“Nay, lass. You’re a guest. Sit and be comfortable. We’ll have a chat about gargoyles as we eat.” He methodically began to ladle out soup into stoneware mugs, and then opened a breadbox on the counter near the massive iron cookstove. As he was lifting a loaf out of the box, there was a knock on the door and it opened, a lovely, tall redheaded woman peeking around the corner.
“Da—can you… Oh, I didn’t know you had company,” she said, slipping inside the room. She was wearing a long green gown with knotwork trim in yellow, and over the gown she wore a heavy cloak in winter white. Her hair was down to her lower back, held in place by braids on both side of her temples that met in the back, fastened with a crystal barrette. Behind her, a small boy peeked at us around her skirts. He was the spitting image of her, and had his left thumb jammed in his mouth as he held onto his mother’s skirts with his right hand.
“Come in, Nettie. Do you remember Kuippana?” Dek waved her in, his face brightening.
“Of course,” Nettie murmured, curtseying to Kipa. “Lord of the Wolves, you honor us with your presence.”
Kipa was suppressing a laugh, I could see it in his eyes. “Mistress Nettie, well met yet again. Allow me to introduce my lady, Raven BoneTalker, the Daughter of Bones. And is this one of your young ones?”
Nettie glanced at me and curtseyed again. “Yes, Lord Kuippana. This is my son, Avan. How do you do, Lady Raven?”
I wasn’t used to the formality, but realized that here, Kipa’s godhood was taken more seriously than back in our world. People—humans especially—didn’t seem to realize how powerful the gods could be. They seemed to think they were like superheroes or entertainment celebrities rather than vast immortal beings. Granted, the gods weren’t omnipotent, but they were far more powerful than most people understood.
“I’m well, thank you for asking. What a cute child,” I said. I wasn’t that interested in kids, except if they needed help, but the boy was adorable. He stared up at me with sparkling eyes.
“Ghos’—” he said, pointing at me.
Surprised, I walked over to his side, kneeling. “That’s right, I’m a bone witch and ghosts follow me everywhere,” I said. “But they’re okay—don’t be afraid.” I turned my head to Nettie. “He can see spirits?”
“Yes, it’s a gift he has.” As she stared at me, Nettie let out a gasp and took a step back, then caught herself. “I don’t mean to offend but…you’re one of the Ante-Fae, aren’t you?”
I stood. “Yes, I am. Please don’t be afraid. I’m not nearly as dangerous as some of my race.”
There was a lot of fear of the Ante-Fae among some of the Crypto communities, and with good reason.
“Yes, Lady,” Nettie said. She turned to her father. “Da, I was going to ask if you could watch Avan for the afternoon? I have to travel into the village to shop, and Jerah is out hunting with Tomvil. Aiada is making up the bread for the week and Avan would get in her way.”
Dek set down the bread and picked up the boy. “How about it, boy? Would you like to spend the afternoon with your Gran-Da?”
Avan laughed and leaned in to plaster a kiss on Dek’s nose. “Yah. Gran-Da,” he started to say, but ended in a yawn.
“He needs his nap,” Nettie said. “He’ll be shifting any minute and best he be asleep by then.”
Dek glanced at me. “Our people, when we’re children, automatically shift when we take naps and go to sleep at night.” He handed Avan back to Nettie. “All right, get him situated in the guest room and then be off to do your shopping.”
“Thank you, Da,” she said, taking Avan and heading through one of the other doors in the cabin.
“I hate to ask, but…do you have…” I blushed. There was no delicate way to say I had to use the bathroom, but Dek seemed to understand.
“The door my daughter went through? You’ll find the facilities through the one next to it.” He pointed to the second door. “Go down the hall and take the third door on the right.”
“Thank you,” I said.
The door led to a long hallway, which surprised me, given that when I had first seen the cottage, it looked far smaller than it seemed inside. But I was well aware of magic that created spatial distortions and so I didn’t bother trying to figure it out. I merely followed the hallway that stretched out for some ways, and when I came to the third door on the right, I opened it.
Inside was a bathroom that was both luxurious and yet, rustic. A marble bathtub sat against one wall, near a fireplace that took up half the wall. Several pails hung from a pole hung over the logs, and I peeked in them to see water, up to the brim. They were large enough that at first I wondered how Dek would carry them to the tub, but then it occurred to me that he was a bear shifter, and strong enough to manage without a problem.
There was a pitcher of water near a basin, along with a bar of soap, and a towel. In one corner of a room I spied a pump, and thought that must be a luxury—providing indoor water so he wouldn’t have to haul it in from outside. In another corner of the room sat the toilet and it looked a lot like the composting toilets over on Earth. In fact, when I examined it, I saw that sure enough, it had been made in China. Laughing, I used the facilities and then washed my hands in the basin.
The soap was a pleasant rose scent, and when I was finished up, I glanced at my image in the mirror hanging over the basin. I smoothed a few stray strands of hair, but otherwise, everything still looked good and so I returned to the main room, resisting the impulse to sneak a peek in the other rooms in this wing of the cottage. First, it was rude, and second—I didn’t feel like learning anything that I might not want to know.
I reentered the living room, ready to tackle lunch. Dek had set the table with the stoneware soup mugs that looked hand thrown, and the loaf of bread, cut into thick slices. There was butter and honey and a round of cheese cut into wedges. He had also added a ham, sliced thinly. The smells of the food made my stomach rumble.
“I guess I’m hungrier than I thought I was,” I said. “So, you have an interesting house.”
Dek snorted. “You are a mistress of understatement. Yes, that wing of the house extends into a private dimension that a witch friend of mine set up. It acts like a panic room does in your world, should anything go awry.”
“Ah, I wondered.” I slid onto the bench in front of my plate and we began to eat. The soup was a rich tomato-beef stock, with tender shreds of beef, sun-dried tomatoes that tasted like they had been dried at their peak, chunks of creamy white potatoes, and pearl onions. I hadn’t tasted anything quite so good in a long time.
“I could bathe in this, it’s so good,” I said, shaking my head. “What’s your secret?”
“Quality ingredients, prepared with care and love, and the perfect amount of char on the meat before you add it to the soup. Then slow cook it for several hours.” Dek looked pleased. He pointed toward the cheese. “My daughter made that. Tell me what you think.”
I obediently bit into a wedge of the cheese and the creamy tang hit my tongue and almost made me wince, but in a good way. I spread some of it on a piece of bread and ate it and everything blended together into one big orgasm for my taste buds.