Galena

Maggie didn’t come back downstairs after yelling at Jace. She retreated to her bedroom and sat on the bed, alone - crying. She wouldn’t know what to do if she lost her brother again. He was lucky Heath was there or else he would’ve been taken into custody and killed for assault. She thought about how grateful Kim was hearing that Jace did this for her husband. Kim asked how the bakery was doing and Maggie answered truthfully. With another business being taken over a few doors down from the shop, business was slowing down greatly. They were throwing things out for sitting on the shelves for too long.

It saddened her, but it was helping her decide what to do with the shop; which circled her right back to thinking about Heath. She needed to thank him, but during the fair, she stayed away from Central Galena. She couldn’t imagine being caught up in the secret magic dealings that occurred during these events.

After the long four-day weekend, Maggie was back in the bakery with Emma and Jace. She sat in the office, going over their stock and a few orders they received after the fair. As she stared at the numbers and names of everything, she began tapping her pencil on her notebook. She needed to see if Heath was in the market. She stood from her seat and grabbed her cloak. She shoved her list into her pocket and hurried across the shop. She called out to Emma and Jace that she would be back and left.

Maggie found Heath standing at the viewpoint railing that looked over eastern Kent and Picco. It wasn’t exactly where she thought she’d find him, but she was glad she did. And for the first time in two years, she approached him first.

“So, I guess I need to thank you,” she said, leaning against the banister with him. She looked up at him and saw he was staring at the forgotten mountain just beyond Picco.

The corner of Heath’s mouth rose, as he kept his eyes on Mount Len. “For what?” he asked.

“For helping my brother over the weekend.”

“Did Emma tell you it was me?” he looked over at her.

Maggie shook her head, “They said a Captain and you’re the only one who would’ve let that slide.” She stepped closer to him and gave him a smile.

Heath turned to face her and smirked, “I did let my guy get a few good hits off him.”

She returned his smirk, adding, “You didn’t have to stop that Knight.”

“I was doing my job and Jace wasn’t a part of the trouble my guy was looking to cause.”

As Maggie looked up at him, she saw how tired he was. Her eyes dropped to the duffle bag at his feet and asked, “Are you just getting off the clock?”

“I worked four days straight. The people of Galena just don’t know when to quit.”

“You are in their territory,” she teased, then crossed her arms and looked away. “Were you looking to leave now?”

“Maybe, why?” he asked. He was intrigued by her subtleness. “Do you have something else in mind?” he let out.

Maggie saw him take a step closer to her and felt her stomach flutter. She couldn’t say what she wanted to ask him, she could only look up at him.

“Why yes, Miss Creed, I would love to have breakfast with you,” he said, picking up his bag and ushering her to take the lead.

Maggie rolled her eyes and gave him another smirk. They left the viewpoint and walked through Central Galena to find a place to eat. Maggie insisted they go to the cafe in the market, but Heath pulled her into a small diner. They took a seat in a booth and Heath told her to order anything from the menu.

“I can’t stay too long, Heath,” she told him after thanking the waiter for her tea, “I have a bakery to shop for and you need to go to bed.”

“I’m not asking you to stay all day,” Heath began. He ordered a breakfast platter and looked back at Maggie, “Go on. You know that sounded good.”

Maggie sighed and ordered the same platter, substituting the pancakes for waffles. Heath thanked the waiter and handed him their menus. His gaze dropped back to Maggie and he watched her eyes bounce around the diner. She was lost in thought at the fact that nobody knew she was sitting in a booth with a Garzil Knight. The cowls they wore around their heads hid their faces so well that the only way to tell who they were was by studying every Knight’s eyes. She looked back at Heath, catching his gaze. They were a deep green and were kind and ‘human’ - just like Emma said when she met him.

“What is it?” Heath asked, noticing her watch him.

“Don’t your guys ever say something?” she asked, sitting back as her food was placed in front of her. “You’re always being seen with the daughter of a Creed.”

At that moment, the amusement in his eyes turned serious when he answered, “My guys know not to cross me.” Heath dropped his eyes to his plate and he began to load his fork up with eggs, sausage, and home fries. He wasn’t about to tell her what happened to the Knight that broke her brother’s cheekbone.

Maggie looked at him for a second longer, almost comforted by his answer. “Fair enough,” she said, lifting her fork to eat. After a few bites, Maggie said, “You seem to know everything about me, but I know nothing about you.”

