Page 44 of Dragon's Golden Mate
Maeve, calm down.
Don’t you dare tell me to calm down!She stopped her pacing and stared him full in the face, as difficult as it was for her to look at him right now.You knew that I wanted nothing more than for everyone I loved to come out of this alive, but then you went and did something foolish like that!
He blinked slowly, as though it took a great amount of effort.We weren’t getting anywhere. We had to be so cautious with them that eventually they were going to win. We all know what would’ve happened then.
Yes, I know.As scared and sorry as those poor kids were right now, it would’ve been even worse for them if they’d ended up killing Maeve, Kendrick, and their respective families. The images of the battle would probably haunt them for years, as it was.Still, you could’ve gotten yourself killed! I’m just…I’m just so fucking mad at you! How could you do this to me?
She looked over Kendrick’s shoulder, realizing that everyone was waiting for them. The witches and the shifters were on the altar, discussing where they were going to get some food. The dragons lingered not far from Kendrick, obviously eager to get their retired Alpha back to the safety of their clanhouse.
Maeve…
The sound of her name in his voice sent atrembling through her body, but she had to ignore it. She had to be strong enough not to give in to all the emotions that swirled through her when Kendrick was around, because she couldn’t handle them.
You know what? It’s fine. It’s all over now, so we don’t have to worry about it.Maeve turned and walked out of the church, ignoring the damp fur in the corners of her eyes.
17
“You’resure you’re able to handle this?”
Kendrick gave Beck a look from the passenger seat. “I’m doing so well that I was even patient enough to let you drive.”
“Okay, fair enough. You’re a real grump when you don’t feel good,” his nephew told him.
“And now you know where you got it from,” Kendrick retorted. “And really, I’m perfectly fine. I just feel bad that I’ve let it all wait until now.”
“You couldn’t have helped that,” Lilith said from the backseat. “You had to heal up before anything else could happen.”
They swung into the parking lot at the cathedral. It had a sad look to it now, with the windows boarded over. Beck, Griffin, and Ewan had returnedwith large sheets of plywood to cover the area where the stained glass had once been, as well as the floor. At the very least, it would keep any nosy strangers from getting in and getting themselves into trouble.
Ewan and Griffin pulled in next to them, and the dragons all got out of their vehicles. Kendrick looked up, noting that no one was watching them from the steeple.
“I put a new lock on the back door,” Beck told him, tapping the device in question as they walked up to it.
Kendrick sighed. “I guess whoever ends up buying the place will just have to replace it again, so I hope you didn’t spend too much on it.”
Beck and Griffin exchanged a glance. “No,” Beck said as he turned the key. “I’m pretty happy with what I spent. You go first.” He held the door open for his uncle.
They’d been acting weird for a week, at least. Kendrick had asked Beck what was going on, but he’d insisted that everything was normal. Kendrick didn’t fully believe that, but he let it go.
He led the way down that same short hallway, his stomach knotting up a bit as he returned to the place where he’d nearly died. Eight hundred years,and in only a moment, it’d nearly slipped out of his hands. That was a strange feeling.
Kendrick opened the door into the sanctuary. As the others had told him, large pieces of plywood had been put down over the gaping hole in the floor. With all the windows boarded over, very little light made its way into the building now. Ewan lit an electric lantern he’d brought along. Kendrick observed all the damage the cathedral had endured, but he hadn’t given up on the place yet.
“You boys did a good job with the boards,” Kendrick said quietly. “Maybe someone will come along and look at this place and decide it's worth fixing up.”
“We left one job for you.” Lilith brushed past him, now using the light from her cell phone to lead the way.
His heart sank as he stepped between the front two pews. The shattered pieces of the goblin still remained there, one showing his little ear, another a triangle of wing. “Poor little thing. Cassandra sure made a good job out of you. I don’t know if I can fix this.”
The cat gargoyle appeared on his right, coming out from under the pew in front of him. It peered up at him sadly. The dog landed on the seat of the pew.It looked down at the goblin, then up at Kendrick, and then at its fallen friend once again. Last came the hawk, who landed on a nearby light fixture, ruffled its feathers, and glared.
“All right. All right. Let me see what I can do. It’s a hell of a puzzle.” Kendrick moved slightly so he could sit on the floor. He picked up one piece and then another. It was easiest when there were identifiable features to go off of, but other pieces were nothing more than chunks of rock. Kendrick studied the varying striations and crystallizations of the minerals, twisting and turning each piece until he had them just right.
The goblin began to take form as his fellow guardians stood watch over him. Sometimes, as Kendrick hesitated, they looked up at him with worry and urgency. The cat ducked under the pew and then came back with a piece of the rock that he’d been missing.
Finally, he slipped the last piece in place. It was a sharp, triangular shard that showed one of the goblin’s eyes, half of his nose, and a bit of his lip. He waited, hoping something might happen, but he simply held the cracked remains of a little statue.
“That’s it,” Kendrick said softly.
