TJ wandered down the sandy shore toward the rock walls jutting out into the sea. Dotting the base of the »

TJ wandered down the sandy shore toward the rock walls jutting out into the sea. Dotting the base of the dark cliffs were wormhole arches and caves that might offer some respite from the maddening sun. There was little chance that the water-logged caves would have been empty, but TJ let out a little sigh at the sheer number of people milling in and out of the accessible openings. He scanned the alcoves and stepped into the damp shade of a nearby arch.

The lower area of the cave was filled with shallow pools. Children and older elves splashed in the water, their giggling echoing off the walls and down the tunnels eerily. TJ passed through the chamber to one of the small footpaths climbing upward into the honeycombed depths. Barnacles dotted the walls and the path was steep and rocky, too daunting for most of the beachgoers.

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The automatic doors of Xanadu Hospital slid smoothly open and Gris Conlaoch stepped through with his mother on his arm. »

The automatic doors of Xanadu Hospital slid smoothly open and Gris Conlaoch stepped through with his mother on his arm. They crossed the lobby to the front desk, where a golden-haired Spring girl with a messy ponytail was writing quickly on a clipboard.

Gris leaned forward and rapped his knuckles on the counter top. “Afternoon, Darla. How goes it?”

The blond looked up and smiled as she removed her glasses and raised a delicately arched brow. “Gris, this is becoming a thing. You’re just making excuses to see me now, aren’t you?” Despite her teasing tone, her jade eyes shifted toward his mother, soft with concern.

“Wish that were the case,” Gris replied. “We’re not here for Mum today. It’s my brother, Dax. I was told yesterday they finally found him a room.”

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Pulling on the first t-shirt that came to hand – a red one with a stylized Fisher Queen logo – »

Pulling on the first t-shirt that came to hand – a red one with a stylized Fisher Queen logo – Ted walked over to the little shelf by his bed and grabbed his wallet, keys, and PS. They all went into his pockets; he’d pull out the music player when he’d gotten some lunch. Taking an absent glance around his room, he couldn’t think of anything else he might need to enjoy a walk around the area. He considered taking a hoodie just in case, but shrugged and left it.

Closing his door behind him, he headed for the spiral staircase, tromping down the steps quickly. Reaching the second floor, he saw no sign of Edie, so he strolled across the back of the living room and went down to the ground floor. The quiet, darkened shop was also empty at a glance, so he hung a right at the bottom of the stairs to check the industrial kitchen.

Edie looked up as he entered, as did Jon and Rhoda. Feeling unaccountably awkward to have burst in on the trio of elves sitting around the table, Ted stopped short and blurted out, “Sorry, I didn’t realize you had company. I was just heading out for a walk…”

“Of course, Ted,” Edie said with a gentle smile. She set her teacup down soundlessly in the saucer before her. “Will you be home for dinner?”

“Sure,” he replied. Belatedly, he added, “Hi, Jon, Rhoda. Enjoying the unseasonable weather?”

“Eh,” John said, shrugging. “I’m an Autumn, so I was enjoying our weather just fine.”

“But it’s a nice change,” Rhoda allowed, topping off the dark liquid in her paint-spattered mug from a red thermos.

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TJ was dying. Sweat beaded down his brow and his black tank top was sticking to him in unpleasant ways. »

TJ was dying. Sweat beaded down his brow and his black tank top was sticking to him in unpleasant ways. He felt every groove of the faux leather seat within the confines of his boat-sized car. The arm that was draped out of the open window had long ago adjusted to the searing warmth of baking metal. He was miserable…and ready to kill Maddox.

“Maddy, if you dunnae fucking stop bouncing around back there I am going to feed you your own sodding limbs!” TJ spat over his shoulder to the back seat occupants.

“But Binny was getting car sick!” Maddy wailed from where he settled between the tattoo artist and Casey.

“What?” The pretty tattoo artist responded, blinking at the singer.

“You have been moving around a lot, Maddy,” Casey said quietly from directly behind TJ, then added, “That wouldn’t exactly help car sickness.”

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“Did you hear?” Maddy asked as he appeared in the flat with a spray of sparks. Wriggling out of his »

“Did you hear?” Maddy asked as he appeared in the flat with a spray of sparks. Wriggling out of his shirt and green hoodie, which he tossed toward the sofa, he walked into the kitchen and dropped down into the chair across from TJ. “Gawain’s boon is a Summer’s day and a pass to the garden beaches.”

TJ’s nose wrinkled as he passed the last few bites of his sandwich into the gaping maw of his dog and picked up his drink. “I knew it was getting too bloody warm.” He tipped his brew back to take a deep pull from the bottle. “What in the Queen’s name happened to your head?”

Maddy turned his head to show off his freshly-dyed hair; it was bright, cerulean blue with colorful fish shapes colored into it. “Like it? I thought it fit the announcement. Bowie calls it aquatic chic.”

“Uh-huh.”

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Styx didn’t follow his furious love; he stood there, watching her go with a helpless, pained expression. Finally, he shook »

Styx didn’t follow his furious love; he stood there, watching her go with a helpless, pained expression. Finally, he shook his head and marched back into the shop.

Nicole was waiting, leaning against the cases and examining her nails with a bored expression. “Was that your girl? My, she’s cute.”

“Get out,” Styx managed to grind out between his teeth.

“Oh, dunnae be like that, sweetling,” Nicole purred, straightening. “She’ll get over it.” Styx watched in numb shock as she walked over to him and slipped something into the front right pocket of his jeans, her fingers lingering suggestively. “Or maybe she willnae. Either way, give me a call. I dunnae mind.” With a little laugh and a wave, Nicole sashayed out of Dream Street Vinyl.

The drummer was still for a moment before he pulled the card out of his pocket and tossed it to the floor. Walking back to the display he’d been stocking, he slid down to rest his elbows on his knees and bowed his head.

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Styx had a spring in his step as he stocked the shelves at Dream Street Vinyl. He was humming along »

Styx had a spring in his step as he stocked the shelves at Dream Street Vinyl. He was humming along with the music piped from the speakers, occasionally swaying out of the way of passing customers.

“I wager we can safely say the rush is over,” Cal sighed as he handed change to the last customer in the queue. The Spring’s t-shirt read, ‘Now That We’ve Locked Eyes, You’re Gay.’ The swatch bearing the shop’s logo was tacked to his shoulder. “Who knew that closing the doors for a day or two would entice every music buff in the lower southwest boroughs to descend on us.”

“Dunnae suggest we should do it again,” TJ commented as he turned the page of his paper. The headlines displayed to the room proclaimed that the killer known as CTK had taken another victim. “We’ll be lucky to break even, even with the rush.”

“Still, the windows look brilliant,” Styx commented as he continued to stock. “I can actually see the sunlight through them. Seriously, TJ, would it kill you to stock up on some glass cleaner?”

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