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It was a mantra that he kept repeating throughout his stay here. It could have been worse, and he could have been fried like his shoe. It could have been worse, and he could have been working with someone more terrible than Helga, who wasn’t all that bad. It could have been worse, and he could have been back in Ostrov Krov, where the vampire houses looked down on his kind and half the population openly loathed him.
Broom’s Isle had some of the most powerful magic users in the Otherworld and the rest of the warlock and witch population, but at least they didn’t try to assassinate him once or twice a week. Sure, there was the monitoring alarm clock and a lot of menial work, but boring was good after a lifetime of misadventures and danger.
“Are you done here, young man?”
He looked up and saluted the woman standing on the back porch and peering at him, then at her pet, now rolling around the grass. Maddox rolled his eyes at Milos and nodded.
“Yes. Kind of. He still refuses to be trained.”
“And how many times did he attempt to break out today?”
“Just once. Unsuccessful.” There was a pause. “Perhaps he wants a bigger pen. Something that extends to the cliff so he can watch the waves more clearly. He seems to like looking in that direction.”
Helga pursed her lips, then waved a hand in dismissal.
“The pen’s big enough for him. Milos needs to learn to adapt, considering how many times he tried to portal his way in here and attack our villagers. It’s for his and the people’s good. And Maddox?”
“Yes?”
“I don’t want you to say things like that anymore. We don’t know if Milos can understand us, and I don’t want him getting ideas.”
“Understood.”
“And do keep training him.”
“Sure.”
It could have been worse and Helga could have already pushed him to the ground for having the gall to state his opinion. Lies could have been spun to put his name in a bad light and make his life a living hell. Even Milos was spared from torture, cementing the fact that yes, it was better here in Broom’s Isle—even if its inhabitants weren’t his people.
“Milos, I bet you understood all that, didn’t you?” he asked once Helga had wandered back into her house, where a glimmer of light appeared from the window from time to time. Milos glanced at the window lazily, then at him.
“Brrr,” it growled, the only thing it ever uttered.
“It means Helga wants to train you so you wouldn’t hurt them in the future. Maybe if we get that portal thing under control and your violent tendencies…”
In response, the creature stomped its paw and jumped inside the portal it created, then landed on another side of the pen where the portal was limited. Milos growled at him and returned to lying on the ground.
“Okay, take your nap. Our morning’s not done.”
And his skin was turning a light shade of pink, so he moved to the shade and basked in the one leverage he had over full vampires: that he could tolerate the sun and wouldn’t be in much danger when he exposed himself to it.
A few hours later, Maddox reported to Helga that Milos hadn’t attempted to escape for the remainder of their time together, which pleased the witch.
“I would have preferred news of him not attempting to escape at all, but I guess it would do for now. Here.” A basket was abruptly pushed at his stomach. “Get yourself something nice from the bakery. Make sure it’s Abby’s bakery.”
Maddox puzzled over it, then shrugged when Helga went to her living room and the flashing lights restarted. He exited the house through the side door and trudged his way toward Abby’s bakery as instructed, despite passing two other bakeries situated in between small hills. Upon entering the third, the smell of freshly baked goods hit his nostrils immediately and had his mouth watering.
“Good morning, guest!” A muffled voice came from inside the kitchen door. When no person came out, he peered at the selection and placed a couple of round bread in his basket, then added some colorful cookies to the mix. The door swiveled open just as he reached the counter and nodded at the woman beaming at him.
“Good morning…Abby?”
“Yes, that’s right. That’s me. I’m taking over for Maura, and I daresay I make better bread than she does—and better income, considering she steals from the register…anyhow, what will you have?”
Amused, Maddox lifted the basket.
“Oh, that’s Helga’s basket. It’s free, then.”
“Free?”
