Page 40 of The Mermaid's Bubble Lounge
After dragging myself out of bed, I got cleaned up and dressed. Half asleep, I held onto the rail and made my way down the stairs. Fergus went to his water bowl and then sat, waiting for his food bowl to be filled.
“You look like hell.”
I jumped, my heart stuttering to a stop before galloping out of control. Vlad sat in the darkest corner of the den, watching us. “What the flip, dude? Unlike some, I actually need my heart to work. Stop scaring the shit out of me.”
I could swear I saw a smirk under that giant mustache. I remembered my dreams and took my axe out of the sheath as I moved toward him. “Tell me something only you and I know.”
Tilting his head to the side, he watched me. “Oh, yes. Of course.” He had Vlad’s Romanian accent. “Clive and I killed every member of the Guild in Budapest.”
I replaced my axe. “Shh. We don’t need that getting out. Next time, pick a less top-secret detail.” On an eye roll, I went back to the kitchen to feed Fergus.
I needed to eat something too, but I wasn’t feeling great. Worrying and nightmares had messed with my appetite. I opened the back door for Fergus and then scanned the refrigerator for anything I thought my stomach could handle. Maybe I should have soup for breakfast.
I closed the fridge and then turned to the kitchen window, pushing up a slat of the closed blinds, letting in a shaft of sunlight. I scanned the front of the house and the green across the road.
There was no cat that I could see, but there was a woman sitting under the tree reading. A man jogged past, adjusting his headphones. And older man walked his dog up the road, moving past where I could track him. Was he any of these people? The dog, perhaps? I stared at the tree and saw a squirrel facing this direction. Was that him? Had he killed again last night?
“I thought werewolves needed to eat often,” Vlad said from his corner. “Why aren’t you eating?”
Ignoring his question and the sick feeling in my gut, I said, “He could be anyone. How—how do we kill something that can look like anyone, that can shift to heal whatever we manage to do to him?”
“Will we arrive at the answer to that question faster if you’re tired and weak from hunger?” he asked in reply.
I shook my head, still staring out the window, and remembered why I felt so sick this morning. I’d had a dream where Clive approached me, but he was a little off. There was something not quite right. I’d thought he was the pooka and had swung for his head with my axe. There was a look of pain and shock and then a pile of vampire dust dropped to the floor at my feet.
When I woke, I assured myself Clive was fine. I knew he was sleeping, but I couldn’t shake the horror of what I’d done in my nightmares. “How do I know who the bad guy is?” My stomach twisted, remembering the look of hurt and betrayal on my husband’s face before he turned to dust.
“You should probably get something to eat, and we can discuss it,” Vlad said.
Fergus trotted back in and I closed and locked the back door, closing the curtains so we were plunged into full dark. I went back to the kitchen, deciding Vlad was right. I pulled a few meat sticks out, took a bite, and slapped my thigh.
“Let’s go to work, bud.”
Vlad was suddenly blocking me. “You can’t go out there. As you said, we have no idea which guise he’s currently wearing. It’s not safe for either of you.”
I shook my head. “Real nice. Bring Fergus’ safety into it to get your way. We’re not going out the front,” I told him. “We’re heading in through the folly.”
“Oh,” he said, walking across the room to pop the door for the elevator. “Why didn’t you say so? I’ll go with you.”
We took the elevator down to the garage and walked past a showroom of sports cars.
Vlad gestured to all the very expensive vehicles. “Does this concern you?”
I shook my head. “Clive loves cars. He told me that when one is as old as he is, it’s easy to lose interest in everything. He calls these his weakness, but they’re what bring him joy, so why not have as many as he wishes? I want him to be happy.”
Vlad made one of his thoughtful hmms. “Has he purchased one since you moved in?”
I paused to look around the garage. “I don’t think so.” I pointed to the insanely beautiful and expensive Mercedes-Maybach. “He bought me that one when we got married. I have yet to drive it.” I shook my head. “I’m terrified of scraping it up. If I ever got locked out and have to sleep in the garage, though, I’m heading straight for that back seat. It’s so insanely luxurious.”
We went through the heavy metal door into the folly. On this end, it looked as though we were walking into a cave, the walls roughhewn, the ground appearing to be packed dirt. The tunnel twisted and turned before the first of the folly worlds opened up.
The smell of salt air and the roar of the surf filled the tunnel. Fergus ran onto the island, the ocean hitting the shore in the distance. He dug in the sand under the tall palm trees before running back to us. The dragon builders were magical. Did it make any logical sense that there was a huge, mountainous, tree-filled island with a vast ocean under our house? No, it did not. Was it here anyway? Yes, it was.
I knew that was not in fact a sunny blue sky above us. I knew I could turn a dial back in the tunnel and this sunny midday sunshine would fade into purple twilight, stars beginning to glitter in the sky. It was hard to believe it, though, as I stood here, smelling the salt air, feeling the ocean breezes and the sand beneath my feet.
This was where Cadmael stayed, lying on the beach under the sun for the first time in over two thousand years. Cadmael wasn’t a day-walker, like Vlad. He was more like Clive. He was old and powerful enough to get up during the day, if need be, but his natural daytime state was rest.
We continued down the tunnel, eventually coming to the end, leading into Canterbury, England, one thousand years ago. Closest to the tunnel was the village center and the cathedral. Then there was a tavern, some cottages, and eventually fields and Clive’s old family farm.
