“True,” Zach conceded, and after a cheeky wink, turned his eyes back to the road in front of them.
They reached Parksville, and Drew directed Zach to the parking lot of the Parksville Community Park. It was early enough that there wasn’t a massive crowd, so they found a park easily and then headed down towards the beach where a fenced-off area held the sandcastle competition. Drew was fast enough to buy their tickets before Zach could, having scrimped together a small amount of savings over the past couple of weeks so he was able to treat his angel every now and then without being one hundred percent reliant on his magic money card. He didn’t havemuchpride left, but the bit that had survived needed these few moments, rare as they were.
Zach kissed his cheek in thanks and took his hand, and they strolled amongst the magnificent displays of sand and skill. There were monstrous sea creatures, fantastical beasts, and humans so expertly carved into the sand they could almost pass as portraits. They’d received tokens at the entrance, and they debated together over which sculptures to award their tokens to, thus casting their votes for the best piece. After circling around the area twice, Drew awarded his token to a scene of dogs playing poker, and Zach to the kraken attacking a sailing ship.
They left the sculptures behind and made their way down to the beach itself. The tide was out, revealing a vast stretch of grey sand beyond the rocks. Large logs littered the shoreline, and they picked their way carefully around them to walk out towards the ocean.
There were few people around, so Drew took the time to find his centre. He felt the magic within him build, and after one last furtive look around for witnesses, directed it towards the sand at his feet and whispered,“fiat pulcher”Millions of grains of sand rose into the air, whirling and circling as he directed them. Using his hands as a guide, he took the picture in his mind and transformed the sand to its likeness. Once done, a miniature version of Zach—complete with wings—rose from the beach.
He eyed it critically and then turned to Zach. “It’s not perfect, but I think with some prac—oomph.” His words were cut off by Zach’s mouth on his. Strong arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him close, even as Zach’s tongue plunged into his mouth. When Zach finally broke the kiss, Drew gazed up at him, slightly dazed. “What was that for?”
“You are a gift, Drew,” Zach told him, his whiskey-coloured eyes sparkling in the morning sun. “I’ve rarely met anyone with a heart as pure as yours.”
He could feel himself getting bashful. “It’s just a sand sculpture,” he said. “And I cheated by using magic to make it.”
“That doesn’t make it any less precious to me,” Zach said, his words laced with sincerity.
Not knowing how to respond to that, Drew just gave him a shy smile, and turned to keep walking. Of course, it was at that precise moment his feet got tangled and he fell over, completely crushing the sculpture as he face planted.
“Well, it was nice while it lasted,” Zach drawled, even as he helped him to his feet and brushedoff the sand.
They pulled into a parking spot in front of the Old Country Market in Coombs, and Zach gazed up at the building in front of them, a furrow between his brow. “Huh,” he said.
Drew grinned. “Not what you were expecting?”
“Have you slipped me some ’nip or am I actually seeing a goat on the roof?”
“It’s what the market is famous for,” Drew told him. He opened the car door and got out, taking the time to scan the grassed area on top of the market. He could see one goat munching away on the grass above where he knew the restaurant to be, but he couldn’t see the other goat anywhere. He was pretty sure there were only two at the moment, but in the past there had been more.
“I guess as gimmicks go,” Zach said as he joined him. “It’s not half bad.”
Drew made them grab a selfie with the goat behind them, and then dragged Zach across the small street, away from the market. “Come on, let’s get an ice cream and explore the other stores first, and then we can check out the market.”
They got large scoops of ice cream—strawberry cheesecake for Drew, and tiger tail for Zach—and then they made their way slowly around the handful of stores that surrounded a large square which was filled with a random assortment of stone statues. Inside the Coombs Emporium, that sold a mix of clothing and household items, they came across an intricately carved chair in the shape of a penis. Zach waggled his eyebrows suggestively at Drew, who licked his ice cream lasciviously in response, before they broke into childish giggles. A stern look from the woman at the cash register made them laugh even harder, and they scurried from the store before she could kick them out.
They bought squares of fudge from a sweet shop, and Zach found a ratty old copy ofThe Complete Sherlock Holmes Collectionat the secondhand book store.“One of the demons brought this back with him after a summoning in the 1930s,” he explained as he tucked it into a tote shoppingbag after purchasing it. “I couldn’t even tell you how many times I read it. It was definitely my favourite.”
Once they’d looked into the crumbling castle that sat sentry on the roadside, they made their way over to the market proper. Drew had always loved the old market. It was packed to the brim with a vast array of goods, from groceries, toys, homewares, international foods, and even a suit of armour. Colourful lanterns hung from the ceiling, and everywhere they turned, the yellow and black Goats on Roof logo was there, plastered across T-shirts, bumper stickers, labels, and more.
They browsed the aisles for over an hour, playing with the wooden toys, stocking up on Billy Gruff blend coffee beans for Dom, and selecting some heat-n-eat savoury pastries from the display cabinet to take home for dinner.
“Are you sure we couldn’t just make them ourselves?” Drew asked, wincing a little at how much they cost. “We could stop at a Country Grocer on the way home and pick up some ingredients.”
“Sweetness, I love you, but no,” Zach told him solemnly as he guided him away from the counter.
“It can’t be that hard to do,” Drew grumbled. “Surely I couldn’t muck it upthatbadly.”
“Two words. Beelzebub and Asmodeus,” Zach said, not unkindly.
Drew’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “Okay, fine. Point taken. I was just trying to save us some money.”
“And once again I’ll remind you that you don’t have to do that. A couple of sausage rolls isn’t going to break the bank.” Zach turned Drew and began to march him towards the rear of the market where the cafe was. “Speaking of food, I’m hungry, so let’s get some lunch.”
They were just passing the suit of armour when it happened. Drew watched the events unfold almost in slow motion, as two boys ran full pelt around the corner, chasing one another. The first boy, too busy looking over his shoulder to watch where he was going, collidedwith the armour with an almighty crash. The armour swayed on the spot and very slowly began to topple over, directly towards an elderly woman who was looking at little boxes in the shape of books.
Drew didn’t even think, he simply reacted. Without consciously finding his centre, he drew upon his magic and directed it towards the armour. The only Latin word he could think of in the moment was “stet,” but it was enough to do the trick. Mid-fall, the armour reversed direction until it was back upright, rocking slightly but in no danger of flattening someone’s grandma.
The people nearby who had witnessed the near miss all began to talk about how lucky the woman had been, even as the parents of the boys began to scold them for running in the store. No one appeared to have noticed anything out of the ordinary, putting it down to luck.
