Apollo frowned. “I’m not feeling anything abnormal.”
Maya paused, lost in thought. “That’s so strange. Usually I …” She finally noticed what had been tugging at the edges of hermind. “I’m not bending time around it!” Her hands flew to her scar, as if she needed to hold it together.
Apollo had moved away a little but was still crouched. He reached out and took both of her hands. “You don’t need to do that anymore, Maya.” A loud noise came from inside the shop, and he quickly rose, his attention focused on the building. Without asking, he lifted her off the ground and hurried to the door.
The strange sensation rumbled around in her belly again, but Maya didn’t want to bring it up again. Apollo seemed anxious and concerned as he raced to the door. His movements were smooth, and she didn’t feel jostled at all as he grabbed the door.
“It’s okay, Apollo. They can’t get hurt.”
As if he couldn’t hear her, he yanked the door open and hurried in. All of the kids turned to look at him as he raced into the building, Maya in his arms. The Honeysett kids were standing around Misty, who had a couple of paintbrushes that she was using to beat a few empty barrels.
Misty beamed, “Look, Daddy! I’m a drummer!”
Apollo finally relaxed. Putting Maya down, he smiled. “I can see that, honey. But you really need to ask Miss Strife before you go using her stuff.”
“I’m sorry,” her smile faded.
Maya shook her head. “It’s okay. I shouldn’t have been so slow, but I wasn’t used to the way my legs felt after riding a dragon.”
Soon, she was directing the Honeysetts on how to blow glass, using the incredibly powerful flames they were able to create. Their ability to control how much heat they could generate was impressive, especially given their ages. When they all had assigned tasks, she headed over to Apollo and Misty. Shehad a bit of time before the Honeysetts would be ready for her, giving her time to get Misty ready to paint.
“What would you like to paint, Misty? Because I have some stencils and a couple of statues for you to have some fun.”
“Can I paint the floor?”
“Honey,” Apollo said.
Maya put a hand on his shoulder. “Absolutely. I have a few animal stencils if you would like to make a small zoo mural.”
“What’s a manural?”
Maya felt the smile stretching across her face as she crouched down. “Amural,” she enunciated to help reinforce the word, “is a scene that you create. Kind of like a picture, but you make all of it.”
Misty’s gray eyes had small flashes of yellow as she got excited. “I want to make an aminal murial.”
Chuckling, Maya headed over to her paint and stencils. Then she grabbed some tape. She stuck one end of the tape on the floor, then ran it for about five feet. Repeating that three more times, she created a blue square on the floor. “Okay, Misty. You can make whatever you want in this box. And here are all the tools you need.” She held up a stencil of a dog. “This is a stencil. You put it down like this,” she placed it so that it was near the edge of the tape inside the box. “Then you paint inside the shape. You can get paint on the stencil too, because it isn’t part of the picture.”
Misty had come over and was watching Maya’s quick demonstration. When Maya looked at her, she told the little girl, “And you need a smock.”
“What’s a smog?”
“A smock is something you wear so your clothes don’t get dirty. What’s your favorite color?”
“Yellow!” The little girl threw her hands up in the air. “Like Daddy!”
Maya glanced over at Apollo, who was watching them talk. When he smiled at her, his eyes wrinkled at the sides, and Maya felt that strange sensation again. Rubbing her stomach, she looked back at the child. “I probably should have guessed that. Here you go.” She reached out and created a bright yellow smock that covered the little girl.
Misty’s mouth dropped open and her eyes lit up. “That’s magic!”
Maya nodded, then put a finger to her lips. “Shhh. It’s a secret. Okay?”
Misty vigorously nodded, “I am good at keeping secrets.”
Without thinking, Maya reached out and patted her on the head. “You are a really good kid, Misty. Now, let’s get the paint and brushes ready, and you can paint whatever you like.”
It didn’t take long before the little girl was set, and she got right to work. Maya watched her for a few seconds, enjoying the enthusiasm the child showed as she set to work. When it was clear that Misty was lost in her painting, Maya turned to Apollo. “I’m going to get to work with the Honeysetts. Call me if you need anything.”
“Thank you, Maya. And feel free to ask if you need help with anything.”
