Page 24 of Dark Stars
"I don't think my mother ever bothered tolearn more about humans than strictly needed to keep my fatheralive and happy."
"Fair enough," Alejo replied. "At least—" Hebroke off, face turning tomato-red.
Bobby quirked a brow. "At least what?"
"Nothing, nothing at all."
"As you wish," Bobby replied, despite thecuriosity eating away at him. He'd get it out of Alejo later.
For the present, he strode over to the shedand ripped off the cheap lock. "I don't smell anything awry, exceptreally old, faded hints of arcana, like it hasn't been here fordecades."
"Well, perfectly ordinary creepy is loadsbetter than arcana creepy." Alejo grabbed the lefthand door andpulled it open, wrinkling his nose slightly at the smell of moldand dust and various critters that wafted over them. Something thatlooked like an opossum scuttled swiftly out of sight behind someold boards propped against the back wall.
The shed was, at least at first glance,wholly unremarkable. Scrap wood, rusty wheelbarrow, mower,weedwhacker, gardening supplies, car cleaning supplies, all theusual bric-a-brac you'd expect to find in an old shed in thebackyard.
Alejo scowled at the detritus. "I don't knowif I'm relieved or disappointed."
Bobby let out a single, sharp laugh as hestepped further into the shed. "Be relieved. This little adventureis going to get worse before it gets better, so I'll take whatevereasy moments we get. That being said, I can still smell old arcana,and I'd like to see what it is or was before we abandon the shedentirely. Help me move some of this. It seems to be on or in thefloor."
Together they moved the mower, a couple ofbeat-up old sawhorses and other miscellany, until they finally hadthe middle of the shed floor clear. "Something is weird," Alejosaid, "but I can't quite sort out what."
"There's something beneath it—well,something other than the ground," Bobby said. "I don't think I'msmelling old arcana, I think I'm smellingdistantarcana."Crouching, he felt along the seams of the wood, until he found atelltale catch. Prying it up, he revealed a secret hatch—andbeneath it, darkness and a ladder that started a couple of inchesbeneath the surface. "Where is the church in relation to thishouse."
"Um…" Alejo moved back outside and pulled amap from his back pocket, unfolding it and laying it out on theground, using stray rocks to hold it in place. "We're here, and thechurch is…here, northeast."
Bobby traced his finger along where theriver had been, approximately. "This whole town is probably filledwith tunnels and warrens. I'm starting to wonder how many timescults like this have cropped up here."
"Guess we'll find out, whether we want to ornot," Alejo said with a sigh. "Shall we get this partystarted?"
Instead of replying, Bobby curled his fingerbeneath Alejo's chin and tilted his head up before dropping a kisson his mouth. The only thing better than the warmth and softness ofhis lips was the lovely flush to his cheeks as Bobby drew back. Nowthat he'd given in, all he wanted was totake take take.Claim, mark,possess.This little human was his now, and hewould tear apart the stars themselves to please and protecthim.
Alejo shivered. "You're staring veryintensely."
"Just wait until later," Bobby murmured,then got them both on their feet. "Back to work for now, though,alas." He led the way back into the shed, and summoned up somelights that he cast down into the dark to light the way for Alejo.Crouching, he swung down onto the ladder and descended into thedark.
They must have gone at least two storiesdown, which was entirely too much time on a ladder. Going up wouldbe even worse; hopefully they'd find a better way up as they wentalong.
At the bottom, once Alejo had joined him, hecast the lights around them and further ahead, revealing anunremarkable tunnel strung with old mining lanterns that had ceasedworking years ago. Here and there the dirt was covered with sheetsof plywood, likely covering up holes or maybe where wiring had oncebeen laid. Everything smelled of dirt, dust, mold, and under itall, a faint hint of arcana and the tang of old blood. Some of thatblood belonged to Wilcutt, though whether it was because she'd beenwounded down here or it was left behind as her corpse was draggedthrough, he couldn't say.
"This isn't creepy at all," Alejo muttered."Why do white people always gotta go doing creepy shit instead ofleaving well enough alone?"
"Says the hunter who's dating a primordialdemigod."
Alejo threw him a shy grin before turningaway and heading off down the tunnel, calling over his shoulder,"That's just good strategizing."
Smiling, Bobby followed a few steps behindhim, giving them both space to work and handle any surpriseswithout it taking out both of them.
Thankfully, everything remained quiet, andthe scent of arcana grew steadily stronger.
Eventually, the absolute dark of the placeturned to hazily visible, and Bobby withdrew his lights. As thelight increased, voices began to trickle in, though they were stilltoo far off to easily make out the words, and Bobby didn't want torisk using his powers further. The lights had been riskyenough.
Then the tunnel widened into an area stackedwith crates and boxes, a couple of lanterns that must be batterypowered hanging from the low ceiling.
"Anyone close by enough to be a problem?"Alejo asked softly.
Bobby shook his head, and in silence theyset to work investigating the crates.
The oldest crates were full of junk, fromlong-outdated tools to pamphlets that must have been made in thenineteen twenties or thereabouts, and bottles from the same era,with ingredient lists that ranged from illegal to holy shit how didanyone survive. Sadly, the contents had long since dried out, orwere so expired, even he wouldn't drink them. Would have been funto try, ah well.
