23. Gearheart Lockets
TWENTY-THREE
GEARHEART LOCKETS
A good night’s sleep is more than just a luxury—it’s essential for maintaining balance. A well-rested gentleman is sharp, composed, and less prone to those regrettable outbursts that come with exhaustion.
Prioritize your rest by establishing a consistent routine. Ensure your sleeping space is both comfortable and secure, regardless of which form you may find yourself in come morning.
–EXCERPT FROM THE METAMORPHIC MAN: A GENTLEMAN SHAPESHIFTER’S GUIDE TO CULTURED CONDUCT
The moment Arthur laid Maida on the couch in the library, her eyes opened. She sat upright. Her hand flew to the back of her head where she had a goose egg, and she winced.
If that bump was the worst of it, she was lucky. He stepped back to observe her. Her body was covered with scratches, but miraculously she didn’t appear to have been seriously injured.
“Let’s just have a look, shall we?” Arthur recognized Dr. Dvita at once and was relieved to see him there.
The doctor was still in his slippers and wearing his white lab coat like a bathrobe over his pajamas. His stethoscope hung around his neck.
Will stood anxiously in the corner with his back turned, fists clenched. “Is it safe to turn around?” Will asked. “I don’t want to pass out. I get a little weird around blood.”
Maida patted her head and glanced down worriedly at her hands. “Am I bleeding?”
“No. It’s okay, Maida. You’re okay,” the doctor soothed. “Try to stay still for a moment while I have a look at you? You fainted and I want to make sure you don’t have a concussion.”
“Was I out for long?” Maida asked.
“Just a few seconds,” Dr. Dvita reassured her.
He shone a light in both of her eyes. “I think it was a shock more than anything. And likely a lack of food. You’ve eaten very little since yesterday.
I think once you catch your breath and have a little something to eat and drink, you’ll be just fine. Now, where’s my newspaper?”
Arthur breathed a sigh of relief.
The doctor packed his stethoscope into his satchel and pulled out a newspaper, which he tucked under his arm. The headline read Mudpuddle Still Missing: Theories Abound.
“Oh! It’s safe to turn around, Will. There’s no blood. Maida’s going to be fine,” the doctor called out as he settled into a rocking chair near the bookcases.
“Thank the stars!” Will spun around. He didn’t seem to want to make eye contact with Arthur.
“How about I see what I can round up for breakfast?” Will suggested.
He didn’t wait for an answer before rushing off towards the kitchen. He was in such a hurry, he almost collided with Granny Luna. She was holding two cups of coffee in one hand and an ice pack in the other. There was also a scraggly, shabby stuffed animal tucked under her arm.
“Here’s some coffee for the two of you.” Granny fussed. “And an ice pack for that bump on the back of your head, Maida. That should help the swelling.”
She set the mugs on the coffee table and handed the ice pack to Maida. Then she turned to admire Arthur. “Such a fine shaper you are, Arthur Hart. Quite the hero, too!”
Granny Luna snapped the toy at him like she was snapping a tea towel. Then she tossed it to Maida. “I’ve brought you Mr. Pants for comfort as well.”
Arthur did a double take at the toy. Mr. Pants? Where had he come from?
Maida caught the stuffed animal and set it on the couch beside her. She placed the ice pack against her head briefly, but quickly set it back down again so she could drink her coffee. Granny Luna frowned.
“You should be icing!” Granny scolded. “And you don’t want to get a chill, do you?” She draped another one of her afghans over Maida’s shoulders.
“I’m fine, Granny,” Maida argued. “You don’t need to fuss. It barely hurts.” Then she helped herself to a large sip of the coffee, closing her eyes as she swallowed.
A moment later, Maida set her coffee down shakily.
“I loved that old tree,” she said. She leaned back and hugged the old toy to her chest, absent-mindedly flossing the fingers of her left hand with its velvet coated antlers.
“I always thought of that tree as my friend. Why would it do something like that?”
“It wasn’t the tree’s fault, dear. ’Twas enchanted,” Granny Luna said, leaning over the back of the sofa beside Maida. “Particularly nasty bit of magic, if you ask me. You might have been killed.”
“I’m not so sure it wanted to kill me.” Maida shook her head. “It definitely wanted to take my locket, though.” She touched the locket with her free hand.
Arthur carried his mug to a club chair on the far side of the sofa. His coffee was black like he preferred it, and strong like he needed it. He settled into the plush, comfortable seat, allowing some of his tension to ease.
“You know,” Granny perched on the arm of the doctor’s chair, “whoever hexed that tree couldn’t have been all that bright. Such a shame. The poor tree didn’t stand a chance against Buffalo’s horns. It was magnificent to see him in full form again, though, wasn’t it?”
