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R.D. Booksellers announced itself with a sign by a stairway in the sidewalk. It said, “R.D. Booksellers, downstairs,” with an arrow pointing down, and accompanied by “Elevator located in lobby of building during business hours.” Above the stairs was a lamp, shining light down to the door below, another on the concrete wall. As the sky grew darker, light from the shop itself gave the stairs a warm glow.
Elliot pushed open the door, stepping into a little lobby area, complete with alt weekly newspapers and fliers of every kind of book event she could imagine. The door closed behind her, and in front of her the other door popped open. She guessed they took their security seriously.
The store itself was awash with warm light, the space larger than she expected, but cozy all the same. Somehow, the dark wood that lined the walls, that the bookshelves were made out of, only helped. In the middle of the shop, books sat two or three on a pedestal, some of them were opened to show the contents inside. There was a table near the back, a few books stacked on it, and a tea set made of silver.
Elliot’s jaw dropped a little. What had she gotten herself into. At any minute she expected a stern man in a tuxedo to swoop in from the back to shoo her away.
Her eyes scanned the room, and she caught a map of Seattle on the wall. She quietly padded on the worn rugs over to it, the floor creaking under her ever so slightly.
The map, as far as she could tell, was from the late 1800s, back before the engineers of the city decided to blast away the hills with water. She looked over the map, letting her eyes trace the familiar parts of the city she knew — Pike and Pine, Broadway, the University, Yesler, Beacon Hill. She realized, though, that all of the locations she spotted were captioned in English, and script. It was like none she had seen before, looking ancient, bold, a language that could have been spoken for millennia. She re-examined each landmark again, noticing these captions, until her eyes fell on one marked “New Gehenna.” She had never heard of that neighborhood. It sat on a hill that was no longer there, and Elliot realized it was the center piece of the map.
“Hello,” a voice said.
Elliot looked up, her tail poofing up in surprise. By the table, at what was decidedly a checkout counter, a wolf sat. He was pudgy, like the nerd, but thankfully not at all threatening. He had stubby features, a short muzzle, small ears, and wore a pair of glasses that disappeared behind his chin-length white headfur when he turned his head. He gave her a quizzical, professional smile.
“Um…” Elliot fished Right Determination’s card out of her pocket. She carefully joined the wolf at the desk and showed him the card. “I’m here to see Right Determination?”
The wolf looked over the card. “Of course,” he said. “I’ll be right back.” He strode out of the room.
Elliot’s heart was racing. She didn’t belong there, and she began to plan her exit, weaving a path around books to the door. Maybe she could…
“You’re here!”
Elliot spun around. Right Determination stepped out from the back of the shop, looking as human as ever. She wore what she had the day she and Elliot met, or some variation there of, except without the hat. She smiled at Elliot, genuine joy at seeing the raccoon before her.
Elliot felt herself blushing, and was certain that she’d burst into flames right there. “Hi,” she said softly.
“Thank you, Bryan,” Right Determination said, nodding to the wolf. “I will be meeting in the back with Ms. Elliot. I trust you can handle things on your own.”
The wolf nodded. He returned to the counter and began to take notes in a ledger.
Right Determination motioned for Elliot to follow her into the back of the store. Elliot followed.
The demon’s office, despite Elliot’s expectations, was tidy, orderly even. It was smaller than she expected, though, just enough space for a desk, a few chairs, and a generous bookshelf. Elliot looked, but didn’t see a computer anywhere.
Right Determination sat down at her desk and motioned to a chair for Elliot. She poured a cup of tea for herself, and set one down in front of the shocked raccoon. “From Market Spice,” she said. “I’m always thankful they exist.”
Elliot nodded, and tried the tea. It was wonderful, spicy, as the demon had suggested, a little sweet even. Elliot felt it wash over her.
Right Determination set her cup down. “You came.”
“Yeah,” Elliot said. She didn’t know where to look.
