They finished eating, but JC suggested they wait just a little longer. Sure enough, with the sky now perceptibly lighter, the light steady rain ended.
Zach and Erica were waiting for them at the outer door, even. Water drops still glittered here and there on Erica’s leaves, but Zach looked pretty much dry.
“Found Niko,” Zach said, and beckoned.
“What about the dishes?” Max asked.
“Got it,” JC said. “Des and Erica can help me take them to the kitchen. Take Suze and go.”
Kayla looked—carefully—for Suzi, to make sure she wouldn’t be left behind, but the little wisp already had her hand in Levi’s, so probably she’d be okay. Still, she kept a covert eye in that direction.
The ankle-deep grass and mixed greenery covering the ground was thoroughly wet, but it wasn’t cold, so Kayla filed it mentally as a summer rain and ignored it as best she could. Wet running shoes and socks were vaguely annoying, however.
“Hey, Zach? Anything dangerous if I switch to barefoot?”
Zach glanced at her and made an odd sort of snorting sound. “Join the club. Is completely safe inside the walls. Maybe uncomfortable outside, some areas.”
“Glad to hear it.” Kayla paused and laid a hand on a tree to steady herself while she peeled off her shoes and socks. She stuffed her socks into her shoes, tied the laces together, and let them swing from one hand. Opportunities to be barefoot outside, other than in her own back yard, were far too rare, as far as she was concerned, and if her feet were going to be wet, she’d rather just skip the shoes.
“I know this place has been used for something horrible,” Heather said, looking around in the increasing morning light, “but it’s actually beautiful.”
“More beautiful farther out,” Zach said.
“It wasn’t built by our psychopaths,” Kayla said. “It was built by a wizard Arctos respected who died—or might have been murdered, that’s being investigated. Arctos referred to him as an artist. It’s okay to enjoy the setting. I mean, we’re living here for a while, might as well. It actually is gorgeous, and it’s pretty cool how much fresh organic food there is to just pick and eat. The water’s completely safe to drink, even. It’s a bit quiet, but it’s kinda peaceful.”
Zach didn’t take them towards the fountain or towards the house, but off to one side, choosing a route between trees and garden beds.
“Hey, that’s neat,” Riley said. “That architecture is completely unlike anything else I’ve seen, so I’m betting that’s one of Alkaios’ cottages.”
It was a pleasant-looking single-story building. The walls appeared to be a polished golden wooden mesh in a hex pattern from floor to the gently-peaked wood-shingled roof. Or roofs, possibly, since there were three of those shallow peaks.
“Sweet,” Kayla said. “There a door here somewhere?”
Zach nodded and gestured.
They circled around the building to a wide doorway, two mesh doors standing open to either side. Theo was sitting outside on the rain-wet grass, but waved them inside without a word. Zach went in without hesitation, and the others followed.
The room within was luxuriously large. The hexagonal shape actually made it feel even bigger and more open. One broad corner held a sort of kitchenette, with a compact fridge, a sink, and a few small appliances on a neat counter with cupboards above and below. Near that was a round kitchen table with four chairs. The rest of the room was a mixture of soft couches, loveseats, chairs, chests, shelves, small tables, and a large elaborate desk. Everything matched, the same wood as the walls and floor, and all fabrics patterned in soft beiges and greys, creams and browns. Kayla could easily visualize Des curled up on an old-fashioned reading couch.
Matching floor-length curtains were tied back here and there, presumably to offer some privacy if desired, because there was no glass inside the wooden mesh and no solid walls, the fresh island air drifting through unimpeded.
There were two other doors, on adjoining walls opposite the external one.
One was a palatial bathroom. The walls here were solid, the same glossy wood, but from about shoulder-height up they also became mesh. It wasn’t as large as the main room, but still much larger than any bathroom Kayla had ever been in.
Then again, the island was hardly crowded. Why not make use of the space to make himself and his friends and family comfortable? It would make more sense than the later strategy of cramming everyone into a single house.
It had a second door, which led directly to the third room.
