Page 85 of I Ran Away to Evil
“No.” Keith enjoyed another bite of stew. “He’s a ghoul lord. He’s obviously retained his intelligence.”
“Huh.” I’d had no idea. Though I’d wondered why he was always in the kitchen even when everyone else took days off. “Are there any other undead that I know?”
“Gimtak is also a ghoul lord.” Keith listed on a finger, “Phillip the Skeleton Porter, Brian the Vampire Accountant, and Milith the Wight.”
“Do they all not follow the four-day work week?” I’d seen Gimtak delivering Keith’s mail every day. Though I only knew of Philip and Brian in passing. Milith was rarely in the kitchen, and only to grab something and run away.
“Just Gimtak and Panlith. That imp actually spends most of his time relaxing in the library or snacking in the break room. He’s so fast and his [Teleportation] so high that he only needs a few minutes to deliver the royal mail each day. He has an army of winged delivery workers who do the rest of the kingdom work, and his son handles everything else. Gimtak is practically retired … Honestly, he mightberetired and just doing it every day out of boredom. I’m surprised he hasn’t asked for eternal rest yet.”
My mind tried to wrap around all of the undead happily working about my new home. It was one thing to know Chloe was a powerful necromancer and another to know I was surrounded by creatures of evil. “Wow. I never would’ve guessed.”
They were all sonice. My father would’ve had the army hunt down anyhintof an undead in Drendil. He was particular about “keeping the kingdomclean,” as he put it.
I was growing more and more sure of my decision to embrace evil every day.
Penelope returned with a beautiful glass jar piled high with ice cream, markle berries, whipping cream, and two connected-via-the-stem cherries on top. A shimmering glow of blue mist danced around the dish, compliments of Lavender’s magic.
“On the house, dear royal guests,” Penelope declared. Then she handed us two tiny dessert spoons. “Is there anything else you need addressed?”
As she asked, two bluebirds flew about her in graceful swoops and picked up our light wooden bowls. A chipmunk sat on her shoulder watching the dining hall, presumably to whisper in her ear should anyone be in need of service.
Keith looked at me, but I was happy and didn’t need anything else. I eyed the ice cream and blushed a bit when I realized we were going to share it. Keith turned back to our hostess and said, “Yes, Princess Penelope, we would like to stay the night. Two rooms, please.”
“Please, my king, I am your loyal subject and have been since I married Olen, last I checked … Penelope or Mrs. Orrin will do.” Penelope’s voice suddenly took on a very concerned pitch, though her face retained a smile as she told us. “Andoh dear, but while you were enjoying our stew, a few guests arrived whom have taken our second to last room. We only have one left upstairs—but it does have a king-sized bed and a chair.”
CHAPTER 54
Phrasing, Penelope, Phrasing!
Keith
It was Keith’s turn to almost spit take, though he maintained his composure in the face of the two princesses with a barely concealed eyebrow twitch.
The years of training under his godmother Feliwyn had come in really handy of late.
Penelope was just as much a tease as her parent, Their Royal Highness Rowen, and Keith needed to be sure she didn’t realize how much her words had affected him.
Like the adorable Ria was affecting him right now. She happily placed one of the two cherries into her mouth and popped the stem off with her teeth. Then she let out a happy sigh that made him painfully aware of just how hard it was to look away. He had to drag his gaze back to their hostess.
“That is unfortunate,” he told Penelope. “Perhaps we could book the room for Lady Amaryllis and find accommodations elsewhere.”
Penelope shook her head sadly. “It is ashame, but the armies marching around have sent more merchants to our town. Everyone is steering clear of Drendil’s border, and the whole of Gren’s Keep has no—”
“Sorry, my liege.” Olen ambled up behind his wife just in time to cut her off. “We’ll make room for you and Princess Henrietta upstairs. The Bobbin Brothers were going to have a room each, but I’ll let them know there’s been a change of plans.”
“I appreciate that,” Keith said, at the same time Henrietta asked. “Are you sure?”
He was taken aback by the implications of her question and stared at her, then remembered to close his open mouth.
She blushed. “I mean, I’ve slept in a chair before; it’s not too much of a hardship …” Ria shrugged it off with much more rationale than Keith couldmuster before continuing. “And besides, we’ll be sleep—campingtogether in the dungeon tomorrow, won’t we?”
“Unlikely. We could easily complete the Hollow Gorge in a single day. It might be a close call in the Deep Shoals Dungeon,” Keith explained. “But we can still try—they’ve set up portals on each floor so that anyone can hop out when they’re ready. We use the dungeons for revenue, and it’s safer for the porters that way.”
Keith took a second to pop his own cherry. He savored the taste.
“But then we’d have to start from the first floor again the next day …” Henrietta watched Keith eat very intently, and he wondered if he should’ve let her have both cherries.
“That is true.” Keith nodded.
