Ramaro’s face drooped, and he turned tail and tried to run. Gisela swooped down and scooped him into her arms. She performed another bone-crunching hug on the agama, whose tongue and eyes popped out of his head. He squirmed in her hold as she hugged him tightly between her large breasts. The little iguana nearly disappeared in those mountains.
Ramaro’s eyes fell on me, and his voice came out in a choked squeak. “Help me.”
I stepped up to the woman and held out my hand to her. “Hello there. My name’s Rose. You’re Gisela, right?”
Gisela dropped Ramaro and wrapped me in her hug. “What a sweet, tasty name! And such a pretty little girl, too!”
I stiffened and tried to suck in as much air as her tight grip would allow. “T-thanks. It’s nice to meet you, too.”
“Gisela!” Eldric shouted at her as he marched over to us. “Release her at once before we have to resuscitate another guest!”
“Oops!” Gisela replied before she drew back. I took in a grateful breath of unobstructed air. She sheepishly smiled at me while she brushed her duster over my chest. “I’m so sorry, darling! You must forgive me! It’s just been so long since we had guests over that weren’t starving kids!”
Eldric crossed his arms over his chest and frowned at her. “You didn’t have to feed those boys.”
She puffed out her lower lip. “But they’d been in there for a full day, and we had to say sorry somehow.”
“Well, you can apologize to our current guests by going to dust somewhere far away from the lab,” he scolded her.
She put her hands on her ample hips and tapped her foot against the hardwood floor. “Are you going in there again? You just came out of there.”
He rolled his eyes. “I had to answer the cage bell, or you would have given up the rest of our larder. Now, if you’ll excuse us, there’s an urgent curse I need to cast on my careless nephew.”
Gisela sighed, but stepped aside. “Alright, Lord Eldric, but please be careful. The neighbors won’t like you making too much noise at this hour.”
“Yes, yes, just make sure we’re not interrupted,” Eldric insisted as he caught our eyes and beckoned to us. “Now come along before some more foolishness happens, or that eye patch of yours is dislodged.”
“A good idea,” Marc agreed as he slipped up to me and looped an arm around mine. “Shall we?”
“As soon as possible,” I replied.
“We’ll see you later, Gisela,” Marc promised.
A coy smile slipped onto her lips, and she wagged her duster at him. “I’ll hold you to that swearing, Marcy-poo.”
I stifled my grin. “Come on, Marcy-poo.”
The corners of his lips tensed, and he quickly followed the equally eager Eldric. Our host led us into the foyer and upstairs, past the third floor, and straight up to the attic. The lofty space stretched the full length of the house, and every inch was needed for the numerous bookcases and tables. Books lay scattered about the floor and tables, and a fire burned in the small hearth in the center of the wall opposite where we entered. Much of the room was covered in random layers of dust. So many cobwebs hung above our heads that it looked like the ceiling was unraveling. The odor of old books and yellowed paper permeated the room.
And there was also a man. He was nearing forty with short, mousy brown hair and pale skin. The man wore a plain brown suit and a polka dot bow tie. He stood beside the hearth, stirring the contents of a small cauldron.
He looked up at our coming and smiled. “Good morning, Professor.” His eyes fell on us and lit up. “Who do we have here? That isn’t Master Torvus, is it?”
Marc grinned as he strode past us and up to the man, with whom he gave a mighty handshake. “What the sea hasn’t taken, but you’re looking fine, Theo.”
“I can’t complain, sir.”
“You do often enough,” Eldric mused as he strode into the room to a pile of books. He grabbed the top tome and blew off a thick cloud of smoke before opening the cover. “Especially about my organizing.”
“I believe it is the lack of organizing where the fault lies,” Theo countered as he wrinkled his nose at the piles of dusty books. “I do wish you would allow me to do some cleaning.”
“And ruin the dust?” Eldric scolded him as he scanned the pages. “Then I wouldn’t know when I touched something last.”
“You might take notes, or allow me to take notes for you, Professor,” Theo countered as he stopped his stirring. “I am your assistant, after all.”
Eldric glanced over the top of his book, and his bushy eyebrows crashed down. “You’re not assisting in keeping that stew from burning. Besides, you’d tell everything I know to your sweetheart if she asked you, and I’ve got enough troubles with keeping secrets.”
A heavy blush accented Theo’s cheeks as he resumed his stirring, albeit at a faster pace. “She is not my sweetheart, Professor. She is merely a patient of mine.” Eldric harumphed, but said nothing.
