They were that and better, she thought as she rocked in her chair. Soon she’d have to see Cooper and his brothers. After this mess with the man was finished. A wave of her hand and he was up again but headed home.
Sadie watched her soup on the fire as she thought of what to say to the young dragon. She knew that he had no liking for her. But she was all right with that. In their head, she was sure that it was her fault their father was gone from this world. Her only hope was that the book would be helpful to them, and they’d be able to forgive her.
It was in her own heart that she had murdered their father. The magic that he’d given her had been put aside for Cooper, and someday she wanted to give it to him. Sadie, however, wasn’t sure, but she thought Cooper much stronger than his father had been, and a good deal more handsome too. Smiling, she had the spoon near the pot stir it some more.
In a few days she knew that the man out there would try and kill the woman and her daughter. She wasn’t clear on how that would happen, but she knew that he’d die a horrific death; not that he didn’t deserve it. His father hadn’t been much of a man, so it only stood to reason that the son wouldn’t be either. Not raised the way he’d been. Too much and too little, she thought. Too much freedom and not enough discipline. That’s what made a man into what Walton Conrad was.
When her pot was finished, she got up to serve herself. Soup was the best thing she could make, using the herbs and wild items that grew in the mountain. As she sat at her table, having put out her crackers that she hoarded like they were gold, she gave a little to the goddess of the earth before taking her first bite.
The earth called to her, much like the wind would a bird to come join them. She was ready to quit this earth and join her sisters in death. Life, the way that she’d always dreamed of it, was harder than she had expected. Fulfilling, yes, but difficult to do. She wasn’t complaining, not much anyway, but she was tired and wanted to just lie down and let the earth take her into it. It was the way they did things, the witches of her time. The earth at her bare feet let her know that she was to have a visitor soon, and she wasn’t surprised to find Winnie there.
“I’ve come to ask a favor of you.” She looked at the faerie and then back at her soup. “You’re as stubborn as you’ve always been, aren’t you?”
“I am. But isn’t that sort of you calling me yourself? I’ve never met a more stubborn woman than you. Faerie or not.” She looked at her and smiled. “It is good to see you, Winnie. Or should I be calling you something more?”
“Winnie is fine. This favor I ask of you, it’s not going to be something that you want, my trade for it.” She asked her what she had in trade. “Me.”
“Nay, I do not want you. You’re too old and stubborn, as I have said. Teaching you to heed to my demand would be too taxing to a witch as old as me.” She looked at her soup again. “I’ll do the favor if you help me to talk to the young king.”
“Now there is a stubborn person. He is not so set in his ways as he used to be. I think we have Carson to thank for that. But Cooper is his father’s son, that’s for sure.” She told her that she’d been thinking the same. “I’ll help you with him. I think that for as much as he blusters, he is curious as to what you have for him. But I’d wait on this other thing first.”
“The young man who seeks his child?” Winnie said that was it. “He will come to his own on this. The child will be safe.”
“Thank you.” She told her that it wasn’t her, but the others. “I figured that it would be something that the family would be a part of. But he will hurt her, given the chance. I’d like you to give the children a little extra, just to keep them safe. I can see that he tries to take them, but I don’t know if they come to any harm.”
“They do not.” Again, Winnie thanked her. “I should ask you a few things too, while you are here. When you came to be the mate of the Manning dragon, did you get anything extra? The reason I ask is that I thought you powerful beyond what you had when I first met you. And even then, you were very strong in your magic.”
“My parents are dead, you know that, correct?” She did and didn’t waste her breath telling the woman that she was sorry. “When they were taken care of by the Manning family, I got some then. But as for mating to the big dragon, I got nothing more. Hudson did. A lot that he is still dealing with.”
“You have more. Perhaps you just haven’t figured it out yet.” Winnie said that could be it, but she didn’t know. “I’ll put a spell around the children, but as I have said, they are protected very well now. I am intrigued as to how you would be giving yourself to me. I am a witch of considerable power. What would I want with a faerie and her powers?”
“You plan to join the rest of your kind in the earth.” The girl was much too smart for her own good, and she told her so. “Thank you, but that is the truth. And I wish you all the happiness you can find from such a thing. But I can help you.”
“How? There is no point in me denying what I want. I’m older than even you, though not by much.” Winnie only smiled at her, also showing her all that she was. “Every time I see you thusly, I am amazed at the beauty of one like you. You are the most gorgeous creature ever created, I think. Now, tell me what you can do for an old woman such as me.”
“I can ensure that you have a beautiful faerie garden in the glen not far from here. You will never be disturbed while resting, nor will your plot of land ever be bothered by the humans.” It was a grand gift she was giving her. And one that Winnie could do too. “I will also tell of how you saved the dragons, which you have, and that even your great magic couldn’t save Coop, the first of the Manning dragons.”
“Such a gift for a bit of magic. Why would you do such a thing for me?” Winnie smiled at her again with a little flutter of her wings. And with that, a dusting arose, and she stared in wonderment.
