Wet and Wired (2 page)

“Can’t you just stay in one of the bed and breakfasts?”

She shook her head. “Nope. Those are for guests. I work for a living.”

“Where do you stay?” He seemed concerned.

“With family, if I can get to them before they shift and get into their dams.” She twisted her lips.

“Are you joking with me?”

“A little bit. I just crash in the hostel. I get a meal in the café and then get a shower and some sleep. In no time it is morning.”

He frowned. “It isn’t right that you are uncomfortable because of me.”

She shrugged. “It is fine. I often have to do things that are a little awkward in the line of duty. This isn’t even registering on the scale.”

She led him back to the centre of the Crossroads. “If you need anything else, Teal can find me at the café.”

“Thank you for your help, Leda.” He looked like he wanted to take her hand, but his were full of the coils.

“Have a nice time here, Altion. It is a fun place as long as you don’t have anywhere you want to be.”

She winked and headed for the café. Her meal was way overdue.

Leda was face deep into a burger and fries when Altion came through the door. He inclined his head and wandered over to her with lazy grace.

“It pains me to importune you again, but I have need of your assistance at the Isthmus.”

She nodded and waved at him to sit down. She mumbled, “Park it. I am not skipping dinner.”

He sat and summoned her aunty Sally with a smile. Iced tea, broiled salmon and a salad made their appearance in a matter of minutes.

Leda was dragging her fries through ketchup while he was eating. “So, what do you need?”

“I need help installing the second coil at the Isthmus. The magic that is in use is shifter and fey magic. Working with the blend will be tricky. I can use all the help you can offer.”

“We are going to work on installing it... where exactly?”

“In the centre of the tower. Well, in an alcove. We don’t want anyone wandering through the transport area.”

She nodded. “I know the one. You are going to have to ask the building nicely; that is some major marble.”

“Ask the building?”

She sipped at her lemonade with an innocent look. “So, they didn’t tell you? The buildings take on a life of their own here. A lot of magic went into the Isthmus, and it is very much alive. All of it.”

Sally came by. “Where do you want to crash tonight, Leda?”

Altion smiled. “Teal and Tony have offered her a spot at the Isthmus after we finish the installation. We just have to run it past the Isthmus guardians. Teal and Tony are making the call.”

She laughed. “So to speak.”

Sally nodded and returned to her other clients.

“Correct. I still don’t know how things work here.”

“It is a weird compilation of technology and magic. We install a little bit of the normal world up here every few months. We are just hoping that Dira doesn’t notice.” She wrinkled her nose.

He made short work of his salmon and slowed to eat his salad. “Did you leave here to take courses in the human world?”

“My parents left. My father had a small construction company and my brother does the plumbing, so I took up the electrical portion of it. My younger sister also does electrical, so she is filling in for me while I am on assignments for the council.”

“Does that happen often?”

She shrugged. “In many shifter families, one specific group will be tapped to spend time with the council when they call. This generation, it is our family, and I am usually the one they call.”

He nodded. “The fey have the same tradition. They offer a child to the court, and that child is raised with the expectation that they will devote their lives to the furthering of the feys’ survival.”

“Wow. No pressure.”

He laughed and had a sprig of green between his front teeth.

She waited until he had finished his salad before she said, “Smile again please.”

He grinned and she nodded.

“You have lettuce in your front teeth.”

He looked abashed, and he quickly removed the offending greenery with his fingertip.

She chuckled. “Sorry. It is a beaver thing. I normally have half a tree stuck between my teeth when I shift.”

He grinned. “Am I clear?”

“All sparkling and white. You are good.”

“Well, if you are ready, we can get going.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Fine. I am going.”

She got up and nodded to Sally. Sally brought over a flat grey plate. Leda swiped her hand over it, and she felt a vibration under her palm. Dinner was paid for by the council.

Altion had the small disk on his wristband that let Leda know he was there for more than the installation of the portal. He was hunting for a mate. She left the café with a quick step, and he caught up with her in a few strides.

