Page 19 of Magical Moonbeam
Not in a puff of smoke or a dramatic crack of lightning…justgone.
The gargoyles remained still for a beat, wings lifted like shields, before slowly lowering them.
Karvey turned toward the cottage. His gaze found mine through the glass, and he nodded once, sharply and reassuringly.
Whatever that was, they had handled it.
But as he launched into the air again, and the others rose behind him in perfect formation, I couldn’t pull my eyes from the churned-up garden and the abandoned pebbles lying in the dirt.
Because whatever had been in my garden hadn’t come to play.
It had come tomimicand totest, and I had called it by the wrong name.
I backed away from the door slowly, heart still racing, and glanced at my dad.
Twobble might’ve been loud, mischievous, and ridiculous, but never in all the time I’d known him had he looked at me like I was theintruder.
And now, the air in the kitchen felt colder as if something had beenlet in.
Or something had alreadybeen watching.
I wrapped my arms around myself and turned toward my dad again, who was sitting up now, his ears high and alert.
He didn’t bark.
He just stared out the window.
The garden was still, too still, and the only thing louder than the silence was the rush of my thoughts.
That hadn’t been Twobble.
The creature in the garden had worn his face, his vest, and his attitude. Well, aversionof it, but it wasn’t him. It had looked at me with eyes I didn’t know, had thrown pebbles with a kind of venom even dramatic Twobble never possessed. And the way it vanished… like reality had blinked.
My hands wrapped around my mug, and I stared at the back door as if it might open itself and offer answers.
Then somethingdartedpast the window.
I jumped, heart leaping into my throat.
A blur—short, fast, and familiar—zipped from one tree to the next, weaving through the garden like a little whirlwind. The windchimes clattered in its wake, and my dad gave a disgruntled snort from his corner.
I edged closer and narrowed my eyes.
Another flash, but this time it was from behind the hydrangeas. And then…
Bang. Bang. Bang.
“Maaaaaeve!” came a familiar voice, high, panicked, and undeniably Twobble from the back door. “Maeve, are you in there? Did you see it? Did it seeyou?Are you in one piece? Blink twice if your soul’s intact!”
I stood frozen.
“Open the door! Karvey sent word,” Twobble pleaded, thumping on the wood with all the force his tiny fists could muster. “Unless you’re possessed. Are you possessed?! Because if you’re possessed, I really can’t deal with that today!”
I unlocked the door but didn’t open it. “Twobble?”
“Oh, thank the roots,” he exhaled through the gap. “Itwashere, wasn’t it? You saw him?”
“I sawsomeonewho looked exactly likeyouthrowing pebbles at my head and grumbling about turnips.”
