5. Brats, Books, and Hunters #6
"Gratse," he said. He skirted the edge of the garden, collected the basket, and went to the main house.
First he left the hoe in the proper tool shed.
He would sharpen it later. The basket felt heavier than it should.
He studied the contents. More carrots now filled it, along with two purple potatoes.
The potatoes had not been present, neither had four more large carrots.
He looked back toward the garden and twisted his sight for a moment.
Nothing. The vegetable garden remained as it had been.
He relaxed his vision, shrugged once again, and resumed his walk to the house.
The Great God provided to those who worked, just as His Lady provided in times of need.
Arthur considered the house and the basket.
As he did, the front door opened and a large gray-black dog emerged, followed by a man.
Leopold and Florian. Florian closed the door with great care and the pair eased down the steps, making no sound.
Their care boded ill for the possibility of peace beneath the roof.
Leopold saw him and bounded toward him. Arthur braced.
"Honored Maistru Arthur sir," the Familiar began in the high formal tense. "A mechanical difficulty in the kitchen has perfumed the dwelling." He glanced back toward his Hunting partner and key null.
Florian bowed, then said, "The ladies and youngsters prefer to be left undisturbed as they remove stew from the walls, floor, and ceiling, most honored sir."
Leopold shifted tense, from high formal to the emphatic. "They have sufficient aid for the present." In other words, the women vented frustration, and wise males avoided coming to their attention.
"No major damage was done, sir, save to the jars," Florian added. "The valve will be cleaned most thoroughly before that unit is used once more, and will be tested at the Extension Agent's place for such first."
A pressure canner had failed most messily. "My thanks for the news. I am pleased that sufficient aid is present."
The Hunters bowed and went on their way.
Arthur weighed the news, fatigue, and the desire for rest and quiet.
Forgive me my weakness, please. He turned his steps toward the parking area and his car.
The little one had spoken of opening the winter house.
He would rest there, and give her and her family the carrots and potatoes.
The ladies cleaning the kitchen had more than sufficient, like as not.
Indeed, as he had hoped, lights shone from the windows of the old other-Rosenberg home place as he pulled into the drive.
He parked well clear of where Ladislu's pickup usually resided, and of the little one's own vehicle.
The air smelled of turned soil, dry leaves, and a bit of wood smoke.
Normal, proper scents for the time and season, as was good.
The door opened as he drew near. The little one curtsied. "Bun veniet in noamna Doamna Nocte." Be welcome in the name of the Lady of Night.
He smiled. "Multum chek venia." My thanks for the welcome. He offered the basket, and her eyes lit.
"Mul benes!" Very good. "Perfect, sir. We are having a late supper. Ladislu has a special order that he just finished and is delivering." She took the basket and closed the door behind him, then helped him with his jacket. "If you would care for tea, water is heating."
"Thank you." He washed his hands free of the last bits of dirt before he went to the kitchen.
She bustled about as he watched, preparing a small pot of tea for him, then tasting a few drops before stepping aside and returning to her earlier tasks.
Like her mother she did not ask why he could not trust, but accepted it.
Spicy and a little sweet, the tea pleased him.
Heat from the mug eased the stiffness in his hands.
Tea finished, he ascended to his room. He took a shower and tended to other needs.
The half-circle of scars from the abyssal creature's envenomed bite seemed redder, and he touched one.
It hurt no more or less than usual. The little one and other Healers had warned that some poison might have remained despite their efforts.
Venom mingled with infection in his blood had near killed him, and might yet do so.
It was as it was. He dressed and returned downstairs.
The little one finished her preparations as her man entered the door. Ladislu bowed. "Gratse," Arthur said.
Roasted pork, herbed carrots, and potatoes with tart cheese accompanied a salad of cool-season greens. After he gave thanks, the little one sampled each dish, then served him and Ladislu. "I did not use my father's recipe for pork rub," she assured them.
"I am almost more terrified of Mistress Corava's kraut," Ladislu said before he took a bite of the pork.
