Enchantment (6 page)

“You
and
y
o
ur
father
w
ork
too
hard.
Do
y
o
u
kn
o
w
that
?
”
Paddy
sc
o
wled,
leading
the procession
down
one
of
the
hallw
a
y
s.

Kerrigan
had
long
since
outgrown
the
height
of
the
ceilings
in
the
lodge.
Enchan
t
m
e
n
t
was h
o
st to
m
a
n
y creatures, but Enchanters were—for lack of a better word
—
short. Kerrigan rese
m
bled
his
biological
father,
he
w
a
s
told,
with
long
legs,
m
uscular
build,
piercing
blue
e
y
e
s, and
a
hard,
defined
j
aw.

Kerrigan
knew
he
didn’t
fit
the
picture
of
a
t
y
p
i
c
al
Enchanter,
but
Pad
d
y
and
Todd
had ignored
the
obvious
and
took
him
in
a
s
one
of
their
kits.
Each
y
e
a
r
,
he
gr
e
w
stronger,
s
m
arter, keener,
and
see
m
ing
l
y
m
ore
cold-hearted
b
y
the
da
y
.
Only
Todd
and
Paddy
could
see
through his
br
u
sque
exterior.

To
Enchan
t
m
e
n
t,
he
was
the
Enforcer,
or
keeper
of
the
peace—a
warrior
of
sorts—not
an easy
j
ob
when
m
agic
c
a
m
e
into
the
picture.
The
use
of
black
m
a
g
ic
m
ade
the
Enforcer’s
j
ob difficult.

The
three
continued
through
the
ho
m
e,
and
Kerrigan
couldn’t
help
but
reflect
on
the
fond
m
emo
r
ies
he
would
alwa
y
s
have
of
this
place—Pad
d
y
’
s
constant
fussing
to
ensure
he
w
a
s properly
cared
for,
and
Todd’s
concern
the
coddling
w
ould
keep
the
b
o
y
from
ever
leaving ho
m
e.
Kits,
or
children
that
belonged
to
beaver
famil
i
es,
left
ho
m
e
in
a
couple
y
e
ars,
but Kerrigan
wasn’t
a
biologic
a
l
kit.
The
a
d
j
ust
m
e
n
t
had
been
difficult
for
Todd
and
Padd
y
.

Kerrigan
paused,
his
fingers
tracing
over
the
j
oints
on
the
wall
from
the
times
Todd
had raised
the
roof
to
acc
o
m
mod
a
te
his
height.
The
do
m
e
-
s
haped
ceilings
blended
into
the
closets and
drawers
carved
into
the
walls,
m
a
k
ing
the
m
ost
of
the
li
m
i
ted
space.

U
nease
filled
hi
m
.
If
his
two
s
ofthearted
beaver
parents
had
chosen
this
room
for
their unexpected
guests,
the
two
U
pper
-
Worlders
m
ust
be
tall.
A
long
time
had
passed
since
Kerrigan had
been
back
in
his
old
roo
m
,
and
he
w
asn’t
quite
sure
how
he
felt
about
strangers,
never
mind non-Enchanters,
sleeping
in
his
old
bed.

Cha
p
ter
Three

A
s
Paddy
pushed
the
bedroom
door
open,
trepidation
filled
Kerrigan
again.
The
wave
of apprehension
held
him
frozen,
unable
to
take
one
step
into
the
roo
m
.
Grinding
his
teeth
hard enough
to
hurt, he
balled
his
hands
into
fists.

W
h
a
t
the hell is
w
rong
with me?

Paddy
waddled
over
to
the
night
table,
turning
on
the
light
and
depositing
the
bandages
and other
supplies.
The
round
bed
made
with
d
o
wn,
straw,
and
a
bit
of
bought
m
agic,
had
been ho
m
ema
d
e
by
his
loving
parents.
His
m
o
m
had
knitted
and
quilted
‘til
all
hours
of
the
night
in her
belief
that
ho
m
ema
d
e
w
as
better
than
m
a
g
ic
-
m
ade.
All
his
t
o
y
s
had
been
paw-
m
a
d
e
with
the sa
m
e
love.

