Chapter 25
TRACE
Edwin and I worked until the approach of daylight sent him indoors with an apology on his lips.
I kissed him and thanked him for his efforts, which he attempted to shrug off as nothing.
However, because of him and James I’d now be able to bring all my herbs over and be confident they would thrive.
I grabbed a snack and kept working, pushing myself to concentrate until every last flower was repositioned and I’d swept up as well as my flagging energy would allow.
I’d have to bring another sack of compost in the trailer to feed the empty raised beds, but the good news was I was going through it so fast, I doubted there’d be much left behind when my eviction day came around.
Shame my familiar wasn’t a simian of some sort or perhaps I could have bribed him to fling any remainders at Filey’s smug face.
I didn’t like to disturb the other two, so when I was clean and fed, I considered driving back to Essex.
However, seeing as I’d been awake for twenty-four hours by this point, I decided instead to force myself to relax for a while before getting some sleep.
I compiled a plate of treats for Terrance.
I’d been so busy, I’d barely spoken to him for forty-eight hours.
I opened my folding garden chair and set it on the triangle of lawn I’d reserved as my personal garden, setting the plate on the grass beside me.
He arrived before I’d had two mouthfuls of the fruit cider I’d found in the fridge.
I’d have to thank James and Edwin for being so thoughtful about the homely touches they’d added to my new abode.
“Drinking at breakfast time?” Terrance appraised me as he tackled a heap of blueberries with glee.
“Oh hush, you judgey bastard. I’m allowed. I worked my nuts off all night, as you’d have noticed if you’d stuck around. Besides, I’m celebrating.” I explained about my new herb garden. Terrance listened, then said with his usual directness, “Edwin is decent.”
“I know,” I agreed around a yawn. “He really is. James too. He worked right through without stopping for food, the little fool.” I felt guilty I’d not thought to insist he took a break. Terrance picked up on my guilt immediately.
“He is an adult. You are not responsible for the foolish ways of others, my friend.”
“Tell that to my conscience,” I groused.
I sighed and stretched, wincing as my joints reminded me that I had been pushing my body so as not to appear weak in front of a vampire.
“I need to sleep, but I also have to get back. Every day I spend packing up or moving is a day I’m not available to work, so I’m losing money. I just want this to be over.”
“Drink, then sleep. I will wake you.” I eyed him until he added, “At an hour you deem appropriate, not the one I would choose.”
“Deal.” I drained the cider, enjoying its refreshing slide down my parched throat. “What would I do without you, Terrance?”
He didn’t deign to answer, but later, he came and perched on the end of my new bed, tucking his head under his wing as I burrowed under the sensual delight of brand new bedding. His silent pledge to be by my side was louder than any words.
“I can definitely do this for you. The photos you sent were very clear, so I didn’t expect there’d be any problems. And,” he smirked, “I’m pretty persuasive when I need to be.
I’d suggest waiting until after nightfall for the ones nearest the road to avoid any issues with passing traffic, but it shouldn’t take too long.
” Marlowe Reed, the Council’s senior mage, sat down at my kitchen table at my instigation, nodding gratefully when I offered him a mug of tea.
I pushed a tin of biscuits over to him. “Help yourself.” I took the other seat and exhaled a huge sigh of relief. “You don’t know how grateful I am. I thought I’d have to leave most of them behind.”
“What changed?” Marlowe eagerly took a plain biscuit and dunked it carefully. I wondered if he’d eaten or whether I should offer him a proper meal.
“Edwin. He’s given me the whole of his front garden to use for my herbs.
It’s made a world of difference.” It would take a lot of work to coax my biggest trees to weather the storm of a move mid-season, but I wasn’t your average gardener and the tricks I had up my sleeve would ensure they settled quickly.
Knowing I now had the help of a mage to move them out of their established sites was a huge bonus — he could literally persuade them to free their roots from the earth.
“Of course, I shouldn’t really have pruned them right back before the move but… ” I shrugged.
“But you will persuade them to fruit anyway?” he suggested.
“Yep.” I thought back to the last time I’d seen Marlowe and how strained he’d looked.
