She turned quickly to see an older man who had snuck up on them.
“Always a pleasure to meet a beautiful girl,” the man said, taking her hand and pressing it to his lips.
“Ease up, Benny,” Bear said, grinning. “You’re outdoing even my charm.”
The old man guffawed. “You learned everything you know from me, squirt. It’s good for you to have a refresher course sometimes.”
Alex bit her cheek to keep from laughing. Benny’s rough-and-tumble appearance made him seem more likely to throw a patron off his roof than attempt to woo them with his words. She couldn’t imagine him teaching Bear how to be charming—in the real sense of the word, not just using his gift.
“Good to see you, old man,” Jordan said, slapping Benny’s shoulder in greeting.
“Jordan Sparker,” the man replied, shaking his head. “We just can’t get rid of you, eh?”
“You know you missed me,” Jordan said with a cocky grin. “No one else laughs at your jokes.”
“Benny, this is Alex,” Bear interjected. “She’s staying with us for the holidays.”
“As I said before, little lady, it’s an absolute pleasure,” Benny repeated. “I only hope these two monkeys don’t give you a bad impression of the rest of us here in Woodhaven. We’re not all scallywags.”
“Scallywags?” Bear spluttered at the same time as Jordan cried, “Monkeys?”
“You see?” Benny said. “They even interrupt old men in conversation with beautiful young women. So discourteous.”
“Father, you’re not bothering our guests again, are you?”
Alex turned at the sound of the new voice and found a girl in her early twenties walking over to them.
“Look who’s come home for the holidays, Sal!” Benny said.
“Well, if it isn’t two of my favourite customers.” The girl beamed at Jordan and Bear. “It’s about time you came back from that school of yours.”
“What are you talking about, Sal?” Jordan asked, sounding playful. “We all know you only have one favourite—and that’s me.”
Sal laughed before motioning to Alex. “Who’s your friend?”
“I’m Alex,” she answered for herself. “I’m staying with Bear’s family for the holidays.”
“Nice to meet you, Alex,” Sal said. She was tall and gangly, but she had a pretty face and soft eyes. “The Ronnigans are great people. I’m sure you’ll enjoy your stay.”
Alex smiled and nodded her agreement.
“I was just about to explain to Alex what happens when we have bad weather,” Benny said to his daughter.
“Let’s show her instead!” Sal said excitedly.
Before Benny could argue, Sal pulled a remote TCD out of her apron and pressed the screen. Immediately there came a rumbling noise as the roof of the house began to tremble under their feet. Alex reached out for the guardrail, but before she could latch on, it started to move upwards. What she’d thought to be open air between the rail and the floor—or roof—was actually a kind of transparent glassy substance, which was now expanding to lift up and over their heads. When all four perimeter guardrails locked together in the middle of the newly constructed ceiling above them, an invisible dome sheltered the entire space.
“We have got to come back here at night,” Alex said, looking up through the crystal-clear material and into the sky.
“We will,” Bear promised.
Sal clicked the TCD again and the guardrails slid back down to their original places, opening up the outside atmosphere again.
“Now that the show’s over, how about a drink?” Benny offered. “On the house?”
Alex wasn’t sure if he was making a pun or not.
“What do you think, Alex?” Jordan asked with a gleam in his eyes. “Sal makes the best dillyberry juice you’ll ever taste, and we all know how much you love it.”
Bear laughed and Alex glared at the both of them.
“You like dillyberry juice?” Sal asked, her face lighting up with pleasure. “I make mine with an extra special secret ingredient. I can promise you’ve never tasted anything else quite like it!”
“Um—I’ve actually been trying to quit,” Alex said. “Bad habit and all that.”
Jordan snorted and she discreetly stomped on his foot, satisfied when his amusement turned into a painful grunt.
Alex didn’t want to explain her real reason for avoiding the purple energy drink since it was still embarrassing to think about her first experience with the fruity liquid. But the look on Sal’s face was so disappointed that Alex didn’t want to upset the kind girl.
