Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
“You’re looking very refreshed this morning despite the possible coming of a mythological catastrophe.” Laura sipped a large mug of coffee in the hotel restaurant.
The meal that morning was a full English breakfast with eggs, roasted tomatoes, baked beans, black pudding, and fried mushrooms. Carys had eaten the lot.
Laura pushed the black pudding to the side and raised her eyebrows. “Did you get a quick massage at the spa? Maybe a… treatment of some kind?” She lifted her coffee mug for another sip.
Carys smiled innocently. “Sheet mask.”
Laura nearly snorted her coffee. “Wow.” She tried to cover her smile. “Those brightening serums are really upping their game.”
“They’re amazing.” Carys felt her cheeks flame. “Sometimes I use two or three of them.”
“Really?” Laura’s eyebrows went up. “On the same night?”
“I mean, if one sheet mask is good, two is better, right?”
Laura bit her lip. “Hey, if that’s what is keeping you fresh, I’ll try not to be jealous.”
“Why be jealous?” Carys reached for a piece of toast. “You could always try a… sheet mask of your own.”
Laura pursed her lips. “You know, I’ve been a little busy for sheet masks lately.”
“That’s probably not healthy.”
“Some of us don’t have multiple sheet masks vying for our attention.”
Carys shrugged. “I don’t know. I feel like if you looked around, you might find one closer than you think.”
Laura narrowed her eyes. “Carys?”
“Yes?”
“Shut up.”
It wasn’t lost on Carys that Laura and Cadell had both been keeping their distance. One might even say they were avoiding each other.
A difficult feat when they’d been thrown together on a fantastical quest to stop a rogue goddess let loose in the Brightlands.
“Changing the subject from sheet masks—”
“You’re the one who brought them up.”
Laura shook her head and laughed. “I called Kiersten and my brother again.”
“Anything getting weird in Baywood?”
“So far they haven’t noticed any changes in the gates in Baywood,” Laura said.
“My brother has been across the gate, and while the old gods in Wykanush have always been more present than the ones here, the Shadowkin in the village seem to feel like things are basically the same. And Kiersten says she hasn’t noticed anything off in town.
” Laura lifted a finger. “Check that. Old Mr. Harris at the bookstore said he saw Bigfoot fishing on Moore’s Pier, but that’s the third time he’s seen that this year. ”
“I think he needs new glasses,” Carys whispered.
“The man is eighty-three. I’m taking any Bigfoot sighting from him with a grain of salt.”
Carys thought about the old proprietor of Redwood Pages, the lone bookstore in Baywood that didn’t only sell textbooks for the college. The younger Mr. Harris—a spritely sixty-two—had taken over the day-to-day running of the bookshop, but Old Mr. Harris still lived next door.
“Okay, if we ignore Bigfoot sightings from old men with delightful imaginations,” Carys said, “I’d argue that the rest all sounds normal. The gates in California are all more porous than the ones here. All in all, it’s probably a healthier system to have a bit more…”
Laura wrinkled her nose. “Permeability?”
“Yeah, maybe.”
“So what are you thinking?”
Carys sat back and took a deep breath. “I don’t know. Think about what Dr. Beck said yesterday. She thinks Briton needs go-betweens like North America has. What if the high fae in Briton loosened their grip on the gates a little bit? It might make things… I don’t know, more balanced maybe.”
“With Dru taking over the throne, if there was a time for change, it’s probably now, but I still think it’s debatable.” Laura lowered her voice as a group of tourists entered the dining room. “Think about it, Carys. Northern California has a lot of woods and a very small population.”
“Good point. Trolls randomly popping out from under London bridges is probably not going to lead to peace between dimensions.”
Laura nodded. “And let’s be honest, I don’t think balance and harmony are the Morrígan’s end goals with” —she waved her hands around— “all this.”
“You’re probably right.” She felt Cadell approaching. His energy was a heat signature on the dark, cool ground floor of the hotel.
“I think stopping the Morrígan has to be the goal.” Laura glanced at the door. “Hopefully Naida has some success translating those documents that Dr. Beck gave you.”
Cadell sat down a few moments later, a steaming coffee cup in his hand. “Good morning. Nêrys, you look well rested. I’m glad the cross human didn’t keep you awake all night having sex.”
This time Laura did snort coffee through her nose.
“My apologies.” Cadell handed Laura a napkin. “Was my statement too direct?”
Carys had gotten used to Cadell having zero boundaries and many opinions. “It’s fine, Cadell.”
“What were you two talking about when I came in? Your expressions were serious.”
Laura wiped her face and crumpled the napkin in her fist, barely holding back laughter. “Skin-care routines. Sheet masks actually.”