There was something savagely proud in the way Granny Luna’s eyes flashed. Dr. Dvita lowered the paper and set aside his pipe to respond.
“I’ll say! What a sight that was to see him shift after all that time, Beryl!” He addressed Granny by her first name. “Did you ever think you’d see the day?”
“No, Tarquin, I most certainly did not!” Granny replied to Dr. Dvita. She smoothed his lab coat affectionately.
Granny Luna turned back to Maida, eyes shining. “I wish you could have seen it, Maida! Your da shifted so quickly, so seamlessly, even after thirty-five years. It was simply spectacular!”
“Has it really been that long?” Maida asked. Her brow furrowed as she considered this.
“Your father hasn’t allowed a lick of magic here since the day you were born.
It was quite a challenge for my old bones, you know.
Walking is not what fairy feet were made for.
” Granny Luna reached back and pulled a long, slender leaf from her carefully coiffed hair.
“Fiddleferns! I thought I got them all.”
“That really was you up in the tree?” Maida blew out a long sigh. She stared at Granny with a mix of horror and respect, as if she were truly seeing her for the first time. “Granny! You were savage. You bit right through the branches that were strangling me!”
“Well, of course I did. My dentist is always going on about the importance of flossing. It’s just been a while since I did it with willow bark.” She winked at Maida, who still appeared to be processing the somewhat feral nature of her fae guardian.
“Glad to see you’ve kept your teeth as sharp as your tongue, Granny.” Buffalo’s colossal form momentarily blocked the light as he crossed through the doorway.
He’d shifted back into human form again, but the smells of grass and earth still clung to him.
His hair was mussed, and his eyes glimmered with lingering golden sparks of fresh magic.
Most noticeably, his posture had changed.
It was subtle, yet unmistakable. Buffalo stood taller, prouder, and stronger.
Thirty-five years of suppressing one’s true nature?
It caused Arthur physical pain just thinking about it.
Buffalo must have read Arthur’s thoughts, because the older man’s mouth tilted up on one side as he nodded in acknowledgement.
Then Buffalo’s attention was locked on his daughter.
He rushed across the room to embrace his Maida, but at the last minute reconsidered, kissing the top of her head gently, instead.
She looked so small next to his hulking form.
“I’m okay, Dad,” Maida said.
“I can see that,” Buffalo said. He settled on the edge of the coffee table in front of her. “Have you thanked Arthur Hart for catching you?”
“She doesn’t have to thank me,” Arthur objected. He scraped a hand through his hair and attempted to change the subject. “I’m glad I could help. Right place, right time, et cetera.” He was babbling. He felt his cheeks redden.
“Wait. What are you doing here, Arthur?” Maida’s cool eyes sought his own in a curious, but not unkind, way. “I thought I already signed the papers you needed.”
“Yes, indeed, but the circumstances have changed now that you’ve been enlightened.
There’s no need for me to act as your proxy now that you’re here.
Speaking of which,” he turned to address Buffalo, “I’d like for Maida to come to Primrose Court with me shortly, assuming she’s up to it.
I thought we might visit the apothecary and speak to Lucretia.
She might have some ideas about how to secure Maida’s inheritance. ”
“You’re assuming Maida wants to go there and claim it.” Buffalo looked sternly at Arthur and turned back to Maida. “You don’t have to go anywhere you don’t want to go, darling. You’re more than welcome to stay here and rest.”
Arthur returned his gaze to Maida. She was still studying him as if she were weighing a decision. “Lucretia is my mother’s sister?”
“Yes.” Arthur nodded.
Maida set the ice pack on the table. She sat up straighter, leaning towards her father, chin out and head held high. “I’m fine, Dad. I’m here now, and I want to go. I want to meet this aunt of mine.” She smiled a weak smile at her father, then turned to look at Arthur.
“Okay.” Arthur held her gaze for a moment, then glanced back at Buffalo. “The sooner we settle this, the better.” He rubbed his hands together. “Whoever broke into Maida’s apartment and enchanted the tree is still out there.”
“What do you suppose they want?” Maida crossed her arms protectively in front of herself.
“They want her gearheart locket, obviously.” Will Porter burst back into the room, laden with pink and white bakery bags that bore a now familiar logo.
Arthur felt his eyes bugging when he read the name. The Bunny Hole.
“Who’s hungry?” Will asked cheerfully.
“Are you kidding me, Will? You made me take a ten hour red-eye home from Los Angeles, but you just popped back out to California to pick up donuts?”