Niko was in the bedroom with Alison, both looking around, Niko with the island mirror in his arms. In keeping with the rest, it was huge, with an enormous wooden four-poster bed, dresser, wardrobe, vanity table, chest, a couch, and more shelves.
“Hi, guys,” Niko said. “This is the third one I’ve invoked. Wood is the default look. I tried swapping it to the black metal version on one—there are other metal colours and other wood colours available, and a few colours of stone. I figured I’d try the glass setting on this one, just to see how it looks. Let’s go with blue.” He smiled at Alison, flipped the mirror around, and tapped several times.
The wood paled rapidly, and the room grew brighter, as the mesh turned to what certainly resembled glass, clear and colourless in the centre half, with a broad bar at top and bottom of intense deep blue that made Kayla think of antique cobalt glass. It retained the same hexagonal mesh structure, though.
The curtains and furnishings all changed as well—all now in shades of blue, with all wood replaced by clear glass with blue swirls in it.
“Oh, that’s striking,” Heather said. “Although potentially a deathtrap.”
“It only looks like glass,” Niko said. “It can’t break. Glass, wood, metal, or stone, available in anything from six to a dozen colours each, all as pre-set themes to go over the same template. It should be possible to customize the various details to a high degree, to add some colour contrast and reduce the monochrome effect, but I imagine I’ll have to do that. Unless Kayla’s aptitude for wizard magic allows her to use it as well, in which case a few lessons in safety and the specific functions are in order. For the time being, I’m just trying to get enough buildings set up. Alkaios had quite an efficient layout already planned in, and it’s relatively easy to use that, but it will still take time.”
“Enough cottages?” Riley asked.
“Twelve, plus six buildings in an inner ring that are common space. A large kitchen—I can hardly wait until Jace sees that. A library. That sort of thing. The cottages have a generous amount of space around them, so I don’t think privacy will be an issue even without solid walls. The seven of us plus Nora... we’ll each have one, with extras. Arctos might borrow one occasionally, or create his own for all I know. At this point, I have no idea what might happen or what we might end up doing with the others.” He shrugged.
“We each get something like this to live in?” Levi said.
“Exactly like this. Well, apart from whichever theme you choose. I’m just invoking a template already built into the island. It’s much easier than creating anything from scratch. And yes, we each get one. I called up a stream and integrated it with the first one I did—Max, you’ll need to be careful you don’t get out of bed on the wrong side, and there’s a pool of water in the living room so Theo can stay wet. The stream leads most of the way to the fountain, as a path for Theo, and another branch leads to the next cottage, since I figured she’d like to be able to reach Kayla easily and that you two would prefer cottages next door.”
Kayla and Max traded glances, and nodded in unison.
“This is the third. It’s so much easier placing them where intended that I expect to be able to do, hm, possibly three more before I need to rest. I’ll have all twelve and the six common buildings done before you get back from your trip to the real world.”
“Wonderful!” Riley said happily. “This is going to be a lot better than a cheap motel or my van while doing a job, with infinitely better food.”
“And a much larger job,” Alison said.
“True, but with lots of support. Niko, this is great, thank you so much.”
“Definitely,” Kayla said. “That bed looks a lot more comfortable than the ground with a blanket or two.”
“Plenty of room for the dogs to stay with Suze and I,” Levi said.
“Or Ramses and Ryu,” Kayla said. “Unless Des wants her own, I’ll probably keep them with me for the moment, since they know me and I’ll be alone otherwise.”
“Probably okay,” Alison said. “If you don’t mind Des sleeping on the couch.”
“Why would I mind that?”
“I’ll invite Jace to stay with me if she wants,” Niko said. “I’m not certain Erica will want to be indoors.”
“She doesn’t,” Zach said.
“Which means,” Riley said, “you have housing under control, and we can get on with the next item on the list, which is finding the missing phones, jewellery, wallets, keys, and so on. Niko, JC says there’s a five-digit combination lock on a very likely box. If I can’t pick it, do you have any ideas?”
