Page 16 of The Gargoyle's Glade
“How did you manage this then?”
“I… borrowed some things.”
“Borrowed? From where?” I gestured vaguely in the direction of the new buildings. Hailon smiled wide. “I’m impressed. But I’m going to tell you what I’ve learned. It’s profound, are you ready?”
“I suppose.”
“This isn’t Ravenglen.”
I choked a laugh. “Obviously?”
“What I mean is, you don’t have to sneak anything around here. Just ask for what you need.”
I blinked at my friend, the words simple but hard to process. My mind supplied a dozen what-if scenarios at such a bold suggestion. “But?—”
“No buts. You saw what happened with Grace, right? She added your things to her list. No questions, no justification, no discussion of payment. Just ask. Me, Seir, one of the stone kin builders. Anyone at d’Arcan. Ophelia, even Coltor. Anybody you’ve met since you arrived here. Ask. No guilt or explanation required.”
“I don’t have anymoney, Hailon.” The words were hushed, the familiar shame of them making my cheeks burn. I’d said those words to her several times in my life, each time hoping she’d be willing to provide healing or medicine for an offering of bruised produce or a few meals. This somehow felt worse. Right now, I had nothing at all of value to trade, and she’d basically given me a whole new life already.
“Neither did I, remember? What I said still stands. We’ll find a way for you to make some coin if you want.” She reached out and took my hands. “I promise, Merry. Just ask. This place, these people… nothing is like it was back home.”
Her sincerity soothed my ragged nerves. “I’ll do my best.”
“Good. Now. Show me what you have planned. Then we can go borrow that trencher again, and you can come over to mine and help me get started too.”
I nodded, properly rendered speechless by my friend and grateful all over again.
Chapter 8
Coltor
Down time, it would seem, was not something I would be enjoying.
Between the sounds of hammering and the unusually loud animal noises from outside, I couldn’t relax. I resigned myself to the fact that my daylight hours, usually spent sleeping or resting in some capacity, were instead going to be active.
The stone sleep had revitalized me, but I thrived on routine and now mine was being thrown off. It certainly wasn’t the worst thing to happen, but I had to work to settle my mood somewhere between disgruntled and neutral before leaving my hut.
I dressed and followed the construction noise to the nearly completed cabins that were close to one another past the hot springs.
“These are looking good,” I complimented the crew. They all seemed so young to me, though I recognized a handful of them from several classes below mine at the training academy.
“Thank you,” the lead smiled back. He extended his hand to shake mine. “Coltor, yes?”
“That’s right. Pleasure to see you again, Neill.”
His smile went wide as did his eyes, clearly surprised that I remembered his name. I’d spent very little time at the conclave since my first assignment out of training, but I was good with faces.
As I let go of his hand, I got a little jolt from my gift.
I turned, surveying the construction in progress, trying to picture how and why what I’d seen might happen. Nothing seemed out of place, and stone kin in general were quite hardy. Being equipped with wings and skin that could be turned to stone made us uniquely durable around things like nails and large planks of wood.
Shaking off the vision, I let Neill lead me around the two new buildings. It was clear they all took pride in what they were doing and enjoyed working with one another as well. I noted several names and their particular skills. I’d pass along to my father what I’d seen, though he’d likely chosen them all himself for the very reasons I had noticed them.
Neill walked with me over to the area where the final structures would go, stakes and twine marking off the dimensions. As he finished describing the plans to me, I discovered where much of the noise was coming from.
The whole area around Seir and Hailon’s cabin was alight with activity. I frowned, trying to stare through the trees for the cause of such commotion. Then it appeared. The pair of women, both smudged with dirt but with bright smiles on their faces rounded the rear corner of the building.
“Well. I’d best get back to it.” Neill clapped me on the shoulder and returned to his work, leaving me there alone. The coward.