“Oh,” Right Determination said. “Do you mind if I drop the disguise?”
“No, it’s fine.”
Right Determination shook her head, and her horns appeared, her eyes went black. She stretched, as if she had been constrained by a human suit, and then looked at Elliot again. “Better. Thank you.”
“Does…” Elliot searched for his name. “HE know?”
“Bryan? Yes, of course. There’s a few males out there that can see magic. More than you’d expect, actually. Bryan is happy to keep my secret, and in exchange he apprentices with me to learn book preservation and archiving, and how to make magic books.”
“Oh…” Elliot said, looking down to the corner of the room. “That explains a few things.”
Right Determination folded her hands thoughtfully on her desk. “You have seen them.”
“And at least one of them as seen me…” Elliot said.
“What did they look like? I’ll keep an eye out.”
Elliot described the nerd.
“He sounds like half the men walking around South Lake Union,” Right Determination said. “Why has he taken an interest in you?”
Elliot shrugged. “He saw me one day and he’s been a creep about it ever since.”
Right Determination let her eyes drift to the ceiling. “Something to keep an eye on for sure.” She looked down at Elliot and smiled. “But enough of creeps. Have you have dinner yet?”
“Oh,” Elliot said. “I was going to have some left overs at Z’s…”
“Would you like to accompany me to happy hour? I know a good place.”
Elliot’s ears dropped. “That sounds nice.”
Right Determination motioned for her to follow. At the front counter, she turned to Bryan. “I’m stepping out with Miss Elliot. I’ll let you know if you’ll need to lock up. Call me if anyone big comes in.”
“Absolutely,” Bryan said, and watched them leave. As they exited, Right Determination held the door open for Elliot. She looked back, meeting the gaze of the demon’s human disguise. Right Determination encouraged her on, nodding to the night before them.
For the better part of a block, Elliot was silent. She didn’t know what to say, her mind racing. She couldn’t help but notice that Right Determination moved with purpose and conviction, like every step meant something. But there was another thought too, one that made her feel underdressed. She considered the sweater she had put on, the one a size too big, the denim shorts and torn leggings. God, she was embarrassing.
The restaurant only inflamed her fears. It was the kind of place you went if you had money, the kind of place that brought you water in corked green bottles, and made you purchase bread and butter. The wait staff, like all of them, almost came to a complete stop when they entered. The host approached them, dressed in a smart button down shirt and a vest, and when they saw Right Determination, they lit up.
“Ardy Book! It’s been too long!” The host said.
Right Determination waved that away with the back of her hand. “I’ve been busy lately.”
“But you’re here now!” The host said. “Come, your booth is ready.”
The booth was down a hallway, past the bathrooms, and through a set of double doors that lead to a back room. The lights were low, illuminating the intricate wallpaper that covered the room, and the wooden floor that must have been as old as the building itself. The room had enough space for the booth, and maybe a dozen people to mill around in. The host bowed, and backed out of the room, closing the doors behind them.
Right Determination guided Elliot into her seat, and sat across from her. Elliot looked around the room, her ears witching in thought.
“So you just have a whole room to yourself, huh?” Elliot asked.
The demon smiled. “I am… known.”
“Also,” Elliot said, “don’t think I didn’t hear Ardy Book, because I super did.”
The demon laughed. “I needed a name once and I panicked.”
Elliot felt herself smile. “You got flustered? When did that happen?”
“1937.”
“Uhm… How old are you?” Elliot winced. “Sorry sorry sorry, that was rude.”
The demon laughed. “You’re curious. I’m not offended.”
“You’ve seen a lot here, though,” Elliot said. “Have you always been here?”
“Since I came to this realm, yes.”
Elliot considered this. “So did you like crash with Nirvana and Soundgarden?”
“And give Pearl Jam their name?” The demon smiled. “You have a lot of faith in my coolness. I hope you can look past the fact that, no, I did not know any of them and I have never been cool.”