“There’s not much to know,” Heath said with a mouth full and shrugging. He took a gulp of his water and placed the glass down. “I live in Picco- I was raised by my aunt. I have no siblings- I had a pet dog when I was younger, but,” he shook his head and scrunched his nose, “he wasn’t really my dog.”

Maggie was amused watching him think of things to tell her. She kept her interest on him while pouring syrup on her waffle. “What about your parents?” she asked, placing the dispenser back on the table.

“I don’t talk about them,” he answered, finishing the last half of his pancake. “There just isn’t much to say on that topic.”

“Okay,” Maggie responded, trying to think of something he hadn’t mentioned. “So, when did you join your profession?”

Heath looked up at her and smiled, “That is something I will have to tell you on another day.”

“Really?”

“It’s a very long story.”

Maggie nodded and told him that one day she expected him to tell her. Heath promised he would, and they finished their food. Heath paid the bill and they left the diner. Standing in the street, Maggie thanked him for breakfast.

“Maybe we can do it again?” he asked, telling himself he was pushing his luck.

“We’ll see,” Maggie answered and gave him a soft smile.

“So that’s a yes?”

Maggie rolled her eyes and pushed his arm, “Go get some rest!”

Heath chuckled then leaned forward and lightly kissed Maggie’s cheek, catching her off guard. Her cheeks flushed and he leaned back, telling her goodnight. He walked around her to leave and Maggie turned to watch him. She touched her cheek where he kissed and felt her stomach swarm with butterflies.

“Damn him…” she let out and pulled herself out of the daze she was under. She quickly left where they stood and went straight to the bakery. She needed to get what just happened out of her head.

Emma knew something happened to Maggie while she was out. As soon as Maggie came back, she went straight to work. She cleaned, adjusted cake shelves, counted the safe and register, and didn’t speak to Emma or Jace until Emma interrupted the distractions Maggie created for herself and invited her to temple that Sunday.

Sunday morning, before Emma met Maggie, Emma showed Marie what she could do with her staff. She had been learning how to amplify her magic with her consort. She felt like she was becoming stronger and more connected to the magic within her. Showing Marie her healing ball was interrupted by a white wolf sitting behind Marie and watching them.

“You have a visitor,” Emma said, leaning on her staff.

Marie turned around to see Benzi. She smiled at the wolf and went to him. After a moment of speaking in tongue with him, she turned to Emma, saying, “Benzi says you’re taking Maggie to the temple?”

Emma nodded, “She asked a while ago. She’s very curious, but I think afraid…”

“With Galena in its darkest times, hearing that Yhden is still being prayed to is like a ray of light. Taking her to the temple is a wonderful idea.”

Benzi made a sneezing sound and Marie translated, “He says to sit in the presence of our once worshipped idols will help her. May even help her realize a few things.”

“What else does he say?”

“That you should get going before you’re late,” Marie answered with a grin.

Maggie’s eyes widened when they entered the temple’s yard. The temple looked like an abandoned building in the back of a garden. The Garzil completely overlooked it when they tore down the others. Emma held the gate open and watched Maggie’s eyes grow even wider as she stared at the two large statues in the back of the room.

“They symbolize the light and darkness of Yhden’s power,” Emma said, stepping next to Maggie, “You can’t help but adore them both equally.” She walked ahead of Maggie and kneeled before the statues, feeling their warmth take over.

Maggie followed and stared up at Nainen while Emma introduced her to them. Emma took a seat on the bench and held her necklace as she closed her eyes. She felt like they were smiling and thanking her for bringing Maggie to see them. Maggie sat in silence while Emma prayed and spoke a few moments after Emma finished, “I stopped praying to Yhden after Jace ran away… They took away the person I needed the most after mom was taken. I hated them for it.”

“But they brought him home,” Emma let out, looking over at her friend.

“With no memories,” Maggie said, rubbing her hands between her knees and looking away from Emma and the statues. “I grew up trying to protect my brother and when he left, I felt helpless. Sometimes I still feel helpless when it comes to him,” Maggie said, shaking her head and drawing in a deep breath. “At least he’s happy now,” she added, finally looking back at Emma, “You’ve brought that joy to him.”

“And you?” Emma asked, taking Maggie’s hand, “Have you been happy?”

“It’s nice to finally have a friend,” Maggie said, squeezing her hand and trying to smile.

“Everything happens for a reason, but I also think Yhden put us all together. I think they even put Heath in your life, Mags.”

Maggie scrunched her eyebrows at Emma, “How?”

“The other day for example? Heath stopped that Knight.”

