“Go!” she hissed and spit, whether at me or whatever she saw behind me, I didn’t know, but I wasn’t sticking around to find out. I stood up and ran. It was one thing when it was the ducks freaking out, but now Cat, too.
Scrambling around people, my eyes scanned the harbor for a ‘big boat.’ There were a number of considerable-sized yachts and private vessels, but she told me to go on one with lots of people. What kind of big boat would have a lot of people on it?
A loud horn sounded, drawing my attention. A ferry! Big boat, lots of people. That must be it. There was a building in front of the dock that advertised trips to Catalina.Catalina? Was that where I was supposed to go? I didn’t know, but it was worth a shot. At the ticket booth, they were announcing last call to board for the next boat out. I quickly bought a ticket and went down to the gangplank, where I stepped aboard.
Glancing around nervously, I watched for shadows and darkness, but I hadn’t seen anything with the ducks, and I didn’t see anything now. Still, I felt relief wash through me when the ferry pushed away from the dock. Was Catalina the special island Cat had mentioned? Was it theprotectedplace she thought a non-human creature like me should go? I wished I’d had more time with her. More time to hear the stories, or why she thought I was different. I wished the ducks had been ableto explain better.
I wished for a lot of things. The one thing I never wished for was being on a boat that cut across the open ocean. It had been a whirlwind of a day. What the hell was even happening?
Rudy
Wiping the sweat from my brow with my forearm, I shook the railing to test it. It didn’t budge, even after a little extra push, but then I’d braced it with enough hardware that it should be able to withstand a small bomb or a medium-sized supernatural creature.
I pulled out my phone and sent a text to the group chat.
Me: The railing on the rear stairs is fixed.
Maxime: Oh? I didn’t receive any complaints, so I wasn’t aware it needed fixing. What happened?
Me: Nothing happened… but it’s fixed now.
Maxime: If it was one of our guests, I can ask them to be more mindful.
Me: Uh, well, it wasn’t a guest.
Zee: What did you do now, Wolfie?
Me: I didn’t DO anything, I was just… caught off guard alittle.
Maxime: Ah. I understand. Well, I appreciate your quick action. Thank you, Rudolph.
He shouldn’t be thanking me for something I did in the first place. My cheeks warmed, and I looked around to see if anyone would notice, wishing I’d never brought it up, but I didn’t want anyone to complain about safety. We were still new and growing our clientele and reputation, and I felt a lot of responsibility on my part to ensure our guests had a carefree stay. Even the best vacation could be ruined by a maintenance issue. After all the work it had taken to get the inn ready, I tried really hard to keep it running smoothly.
The high of purchasing the property wore off quickly when it came to getting down and dirty and doing the work. I didn’t do it alone; it was a team effort, and we hired contractors for the big demolition and construction. Maximevettedanyone who came to Malterra to work, using his ability to influence to help protect what we were doing.
We’d had a few mishaps during the building phase with a few workers who disappeared and never came back. We found out later that they chartered a boat in the middle of the night to get off the island. Maxime had taken it personally, wondering if he’d pushed them too hard mentally, but I’d never seen him do that. I always wondered if it had something to do with the curse on the island. Though that was the only time I’d seen anything unusual.
Well, unusual for a place that was home to supernatural beings and a vacation spot for many others. Not everyone who came here was inhuman, but most of our guests were. Getting the word out had been—and continues to be—one of the hardest parts. We did a lot of promotion onEther, the social media platform designed to allow supernatural or supernatural-adjacent folks to connect in a safe place. It was where we had all met, and our group chat began, circling around to where we were now.
As with most ventures, word of mouth was the best marketing, but it took guests to get guests, and, understandably, supernatural beings were more timid about new and unfamiliar locations. It was Maxime’s idea to advertise to human travelers, too. There was risk involved, but with his help, we were able to keep the secrets of the inn and our guests from the human visitors. After six months of being open, business was becoming more consistent, making the dream feel attainable and keeping us busy.
My phone pinged, making me brace for more questions about the staircase railing.
Silas: Hey, Wolfie, when you have a minute, I could use some help in the salon. I have a sizable clog that might need to be snaked.
Zee: Snaked? And you need help with that?
Silas: Nobody asked your opinion, birdbrain.
Zee: Ouch. Touchy. Are your snakes coiled too tightly today?
Silas: (Middle finger emoji)
I rolled my eyes. Those two loved to give each other a hard time; I swear, they bickered like brothers. I jumped in with a response before it continued.
Me: Sure, I’ll be there in a few.
Silas: Thanks, Wolfie. I did what I could… but I apologize in advance.
