Page 56 of Amaros
“Sometimes, it pays to be short,” Zoe said teasingly.
“Damn straight,” Grace agreed.“But most of the time it sucks.”
“Let’s grab the bookcase and get started,” Zoe said to get them back on track.
They headed to the room where Amaros had left the bookcase and carried it to the great room.It looked almost small against the high stone wall.
“I’m going to grab one of the halogen lights,” Zoe decided.It would make it a lot easier to sort the books and put them away.
“I’ll start bringing the books in,” Grace said.
Zoe sensed Amaros returning a short while later.It was strange that she felt him before Camriel showed up on her senses.Maybe it was because she’d known Amaros for a few days.
“The boys are back,” she said to her tiny friend.
“I can sense them,” Grace said.“They’d better not be covered in Bambi’s mom’s blood,” she added darkly.
“Don’t worry, little sister, the rain washed most of it away,” Camriel said from the kitchen.
Abandoning their task for now, the girls made their way to them.The men were soaked, but looked pleased with themselves.Camriel’s clothes were stained from butchering the doe.He’d need more than just rainwater to clean them properly.
“You’ve got enough venison to last for months,” Amaros said.
“It’s a pity we don’t have anywhere to store it,” Zoe said.“We’ll just have to cook it all and eat as much as we can.”
“Just what we need,” Grace said with heavy sarcasm.“A diet consisting of meat, meat and more meat.”
“The woods will have edible plants,” Camriel said sympathetically.“We just need to find some books that will help us identify them.”
“Thanks for taking care of the deer,” Zoe said.“We have no idea how to butcher animals.”
“Neither did we,” Amaros said.It was a reminder that the knights didn’t need to eat or drink.
“I’ll fire up the grill,” Grace said reluctantly.
“I’ll grab another container to keep the meat in,” Zoe offered.Raw meat filled the huge plastic container the men had piled the meat into.Blood sloshed around in the bottom of it.“We need to fix the hole in the roof tomorrow,” she said, reminded of the flood in one of the other rooms.
“We’ll leave you to do the cooking and we’ll see what we can do,” Amaros said.
Grace lit up the grill and Zoe left the kitchen to find a container.She could hear the guys murmuring about the waterfall as she scrounged through their supplies.She grabbed two smaller containers and returned to Grace.The teen was standing next to the grill with a book in one hand and tongs in the other.
Zoe left her to it and filled the bookshelf, then began piling the plethora of romance books on the floor against the wall.The few non-fiction books she’d found went into a much smaller pile.It wasn’t much, but at least it was a start.
A vision hit her when she straightened up from placing the last book.She saw the room full of furniture, light and people.Their faces and voices were indistinct, but their chatter sounded cheerful.“We’re going to be happy here,” she murmured when the images vanished.
“You’re in a good mood,” Grace said suspiciously when Zoe returned to help her.
Zoe decided not to mention her brief flash of the future.It would be a nice surprise for the kid when it actually came true.“Why wouldn’t I be in a good mood?”she said.“We’ve got plenty of books, lots of food and comfortable cots to sleep on.Life is pretty sweet.”
Grace pondered about it while turning the meat over with the tongs.“I’ve lived in worse conditions than this,” she agreed.
“I want to hear more about that,” Camriel said with a frown as the men entered.They were both soaked again.
“Did you fix the hole in the roof already?”Zoe asked in surprise.It was hard to tell, since rain and hail were still hammering down, muffling internal noises.
“Of course,” Amaros said.“We couldn’t leave it like that.It’s just a temporary fix, but we’ll find a way to repair it properly soon.”
“Aw, I was just about to draw up plans for an indoor pool,” Grace joked.
