When Ginelle and Garrak returned to the house after destroying the totem, Angus’ mirrors were still hard at work, as they had already finished the frame for the barn he wanted to build, and it was coming along nicely. Angus himself was standing apart and actually doing a survey to where he was going to put the walls when he spotted the young witch and her wolf returning. He stopped what he was doing, and slowly walked over to met them both halfway.

“These mirrors are amazing!” Angus said, smiling at them. “They never take breaks and have been working non-stop since you made them.”

“Glad to hear,” Ginelle said, returning the smile. “The barn is looking nice too!”

“At this pace,” Angus continued, “It should be done by the end of the week, and then we can start purchasing livestock from town. After all the help you did for them and their children, the local farmers will not hesitate to give you a discount.”

“Having animals here would be nice,” Ginelle confessed, “And the town has nothing more to worry about. I just came back from destroying the totem.”

“You did?” Angus said, rather shocked. “That’s good news. The town will be pleased to hear they never have to worry about that cursed thing ever again.”

“I don’t mean to sound pushy,” Ginelle said, “But how soon can we build that wall we were talking about earlier?”

“Oh,” Angus said, as he thought hard about it, “If we start right after the barn is done, your mirrors could have something build within a few months. As long as your dragon can find some nice boulders, we can get started very soon.”

“I’ll talk to him about it,” Ginelle said, eager to get started.

“Ginelle,” Angus said, as he noticed some concern on the witch’s face, “What are you not tell me? Is there something wrong?”

Ginelle went on to tell him about the mage, and the discussion they had before she eventually destroyed the man’s totem. Angus stood there and didn’t interrupt as he allowed her to tell him everything before coming up with a response.

“Alright,” Angus said, “I think you did tell him a bit too much, but not enough. He probably has no idea what town his totem was used in, and even if word of your good deed spreads, it will still take time for anyone to travel this far. We have time, but I will make the wall a priority right after the barn is finished. I don’t think whatever I create will be able to fend off assassins or armies, but I’ll make sure your wall is ready should any of them make the trip to visit us.”

“That should be enough,” Ginelle said, “Thank you.”

“We can make plans if we think an attack is coming,” Angus added, “We could make a tower, maybe a moat if your dragon was willing to help out.”

“We can discuss that over dinner,” Ginelle interrupted him, “Which I should get to soon because Garak is getting hungry.”

Before Angus could respond, the big wolf gave him a low mumbling growl to remind him of his impatience and that the young man stepped aside which allowed Ginelle return to the house. The young witch walked back into the house, and while she was starting dinner, she could help but think about her conversation with the mage whose totem she destroyed. Angus was right about her saying too much about herself, but there was something that just made compelled her to say more than she wanted to. Was the mage doing something to cause that or what that the totem at work before she destroyed it? She had no idea but would probably look for answers in the books that Margorie made her carry with her when she left the logging camp. She couldn’t help but stop what she was doing to take a moment and think about the old witch the helped her out. She was worried that the old lady was taken by the soldiers that came that day, or worse was killed by them. She had already lost one mother to the crown and their hateful ways, and the thought of having lost another caused her to cry for a moment.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“Are you alright?” Garrak asked as he noticed her tears.

“I will be fine,” Ginelle replied.

“That isn’t what I asked,” the big wolf countered.

“I’m sorry,” Ginelle apologized, “I was just thinking about Margorie.”

“She was a good woman,” Garrak said, as he sat down on the kitchen floor. “She was a better cook too. No offense.”

“None taken,” Ginelle said with a laugh, “She was better than me, but I’m not bad either as I’ve gained some skills from both of my mothers.”

“Don’t worry about that stupid mage,” Garrak also added, “We shall take care of whomever tried to take you away from our new home. I will eat every one of those royal guards try to take you away again. So will that dragon, and he didn’t play around last time. Ruki would burn down that entire kingdom if he saw you crying right now.”

“I know,” Ginelle agreed, “Which is why I hide them whenever he’s around.”

