CHAPTER 3
“ P rotect this hearth. Protect this home. Protect my kin wherever they roam.” Grady’s energy flowed into the charm, hand warming.
He lifted his hand off the sigil carved into the wood. He knocked on the door. A few seconds later, the door opened, revealing Ordelia holding her baby, Ruthie, in her arms.
“Did you just charge the charm?” Ordelia asked in lieu of a greeting. She frowned at the sigil. “You know it was still practically fully charged from when you charged it two days ago. You shouldn’t charge them so often. It will diminish your energy and strength.” Her eyes flicked over him. “You look so tired.”
“Well, thanks.” Grady gave a weary smile. “And you’re one to talk.” Grady took in Ordelia. Bags lined her eyes. Her hair hung messy and wild around her shoulders. “And is that vomit on your shoulder?”
“Probably.” Ordelia glanced down at herself. “And I’m allowed to look tired! I have a baby who doesn’t sleep!”
“Fair enough.” Grady paused. “Anything I can do to help?”
She gave him a look. “No. I don’t want your help. I just want you to rest more and work less. And also stop using your energy to charge those damn charms so often. They don’t need it.” She frowned. “You really do look tired, Grady. More so than usual.”
Grady shrugged. “I’m fine.”
Ordelia’s nose wrinkled. Ordelia, like his other siblings, didn’t fully understand his obsession with the protection charms and spells.
But of course, they hadn’t been there that day. They couldn’t still smell the blood or hear the crunching of bone.
Grady lifted the paper bag. “I brought you groceries.”
“What happened to Trent?” She stepped aside, gesturing for him to come in.
Grady placed the groceries down by the door on the inside of the apartment. But he shook his head. “I can’t come in. I’ve got to get back to the bakery. And Trent is working the Christmas markets tonight to cover for Briar, don’t ask, so I offered to bring you groceries.”
Michael, Ordelia’s stepson, appeared, wrapping his arms around Ordelia’s legs. He smiled at Grady, revealing several missing teeth.
“Hey, Michael.” Grady smiled.
“Hi, Uncle Grady,” Michael said softly.
“You being a good big brother to Ruthie?”
Michael nodded his horned head.
Ordelia placed a hand on his hair. “He is an excellent older brother.”
Michael’s grin widened.
A year and a half ago, Ordelia had married Tony, a faun widower with a young son. Ordelia still worked in the bakery. But less frequently now that she had a baby and a stepson to look after.
“Are their charms still good?” Grady’s gaze flicked to the woven protection bands he’d made that wrapped around his nephew and niece’s wrists.
“They are fine, Grady!” Ordelia rolled her eyes.
Grady’s hand twitched. “I can charge them.”
“No!” Ordelia said firmly. “I don’t want you draining yourself of magic more than needed.”
Grady clenched his hand. For some reason, he just liked the protection charms to always be fully charged. If something happened to one of his siblings, or his nephew or niece, and their protection charm hadn’t been in place, he’d never be able to live with himself.
The protection charms his family wore weren’t foolproof against all dangers. For example, they weren’t particularly good against intentional attacks. But they provided pretty good protection from some things, like accidents.
The metallic scent of blood lingered in his nostrils.
“The charms are charged enough,” Ordelia said firmly.
Reluctantly, Grady relented with a nod.
She gave him a gentle smile. “Thank you for bringing the groceries.”
“Of course.” Grady nodded. “I’ll see you soon. Bye, Michael.” He rubbed the boy’s head. “Bye, Ruthie.” He glanced at his niece before turning away.
“Love you, Grady,” Ordelia called out.
“Love you too,” Grady called back.
Out of all his siblings, he was closest to Ordelia. And as pleased as he was that she was happily married, he missed her. Although, their five-bedroom apartment could definitely handle nine siblings better than ten.
He walked the short distance to the Magic Bakery. He’d work a few hours in the bakery before returning to the Christmas markets.
In the back, Grady took out the ingredients to make a hearty nut loaf. Grady’s speciality was bread. Particularly bread meant for those who might work dangerous or risky jobs. He had a protection affinity; thus the food he made provided some protection to those who ate it.
Some witches were born with their affinity, some developed it, and some never had an affinity. His protection affinity had developed soon after his parents died.
He lost himself in the motion of kneading the dough in his hands, focusing his attention and his energy. For the first time that day, Grady felt like he could breathe. Even the muscle twitching beneath his eye receded. His mind focused on the task and the intent, not worrying about a million other things that needed his attention.
Protect those who eat this. May they be safe from danger and harm.
This sort of magic didn’t require the same level of energy as the protection charms.