Unsurprising, considering he’d been looking after a battered and bruised James while the vampires had been scouring Leeds city centre to capture and eliminate his torturer.
Now the creases around his eyes stemmed from smiling, not worry.
“You look happy,” I said carefully. “Work or...?”
He ducked his head, but not before I noticed his cheeks darken. “I love helping out with stuff like this, but I might be seeing someone.”
“Ha, you’re in love. Don’t worry, I won’t press you for details. It would seem that they’re good for you. I hope it works out.”
“Cheers. I hope so too.”
I called Edwin, because Marlowe was happy to wait around and get the job done the same day.
It made sense; he’d come a long way. James answered, sounding sleepy.
I realised I’d woken him and apologised, but he said it wasn’t a problem and asked what was up.
When I told him about Marlowe’s offer, he told me there was no need to wake Edwin to check.
“Get your stuff moved, Trace. You don’t have to ask. You should know that.”
“True. Oh, hang on though.” I grimaced and caught Marlowe’s eye. “I’ll need a much bigger trailer, or a small lorry. I’d have sorted it before if I’d realised you’d be doing it today.”
Marlowe waved a phone screen in front of me. “Already thought of that. Your local town has a place that rents out ‘reliable wrecks’. You should be good to go with your driving licence and insurance documents.”
“James, we’ll see you after dark some time then.
Sorry, I’ll see you.” Marlowe caught my attention again.
“No, right first time, we’ll see you.” I hung up feeling flustered.
Much as I wanted it all over with, the move was gathering pace, leaving me running to catch up.
I smiled at Marlowe. “D’you want to come with me to find a suitable wreck?
I could pick up something for dinner too, seeing as I’m not sure you’d be happy with my original plan. ”
His echoing grin was wide and carefree. “Sure I’ll come along. What could you possibly be eating that makes you think I’d have a problem with it? I’m intrigued.”
After collecting a truly dire-looking, medium-sized flatbed lorry that sounded like a large dying creature of some kind on even the slightest incline, but which inexplicably drove like a dream, we headed back for dinner.
A starter of nettle soup from my freezer and a mixed vegetable main dish that vaguely resembled lasagne but that I’d never labelled for fear of offending any passing Italians brought forth multiple compliments from Marlowe on my cooking, which was gratifying as I usually threw in whatever was ripe from the garden and made it work.
When we’d cleared up, I followed him outside where he helped load several more bulging bags of compost into the truck. “The trees will like that,” he commented with a jerk of his head. “It will calm them on the drive.”
“Seriously?” I was all in with my plants, but this had never occurred to me. Mind you, I’d never contemplated moving fully established trees before.
“Absolutely,” he assured me, wandering from tree to tree, feeling their trunks and…
listening? Yes, I think he was listening to what they told him through the connection of his palms against their bark.
“Compost is part of the cycle of life. It’s comforting, like a blanket for a person on a cold day.
They don’t need to be wrapped in it, but they will feel it’s there.
” He halted next to a medium-sized ash tree.
“You pollarded this?” His tone was guarded.
I sighed. “Don’t judge me for it, please. I asked permission and explained why. If I’d let it grow too big, it would’ve overshadowed too much else, plus then I’d have definitely had to leave it for Filey and his mob. This way, it will live for as long as I’m able to watch over it.”
There was a loaded pause before Marlowe gave me a brief, decisive nod.
“I like working with you,” he said quietly.
“You really care.” Without waiting for me to reply, he crouched down and began chanting, soft syllables that sounded old and unfamiliar to me, and yet still made my insides quiver with a nostalgia for something I didn’t want to examine too closely.
Marlowe stood and gestured for me to take a few paces back. As I watched, with soft creaks and sighs, the ash tree trembled. With agonising slowness, the entire plant worked free from its rooted position, until finally it lurched towards the mage.
“Goddess.”
My whisper must have travelled across the lawns. Marlowe shot me a quick grin. “Might be an idea to back that lorry up a bit, and bring those old planks you told me about. I’m good, but I’m not stretching my talents to levitate a dozen trees. They can walk, same as the rest of us.”