He led her to the Meditation Centre where the transport alcove had been installed. A slightly muddled crystal was seated over the coil, but she could clearly make out the copper underneath it.

Teal came out of the rear of the Centre. “Well, you two are going to be the test couple for Juno and Derix. They are trying to make up some rooms for you, but with their beasts fighting for supremacy, it might take some doing.”

Altion grinned. “They are the new guardians?”

“Well, the Isthmus needs someone on site to take care of things. They definitely have a settled feel when they stop chasing each other’s tails.” Teal grinned.

Leda snickered. “Yeah, they are easily distracted around each other. Okay. Sure. As long as I have a place to stay, I am fine.”

“Good. Altion might need your help doing tests tomorrow.”

Leda looked at the merman, and he blinked and then smiled.

He said softly. “Testing it would be a good idea.”

Leda took one look at the outward-facing kiosk on the side of the Meditation Centre, and she finally caught on. “Oh, so this is for the fey and aquatics who don’t mind a dry mate.”

Altion smiled. “And for those who can’t be out of the water too long. Hiking in the sun isn’t recommended for all swimmers.”

“Right. Well, speaking of hike, shall we get going?”

Teal smiled. “Have a nice time and get some sleep, Leda. You work too hard.”

Leda laughed at the irony of being pressed into another job when her previous one was finished. She turned and made sure that Altion had the new coil, and when he hefted it, she set out down the familiar path to the Isthmus.

His long legs caught up with her in no time. “So, you have done a lot of work on the Isthmus?”

“Sure. I have run electrical through the walls to control panels for those who want a more modern feel than trusting to the magic.”

He laughed. “I can see that. So, where do you run the power?”

“Oh, I don’t. The hotel still powers it. I just run wires to the lights and stuff. It gives folks a familiar feel.”

“Did you work on the Axion?”

“Nope. That is all fey magic. I didn’t have anything to do with that.”

They were walking down the path that was slowly beginning to be worn by those going to and from the Isthmus. The moonlight that always burned bright at the Crossroads lit their way.

They walked in silence for a few minutes before Altion asked, “So, you haven’t ever tried to find a mate here?”

“Nope. I am sure that I can if I want to or if it comes to that. For now, I am content to do my work, spend time with my family and enjoy my life in general. Most guys would just get in the way, and a mate definitely would.” She wrinkled her nose. “It doesn’t fit in with my work ethic.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him staring at her. “Seriously? You don’t want to have children?”

“I never said that, but there is no rushing. Trust me, beaver shifters are not in short supply. We are in every trade and every industry.” She fished a piece of cinnamon bark out of her tool belt, and she gnawed on it as she walked.

“You really chew on that?”

“The sucky thing about being my kind of shifter is that a few traits bleed through. I like to swim, and I like to chew on things. While I love working with electrical cord, the urge to gnaw on them can take over. It is a lot easier just to chew on a spice stick.”

He nodded. “It doesn’t hurt your teeth?”

“Like a lot of other rodents, I have to keep wearing my teeth down. They continue growing otherwise.” She checked the length of her front teeth with her thumb. “It looks like I need to take a trip to the dentist or start taking down some small trees.”

“Dentist?”

“Yeah, we have special dentists that grind our teeth down for us if we don’t have time to work our way through some saplings.”

They continued chatting as the lights of the Isthmus came into view. She explained how life as a beaver meshed into the modern world.

Finally, she asked him, “So, aside from setting up site-to-site portals on the same plane, what do you do?”

“I run a fishing tour company on the coastline. I specialise in finding cold water fish.” He grinned.

She grinned. “And it isn’t because you can hear them.”

“Sense them with sonar but close enough.”

They walked into the quiet town of the Isthmus and headed for the tower. If Leda was lucky, she could get a view from the top of the tower again. It was a sight to take her breath away and her one true vice. She loved looking over all that open water; it unlocked something in the area around her heart. She wanted to feel that something again.

Juno grinned. “The demi-goddess herself. You just can’t get enough of us.”

