Beyond the Gates of Evermoore

She almost squirmed beneath his gaze, but somehow didn’t. Lucus was looking at her the way a man looks at a half-naked woman, and that was to be expected. But beneath that, there was also more. A certain concern in his eyes, that superseded anything sexual.

“You don’t seem like you’re sorry.”

The blacksmith shrugged. His shoulder-length black hair shrugged with him, brushing the tips of his broad shoulders. His cloth shirt was stuck to his body by sweat. It was as if he’d been running to get here.

Melody wrung out her hair, then casually began slipping back into her dress. He still didn’t look away. Neither did she.

“What is this place?” she asked. “It’s beautiful.”

He paused before answering. “It was the Lady’s garden.”

“Was?”

Lucus’s eyes shifted slightly, almost in frustration. Like he was searching his memory for something, but couldn’t find it.

“Anyway, why can’t I be here?”

He paused, taking a deep breath. Considering. Deciding. Finally, he turned and looked behind her. Melody followed his gaze…

The other side of the garden was shrouded in mist. The mist. The one that had rolled in when she’d first arrived. The one that was somehow still here.

“That’s why,” said Lucus grimly.

Melody’s eyes narrowed. The strange rolling fog lingered just on the other side of the hedge maze, stretching in both directions. She could see pathways and flower beds that continued beyond, but that part of the garden had already been swallowed.

She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Her throat was suddenly too dry.

“You should get back to the house,” said Lucus. “The house is safe.”

The house…

Melody turned and looked back. Over the top of the hedge she could see the slight rise leading up to the house. From the back, Evermoore manor was every bit as impressive as the front. Only now it seemed faint. So very far away…

“Go on,” said Lucus. “The thing you’re looking for isn’t here anyway.” He gestured around the beautiful l

ittle circle in the center of the maze. “Not in this place. Not now.”

“Not now?”

He took a step forward. This time though, he actually smiled. It was a warm, gentle smile, and it eased her almost immediately. Especially when Lucus bent to pluck a small white flower from the foot of the statue.

“Do you trust me?” he asked her, stepping closer. They were toe to toe now. Chin to chest.

“Sure,” she said with a half shrug.

Lucus reached up with one hand and slowly tucked the flower into her hair. Very gently, he pinned it behind her ear.

“Then stay away from this place,” he said.

Melody yawned. She had no idea why she was yawning. She tried stopping herself, then yawned again.

“O—Okay,” she agreed finally.

Lucus nodded. His hands grasped her shoulders for the second time and spun her around. Then her feet were moving again, and she was back in the maze.

Getting out of the hedge was somehow tougher than getting in. Everything seemed more disjointed on the way out, the turns more confusing. The steps she took seemed smaller, too. Like she was dragging her feet.

Finally she was back in the garden, passing beneath the stone archways. She took the path through the small iron gate, and was halfway back to the house when she noticed something.