“Heath always checks up on Jace. I don’t know why, but he does.”

“He checks up on you too. You see him almost every weekend, don’t you?”

Maggie looked at Emma, letting her words sink in. She thought back to when she went to breakfast with him and how he kissed her cheek before they left each other.

“I’m sure if you needed him, he would be there,” Emma added. “Even if it was as simple as giving you advice,” Emma shrugged and looked back up at the statues.

Maggie stared at Emma thinking about when Heath gave her advice about the bakery. She finally understood why he told her what he did. He was protecting her. If the Garzil took that bakery and found their way into the basement, her and Jace would end up like their neighbors and she couldn’t let that happen.

Maggie finally knew what she had to do.

***

Maggie stood in front of the bakery after having lunch with Emma. She unlocked the door and slipped in, locking it behind her. She made her way to the office and opened the closet. Her heart began to race as she took in a deep breath before reaching behind the coats.

When she found the nail that triggered the secret door, she pushed down and heard the door creak open. She stepped through the coats and looked around the dusty room as the lights automatically turned on. She looked at the plans pinned to the walls and the empty space where the painting once hung. She went to the bookcases and took a book off the shelf. She began to read through it, sitting on the cold floor. She flipped through one, scanning the pages, then moved to the next.

One notebook she came across was very upsetting to see. It was a list of people’s names who were taken to Valo - each name had an ‘x’ next to them showing they never came back. Vivian’s name was the last one. Maggie sadly put this notebook back on the shelf and went through a few more books.

Hours later, she concluded that Heath was right: this was a land mine and she had to do something about it. But she didn’t trust her magic if she only changed the room to look like a typical office. She had to do something more drastic - she had to burn everything. It was the only way to protect herself and Jace in case the bakery was ever taken from them. She slipped her gloves off and moved to the first wall. She conjured a small fire and set the papers on fire, quickly extinguishing the flames and smoke. She continued around the room, sobbing and apologizing to her mother for having to do this.

When she got to the notebooks, she did the same.

After igniting everything, Maggie looked around the room. It was just a room now, there wasn’t even a sign she was ever inside. She wiped the tears from her eyes and stepped through the closet.

The sound of rain caught her attention and she saw it was downpouring. She wasn’t looking forward to the walk home. She looked up at the clock not realizing how late it was. It was almost curfew, but she had enough time to get home. She quickly went to the front doors and stepped outside. She could feel the rain penetrating her cloak as she locked the door. She put her keys in her pocket and rest her back on the doors before pushing forward. She was exhausted by the amount of energy she used but had to get home.

Halfway to the house, Maggie felt her pace slow down. She was growing tired by the second, but she had to keep going. She wiped the rain off her face and focused her eyes on what was ahead of her. When she did, she saw a figure leaning against a lamp post. “I still have time,” she told herself, thinking this was a Knight looking for trouble. She knew it wasn’t 10PM yet, but her heart began to pound harder.

As she got closer, the man tilted his head to look at her. When he did, the light hit his face and Maggie’s stomach fluttered when she saw who it was.

Heath reached out to her, seeing the exhaustion on her face. Maggie crashed into his arms and began to sob into his chest. Every emotion she felt at the bakery came flooding out of her. Heath held her closely and whispered that she had to do it. Maggie looked up at him - he knew what she did. Before she could ask him, his hands were cupping her face and his lips were meeting hers. Maggie closed her eyes, as the rain fell on them, and accepted his kiss.

Heath pulled his mouth away from hers and studied her face. She went to say something but felt the last of her strength leave her. Heath bent down to put his arm under her legs and lifted her into his arms. As soon as Maggie dropped her head on his shoulder, darkness took over.

When Maggie woke up, she found herself in Heath’s bedroom. She sat up in the large bed and ran her hand through her hair to pull it away from her face. She looked over at the table next to her and found her clothes folded nicely together and her gloves next to them, which meant he knew she was wearing them.

She pulled the dark, brown blanket off her and went to stand up, noticing what she was wearing. It was a white button up shirt and it made her eyebrow raise at how he managed to get her into this shirt. She slowly made her way to the door to find Heath.

She left the room and went down the small hallway that lead into the open living room and kitchen combo. She saw Heath sitting on the couch with his head down. Hearing Maggie enter the room made him quickly pick his head up and look over at her. His gaze softened on her, seeing her standing in the entryway, holding the top of her shirt together near her breast. Her other hand held down the shirt, revealing her embarrassment standing there half naked in one of his shirts. Her hair flowed over her shoulders and her red lips pursed.