“Combination lock?” Niko said. “I can probably spare you from picking it.” He looked around. “Where’d I leave my backpack?”
“Main room,” Zach said, and retreated long enough to fetch it and hand it to Niko.
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“Ah, thank you.” Niko set the mirror on the bed, and rummaged in his bag. He finally extricated a grey case, and opened the zipper that ran most of the way around it. Several small objects were secured in elastic loops inside. “I’d try this one.” He tapped one in particular. “Put it just under the lock dials, horizontally with the arrow facing towards them, and tap it twice. It will take a couple of minutes but if it runs much longer it isn’t working and you can try the others. If it’s a completely mundane lock, one of them will get it open. If it’s been enhanced or modified, they might not, but that just means it’ll take a little more work.” He closed the pouch and handed it to Riley, who tucked it into her messenger bag.
“Thanks, that’ll make this easier.”
“And off we go to the house,” Kayla said.
“Not going in that,” Zach muttered darkly.
“I know, sweetie. Jace seems to be tolerating it but it doesn’t surprise me at all none of you really like it. Once Niko gets that other kitchen set up, we’ll move everything there and with any luck we can all pretty much stay out of it.”
“Once we’re sure there’s nothing else in it we might want or need,” Niko said, “it can actually be removed. I’ll have that new kitchen for Jace soon.”
“Good,” Alison said. “Meet you by the fountain. I’ll get that box.” She paused by Wade to lay a hand on his shoulder and leaned down for a quick kiss, then trotted off.
Kayla regarded Wade measuringly, then dismissed her own misgivings. She had no clear or consistent sense of trouble or malice, and had seen nothing in Wade’s reactions that suggested rejection rather than understandable bemusement, which meant that odd flicker as she’d watched them kiss could and should be attributed to stress or fatigue.
She ushered everyone but Niko out of the cottage, and Zach took the lead, angling them towards the fountain’s towering crown. Theo got up to join them.
Kayla glanced at Theo, who was actually keeping other bodies between herself and Max, trailing behind—she wasn’t sure Max had even noticed their siren had moved, unlikely as that seemed. While someone who didn’t know Theo well might have missed it, Kayla could see strain there, blue lower lip repeatedly trapped between her teeth, a crease between her blue eyebrows, tension in the set of her upper spine.
“Theo? Why don’t you take Max and go check whether the one Niko set up specifically for you will be okay? I won’t let anything else major happen until you’re back. Probably better to make sure right now that it’ll do the trick, eh?”
“I... but I should...”
“Kay’s right,” Suzi said. “This would be a good time.”
Zach glanced over his shoulder, and jerked his head to one side. “Go.”
“Fine by me,” Max said, dropping back and catching Theo’s hand in his. “Any idea where?”
“Roughly,” Theo said.
“Good. Lead on.” Kayla was still close enough to hear the much softer murmur, “Not going to turn down time alone with you. You okay?”
“Will be,” Theo said, and licked her lips, some of the strain melting with surprising speed into something more like hunger. “Once I get you alone.”
“Then what are we waiting for?”
Kayla grinned to herself, lengthening her strides to catch up to the others. Max should be able to take care of that particular itch of Theo’s thoroughly and comprehensively, which would with any luck make Theo feel better and more relaxed—even if that trip home would separate them again for over a day from Theo’s side.
“Everything okay?” Heather asked Kayla.
“Yep. They need a little time alone.”
“Siren-types have needs,” Riley said diplomatically. “I’d, um, recommend getting used to that. I’m not sure what flavour Theo’s might be, but water fae often have a high sex drive, and that goes double for water fae with siren abilities. High to the point of being difficult to control, sometimes, although one or more enthusiastic and energetic lovers can generally keep it tamed.”
“Just hope Max’s stamina is up to it,” Kayla laughed.
“Wouldn’t worry. Sirens can usually make sure lovers can keep up.” She shrugged, glanced at Kayla, and grinned. “They can be a bit tiring if you aren’t used to it, but man, friendly siren-types and succubus-types are so worth it.”