Cadell frowned. “And this is a subject for serious debate?”
“Dragon, you have no idea.”
They waited in front of the hotel after breakfast, and Laura was tapping her foot as she stared at Duncan, who was scrolling through the mobile phone he’d picked up in London two days before.
“So you’re telling me you can just call someone and have a van delivered?” Laura asked.
Duncan glanced up. “What part of disgustingly rich did you not understand?”
“To be fair,” Carys said, “I’m pretty sure rental car services will deliver minivans to your hotel in the States too.”
Laura raised an eyebrow. “You think he rented one?”
“Of course he did.” She turned to Duncan. “You rented a van, right?”
He frowned. “Why would I do that? I don’t know how long we’re going to need it, and the rental vans all had too many steel components.” He lifted his chin when he spotted something over her shoulder. “See? This is preferable.”
Carys followed Duncan with her eyes as he strode toward a sleek grey Mercedes van that slid to the curb in front of the hotel.
A driver hopped out. “Mr. Murray?”
“You’ve found him.”
Gone was the blacksmith, the smooth-talking laird sliding into place as the driver opened the side door and explained the features of the luxury vehicle.
Laura sidled up to her. “It’s very convenient, you having a rich boyfriend.”
“Laura—”
“Lachlan is charming, and admittedly he has a castle and stuff on the other side, but Duncan has a castle here and he probably just bought this Mercedes with cash.”
“That is so much money,” Carys whispered.
“Just saying” —she slapped Carys’s shoulder— “if we’re going to save the world from an immortal war goddess, it’s good to have a bankroll.”
“…real wood trim, as you requested,” the driver was saying. “All leather seats and very little exposed metal.”
“Thank you, Derek.” Duncan held his hand out. “Is your card in the glove compartment?”
“It is.”
“I’ll give you a call if I have any other questions.”
The driver dropped the keys in Duncan’s palm and nodded. “Enjoy, Mr. Murray.”
“Thank you.” Duncan turned to Laura and Carys. “Your chariot, my ladies.”
Carys picked up her duffel bag and stepped forward. “Duncan, this is a lot.”
“Yes, but Naida should be able to travel in this one, and it’s big enough for the wolf and the dragon.” He spun and looked at Laura. “Any arguments from you?”
“Nope. Do you know how to drive it?”
He nodded. “I do. Had to get a commercial license a few years ago. It comes in handy at the smithy.”
Laura shrugged. “Sounds good to me.” She threw her backpack through the open van door. “I’ll go grab Naida and Godrik. She was taking a bath before I came downstairs, and Godrik…” Laura sighed. “He’s probably hunting deer in the park.”
Laura left Carys and Duncan on the curb. Carys was staring at the van while Duncan examined it.
“Is that real walnut burl?” Carys stared at the fold-down tables next to each leather armchair.
“Probably?” He tossed his satchel into the back. “I told them no metal. So it’s leather and wood on the interior. There is a small kitchen in back with aluminum fixtures. I’ll have someone from the hotel run out to the market and grab some food before we go.”
“Always with the feeding me,” Carys murmured.
“Is this our transportation?” Cadell’s voice boomed from behind Carys. He braced his hands on his hips and glared at the van. “There does not appear to be an excess of iron.”
“So glad to meet your approval,” Duncan muttered.
“Naida was up late translating the manuscript,” Cadell said. “I believe she has finished, but she will need rest and a place to gain her strength back. Is there a wild forest nearby?”
“There’s a forest about ten miles from here,” Duncan said. “We’re ready to leave when she is.”
Cadell climbed into the van and—to Carys’s astonishment—the dragon’s large human form actually fit.
“We need one of these in California,” he said.
“If you want one of these in California,” Carys said, “then you better start looking for a job.”
The road to Bernwood Forest wound through the city, passing parks and quiet neighborhoods, following the main road until it didn’t. Carys watched from the passenger seat beside Duncan as the road narrowed, turning from four lanes to two lanes to one.
Civilization fell away, and the countryside emerged. Houses grew smaller and the trees loomed larger until finally all signs of urban life were left behind and the quiet English countryside surrounded them.
Rolling fields of verdant green and high hedgerows damp with morning mist. The lushness of England surrounded her. Barley fields nodded, and small orchards waved their leaves in the breeze.
Duncan pulled the van into an empty parking lot far off the main road, and every creature in the vehicle, magical and mortal, heaved a unanimous sigh of relief.
Godrik opened the van door, and Cadell bolted out.
Moments later, Naida was outside, kicking off her shoes and running for the trees. She didn’t even look back before she disappeared into the forest.