Leda bowed low. “Correct, oh, Queen of Heaven. So, where is the alcove that is going to be used as the shortcut?”

Juno chuckled. “In such a hurry. Who is the fey with you?”

“Altion the merman. He who is setting up the portal.” She scowled. “Why am I still talking this way?”

Derix chuckled, coming up to stand next to his mate. “It is an experiment. We asked the building to formalize things a little, and it did so.”

Juno grinned. “I will request that it return to standard vernacular.”

Leda watched as the new guardian closed her eyes and the building around them shivered.

Derix smirked. “Balls. Excellent. All better. Now, Altion, the alcove is over here.”

Leda stood with Juno as the two fey wandered to the other side of the hotel lobby.

Juno sighed, “You look tired, Leda.”

“I just want a good night’s sleep in one of the highest guest rooms so I can look out over the sea.”

“It isn’t really the sea.”

“This isn’t really solid ground. This is a construct made by Dira and some contributors. We don’t even know how long it was in the works. She isn’t telling.”

Juno laughed. “She is a little preoccupied right now. So, do you think it is a boy or a girl?”

“I think it is a dragon, a thunder bird and a unicorn.” Leda blurted it out.

Juno blinked. “What?”

“You heard me. I have watched her belly. You can see multiple heads in there if you are keeping a close eye on her. The other feelings come with her coughing and sneezing symptoms as well as the clouds that skid across the Crossroads when she is perturbed. Yeah, it could just be Dira, but I don’t think so.”

Juno looked intrigued and a little scared. “Should we be nervous?”

“Nope. She is going to have her children any day now, and this is the best place for them. With the Crossroads anchored, things can’t get too far out of hand.”

Altion positioned the coil, and then, he turned back to her. “Leda, if you would assist?”

Leda stepped forward and pressed her hands to either side of the coil, whispering her request to the building. She explained what she needed and why. As she whispered, the coil settled into the stone, and it eventually sealed in the same crystal cap as the one at the Crossroads.

She sighed and leaned back. “Thank you.” She patted the floor.

Altion extended his hand to her and helped her to her feet. “Thank you. If you are amenable, we can test it tomorrow morning.”

“Sure. I am done for the night, though.”

“Of course.”

Juno smiled. “Come with me. I have just the room for you.”

Leda waved to the men and followed her host up the stairs, munching on her cinnamon bark as her tool belt seemed to get heavier with every step.

They walked forever, but when they stopped and the door opened in front of her, Leda was pulled in by the view.

“You know how to ask for what you need. Good night, Leda.”

“Good night, Juno.” She didn’t turn around; her view of the ocean with the moonlight skipping across the surface was all she could focus on.

She unhooked and dropped her tool belt on a chair and walked out onto her balcony, inhaling the salt air and the smell of the night.

Leda smiled and braced her hands on the railing. The wind teased at her hair, and her ponytail kept her from feeling it like she wanted to. With a grin, she returned to her room, stripped and headed into the bathroom. She showered off the sweat and grime of the day’s activities.

Her clothing would be clean in the morning, but she requested a nightgown to sleep in. It was super girly of her, but she loved the feel of silk on her skin.

She turned off the shower and stepped out, drying off and towelling her hair. A peignoir set in ivory silk was hanging on a hangar on the door.

“Thank you, tower. You have been kind to me, and it means a lot.”

The room increased in temperature by a few degrees. She removed her towels and hung them neatly on the hooks, brushing her hair with the brush provided before running her fingers through the thick pelt on her head.

She slipped on the ivory silk gown and shrugged the wide-sleeved robed over it, loving the feel and slide of it against her skin.

Leda walked back to the balcony and stood, looking at the sea. Yes, it was an artificial construct designed to support marine shifters and fey, but it was beautiful and something she had never seen in the human world. She wished for the ocean and had to settle for lakes.

She stared out at the ripples of moonlight and smiled as she leaned forward. She wanted to see it in person, but family and council obligations would always conspire against her.