“Experience speaking?” Heather asked with a smile.
Another shrug. “I don’t exactly have a lifestyle very conducive to a long-term relationship, y’know? I’m on the road, all over the province, far more than I’m home with my sister and mom. And a relationship with someone not aware of the kinds of weirdness I deal with on a daily basis would be just hopeless. But sometimes I wrap up jobs on friendly terms with someone involved, and Chelsea always tries her best to arrange things so I don’t have to run immediately from one to the next. If you have an open mind about little things like, oh, skin colour, fur, horns, extra appendages, whatever a given faeling may have, and you don’t mind being flexible about specifics, you can have all kinds of fun. Some of it things that are at best unlikely, if not impossible, with human lovers. Never met a faeling who wasn’t, in broad terms, compatible with regular humans. But it’s a bad idea to make assumptions. Honest communication is essential.”
“Should be for anyone,” Kayla said. “Although it’s sadly rare even in supposedly mature adults. Sounds like you’ve had some adventures.” She tried hard not to think about her own immediate reaction to JC on first sight, or the thoughts that occasionally crept in. JC really didn’t need to deal with that right now.
Riley laughed. “You could say that.”
“Honest communication makes a lot work better,” Heather said.
Alison beat them to the fountain. She wasn’t alone, but Paz and Orfeo and Dulce saw the unfamiliar humans and fled.
“Don’t take it personally,” Suzi said with a sigh. “Those three are Theo’s friends, they only speak Spanish but Theo’s been using French to bridge the gap. They’ve been here a while. Months, at least. They’re a little shy.”
“Helped us, though,” Zach said. “Trust them.”
“They only have partial memories,” Suzi said sadly. “Enough to know what happened. Maybe not enough to find home. They remember being friends, though. They’re the only other group around that’s consistent and close and is multiple kinds of fae together. There are some bullies who hang out together, different types, but that seems to be a different kind of thing.”
Zach glanced at Suzi, and shrugged. “Not all bad people. Broken and hopeless and just gave up. See no future except surviving until dying or getting noticed by Phrixos. One said, world is over for us. Dangerous but... maybe hope for some if they see a future.”
“That is so... you,” Heather said fondly. “How often have you been in fights with the same people you’re currently trying to understand?”
“One bad fight. Des and Erica too. Protecting a wisp.” He frowned. “Can take any except one. Asian woman who freezes things. Get cold, get slow and unfocused. Do not want to fight her.”
“Sounds like an ice fae of some sort,” Riley mused, taking the grey case Niko had given her out of her bag. “Yuki-onna is a common Japanese name for them, although there are others. Is that the box from Isabel’s room?” She nodded at the shiny silver box, the size of a large briefcase, resting on the stone.
“Yes,” Alison said. “Jace got it for me.”
“Then let’s see if this works. Clothes usually change, sometimes even glasses, no logical reason, it’s just a fae thing. That sort of thing drives me crazy sometimes, but there’s really nothing you can do but accept it. But more utilitarian and external things like phones and keys and wallets generally do not, which is a very good thing. Jewellery is kinda funny. Sometimes it disappears, and like clothes, it just sort of stops existing until it’s reformed, back in human form. But some jewellery, the kind that has deep personal meaning and associations, like wedding rings, they’re too real to stop existing.” While she spoke, she followed Niko’s instructions, and watched the box carefully.
The leftmost dial spun slowly, and stopped, then the next one began to move, one deliberate notch at a time until it in turn stopped. It wasn’t fast, but as the fifth one stopped, the lock clicked faintly, and Riley flipped the top open.
She heaved a sigh. “There are a lot more than seven phones in here... twice that, maybe. A bunch of wallets, men’s and women’s and who knows. A dozen sets of keys, at least.” She began to set the items from the box on the stone wall, meticulously sorted: a row of phones, a row of rings of keys, a row of wallets and change purses and the like, a row of jewellery that was mostly rings, a few pairs of glasses.
