Rise of Allies (The Gryphon Chronicles, Book 4) (13 page)

Jake clapped a hand over her lips and yanked her back behind the tree with his cousin. “Shush, bigmouth! He’s gonna hear you!”

“Where’s he going now?” Archie whispered. “If only I had brought my telescope.”

“There! He’s going over the bridge!”

“Ooh, look at the pretty water nymphs! They’re having their own party, too! Why aren’t we ever invited to anything?” Dani heaved a sigh.

“Because we’re
children
. Just as good as lepers,” Archie answered dryly.

“Shh!” Jake ordered. “C’mon.”

They hurried after him.

As they sneaked over the bridge, Jake happened to glimpse a strange sight a fair distance downstream from the naiads’ revelries. He paused and squinted in the darkness.
What the—?

He could have sworn for a moment that he saw a strange creature lolling in the water, its rounded back and long body glistening wetly in the moonlight. Red eyes glowed among the pussy willows by the river’s edge. He could just make out a pair of pointed ears like a horse’s or a mule’s. He hung back, peering over the bridge to try to get a better look.

“Jake, hurry up! Target’s on the move!”

“We’re going to lose him!” his companions prompted.

He jolted back into motion, chasing them. “Archie? Do naiads have horses?”

“Hmm, I don’t think so. The ocean mermaids have seahorses, naturally, but not the freshwater nymphs. Why do you ask?”

“No reason.” Jake glanced over his shoulder at the river, but the hulking form hiding in the reeds wasn’t there anymore—if it ever had been.

Perhaps it was no more than a trick of the moonlight.

“Get out of sight!” Dani warned. “He’s going into that building!” She pushed the boys behind another large tree.

From there, they spied: three heads in a vertical row.

She was right.

Their mysterious quarry had stepped into some kind of a shed with three walls and a chimney with a great, roaring fire.

“That’s a blacksmith’s forge!” Archie whispered.

“What the deuce does he want in there?” Jake murmured.

Maddox St. Trinian shook hands with the large, leather-aproned blacksmith, who ushered him in with a welcoming gesture. The older boy took off his black jacket; put on a leather apron, a pair of goggles, and big fireproof gloves; and then picked up a long pair of blacksmith’s tongs.

The three spies watched in bemusement as he used the tongs to stick a small chunk of metal into the fire.

“Wot’s ’e doing?” Dani whispered.

“Making something,” Archie said with a shrug.

Jake shook his head. “I told you he was weird. C’mon. I think we can get closer.”

Creeping ahead with the utmost stealth, they took up a position behind a pile of split logs meant to feed the fires of the forge. Peeking over the top, they watched intently as Maddox pulled the glowing metal out and placed it on an anvil. He picked up a large hammer and proceeded to pound the piece of metal thin.

Sparks flew at every bang. At length, he tossed the hammer aside and examined his handiwork by the firelight of the forge.

The night got very quiet when Maddox quit banging. But they should have realized they were dealing with someone who possessed a Guardian’s supernatural senses.

Tipping the goggles up over his forehead, Maddox sauntered to the edge of the shed, drawing off his oversized gloves. They could see him clearly in the moonlight.

“Hey, idiots, you can come out now,” he said, sounding dully amused.

Jake whispered “Blast!” and winced in chagrin. Archie and Dani glared at him in reproach.

“I know you’re spying on me,” Maddox called. “Just a bit curious as to why.”

“We just
had
to listen to you,” Dani muttered to Jake.

“How embarrassing.” Archie was the first to stand up from behind the woodpile. He cleared his throat, smoothed his vest, and started forward. “I say! Good evening there, ol’ man.”

Maddox arched a brow at the gentlemanly greeting.

Dani stood up next with nearly equal dignity, brushing her hair behind her ear. “We were, um, just out for a stroll.”

“Of course you were,” Maddox said obligingly.

“We were!” she lied.

“Ahem, what’s all this, then?” Archie inquired, awkwardly changing the subject with a nod at Maddox’s work.

“Made myself a dagger,” the Guardian kid said. “Want to see?”

“Really?” Archie ran to look, suddenly talking a mile a minute. “Oh, this is brilliant! Where’d you learn to do this? You know, I’m always keen to find people who can actually help me build the inventions I design…”

Dani hurried after him to the edge of the blacksmith’s shed, no doubt determined to carry out her mission for Isabelle. But only after Maddox had turned away and headed back into the forge did Jake swallow his pride enough to come out of hiding, too.

Trying his best to look casual, he strolled up to the edge of the blacksmith’s three-sided shop, hands in pockets.

Maddox was holding up the knife he had fashioned. “It needs a lot more work, of course. Smoothing and polishing. But a Guardian’s got to learn how to make his own weapons.”

“That sounds hard,” Dani said.

Maddox shrugged. “I always found working in the forge kind of relaxing, actually.”

“Well, you must have needed it after your Assessment today,” she answered, obviously trying hard to draw him out.

Which was pointless, Jake predicted. Guardians preferred to be the strong, silent types.

“Were you nervous out there?”

Maddox shrugged. “A little.”