“That’s okay,” Elliot said absently, letting her eyes wander the room again. “Me neither.”
A waiter came in to deliver a cutting board, on which was arranged meats and cheeses and expensive crackers. Elliot hungrily watched them set it down, and waited for the waiter to leave. Right Determination ordered a bottle of sparkling wine to go with it, and in no time the waiter returned with the bottle and glasses. And finally, they were alone.
For a moment, the demon was content to fiddle with the crackers, to pour Elliot a glass of wine, and then herself. She slid the glass to Elliot. “You know a little more of my story. Tell me more about you.”
Elliot blinked at the wine glass. She tried a sip, and was surprised at how much like a cola it tasted. She wondered if the demon was putting training wheels on for her.
“I…” she started. “Wait, what could I even tell you that would be interesting? You were alive when the city burned down.”
Elliot caught the slightest of frown, but Right Determination was quick to correct herself. “You don’t even know what I find interesting. Cute witches tend to be very much in that Venn diagram, thank you.”
Elliot cracked a smile. She looked away, looking at the texture on the wallpaper. Who had textured wallpaper?
“The most interesting thing, I guess, is that I just lost my job?”
“What did you do?”
“Okay so, you know smart phones right?”
“I had one of the first hundred phones in Seattle.”
“What? That’s not true! What was your number?”
“273,” the demon said. “Ten digit numbers have been an adjustment.”
Elliot weighed if this was a joke or not, and ventured a laugh. The demon looked pleased.
“So Kingway makes smartphone games. My job was to go online and find out what people liked or were excited about, make a detailed report, and present it to our designers and engineers, and they would turn around and make a copy cat game.”
Right Determination considered this, letting her eyes drift to the corner of the room. “That sounds…”
“Soul crushing?” Elliot offered.
“I was going to say one kind of job, but yes, sure.” She took some cheese from the tray. “But they made money. What happened?”
“We made the most money the company had ever made, ever,” the raccoon said. “And then they fired us. Literally at the same meeting.”
The demon cocked her head. “How could they justify that?”
“It wasn’t enough,” Elliot said. “It wasn’t what they had promised shareholders. So they thanked us kindly, gave us our pink slips, and a download code for Chicken Road 2.”
“That’s awful.”
Elliot shrugged. “Business, right?” She took another sip of the wine and considered the glass. “Anyway, Z helped me get on Unemployment, I get to spend time on the Lockesmith forums,” she laughed to herself, “and I’m learning how to be a witch. They taught me how to fly…”
Right Determination smiled. “That must have been quite the experience.”
“It’s exhausting!” Elliot said. “But yeah, it was amazing…”
“Maybe you can take me flying one day.” The demon rested her head in her hand.
Elliot felt her face flush. She took a long drink of her wine.
“So, Miss Lockesmith. What do you think happened?”
“I had always thought he entered the emergency tunnel, but I know no one saw him do that. And it doesn’t explain why he disappeared.”
“It wasn’t the transdimentional Sasquatches?”
Elliot laughed. “That’s one of my favorites.”
“The thing I think about the most,” Right Determination said, “is that the tunnel boring machine hit something and everything had to shut down.”
Elliot sat up straight. “Yeah, yeah, that’s a huge thing isn’t it? Like, people on the forums don’t think it’s anything. I’ve been trying to say it’s huge for a long time. What happened?”
Right Determination leaned forward. “I think it was something much, much bigger than a misplaced pipe. Don’t you?”
“But what does that mean?” Elliot asked, her ears perked.
“I don’t know. But that’s the fun of a mystery, isn’t it?”
Elliot’s ears twitched in thought. “I have to tell you something, but I need you to promise to keep it quiet.”
“Of course,” the demon said. “You secret is my secret.”
Elliot started to talk, and faltered. She dropped her eyes away. “Can I call you Ardy?”
The demon smiled again. “You can call me whatever you want.”
“Okay,” Elliot said. She took a deep breath. “So there’s this cop…”