Page 14 of Guarded by the Gargoyle (Hidden Hollow #3)

12

WILLOW

I had the best sleep of my life in the Flower Bower. The cottage was the perfect temperature and the bed was just the right combination of firm and soft. It must have been a magical mattress because nothing ached when I woke up—not even my lower back which twinged sometimes if I slept in the same position for too long.

I took a shower—the claw foot tub had turned into a shower stall, probably because the cottage somehow knew I preferred a shower in the morning and a bath at night—and got dressed in my clothes from the day before, which had been cleaned and pressed for me.

“I could get used to this,” I murmured as I finished dressing and checked my appearance in the oval bathroom mirror over the sink. “I just wish I had my makeup so I didn’t look so tired,” I added, frowning at my pale cheeks and the dark circles under my eyes. Even a good night’s sleep hadn’t been able to erase the effects of yesterday’s stress.

At once, a familiar looking makeup bag appeared on the side of the sink. It was mine—from home, I was surprised to see. So apparently the Flower Bower was able to bring things I wanted over to Hidden Hollow as well as making new things appear—interesting.

I used my makeup to cover my dark circles and I couldn’t help thinking that if Kael hadn’t healed me, I’d be using it to cover the bruises Carlo had left as well.

The thought provoked a heavy sigh. I had thought I would never have to worry about bruises or black eyes again after I finally got divorced. I wondered if Carlo might forget me again but I doubted it. My ex was like a dog with a bone when he wanted something. Probably he was thinking of me right now and wondering again why he had ever let me go…

The thought sent a shiver down my spine and I did my best to push it away. Tucking the small makeup bag into one of the roomy pockets of my skirt, I went downstairs.

Goody Albright and Kael were sitting together at the little kitchen nook, talking. The small dinette table and chairs were completely dwarfed by the huge fallen angel—he looked like an adult sitting in a kid’s chair. When he turned to look at me, I felt my cheeks get hot with a blush.

“Er, good morning,” I said lamely.

“Good morning, Mistress,” he rumbled and I thought how beautiful his lips were and how his mouth had tasted…like warm honey.

Luckily Goody Albright was there to break the tension. She stood up with a wide smile on her face.

“There you are, my dear! I hope you don’t mind me being here—Kael let me in.”

“Oh, of course not. It’s your cottage, after all. It’s amazing how it makes things appear,” I added, smiling politely.

“Yes, I had a very strong Heart’s Desire spell put on it when I placed the magical wards,” she explained. “That’s why it’s able to manifest whatever you wish for.”

“Well, it’s been a magical night staying here,” I told her. “And I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. But now I really need to get home to my shop and my cat.”

I put a hand in my other pocket for the lion-head key but Goody Albright put a hand on my arm to stop me.

“Wait please—before you go, just come to The Lost Lamb for a pastry. They have the most amazing almond croissants and to-die for donuts in the morning.”

“I really shouldn’t,” I said. But my stomach was growling and the idea of a fluffy, flaky croissant was certainly tempting.

“It will only take a minute—it’s right up the street,” Goody Albright promised. “Please come—you can meet some of the townsfolk.”

“Well…” I didn’t really want to meet a lot of new people, but I didn’t want to be rude either. She had let me stay in her magic cottage for free and all she was asking was that I come meet a few people and eat a pastry with her. I couldn’t really refuse—it would be rude.

“Please?” Goody Albright asked again.

“All right.” I nodded. “I just can’t stay too long—I need to get back to my shop. I left the back door wide open,” I added.

“It’s an hour earlier where your shop is,” Goody Albright reminded me. “You don’t want to go back in the dark, right?”

She was right about that. I would prefer to return to the shop during the light of day rather than running into someone who might have wandered in, in the dark. That decided me completely.

“All right,” I said. “Let’s go.”

“I will come as well,” Kael said. He had been silent up until now, just watching us talk. Now he rose from the kitchen nook table, towering over both of us.

“Er…okay,” I said, since he was looking at me. “But I’m going home alone,” I added.

Kael said nothing to that, he just flexed his wings which rustled quietly with the movement. I wondered randomly what it would feel like to have all that feathery softness wrapped around me…and then I pushed the thought out of my head.

Goody Albright led me out of the cottage—which locked itself automatically—and down the garden path again.

Though her garden was in full bloom with riots of flowers and ripening vegetables, it appeared to be Autumn in Hidden Hollow. The sky was a clear, deep blue and the sun was shining but there was a definite nip in the air that made me glad my blouse had long sleeves.

The towering oak and elm trees I saw all around me had changed colors—their leaves were vermillion and scarlet and gold and the air smelled spicy as though someone was burning a Halloween scented candle.

Since it was January in New Orleans, the weather surprised me.

“How can it be Fall here when it’s winter in the rest of the country?” I asked Goody Albright, who was walking beside me.