“Fair enough,” Garrak said, as he understood, “I shall keep them secret too.”

“I just hope I didn’t put everyone here in danger,” Ginelle said, as she was concerned about what she told the mage.

“That nosy mage is the one who will be in danger if he or anyone else tried to come her to cause trouble,” Garrak informed her, “Ruki and I will not allow anything to happen to you, or anyone else here or in that town.”

“I appreciate that,” Ginelle said, as his words made her feel better. She also know that the more she practiced her chaos magic, the more capable she would be in defending herself and those she cared about. She had no intention of letting everyone else do the hard work without her. Ginelle had every right to participate in her own defense.

When Angus’ mirrors finally disappeared, a lot of work on the barn had been completed and he had a smile on his face as he came in for dinner. The meal itself was rather quiet as they two ate while Garrak had his in the other room. Angus looked back at Ginelle and could tell what they talked about was still bothering her.

“I know you’re worried,” he repeated, “But that mage is very far away.”

“I’m just worried because I represent their reason for attacking every witch that’s out there,” Ginelle said, “And they might make the extra effort to come here.”

“It would have to be a very bold action,” Angus argued, “Because we’re not in their kingdom, and they don’t know that you still have a dragon.”

“Both valid points,” Ginelle said, as she felt a little bit better.

“You look stressed,” Angus observed, “Let me clean up after supper, the least I could do since I was more a supervisor than a worker today.”

“I appreciate that,” Ginelle said, “I think I need to rest.”

Ginelle retired to her room upstairs, and Garrak stayed with Angus because he liked helping Angus with the dishes by linking the leftovers off them for than extra snack. Angus still washed the dishes afterwards, but Garrak’s help made scrubbing them less laborious.

Ginelle put her head down and fell asleep rather quickly and had a good sleep as no one wanted to wake her up and get her energy back. Yet she was still restless as dreams about the mage and his threats haunted her sleep. She was worried that they would come after her like they did to her mother, and even Margorie. Witches all over the world were being hunted, and it was this fear that was causing her to wake up throughout the night. She would often calm herself down and then rest again, until the sun finally came back up the next morning. While Garrak and Angus had no intention to bother her and let her sleep in, someone didn’t get the memo, as there was a someone yelling at her to wake up which finally worked.

Ginelle slowly sat up in bed and was stiff but feeling a bit refreshed.

“Get up girl!” the voice called out.

“I know that voice,” Ginelle said as she looking around, and sitting in the open window was her answer. “Marcus! Is that really you?”

“You bet it is,” Marcus said, shaking a little bit in the cold, “Leave it to you to pick these cold mountains to seek refuge!”

“Sorry about that,” Ginelle said, “This was Ruki’s idea. You want to tell him that?”

“Oh, forget it,” Marcus said, as he wasn’t in the mood to argue with a dragon. “I came here because there’s some bad stuff happening back home.”

“Is that so?” Ginelle said as she hopped out of bed. “What’s going on?”

“I followed Margorie and Harrison,” Marcus informed her, “They took them to the kingdom’s infamous tower dungeon. They are locked up there with a lot of other witches that were captured.”

“So, they’re still alive?” Ginelle asked, as she had been fearing the worst.

“For now,” Marcus replied, “I started to fly here the moment I heard they were going to be executed!”

“When?” Ginelle asked.

“I heard something about all of the witches being executed for the King’s birthday,” Marcus said, “Some sick present from some evil magical dude.”

“I see,” Ginelle said, as she instantly suspected that mage she spoke with. “When is the king’s birthday?”

“The said it was in a few months time,” Marcus said, “But it took me a while to get here so it’s not too far off.”

“Well done, Marcus!” She said, patting the bird on the head.

“What are you going to do?” Marcus asked.

“I’m not sure,” Ginelle said, “What do you know about what’s going on there.”

“Well,” Marcus started, “Their fates were sealed when I tried to help them escape.”

“Oh dear,” Ginelle said, “Tell me what happened…”