Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
Cryptids United in Delightful Dating and Love Encouragement (CUDDLE) Forum
SuperShySasquatch: We kissed!
IPutTheBrahInChupacabra: I’m giving you a virtual high five right now.
YetiOrNotHereICome: I’m having all the feels over here! You two are so precious.
LoungeSingerLizardMan: Ah, young love. I remember it well.
MerMagicMan: Was there tongue involved?
NessieNeedsLoveToo: How was it? All that you hoped for?
SuperShySasquatch: It was downright dreamy. I had the tingles all over. I’m surprised my hair wasn’t all standing on end. Sure, my technique was awkward since I don’t have much experience, but we made it work. I can’t wait to do it again. For practice. *heart eyes emoji*
IPutTheBrahInChupacabra: Good work, bro. Glad it went well.
YetiOrNotHereICome: I’m sure you made it totally romantic.
SuperShySasquatch: We slow danced in my living room in the candlelight and it was perfect.
LoungeSingerLizardMan: You’re bringing hope to my washed-up and jaded heart, my friend. Thank you.
SuperShySasquatch: If I was able to find true love, you can too. In the words of a band I’m sure you’re familiar with, don’t stop believing!
Hal
“How delightful! It seems I’ve arrived just in time for the drama,” Kassiel drawls as he strolls up, cane in hand and hot on Sylvia’s big reveal.
Rowan laughs. “It’s been a long time, Sylvia. You haven’t aged a day.”
“Neither have you,” she retorts.
He waves a hand dismissively. “Those fae genetics beat anything on the anti-aging market.”
“Oh, I can’t wait to get to know you both!
Welcome back to Mystic Hollow. I’m Max MacLeod, supermanny extraordinaire.
With me are Princess Peach.” He nods to his Chihuahua, still cradled in one arm and still bored by all of us.
“And the silly goose of a hellhound is Waffles.” The enormous hellhound whimpers yet again.
“Now, not to be that bitch—scratch that, I’m totally going to be that bitch—but please, tell us more,” Max says, eyes sparkling. “You’re Bax’s ex?”
Far from irritated, Rowan appears amused by Max’s interest. “I wish I had something more titillating to share, but me and Bax are ancient history.”
“You got that right,” my friend grumbles.
A bundt cake and conversation with me are definitely in his immediate future. I’ve never seen Baxter so surly with anyone before.
Rowan crosses his arms and smirks at Baxter. “Don’t worry, Thunderbody. I’m not here to rekindle our dead relationship. You all placed an ad for a mage to help fix the magical mishaps occurring around town. I answered.”
“And we are so grateful you did,” Astraea hurries to say, shooting a death-ray glare at Baxter.
“Shall we get down to business? Rowan and I aren’t running a charity here, after all,” Angelica pipes up haughtily, then launches into details about expected pay, lodging, and more. She’s clearly the cutthroat business feline of their partnership.
Astraea agrees to her terms immediately.
I step in and nod to both the familiar and the mage. “Very pleased to meet you both. I’m Hal, this is my boyfriend, Skylar, and the smaller hellhound is our puppy, Elvira. We have room at the B&B if you need a place to stay while in town,” I offer.
Rowan smiles and shakes my hand. “Thanks, man. I’ve got a room at a motel outside of town for the next few days but I think we’ll take you up on your offer after that.”
“I suppose I can stay in the same domicile as a hellhound pup,” Angelica says, narrowing her red eyes at Elvira, “so long as she knows which of us is in charge.”
Elvira tilts all three heads and wags her tails in response. Waffles, however, still refuses to come out from behind Max.
“Life’s certainly never dull here in Mystic Hollow,” Kassiel remarks dryly. “Hellhounds and hellcats coexisting in harmony? Will wonders never cease.” He nods to the mage. “Kassiel Blackburn, at your service.”
“Is this a good idea?” Skylar whispers to me as they continue to talk.
“It’ll be fine. We’ll figure it out,” I reassure him softly.
“Now that that’s settled, let’s start by having you assess the rogue portal to the Demon Realm that’s opened up,” Astraea says.
“Just give me a sec to text Akram to meet us at the bar. Emrys and Jayden won’t be able to join us because they’re on duty at the school.
” After stabbing a few times at her phone screen, which is quite impressive with her long nails, she pockets it with a flourish, grabs the mage by the arm, and marches him down the street toward Akram’s Oasis.
“Talk about a goddess on a mission. Not messin’ around, is she?” Skylar says.
We hurry after them, Baxter grumbling the whole way and Max tracking everything with bright-eyed enthusiasm. Sylvia and Kassiel are talking quietly but I can’t hear about what.
