
Chapter 47
Between 1870 and 1930, seventy miles of tunnels
beneath Pendleton, Oregon, housed entire businesses from butcher
shops to opium dens.
“WE NEED TO FIND SEAN,” E.T.
whispered, still clinging to me.
“The binding will wear off . . .” I said
hopefully.
“If Pete doesn’t return by midnight, the minions
with demon tats will kill the man,” Doreen said. She and the boys
joined our group. Cedar and Oak had withdrawn from her, mastering
their emotions in stoic acceptance. She looked disappointed and
lonely.
Gollum continued to fuss over my already healing
wounds.
“A little imp spit would work faster than those wet
wipes, but Scrap’s not around,” I whispered. My love for him grew
and blossomed, threatening to choke me.
“The paths have been destroyed,” Oak said. “I don’t
think either Cedar or I could find our way home again.”
“Is there a back door?” Gollum chimed in. He
accepted a gold silk scarf from a fan’s costume to tie his
makeshift bandage in place.
“Back door?” Oak’s face went blank.
“There is always a back door. Only a fool builds a
secret lair with only one entrance,” Gollum replied. “First law of
super villains.”
“The tunnels,” Phonetia said barely above a
whisper.
“The what?” Cedar shot her a wicked glare.
“I don’t have to keep the old man’s secrets
anymore,” she returned haughtily.
“I know an entrance three blocks from here,” E.T.
said quietly. “It’s nearly blocked in places between there and the
main passage. Hard going. But it’s not as heavily trafficked around
the entrance. And it’s raining hard out. We’d get soaked before we
found the trapdoor.”
“A rainy Saturday night in Old Town, the parking
will be difficult at best. We’ll probably have to walk half a mile.
Might as well take the more difficult but closer tunnel,” Gollum
added.
“Let’s go.” I stepped back and nearly
tripped over Sophia’s stroller. She woke up and wailed.
My heart flipped with the need to hold and comfort
her. At the same time I sank within myself, knowing I’d have to
wait for Lucia to return before I could go find Sean. At this point
every moment of delay endangered him from the latest batch of men
with demon tattoos.
More incompetents or had Pete held back the best of
his minions?
I was betting on the latter and Scrap was in no
condition to help.
“I’ll watch the baby for Lucia,” Doreen
offered.
“Can I trust you to return Sophia to her mother,
and only her mother? If Donovan comes back first . . .?” With her
Damiri black hair, he might assume the obvious and claim her as his
own.
I looked around at the assembly. Most of the crowd
drifted off, or found seats in front of the stage waiting for Holly
to begin her concert.
I needed my girls and their brothers with me,
leading me through the tunnels. I wanted Gollum at my side.
Solemnly, I approached Squishy and Julia, hovering
indecisively in the background. “Hi, I’m Tess,” I introduced myself
to Julia. “I saw you playing with Sophia yesterday. Could I trouble
you to watch her for a little while until her mother
returns?”
“You trust me with her?”
“I trusted you with Gollum’s heart. Nothing is more
precious to me. You gave that back to me. I trust you with my
goddaughter as well.”
“Thank you,” she said graciously. “I never meant to
hurt him.”
“I know. We’re all happier this way. And I know we
all have to get along. So why not start now. Can you watch
Sophia?”
“Yes. I’d be honored,” she said enthusiastically
reaching for the little girl.
Sophia willingly went into her arms and immediately
began playing with her expensive golden knot earrings.
I transferred the KIT sticker from my badge to
hers.
“Well done, Tess,” Gollum said, kissing my temple.
“I think we need to get a move on though. Phonetia says it will
take us a least an hour to hike up to the hills.”
“Let’s get moving. Maybe Scrap will recover enough
to help by then.”
Don’t bet on it, I heard a disgruntled
mumble in the back of my head.
“Squishy, why don’t you and Julia take Sophia to
the café? Order a beer and an orange juice. Don’t be surprised if
it disappears on its own.”
“Draft or bottle?” Squishy called back.
“Doesn’t matter.” A new thought wiggled forward in
my mind. I fished my cell phone out of my fanny pack and tossed it
to Squishy. “Call Raquel and JJ Jones. Tell them they can keep
their baby! Spread the word to the entire support group.”

Squishy is a good baby-sitter for me. Julia is an
attentive baby-sitter for Sophia. The two women make an interesting
couple. Physical opposites. Emotional opposites. They’re kinda cute
together. Maybe they really are in love.
They coo and fuss over Sophia with poignant joy,
knowing they will never have a child together, but delighting in
this little bundle of energy.
Sophia has decided a bottle is too tame. She wants
a cup. And she wants it now. She makes a mess of the peanut butter
and jelly sandwich Julia orders for her. But amazingly most of it
ends up in her tummy.
Squishy takes a few moments to make the requested
phone call. She’s smiling by the end of it. I can hear Raquel’s
joyful tears through the tiny speaker.
I watch from the safety of the bank of ferns in a
raised bed behind their table. The moment the beer and OJ arrive I
creep out from my safe observatory and take a few sips. Then I
creep back and wait a few minutes for the waters of life to work
their magic. Another few sips and I’m up to making faces at
Sophia.
She blinks at me, not certain she sees me. Then she
sticks out her tongue, aping me. She’s so cute. I waggle my wart
enhanced bum at her.
She stands in her high chair and flashes her
ruffled panties at me.
Squishy coaxes her back to sitting with more
PB&J.
Doreen joins us, gazing at Sophia with intense
longing. Movement in her peripheral vision draws her attention to
the side passage. She’s impatient for Donovan to return. At the
same time, she wants to enjoy the baby as long as possible.
A couple more sips of beer and I can almost work up
the energy to go find some mold.
You okay, Scrap? Tess asks from someplace dark and
dank. Oh, I bet she’s got good mold all around her.
Working on it, I flash back to her. Where are you?
I could find out if I just thought about her for a moment. But I
don’t have the energy yet.
Deep in the tunnels. E.T. says we’re about a
hundred yards from the main passage.
Careful. I think there’s a rockfall just ahead of
you.
I see it. Gollum has the most amazing
flashlight.
Of course he does. He’s Gollum.
And his backpack, of course.
He’s always prepared.
Lucia returned from her errand yet?
Nope.
Scrap, hurry and get your strength back. This place
is really, really creepy. I feel like I’m being watched by a
thousand ghosts and none of them want me here.
Working on it. Stay close to Gollum. Keep the girls
from straying. I’ll be there as soon as I can.
She fades from my consciousness and I finish my
beer and OJ. My skin glows a bit orange and my tummy bulges. Time
for dessert.
Sophia reaches for my tail as I prepare to fly off.
Oops, can’t allow that. There’s this special grip that only Tess is
supposed to know about. When she tangles her fingers just above the
barb, I can’t get away, even though I’m only partly in this
dimension and should be able to slip through anything. This little
lady is looking to learn the grip quite by accident. And she’s not
yet a year old.
I sense a Warrior in the making. I’ll keep a look
out for a likely imp to bond with her. Can’t let just anybody
infect my Sophia with the imp flu.