“Why, Mr. Rockwell, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Ray said through a yawn as he stretched.
“I instructed you to rake the mulch in the orchard, and here I find you,”Mr. Rockwell said. His teeth creaked as he grit them.
“You’re right; I should have hidden better,” Ray agreed. Now he remembered what had inspired his decision to nap here. A miscalculation, to be certain.
“Don’t get cheeky with me, I ought to knock that smug head of yours off.” Mr. Rockwell clenched a fist as a vein pulsed in his neck. He might actually do it this time. The charm Ray had slipped him must be wearing off. As soon as he wandered out of sight, Mr. Rockwell should have forgotten any instruction he’d given Ray.
Ray glanced up at the gray clouds gathering in the sky. How many days until the full moon? He couldn’t make another charm until then. It would be amusing if he threw a punch, though it would complicate things a bit. Then again, with how dreadfully boring Thornwood Abbey had been, a complication might liven up his day.
“Are you ignoring me?” Mr. Rockwell barked.
“No, I’m debating the merits of letting you take a swing at me.”
“Why you!” He lumbered closer and swung a meaty fist at Ray’s head, which he dodged.
Ray spun around, hands behind his back. Mr. Rockwell had a bit of troll blood. Maybe giant blood that had been generations diluted. Humans never got this big and angry without a bit of that in them.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” Ray said calmly.
Mr. Rockwell’s face turned violet as he roared and rushed toward Ray. Ray sidestepped him again. Mr. Rockwell had swung first. The council couldn’t scold him if he were just defending himself, but he didn’t want to have to create a new identity to stay close to the gateway if Mr. Rockwell tried to fire him. He’d only just taken on this identity.
“You disrespectful little—” Mr. Rockwell trailed off as his face paled, eyes wide.
Ray turned to see a young human brunette, head lowered, her shoulders pulled up to her ears like a dog who had been struck one too many times. A perfect distraction to escape this confrontation. Now to catch Mr. Rockwell’s eye and use his glamour to distract him. It was a short-term solution, but if he could avoid him until the full moon, he could avoid the mess of creating a new persona.
“Lady Thornton!” Mr. Rockwell removed his hat, exposing his thinning black hair. “Forgive my rudeness. I didn’t see you there.”
“Oh, I apologize. If you are busy, I can come back another time.” She started to shuffle backward. Her eyes flickered in Ray’s direction and then back to the ground.
They met again. Lady Thornton, who had somehow stumbled upon the gateway. She would need to be glamoured to erase her memories of the gateway. But to do so, she would first need to look him in the eye. And she was doing her best to not do just that.
“I’ve been expecting you, Lady Thornton.” Ray clapped his hands together.
Her head jerked up, and she stared at him wide-eyed, her gaze darting from him to Mr. Rockwell. “You were?”
“Yes. Lord Thornton instructed me that I should take all my orders regarding the garden from you,” Ray smiled, weaving in a bit of his glamour into the words.
“He did? But I didn’t tell him I planned...” Her fingers twitched at her side as her gaze darted around the misty lawns and toward the barren fruit trees. It was as if she expected something to leap out at her at any moment.
She shouldn’t be asking questions; she should have agreed blindly. Was his glamour weakening as well?
“Why would Lord Thornton come to you?” Mr. Rockwell balked.
Ray pivoted to face him and caught Mr. Rockwell’s beady black gaze. “Don’t you remember you were there? You gave instructions that I would be at Lady Thornton’s mercy.” Ray glamoured his words, pouring in more magic than usual.
Mr. Rockwell’s eyes glazed over as his heavy brow furrowed, and his dark caterpillar eyebrows pulled together. “Yea. That’s right...” He scratched his balding head. “I’ll leave you to it then.” He then wandered away, wobbling like a drunkard.
Perhaps he’d used a bit too much magic. But if his glamour wasn’t weakened, why was Lady Thornton immune? Curious. It would seem he’d found something to ease his boredom after all.
“Shall we start in the vegetable gardens?” He spread out his arm, gesturing toward the dirt path that led to it.
“Yes!” she said as she jolted upright.She scurried forward, glancing backward at him every few steps. What was she afraid of from him, exactly?
All her predecessors had cared about were vegetables and pretty flowers all in a row. Food for their larders and decorations for their tables. Humans were simple and predictable.
At a glance, Lady Thornton had seemed no different than any of the Lady Thorntons before her. He had assumed she found the gateway by mistake. Humans stumbled upon the gateway every now and again. Sometimes when the veil was thin, they fell through into Faery. When they managed to escape, they spread tales of magic portals and strange creatures dancing by moonlight. Humans, being distrustful, never believed and called such accounts fairy tales.
He’d thought Lady Thornton was another one of those hapless humans. But perhaps he’d been too quick to judge. She kept her head down as she walked, avoiding his gaze. Avoiding another attempt at glamouring her?
