“Yes. You should rest.”
I face away from him again. “Please tell Gabrio that I appreciate his sacrifice to keep me alive. Tell him that I will never forget him or his kindness.”
“You will dishonor him if I say that.”
I sit up, unable to keep from fuming any longer. I don’t want to hear another stupid word from this man’s giant face.
“Will it, Alwar?” I snap. “Will it really? Because I think Gabrio is much kinder than you want to admit. In fact, he’s probably the only one I’ve met so far who really understands the meaning of your lecture about caring for life in your world. After all, doesn’t it stand to reason that if hurting a species hurts you, then helping them helps you too?”
“That is not what I meant.”
“I don’t care,” I yell. “Just tell him I wish I’d gotten to know him better. He seemed like a good man. Good like Bard.” I start to cry, silently at first. Then not. All along I wanted to go home to make sure Bard was okay. Now I have nothing to go back to. My family is gone. Except for this dog. Who probably isn’t even that.
Oh God…Bard is dead. The realization starts soaking in, crushing me from the inside out.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
“How is she?” I hear Gabrio’s voice from a distance.
“She yelled at me,” says Alwar.
“A good sign,” Gabrio replies.
I open my eyes and am about to yell at Alwar again. I bet he didn’t give Gabrio my message.
“Any sign of the No Ones yet?” Alwar asks.
“No, but Rain Norfolk took great care to ward the property to keep them away. I have never seen so many crystals. I even found barriers in her closets.”
“This is good,” says Alwar. “Perhaps you will live long enough to provide protection for Lake after she returns. Just stay on the property.”
“I will do as I please in my final days.”
“You will do as you are told, or I will personally cross over and remove your head.”
“Yes, sir.”
The old challenge and acquiesce conversation. Well, I’m tired of their verbal dances.
I sit up just in time to hear Gabrio tell Alwar he has more food for me. “I had to be fast about it and did not procure as much as I wanted. The Store People put up a fight.”
Store People? He means the grocery store employees?
“Set the bag down,” instructs Alwar. “I will pull it over. We cannot risk you being drawn into the bridge. The No Ones will find you too easily here at the keep.”
I watch Alwar reach through the window and produce two bags of food. In his hand, they’re tiny.
“That should be enough for a few days,” Gabrio says. “But I found hunting supplies in Bardolf’s dwelling along with instructions on how to prepare human meals from meat. Something called a stew.”
“Very good.”
“I will go now. If I do not find anything to kill, I will bake bread for her. I found a book on that, too. There is flour and other supplies in Bardolf’s food stores.”
“You are going to bake?” Alwar asks.
“If you wish me to stay alive as long as possible, then I cannot risk leaving the property again. And I have come here to provide her food. So that is what I will do.”
I want to go to the window and thank him, but now I’m not so sure I should. What if Alwar is right? The last thing I want is to shame Gabrio by pointing out how incredibly kind he is.
Gabrio leaves the window, and my stomach growls. Master barks at Alwar, who turns around.
“Good. You’re awake. I have more food for you, Lake.” He brings the bags over and drops them on the fur-covered bed.
I look inside. “Chocolate chip cookies? Ohmygod.” I dive right in and tear off the top of the bag, shoving the first one into my mouth.
Oh. Oh…so good. My eyes roll in the back of my head as the sugar and butter melt against my tongue, leaving behind bits of chocolate. I take another one and crunch in up in seconds.
“You seem to like those.” Alwar watches with curiosity.
“Wa won?” I mumble with a full mouth and hold up a cookie.
Alwar frowns but holds out his hand. I set the cookie on the tip of his finger. It’s nothing more than a crumb to him. He pops it in his mouth.
I wait for his reaction.
His face contorts, and then he smiles. “Sweet. Reminds me of eating trolls. My mother used to make little cakes out of them. It took great work to collect so many and grind them up.”
I’m not even going to ask.
I dig out a can of Spam, soup, canned vegetables, and sardines. I guess Gabrio found aisle two at the market.
I open the sardines and offer them to Master.