My mate nodded as we passed. Dominic was curled up in one of the seats, half naked and passed out, asleep. He’d spent five minutes declaring to Isaac that he owed him a life debt and would do anything asked of him. Isaac told him to get some rest. Said that he himself was fatigued from the healing, and they would both need lots of relaxation to settle their energies.
I, however, felt wide awake, pulsing with adrenaline in anticipation of meeting this creature. Dragon, check. Wolf shifter, check. Sorcerer, check. So far I hadn’t met anything too scary, but a freaking elf straight out of the land of Faery, that could change the game. I was susceptible to nightmares.
As we exited the bus and crossed into the yard, I leaned in to Isaac. “So, this elf, is he … dangerous?”
Isaac’s face gave nothing away. He was scanning the front yard, trees and plants. “He could be if he wanted to be.”
Great. That was helpful. I stepped back, letting Isaac take the lead. He didn’t walk up to the front door, instead, began to cross the lawn and go for the side gate that led to the backyard, I stopped.
“What are you doing?” I whisper-screamed.
Isaac looked confused, and then looked to the front door. “Oh, the house is just for show. An elf would never sleep inside.”
Of course not. Logan slipped his hand into mine and I felt my dragon settle. We crossed the yard quickly and stopped at the ornate arched gate which was surrounded by a tall brick fence that we couldn’t see over. The druid made a fist and rapped on the gate, as if it was a front door.
“Hello!” Isaac called over the tall gate.
A shadow moved behind it, and I heard the crunching of rocks.
“Who’s there?” the deep voice came from the other side.
Oh God. That voice was scary. He was totally ten feet tall.
“I was a friend of your brother, Yalash.” The druid spoke calmly, as if he didn’t want to anger the elf.
A whimper came from the creature on the other side of the fence. “Yalash is dead.”
Isaac nodded. “I know. Please open the gate so I can explain our situation. Yalash was a good friend of mine.”
There was silence a moment. “Do I need my illusion? That will take a minute.”
Isaac shook his head. “No. There are no humans.”
Oh my God. Holy crap. He needed to put on an illusion to cover his ghastly form from humans? I think I’m going to pass out.
If his form was anything like his deep and menacing voice, my dragon might rip right from my body in fear.
The gate creaked and I clamped down on Logan’s hand. It was dark, so I couldn’t see details, but when the gate opened wide, Isaac stepped forward.
“Hello, I’m Isaac. The earth druid.” Isaac was looking down at the ground, hand on his knees, and that was my first indication that my initial assessment might have been wrong.
“Ahh, the earth druid. Yes, Yalash spoke of you often. I’m Griddish. Come in,” the deep baritone voice said.
As Isaac stepped into the yard and moved out of the way, the moonlight fell on the elfin creature. All three feet of him.
“Oh my God,” I said, startled. He was so … cute. Little pointy ears, white silken hair that fell to his back, smooth pearlescent skin, and knobby little fingers. I wanted to hug him.
Isaac was making hand motions behind the elf’s head. But I couldn’t figure them out.
“Oh my God. What?” the elf said, that deep voice misplaced on his tiny body.
Isaac cleared his throat, and when I looked up he was shaking his head vigorously.
‘I think Isaac’s having a seizure,’ I told Logan.
‘He wants to make sure you don’t comment on the size of the creature,’ Logan responded.
Oh. Whoops. I bent down low and met the elf’s crystalline pearl eyes. “Oh my God, you’re real. I’m so honored to meet a real, live elfin creature from the land of Faery,” I improvised.
He looked down his nose at me for a moment but then nodded. “Yes. I am the last of my kind. It can be quite a shock.”
I’d heard that last of my kind stuff before. Turned out not to be true, but I simply nodded and followed Logan into the yard as the elf shut the gate. Isaac sighed in relief, and I wondered just how dangerous this cute thing could be. If I commented on his size, would he attack?
We walked along a path lit by glowing blue glass bulbs that I couldn’t see any wires going to. They merely hovered a few inches off the ground, illuminating our path with an indigo hue. I wanted to reach out and touch one, but with my luck, it would shoot purple magic and shatter everywhere while simultaneously castrating the elf.
As we walked deeper into the backyard, I couldn’t help but gawk at the beautiful craftsmanship apparent in every little thing. Something as simple as a candleholder was hand carved from wood, with scrollwork and flowers. Bright light bulbs hung from the trees, glowing various shades of blue and green. But the most jaw-dropping item in the yard was the lattice hammock made from thin, woven wooden fibers. It was suspended between two large trees, with a little pillow and woven blanket inside.
The elf walked to a workbench where he’d clearly been working with some wood. Shavings were scattered across the top of the table, along with some weird looking tools. The elf simply hopped up into his chair and then picked up a piece of wood and started carving.
“What do you want?” he said, hunched over his piece, not making eye contact.
Isaac looked dismayed for a moment, but then crouched to one knee. “I didn’t have the pleasure of meeting you on my visits out to your old farm. You were always hiding.”
He stopped whittling for a moment. “I don’t like people. Only Yalash.”
Isaac nodded, pulling his staff from inside of his coat. “I’ll never forget when Yalash made this for me.”
The creature stopped what he was doing and peered backwards at the staff. His face scrunched in pain as he reached out, stroking the wood. “Yalash loved this piece. Said it would do great things.”
Isaac nodded. “But you helped him, didn’t you? You can make the earth wands, can’t you?”
Earth wands.
Griddish pulled his hand away and went back to whittling. “Too dangerous. Bad druids are everywhere now. If I make it for you, they’ll kill me.”
Isaac growled. “Not if I kill them first.”
The elf threw his tools down and suddenly all of the lights in the backyard dimmed. When he turned back around in his seat, his face looked venomous.
“The last person to say that to me was the queen of Faery, and she died, so excuse me for not believing in you. Now go away and stop wasting my time!” The lights flickered and I took a step back. Homeboy was angry and I was starting to respect his three-foot stature. He might look small, but I had this sinking feeling he could dole out a can of whoop-ass, no problem. Logan’s hand clamped around mine, keeping me in place.