His parents, uncle, and aunt had taught him to bake. Unfortunately, his uncle and aunt were giant dickheads who’d left them in the lurch when they got jobs as fancy servants in rich houses. They’d not even helped him and his siblings when their parents died.
As he kneaded, some of the tension released from his neck and shoulders. Grady wished he could just bake all day.
But that wasn’t his role in the family. He was the eldest, and therefore he was the head of the family. Since the moment his parents died, he’d taken charge and done what needed doing.
After closing the bakery, Grady pressed his hand to the sigil on the door. “Protect our hearth. Protect our home. Protect my kin wherever they roam.” A flare of warmth and his energy flowed.
“Didn’t you already charge that today?” Cas laughed. His wings fluttered, feet hovering above the ground. He carried several crates of baked goods.
Grady nodded and picked up his crates. “Can never be too careful.”
Grady didn’t mind the teasing. Not if the charms protected his siblings even a little bit. He thought of what Ordelia had said, about charging them too often. But he just couldn’t stand not charging them constantly, even if it wasn’t needed.
What if he forgot one day? Or something happened to him that meant he couldn’t charge them as needed?
No. He would keep charging them as he saw fit.
He supposed he could make the charms less complicated. But he didn’t like the thought of that either. A simple charm on the bakery or homes would keep out everyone except those who knew the deactivation incantation.
It would even work at the front door of the bakery. They could activate it at night to keep people out. And then deactivate it in the morning so customers could come in. Then the other doors would just always need someone to know the deactivation incantation to get in.
That sort of straightforward magic would take less energy to create and maintain.
Grady glanced at Cas, his adopted pixie brother. He dressed all in silver, the self-proclaimed Christmas pixie. One night years ago, Cas, an orphan living on the streets, had wandered into the bakery because he saw Christmas decorations in the window. He’d just opened the door and walked in.
A simple charm would not have allowed Cas in. The pixie boy would have remained starving in the snow. He’d have never become part of their family.
And the dog Briar currently cared for would not have been able to seek shelter in Briar’s cave if he’d used basic protection charms.
So Grady made them complicated. They kept out most, only welcoming family and also those in need of help, as long as they meant no harm to the family. No deactivation incantation needed. Just a lot of energy.
Cas and Grady made their way down the alley in the direction of the Christmas markets. Jack, Lacy, and Trent had gone ahead a while ago. As he walked, Grady glanced up and spotted the gargoyle, exactly where he’d been the last time he looked.
That night, Grady worked until the Christmas markets closed. They packed up, and Grady sent the others home. He’d stayed back, as the oven had been playing up towards the end of the night.
He’d tried to work out the issue. But in the end, he’d given up, since he could barely think straight. Tomorrow, he’d just have to come in before the Christmas markets opened to check it out. Hopefully, he could fix it himself and wouldn’t need to spend money on repairs.
After taking the earnings from the day and tucking them into his coat, he walked the streets back to the bakery. His body aching with exhaustion, his feet trudged through the recently fallen snow.
Fuck, I want my bed.
And it was only the first of December, the first day of the busiest season for the family. He had the rest of the month to get through.
Maybe after he fixed the oven tomorrow, the rest of the day would run smoothly. Maybe there would be no problems with supplies, nothing forgotten, no siblings unable to work, no broken equipment, and no issues whatsoever.
Grady huffed. Probably not. At least it wasn’t snowing too much tonight.
Briar would hopefully be all right in his cave. Hopefully, the feral dog hadn’t attacked him. But Briar said he’d found the dog in the cave, so the dog probably wasn’t a threat; otherwise, Grady’s protection charm would have kept him out.
His limbs dragged. The muscle beneath his left eye wouldn’t stop twitching. Thankfully, he’d be home in a couple of minutes. Then he could sink into his bed.
He passed a goblin and a cyclops in a side alley. They spoke in low voices and glanced his way.
Grady’s stomach grumbled, gnawing at his spine. He’d managed a few bites of food during the night. But he needed to eat more. He needed to eat and get a good night’s sleep. Then his body would stop hurting, his brain wouldn’t feel like mush, his head would stop throbbing, the muscle would stop twitching, and everything would be fine. Just fucking fine.
Grady shook his head. He might be able to manage to get enough food when he got home. But he knew he’d not get enough sleep. He’d probably not get enough sleep until after Christmas, and maybe not even then.
Footsteps sounded behind him. He glanced into a window he passed. In the reflection, he saw the cyclops and goblin walking behind him.
Are they following me?
The cyclops pointed at Grady’s back. A tendril of panic unfurled in his gut. Grady lengthened his strides.
The cyclops and goblin increased their pace.
Grady ran.
So did they.