Arthur did not disagree. Why his sister-by-marriage insisted on turning what should have been a mildly spiced dish into what the youngsters called "hell kraut"...
Master Lestrang was a bad example, perhaps the horrible warning, of spice abuse.
"Mother says that father tries to shorten the cooking time by using hot spices instead of a warmer oven." The little one shook her head, then had a bite of salad. "Hi thinks Dad burned out his taste buds while he was in the military."
Since Hiram had also served in the Army, he would be one to know.
The Hunter who had been in the Army most recently shared that tendency, as did a paramedic of Vladi's acquaintance.
The rest of the meal passed in peaceable quiet.
The little one ensured that more arrived as needed or desired.
Did her mother do the same when the family broke bread? He had never entered his fica's home.
After the meal, he and Ladislu sat in the family room with small glasses of apple brandy as the little one finished cleaning up.
The rich, spicy flavor of the brandy rolled on his tongue, warming him almost as did the Fruits of the Hunt.
"One of Constanche's better years," Ladislu observed after a second sip.
"Indeed. I am glad that he is more careful with quality than was his father with wine." The mess had been most impressive, even from outside the building.
The little one joined them not long after they finished, bringing more tea.
She poured a cup for herself, then sat in the chair her husband had given her as a morning gift, one smaller than the usual.
Ladislu glanced to his lady, then leaned forward slightly.
"Honored sir, what know you of the mage in Devon County?
That is, may others Hunt safely with him? "
He poured himself some tea, added a little honey, then sipped before he spoke. "If you mean do he and his Familiar have skills and self-discipline sufficient that they will not get between an abyssal beast and a shotgun, yes."
The little one rolled her eyes, very much as her mother occasionally did when she thought he would not see. "How many times has Florian almost been perforated?" she sighed.
"Not as many as Ianku, and not exactly, sir." Ladislu hesitated, then said, "That is, sir, will he assist Hunters in his Hunting territory? Besides those times when our Hunt flows across the border."
"Anno." He gestured strong affirmative. "If he is needed, he will assist. Nor will he object to others providing aid.
Such has happened in the past." The little one nodded very strongly indeed.
Was this the time to reveal the Lone Hunter's true nature?
Something in him held back. No. Ladislu did not need to know, not truly, and the fewer who held the secret, the safer for all.
Skender might yet do something rash. And the Lone Hunter had sufficient duties of his own without being summoned to River County and leaving his own territory undefended.
"Thank you, sir. I ask because of the Pavlovich brothers' relocation.
They may find themselves Hunting, and to have magical assistance would be a boon.
" Ladislu sat back in his chair and sipped the last of his brandy.
The little one still abstained from all spirits.
Given her small size and duties, he fully agreed with her care.
No Hunter desired to be tended by a Healer with a hangover!
After a bit of quiet, the little one inquired, "Were you able to get the gearing order sorted out?"
Ladislu gestured "strong negation", followed by a pair of warding off gestures.
"He does not know what he wants, and so I cannot make what he desires.
Yet it is my problem that he does not know the measurements and gear ratios for what he desires to build.
" A strong whiff of frustration surrounded his grandson-by-marriage.
"I considered sending him to Oberst's, save that Copper would cast hexes toward my place of work. "
He glanced at his lady, then winked, "Or have a trailer of pink stuffed animals delivered there by a dump truck."
The little one gave her husband a tired look.
Arthur hid his smile. She still loved stuffed animals, but kept them away from where others might see them.
Half her collection had gone with their three children when they were fostered.
Her mother and father had not been pleased that the little one and her husband did not raise the children themselves, but had not said further within his hearing.
That serious, credible threats had been made against Shadow, threats from enemies across the Great Sea, had perhaps stilled or at least muted the complaints.
Twins did not run in his family, but both Dumitra and the little one had carried twins. He shrugged to himself. The ways of the Great God and of women's secrets were both beyond understanding.
"Worse. Hi will tell Old Man Hoffer that you can fabricate parts for first generation M-and-M tractors." She smiled in a sweetly evil sort of way. Both men made warding off signs at the very thought.