“It’s been a while, so maybe I could just have one,” she agreed. She wouldn’t make the same mistake and overdose again.
Sal clapped excitedly and flitted away down the stairs to make their drinks while Benny led them over to a table and told them he’d be back shortly with their order.
“How does that work?” Alex asked her friends. “Them getting the drinks up here, I mean. Does Sal just walk up and down the stairs over and over again?”
“No, no,” Jordan said. “There’s usually always one of them up here serving customers while the other is in the bar downstairs mixing the drinks. Once the orders are made, the drinks are transported up here for delivery.”
“How are they transported?”
“Like in the food court where you can touch the menu and your meal arrives,” Bear said. “The person downstairs places the drinks on the TCD, and a networked TCD up here receives them.”
He pointed to a flat mini-bar and, as she watched, three drinks appeared out of thin air. Benny picked them up and placed them on a serving tray, heading in their direction.
“So convenient,” she mused out loud, and her friends nodded in agreement.
When Benny reached them he transferred the bubbly purple drinks onto their table. “Enjoy, kids,” he said, before walking off to serve another customer.
Alex looked at the drink in front of her and sighed. “I really hope I’m not going to regret this.”
Twenty-Five
It turned out that Alex had nothing to worry about. Other than a slight buzz, the dillyberry juice didn’t cause her any negative side-effects. And it was true what they said about Sal’s concoction—it was delicious. Even so, Alex was careful to keep to her one-glass limit.
The three friends spent the afternoon talking with Benny and Sal before they made their way back to Bear’s house around sunset. It started snowing during their return walk, and while she was near-frozen, Alex still thought it was worth it to see the picturesque village dusted with the first snow of the season.
“We’re home!” Bear called out as he opened the front door and stomped the ice from his shoes.
“Just in time for dinner,” said a man walking down the staircase towards them.
“Dad!” Bear leapt forward to embrace his father.
“Good to see you, son,” Mr. Ronnigan said, hugging him back tightly. He looked exactly like Bear, just older, with the only other difference being a dangerous-looking scar that ran down the side of his face from his temple to his ear.
When he finally released his son, Mr. Ronnigan reached over to pull Jordan in for a hug. “Good seeing you too, kid,” he said, messing up Jordan’s hair as he let him go.
“Kid? Really?” Jordan huffed, but Alex could hear the affection in his tone.
Mr. Ronnigan then turned her way with a big, welcoming smile. “You must be Alex,” he said, holding out his hand. “I’m Bear’s father, William.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” she said, grasping his firm, calloused hand. He caught her off-guard when he yanked her forward and embraced her just as tightly as the boys.
“You three look frozen to your socks,” he said as soon as he released her. “Let’s get some food into you.”
They followed William into the dining room just as Gammy and Dorothy walked out of the kitchen carrying steaming trays of roast chicken and vegetables. Alex felt her stomach rumble app
reciatively and she heard Jordan moan with delight.
Evie skipped over to grab Alex’s hand, leading her to a seat where they could sit next to each other.
“I see you’ve already made a friend,” William noted, taking his place at the head of the table.
Alex thought he was talking to her, but it was Evie who answered.
“Yup,” she said. “Lexie and I are bestest friends forever!”
Alex blinked. Lexie? When did that happen?
“But I thought we were best friends forever?” William asked. He was pouting comically and Alex had a hard time hiding her amusement.
“Silly, Daddy,” Evie said. “You’re my bestest daddy forever!”
“Oh,” he said, smiling indulgently. “I guess that’s okay.”
Dinner with the Ronnigans was a blur of questions as the family all caught up. Soon enough the interrogation eased and Alex had the chance to ask a question of her own.
“Bear mentioned that you commute to work each day,” she said to William, ignoring the fact that commuting wasn’t exactly a difficult feat thanks to the convenience of Bubbledoors. “What is it that you do?”
