Enchantment (111 page)

She
turned
back
to
look
at
Pad
d
y
and
Todd’s
ho
m
e.
Kerrigan’s
ho
m
e
could
be
s
een
in
the trees
in
behind
the
Beaver’s
ho
u
se,
and
in
those
trees,
the
ho
m
e
see
m
ed
to
s
pan
m
i
les
in
all directions.
He
obviously
had
quite
an
i
m
agi
n
ation,
besides
being
a
gifted
carpenter,
healer,
law enforcer,
s
on,
friend…

Geesh
.

She
looked
at
Padd
y
.
What
w
ould
Paddy
think
if
s
he
knew
h
o
w
in
love
she
was
with
her
s
on?

“Co
m
e along,
Meeka.
We
real
l
y
do
need
to
hur
r
y
.
”

She
turned
her
stare
from
the
houses
back
to
Padd
y
.
“
I’m
s
or
r
y
,
Padd
y
,
I’m
d
a
y
d
re
a
m
i
ng.
I can’t
believe
Kerrigan
s
aid
I
could
go
out.
I’ve
spent
so
m
uch
t
i
m
e
w
or
r
y
i
ng about
being
outside, I’m
a
bit
skittish.”

“No
n
sense,
M
eeka.
There
isn’t
a
n
y
t
h
i
ng
that
would
interfere
with
my
son
’
s
wishes
or
those three
giant
thugs
up
there.
He’s
just
m
a
k
ing
sure
we
are
s
afe
at
all
t
i
m
es.”

T
h
ree
thugs?

A
gain,
her
instincts
flared,
a
tiny
voice
whispering
to
return,
but
s
he
crushed
it
ruthless
l
y
. She
w
ould
e
n
jo
y
this
ti
m
e
with
Pad
d
y
,
and
m
a
y
b
e,
j
u
st
m
a
y
b
e
s
he’d
find
a
way
to
get
ho
m
e
on their
walk.

Each
house
they
pa
s
sed
was
kept
im
m
a
cu
l
ate,
j
u
st
like
Paddy
and
Todd’s.
Concentra
t
ing
on the
houses,
m
oons,
and
the
towering
c
r
y
s
t
a
l
fortress
in
the
distance,
she
bare
l
y
heard
the
voice co
m
ing from
ahead
of
them
d
o
wn
the
sidewalk.

* * * *

“I
w
as
hoping to see
y
o
u
tod
a
y
.
Padd
y
.
It’s
been ages since we caught up
with
one another.” The
s
m
all
female
Enchanter
spoke
a
s
she
tried
to
contain
the
lit
t
le
round
fur
ball
walking
at
her side.
“
H
ave
y
ou finished
my
pro
j
ect
y
e
t? I
can
hardly
wait
to
see
it.”

Jager
stopped
in
his
tracks.

I
knew
everything w
a
s
going
too
good
to
be
true.
Shite.

H
ow
to
respond
to
the
wench?
The
rewards
for
this
ago
n
y
were
going
to
be
well
worth
it. “It’s
very
nice
to
see
y
o
u
.
Y
e
s,
it
has
been
a
long
time,
hasn’t
it
?
”
Jager
responded
over
the gr
o
wling
and
gurgles erupting
from
the
fur
ball.

The
creature
w
a
s
the
last
thing
Jager
needed
to
deal
with.
As
he
stepped
backward
a
w
a
y from
it,
the
fur
ball
j
u
m
ped
and
latched its
teeth
into
his
leg.

Fuck!

Without
thought,
he
reacted, belting the
pitiful
excuse
of
a
life form
into a
cowering,
y
e
l
p
i
ng
m
ass
of
li
m
bs
behind
the
w
o
m
an.

The
wo
m
an
looked
at
Paddy
with
a
shocked
expre
s
sion.
“
P
ad
d
y
,
I’m
s
or
r
y
.
I
don’t understand
w
h
y
Rollie
bit
y
o
u.
He’s
never
shown
aggression
to
an
y
o
n
e
before,
but
y
o
u
surely didn’t
need
to
hit
hi
m
.”

I
m
pa
t
ient to
be
on
the
m
ove,
he
exhaled
s
harp
l
y
.
“Keep
the
thing
away
from
m
e.”

“Pad
d
y
Beaver,
w
hat
h
a
s
gotten
into
y
o
u?
You
and
Rollie
have
alwa
y
s
been
the
best
of friends.
You
hit
h
i
m
!
Look
how
terrified
he
is.”
Her
e
y
es
left
Pad
d
y
and
glanced
to
Meeka, following
her
long
bo
d
y
up
to
her e
y
es. “What
are
y
ou
?
”

Jager
ju
m
ped
back
in.
“I
am
s
or
r
y
I
hit…Roll
i
e,
but
he
w
a
s
being
anno
y
i
n
g.”
Looking
at Meeka,
he
continued. “She
is
nobod
y
,
y
o
u know.
We
can’t stay
to
visit
right n
o
w,
but
I
pro
m
ise
I will
co
m
e
visit
y
ou
soon.”
Jager
grabbed
Meeka’s
hand
and
dragged
her
away
from
the
wo
m
an and
her
beast.