Page 41 of Earth-Bound

Cuthbert looked offended on his partner’s behalf and Anthony mumbled, “No, well, not exactly, or at all, in fact. I’m just- well, I’m not theworld’s leading expert, although I know a bit. Cuthbert’s too kind.”

Randall interrupted again. He spoke loudly and began to usher the other two past me, walking them down the path.

“I’m just taking them up there now. I’ll see you around, Joe. You’re coming to the café for dinner, right?”

“I gotta eat,” I said with a grin, “And your food is the best.”

I didn’t tell him that I’d have gone there anyway because Terrund had said he’d be there tonight. Besides, it made Randall flush with the pleasure of receiving a compliment and I admired the way his pale skin glowed with it. He was handsome. I liked that he’d found his person.

The three of them walked on and I went back to my work. I didn’t wonder about them for too long. That was another thing with always being on the move – what people did rarely affected me in the long-term. I was there one day and gone the next, so what they did with their house or the friends they made didn’t matter to me at all. I left them all behind.

The thought wasn’t as comforting as it had once been. Once, I’d longed to move on to the next place, always begging my mum to go sooner, always convinced that at thenextschool, I’d fit in and wouldn’t be the lone weirdo in the corner.

I shook myself. I wasn’t weird. Not any more. And it was going to stay that way. Starting with not getting involved with any of the creepy cult thing going on in Randall’s basement.

Chapter 19: Terrund

Ifelt a disturbance in the earth around me. There was big magic nearby. The kind of magic that came from a shifter… a big one. I reached down into the earth, trying to sense what it was the earth sensed, but couldn’t decipher the feelings. It had been far too long since I’d been out and able to do this.

Their tread was surprisingly light, barely touching the earth. Those were footsteps used to sneaking around. The thought wasn’t comforting.

There weren’t just one set of footsteps, though, there were two. Two shifters. Two… I reached for my memory, sure I could identify the shifter, but it failed me.

It wasn’t that I didn’t like shifters. I’d known a fair number over the years and I’d been friends with several of them. But these footsteps… they felt dangerous. I didn’t overreact, but I did delve down into the earth and search for Joe’s presence. His feet were steady upon the ground and he was working. He was pulling up brambles and cutting them back and I could feelthe earth below them sighing in relief at feeling the sunlight once again. My mate was such a good man.

Finally, I narrowed the footsteps down to the village but couldn’t tell any more than that.

It was enough.

I was anxious about whatever-it-was being near my mate. A little slither of worry wormed its way inside me. I wasn’t yet powerful enough to protect him. My mate could be vulnerable if these shifters were dangerous.

With that thought, I set off. Hurrying down to the village, I made straight for the Honey Pot, hoping that Randall or Broadmire would know who was new to the area.

As soon as I opened the door to the café, I realised exactly what those shifters were. Dragons. Two dragons were standing right there in front of me.

They were both average height, androgynous, dressed from head to toe in black and they both looked round at the same moment. I saw their two sets of dark eyes lock on me, and two identical shark grins spread over their faces and my instinct was to sink down into the earth and out of sight. It was unfortunate that I did not have the power to do that, either. Not yet.

“Who’s this?” asked one of them, stepping towards me.

From the other side of the room, a calming voice spoke. It was a familiar, tree-like voice. An elm, if I wasn’t mistaken.

“I believe they are an earth spirit.”

Both dragons stopped their advance and looked over their shoulder. I did, too, peering behind them to see who had spoken.

A dryad.

Instantly, I felt safer. Silly, when there were two dragons standing in front of me but the earth spirits and the dryads were instinctive allies.

Randall hurried out from behind the counter. “You two need to sit down. I won’t have you scaring off my customers.”

The two dragons didn’t move. Randall stood beside me and folded his arms. He had no magic. He could not offer me any protection. I wished I could offer him some, but I was still regaining my strength.

“You are intimidating them,” said the dryad. “The earth spirits are wary of the dragons.”

The two dragons exchanged a look. “Fire,” they said in unison.

“Exactly,” said the dryad. “Allow them to come inside in peace.”

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