“I’m a Warden,” he said, spearing some broccoli onto his fork. “I work out of our headquarters in Tryllin. It’s challenging, but rewarding at the same time.”
Tryllin was the capital city, if Alex remembered correctly, and it was located on the far north-eastern coast of the continent. From what Bear had told her during their tour of the village, Woodhaven was located somewhere in between Akarnae and Tryllin. Those Bubbledoors were amazing if William could use one to travel thousands of miles and back every day.
“What’s a Warden?” Alex asked.
William had been in the process of lifting the broccoli to his mouth when he paused and placed the fork back on his plate. “You don’t know?” he asked, with surprise—and suspicion—in his eyes.
“I—”
“Alex has grown up with overprotective parents,” Jordan jumped in before she could say anything else incriminating. “She’s been kind of… sheltered.”
Alex was pretty sure Jordan had just managed to imply that she was daft. Knowing that he was only trying to cover for her, she kept her mouth closed and speared a carrot on her plate a touch more aggressively than normal.
“Still, it’s strange that she hasn’t heard of us,” William said.
“They didn’t want her worrying about things that had nothing to do with her,” Bear added, looking at her meaningfully. Clearly she was meant to go along with the story.
“Yeah,” she said, half-heartedly. “I’ve learned a lot since starting at Akarnae.”
“That would be a culture shock,” William said. He was still looking at her curiously, but the suspicion was gone from his eyes. “To answer your question, a Warden is a peacekeeper. We’re officers of the law, responsible for upholding justice and protecting the innocent. We act on behalf of the royal family and we’re held accountable for the safety of the kingdom.”
“Whoa,” Alex said, impressed. “Tough break.”
William laughed and nodded in agreement. “It sure has its moments.”
Alex didn’t ask any more questions, not wanting to sound even more naïve. Instead, she ate her food and listened to the comfortable sounds of a loving family. She found herself fighting off a wave of nostalgia as memories flooded in from meals she’d shared with her parents over the years. Her mother and father might have been caught up in their passion for work a lot of the time, but they’d always tried to spend at least one meal each day with Alex. It didn’t even matter that many of their ‘family dinners’ had been shared around a campfire at one dig-site or another with any number of work colleagues, because they were still some of the best memories Alex had from her childhood. And now, being with the Ronnigans and experiencing their version of a family meal… well, it was extremely comforting. And Alex loved every minute of it.
After dinner, Gammy disappeared into her flat off the side of the house, William said he had some work to catch up on, and Dorothy took Evie upstairs to get her ready for bed. Jordan, Bear and Alex decided to settle in the lounge room, which had cushy couches and a large projector screen.
The three of them watched movies for the rest of the night using the Ronnigans’ high definition virtual reality projector. Just like in the Rec Room, Alex literally felt like she was a part of the show, and after the second movie she was so exhausted by the special effects that she had to excuse herself. She crawled her way upstairs and into Blake’s bed, sighing contentedly when she realised that it was even more comfortable than it looked.
Twenty-Six
Over the course of the next week Alex spent most of her time with the Ronnigan family who embraced her as one of their own. She played games with little Evie, watched Gammy cook meal after meal, and even helped Dorothy work on a new evening dress design. Jordan and Bear spent most days with Alex too, but they also went off to do their own things. Where they went and what they did, she didn’t want to know.
When Kaldoras Eve finally rolled around, Alex realised that she still hadn’t bought any presents, and since Jordan and Bear were out exploring the forest, she took off into the village on her own.
It was easy enough to find something for Bear. Dubble Bubble was the perfect shop for him. The owner, Anton Grey, helped Alex pick out a vial of Liquid Light that, when unstoppered, would last for up to three hours. He even threw in a second vial for her to keep as a freebie after Alex knocked into one of his experiments and started a fire. She felt horrible, but he congratulated her on causing the chemical reaction he was after and invited her to stop by again anytime.