“Oh, because that’s what the Town Council set the weather to,” she said.

“The Town Council?” I shook my head. “How can they affect the weather—whoever they are?”

“Because Hidden Hollow is inside a magical bubble—a barrier that keeps out the rest of the non-magical world,” she explained. Everyone in town took a vote and we all decided we like Autumn the best. So it’s almost always Autumn here now. Of course, we have a month of Spring weather in May and then a Month of summer in August and all of December is Winter weather with snow and icicles and all that, but other than those three months, it’s always Autumn at the height of leaf season here in Hidden Hollow.”

“That’s amazing,” I murmured, as she led us back through the enormous overgrown house that was The Red Lion Inn. There were strange people moving around the building—most of them seemed to have brown, bark-like skin and long, knobbly noses. Their limbs looked almost like tree-branches. I wondered if they were magical creatures and decided they must be, because they certainly weren’t human. None of them batted an eye at the seven-foot-tall fallen angel trailing along behind me and Goody Albright. They just nodded a silent greeting and went on working.

“Most of my staff are Brownies,” Goody Albright said, as she noticed me noticing them. “They’re such good hard workers and they’re not easily upset. Which is a good thing when you live in a town full of Creatures.”

“Creatures?” I asked, frowning as we finally made our way out the front door and onto the broad wraparound porch.

“What humans call ‘Monsters,’” she explained. “For instance, you wouldn’t see H’rux there walking down the street of a regular human town, would you?”

She pointed and I followed her finger and saw something that made my jaw drop. There was a Minotaur—an honest-to-God Minotaur—strolling down the sidewalk as casually as you please. He had a muscular human body and a bull’s head with a set of broad horns. There was even a gold ring through his flaring nostrils. He saw us looking at him and raised a hand in a friendly gesture.

“Goody Albright.” His voice was extremely deep and had a resonant quality to it. He came to a stop in front of the porch. “How are you this morning?” he asked politely.

“Fine, H’rux. I hope you’re well?” she returned. “This is Willow—she’s new in town,” she added, introducing me before he could answer. “She’s thinking of taking over the old Apothecary shop by The Lost Lamb and turning it into a magical supply shop.”

I started to protest, but the Minotaur was already nodding in a friendly way to me.

“Good to have another practitioner in town,” he snorted. “Nice to meet you, Willow.”

Then he continued on his way, humming in his deep, husky voice.

I turned to Goody Albright.

“I never said I was thinking of taking over any shop!”

“No, but you will be once you see it. But first we need to get you one of those almond croissants. And maybe a hot chocolate or a coffee from Goldie’s Diner to go with it.”

She hooked her arm through mine and practically dragged me down the porch steps and onto the street.

Hidden Hollow looked like the coziest New England town imaginable. Quaint little shops and storefronts lined the street on either side and I saw a lot of other “Creatures” as Goody Albright called them including a centaur, several fairies with wide, iridescent butterfly wings, and a tall blond man that she informed me was a kraken.

“Though he’s in his human form now,” she murmured in my ear. “Watch out—he can be a little grumpy at times. But that’s to be expected—there aren’t any lady krakens left, you know. So of course he’s lonely, poor thing.”

We reached the end of the tree-lined street and she steered me towards an empty storefront with wide front windows.

“Just have a look at that,” she said, gesturing at the empty store we could see through the glass. “There are already shelves set up and a register too! And there’s so much room for merchandise!”

I admitted it was a nice space—even nicer and much roomier than the shop back in New Orleans. But the Emporium back home had been my Pop-pop’s baby—I couldn’t think of letting it go to move to a magical town where I didn’t know anyone.

Goody Albright seemed to be intent on changing my mind on that, though. The next place we went was the bakery next door called The Lost Lamb. Inside, the air was filled with the warm scent of fresh bread and frosting and a crowd was already forming. When we got to the front of the line, a handsome man with reddish skin and horns took our order.

“Hello, Malik—we’ll have three almond croissants—two human sized and one Creatures sized,” she told him and then glanced back at Kael. “Unless you want something else?”

He shook his head.

“Whatever you order will be fine. I haven’t eaten in centuries—anything will taste delicious.”

I thought of how it must have been for him—frozen in statue form and watching other people live their lives around him while he never got to live himself. Never got to eat or drink or fall in love… Hey, where had that come from? I pushed the idea firmly to the back of my mind.

“Two human and one Creature sized, got it,” the man with red skin and horns—come to think of it, maybe he wasn’t a man but some kind of magical person—said, nodding. Then he turned to the back of the shop. “Celia, baby—we need a Creature sized almond croissant!” he called.

“Got one coming up,” a feminine voice replied and a woman with golden brown hair and blue eyes put her head out from the back. “Oh, hello, Goody Albright—and who are these two?”

