Page 13 of The Gargoyle's Glade
The magic itself, however, was always pleasant to be around. It was a light, sparkling presence, proof that the old king’s intentions were good, even if he hadn’t planned properly for what might happen after he’d departed this plane.
I roamed the perimeter of my wards, ensuring that they were as tidy and strong as they could be. For the dozenth time, I resolved to ask Ophelia if she would deign to leave her hut to help me strengthen them. Hers in the Dread Forest were a true marvel, and with a boost from her power I would feel much better about the ones here. She hadn’t left her home even a single time that anyone could recall since moving there, and I’d failed to work up the courage to ask her any of the times I’d visited. Perhaps the next time I’d be brave enough.
After that, I surveyed the road that ran through the boundary. It was not well-traveled, but still hosted unsuspecting wanderers now and then. It had delivered Seir and Hailon into the ruins not all that long ago, as they traveled through on their way north. Next came the castle itself, my wings getting a workout as I lifted myself further above the grounds to get an aerial look at things.
I went through the familiar motions I performed every night: checking, assessing, noting changes or growth. I inspected the new dwellings as planned, and made sure that there was nothing out of place except where it couldn’t be prevented. All doorway activity was verified and logged in a tome I kept in a locked box in my hut. I selected some pieces of lumber for carvings and pulled together a group of fairly flat rocks to start a new perfectlybalanced pile. The familiar routine was a comfort to me. Not to mention a good distraction from what had happened with Merry.
When the first light of dawn finally crested the horizon, I headed back to my dwelling, eager for a meal and some rest. But not before a detour past the new little cabin, which I discovered still had all its windows open.
An itch persistedunder my skin even after I showered and ate. Curious, I went to see if the construction crews had perhaps started arriving early and that’s what had my senses alight. Stacks of lumber sat awaiting their craftsmen as they’d been the night before, and the glade as a whole was quiet save the birds and other small animals waking up for the day. I was doubting my instincts until I rounded the last curve of the path and saw her.
Merry was up with the sun, using a trenching spade she found saints knew where. The sharp edge glinted in the sunlight, and I fought against the wave of protective instinct that rose up at the sight. She’d rigged up wooden stakes and string for an outline, and was busily hacking away at the soil to make what looked to be planting beds in large, rough rectangles.
There were also a few birds of prey circling above her. They reminded me of the ones that hung around with the demons at d’Arcan. I wondered if they believed her to be some kind of special snack, her hair a bright beacon under the early morning sun.
I didn’t interrupt, though I did stand there longer than I should have, watching her work, making sure the birds didn’t make any aggressive moves, and ensuring the blade was alwaysas far as possible from her body as she swung it into the earth. Merry was small but enthusiastic and clearly had plenty of experience working the earth, but still, I wanted to step in, to take the tool from her.
To keep her safe.
I rubbed at the sudden burn under my breastbone with the heel of my hand, unsure how my simple breakfast had left me with such terrible indigestion.
Once she finally set the dangerous tool down, I gave a sidelong glance at the birds, who had stopped circling and were instead perched on her roof. When I looked back, I found myself paralyzed.
In the short moments I’d had my eyes on the new avian visitors, Merry had tugged her blouse off. She wore a thin camisole underneath, but it left very little to the imagination where her form was concerned. For the second time in less than a full day, I tried to remember how to breathe at the sight of her bare flesh. She used the inside of the discarded shirt to blot at her face and neck, then tied it around her waist before doing a final pass around the garden bed. I marveled at her strong shoulders as she put her back to me, hands on her hips. There was a reddish mark near her spine that I leaned forward to inspect closer, catching myself a breath before actually taking a step. When she turned and bent down to inspect something in the dirt, every part of me flushed hot as her ample cleavage tested the fortitude of the rounded neckline and thin straps.
Pulse pounding and a painful ache in my trousers, I cursed my own nosiness. It brought me nothing but grief. Once I could move again, I left her to her business and swore to practice minding mine.
Chapter 7
Merry
Despite the difficult time I’d had winding back down after the strange interaction with Coltor and the squirrel, I was awake the moment the first rays of daylight spilled through my window. I pulled myself from the impossibly comfortable mattress feeling so well rested it was like I’d slept a week instead of a night.
A slow morning was not really something I knew how to have, so after dressing and a quick tea, I went out to take a walk. Back home, there was always work to do, somewhere to be. Adjusting to no clock ticking in my head, guiding every move I made, was difficult no matter how welcome.
First, I wandered the path between my cabin and the portals. Then, I took another pass by the hot springs, dipping a hand in each of them, amused by the temperature differences despite the way they sat directly next to one another. I wandered further down, taking a peek at the buildings still under construction, curious when the stone kin builders would arrive.
If I hurried, they’d never notice I’d borrowed a few of the tools they’d left lying around.
I collected the items I wanted, then quick-stepped back to the little cabin, hopeful that when it came to something like puttingin garden beds, asking permission was unnecessary. If for some reason it wasn’t, I’d just do my best to ask forgiveness.
The builders had tossed the string and stake off to the side once they were no longer needed, so I’d snatched them up for my own uses and set about marking off three separate rectangular beds. After that was done, I used the clever trenching spade attached to a rod like a gardening hoe, turning the soil over and defining the shapes of the beds as I worked.
The feeling I was being watched made the skin on my neck tingle. I turned my eyes to the sky, spying some birds circling above me. I glanced around, finding nothing more unusual than a squirrel in a tree nearby—probably my brazen snack thief—and continued working.
It warmed up rapidly as the sun took to the sky, and I was covered in a sheen of sweat before long. I was determined to finish and return the tools, however, so I kept on at as fast a pace as I dared, pleased to find the little beds in decent order after perhaps an hour or so.
I slipped inside to get some water and to wipe a cool wet cloth over my face and neck, then collected everything I’d borrowed and returned it to the construction site. Not a moment too soon either. As I was headed down the little path toward Hailon’s cabin, voices chased on the breeze behind me, signaling the work crew’s arrival.
There were perhaps two dozen stone kin men and women walking in ones and twos down the path from the portal, smiling and clearly ready to work.
I didn’t even need to knock, as it turned out, Seir came around the corner of the cabin with his arms full of firewood just as I approached.
“Good morning!” he greeted me enthusiastically. “Did you rest well?”
I sighed, turning my face into the sun. “Perhaps the best I’ve ever slept.”
His ever-present smile broadened, giving him a dimple as he gestured for me to follow him into their little house. “I think this place is partially responsible.”
