Lucien hadn’t wanted to bring Imari through here, but it was the only way to get to the elevator that would take them to the Basement without going out through the garage or the main entrance, which led out through what appeared to be an ordinary side door of the warehouse. “We should go. Willa is waiting.”
Imari’s eyes stayed on the scene inside the club.
Lucien looked in. There wasn’t as much going on as there would be later tonight, but there was a small crowd dancing and a decent handful at the bar.
“What is this?” she asked. “I mean, I know that’s Insomnia. But what is this room we’re in? Why are these two-way mirrors here?”
He went with the first thing that wasn’t a lie. “Security purposes.”
She glanced over her shoulder, and her expression implied she might not be buying that.
“We should go,” he repeated. He wasn’t going to delve deeper and explain that sometimes, watching the crowd through these windows was the only connection to humanity he had.
Thankfully, she let it be. “Lead on.”
With long strides, he got them to the elevator, swiped his keycard through the reader, then tucked it away and waited for the lift to arrive. The doors opened a few seconds later.
He held his hand toward the car’s interior. “After you.”
He followed her in and pressed the button for the Basement. The doors slid shut, then opened again seconds later when they arrived. “Here we are.”
She approached the doors and looked out. “Where?”
“The Basement.”
“Of Insomnia?”
“No, the Basement of Nocturne Falls.”
She stepped out, allowing him to do the same. “The town has a basement?”
“It’s an operational area. And Basement is capitalized.” He tried to see the wide, bright halls through her eyes. This wasn’t a place most in town knew about, but as one of the Basements’ financiers, he didn’t need permission to introduce anyone to it. Anyone supernatural, that was. “Remember when the town lost power a few months back due to that incredible winter storm?”
“Yes, that wasn’t fun, but at least the power wasn’t out for too long. The Excelsior only went about eight hours before it was restored.”
“No doubt Julian’s residence there had some pull, but the banks of generators needed to run the rest of the town are down here. Among other things.”
“That’s really interesting. I had no idea.”
“Most people don’t.”
She studied him for a moment. “Why do you live under Insomnia? Your sound-proofing is great, by the way. You can’t hear the music at all in the house. But it’s an interesting choice, to say the least.”
He ran through a hundred different answers, finally settling on the truth. “It’s close to the heart of town, but not too close, so it’s convenient for Hattie. And the club also creates enough traffic that any of our comings and goings don’t stand out.”
“Do you own the building?”
“Yes.” He wasn’t sure where all the questions were going, but he felt oddly indulgent.
“I guess the rent from Insomnia pays for gas, huh?”
“There is no rent from Insomnia. I own that as well.”
“Really?” She glanced back at the elevator. “I don’t know why that didn’t occur to me, but it makes sense considering the kind of businessman you seem to be. No wonder you got treated the way you did that first night in the VIP section.” She squinted at him. “I have to say, you don’t seem like a nightclub kind of guy, though.”
“I’m not. Not really. But it serves my purposes.” He checked his watch.
“I know, we need to go. I take it we’re using the Basement to get there?”
“Yes. It’s the safest way for us to travel. There’s an access right behind Illusions, so we can be in and out the back door without being seen.”
“Kind of a long walk from here.” She glanced down at her short boots. “I should have chosen flats.”
“No need.” He walked over to a rollup door, pushed a button to lift it, and revealed his sleek black club car. “We’re taking this.”
“A golf cart? Cool.”
“Club car. Golf carts are a little more…delicate.”
She was smirking. “Right. This one has knobby tires. Much more manly.”
He ignored her sarcasm as he climbed in. He unhooked the charging cable, tossing it aside.
She got in next to him, still smirking. Maybe she was laughing at him, but he didn’t care. He enjoyed amusing her. It meant she wasn’t thinking so much about the wish merchant. She hooked one hand through the grip near the roof while the other held fast to the bag with the bottle in it. “Ready when you are.”
He pushed the start button, pulled out of the small garage, and off they went.
She was quiet for a moment, mostly looking around and reading the directional signs as they went past. “Is this Basement under the whole town?”
“Not all of it, but a good deal.”
She didn’t ask for specifics, seemingly content to ride and take it all in. Or maybe she was temporarily out of questions.
When they got closer to Main Street, the central passageway branched off into a few smaller corridors. They passed one of the gargoyle shifters coming out of the fountain room, and Lucien expected more questions then, but Imari just waved back.
Another block in, he pulled the car over and parked. “We’re here.”
“That was fast.”
“Having no traffic or lights to contend with helps.” He turned the vehicle off and applied the brake before getting out. He gestured toward the stairwell behind him. “We’re going that way.”
“Right behind you.” She got out of the car and followed him up the steps to the street level and the small landing there.
“Wait.” He opened the door and checked around outside. Twilight had fallen, but Main Street was a fairly well-lit area. Not this back alley so much, but he didn’t want to take any chances. “All clear.”
They slipped out and stood in the alley. Lucien knocked on the first back door they came to. It was tucked under the stairs that led to Willa’s apartment over the shop. At least, that was how Willa had described the door when he’d emailed with her earlier.
“You sure this is the right one?” Imari looked at him. “It doesn’t say Illusions. Or anything.”
“Wouldn’t be prudent to mark a jewelry shop’s door. Even in a town as safe as this one.”
“No, I suppose not.”
The door opened, and a woman Lucien assumed to be Willa Iscove, the owner, appeared. She smiled at them. “If you’re with Imari, you must be Lucien. Hi, Imari. Come in.”
“Hi, Willa. Thanks for helping us out.”