“Long ago, before there were too many humans and while the skies were filled with dragons, a witch, just out on her own, came upon a child and gave a little of herself to save her life. The life that would later be able to give her a dying wish.” She told her that she didn’t know what she was speaking of.
The dust changed then, to the said little girl with her guts hanging out, her face full of fear and pain. And there beside her was a great dragon, one that she had, all alone, brought to justice. Sadie reached out to touch the child, thinking to give her comfort in her dying hour, only to feel the magic that would someday be used to bring the dragons to their fullest. Sadie was the witch, Winnie the small child.
“Had you not come upon me that day, I would surely have died. I know now what you saw when you touched me, and you could have taken all that I ever would have been with that help. But you saved me and gave me the strength to go on. For that, I would lay down my life for you, however short it would be.” Sadie nodded, too touched to form words. “I promise you, on my oath as a faerie, I will protect you well after you die. For this, I owe you forever.”
Chapter 9
Lincoln watched Mattie as she talked to her brother. He was resting in the crib next to the table while Ginger made the little girl and Lincoln something to eat. He had told her that he could fix his own meal, but she said it was no trouble and he let her. There was something going on with her and he could wait her out.
“Here you go, Mattie. Remember what I told you.” Mattie nodded and looked at him. When he winked at her, she tried her best to do the same, blinking both eyes at the same time. He told her that she’d get it someday. “Lincoln, I need your help.”
“I’m at your service. Just tell me who I have to slay and they’re as good as gone.” She smiled and handed him a large plate of food. “Is this about Walton? I told you, we have that covered.”
“No. It’s about the house and all the things that go with it. I need someone to give me an estimate on how much it would cost to auction it all off.” He told her that he knew a couple people that could help. “Good, the sooner the better.”
“If you don’t mind
me asking, Ginger, why are you in such a hurry? Are we not making you feel welcome?” She started to cry but stood from the table she’d only just sat at to turn her back to him. “I’m sorry. Did I do something to upset you?”
“No. I just want this finished. Something done that I can say, ‘Well, that’s off my list.’ It feels like I’ve been on the run forever, and I want some stability in my life. For a little while, anyway. I have two children that I’m going to have to raise by myself. I have a job, not that I need one, but I want to do something for myself. And having that ugly over done house, off my list will be just the start for me.” He nodded, waiting for the rest. “There was a time when I would have put up with a home like that, simply because it would have been security and safety for us. Now I find that I want to make my own decisions, not have them handed to me on a platter. The money is going to be helpful, don’t get me wrong, but I need to do something productive.”
“Then might I suggest that you have someone go in and appraise the things in there. Grace told me that it was a lot of old stuff, furniture and such.” She nodded and told him how the master bedroom had several dressers. “Yes, he was a pompous ass. But he was a man who liked to look good. And match too, I guess.”
He got her to laugh, and that was the point, he supposed. But he told her that he’d call a friend and have him come out to look. Lincoln asked if she’d sell it to him if it came to that.
“Yes, whatever it takes. I’m not sure that I’ll be able to live there after it’s empty, but I need to know I’m making that happen for myself.” He told her he understood that. “When Grace and I were there, I saw a couple small things I’d like to keep for Wendall. They were his grandmother’s. I didn’t take them when we left because Walton showed up. But if you go with your friend, could you please put them aside for me?”
“Yes, and I think you’re very smart for not going with him alone. Walton is still a problem, and until he’s taken care of, we’ll keep an eye on you.” She smiled and he could see the relief in her eyes. “What else may I do for you? This knight in shining armor stuff is kind of fun.”
“You’re more the dragon than the slayer, Lincoln.” He laughed with her. “Oh, you have no idea how much better I feel just getting something started.”
“I can see that. I’ll give him a call now and we’ll see when he can come out.” She nodded, telling him how grateful she was that he was taking such good care of her sister. “She takes care of me more, Ginger. And I love her very much.”
“And she loves you too. I have never seen her so happy before. And she’s less tense too.” Her face heated up red. “I’m sorry. I’ve not been out in a long time, and have been hanging around Grace too much. I’ve forgotten how to be a person.”
“I think you’re just perfect, and I’m glad to have you here.” He got up and kissed her on the forehead. “You leave this to me. I was looking for a project, and you handed it to me. I need to keep busy. An idle dragon is one that is going to be in trouble.”
“I have a feeling you would even if you were busy all the time.” She picked up her son and sat down to nurse him. He started to leave her to it when she called him back. “I’ll need a staff if I move into that house. Do you know how to go about that?”
“I do. I can help with all kinds of things if you’ll let me.” She said she’d work on that as well. “Then we’ll get it taken care of together.”
When he was in his office he made the necessary calls to have the house furnishings appraised. There was a lot of it, from what Grace had said, so he told his buddy, Mark Morris, to bring an assistant. Then Lincoln asked him about an auction.
“You came to the right guy on that. My father has decided that he’d like to start doing them and has hired a couple old timers to help with it. They’re having more fun than working, but it eventually gets done. Last week he did a large estate and it took them all day, but there wasn’t an unhappy person there. He said that he’d not felt this young in ages. I think he’s right. And Mom is glad to have him out of the house more.” They laughed. “But seriously, if she’s willing to put up with people going around to look at things, then we’ll have it right there. Could save her some bucks and headache.”