“This is Willow—she’s a Medium. And this is her protector, Kael,” Goody Albright introduced us.

“I’m not really—” I started to say, but Celia the baker was clearly busy.

“Nice to meet you! I’ll have your Creature sized croissant out in a minute!” she promised and then popped back into the kitchen area, presumably to get our order ready.

We collected our croissants—two normal sized and one so large it looked like something you’d only order for Instagram pictures—and Goody Albright paid the girl at the register who had long, dark hair and a warm smile.

“How are you today, Sarah? And how’s Rath?”

“He’s busy setting up the WiFi for two new residents today,” Sarah said. “I swear this town is growing by leaps and bounds!”

“That’s because the human world is getting so chaotic,” Goody Albright said, nodding wisely. “So more and more magic practitioners are being drawn here. Don’t worry—the bubble around the town will grow to accommodate them but we won’t lose our small town charm. That’s part of the magic of Hidden Hollow.”

“I hope you’re right,” Sarah said. “I left a city down in Florida that was completely ruined by all the new people flooding in. No offense,” she said quickly to me. “I know the town needs a new Medium.”

“Oh, but I don’t really, uh, practice that,” I said quickly, wanting to manage expectations.

“No, she’s decided to open a magical ingredients shop next door instead,” Goody Albright said brightly. “Wouldn’t it be nice to have everything you need for a spell all in one place instead of having to hunt all over town?”

“It really would,” Sarah agreed. She smiled at me. “I hope you stay. If you do, we could be neighbors.”

“Do you ever do beignets here?” I asked before I could stop myself.

“Hmm, I don’t think so but I bet we could. I went to New Orleans once and they’re delicious,” she said, smiling. “I’ll talk to Celia about it.”

Then we had to move on because there were more customers behind us including a deaf centaur shouting that he wanted two dozen donuts stuffed with “crispy hay,” whatever that was.

As we left the line, I had to admit I couldn’t help liking the people I had met so far. Though I really thought it was wrong of Goody Albright to tell everyone I was about to set up shop in Hidden Hollow when I had no intention of doing so.

We went outside to eat since there was no seating in the bakery but before I could take my croissant out of the crackling white paper bag, Goody Albright suggested we get some coffee at the diner across the street. It had a big neon sign that read “Goldie’s” out front.

“But can we take outside food in there?” I asked uncertainly as she led us towards the diner.

“Oh sure—Goldie won’t mind as long as we order something. We’ll get some coffee,” she said.

Kael held the door for us and then came in after. Inside it looked like a classic 1950s diner with vinyl booths and metal tables. I even saw tiny juke boxes—one on each table—where you could put in a coin and pick a song.

Half the restaurant was clearly set up for humans and the other half was apparently for the “Creatures.” There was a tall table with no seats around it which might be good for centaurs. Also, there were several oversized booths where the tabletop would come up to my chin. Those must be for the really large residents of the town, I thought.

A full-figured waitress with curly blonde hair bustled up with a coffee pot in one hand.

“Hello, Goldie,” Goody Albright said to her. “This is Willow—she’s thinking of moving here. And this is her protector, Kael. We just got a few pastries from The Lost Lamb—can we eat them here if we get some coffee to go with them?”

“Sure, not a problem.” Goldie nodded and smiled. “I’ll put you in a half and half booth. Come on.”

She led the way down the row of human sized booths until we came to the end. The booth she showed us had a human sized bench on one side but on the other side the bench was much larger—clearly meant for someone Kael’s size.

We got seated in the booth with Goody Albright and me on the human side and Kael sitting comfortably in the Creature sized side across from us. Once we got settled, Goldie asked for our order.

“Decaf or regular?” she said.

“Oh, Decaf. I couldn’t sleep last night so I need to watch the caffeine,” Goody Albright said. She brightened. “But if I had been asleep, I would have missed Willow’s entrance which was quite dramatic!”

“Got chased here, did you?” Goldie asked me. “A door appeared for you? That kind of thing?”

“Well, yes,” I admitted. “Er, does that kind of thing happen a lot?”

“In Hidden Hollow? More than you’d think.” She gave me a friendly smile. “So what do you want to drink?”

“I don’t suppose you have chicory coffee, do you?” I asked tentatively.

She looked thoughtful.

“No, but I could make some. I’m part Kitchen Witch—it wouldn’t be hard to bespell a pot of regular for you.”

“Oh, would you?” I hadn’t had good chicory coffee since the café beside my shop back home closed down,” I said.

“Sure, no problem.” She nodded and looked at Kael. “What about you, big fella? What are you drinking?”

“Whatever my Mistress is drinking, I will drink also,” Kael rumbled.

“Oh yeah?” Goldie raised her eyebrows. “And which one of these lovely ladies is your ‘Mistress?’”

