Chapter 29
“I’ll keep everything in line while you’re away, Sophie. I don’t have another class until late this afternoon and Roland’s offered to escort me on my walk back to campus.” Roland had shown up with the professor not long before the shop was set to open. Apparently Mr. Warren preferred to walk everywhere downtown. Pushing his black-framed glasses onto the top of his head, the older gentleman smiled at all of them. “Now, shoo. Go do whatever it is that you need to do. I’ll be just fine.”
Ree covered her hand with her mouth and looked away. Sophie might look young, but the thought of someone telling the centuries-old Guardian to shoo was priceless. Roland’s mouth was twitching, and he obviously found the situation humorous as well.
As they walked through the streets of the historic district, Ree couldn’t help but wonder what people thought. The Guardians moved with a dangerous swagger, while Roland moved so smoothly most people wouldn’t notice that his feet were even moving. And there, in the middle of the group, was Ree. She had changed in the last week, become more confident in herself, but it wasn’t enough to compensate for her mortal legs. To anyone looking in from the outside, it would seem as if Ree was a bumbling idiot.
Head held high, Sophie walked with purpose. She often drew the gazes of the men she passed, but her intense manner usually had them moving on quickly. After a little while, the group seemed to naturally fall into two separate sets. Reaching back, Paden grabbed Ree’s hand and pulled her close to his side. Sophie and Weylin stayed close, flanking them, while the rest of their group formed a small knot a little ways behind.
The sun was shining, which had the tourists out in full force as they passed the many shops. A group of older women walked past, wearing fanny packs and large cameras around their necks. The hens made a beeline for a gallery across the street. Apparently, the ladies had seen something the day before that they just couldn’t live without.
“I think I’m going to get one of those.” Weylin’s voice was thoughtful as he watched the women jaywalk.
“One of what?” Ree cocked an eyebrow and smiled at her friend.
“I don’t know, Wey-man. I think they might be too much woman for you.” Paden flashed a crooked grin.
“Har, har. I meant a fanny pack.” Looking thoughtful, Weylin ignored their expressions of disbelief.
“A… fanny pack?” Sophie was looking at Weylin as if he had lost his mind, but Ree noticed the corners of her mouth twitching.
“Yeah. Think about all the cool things I could carry in one.” Completely unperturbed, Weylin stopped at the crosswalk and hit the button on the light post. “I could carry knives and some of those cool collapsible swords that Roland uses. Oh, and snacks!”
Unable to contain her laughter anymore, Ree leaned over and clutched her sides. “Snacks? Weylin, I think you might need to lie down. You obviously have a fever or something.”
“You won’t be saying that the next time we’re out and you get a hankering for a pizza or some popcorn. I could even carry bottled water and little sanitizer wipes.”
“How big of a fanny pack are you planning on getting?” Paden raised an eyebrow.
Ree was wiping tears out of her eyes by the time the rest of their group caught up. When Juliette asked what she was laughing at, Ree couldn’t get the words out to explain.
“Popcorn and pizza.” Ree wheezed with laughter between words. “Fanny pack!”
“Breathe, Ree. Breathe!” Bryce thumped her on the back, almost knocking her over, which only made her laugh harder.
“Sophie, I think Ree has cracked under all the pressure.” Roland looked at Ree in concern, but one side of his mouth quirked up in a half smile.
“I want to know why she’s talking about fanny packs. Someone tell me she isn’t planning on getting one.” Juliette was looking at Ree as if she was going to stage an intervention.
“Not her, me!” Weylin jerked a thumb at his chest and smiled at Juliette’s grimace. The light turned and the street sign blinked, indicating that pedestrians should cross. “Think about it, Jules. It’s very useful. I can carry weapons, snacks, and I’ll even let you bedazzle it!” He winked at Ree and she laughed again.
“Oh, hell no! I am not eating food you’ve been carrying near your man-pickle. That is so not going to happen.” Everyone in the group sputtered and laughed at Juliette’s comment. Even Sophie was chuckling by the time they reached the next sidewalk.
