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The bartender’s eyes light up. “Oh, I see.” She leans back and seems to do some mental calculations. “How big a ship and how many people?”
“I don’t see how that matters. A spell’s a spell.”
She shakes her head slowly. “You know better, Captain. No spell is identical, not with so many components at play, an exit spell from Atlantis is doubly complicated. I need that information, ten gold pieces of whatever currency your realm carries, and three days’ time.”
I flinch. “The information and price I can do, but that timeline won’t work for me.”
“That’s too damn bad. The timeline is what the timeline is.” She shrugs. “I’m willing to give you a room on the house for the duration, but only because I like you.”
“Not because you’re making a killing on the spell?”
She grins. “Well, there is that, too.”
Could I hide Juliette here for three days? It seems improbable, especially if Bowen is sniffing around, asking questions. Someone will talk. No, this won’t work. There has to be another way.
“You’re thinking that there must be another way.” When I look at the bartender in surprise, she shrugs again. “They all think that. The ones who end up in Atlantis by mistake, I mean.”
“Who says I ended up here by mistake?”
“Call it a hunch. Look, I’m not trying to fuck with you. The money lender will charge you a third more, and you can throw yourself on the mercy of the monarch, but if you’ve met them, you know there’s not much mercy to be found. No matter which route you take, the timeline will be the same. It sounds like you’re in trouble. I’m your best bet.”
There has to be a better way to go about this, but I’m coming up short on options. This island is not large enough to dodge a hunter for three days. The square is only so big, and there are only so many businesses and buildings to hide in. Our best bet may be the forest, but that presents its own dangers. If I have to choose between a portal to a mysterious realm or facing down the Cwn Annwn, I honestly don’t know which is the preferable path.
Juliette is depending on me to keep her safe. I can’t fail her now. Not again. I’ll just have to make it work.
I force a smile. “Three days, a free room, and five gold pieces.”
“Oh, I like you. I’ll give it to you for eight because you’re entertaining, but don’t test my goodwill by asking for less.”
“Deal.” I detail out the specs of my ship and crew. It’s nothing more than anyone looking at The Kelpie could figure out on their own, but it feels like a risk all the same. “And the room?”
The bartender reaches under the bar and comes up with a small key. She passes it to me. “Last room at the end of the hallway. There’s a door in the back for those who want to be…discreet.”
Gods, I hope this isn’t a trap. “Thanks.” I palm the key and step back. “I’ll come around later and check on things.” Not that I even know what to check on when it comes to a spell of this nature. Transportation spells are some of the trickiest bits of magic in existence. If something goes wrong, it goes horrifically, nightmarishly, fatally wrong.
It’s only as I back toward the door that I realize I have no idea if Bowen actually went to the court or if he continued what was apparently a search of the businesses in the square. If he did the latter, that means his next stop was…
The parrot shop.
I turn without another word and walk out of the bar. It’s everything I can do not to run, but I don’t want to draw attention to myself if my suspicions are wrong. Everything looks much the same as it did a few minutes ago when I walked in, but that doesn’t mean anything. Neither does the fact Bowen obviously has no friends here on the island.
He doesn’t need friends to kill the love of my life.
I keep my pace slow and measured as I walk to the door of the parrot shop. I’m not sure what I expect when I walk through but the sight that greets me stops me in my tracks. This room is a riot of colors, some that seem to defy comprehension. There are birds everywhere. They sit on the fake branches that circle the room, they perch on edges carved into the wall, and a trio of them alight on the wide-brimmed hat of the person chatting with Juliette.
A smiling, happy, healthy Juliette.
She turns to me, delight written across her features. “Maura, there you are. This is Kai. They’re the owner of the shop. Isn’t it delightful?”
Delightful is certainly one way to describe it. It seems like hell on earth to me. I can’t help hunching my shoulders as several parrots fly overhead, certain one of them is going to take a shit on me. “Juliette.” I have to work to keep my voice even and unworried. “It’s time to go.”