She was about to say something, but her eyes dropped to his body, stopping any words from forming. The black tank he wore showed her what his body looked like under his uniform and casual clothes. She slowly raised her eyes to meet his as she pointed to her choice of clothing.

“Did you see-?” she asked, feeling her cheeks flush.

Heath let out a laugh, “No. I didn’t.” He bit his lip, giving her a small smile, as he looked her over again. “I hope you don’t mind that I brought you here.”

“Why not just bring me home?” she asked, walking over to the couch. She slowly sat down facing him with her legs under her. It wasn’t that she minded him bringing her here, but she did live right down the road from where he found her.

“Jace and I go way back. I don’t think he would’ve liked to see me.”

Maggie didn’t want to ask what happened. She wasn’t about to pry into what he meant, especially after noticing there were things Heath had no intention of telling her about. “Does he know I’m here?”

He shook his head, “He thinks you’re at Diana’s.”

Maggie’s eyes widened with his words. “You’re really not a typical Knight, are you?”

Heath smirked and looked out the window across the room. “You have no idea, Maggie Creed,” he laughed out. He looked back over at her and stood up. “I have to get ready for work. Diana will be here shortly,” he said, walking away and down the hall to the bathroom.

Once she heard the shower come on, she retreated to the bedroom to get dressed. After pulling on her dress, she ran her fingers through her hair to brush it out then twisted it into a bun to keep it out of her face. She slipped on her gloves and put her cloak around her shoulders to head back into the living room. She stopped at the door to see him pulling his armored boots up his leg. “I hate that uniform…” she let out, walking towards him, “And I hate that it’s on you.”

Heath looked over at her and smirked. “I hate it too, but there’s reasons why I wear it,” he answered, standing up to adjust his uniform. He walked over to her, saying, “Diana should be arriving any minute.” He went to go around her, but Maggie grabbed his arm.

“You know what I did last night, don’t you?” she asked.

“Yes,” he answered, keeping his eyes on hers. “I know about your magic,” he added. The corner of his lip curved and he took her hand, saying, “Not everyone wears dragonscale gloves.” He pulled the glove off and held her hand up. She watched as the glove turned back to its brownish gray color while Heath admired the magic that streamed along her fingertips.

“Is it obvious?” she forced out.

Heath shook his head. “They camouflage too well for anybody to notice,” he said. He kept her hand close to his mouth. “I have to go,” he let out. He kissed her fingers and gave her, her glove. “Diana’s here,” he said, stepping away from her to reveal Diana at the front door. He went around Diana and closed the door behind him.

Maggie stared at Diana, letting out, “You didn’t tell me you knew Heath.”

“You’ve never asked, dear,” Diana answered, smiling.

“For how long?”

“Too long. I met Heath when I had to do a soul retrieval for his mother. When I finished my work, I found him playing with Benzi.”

Maggie thought back on when Heath said he had a dog, but it wasn’t his. He must’ve been referring to Diana’s spirit animal. She watched as Diana walked to the front door, telling her she’d walk her back to Kent. Diana and Maggie left the house and walked down Heath’s front path. His house was between the trees and the backyard overlooked a small pond.

Maggie looked around as she walked with Diana. She had only been in Picco once when she was a child, but never took in the beauty that resided within this area. Heath’s neighbors were stretched far apart, and Maggie wondered if any other Knight lived in this part of Len. Her thoughts were broken when Diana began to speak.

“It’s time to start working on your magic again.”

Maggie nodded, thinking about how nice it was to feel Heath’s hands in hers without the gloves being a barrier.

“Especially after what you did last night to your mother’s base.”

“You know too?” Maggie looked over at Diana.

Diana nodded.

“Heath did too…”

“That’s because I sent him to you. An elder and I have been visiting our old meeting locations. The Garzil’s hunts are becoming more frequent and we want to make sure there’s nothing in any of the bases that they can get a hold of. When we got to your mother’s base, we found everything had already been destroyed,” Diana explained, as they reached Maggie’s house. “That was a lot of energy, Maggie. I was so proud,” Diana praised and smiled at her.

Maggie thanked her and told her she wanted Diana to help her. She wanted to be able to do everything Diana said she would help her with. She apologized for not doing it sooner but knew that it was now or never. Especially since deep down, she felt the Garzil would be coming with another offer to take the bakery.

Maggie thanked her again and they decided when they would meet during the week. Maggie hugged Diana and went inside. As she locked the door behind her, her stomach growled - she needed breakfast.