Their good spirits carried them to the first stop on their walk. Sophie took them into a tobacco shop that had a weird-looking little man sitting on a stool behind the counter. Sophie nodded at him before leading their group up the stairs. Ree felt something odd about the man, but she couldn’t put her finger on exactly what bothered her. His eyes followed Ree as if he could tell what she was thinking. Frowning, Ree looked away and followed Sophie up the stairs and to the room above.
It was a rather bland living area. A full-sized bed was pushed against a wall and covered with a drab blanket. The tiny kitchenette had a decades-old refrigerator, a two-burner stove, and no oven. The only window had a shade pulled down and a broken, empty curtain rod along the top. Sophie pulled off her leather gloves and went straight to what Ree had originally thought was a closet.
The dark-haired Guardian pulled the door open and disappeared inside. Ree and her friends exchanged a look before following Sophie. What she had assumed would be a tiny closet actually surprised Ree by being a whole different room. Her mind tried to understand how there was another room in a building that shared a wall with the building behind it, but her thoughts were quickly derailed by what she found inside.
There were bunk beds, folded clothes, and supplies. Weapons lined one wall in neat rows—swords, knives, daggers, even bows and arrows. There were things that Ree couldn’t identify, some of which she felt sure were armor. There were also things to fix the different swords and replacement parts on a long work table. Walking over to the table, Ree trailed her fingers along some of the tools. She had no idea what some of them were used for, but that made sense considering some of the different blades on the walls.
Paden had a glint in his eye as he surveyed the hardware. Bryce had already taken a seat at the work table and was examining some of the odder apparatuses. Shaking his head, Weylin took the instrument out of Bryce’s hand and turned it over. He sat down on the other stool and started sorting the things into drawers.
“Uh, how do you know where those things go?” Juliette cocked an eyebrow at her friend.
“Well, these allen wrenches should be grouped by size and shape. Also, these small pegs are for the expendable sections of the weapons.” The entire group grew quiet as they focused on Weylin. “Geez, Sophie. Who keeps this shop up? This is a mess.” Muttering to himself, he started organizing some of the drawers.
“Actually, the golem down stairs was created to manage this safe house.”
“Golem?” Weylin snorted and looked up at Sophie. “Oh. You’re serious.”
“He felt… odd. But aren’t golems made out of inanimate objects? There was something about him that seemed alive.” Ree frowned at Sophie.
“He is animated by a spark of the life force that resides in all of us, but not enough to make him human. Think of him as a robot or animated computer program. He can do amazing things with tools, but doesn’t have much of a vocabulary. Considering that Hephaestus, the god that created the golem, doesn’t care for much conversation, it makes sense that speech wasn’t high on his priority list.”
“Oh, boy. Another god to worry about.” Juliette leaned against the doorframe and frowned. “How many of them are actually involved in all of this mess?”
“All of them are involved to some extent. Some more than others.” Sophie shrugged and turned back to the table that Weylin was straightening. “If you need something from the golem, all you have to do is ask. They are made to fill your requests. They can speak some, but don’t expect any type of detailed dialogue. Most importantly, they will provide weapons when you need them. They can repair your weapons when they are broken or make something you request.”
“So, what happens when someone comes into the shop downstairs and asks a bunch of complicated questions about cigars or matches?” Bryce fixed Sophie with one of his thoughtful stares.
“They either think the golems are rude or stupid. It won’t be the first store to have employees that are considered unfit.” Shrugging, Sophie watched Weylin playing with the bolts and washers in the boxes lining the bench.
“Are all of the places like this one? A store with a hidden room?” Tucking her hands into her jacket pockets, Ree looked back toward the front room and grimaced.
“No. There are some that most people wouldn’t venture near. Of course, we aren’t really normal people.” Looking at Ree through his dark lashes, Roland flashed one of his trademark smirks. “You aren’t exactly normal people either.”