“Willow is,” he said, nodding at me. “She is my key-holder—I would give my life to protect her.”

I felt my cheeks get hot with a blush. He was giving me such an intense look! And Goldie was grinning, clearly enjoying the moment.

“I see,” she said. “So one decaf and two chicories.”

“Oh, I’m not really his—” I began, but she had already turned and was sashaying her way down the aisle between the booths.

“You can’t tell people I’m your Mistress,” I hissed, turning on the big gargoyle—or fallen angel or whatever.

He frowned.

“Why not? It’s true.”

“No, it’s not!” I insisted. “Look, I’m going to take care of this right now.” Taking the key from around my neck, I stood and leaned across the table. “Come here so I can reach your lock,” I said to Kael.

He leaned forward obligingly—there was no need for him to stand. Even with him seated and me standing up, we were still eye-to-eye because he was so tall.

I fitted the tiny golden key into the lock at his throat, trying not to notice how good he smelled—like the best men’s cologne you’ve ever smelled times ten—and tried to turn the key.

But it wouldn’t budge.

“Hey, what…” I twisted it back and forth but the tiny key wouldn’t move, even though it was inserted firmly in the lock. “What am I doing wrong?” I demanded, looking at Goody Albright.

“Nothing my dear. I believe the fact that the key won’t turn means you are still in danger—still in need of a protector,” she said mildly. “The magic that holds Kael to you will not release him until you are settled in a safe place and no more threats are coming your way.”

“This is crazy,” I muttered and withdrew the key to hang it back on the golden chain around my neck.

“No, it’s magic ,” Goody Albright said.

“Do you really wish to be rid of me so much?” Kael asked and his silver eyes were wistful.

“I told you, it’s not you—it’s me,” I said, feeling bad that I was hurting his feelings. “I just don’t trust men.”

“You trusted me to guard you last night,” he pointed out.

“Yes, but I just can’t—” I began but just then Goldie came back with a tray. She passed out coffee mugs—regular sized ones for me and Goody Albright and a huge one that looked like a novelty gift for Kael. Then she poured for us from two different coffee pots. She also gave us cream and sugar.

“Try it, would you?” she asked me once I had my coffee fixed to my liking. “I’ve never made it before and I want to be sure I got it right.”

I brought the cup to my nose and inhaled deeply. The slightly bitter scent of chicory met my nose, making me tingle all over. I took a sip and the nutty, rich flavor flowed over my tongue.

“Mmm!” I looked up at her and smiled. “That’s the best chicory coffee I’ve ever had! It’s even better than the little café by my shop.”

“Glad you like it.” She gave me a warm smile. “Okay, enjoy.”

We drank our coffee and ate our almond croissants—Kael seemed to enjoy both very much, though he said the coffee was bitter.

“I like it though,” he added, taking another sip. “It cuts through the sweetness of the confection.”

“The croissant ,” I said, grinning despite myself. I had to admit, his old-fashioned way of speaking tickled me.

But almost before I knew it, the hour I had allotted myself was up. I offered to pay the bill before I remembered I didn’t have any money.

“That’s all right my dear,” Goody Albright said, smiling. “This is my treat. You and Kael just run along home now. But remember, you can draw a new doorway and come back to Hidden Hollow anytime. As someone with a magical gift, you have a standing invitation. And I do wish you’d consider moving here. We’d love to have you.”

“I’ll think about it,” I said awkwardly. “But I’m going home by myself,” I added, as Kael rose from his side of the booth.

He frowned.

“I don’t think that would be wise, Mistress. The fact that the key would not turn in my lock indicates you are still in danger.”

“I’ll be fine,” I said stubbornly. “I have to face things on my own—I’m an adult. I can solve my own problems.”

Goody Albright looked like she wanted to object, but she only shook her head.

“Very well, dear. If you get into trouble, just draw another door and come back,” she told me.

I reached into my pocket and grasped the lion-head key Pop-pop had left me.

“Yes, I’ll do that,” I promised. I nodded at Kael. “Goodbye. Um…” I had been going to say I hoped he had a happy life or something like that, but it occurred to me that it might sound callous. So instead I just nodded at him. “Goodbye, Kael,” I said, trying to push the memory of kissing him out of my head.

“Call for me when you need me, Mistress and I’ll be there,” he rumbled and his silver eyes were half-lidded. “For anything you need.”

“Okay, uh, thanks,” I said lamely. The way he was looking at me made my heart flutter. His eyes seemed to say that he was remembering our kiss too…and that he wanted to kiss me again and do more— much more.

Which was something I definitely couldn’t allow.

The silence between us was getting awkward. I was either going to have to say something else or leave the diner.

I left the diner.

I had no idea the mess I was going to be walking into or how soon it would be before I would wish I’d agreed to let the big gargoyle come back home with me.