forgive myself if he grabbed Meri or Owen—or anyone, for that matter. It’s not worth it.”
He kissed the side of my neck. “Perhaps I’ll be lucky again tomorrow and find my wife in our bed when I wake.” He gave me a quick squeeze and then headed off to his closet to dress.
THIRTY
Passing Notes
I left my hair long, put on some eyeliner, mascara, and lip tint, and then went to my own closet. “So, we’re thinking a cocktail dress, is that it?” I called over.
He stepped into the doorway of my closet, already wearing a crisp white dress shirt and charcoal slacks. “You can wear whatever you’d like. I don’t know that The Bubble Lounge has a specific dress code.”
I nervously pulled the silk robe belt tight. “I know, but I want to look appropriate. I don’t want to embarrass you in front of your friends.”
Chuckling, he pulled me into his arms and kissed me. “You could never embarrass me, and friends may be overstating the relationship.” He pulled back. “I’d forgotten. Does Thi still want me dead? Do we know what that was about?”