“You really were one of the best of the day!” Archie enthused. He started praising him again for his Assessment, much to Jake’s annoyance. “How did you know which gnome was going to be the one that was truly in danger?”

“No idea
how
I knew. I just did. Instinct.”

“Right,” Archie murmured, head bobbing.

Maddox eyed him more closely as he turned to reach for another odd tool. “So. You’re Miss Bradford’s brother.”

“Yes, he is, and I’m her lady’s companion!” Dani said proudly.

“And I’m her cousin,” Jake interjected with a warning stare. Maddox glanced at him with a flicker of mild curiosity, but Dani ignored him altogether.

“Actually, Maddox, Isabelle was
very
impressed with your Assessment, too,” she informed him like a little busybody.

“Really?” The serious lad almost smiled. “She saw me?”

“Mm-hmm!” Dani said, nodding. Jake could tell the carrot-head was loving her assignment.

Girls were so daft.

“And guess what?” Dani charged on. “Isabelle’s an empath!”

Maddox drew back in alarm. “She can read people’s minds?”

“No, only their emotions. Well, except for animals. They’re all heart, anyway, so she can communicate telepathically with animals of all kinds. But not insects and I don’t think fish.”

“Well, they probably don’t have much to say, anyway,” he murmured with a half-smile.

Dani laughed like Maddox’s low-toned quip was the funniest thing she had ever heard in her life. “You want to know something else about Isabelle? She’s a Keeper of the Unicorns! Isn’t that amazing? You have to be a really special girl to get that post, extra-nice and extra-good, ’cause unicorns won’t accept just anybody.”

“I suppose not.” Maddox pondered this while Jake considered giving Dani a discreet kick before she blabbed everybody’s whole life story to this stranger.

“So, Maddox,” Dani wheedled, “do you mind if I ask you a question? Do you have a special sweetheart here at the Gathering? Or maybe back home?”

He frowned at her. “Sweetheart? Of course not.” His cheeks colored at the question. Then he ducked his head and returned his attention to the knife he had made. “Guardians don’t have time for that sort of nonsense.”

Finally, a sensible answer,
thought Jake.

“But you’re not a real Guardian yet,” Dani pointed out in her oh-so-helpful way.

Maddox looked a little irked at the reminder. “No,” he repeated, “no sweetheart. Nor do I want one.” He shook his head. “I don’t have time for girls.”

Good!
Jake thought.
Then stay away from Isabelle.

Dani’s mouth tilted sideways at this unfortunate news. She was obviously not looking forward to passing this along to the older girl.

“Well! Let’s not interrupt the man’s work. A Guardian has his duties,” Jake said in a brisk tone.

“Lord Griffon,” Maddox said as Jake turned away, prepared to drag the two younger ones out by force if need be.

He glanced back warily.

“Your Assessment today. Building the Stonehenge. Most people would’ve let the pain stop them. You kept going. ’Twas well done.”

Jake was startled by the compliment, and then quite pleased. It was one thing to have loads of random strangers congratulating him at dinner earlier, but this unexpected praise from a lad who possessed such excellent skills himself carried a greater significance.

He gave Maddox a stilted nod of thanks, but all he could think of to say was: “Derek Stone doesn’t train quitters.”

“True,” Maddox agreed.

Still, hesitating, Jake could not bring himself to tell Maddox that he had done an outstanding job today, too.

Instead, they took leave of him.

“Isabelle’s going to be
so
disappointed,” Dani said as they headed back to Merlin Hall. She looked askance at Jake. “I told you he was nice.”

“I guess he’s not
that
bad,” he admitted. “Especially since he’s got no designs on Izzy, after all.”

“And especially since he’s not a spy for the Dark Druids, hmm?” Archie taunted, elbowing him.

Even Jake laughed at his earlier suspicion. It
did
sound a bit silly, now that they had had a conversation with the Guardian kid.

Of course, Jake still did not particularly want Maddox St. Trinian for a friend, any more than he wanted him for an enemy. He just wanted the interloper to keep his distance and not try to push his way into their close-knit group. Because if he did that, Maddox might make him look bad.

In truth, being around the older boy made him feel like a bit of an idiot, hiding behind woodpiles. Maddox seemed so mature and superior by comparison. It irked him.

Putting the whole matter out of his mind, Jake accompanied his companions back across the bridge and made sure to look again for the strange creature he had seen in the brook, but it was gone.

They paused on the bridge to listen raptly to the gathered naiads singing before they continued on their way. In the ordinary world, a mortal might be dragged underwater and drowned for daring to listen to the water nymphs’ songs, but at Merlin Hall, such hostile traditions were suspended.

“Maybe we should go have a peek at the fairy market,” Dani suggested at length, gazing at it across the fields.

Colorful lanterns winked and beckoned. Accordion music invited them to dance. Bursts of laughter echoed from the carnival games on offer amid the vendor stalls. But the veiling fog that twisted around the camp gave its allure a tricksy air of danger.

Archie shook his head. “Aunt Ramona told us not to.”

“I know, but aren’t you the least bit curious what might be for sale over there?” Dani asked.

“Only things that would get you into trouble,” Archie said.

“Come on,” Jake urged his companions before Dani took it into her head to insist. “Let’s go.”