A
dim
glow
filled
the
roo
m
,
casting
a
pale
golden
blanket
on
the
two
its
l
y
i
ng
in
his
bed. Kerrigan
w
a
s
stunned.
A
river
of
long,
dark,
shiny
hair
s
pread
out
over
his
pillow.
A
sable tributa
r
y
part
l
y
covered
a
cream
y
, pale
face.

Kerrigan
felt
as
though
so
m
ebo
d
y
had
thrown
a
m
a
g
ic
bolt
into
his
sto
m
ach.
Pad
d
y
br
u
shed aside
the
lock
of
hair
hiding
the
it’s
face.
He
couldn’t
breathe.
He
couldn’t
think.
He
couldn’t even
m
ove.
He
stood
m
otio
n
less
in
the
doorwa
y
.
In
all
his
life,
he’d
never
seen
an
y
t
h
ing
so u
n
speakab
l
y
unique
or
beautiful.

That
w
a
s
not the
face
of
an
it.
It
was
m
ost definite
l
y
a
she.

Kerrigan
glanced
down
at
the
touch
of
a
paw
on
his
ar
m
.
Silent
l
y
,
he
watched
Todd
shuffle across
the
floor
to
stand
next
to
Padd
y
.
“
Well,
are
y
o
u
j
u
st
going
to
stand
there?
What
do
y
ou think
it
is
?
”

Kerrigan
knew
what
he
wanted
to
s
a
y
,
but
of
course,
he
didn’t.
He
forced
hi
m
s
e
lf
forward. H
i
s
m
ind
told
him
to
turn
the
other
w
a
y
,
but
little
by
lit
t
le,
he
m
oved
toward
the
bed.
He
n
o
w understood
what
Todd
m
eant
by
“co
m
p
e
lling
.
”

“Todd,
it’s a
she.
A
hu
m
an
fe
m
a
le.”

Todd
hovered
next
to
his
wife,
his
face
s
crunched
up
in
consternation.
“It
does
look
like
an Enchanter,
doesn’t
it?
Look
h
o
w
long
s
he
is.
Kerrigan,
the
fe
m
a
l
e
is
a
l
m
ost
as
tall
as
y
ou are.”

Kerrigan
could see
the slight
form of
her
body
beneath the covers. H
i
s entire
body
gr
e
w stiff and
tight,
clear
l
y
betr
a
y
i
ng
hi
m
.
He
found
hi
m
self
wondering
what
s
he
looked
like
under
his
s
heets.

Shit!
This
is
not
what
I
need
to
be
thinking
about.
I
need
to
focus!
How
will
I
get
u
s
out
of this
me
s
s?

He
winced
as
Pad
d
y
re
m
oved the
blood-soaked
bandage
from
her
forehead.

W
h
y do
I
feel as
though
I
should care
for
the stranger?

The
large,
ug
l
y
cut
was
still
bleeding.
Paddy
looked
aw
a
y
from
the
patient
and
sought
her
s
on’s
e
y
e
s.

“Kerrigan, I can’t keep bandaging the wound and hoping it will stop
bleeding.
The cut is too deep.
I
could
stitch
it
up,
but
that
see
m
s
a
sha
m
e. Stitches will
leave
an
ugly
scar.”

He
knew
w
hat she
w
a
s i
m
p
l
y
i
n
g
. H
i
s
m
ag
i
c could
heal the wound
in a da
y
,
and
thus, get
this intruder out
of their ho
m
e.
Were th
e
y
all cra
z
y
?
The co
m
p
assion th
e
y
were
all extending to these two strangers
was unthinkable.
Many an
i
m
als
lost
their
lives
c
o
m
ing
near
the
lodge
in
the
Upper World,
and
if
th
e
y
ended
up
in
the
water,
death
was
im
m
i
nent. That
w
a
s
the
point.