“It’s my pleasure.” Willa got out of the way so they could enter.
The door led them into the shop’s backroom. It was small and mostly taken up by a workbench and desk. A huge, whiskered beast sprawled on the desk, blocking access to the laptop. The door to the shop was closed, but a large window over the desk looked out onto the storefront. The tint of the glass made Lucien think it was another two-way mirror. Customers milled about in the shop, and two other employees stood at the ready to help them.
Lucien frowned at the window, not sure if his guess was right. “Do you have a shade you can pull?”
Willa shook her head. “That’s a two-way mirror. No one can see in.”
“Very good.”
Imari scratched the cat’s head. “What a pretty baby. I love orange cats. I didn’t know you had a cat, Willa. Must be a boy, right?”
“Right,” Willa answered with a smile. “Jasper. And he is my baby. He’s almost always in the office here, but if you don’t come back here, you’d never know it. Now, let me get the bottles I was able to collect.” She turned to a sturdy cardboard box on the workbench.
Imari glanced at Lucien. “Most orange cats are male. Did you know that?”
“I wasn’t even sure that was a cat.”
She blinked at him in astonishment. “Did you just make a joke?”
“I…yes?”
She laughed. “Good for you.”
Willa opened the flaps of the box. “I scoured a few of the local antique and junk shops in town, and these five bottles are the closest I could come up with as a base for yours.”
“That was so kind of you,” Imari said.
“It was fun. I found some nice ones.” Willa pulled the bottles out and set them one by one on the workbench, then looked at Imari. “Do you think any of these will work?”
Imari studied them, her mouth screwed up on one side. “Maybe. Will you be able to manufacture a stopper? None of those have one.”
“I’m sure I can. Which one of those looks the closest?”
Imari pointed. “Probably that pale blue one. The shape is right.”
Lucien tipped his head at the bag in Imari’s hand. “Why don’t you show her the real thing?”
Imari stopped petting the cat to grip the bag with both hands.
Willa smiled gently. “This is a safe place, I assure you.”
“I know. You’re right. It’s just…you know.” Imari set the bag on the desk in the little space beside the cat and took the bottle out. “Here it is.”
Willa sucked in a breath. “That is unbelievable. I’ve never seen anything like it, and I assure you, some of the crown jewels from my kingdom are breathtaking. I need to take some notes and, if you don’t mind, some pictures. Especially of that stopper. I have the one photo that Lucien sent me—”
“You sent her a picture?” Imari looked at him.
“I did. So she could find a suitable bottle to use as the base for the replica.” He held his hands up. “It was on your nightstand. I didn’t touch it.”
Imari shook her head. “No, that’s fine. Thank you.” Then she smiled tentatively at Willa. “You can take pictures. It’s all for a good reason. And obviously I trust you.”
Willa set the second bottle aside and returned the rest to the box. “The pictures won’t be shared with anyone else, I promise.”
“Thank you, I know that, too. I’m sorry to be so protective about this, but—”
“Don’t apologize,” Willa said. “And you don’t have to explain. I’ve done a little research on the jinn. I know how important your bottle is to you.”
Imari visibly relaxed. “That’s kind of you. And I’m being silly.” She held the bottle out. “Here. If you’re going to re-create it, you need to examine it close up.”
The move surprised Lucien, but he said nothing. Maybe Imari trusted Willa more because they were friends. Or because she was a woman. Maybe Imari’s past included her bottle being owned by some unscrupulous men. The idea of what that might mean, of what might have happened to her, stirred new anger.
He stood with his back to the wall, his hands clasped in front of him, and tried not to let the anger out. Strong emotion could cause his reaper form to become visible. It was a reaction, pure and simple, and he didn’t wish to alarm Imari or Willa.
He drifted into his own thoughts for a moment. He hadn’t told Willa what he was. She might already know. But if she didn’t, he wanted to keep it that way.
He shifted his attention to the cat. The animal was on his side, head upside down, eyes closed, and he looked very much like he didn’t have a care in the world. What a lucky beast.
Lucien moved closer and reached a hand out. His instinct was to stroke his fingers lightly down the animal’s side. He hesitated. His gloves were on, but the old fear was there.
He pulled his hand back to his side.
Willa was saying something about the bottle’s stopper again, then stopped to speak to him. “You can pet him.” She nodded at the cat. “He won’t bite. Jasper loves attention.”
“I shouldn’t. I…might be allergic.” It was the best he could do and considerably better than I might accidentally take his life.
Willa shrugged and went back to inspecting the bottle while discussing the finer points of design with Imari.
Lucien found himself drawn to the cat again. He picked up a pen and used the end to scratch Jasper’s back. The cat rolled over a little more and stuck his paws in the air and started to knead them back and forth. It was kind of charming, really.
With a little smile, Lucien put the pen down. Hattie had been trying to get him to let her have a pet for years. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea. If he could be certain his ruined powers wouldn’t hurt the animal.
Hattie didn’t need any more loss in her life.
“Twelve, thirteen, fourteen…” Willa was counting softly as she inspected the bottle. Every so often, she stopped to jot something down.
At last, she looked at the list she’d created, did a quick tally, then faced Lucien. “The good news is, I can re-create this almost exactly in about two days. Maybe two and a half, depending on how hard it is to source that emerald for the top. I’ll have to order the stones, but I can do most of the metal work tomorrow so that when the gems arrive, I’m ready to set them. That will take another day.”
“That sounds more than reasonable.” He’d expected her to say a week. “What’s the bad news?”
She glanced at the bottle before answering him. “It’s going to be very, very expensive.”