Chapter 9
The Seaside-Seascape Rentals golf cart hummed along the coastal road as Ronin drove them toward the old lighthouse.
The sun was still beating down, but at least the breeze from the drive helped.
Now Ronin was just hot instead of hot and miserable.
A typical Saturday night in September as far as Ronin was concerned.
He glanced over at Tempi. She was studying the map, tracing the cave markings with her finger, her brow furrowed in concentration.
The torn mermaid dress stopped mid-thigh now, and he was doing his best not to think about the fact he was the one who’d ripped it.
Princess Muffin Top had made sure everyone at the table knew that particular detail, and he had a feeling it was going to follow him for a long time.
“Stop looking at the dress,” Tempi said without looking up from the map.
“I wasn’t looking at the dress.”
“You were looking at the dress and my legs.”
“I was looking at the map.”
“The map is in my lap. Which is attached to the dress. Which you ripped.”
He couldn’t argue with that, so he’d just keep his mouth shut. Which he did for all of one minute.
“Can I ask you something?” he blurted.
“Depends on what it is.”
“How did you start Magical Airbnb Properties?”
Tempi leaned back in her seat and tugged her dress down as best she could while sitting. “Why do you want to know?”
“Because I’m curious. You built a thriving business of rental properties like me. That’s not easy in a small town.”
She was quiet for a second, and he was afraid she might not answer.
“I found a rundown cottage on the south end of town about five years ago. It had been empty for years, and the owner wanted to sell. I didn’t have the money, but my grandmother did.
” She paused. “Grandma Draven loaned me the startup money. I renovated the cottage myself—well, mostly myself. Emory and Adeline and Cassie all helped with magic as well. I listed it as a vacation rental, and it booked within the first week.”
“And you just kept going?”
“I kept going. I decided to sell the cottage after a few months because it would sell for a profit. I then bought two more, renovated those, and just kept building from there.” She shrugged.
“It’s not glamorous as you well know. It’s a lot of plumbing emergencies and guest complaints about haunted closets. ”
“Are the closets actually haunted?”
She gave him a small smile. “Only at the Cauldron Cottage.”
He laughed. “That was nice of your grandmother to give you the startup money.”
He could have sworn he saw her bristle.
“Yes, it was,” she said. “What about you? How did you get into the houseboat rental business?”
He kept his eyes on the road. “I learned construction first. I worked for a guy in the supernatural town where I’m from who had a construction business, and he taught me how to read a property...
what’s worth saving, what’s not, how to stretch a budget.
” He paused. “I got good at it. Started taking on my own projects. Eventually, I saved enough to buy my first houseboat, fixed it up, and rented it out.”
“And then you came to Moonlight Bay.”
“And then I came to Moonlight Bay,” he echoed.
“The guy who taught you to build and read a home,” Tempi said, “was he your mentor?”
“Something like that. He didn’t have any kids of his own, and I didn’t have—” He stopped himself. He wasn’t going to tell her he didn’t have a father, and his neighbor supplied that role. “He taught me everything I know about managing and maintaining properties. I owe him a lot.”
Tempi looked back at the map. “I think I know which cave we need to go in. If I remember right, there are three caves under the lighthouse.”
* * *
“It’s a good thing we don’t live in New England or in the Pacific Northwest,” he joked as they followed the rocky trail down to the caves, the lighthouse sitting above them. “The seaside cliffs there are way more treacherous.”
Tempi laughed. “I’d just have levitated myself down. You’d have been on your own, Merman.”
“Nice,” he muttered, but secretly liked the fact she’d felt comfortable enough to joke with him.
They reached the base of the cliffs, and Ronin scanned the waterline. It was low tide, which was perfect. All three cave entrances were exposed, with seawater lapping at the edges. Two of the caves didn’t look like they went very far back, but the third disappeared deep into the limestone.
“That one,” he said, pointing to the largest opening.
“That’s what I was thinking,” she said. “Are you going to shift when you get inside?”
“I don’t think so. But I’ll take it slow and see what happens. It could be I’ll have to shift at some point. Low tide should be for another thirty minutes or so, which makes it easier for us to get around inside.”
They carefully made their way across the wet rocks until they stood at the entrance of the cave.
They entered, and the first thirty feet was relatively shallow water for them as they made their way deeper inside.
But as the passage narrowed, the floor dropped, and water filled the tunnel from wall to wall.
It was already at their waist. He knew if Tempi went any farther, the water would soon be over her head.
“I can’t walk through that,” Tempi said.
“I know.” He held up his hands. “I’ll hold the water back for you.”
She nodded, and he pressed his palms forward. His magic reached into the seawater and pushed. The water drew apart, pulling back from the cave floor and pressing against the walls, leaving a narrow dry path down the center.
They moved through the passage together. Neither of them spoke, they just concentrated on moving slowly through the dark cave. Soon the passage opened into a wider chamber, and the ceiling rose above them.
“Let me throw up a light orb,” Tempi said. “It’s getting too dark for me to see.” A few seconds later, the chamber lit up with an enchanted glow, and Ronin moved forward with her. They were almost to the far wall when Tempi gasped and pointed. “Look, Ronin!”
Against the far cave wall, something was etched into the rock.
“I think it’s the clue.” He moved forward until he could read the carved words. “My Dearest Eleanora. I will see you soon, Wind Talker. Where the water and the air crash and meet, so, too, shall we. There, also, will our Crimson Heart be.”
“He obviously loved her,” Ronin said. “You can hear it in his words. He loved and trusted her.”
“Partnership.” She gave a small laugh. “That’s what this whole treasure hunt is about. Every clue requires two elements. Air and water. Two people working together.”
“Because that’s what they were, two people working together. She must have been an air elemental, like you. He calls her a wind talker, and we know every clue requires some kind of air and water magic.”
“Was he half water shifter with magical abilities?” Tempi mused. “I had assumed he was full vampire, but maybe that’s just legend, and legend was wrong.”
“Do you know where this water-and-air-meet clue is?”
“No. But we have all night to think about it.” She took out her phone and snapped a photo of the clue carved on the ancient cave wall. “Just in case we need it tomorrow.”
He followed her out of the cave and into the daylight. Blinking against the glare of the sun, he turned and released the water he’d been holding back. It crashed against each other and whooshed out of the cave, nearly knocking Tempi and him over. They both laughed and grabbed onto each other.
“We should get back,” Tempi said. “I’m starving and could use something to eat.”
The phone in his pocket vibrated. He knew that chime...it was Dax’s notification sound. He decided to ignore it as he followed Tempi back up the cliff. More than once he caught himself wanting to reach out and hold her hand again like they’d done in the bakery. But he knew better.
They’d just sat down in the golf cart when Tempi’s phone rang.
“It’s Grandma Draven.” She slid her finger over the icon. “Hey, Grandma. What’s going on?”
“Come over for a light snack,” he heard her grandma say. “I want to talk about the treasure hunt.”
Her eyes cut to him. “I’m not alone, Grandma.”
“Is it your young merman?” she asked.
Tempi sighed. “It’s Ronin, yes.”
“Bring him, too. I want to know what happened today.”
Ronin smiled at Tempi. “I’m game if you are.”
“We’ll be there shortly, Grandma.”