Linda Robertson - Arcane Circle

Nana had gone upstairs to quilt and I’d herded Ares into the room with her. Neither of them seemed to care for the women in suits. For the next several hours I worked on my column. Maxine interrupted me when the gravel trucks showed up, when the electric company arrived to put in poles, and again when men came to measure the back of the house. Since a noisy backhoe was about to commence digging up the area destined to be Nana’s room addition, I decided my work for the day was done, saved the document, and went to watch out the window.

The prefab walls of the first barn were going up, and gravel was being dumped into the footer spaces around the second. I noticed some of the odd concrete chunks had been deposited near the house. “Any idea what those are?” I asked Maxine.

“Mountain said they were precast panels for the footers. You can build on them right away, don’t have to wait for the concrete to cure. He said it was a miracle the right sizes were in stock, but we lucked out.” She handed me a paper with a rough drawing of the layout for the addition. “Mountain brought that earlier, while you were upstairs.”

“Wow. This is bigger and much sooner than we’d anticipated,” I said.

“Might as well get it done while the equipment is already here,” she replied.

I had to agree. Nana’s knees had failed her before, so I wanted to spare her from my staircase as soon as possible.

Minutes later, a truck rolled by with a giant cake pan on the trailer. “Any guesses what that’s for?” I asked.

“Not a clue,” Maxine replied.

Donning my flannel, I headed for the door. The sentinel blocked my path.

“You can come with me, or you can piss me off trying to stop me. Which is it going to be?”

“Give me two minutes to re-secure the doors and windows so we’re certain your home and grandmother are safe in our absence.”

“Or Zhan could stay here while you escort me.”

“One against that many Beholders?”

“Heldridge’s men may not even be a threat. And if they are, they’ve been up and working eight hours already.”

“We are both going with you.”

I shrugged and conceded. With a dog treat for Ares in hand, I told Nana what we were doing. Maxine locked the front door, then we headed out to the garage, intending to exit via the man-door. On a whim, I halted our little parade to fill a gallon-sized bucket with dog food.

Maxine and Zhan waited for me, both with guns drawn. I appreciated that they took their duty here very seriously, but their bared weapons didn’t make me comfortable. “Is that absolutely necessary?”

“Better safe than sorry,” Maxine said and opened the man-door. She locked it behind us and we walked toward the construction.

After we located Mountain and waved to get his attention, he walked over to us.

Behind me, Zhan gasped as she took in the flock of birds, strolling like peacocks from the far end of the grove. Their flame-colored feather configurations were brilliant in the afternoon light. “Phoenix?” she asked, incredulous.

I nodded. The unicorns and griffons remained hidden within the grove. The dragons were near the edge, curled in big piles.

“They’re eager to get into their coop,” Mountain said. The metal roof on the aluminum shed was being attached as he spoke. “They must know it’s theirs. They keep meandering out to have a look at it.”

He gave me a brief update about pipes being laid in trenches below the frost line. Goddess help me, but Johnny’s dirty mind was rubbing off on me; nearly all of the report sounded like innuendos.

“What is that ?” I pointed at the newest arriving truck, backing into position according to the commands of onlooking Beholders. Before Mountain could reply, the answer hit me. “A swimming pool?”

“For the dragons.”

“Dragons?” Zhan echoed.

“There. They’re sleeping.” Mountain pointed to where the dragons lay. They looked like coils of giant drainage tubing. “Once we get the pool installed and filled, they’ll be much happier.”

“Did they eat?”

“Ten cases of those little cans of tuna! I think I killed the hand-crank can opener. I’ve got someone trying to contact the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, to ask about their suppliers. Bulk frozen fish would be far less hassle.”

The animals were being taken care of, their shelters were coming along fast, and Mountain had it all under control. Speaking of eating … “You’ll have dinner with us, right?”

“There’s no need to go to any trouble on my account.”

“You don’t want me to go to any trouble? Look at all this.” My hand flapped at the scene around us, and I nearly dropped the bucket of dog food. “I won’t take no for an answer.”

Apparently, griffon hearing is good enough to detect the rattle of kibble amid a cacophony of construction. Thunderbird emerged from the edge of the grove. The griffon arched his neck in my direction.

Immediately I started toward him. The sentinels followed.

As we neared, I held out the bucket. “You want this?”

Thunderbird lurched forward eagerly and his lame paw caused him to stumble. It looked as if he was about to attack.

We all halted, but movement to my right caught my attention and I realized that Maxine had raised her gun.

The griffon recovered his balance and stopped.

“Lower it,” I whispered. “Get back.” On my left, Zhan backed up several paces. The griffon considered Maxine with a steadiness that had an undeniable cognizance behind it.

She lowered her gun and stepped back.

“C’mon, Thunderbird.” I shook the dog food again. “This is all yours.”

His one golden eye assessed me in an altogether human manner, not at all like a bird. He came to me, dipped his head into the bucket, came up crunching.

I couldn’t resist stroking those black feathers gently.

He jerked away, but did not retreat.

“Sorry,” I whispered.

In one swift movement, his beak darted in, wrested the bucket’s handle from me, and swung it away from me. He limped deeper into the grove, tail twitching irritably.

Mountain returned to the worksite. Maxine and Zhan followed me across the field.

I’d hiked only a dozen yards when my back pocket erupted with the guitar riff and chorus of AC/DC’s “Back in Black.” I took another step before I realized: The protrepticus is ringing!

Stopping in my tracks, I jerked the phone out of my pocket and flipped it open so hurriedly I nearly dropped it. Samson D. Kline’s voice hailed me. “Heads up, little girl; Xerxadrea’s body has been identified.”

The phone issued a burp of static and the screen went black. I shook it, closed it, and opened it again. No light at all and no chance to ask him how the protrepticus could still work.

“My lady?” Maxine prompted.

“Nothing.” I pushed the phone back into my pocket and hurried on.

As we crossed the yard, a dozen witches swooped down from the sky. My sentinels raised their guns once more and, again, I insisted they put them away. This time my most authoritative facial expression accompanied the words, “Holster them, now.” The sentinels obeyed.

The witches hovered above my grass. That they did not dismount their brooms meant they weren’t staying. That they wore their formal black robes and charm-bedecked pointy hats meant they were on their way to or from official business. Thanks to my phone call, I could guess what.

Foremost was Vilna-Daluca. Ruya, the raven that once sat on the shoulder of the Eldrenne Xerxadrea, now sat on Vilna’s shoulder. The rest of them were high priestesses, members of the lucusi that I’d had the honor of being a member of … for about twelve hours. They had given me my own flying broom, amped up my house wards, and promptly severed their ties to me as Xerxadrea had instructed them when they learned I’d become Menessos’s Erus Veneficus. Ranking witches didn’t allow status, titles, or respect to witches who used their power in service to vampires.