Enchantment (13 page)

“Thanks
for
the
san
d
wich,
Mo
m
.”

Paddy
m
oved
aw
a
y
from
the
kitchen
counter
and
wiped
her
hands
on
her
apron
as
s
he approached
her
son
for
a
hug.
She
was
s
o
m
uch
s
m
aller
than
hi
m
.
Her
head
barely
reached
his sto
m
ach. “Please
be
careful,
Kerrigan.
Go
ho
m
e
and
get
so
m
e r
e
st.
We’ll
see
y
ou to
m
orrow.”

He
walked
back
through
the
tunnel
leading
to
his
ho
u
se.
In
a
daze,
he
stu
m
b
l
ed
over
a
step, and
cu
r
sed.
What
a
d
a
y
.
Over
a
hundred
y
e
a
r
s
had
passed,
with
each
day
pretty
m
uch
the
sa
m
e as
the
one
before.
Then
wh
a
m
,
the
fates
delivered a
sucker
punch.

The
air
didn’t
even
s
m
e
l
l
the
sa
m
e.
Her
scent
w
as
attached to
hi
m
.

Change
was
not alw
a
y
s
good. Control was
good—he knew
w
hat
to expect.
A
ham
m
e
r
in
his hand
m
ade
se
n
se.
Holding
her
during
the
healing
process
had
made
him
feel
out
of
control.
The large
door
opened,
allowing
his
entrance.
His
w
orld
was
controllab
l
e.
He
m
ade
it
controllable.
N
ow,
eve
r
y
t
h
i
ng seemed uncertain. People and
creatures from other
worlds
did
not
just
appear in Enchantment—or
at
least,
he
had
been
led
to
believe that.

Relief
flooded
him
the
m
ome
n
t
he
closed
the
back
door
of
his
ho
m
e.
Co
m
forta
b
le, contained,
it
w
a
s
a
perfect
replac
e
m
e
nt
for
the
war
m
th
and
love
he’d
had
in
Paddy
and
Todd’s ho
m
e.

U
nlike
any
other
ho
m
e
in
Enchantment,
the
m
ansion
was
suspended
a
m
ongst
the
trees, giving
a
w
hole
new
m
ea
n
ing
to
the
defini
t
ion
of
a
tree
house.
The
evergreens
that
supported
the expansive
structure
were
well
over
two
hundred
feet
in
di
a
m
e
t
er
and
rose
hundreds
of
feet
into the
s
k
y
. Ho
m
e
was
where
he
thrived.
He
felt
at
ease
there.

H
i
s
stomach ru
m
b
l
ed. One
sandwich
hadn’t been
enough. Kitchens
were
unnecessa
r
y
. Enchanters
had
no
need
for
appliances,
but
like
the
construction
of
his
ho
m
e,
K
errigan
also
loved to
cook
without
the
help
of
spells.

He
knew
from
the
nu
m
erous texts
he’d read
that Enchan
t
m
e
n
t had
mimic
k
ed a
lot of
Earth
l
y qualities.

D
o
all
females look
as
she
does?
W
h
a
t
does
Earth
really
look
like?
H
i
s
mind
continued
to
wander
w
hile
he
prepared
a
m
eal of
greens. B
o
wl
in
hand,
he
m
ade his
w
a
y
to
the
den.

A
screeching
sound
carried
down
the
hall.
He
could
hear
Threeo
before
even
opening
the door.
The
know-it
-
all
-
pest
w
a
s
perched
on
the
m
ant
e
l
with
his
all
-
s
eeing
e
y
e
s
locked
on Kerrigan.
Threeo,
a
Hipodogwl,
had
been
his
friend
for
over
a
hundred
y
e
a
rs.
To
his
utter
s
urprise,
good
ol’
m
o
m
and
dad
had
given
Threeo
to
him
when
he
m
oved out.

Yellow
e
y
es
followed
him
across
the
room
w
hile
the
beast’s
head
turned
three
hundred
and sixty
degrees.
The
sight
of
the
fur
r
y feathered
friend
drew
a
weak
s
m
i
l
e.
His
friend
and co
m
panion was
boisterous
but
good-natured,
and
could
draw
him
from
a
bad
m
ood. His
devotion to
his
parents had
been
extended
to
his
pet,
but
not
to
a
n
y
t
h
i
ng
or
a
n
y
o
ne else.

“I
told
y
o
u
s
o,”
Threeo
squawked.

A
gitated,
Kerrigan
set his
b
o
wl and fork aside to pour
a gla
s
s
of wine before sinking
into
his seat.
Oak
and
peppery
s
m
ells
invaded
his
se
n
ses.
It
felt
good
to
sit
as
he
stretched
out
his
large fra
m
e.

“I
don’t
need
this
from
y
o
u after
the
day
I’ve
had,”
he
responded.

Threeo
paced
to
the
end
of
the
m
ant
e
l
on
his
rotund, short
legs.
The
Hipodo
g
wl
looked
ve
r
y
m
uch
like
a
m
ish
-
m
ash
of
s
pecies
p
u
shed
together
under
pressure,
but
he
was
l
o
y
a
l
and
loving. Large,
w
i
se
e
y
es
s
urrounded
by
feathers,
a
tough,
gre
y
-
skinned
bo
d
y
right
down
to
the
legs,
and a
b
u
s
h
y
tail, which
m
ig
h
t occasional
l
y wag
when
he
was happ
y
. Threeo
stood
j
u
st
under two
feet tall,
and the
m
a
n
tel
ledge
provided
his
friend
with
a
sense of
securi
t
y in
knowing he
wouldn’t
be
m
issed
b
y
a
n
y
o
ne in
the
roo
m
.