The next morning, Norrell and I drop off Elgar at the portal outside of town. Niven and his team are there as well. They will accompany him back to the path that leads to the clan’s settlement. A team of his hunters will escort him the rest of the way. After seeing the relics in action, they aren’t taking anychance of letting them fall into the wrong hands. The yetis will return the relics to the cave immediately and leave them there, hopefully forever.
Norrell’s emotional goodbye to his brother shows me just how much he appreciates him. They embrace, clapping each other hard on the back, taking their time before pulling away.
“Thank you, Brother, for allowing me to step away and resume my life here. I will never forget it.” Norrell’s voice is unusually hoarse. “Come back soon. You will always have a place to stay.”
“Mother and Father will not let me stay away for long.” Elgar huffs a laugh. “Anything you want me to bring next time?”
“Just my books. Nothing else holds any importance.”
We say goodbye to Niven and his team. They’ve all grown fond of Monstera Bluff, but Niven especially. “You’ll see me again before you know it,” he assures us with a warm smile right before he steps through the portal.
“You look great!” Sunny rushes over to me when I step into the shop for the first time since I was cured. “That magick must have been the fountain of youth! You’re so fresh-faced and rejuvenated. How are you feeling?”
“So much better. Thank you for taking charge during all of this. I owe you a raise at the very least.”
“I was happy to. I’m just so glad to see you looking like yourself again. Even better in fact!” she gushes.
“If you want to see a fountain of youth, you’ll be quite surprised the next time you see Walt.” I huff a laugh. “That will knock your socks off.”
“He’s a snack!” she exclaims, drawing out the vowels. “No wonder Acton snapped him up.”
“I don’t need to hear that. They’re my uncles!” I grumble jokingly, covering my ears with my hands.
“Let a female appreciate!” she justifies with a playful wink.
“Alright, well, I had also forgotten how handsome he was, not that I ever saw him this young. I wasn’t born yet,” I concede.
After a few minutes catching up, she finally asks, “You said in your message you wanted to talk to me about something?”
“Now that my magick is restored, I thought we could revamp the rest of your apprenticeship. You know everything necessary to create the potions and enchantments we sell. We can leave the bulk of that to the rest of the team. So, I thought I might work with you more on my personal specialties of alchemy and transmutation. With your artistic skill, your magick will surely have creative and beautiful results when transforming one substance into another. I also thought you might like to learn even more about running a shop. I’ll still oversee much of it, but I hope this might gain you some practical experience to make your transition into your own business even easier,” I explain.
“I’m down. Let’s start today,” she agrees readily. “My booth will debut at the farmers market in the spring. I have a lot to learn until then.”
That evening, Norrell and I meet up with Walt and Acton so I can share some hard-earned wisdom from my time on the town council. The warlock years were the worst, but it’s never easy. Since I twisted his arm, I want to prepare him.
“Sometimes, they just want someone to listen to their problems. There may not be anything you can do but lend an ear,” I advise.
“I had plenty of practice for years at the parks department. Townsfolk have a lot of opinions.” He shakes his head.
“This is a solid piece of advice, so take note. Do not accuse Viran of falling asleep at the meetings. His eyes may be closed but his ears are wide open. He will call you out if he hears something he disagrees with. Clancy finds it unsettling. I think it’s hilarious especially when it catches the constituents off guard.”
“I could have sworn he was asleep half the time. I swear I’ve even seen him twitch like he was having a dream,” Walt insists with a chuckle.
“He doesn’t miss a beat. I’m not sure how he does it.”
While I lift the curtain on the town council’s secrets, I hear snippets of Norrell and Acton’s conversation about his rainforest garden project, finally nearing completion. When Acton asks if Norrell has any free time to help the following week, Norrell looks like something has clicked into place.
“How has your landscaping business been going?” Norrell wonders.
“It has wilted as my days are more sweetly spent with Walt in his golden years. Now that we have been gifted another sixty years together or more, mayhap it is time to reconsider the business,” Acton ponders.
“If you consider expanding, I would offer myself as a landscaper. I would enjoy spending the days outdoors and working with my hands,” he offers.
Acton tilts his head thoughtfully. “That would spread rays of sunshine over the grayest of days.”
Walt’s head immediately swivels to their side of the table. “Well, if you’re going to hire Norrell, then you should hire me too. It’ll be a family business.”
“Bluebell, there is no pressure to decide,” Acton urges. “A new calling may be awaiting you elsewhere.”
