Page 36 of Heir of Autumn
“Pass me that bottle, please.”
Their voice sent what else but shivers running down my spine. Like a draft through a crack in a window someone forgot to shut all the way, the crunch of snow falling from a roof, the scrape of a blade as it hits the ice, all together, all at once.
“Of course, headmaster,” I said, handing them the bottle they’d indicated. The others gave me quizzical looks — Satchel with his forehead wrinkled, Sylvain with his eyebrow cocked — but they said nothing.
“Thank you kindly,” Shivers rasped.
We continued bottling in silence, making good time as our stock of filled phials grew and grew. Soon we’d have plenty to take to the Court of Autumn, some stashed in my backpack, some more for Satchel to keep in his secret pocket dimensions, and the rest for Sylvain to store wherever it was he kept his stuff. Hopefully not his butt.
“Excellent work, everyone,” Headmaster Shivers said, clapping me on the shoulder before they glided away from the table.
“Thanks, Headmaster Shivers,” I said, grinning. “And thanks for helping us out today.”
Again my friends gave me funny looks. This time they even bothered to roast me, now that Headmaster Shivers had left the table.
“What?” I asked. “What are you all staring at me for?”
Namirah clucked her tongue. “Serious question, Locke. Is everything okay? Did I not notice you hitting your head somewhere in the Oriel of Water?”
“A fever,” Sylvain said, reaching for my face and touching the back of his hand to my forehead. “Perhaps it’s a fever. Are you feeling quite well?”
I slapped his hand away, scowling. “What the hell are you guys talking about?
Satchel stomped his foot on the table. “You kept talking to Headmaster Shivers as if you were having proper conversations.” He hugged himself with his arms and shuddered. “Creeps me out.”
“You guys are so bizarre.” I rolled my eyes. “It would have been rude not to answer every time they spoke to me.”
Bruna turned to the others, shocked, then looked back at me with concern in her eyes.
“Locke? Headmaster Shivers never said a single word.”
15
I assessedthe objects scattered all over my bed, hands on my hips as I considered whether I’d actually need all this stuff in the Verdance. But better safe than sorry, right? Some of them were essentials, anyway. The toothbrush and toothpaste needed to stay for sure. Deodorant, naturally.
“Sylvain? Are you sure that I shouldn’t bring along that coat you gave me? You know the one. Pretty and sparkly, like moonlight.”
I gazed longingly at my wardrobe, where the moonlight garment Sylvain gifted me was still hanging. From padded hangers, of course, to maintain its shape, especially around the shoulders. I’d learned my lesson from ruining cheaper shirts in the past. No more wire hangers.
Sylvain chuckled and pressed a kiss against my hair. “No balls or dances scheduled just now, little human. But perhaps in the near future? Save it for a very special occasion.”
“Ugh,” I grumbled. “Fine. I guess I’ll just wear my boring old human clothes.”
“Come now,” he said, tickling the hairs at my nape. “I like your boring old human clothes, and so will the Court of Autumn. They’ll adore the novelty of it. I promise.”
Satchel grunted as he dragged a tube of something into the chaos. “Here’s some sunblock,” he said, panting as he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. “It’s the Court of Autumn, not the Court of Absolute Darkness.”
“Thanks, buddy,” I said, smiling as I remembered catching him and Sylvain sunning themselves out on our bedchamber balcony.
Our balcony. Huh. Things really had changed so much in so little time between the three of us, and for the better, too.
“Aw, crap. Forgot about our rations.” I started for our little breakfast table, the cream-colored menu card from the kitchen imps lying on top of it.
“No, wait,” Satchel shouted.
I spun toward the bed, but he was already gone. I turned toward the table and he was already there, zipped through one of his pocket dimensions. He gathered up more of his sewing supplies, along with that piece of fabric he’d been working on in the Oriel of Water, of all places.
“Hey, it’s no problem,” I told him. “You can work on your stuff wherever you want to, Satchel.”
