Streamfield Shifters: Hide & Seek

Chapter Twelve

"My lady!" an older woman called out, sweeping down a flight of stairs like a Southern belle as we stood at the front desk. "The Cerulean Dove is honored to have you as our guest." She wore a white blouse with blue flowers, a blue skirt that billowed outwards like a cresting wave, and a green-blue waistcoat embroidered with silver birds.

It just wasn't her choice of attire that was striking, it was her coloring. In a sea of tan- to bronze-skinned people, this woman was pale with blue-streaked bright blonde hair that was caught up in dozens of braids.

The woman slid behind a desk and unceremoniously nudged the clerk to the side with her hip. "I am Cerchái Rondolan, proprietor. How may we serve you today?"

The clerk shuffled off and disappeared around a corner. Rachael and I glanced at each other, then back at the woman. Her accent was distinctly different, sounding vaguely Scottish.

"I require two rooms—one for myself, the other for my companions," Leihalani said, reaching into a slim pouch that hung from her belt.

The woman's crystalline blue eyes studied us. Suddenly fearful of discovery, I twitched the folds of my cloak closed, cutting off any sight of blue jeans. Mistress Rondolan lifted her shoulders in a tiny shrug and the moment passed.

"Yes, of course, my lady." Behind the desk, she flipped open a massive red-bound book and ran a painted nail down a particular page. "Well, our suite is available for your use, and there is plenty of room on the first floor for your servants."

Servants? If I were to be honest, I thought we looked more like doomsday cult members than servants, but whatever.

"Are there no other rooms available on the third floor?" Leihalani inquired.

"The third floor, my lady?"

"Yes. I never called them servants, Mistress Rondolan."

A flush spread across the proprietor's pale cheeks. "My apologies, my lady. I misheard." She flipped pages with great exaggeration. "Indeed, we do have a room down the hall from your suite. Shall that suit?"

Leihalani inclined her head. "It does."

"Very well." She scribbled something down, then snapped her fingers. "Kol! Brennan!" The same two porters from earlier appeared as if teleported. "Please take Her—this lady's bag to the suite and her companions' bags to room 308."

Nodding, the elven men lifted the bags with relative ease and hustled up the stairs.

"Dinner in your room, my lady?" Mistress Rondolan inquired.

"Yes, for three."

"Of course." She turned around and reached into a bank of small cubbies, pulling one key from a slot. The other, she pulled from a locked drawer in the front desk. "Your keys, my lady," she murmured, offering them between open-palmed hands.

Leihalani took them. "My thanks." Turning to us, she said, "Come along."

I certainly didn't want to stay down here any longer than I had to with the proprietor, so I turned as quickly as my sore legs could manage. The stairs proved to be another challenge that I wasn't prepared for. Gritting my teeth, I hauled myself up two flights through sheer willpower and the judicious use of the hand rail. It was not fun—not at all.

When we reached the top, Rachael and I went to turn right, but Leihalani called out. "Why don't you join me in my room," she suggested. "Dinner will be here soon."

Rachael and I glanced at each other. "Sure!" my cousin exclaimed, eager as always.

God, I hissed and jabbed my elbow into Rachael's upper arm. Beneath the hood, my cousin flushed pink. Lifting my head slightly, I mouthed "Sorry" to Leihalani. The elven woman shook her head and shrugged.

The grand suite was at the far end of the hall. Twin vases of flowers bordered an ornate, carved oaken door.

"Allow me," the porter who had Leihalani's small bag offered. Without comment, she handed over the key.

Hitching her bag beneath one arm, the porter unlocked the door and made a great show of swinging it open. Leihalani strolled in, nodding. "Very nice, very nice," she murmured in an even, neutral tone. She'd showed more enthusiasm with our flat-screen than this well-furnished room.

We followed behind her. It was apparent that this was a successful inn and most of the revenue had gone to making this suite as elegant as possible. There were plush rugs, chairs upholstered with what I assumed to be expensive fabrics, gilded mirrors, framed scenic paintings, a small sitting room with couches, chairs and a table, and a great four-poster canopied bed. All in all, the set-up differed little from American hotels—with the exception of the bathroom. It didn't appear to be anywhere near the front of the suite, so I had to imagine that it was near the bedroom.

The porter set the bag down by the four-poster bed, turned, and bowed. "Do you or your companions require anything else?"

Leihalani fished a coin from the pouch on her belt. "Just dinner, when it is ready," she told the man, slipping the coin into his palm. "Our thanks."

Bowing again, the porter slipped from the room, closing the door behind him.

Leihalani looked around the room, then fell onto one of the couches in the sitting room. "Sit, sit," she urged, waving a negligent hand.

Rachael positively flopped down, bouncing on the expensive upholstery. I was a little more circumspect in my sitting, groaning audibly as I lowered my abused bottom to the couch.

"I'm so sorry," Rachael gushed, pulling down the hood. "I wasn't thinking."

Leihalani waved her off. "I doubt he noticed."

Rachael sighed with relief. I, on the other hand, wasn't so sure. I listened in on customers' conversations all the time when they thought I was typing dutifully at my desk. Maybe the porter would just shrug it off, considering all Rachael said was one word.

Cautiously, I pulled down my own hood and unpinned the cloak. That little act somehow managed to pull on my thigh muscles and I groaned.

The skin around Leihalani's silver eyes creased slightly. "Perhaps I should have requested some ointment," she noted. "I'll ask for some when dinner arrives."

I didn't care what it was made of, as long as it made my legs stop throbbing. "Thanks."

Leihalani shrugged and leaned back on the couch.

"No, I mean it," I said sincerely. She opened her eyes and arched feathery brows. "I know that we didn't get off to a great start, and I apologize for that. You didn't have to upgrade our room, but you did, and we're thankful—aren't we, Rach?"

"Huh?" Rachael looked up from her study of embroidery on the couch arm. "Oh, yeah—yes, very thankful."

Leihalani lips twitched. "No, I understand why you did it. But you treated me fairly, so I am simply returning the favor."

That was good to hear.

"So," Rachael said into the silence that followed, "are we going to search the town or what?"

I glanced at the elven woman. We were out of our element here. Any judgment calls would have to go to her.

Leihalani tapped her long fingers together reflectively. "My plan was to wait until nightfall, then the two of you could search."

It sounded fair, except: "What are the chances of us getting shot?"

Leihalani's smile turned contemplative. "I suppose it depends on how silent you can be." She chewed thoughtfully on a thumbnail, turning to gaze at the suite door. 

Well, in theory, that posed no problem for me. Cats were inherently silent predators. The same could not be said of wolves—especially teenaged wolves.

"We can do that," Rachael told her with youthful conviction.

I started to roll my eyes, but then I was reminded of what she'd said after coming through the portal. No, I had to start taking her seriously.

"Very well," Leihalani said.