watched him walk away from me, the way he seemed to over and over.
4
MY HAND HOVERED INSIDE THE BAKERY CASE. I WAITED a second or two, trying to decide which doughnut was the right one. The two doughnuts that remained were filled with some kind of cream and both had chocolate icing on top. I grabbed the one on the right.
“That’s not the right kind,” Beezle muttered from the inside pocket of my coat. “That kind has cream inside, not custard.”
“How can you tell from there?” I hissed, putting the doughnut back.
“I can smell it,” he replied, his voice muffled by the wool.
“Well, I can’t tell the difference so you get what you get,” I said.
“Just get the other one,” he said. His short gray horns and yellow cat eyes peeked out from underneath the lapel of my black winter coat.
A harried-looking woman with two small boys in her grocery cart pushed past us to get at the baguettes.
“Look, Mommy, there’s a rat in her pocket!” one of the boys shouted, pointing at me. Several other people shopping in the section turned to look.
The mother widened her eyes at Beezle, grabbed her French bread and tossed it in the cart. She “shushed” the little boy while moving away from me as quickly as possible.
I gave the other shoppers a sickly smile. “It’s my guinea pig,” I said, moving away from the doughnut case and shoving Beezle back in my pocket with my free hand.
I’d completed my pickup and decided to hit the Jewel for a few necessities. Of course, Beezle had a different notion of necessity than I did.
“What about my doughnut?” he whined.
“You only get doughnuts if you can stay incognito,” I hissed.
“How is this not incognito? Am I inside your pocket or what?” Beezle grumped. “It’s hot in here.”
“Yesterday you were cold; now you’re hot,” I said.
“People are staring,” Gabriel murmured next to me.
“Oh, gee, why would they stare?” I said. “It’s not like I’m having an argument with my coat lapel or anything.”
The corners of his mouth turned up as I tossed a couple of oranges in my basket.
“That is fruit, not a doughnut,” Beezle muttered. “We don’t want any of that healthy stuff.”
“You know, it would probably be good for you to replace some junk food with fruit. You’re getting pretty heavy in there.”
“Gargoyles are supposed to be round,” Beezle said, and his tone was clearly miffed. “We are home guardians.”
“And I ask it again: then why the hell don’t you stay at home instead of making me drag your heavy ass all over town?”
I was spared Beezle’s reply because just then I felt a wave of energy pulse through the store, the same power signature that I’d experienced only a few hours earlier. Gabriel looked alarmed, and I felt Beezle stiffen inside my coat.
“The wolf-killer,” I said, dropping my basket on the floor and heading toward the front of the store. “Where?”
Gabriel fell into stride beside me. “Nearby, but not too close. The pulse didn’t disable you this time?”
I felt the familiar flicker of magic under the surface of my skin. “No. Either I’m getting used to it or ground zero was far enough away not to harm me.”
“Or you were protected by the building,” Beezle said, his voice still muffled. “Earlier you were in the sky, completely exposed.”
I looked at Gabriel questioningly and he shrugged. “Your magic is a constant mystery to me, Madeline. It seems to operate differently from others I have known.”
We exited the store and stood for a moment in the morning sunshine, trying to get our bearings. It was hard to find the source of a supernatural event that had already happened, but Gabriel had some skill in tracking power signatures. He looked around, then pointed north.
“This way,” he said.
We crossed the parking lot and then Wellington. This was a busy area, with two strip malls right next to one another and a large development of condos across the street behind
4
MY HAND HOVERED INSIDE THE BAKERY CASE. I WAITED a second or two, trying to decide which doughnut was the right one. The two doughnuts that remained were filled with some kind of cream and both had chocolate icing on top. I grabbed the one on the right.
“That’s not the right kind,” Beezle muttered from the inside pocket of my coat. “That kind has cream inside, not custard.”
“How can you tell from there?” I hissed, putting the doughnut back.
“I can smell it,” he replied, his voice muffled by the wool.
“Well, I can’t tell the difference so you get what you get,” I said.
“Just get the other one,” he said. His short gray horns and yellow cat eyes peeked out from underneath the lapel of my black winter coat.
A harried-looking woman with two small boys in her grocery cart pushed past us to get at the baguettes.
“Look, Mommy, there’s a rat in her pocket!” one of the boys shouted, pointing at me. Several other people shopping in the section turned to look.
The mother widened her eyes at Beezle, grabbed her French bread and tossed it in the cart. She “shushed” the little boy while moving away from me as quickly as possible.
I gave the other shoppers a sickly smile. “It’s my guinea pig,” I said, moving away from the doughnut case and shoving Beezle back in my pocket with my free hand.
I’d completed my pickup and decided to hit the Jewel for a few necessities. Of course, Beezle had a different notion of necessity than I did.
“What about my doughnut?” he whined.
“You only get doughnuts if you can stay incognito,” I hissed.
“How is this not incognito? Am I inside your pocket or what?” Beezle grumped. “It’s hot in here.”
“Yesterday you were cold; now you’re hot,” I said.
“People are staring,” Gabriel murmured next to me.
“Oh, gee, why would they stare?” I said. “It’s not like I’m having an argument with my coat lapel or anything.”
The corners of his mouth turned up as I tossed a couple of oranges in my basket.
“That is fruit, not a doughnut,” Beezle muttered. “We don’t want any of that healthy stuff.”
“You know, it would probably be good for you to replace some junk food with fruit. You’re getting pretty heavy in there.”
“Gargoyles are supposed to be round,” Beezle said, and his tone was clearly miffed. “We are home guardians.”
“And I ask it again: then why the hell don’t you stay at home instead of making me drag your heavy ass all over town?”
I was spared Beezle’s reply because just then I felt a wave of energy pulse through the store, the same power signature that I’d experienced only a few hours earlier. Gabriel looked alarmed, and I felt Beezle stiffen inside my coat.
“The wolf-killer,” I said, dropping my basket on the floor and heading toward the front of the store. “Where?”
Gabriel fell into stride beside me. “Nearby, but not too close. The pulse didn’t disable you this time?”
I felt the familiar flicker of magic under the surface of my skin. “No. Either I’m getting used to it or ground zero was far enough away not to harm me.”
“Or you were protected by the building,” Beezle said, his voice still muffled. “Earlier you were in the sky, completely exposed.”
I looked at Gabriel questioningly and he shrugged. “Your magic is a constant mystery to me, Madeline. It seems to operate differently from others I have known.”
We exited the store and stood for a moment in the morning sunshine, trying to get our bearings. It was hard to find the source of a supernatural event that had already happened, but Gabriel had some skill in tracking power signatures. He looked around, then pointed north.
“This way,” he said.
We crossed the parking lot and then Wellington. This was a busy area, with two strip malls right next to one another and a large development of condos across the street behind
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