Page 37 of Secondhand Garagyre

Theonly shadow that falls over our time together is an impending sense of doom.Weboth know thatRulzikis plotting something.

Wejust don’t know what.

However.

It’sChristmas, andIrefuse to let that piece of filth ruinLaithog’sfirst time experiencing the magic that isChristmas.Withthat thought in mind,Ibroach the subject of teachingLaithogto read one evening after we returned home.Iwant him to be able to readEnglishand enjoy the bounty of books within my personal library.

Thejoy that lit up his face took me by surprise.Hehadn’t been trying to impress me at all.Laithogreally did love to read and has been quite serious about learning.Farmore so thanIexpected him to be.Truthbe told, it gets me a little hot and bothered watching him applying himself so studiously.Infact, it’s only been a few days, and he’s learned the alphabet as well as how to read simple words.Hisability to learn and adapt to new things is nothing short of astonishing.

Todayis the day of the tree lighting ceremony.Iposted my holiday business hours at the beginning of the week so folksknow thatI’llbe closed today, tomorrow forChristmasEve,ChristmasDayandBoxingDay.It’snot likeI’lllose out on a bunch of sales.SmalltownTexasmentality means that just about every business in town is closed in some sort of variation of the hoursIposted.Familyis still treasured over the almighty dollar inTaggart, and we like it that way.

Walkingthrough the house,Iopen the door to my jewelry room, glancing around to make sure thatLaithogisn’t loitering somewhere trying to peek in here.I’vebeen working on something special forLaithogin my spare time.Tokeep it a secret,Icome in here when he’s outside, or practicing his letters.Sittingdown at my work table,Iget to work.Todayis the day beforeChristmasEve, soIneed to finish this as soon as possible.Smiling,Iget to work.Thereisn’t a moment to lose.

Someone…orsomething has been testing my wards.I’veyet to tellPaisleythat particular piece of information.She’sunder enough stress as is with the looming threat ofRulzik, and my mate so desperately needs the joy of her winter solstice celebration.Reachingout with my magickIprobe the areas to see if the being left an energy signature.

Nothing.Isense nothing, and it fills me with frustration.

HowamIto protect my mate ifIcannot sense the enemy when they are right on our doorstep?

Cleverdemons.

Afeeling deep in my gut tells me it can be nothing else andI’velived through many a skirmish by listening to my instincts.Itappears as though they have evolved since lastIbattled them.Addinganother layer of wards can’t hurt, so with that in mindIaugment my existing wards, supplementing them even more with the excess magickIhave from drinking fromPaisley.

Justthe thought of drinking from my mate makes my prick twitch inside my sheath.Forcingmyself to focus on augmenting my wards,Ican feel the layers building upon one another, creating an impenetrable layer of defense for my mate.Irelax marginally after completing the final layer.

Divingback into the weave,Icheck the connections, assuring there are not any weak links beforeIturn and walk back towards the house.Mymind turns to the outing my mate has planned asIexit the tree line and stride across thedriveway.Paisleysays we are going to something called alighting of the tree ceremonythis evening.Iam hesitant to allow this.Especiallyknowing we are being watched and the wards are being systematically tested for weaknesses.

Humanshave odd traditions, but my mate seems to enjoy this thing calledChristmas.Asevidenced by the excessive amount of décor, she’s artfully arranged all over her, now our dwelling.Theitems are not off-putting but…there are a great many of them.

Agreatmany of them, and she’s added to her hoard in the short time we’ve known each other.Mymate hoards her treasures like the dragons of loreI’mdescended from.Iam part dragon, after all.Mycuriosity finally got the better of me while we broke our fast earlier this rising, andIasked about all the festive-looking things in her home as well as the village.

Herexplanation fascinated me, and it still does.

However, it does pose a slight problem.Ifgift giving is a tradition of her people for this winter celebration, what doIget for my mate for our firstChristmastogether?Ido not possess thismoneyshe speaks of to procure her an item of some sort, but…maybeIdo not need it.Themaking of crafts for one’s mate was a tradition amongst my people during the winter solstice.Ido not see why this need be any different.Havingmagick makes crafting all that much easier, andIdo not consider that to be an unfair advantage at all.Ineed all the helpIcan get.

So.

WhatdoImake for her?

Pushingthe yard gate open,Istalk through, allowing it to swing closed behind me asImake my way down the sidewalk to the back door.Enteringher home, the scent of cinnamon and vanilla wash over me, filling me with contentment.Wipingmy feet off on the rug just inside the door,Imake sure my feet are clean before proceeding further into the dwelling.

Mymate likes to keep a clean home, and it’s not an imposition for me to help her in small ways, like wiping my feet off.Sheis a maker of jewels and asIlook around her home,Ican see that she does not have a shortage of items.Maybethere is a seller of books in her village that would not miss a tome or two?Thereis no such thing as too many books as far asIam concerned.

I’mnot above borrowing books…long-term borrowing, that is.

Prowlinginto the communal room,Iseat myself on thecouch,waiting for my female to finish her preparations for our outing.Thelights on herChristmastreetwinkle in the low lighting caused by the closed curtains.Toprevent anyone from seeing my true form,Paisleylowered all the blinds and closed the curtains the day afterIarrived.

Thejingling of bells pulls me from my thoughts as my mate and her two beasts walk out into the communal room.Mymate is a vision of loveliness.Anintricate-looking braid sweeps her dark red hair back, a bright green top that makes her eyes luminescent, and dark blue bottoms, that do nothing to hide her curves from my appreciative gaze, complete her ensemble.

Aflash of something bright low to the floor catches my attention. “Whatin the night gods have you done to the wee creatures?”Iask, my words filled with trepidation.

She’sput…apparel on them.It’shighly disturbing.

“Mymate, why do yourdogshave on garments?Surelythis is not a normal thing for humans to do with their pet creatures…Havethey no dignity at all?”Lookingcloser,Isee that the images on the garments look eerily similar to the fluffy tailed rodents that both of herdogsdespise.

Shakingmy head,Iadd. “Youhave added insult to their degradation.Thegarb you have put on them has their mortal enemy painted upon it.Youdo them a grave dishonor in that, my little flame.”

Theincredulous look on my face causesPaisleyto burst out laughing. “Laithog, those are doggieChristmassweaters with squirrels on them!Aren’tthey cute?”

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