Page 8 of Wanderer

“And what will you do once this curse is broken?” The way they looked at me left me feeling as if I were being flayed open, my every thought and emotion on show.

I let the truth pour out of me again. Had Debra given me truth serum? Or was this something to do with the mayor’s magic? “Revenge first. Then heal. After—” My voice broke. “I see how much of my mom is left.” Tears welled in my eyes unbidden, but I refused to cry in front of her. Seemed I had no choice, though, when the tears rolled helplessly down my cheeks.

Debra appeared by my side with another damn tissue. I took it with a broken word of thanks, earning myself a smile from both the mayor and their assistant.

“Life has not been easy for any of you. I’m sorry for your hardships. I believe there’s someone here who can help you. Unfortunately, that person is not me. I guard this place, my home, but I cannot interfere in this. The way is blocked for a goddess such as myself.”

“A goddess?” The words slipped unbidden from my mouth. I’d sensed her power, though somehow missed how deep it went.

“Yes, I’m sorry.” She actually blushed! “I always forget to introduce myself. I’m the goddess, Hestia.”

For a moment, I sat there, utterly dumbfounded. “Like the goddess of the hearth?”

“Hearth, home, and family, yes. That’s what Greyhaven is to me, my home. I made this place as somewhere for supernatural beings to be safe from the outside world. Other sanctuaries exist, of course, though this one was the first of its kind in the US.”

My mind was spinning. I was speaking to an honest to goodness goddess! “But you said you can’t undo the curse?”

“No, I’m sorry, but we have many magical beings here: witches, druids, warlocks—”

“No warlocks!” My shout was loud in the quiet room.

Hestia assessed me for a minute, leaving me squirming in my chair. “Not all warlocks are the same, young metamorph.”

Fuck! She knew! How?

Panic flared inside me. No one could know the truth of what I was. I spoke without thinking of the consequences. “You can’t! You—”

“Fear not, your secret is safe with me—and Debra, of course.”

“Lips zipped!” I heard Debra call.

Hestia looked out the window, a slight frown on her face. “It’s getting late. You must be hungry. We can set you up in a cabin nearby, and we can discuss our options in the morning.”

“But—”

“No,” she said firmly. “After food and rest. We start anew tomorrow.”

“Come on, Riley,” Debra called. “I’ll have Fen take you to the cabins where the newcomers usually stay.”

Hestia didn’t speak. She rose from her desk and sauntered over to the window, looking deep in thought. I caught a glimpse of a frown on her ageless face before I turned to follow the brownie out of the room without offering a goodbye.

I couldn’t help but think that I’d offended the mayor, and that bothered me more than I thought it should.

Four

Gareth

Laughter filtered down the aisle of the greenhouse where I worked to bring a rather stubborn plant back to life with my magic. The other witches and warlocks who worked in farming were either in the covered fields or the other polytunnels where we grew most of our produce. The druids of Greyhaven also worked their magic day in day out, but something unknown was eating at this apple tree, so it needed my particular care.

My magic still felt a bit off from the last time I’d worked on the wards with the mayor, which was a few days ago. I’d obviously overdone it. We’d gone six weeks without an attack from the angels after our representative met with the council to get an injunction against them. Rayna was safe for the time being—until they found another reason to come for her—and we had some peace. Didn’t mean we neglected the wards, though. More and more of us with high-level magic were helping Hestia maintain the protections on the town. We couldn’t afford for the wards to fail, or to drain our mayor completely. Not with Riku still in a coma.

I sent my magic deep into the root system of the plant, and there I found the cause of the problem. With a little healing, I repaired the splintered main root and duplicated it, making a sturdy base for the tree to grow from. It shouldn’t need my help again. Every plant I could save gave me such a feeling of satisfaction. I loved my job, but helping here was great therapy. Just knowing I’d saved this plant brought a smile to my face.

Backing away from the plant, I rose from kneeling with a groan. Clearly, I’d stayed in one position too long while I fixed the problem. I stretched out my back and legs before dusting off my grubby hands on my chinos. At this point, they were more stains and weird marks I couldn’t remember getting than the smartly tailored pants I should have been wearing to work. I was just grateful that my classes at Greyhaven College were pretty relaxed over the dress code. They were used to me teaching in whatever I’d been wearing while I fixed things around the town. In fact, if I turned up freshly manicured in a pressed, clean shirt, someone would send for a healer.

“All done here,” I called to True, the druid in charge of this particular greenhouse, as I grinned down at my handiwork.

“Thanks, Gareth. You’re a lifesaver! Oh! Could you check in with Dawn on your way out? I think she wanted you to check over some of her herbs.”