Chapter 54
Trewoofe
Trewoofe passed through his thrumming protection ward just as the Sun finally dipped behind the trees.
Avice’s garden, much like the surrounding woods, had exploded with life. Rabbits munched on the herbs, birds trilled in the fruiting and flowering branches, and a badger – twice its normal size – used its long claws to root around the base of a giant mulberry tree.
That was to say nothing of the glorious smell. Trewoofe sniffed deeply as he lowered his head to the soft grass. The pollen tickled his nostrils, and he sneezed as Avice slid off him. She squeaked at the sudden jerk of his head but managed to catch herself on his horn before she fell.
“Bless you, Lord,” she said, patting him.
“Thank you,” he replied, twitching his nose, trying to rid himself of the itch.
Trewoofe watched as Avice swept over to the cottage door and unlocked it. Bramble bounded out, his ears flattened in concern and snuffled her all over.
Nature’s Blessing! he exclaimed. I was just about to slip through the shadows and scour the land for you… He paused his scolding as he looked her up and down. Where are the rest of your clothes?
Trewoofe chuckled at his fussing. Avice had used her outer dress to dry herself off and now wore only her thin under garment.
She had not bothered to put on her boots and stockings for the short trip from the river to her home.
To the Knucker, she was a vision with her raven tresses and cloud-white chemise.
He could understand why Bramble would be bewildered to see his mistress that way.
Especially as she certainly did not look so delightfully rumpled before their frisk in the cave.
“Shush,” Avice said gently, running her fingers through his wiry fur. “There was an incident, but Trewoofe saved me.”
As though Bramble had only just realised the Well King was there, he peeked his head around Avice’s legs. He ambled over to Trewoofe, wagging his tail, his eyes bright with excitement.
Lord. He dipped his head. Have you come to take us to your Kingdom? We have all been very excited to see more of the Underneath. Though, we will have to make sure Avice does not panic and…
Bramble continued his lecture, and Trewoofe looked to Avice pleadingly for help. She followed her familiar, tossed her arms around his neck, and pecked a kiss to the top of his shaggy head.
“We are going at tomorrow’s twilight,” she promised.
What do you mean? he asked, wriggling around in her grip to face her.
Trewoofe circled around them, so he could meet the Grim eye-to-eye. “I had to help Avice today,” he explained, “and because of that, I have not yet slain the Tall One that hurt her. We agreed I would return at tomorrow’s twilight instead, once the deed is done.”
Oh. Bramble drooped. I was hoping we would be going now.
“I know.” Trewoofe dropped the very tip of his chin to the Grim’s head, hugging the pair to his chest. “I am sorry it cannot be this evening.”
A bell-like voice chimed, and Ashling – dimmer than usual – drifted into his eyeline.
“What happened today?” he asked.
Trewoofe shifted back and looked down at his little witch. “A Morgowr attacked Avice on Lamorna Cove.”
What!?
“What!?”
They exclaimed together.
Avice beamed up at Trewoofe. His tail swished back and forth from her adoring look as she told her Faeries the story.
She spoke of the Morgowr, John, of how she called for Trewoofe and he came, beating the invading Sidhe King.
She then explained, from what she could understand from their brief argument, that John was in love with King Treth, and that there was an egg involved somehow.
Trewoofe was just glad she omitted their cave romp from her tale.
John the Fisher is in love with the Morgowr King, Bramble murmured. Like you are in love with the Knucker King, he said pointedly to Avice.
She coughed and turned to Ashling. “How are you feeling, my darling?”
Trewoofe would be lying if he were not a little hurt at her dismissal of Bramble’s statement.
He had told her how much he adored her, that she was his soul-bound, and that she was his mate for life.
He hoped that she may be the brave one and admit that she loved him first. If she did not, he would have to take it into his own paws and make the declaration.
“I am still tired. I am not a young Wisp anymore,” Ashling said, lowering himself to her offered palm. “Using so much of my magic twice in such a short amount of time has drained me.”
“Twice?”
What do you mean twice?
Avice and Ashling froze under Trewoofe’s stare. As far as he had known, she had only pulled on the Wisp’s magic the night of the ritual, along with the rest of the Good Neighbour choir.
“Ashling!” she hissed.
The Wisp flickered purple and back to blue. “I am sorry. I know you wanted to keep it a secret. It just slipped out—”
“Keep what a secret?” Trewoofe interrupted.
He did not know that his little witch had been keeping things from him. The briar around his chest constricted at the idea that she felt the need to hide her actions. He also thought Ashling was his friend, so why did the Wisp hide it from him?
Avice stepped back, and Ashling darted behind her. “I did not tell you at the time, because I did not want you to stop me” – she bit her lip – “and I did not want you to be angry at me. I have had enough of humans being mad at me for simply doing the right thing.”
Trewoofe softened at that. He remembered the way she had flinched and bolted when things became heated between them during his stay at the cottage. How she had described her treatment from the villagers, the way they looked at her, and the way she was treated by them when all she did was serve.
He would not add to that.
Ever.
He curled around the trio, pressing them into his flank in an affectionate hug. “I will not be cross with you,” he promised. “I am only sorry that you felt that you could not tell me. What happened?”
She took a deep breath. “I made a bargain with the Nightly Neighbours, to stop the priest from being able to poison the healing waters again. I pulled power from Ashling so I could call them through the blizzard.”
The Wisp peeked out from behind her. “We did it for you, Lord.”
“You did that for me? And my Faeries?”
Avice nodded. “To keep you safe.”
There were no words to express his gratitude, so he squeezed them tighter in his coils.
Avice leaned into him, warming his scales, as she rose and fell with the pattern of his steady breath.
They stayed like that for several heartbeats, and Trewoofe had never felt more grateful for his little family.
His ears twitched as the dusk chorus of songbirds petered out and gave way to the steady chirp of nocturnal insects within the garden and woods beyond. Their tune was accompanied by the clicks of bats swooping overhead and the scream of a vixen calling for her kits.
Trewoofe had already lingered longer than he intended.
The ruthless drum of his instincts pounded at him to continue his hunt and kill the Tall One who had hurt his soul-bound.
He gently extracted himself from the embrace and turned his head in the direction of Knucker Hill.
Avice stared up at him, the shine of her bright brown eyes in the dark was nearly enough to make him change his mind and stay.
“Little witch, I must—”
“Continue the hunt,” she finished for him. “I will be ready at tomorrow’s twilight.”
Trewoofe tickled her collar bones with the forks of his tongue. “Nothing will stop me from bringing you down into my Kingdom tomorrow.” He flicked his gaze from Bramble to Ashling. “All of you.”