The staircase down to the gate room smelled strongly of magic and crumbled brick and slightly of rat blood. Nothing human or avian, which was reassuring. If we hurt Mrs. Vaughn or Troy… He pushed the worry away. Hopefully we didn’t. Anyhow, taking Troy down a peg wouldn’t have been the worst thing in the world.
At the bottom, the door had been blown off its top hinge and hung crookedly in the frame. The wall around it was punctured in several places, gaps showing in the bricks above piles of fragments and brick dust.
“Will it fall?” Pip asked around the flashlight.
“I wouldn’t touch it, going past,” Grim hedged. The basic structure looked mostly intact. He stepped through the doorway, careful where he put his feet. The space behind the door was littered with the rough bricks of the second wall, scattered widely across the floor. And that wall… well, there wasn’t much of it left except a pile of rubble. Occasional pairs of bricks still bonded by mortar were all the structure that remained. It appears Norlington wasn’t much good at practical construction. Or the blast was exceedingly strong.
Pip tilted his head to play the beam down to the far end of the room. The wall behind where the gate had been stood pristine and plaster-white, untouched by any blast. The floor ahead of it was scored with shallow grooves, and the ceiling…
“Tip that light up.”
Pip sat and raised his chin obediently, and the beam of light played across the beams overhead. “Izzat…?”
“Yeah, bits of brick embedded in it.” Walking under there might be best done with a helmet on. By someone else. Still, the floors in this house were laid over beams as big as tree trunks, and even the bite of bricks and magic didn’t seem to have caused more than surface splinters. “It still looks solid enough. And there was definitely a blast. With luck, we dented a few dark sorcerers with the other backlashes.”
Pip set the flashlight down. “I hope so. I hope they got bricks blasted right through their middles. They put Darien and Silas and you and all the good humans in a lot of danger.”
Just like the puppy to leave himself off that list. “It’s probably too much to hope that their gates were also set up behind a conveniently shoddy brick wall. And if they were left open to the hells, they were probably inside strong circles.” Unless the demons have taken over the sorcerers, in which case we all have worse to worry about than bricks. “Still, that much power recoil wouldn’t have done good things to anyone powering those circles. And ours didn’t bring down this house. I’m counting it as a win.”
A skittering sound made them both peer toward a corner of the room. In the shadows of the flashlight beam, Grim could make out a hunched gray shape climbing the wall. It ran along a ledge and disappeared into a crack.
“That was a rat,” Pip said. “It was eating a bit of another rat.”
“They are very uncouth creatures. Overdue for eradication.”
“But I’m hungry too.”
Grim couldn’t hold back his laugh, but hopefully the single sound that escaped would be mistaken for a scoff. “Come along then, puppy. There’s plenty in the kitchen, better than rats. We should feed Xsing too.” He turned to lead the way out.
Pip said, “Xsing has hands in raccoon form, like we do at Home. I wonder how well he can use them. I know where Silas keeps the can opener and the dog food.”
“You and that dog food.” Grim tapped the flashlight with a paw. “Bring the light along, youngster, and let’s go see. Seriously, you should prevail on your Darien to get you better victuals. Canned ham, at least. Potted beefsteak, perhaps. He owes you the best.”
Trotting out of the room and up the stairs, Grim tucked his chin down to hide a smile as Pip followed along, mumbling around the metal handle about how Darien didn’t owe him anything and he’d do the same for dry bread crusts and anyway, the dog food was yummy. That pup and his boy— good hearts, both of them. Then, because that was too sentimental, even in his own head, he added, Feeble brains, but good hearts. It does Silas’s life no harm, having them around.
“Hurry up,” he urged over his shoulder. “Move those paws.” He doubted Xsing was going to be adept enough to run a can opener, but he could hope. Maybe, just maybe, there was a can of tuna in the kitchen calling his name.
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If you’re enjoying the adventures of Silas and Darien, Grim and Pip, stay tuned for Necromancer book 6, coming summer 2022.
And you might also enjoy Unacceptable Risk – Hidden Wolves book 1 – a FREE first novel in the Hidden Wolves series, available wherever e-books are sold. Simon’s on thin ice with his homophobic werewolf pack, and falling in love with a human man may be the last straw. If the ruthless wolves above him in the ranks find out his secret, they may decide leaving him and Paul alive is an unacceptable risk.
About the Author
I get asked about my name a lot. It’s not something exotic, though. “Kaje” is pronounced just like “cage” – it’s an old nickname, and my pronouns are she/her/hers. I was born in Montreal but I’ve lived for 30 years in Minnesota, where the two seasons are Snow-removal and Road-repair, where the mosquito is the state bird, and where winter can be breathtakingly beautiful. Minnesota’s a kind, quiet (if sometimes chilly) place and it’s home.
I’ve been writing far longer than I care to admit (*whispers – forty-five years*), mostly for my own entertainment, usually M/M romance (with added mystery, fantasy, historical, sci-fi…) I also have a few Young Adult stories (under the pen name Kira Harp).
My first professionally published book, Life Lessons, came out in May 2011. I have a weakness for closeted cops with honest hearts and teachers who speak their minds, and I was delighted and encouraged by the reception Mac and Tony received.
I now have a good-sized backlist in ebooks and print, including Amazon bestseller The Rebuilding Year and Rainbow Award winner for “Best Mystery-Thriller” Tracefinder: Contact. Readers can find a complete list of my books with links on my website at https://kajeharper.com/books/
I’m always pleased to have readers find me online:
Website: https://kajeharper.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KajeHarper
Facebook group: Kaje’s Conversation Corner: https://www.facebook.com/groups/208207893795147/
Goodreads Author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4769304.Kaje_Harper
Other Books by Kaje Harper
Self-Published/Indie:
Changes
Changes Coming Down (Book #1)
Changes Going On (Book #2)
Tracefinder
Tracefinder: Contact (Book #1)
Tracefinder: Changes (Book #2)
Tracefinder: Choices (Book #3)
Finding Family
The Family We’re Born With (Book #1) – free novella
The Family We Make (Book #2)