Chapter 19 #3
“This was made with so much love and care,” he said. “The one who fashioned it is an optimistic young lass, hmm? Someone you care about very much . . .”
A chill ran over me. “What the fuck? How do you –”
“No matter. I thank you for letting me borrow it.” He took a final whiff before opening a drawer and placing it carefully inside.
“Let’s get down to what you came for. I can’t be sure, but if something like the kraken coin has been at the school for this long – longer than my time here – I’d bet money that the Snatchlings have gotten their grubby little hands on it.
They would have it buried along with the rest of their treasures. ”
“Snatchlings?” What the hell were those? I’d heard of a lot of creatures, there was no way not to, living as I did in the underside of the Dwimmer world for so long. But Snatchlings were a new one to me.
He leaned back in his chair. “Obnoxious little bastards. Not common but they’re like magpies in their desire for shining objects .
. . magpies with teeth and a terrible blood lust. They steal everything and anything that sparkles that they can get their hands on.
They don’t even do anything with their treasure; they just sit there and stare at it.
Weird little creatures, those. And very, very good at hiding and protecting their stash. ”
I barely refrained from pointing out how he’d just practically sniffed the color off my bracelet ten seconds before, so he was in the running for weirdo of the month in my book. “What else can you tell me about them?”
“They’re small,” he continued, rolling back and putting his hand to the side to indicate a height of a foot or so high.
“But they’re dangerous in groups, have an armory of strange weapons, and will defend their hoard to the death.
If you can find it. Very few even know that they exist. That Calypso didn’t sense them should tell you just how good they are at hiding. ”
Calypso had no response to that, the locket silent. For once.
“And these things live at Heathermoor,” Liam demanded. “You’re certain?”
“They do. They stay out of sight and are known for stealth. They are more of the nature that if you do not bother them, they won’t bother you.
Likely Sage Thalienne knows they’re there – the Fae have an affinity for creatures as you know.
” His eyes drifted to me in a way I did not like, and I fought not to react.
“No way to exterminate them, especially if they believe it’s their home.
They’d burn the place to the ground if she tried.
It’s like skeletons in a closet, you ken?
If you leave ’em be, all good. It’s when people get nosy and poke around that they start rattling cages and causing trouble . . .”
The observation hit a little too close to home, so I ignored it.
“Do you have any idea where they might keep their treasure cache in Heathermoor?” I asked. “A direction?”
He grinned. “In fact, I do. Heathermoor wasn’t always a school.
At one point it was just a castle, and there was a big, watery cavern on the far side of it that used to connect to the dungeon which would now be the basement.
It caved in many years ago, but the Snatchlings found a way through.
” He winked and licked his lips, his tongue touching the tip of his nose. “From what I’ve heard, of course.”
Turning, he rifled through a stack of papers that stood precariously behind him, cursing at a few, lighting one on fire and then finally setting a single, aged sheet on the counter.
The drawing was simple, a schematic of what I assumed was Heathermoor’s lower levels.
A main cavern with multiple entrances that led to the water.
All of them were crossed off except for one.
He tapped his finger on the center. “There. That’s your way in.”
Not that the map had any identifiers of what was up or down, north or south, but still . . . one way in.
And near water, just like Calypso said. “Anything else you can tell us?”
He scratched at his chin for a long moment, then shook his head.
“That’s all I’ve got. And now for my fee.
” He steepled his hands in front of him and leaned back in his chair.
“There’s something else in that basement treasure trove.
A rock about this big,” he pulled his hands apart, leaving about a foot of space between them.
“It’s the color of brass. I need it for my collection.
You get it for me, and you can have your bracelet back. Everyone’s happy.”
That tongue flicked out, touched his cheek and sucked back in – his tell. He was trying to hold his excitement close to the chest and was failing.
While I would have liked a better map, I knew this was the best we were going to get. “Yeah, sure, everyone.” I muttered.
“Come back soon!” Bellamy smiled, his hand going for the drawer where he’d put my bracelet.
I turned before I had to see him fondling it.
The moment we stepped outside, I shivered. “What the hell is Bellamy’s deal. I felt a deep need to wash my hands or maybe scrub my eyes out.” The image of Bellamy’s tongue flicking all over the damn place had given me the ick.
Hell, I’d half thought he would try to lick me.
“He’s a Jinn, I’m almost sure of it,” Liam said. “On the bright side, that means we can be sure he’ll return your bracelet as long as we fulfill our half of the bargain and bring him that rock he wants.”
I’d heard of Jinn, of course, but never met one, not even in my previous line of work. They were Everdark-born, and claimed to travel between the realms, trading strange items and creating chaos. But now that I’d met one, I hadn’t expected him to seem so . . . human.
If I didn’t count the tongue and sniffing items business.
The locket shook violently in my pocket, and I pulled it out ready for Calypso to be happy for once. Of course, I could not have been more wrong.
“You were about to hand me over to that bastard, Bellamy?” Calypso spat. “Damn it, Harlow, I thought we were friends.”
“Friends?” I choked the word out, the shock in my voice ratcheting it up to an octave high enough to shatter glass. I fought to hold back my laughter. “Calypso, you’re literally going to kill me if I can’t get this coin for you. What kind of friends did you have?”
Even in the depths of her prison, I could see her eyes filled with ragey tears that bubbled up around her eyes.
Strange to see already wet eyes cry. “The kind that tricked me and left me here to rot in this black water,” she said, her voice wavering with emotion.
“And you’re no fucking better than them. ”
“Calypso, I –” I started, but she had already swum away from view. I snapped the locket shut and turned to Liam.
I’d parted with my most precious possession, made a deal with a creepy Jinn, and pissed off a powerful siren.
How could my night get any worse? Glad you asked.