Page 52 of Into The Green

"She's a changeling like the rest," Jasper said, startling me as he dropped a ton of food down on a rag on the ground. "Eat. I'll go grab water."

I was beyond telling him to take it easy, that he had just been through hell, that he should be more gentle with himself. If he wanted to get another infection fever, that was his bull-headed decision.

I sat to eat, doing so a little self-consciously as Doyle popped a few berries and seemed satisfied. "Should I worry that Onyx isn't back yet?"

"He'll be back," Doyle said, almost like a promise. "He needs to protect the pretty damsel from us evil men."

"Yeah, you evil men who make me walk on a sore ankle for hours," I said, shaking my head, sort-of getting spoiled for having Onyx to ride on, missing the comfort of that.

"I noticed the hobbling."

"It's nothing. It's nothing like what..."

"What Jasp has going on," Doyle finished for me. "But you can't compare yourself to him. He's a machine."

A machine. That sounded like something good to me. Mechanical. Cold. Unfeeling. Rational. Less emotional. Yeah, I wanted to go full-on robot right about then.

"I could fix you up a nice healing tea," Doyle suggested, eyes wicked.

I felt myself laugh, the sound carrying, before I felt something push up against my leg and I leapt into Doyle's lap on a screech.

"Aw, baby, if you wanted to..." he started, his head burrowing into my neck, his voice sexy.

"Shut up," I demanded. "What the hell is that?" I asked, pointing to the spot where I had been sitting where something was pushing its way up out of the dirt. It was just a red point at first, then a bit of hair, then a tiny face.

"Oh, that's a gnome," Doyle said casually.

"A gnome?" I asked, scooting further onto his lap as the little man pulled his torso out of the ground. "Like the garden decorations? They live in the ground?"

"Yes and no. They move through the dirt like a bird does the air. But they live by rocks and tree stumps. Relax, he doesn't want to eat your toes," Doyle laughed as I tried to tuck my feet under his leg.

The gnome's face twisted up at Doyle's comment for a second as he dusted off his clothes. "I saw your barguest. Lovely creature. Haven't seen one in one, no, two lifetimes. Oh, you," he said, suddenly looking at me. His eyes went round as he started searching into the brown satchel hanging from his waist. "Oh, oh, oh," he mumbled. He pulled out a few gemstones, inspecting them with a scrunched nose before discarding them back into the satchel and producing more. "Here," he declared, smiling. "This is for you." He held out an oblong tumbled stone in a shade of deep red with swirling browns, tans, and gold.

I reached for it, folding it into my palm tightly. "That is most kind of you."

"No, no," he said, waving my words away. "It is in honor to the Light. That is your personal protection stone. Never lose it," he said, sounding earnest.

"I wish I had something..." I said, searching around for something I could give him. I reached up into my hair and produced a flower. "Here, this is nothing," I said a little shyly. "Please take it as a token of my..." Not gratitude. Gratitude was akin to thanks. "Appreciation."

He scrambled forward fast, taking it from my hands and putting it to his nose. "Oh, this is such an honor. Such an honor. Wait until I tell my family. They will be so... grateful," he stopped abruptly, head raising as if listening to something. "Do you hear that? It is a lark with a broken wing." He informed us, tucking the flower gently into his pocket. "I must go. But it was an honor, truly an honor," he said, throwing himself back into the dirt.

"Can I... keep one of those?" I laughed, charmed.

"They're not dolls, sweetheart," Doyle reminded me, reaching out and unfolding my hand from around the gemstone so he could look at it.

"What kind of gemstone is it?"

"It's jasper," Jasper broke in out of nowhere, tone cold and dismissive.

"Yeah," Doyle said, his tone suddenly suggestive. "A gnome just popped out of the ground and gave it to her. He told her that it's her personal protection stone."

"He was mistaken," Jasper insisted, handing us each a gourd canteen as I moved off Doyle's lap.

"Yeah," I agreed, taking a sip, trying to keep my tone dry. "He must have been. Jasper can't possibly have any positive elements," I said, tucking it out of sight as if it meant nothing.

But when their backs were turned and a shield was over my mind, I snatched it up and slipped it into a rip between the layers of fabric in my dress. It hung there, heavy against my breast right over my heart. And I tried like hell to pretend that it meant nothing.

But I knew better.