“She’s all for having less worry right now. Ginger—her name is Ginger Rice—inherited the Conrad estate.” Mark whistled. “Yes, it’s a lot bigger than we knew, but then I thought it all belonged to Walton senior. Come to find out, she owned it all.”
“How did she inherit? I thought they had this ass of a son.” He told him what he knew of the situation, and Mark said he was sorry to hear that. “I mean, I never cared for either Walton, but she seemed nice. Well, quiet, but very nice when I had to talk to her about something.”
Mark arranged to stay a few days with him and Grace, and to look over the household with his dad. They were very close and when he said that they’d make a week of it, Lincoln was thrilled. To have someone around for a few days would keep him out of trouble. He’d been banned from the studio just last night.
He supposed that she had a right to stop him from going there again. He had scared her, then his attempt to get her naked had failed too. She was in the middle of painting and had it in her hair and all over her hands, and he thought it sexy. Grace, however, hadn’t. When she cried, he didn’t know what to do and held her. That only worked for a few minutes.
“The muse is driving me insane.” He asked her what he could do. “I’m not sure you can do anything. He wants—whoever this is, me to finish his story on canvas, and he doesn’t care that I’m exhausted.”
“Was it like that with the others?” She shook her head, her tears making him ache for her. “I wish I could tell you that I’ll have a talk with him, but I don’t even know how to do that. Come in the house and take a nap.”
“I’m not seven.” He moved back from the heat of her temper. “Look, I have to finish this or he’s never going to let me go. I don’t like this man, and couldn’t care less for his story, but whatever he wants, I have to do.”
“You’re being silly.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew that it had been the wrong thing to say. Not only did her temper go off the charts, but she turned away and told him to get out. “Honey, I’m so sorry.”
“Just leave me alone, Lincoln, so I can get this finished.”
He’d left her then, but he’d not been happy about it. And while he was sitting in his office, in the dark, he decided to look up things like this. It said she was being silly as well. But he didn’t tell her that when she came in at midnight to go to sleep.
He decided to talk to her now. Lincoln thought about groveling and would if that’s what it took. He couldn’t stand to have this trouble between them, especially since he was the one that had done it. Knocking on the door, he entered when she yelled for him to go away. As soon as he saw her, he could tell something else had happened.
“What is it? What’s wrong, baby? Is Walton here?” She kissed him, and he held her to his body. “I like that, but why did you look so worried?”
“I had a long talk with myself. Muse too, I guess.” He asked her how that had gone. “Well, I think. He’s going to back off a bit, I believe because I have the first of the series done. Would you like to see it?”
“Yes. If you don’t mind. You’ve been so hush-hush with this one.” She took him to the area where she had put the others ready to be picked up any day now by Garrett. “You’ve made use of this entire building already. Do we need to expand your space?”
“I need someone to work the stretcher for me. Or buy the larger canvas for these projects.” He said that would be easy. “I hope. Building them, starting from scratch, is good for the smaller paintings, but the big ones, such as this, is too hard on me. And then I have to call the faeries to help me move them into the other room where the lighting is better.”
“It is?” He didn’t think that was possible, as every rafter had a light on it. “Did you get help with that? I’m not good with
you climbing on ladders to hang stuff up.”
“The faeries and brownies did it. They were so thrilled that I hope you don’t mind, but I had Mildred bring out some sugar cubes and her leftover flowers for them. They really like those, don’t they?”
“They do. It’s sort of like crack for them. They can get really high if they eat too much.” She nodded and turned on the light to the other part of the barn. “Oh honey, this is more beautiful than the other.”
“They helped me lift it up to this wall.” He nodded as he took in the entire scene. “It’s the wolf clan, the Canon wolves.”
The painting was of the pack, perhaps a dozen or so, all gray and whites that seemed as if they’d just come from a killing. Their muzzles were covered in blood, and there was almost an air of excitement to them all. The bigger wolf, he’d bet it was Hank, was looking right at him like he was there and not just a painting.
“This is Hank’s father. He looks so much like him, doesn’t he? He is the one that is telling me the story. He’s worried that his son is bored being the alpha and wanted me to show him how they looked when they were all around.” Lincoln asked why he’d be bored. “I don’t know, but his dad died only a few years ago, and he’s saddened that he had to leave him so soon.”
“He was ancient. I don’t know how old, but I know that Hank is hundreds of years himself.” She said that she knew that. “And this painting, will there be more to it?”
“Yes, I have two more done. Would you like to see them?” He did and went with her to the canvases. The first was of a man and little boy fishing. He knew it was Hank when he was younger. He remembered him like this. The older man was his father, Grace told him. They were sitting on a beach near a lake and enjoying the evening. “His name was Hank as well, but no one called him that. He was always called Sire, I guess because he was the first. But he wanted his son to remember the good times that they had too, not just the violence of life that they’ve all led. The second is in winter. They’re playing as wolves in the snow.”
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