Zach immediately picked up a plain gold band, smiled as he turned it to look at the inner surface—then heaved a sigh when an attempt to put it on made it clear that it slipped right off.
Heather wrapped her hands around Zach’s, taking the ring. “I’ll hold onto it, honey. When I’m home I’ll find a chain to put it on.”
Suzi retrieved a pair of rings that were obviously meant to fit together, a slim gold band with a modest diamond in it and a wider gold band with a small silvery cross embossed into it smoothly. As with Zach’s, it was too large for her now-smaller fingers. She hesitated, and Kayla wondered whether she’d simply spin herself a cord to wear them on. Possibly self-consciousness won: she pressed them into Levi’s hands.
“That’s Erica’s,” Alison said, picking up a silver necklace with a silver and green jade leaf pendant. “She was wearing it at the barbecue.”
Kayla picked up Theo’s ring, the three twisted strands of gold, white and rose and yellow, and his phone in its case with rainbow music notes, and his keys on their metallic rainbow lanyard. No wallet: he had his driver’s license and provincial health card and bank card tucked into his phone case, and she flipped it open to make sure they were still there. The ring she tucked immediately into the front pocket of her jeans—Theo would be deeply relieved to have that back.
She recognized Des’ phone too: the waterproof case had a pawprint sticker on it, as black as the case but with a narrow silvery holographic border. Des’ keys shared a ring with a laser pointer-flashlight combination, and a tiny USB charging cord in a protective cover, and a miniature Phillips screwdriver. A flat aluminum wallet case was matte gold with shiny gold leopard-spots, and a quick check established that the ID inside belonged to Des.
Zach and Suzi and Alison collected phones and keys and wallets out of the array.
“Any guesses which belong to Jace and Erica?” Kayla asked. “Keys in particular?”
There was a brief moment of hesitation, as Alison scanned the row of keys and chose two. One ring had a keytag with a metallic orange twenty-sided die, which should have been an obvious clue. Another had a wide honey-brown lanyard with stylized trees printed along it and, most tellingly, the name of the community garden alliance linking the several individual gardens Erica had helped organize.
Kayla figured Alison had asked privately, but said nothing. They could figure out their phones and wallets later.
“These,” Alison said, and handed both to Riley.
Riley tucked both into her bag. “Right. I’ll get street addresses from them. Otherwise... everyone coming back to the real world, get yourselves organized and make sure you know what you’re doing.”
Suzi looked down at the objects in her hands. “I’m not sure what to do with this. I suppose once Niko’s done it could go there...”
“For the moment,” Kayla said, “since apparently my cottage is done, I can keep things until you want them back.” She set down Theo’s and Des’ things long enough to peel off her grey t-shirt and spread it on the stone, then transferred phones and all onto the shirt. Her white sports bra covered enough for decency, although she saw Levi and Wade both look away. “Anything you want me to hold onto for now, leave it on there.”
With no hesitation, Suzi and Zach and Alison all set their belongings on Kayla’s t-shirt.
“Makes sense,” Riley said. “Although honestly, you could have just taken the whole box. There’s a switch inside to let you change the combination.”
“How logical,” Zach said drily.
Kayla laughed. “Eh, so I’m not exactly the meek and modest type. Sure, if you guys want, I’ll change the combo and keep it as safe as I can.”
“We want,” Zach said.
Riley gestured invitingly. “All yours.”
Kayla flicked the small lever, set the combination to one she could remember, and switched it back. On a test, it worked perfectly, so she re-opened it and transferred everything back inside, reclaiming her t-shirt. “Happier now, boys?”
“Context is everything,” Levi said.
“Yeah, well, you can dress me up and take me out in public for a limited time, but I’ll eventually forget that whole decent-and-respectable thing.” She shrugged and closed the box. “Once you guys are off, someone can show me where my new place is so I can put this away. Meanwhile, Jace and Erica are probably in or by the kitchen, so Riley can get the details she needs, and the kitchen’s not a bad place for this temporarily.”