Page 48 of Till Death

I sat up slowly, making sure she knew I was there. I didn’t want to scare her, just… help.

“Ha-have you seen my dog?” she asked, hiking her dress to get down the stairs.

I shook my head. “No.”

“I’m not allowed to chase him over the hill.”

A fact I knew.

“I could go with you, if you want.”

She dropped the bottom of her dress, tapping her lips with a finger as she contemplated. “Will you leave Elowen’s knife here?”

“Cross my heart,” I promised.

“Okay, but we can’t tell Paesha. She says you’re dangerous.”

“Paesha is smart, and she’s right. I am dangerous. But not to you.”

Shoving the toe of her boot into the dirt, she managed a small smile. “Well, Boo listens to you, and sometimes he growls at Paesha, so maybe you’re not so, so bad. Maybe just medium bad.”

“I’ll settle for medium bad,” I said, holding my hand out toward the child.

She swiped her curls from her face, showcasing her hesitation. But as I dropped my hand, she reached forward and took it anyway.

“Medium bad,” she whispered to herself.

“How old are you, Quill?” I asked, as we followed the trail I’d taken earlier with the dog, leading him away from the house.

“Eight and a half. How old are you?”

I couldn’t help the genuine smile. “I’m twenty-six, twenty-seven next month.”

“Oh! We can have a party. Orin can play, and Paesha can dance, and Thea will make you something so neat. Probably not a knife, though, because… you know. But maybe a necklace like she made me for my birthday, see?”

She pulled a tiny locket from beneath the lace collar of her little dress. “It’s got a picture of the Maestro in there. But it’s kind of hard to make out.”

“The Maestro? Why him?”

“He’s my friend. And he keeps me safe. And he gives me candy, and I get to sit in a special seat on show nights.”

“I see.”

“Paesha says he’s dangerous, too. But he’s only small bad. If he’s mad, he’s mean sometimes, but only to bad guys. Not to me.”

“Did you think he was mean to Orin? Is he a bad guy?” I waited, genuinely curious to see if she seemed to know anything at all about him.

“Orin is my best friend. I might marry him one day, too. Like you did.”

I bit my bottom lip to keep from laughing. “Oh, yeah? He’d probably be a much nicer husband to you.”

“Probably if you were only small bad and not medium bad, he’d be nicer to you, too.”

“Probably,” I agreed, marveling at how right she was. But I needed to redirect the conversation before we got to Boo. Stepping on my bootlace without her noticing, I drew up short, kneeling to retie it as I let go of her hand. “You never answered my question. Do you think the Maestro is mean to Orin?”

She bit her bottom lip and looked away, contemplating her answer. “Yes. I do. But I don’t think he meant to be. The Maestro said it was a little bit of an accident because he thought the hound was going to play with Orin like how Boo does sometimes, but the dog was naughty, and Orin got hurt. And then the Maestro saved him. Because he’s our friend.”

“Makes sense.” I switched feet, untying my bootlace without her noticing so I could delay her. “You know what I think? Oh, maybe I shouldn’t say. It’s probably just for grown-ups to talk about.”