Jordan was trickier to find a gift for, but remembering his comment about the puzzle store Mind Over Matter, Alex purchased him a gift voucher so that he could pick something out for himself later.
She bought a packet of colourful sherbet fizzes from The Sweet Tooth for Evie, and then she tried to figure out what to get the rest of the Ronnigans. The entire family had been so nice to her and even though she’d yet to meet Johnny and Blake, she still wanted to get something for them—as well as Dorothy, William and Gammy.
Knowing that it would be too weird to buy something from Dorothy’s Designs to give Dorothy’s family, she bypassed that shop altogether. Which left only one store—Ye Olde Bookshoppe.
Alex crossed the street and stepped into the dark interior of the store, squealing when she accidentally walked through a thick spider’s web. She shuddered as she dropped her bags and brushed the stringy web off her clothes, shaking out her hair for good measure.
When she was positive that no spiders were clinging to her, Alex finally looked up and took in the room. The sunshine from outside didn’t help to illuminate the store since the windows were completely boarded up, so it took a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the darkness on the inside. When she could see properly, she gazed around in awe.
There were books, all right. Shelves and shelves full of them, sprawled about the room in complete disarray. There was also a glass cabinet of jewellery in one corner, directly opposite another cabinet that looked like it held antiquated weapons from before the dawn of time. All around the shop were cobwebs so strategically placed that it was almost as if they were set there for decorative purposes.
Before Alex could decide if she should enter further or back out completely, a voice directly beside her caused her to jump in surprise.
“You wish to speak to Lady Mystique?”
Alex stared at the hunched-over woman addressing her. She was really old. Not like Gammy old; more like ‘I was alive with the dinosaurs’ old. The wisdom in her gaze was at once entrancing and terrifying.
“No, thank you,” Alex said hesitantly. “I’m just here to look around.”
“You wish to speak to Lady Mystique?” the woman asked again, stepping even closer to Alex, who backed away instinctively.
“Err—no. Thanks. Some other time, perhaps.”
“You wis
h to speak to Lady Mystique?” The old woman continued to step forward, and Alex continued to step away from her.
What was with this woman? Could she only ask the one question?
“I’m just browsing,” Alex said in a firm, loud voice, hoping that the raised volume might help.
“You wish to speak to Lady Mystique!”
Alex actually jumped again with the force of the old woman’s order. It didn’t sound like she was asking a question anymore, and Alex quickly glanced back at the doorway she’d come through, hoping to make a quick exit. But the woman had backed her into one of the bookshelves and was blocking her path. Talk about a pushy salesperson.
“Fine,” Alex relented. Other than shoving the woman out of the way, she didn’t have many other options. “I’ll speak with your lady if you promise to leave me alone after that.”
The old crone’s face transformed. She actually looked amused, if her crooked smile was any indication.
“You’re a stubborn one, Alexandra Jennings,” she said. “But Lady Mystique is pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“You’re Lady Mystique?” Alex frowned at her. “Why all the fuss?”
The woman shrugged off her behaviour as if harassing complete strangers was a regular occurrence. “I wanted to see how you’d react.”
Alex let that sink in—along with the fact that the woman seemed to know exactly who she was without asking—before she said in a dry tone, “Did I pass your expectations?”
“Well, you’re remarkably polite,” Lady Mystique said, and Alex wasn’t sure if she was being sarcastic or not. “But otherwise, yes. Your gift is very powerful. It will serve you well when you finally understand it.”
“My gift?” Alex stepped forward eagerly. “You know what my gift is?”
The old lady grinned crookedly again. “Of course I do. Lady Mystique knows all.”
Alex wasn’t certain if the woman was just a big fake, but there was something about her eyes that spoke of unfathomable knowledge. One moment they sparked with youthful energy, and the next they seemed to hold the weight of the ages.
“So, what is it?” Alex asked.