CHAPTER#28

"Really? Just like that?" He could see it now, a spark of hope in her dark eyes.

Mike shrugged. "Seems to me that the house is home to plenty of things that don't have homes of their own. I'm not certain if there's a rule or a limit to it. We can check with Naia, but as long as she approves, you don't have to stay out here in the woods all the time."

"Oh Mike, thank you!" Zel wrapped her arms around him, pulling him in for a tight embrace. Mike's face was pinned directly between her breasts, and he was suddenly aware of how full and warm they felt.

"I cah breef." Mike tapped Zel on the elbow after several heavenly seconds passed.

"Oh, sorry!" Zel released him. Mike took a deep breath, grateful for the influx of oxygen. "You have no idea how happy this makes me."

"On some level, I think I do." Mike winked at her and continued up the path, the centaur following close behind. He made it only a few more steps before his legs fell out from beneath him. This time, Zel wasn't close enough to catch him, and he tumbled, falling off the trail and into a bush. The branches of the bush gave, dumping him onto the soft, wet ground beneath it. Mike tried pushing himself back up, but his fingers passed uselessly through its branches and into the mud beneath.

"Here, let me help." Zel grabbed his wrist, pulling him out of the bush. "Ah shit."

"What's wrong?" Mike asked.

"You're covered in Dragon's Breath." Zel flicked a bright red chunk of pollen off of Mike's arm. "We need to get you washed off as soon as possible."

"Why? Am I going to catch on fire or something?" Mike shook his head, watching the red dust fall free.

"No, stop!" The crimson pollen blew across the gap between them, settling on Zel. "Shit!"

"I'm sorry." Mike tried to brush the pollen off of her bare stomach, streaking it across her skin instead.

"Stop!" Zel grabbed his wrists. "Don't touch it!"

"Okay, but I..." The thought fled his mind, suddenly distracted by the burning sensation that was coursing along his arm. He tried to rub his arm, but Zel caught his other hand. It suddenly occurred to him how strong she was.

"Don't touch it, whatever you do." Zel's eyes flashed with intensity. "The more you scratch or rub it in, the worse it will burn."

"Like poison ivy?"

"Poison ivy will make you itch. Dragon's Breath will make you peel your own skin off to make the burning stop." Looking around, Zel shook her head. "I don't have a choice, we both need to clean this off as soon as possible. There's a place nearby, but on foot it will take us too long to get there. Climb on my back."

"Wait, what?"

Zel rolled her eyes. "It isn't like anybody will see us do it, if that's what you're worried about. I don't feel like peeling my own skin off today, so I'm going with or without you. I can run way faster than you can."

"Um, yeah, okay." He had never been on a horse before, and he didn't know the protocol for mounting a centaur, but Lily knelt and impatiently yanked him onto her back. Once he was situated, she grabbed his wrists and wrapped them around her waist.

"Do not start scratching," she warned. Clutching tightly to Mike's arm, her whole body surged forward. Mike held on for dear life, listening to her hooves pound the dirt of the trail beneath them, doing his best to ignore the burning sensation that was creeping its way along his arms.

-

Beth stood outside of the office, tapping her foot impatiently. She was already going through the options in her mind, ways she could ruin the bastard's day, how she could force the owners to disclose sales. She highly doubted that the information was lost, and the idea of returning to the office with the news that she couldn't even access the site really pissed her off. Even with an incompetent lawyer on their side, the storage company could easily impede progress for weeks.

Movement in the window, and Lily walked out with a large grin on her face and a few sheets of paper.

"As commanded," she said, handing over the forms. "Auction report is fairly useless, the buyer paid cash. I did, however, get a copy of the original inventory and the key to get in. We can see what's missing if you don't mind a little legwork."

"How did you get this?" Beth asked. "He seemed adamant that he wasn't going to give us anything."

Lily winked. "I have my ways. Turns out he went to school with my cousin, had a big crush on her. Ipromised I would bring him up at the next family reunion. C'mon, let's go." Her hips swaying, she walked away, her eyes on a small map in her hands.

Beth looked back at the office. "Doesn't he have to come with us?"

"He's F******k stalking my cousin now. Confirming that she's still single."

Following Lily, Beth looked back. The guy was slumped forward at his desk, his nose practically on the screen. "Must be pretty desperate," Beth said.

"Can confirm. Our unit is toward the middle." The inside of Castle Storage was a small maze of metal storage units, but they ended up at a small building with glass doors. Stepping inside, Beth could feel the temperature immediately drop. The thermostat by the door stated that it was 72 degrees with a humidity of 0%.

"I feel like this building alone is worth more than the castle." Lily ran her fingers along the stark white concrete walls. The marble floor looked like it had been recently polished, the reflected light of the skylights above scattering an eerie glow across the floor.

"Probably is." Beth checked the room number they wanted. "The castle was built in the 70's. Up until 2004, this place was where the Renaissance Festival used to set up shop. Whole thing fell apart when the guy who owned the land murdered his wife, and a land dispute started between his heirs that lasted a few years. The Festival took their business elsewhere and this parcel got picked up pretty cheap. I just didn't know it had become the world's weirdest storage facility." Turning a corner down the long hall, Beth saw the large door at the end. There were no other rooms in sight. "My parents used to take me when I was little. Had my first drumstick just inside the main entrance. I had forgotten all about this place, actually."