Page 16 of Broken Veil
“So far they haven’t noticed any changes in the gates in Baywood,” Laura said. “My brother has been across the gate, and while the old gods in Wykanush have always been more present than the ones here, the Shadowkin in the village seem to feel like things are basically the same. And Kiersten says she hasn’t noticed anything off in town.” Laura lifted a finger. “Check that. Old Mr. Harris at the bookstore said he saw Bigfoot fishing on Moore’s Pier, but that’s the third time he’s seen that this year.”
“I think he needs new glasses,” Carys whispered.
“The man is eighty-three. I’m taking any Bigfoot sighting from him with a grain of salt.”
Carys thought about the old proprietor of Redwood Pages, the lone bookstore in Baywood that didn’t only sell textbooks for the college. The younger Mr. Harris—a spritely sixty-two—had taken over the day-to-day running of the bookshop, but Old Mr. Harris still lived next door.
“Okay, if we ignore Bigfoot sightings from old men with delightful imaginations,” Carys said, “I’d argue that the rest all sounds normal. The gates in California are all more porous than the ones here. All in all, it’s probably a healthier system to have a bit more…”
Laura wrinkled her nose. “Permeability?”
“Yeah, maybe.”
“So what are you thinking?”
Carys sat back and took a deep breath. “I don’t know. Think about what Dr. Beck said yesterday. She thinks Briton needs go-betweens like North America has. What if the high fae in Briton loosened their grip on the gates a little bit? It might make things… I don’t know, more balanced maybe.”
“With Dru taking over the throne, if there was a time for change, it’s probably now, but I still think it’s debatable.” Laura lowered her voice as a group of tourists entered the dining room. “Think about it, Carys. Northern California has a lot of woods and a very small population.”
“Good point. Trolls randomly popping out from under London bridges is probably not going to lead to peace between dimensions.”
Laura nodded. “And let’s be honest, I don’t think balance and harmony are the Morrígan’s end goals with” —she waved her hands around— “all this.”
“You’re probably right.” She felt Cadell approaching. His energy was a heat signature on the dark, cool ground floor of the hotel.
“I think stopping the Morrígan has to be the goal.” Laura glanced at the door. “Hopefully Naida has some success translating those documents that Dr. Beck gave you.”
Cadell sat down a few moments later, a steaming coffee cup in his hand. “Good morning. Nêrys, you look well rested. I’m glad the cross human didn’t keep you awake all night having sex.”
This time Laura did snort coffee through her nose.
“My apologies.” Cadell handed Laura a napkin. “Was my statement too direct?”
Carys had gotten used to Cadell having zero boundaries and many opinions. “It’s fine, Cadell.”
“What were you two talking about when I came in? Your expressions were serious.”
Laura wiped her face and crumpled the napkin in her fist, barely holding back laughter. “Skin-care routines. Sheet masks actually.”
Cadell frowned. “And this is a subject for serious debate?”
“Dragon, you have no idea.”
They waitedin front of the hotel after breakfast, and Laura was tapping her foot as she stared at Duncan, who was scrolling through the mobile phone he’d picked up in London two days before.
“So you’re telling me you can just call someone and have a van delivered?” Laura asked.
Duncan glanced up. “What part of disgustingly rich did you not understand?”
“To be fair,” Carys said, “I’m pretty sure rental car services will deliver minivans to your hotel in the States too.”
Laura raised an eyebrow. “You think he rented one?”
“Of course he did.” She turned to Duncan. “You rented a van, right?”
He frowned. “Why would I do that? I don’t know how long we’re going to need it, and the rental vans all had too many steel components.” He lifted his chin when he spotted something over her shoulder. “See? This is preferable.”
Carys followed Duncan with her eyes as he strode toward a sleek grey Mercedes van that slid to the curb in front of the hotel.