Akram reaches the front door of his establishment just as our little entourage pulls up on the sidewalk. After a bit of a frown toward Kassiel, he unlocks the door and we all file into the bar.
Astraea stands beside Rowan and gestures up and down his body. “Voilà! We’ve hired a mage,” she announces proudly.
Akram leans against the bar, a dubious look on his face. “Think you can do anything about that?” He jerks his thumb at the swirling portal to the Demon Realm.
Curious, and a little worried, I glance down at Elvira, but she shows no signs of wanting to return to the place from which she came. I let out a quiet sigh of relief. In such a short time, she’s become family and has stolen part of my heart.
Rowan swaggers forward and inspects the portal, his enormous familiar yawning at his side.
“Fascinating,” he murmurs.
“What’s the verdict?” Astraea asks, tapping her foot impatiently.
“I should be able to close it for you,” Rowan says, cracking his knuckles, “but it’s going to take some time. I’ll need to set up wards and erect a containment barrier to make sure I don’t blow this building to hell and back if something goes wrong.”
“That would be greatly appreciated,” Akram says dryly.
Rowan takes a seat on a stool at the bar and waves for us all to sit as we join him. “Tell me more about what’s been going on.” He nods toward Astraea. “Your resident goddess gave me a quick rundown over the phone, but it’d be good to try and create a bit of a timeline if we can.”
I’m relieved when Baxter reverts to his usual professional mode and gives a succinct breakdown of what’s been happening, from the singing apples at Laurelis’s orchard to the psychedelic magic mushrooms in the forest to the demon portal opening.
Rowan seems equally focused on the matter at hand, his face a mask of concentration as he absorbs every detail.
At least, for now, it appears they’ll be able to set aside their differences and work together on resolving our town’s problem.
“And you’re sure this all traces back to a sudden instability around the node itself? Could there be any other catalysts?”
“We’re pretty sure that’s the main issue, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea for you to probe every possibility,” Astraea admits.
Rowan nods. “I’ll do some investigating. This isn’t the only place that’s had some fluctuations with ley line power of late.”
Astraea frowns. “I wasn’t aware of this.”
“My organization is keeping it very quiet for now, so I need you all to treat that as confidential information. But I would anticipate that other Sanctuary Havens might begin experiencing issues before too long, if they haven’t already.”
“So what’s happening here might be a symptom of a bigger problem with the magic in this realm,” Akram muses, stroking his chin.
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Skylar says.
I wrap my arm around his shoulder and give him a reassuring squeeze. I agree with him—that can’t be good.
Astraea’s gaze goes distant. “Looks like I’ll need to round up all of my wayward sons.” Her eyes narrow. “And I may have to reach out to Morgana, dammit.”
“I thought you and the Queen of the Fae weren’t on speaking terms, haven’t been for centuries,” Kassiel says.
“Your thought would be correct,” Astraea grumbles.
“You may have to get over that,” Rowan says, expression grim. “The dragons and the fae established the magic in this realm. If this is a bigger, realm-wide problem, as we’re starting to believe, we’ll need the leaders from both parties to come together and help us figure out a permanent solution.”
Sylvia nods, stroking her beard. “Since you’re the beings who created the magic in this realm, it’s the responsibility of both of you to fix this. You can’t abandon us when it goes haywire.”
Skylar looks at me and raises his eyebrows, and I do the same back. The long-term safety of our town seems to depend on a lot of drama being resolved.
Max claps his hands together to get everyone’s attention and Waffles presses into his leg while keeping a wary eye on Angelica.
“Honey, I don’t care what happened in the past, two powerful, badass women like yourselves should be able to move past your differences,” he chides playfully.
“Seriously, smart women know how to get shit done. Don’t act like idiotic men in power who want to wave their dicks around—and I say that even though you know how much I love dick.
” He titters and shakes his head. “It’ll give you both a bad name. ”
That actually has Astraea looking a tad shamefaced. Leave it to Max to turn the tide here. No wonder Ryder says that Max has superpowers he wishes he possessed.
“Thanks for the reminder, Max, and you’re absolutely right.
Morgana and I are dedicated to our roles of serving and protecting those in our realms and beyond, regardless of how our relationship may have ended.
Besides, it’s been a few centuries. We should be able to join forces in the Terran Realm’s hour of need, right? ”
I truly hope the question was rhetorical on Astraea’s part.
Max’s mouth drops open. “Shut the front door! You and the Queen of the Fae were an item?!” He snaps his fingers in the air. “You go, girl!”