Page 39 of Black and White, Twice the Might (Cadenbury Town #8)

I look at Sly and my brothers and grin. “We’re home.”

We all pile in for a hug.

“Thank you for buying this house,” Enoch says, looking up at us.

“We didn’t buy it for you, but for me and that study. I mean, have you seen it?” Sly replies.

We laugh at that.

“Let’s put the food away, and then we can check out each room,” I suggest.

We pull apart and walk back into the kitchen and start putting the shopping away. Thankfully, the kitchen has a large fridge/freezer and pantry.

It takes a while to sort everything to where we want it, and using magic, put the crockery and other plates and pans away.

“So, we need to order more saucepans and cooking items,” I say, looking at what we don’t have anymore.

“What happened to the rest?” Xander asks, looking confused.

“A dark witch found our lockups and decided to blow the smaller one up,” I say.

“We’ll find out what else was lost, as we go along,” Sly adds.

“That wasn’t nice of them,” Enoch says, looking concerned but then thoughtful, before turning to Sly. “Did you know the dark witch?”

Sly sighs and leans against the kitchen island, crossing his arms over his chest. “Yeah, it was my brother.”

“You have a brother?” Xander asks in shock.

“Unfortunately, I have three. Swayne came to the lockup because they couldn’t find where I was staying. The town protection stopped them from finding me.”

“Thank goodness for that. But Sly, are you alright?” Enoch asks.

Bless him for asking.

“Yeah. Annoyed that he destroyed our stuff, but we sent him on his way.”

“What did you do to him?” Xander asks, grinning at him.

“Just inflicted pain on him, lots of pain.”

“Good,” Enoch adds, with a decisive nod.

“Let’s go and check out all the rooms,” I say, changing the subject and leading them out of the kitchen and into Sly’s study.

“This looks perfect,” I exclaim, looking around.

The desk I bought for Sly is sitting at an angle off to one side and suits the room perfectly, even the dark green leather wingback chairs we randomly bought go nicely.

With two in front of the desk and two in front of the fireplace, a small round mahogany wooden table in the middle of them.

A couple of bookshelves against the wall complete the room.

“It really is perfect,” Sly agrees. “I can’t believe how well everything goes in here.”

“And this room is so you,” Xander says.

“It really is,” Enoch agrees. “Maybe on some level, we knew we’d be moving into the perfect house and that helped us buy the right things.”

I nod. “Maybe. Let’s look in the reception rooms,” I say, again leading the way.

We walk into the first one, the one Xander saw first. This one has full shelves and a coffee table, and a couple of comfy chairs, but not much else.

“We need a sofa or two in here,” Sly comments.

“Yeah, we really do,” I agree, and pull out my phone so I can make notes of what is needed.

“And lamp shades and curtains,” Xander points out.

“Good point,” I say, adding them to the list. I look at the floor, and it’s a lovely wooden floor, but it needs a rug. “And a rug.”

“Our multi-coloured one would have been perfect in here,” Sly says wistfully.

“It would have if it hadn’t been destroyed. We can look for one that’s similar, or even the same,” I tell him.

He nods. “We can. Let’s do the next room.”

After going around the downstairs, we went up and first looked in Xander’s room.

“This is looking good, Xander,” I say, looking around.

His bed is in the middle of the room, with his bedside tables on either side.

He has built-in bookcase that are filled with his books and collectables.

The floor has a deep blue carpet that doesn’t look very old, and the walls are pale blue.

His TV is set up on his chest of draws, and his wardrobe is by the side of the window.

“So, what do you need?” Sly asks him.

“Curtains or a blind and lampshades would be helpful,” he replies.

“It would,” I agree, adding that to my list. “Good job, it’s winter and not summertime.”

Xander grins. “Yep, that’s helpful. I’m not sure what else yet. I need to see how things go.”

“Okay,” Sly replies. “Did any of your boxes get destroyed?”

When we rescued the boys, Sly packed a backpack for them, and we left, leaving the rest of their things behind. I took them shopping the next day to replace everything, some of which went into storage.

“Some games and books, but nothing essential.”

I nod. “Okay, but keep a list of things you need.”

“Will do,” Xander replies, as we walk out of his room and into Enoch’s.

“Looking good in here as well, Enoch,” Sly says, turning in a circle.

Like Xander, he has built-in shelves, and his bed is pushed against one wall. His wardrobe is by the side wall next to his desk. The carpet is a deep purple colour and again looks quite new. The wall by the bed is deep purple; the others are lighter.

“Do you need anything apart from curtains or a blind?” I ask, there isn’t much in here in the way of his possessions.

“Some stuff. A few of my boxes were destroyed,” he says.

“Sorry, Enoch, I’ll replace everything that was destroyed,” Sly tells him, looking troubled.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Enoch points out, patting his arm.

“Still, make a list of everything you need,” he replies.

Enoch nods, then smiles. “Do you want to see our secret den?”

“Of course,” he replies, grinning.

“Come on.” He walks to a smaller door and opens it. We follow him in, but we have to bend over to get through the door.

This room is massive, easily double bedroom-sized, with a large window allowing daylight in. All that is currently in here is their game system.

“Nice,” I say to them. “Make a list of what you want in here and we’ll get it for you.”

“The only way into this room is through Enoch’s,” Xander says.

“Secret rooms usually only have one way in. We can get Jude to check one of the walls to see if we can put in another door, if you want,” Sly offers.

“Yeah, then Xander can come in here if I’m asleep,” Enoch adds.

“And on that happy note, I’m off to make us dinner for the first time in our own home,” Sly says, walking happily out.