Page 63 of I Ran Away to Evil
“Not good, actually.” The guard shook his head sadly. “We had to rebuild two shops just last night! It would have been much worse without Madame Potts’s Cast, I tell you what!”
“Sorry I’m late, then. May I know your name?”
“You can call me Nolin.” The guard tugged on his long ruddy beard, twiddling the end. “I’m with Hermin’s Gold Emporium.” He pointed to the second shop on the left of the giant stone door. “We’ve just got in a collection of rare rose-gold quartz. I’ll put in a good word for you, and maybe you can get a discount. You’ll visit us, yes?”
I had every intention of window-shopping for a bit before heading out again. I knew I wasn’t in a rush, but Ifeltin a rush … Still. Rose gold sounded pretty. And strangely enough, even Hubert was positively vibrating with excitement. “Alright.”
“Excellent!”
“Nolin!” An aged dwarf ran out of one of the wooden buildings to the right of the stone door. “Is that her?”
Nolin nodded. “Aye, Grimly.”
“Thank the bedrock, we’re saved!”
At the same time, an ear-piercing screech resounded over the outpost.
CHAPTER 40
My Necromancer Can’t Resurrect Ashes
Keith
“Do we tell her?” Keith tilted his glass of elderberry cider at Rufus. The two were sharing a drink after dinner and had gone up to a secure place to have a very serious discussion. Keith had warded their conversation against spying. Twice.
Rufus shuddered in the way only a beastman could. “I’m not going to. Are you?”
“If wedon’ttell her, then she will be furious …” Keith replied.
“And if wedotell her, she’ll try and decorate the entire castle in flowers. She’ll stop all work on kingdom business to send runners out to the fae glades for everblooming daffodils, and she’ll start pestering you to make automata welcome-singing doves.”
“I remember.”
“She might even succeed at finally painting the entire castle blue, since you’re so distracted with yourownpartner.”
“Good point.”
The two men stared out over the black stone crenellations of the parapet. Chloe was in the garden below, laughing with Patina about something. And by something, they were laughing about Keith and Ria and the absurdity of it all. TheDrendilprincess withtheirking. Patina was of a mind that Henrietta was just waiting to stab Keith in bed … but Keith had to purposefully stop thinking aboutthat.
He threw back his cider to slake his sudden thirst
“So we just wait for the storm to arrive?”
“I guess so.” Rufus downed his own drink. For an entirely different reason.
The Dark Enchanted Forest had been Keith’s home since he was born, and as the ruler of the Dark Enchanted Forest, he had many tasks.
None of which seemed all that important right now.
“Your Viciousnesss, Kith Bog peat and fishing reportsss for the first quarter have arrived,” Chikli tried to get his attention, but Keith simply waved at him to put them with the Review Documents pile.
“Your Viciousnesss, I’ve prepared your glazed citron tartsss with a side of vanilla pudding.” Panlith almost begged Keith to eat something. He was eating just fine … it was just a shame that he had eaten the last chai custard bun, and he wasn’t in the mood for food.
He should have savored them over the few days Henrietta would be away.
“This Rinrin asks Master … why? Why do you do this? The poor buttons …”
Keith was wondering if he evenwantedto be here when Julia arrived. The whole affair was becoming a bother. And more so than usual. Even his automaton tinkering didn’t bring him much joy.
