GG felt a wave of relief surge through her when the pastor closed the door and locked it.She sensed they would be safe here, for a while at least.They only planned to stay long enough to grab Dalton’s gear, then find a safe location somewhere else.Now she was having second thoughts about leaving so soon, thanks to all the minions of evil scouring the streets for her.
“Come in, sit down and tell me everything,” Pastor Hogan told them.“I’ll make us some coffee.You can both spend the night here where it’s safe.”
Not about to turn down that offer, they followed him into his new home.
Chapter Ten
––––––––
ARKAS CONTINUED TOwork on the oak branch until he was tired enough to sleep.He woke up at dawn and performed a patrol of the property.There were no signs of any intruders, so he reentered the house and climbed up to the attic again.He grabbed his work in progress and toolkit, then headed back outside.
Crows cawed to each other, probably discussing dining on his corpse if he did them a favor and died.Chuckling at that notion, Arkas took a seat on the swing.He ran his thumb over the curve of the feminine waist he was shaping.So far, he’d turned what had been a rough branch into the outline of a female.One arm was at her side, with her palm pressed against her thigh.The other arm was bent, with her fist tucked beneath her chin.
“This is turning out far better than I thought it would,” he said, pleased with his efforts so far.
His focus was mostly on whittling, but he kept his senses alert for trouble.Several hours passed and the figurine neared completion.Her body was perfect, with full breasts, slender legs and hair that reached to her waist.
Arkas was lost in his work as he painstakingly whittled her face.Finished at last, he studied the carving he’d lightly sanded to smooth the wood perfectly.“She’s beautiful,” he said in awe, amazed that he’d crafted something so stunning.“It’s nowhere near as good as the stag, but it’s going on the coffee table next to it,” he said, proud of his achievement.“I wish this female was real,” he said wistfully.“I’ve never seen anyone so perfect before.”
Standing, he stretched, then headed back inside.He climbed the stairs to the attic and entered his domain.For a moment, he thought he sensed someone at the back of the house and frowned.His eyes went to the coffee table and widened.“It’s gone!”he said in instant anger.Someone had somehow broken in without alerting him to their presence and had stolen the stag.
Furious at the invasion, Arkas put his carving on the coffee table and strode over to the window.Peering down, he saw a flicker of movement beneath the trees.“There you are,” he murmured in triumph, then went on the move.It had just been a glimpse of dark clothing, but it was definitely a person rather than an animal.
Expecting the back door to be unlocked, the knight yanked the doorknob off by accident.The thief had cleverly relocked the door to slow him down.He didn’t want to smash it open and ruin his defenses and he didn’t have a key.Cursing beneath his breath, he spun around and sprinted to the front door.He exited and raced to the back yard.No one was there when he reached the trees.Sending his senses out, he couldn’t pick anyone up on his radar.
“It has to be a Soldier of Chaos,” he said grimly.Some of them could mask their presence.He must have stolen the stag to try to draw Arkas into a trap.“So where is he?”the warrior asked in frustration as he turned in a circle.It wasn’t much of a trap if there weren’t any clues for him to follow.
Following a hunch, he started running towards the town.He spied footprints in the light snow and came to a stop.“These are too small to belong to a male,” he said as he studied them.That meant the robber was female.Or maybe it was a teenager who was responsible.If so, then he was even more confused.“Why can’t I sense the thief?”he asked.
Receiving no answer, Arkas followed the footprints to the road and lost them.Wind had scoured the snow away, leaving the open road bare.Sprinting to town, he picked up on the locals.Most were still inside the houses he’d sensed them in yesterday.Some people were out and about, searching their neighbors’ houses for supplies.It was an exercise in futility, since every deserted home had already been picked over.
Avoiding the humans, the warrior searched for someone who didn’t show up on his senses.He must have overlooked the burglar during his previous search.This time, he listened intently at each building he came to.His hearing was acute enough to hear the rustle of clothing and shifting of movement.
Several hours later, he gave up in defeat.“You’re here somewhere,” Arkas said with a glower, sweeping his gaze across the main street as he trudged back to the center of town.
Entering the boutique where the wood carvings were, he saw a few pieces were now missing.“The robber took them,” he figured.None of the sculptures caught his attention as much as the stag had.He wasn’t about to settle for anything less than his favorite piece.Glad to have a mystery to solve, Arkas was now more intrigued than angry at the theft.
