Page 59 of Incubus
ThebuildingoftheGatehouse had the appearance of an old-fashioned hotel, as large as a Southern plantation and surprisingly well-kept. It was one lone building amidst nothing but fields as far as anyone could see. There was no real parking lot, but a handful of other vehicles littered the grounds. Nathan and the others decided to bring in all of their things from the car just in case any curious seals decided to go through their trunk.
Walter called after Nathan to be careful before they disappeared inside the Gatehouse doors, effectively leaving the Spirit Guide out.
The entire front lobby and check-in area of the Gatehouse had long ago been turned into a bar with tables and booths to better feed the patrons. There were lounges all throughout the downstairs, and an infirmary, as well as countless rooms upstairs to sleep and the fairly well-stocked library. Nathan also noticed a newer digital jukebox set against the wall. He remembered a time when the main room was brighter, moreopen and inviting, and he and Jim had run around as children without a care in the world.
Nathan scanned the bar area as they piled their stuff inside the doors. No one was paying them much mind. There were a couple older gentlemen at one table that Nathan took for possible seals, and a few other solo patrons scattered about that might have been disguised fae or just as likely normal humans. There was no real way to know inside the Gatehouse. Even if there were fae around, they wouldn’t be able to sense Jim here or Nathan’s mark.
“Well, I’ll be damned.”
Nathan saw Jim tense beside him, but he couldn’t help smiling at the sound of the familiar voice. Of the few people Nathan considered friends, Alex Ferris could be counted among them, even if she did live in a somewhat inhospitable place.
Alex joined them from behind the bar, looking sweaty but energized from working. She was their same age, tall for a woman, and with a certain girl-next-door beauty without the need for makeup. She wore the extra weight to her curves well, and could pack a pretty fierce punch, though her kind smile was usually the only weapon she needed. Her hair was long and dark, pulled back from her face into a ponytail, and her eyes were a rich hazel, taking in whatever color she was wearing at the time.
Today she was wearing violet.
Alex smiled with a line of straight white teeth and opened her arms. Nathan was a bit shocked when Sasha stepped forward to accept the embrace and Alex hugged him without reservation.
“Hey you,” she said. “Been a while. Though not as long as it’s been for others.” Her eyes flicked over at Jim from around Sasha’s shoulder, but when the embrace ended, she turned to Nathan. “You could have called, you know.”
“We got a little caught up.” Nathan shrugged, stepping forward to kiss Alex’s cheek, which she allowed despite maintaining an indignant expression.
She turned fully to Jim then, clearly expecting him to approach her. When he didn’t, Alex sighed and swiftly crossed the space between them. Despite Jim’s rigid posture, she hugged him as fiercely as she had hugged Sasha.
“You’re hopeless, Jimmy,” Alex said, almost sadly. She smacked his arm good and hard when she released him. “I'm glad you’re okay, but it would have been nice to know how things worked out after I gave Nathan that book.”
“It isn't my fault. Nathan didn't tell me you were involved. It’s…uh…complicated, Al,” Jim said, scratching at his neck.
“From one carrier family to another,” Alex whispered, so that none of the other patrons would overhear, “it’s always complicated.”
Alex was like Nathan, part of a family that could produce a changeling, but she had lucked out and been born normal.
"So how do you two know each other?" Nathan asked with a gesture at Sasha.
Alex glanced back at the redhead and they shared what might have been a cryptic smile.
"I've passed through here a few times," Sasha said.
Nathan raised an eyebrow. "Dude, this is the second time you've turned out to know one of our friends. And we don't have many friends."
"Me either," Sasha said. "I guess we must have the same taste." He winked at Alex before moving around the others to retrieve his bag.
Nathan wasn't sure he got the joke.
Alex smiled, hands on her hips. "Well, I have plenty of rooms available. One for the redhead and one for you two? I'll get you set right up." She walked back toward the bar where the roomkeys were kept behind the counter. They were the old metal kind, not plastic cards like the ones found in modern hotels.
"First two rooms on your left up the stairs," Alex said as they gathered in front of the bar. She handed one key to Sasha and the other to Jim, purposely catching his eyes when he took it. She smiled, but Jim quickly turned away.
A clatter of chairs made Nathan jump and jerk his head toward the back of the room. The men he had taken for seals were arguing. Nathan couldn't make out what they were saying, but it was heated enough that they had both leapt from their chairs, causing them to topple over backwards. As the fight escalated, the men made their way around the table closer to each other and one of them took a swing at the other.
Nathan clapped his hands over his ears.
BOOM.
The two men went flying away from each other as if an explosion had gone off between them. Some of the other patrons looked up. Others barely even blinked.
"You know the rules!" Alex called to them, hands on her hips again with a stern expression coloring her pretty face.
The two men didn't bother trying to argue with her. They staggered to their feet, picked up their things, and headed straight for the doors, grumbling at each other as they went. One of them managed a, "Sorry, Miss," as they left, but the continued sound of fighting echoed from outside as soon as the doors closed behind them.
