The Autumn Prince

34. Coming Home

It took nearly an hour to put everything away after we returned to the warehouse. Rachel and Becca were a lot better getting the cabinets organized than I was, which sped up the work, and if Katherine hadn't been napping again I might have cracked a joke about women and kitchens. I had less confidence that Rachel would take it as intended so I chose life instead. Not long after we finished, however, Katherine emerged from her cabin, pronouncing herself refreshed and well rested.

"I think the spell is gone," she said, plucking a grape from an assortment of fresh fruit on the counter. "I've been waking up ready for my next nap, but right now I feel pretty good."

"Don't get ahead of yourself," I cautioned. "Give it the rest of the day like they told you."

"Don't worry, Doc, I'll take it easy, but I've spent plenty of time in bed while you guys have been busy. The least I can do is make dinner."

"Can I help?" Becca asked.

"I won't say no."

After a delightful meal of steak fajitas and a plastic tumbler with a little red wine, a moment I'd been dreading finally arrived. All three girls wanted to wash up and get ready for bed. As big as the warehouse was, there weren't many places that didn't give me a clear view of the open shower, so I retreated to the office, the only place we hadn't yet explored.

The room was unrecognizable compared to the dump it had been just a few days before. Like the bath house, it was finished in wood paneling, and had been further blessed with a hardwood floor. On one side of the room, the Fae had placed a conference table surrounded by matching chairs, with a long credenza behind it. On the other, an Alaskan king sized bed took up most of one wall, with a vast, carved headboard, thick blankets and at least a dozen pillows. Between them was a huge, white, bearskin rug, which felt real but turned out to be made in Taiwan. All it was missing was a hearth.

I threw myself onto the bed and regretted it immediately. Magic had to have been used in its construction because it was supernaturally comfortable, and I had to concentrate to keep from falling asleep. When I forced myself to sit up, I noticed a letter that had been folded in half and taped to the headboard. It had been hand-written in a kind of messy calligraphy, as if the author had spent long hours training to write beautifully, but at some point they stopped caring and only habits remained.

If you find this and you're not Tom, give it to him for me.

Hope you like what we've done with the place. It's as much as we could fit into a day, but we'll come back later to finish the job. Sorry I couldn't take the time to give you a full tour but I'm sure you'll have fun figuring out the rest out on your own. I expect you're hyperventilating over the shower and I wish I could have seen the expression on your face when you noticed. Enjoy the view, and you're welcome.

I also left a little something for you under the bed, just in case you need them.

Finn hadn't signed it, but it couldn't have been anyone but her. I crumpled the page and shoved it into a pocket, hoping I'd been the first to see it. Even if the girls didn't take her words at face value, I was sure Rachel and Katherine would run with them and I'd never be able to clean up without a chorus of innuendo.

The mattress was raised, but rested on a platform that prevented me from scanning the underside all at once so I had to hunt for Finn's little something. Eventually, I discovered a black briefcase lying on its side near the back wall and took it to the table to investigate.

The case wasn't locked, so the hardest part about opening it was wishing I never did. A hot pink penis-shaped dildo sat on top, next to a purple, double-ended version, a pair of handcuffs, and a bundle of soft rope. There were anal beads, a ball gag, some weird, plastic thing that loosely resembled a giant sea slug, and a small selection of medical devices including a speculum and a spiked wheel designed for testing nerve endings.