Galena

A month after the shamanic work, Jace started to experience strange dreams. At first, he thought they were just dreams, but as the same things were presented to him and they became an every night event – he knew these were memories.

He dreamt of the same house repeatedly. It wasn’t a large house, it was cozy and comfortable, and his favorite place must’ve been the large deck in the back. It gave him a view of a beautiful green forest. He would have a friend over often even though he never said the person’s name or saw the face; and always ended up being with a woman towards the end of the dream.

She was the same height as him and had pin-straight, black hair. Her body was curvy for her average build and she used her sex appeal to get away with things when it came to Jace. This was something he remembered right away after the first few nights of dreaming about this woman. Outside the bedroom, Jace thought of her as a good-looking woman, but there was something about her eyes that made him feel uneasy. They were a pale, sapphire blue and even though they were often filled with lust, Jace couldn’t help how he felt.

One night, Jace woke up in his dream, naked, with the thoughts of the night before still fresh in his mind. He rubbed his face and sat up, throwing his legs over the edge of the bed. He turned on the shower and dried himself off when he was finished. He changed and went to brush his teeth and fix his sloppy, brown hair to make it look presentable. He didn’t know where he was going, but he knew it was going to be a long day.

In the kitchen, he found his lover putting a plate of breakfast down where he normally sat at the counter. “You do have time to eat, don’t you?” she asked. Her thin lips curved into a smile.

“Of course, I do,” he answered, pulling her into a hug and kissing her neck.

“Where are you working today?” she asked.

Jace answered, “Central Galena”, and she pulled away from him to finish making herself a plate. She told him that she wouldn’t see him until she came back to the house later and Jace nodded, quickly eating his breakfast with her.

The dream quickly switched to him grabbing the door handle to leave, which triggered him to wake up. Jace stared at his ceiling, thinking about this new dream that hinted his whereabouts. This was the first time he had seen himself getting ready to go out. He knew he put on some type of uniform but wasn’t sure for what. All he knew was he could’ve been changing into a custodian uniform and heading to Central Galena to clean the streets.

Jace looked over at the clock and saw that it was 6AM - it was time to go to work. He climbed out of bed and wrapped a towel around his waist. He made his way into the bathroom and flicked on the light switch. He leaned over the counter to inspect his face in the mirror, rubbing his hand over his jawline, feeling stubble as he did so. He took out his shaving cream and razor and began to shave before getting into the shower.

When he finished, he rubbed his jaw again and was pleased with the smooth feeling. He nodded to himself in the mirror then stepped into the shower. He dropped his head to the wall, letting the water flow over him. No matter how routine getting up at 6AM was, he was always exhausted for the first hour. The shower helped him wake up a little and he wrapped the towel back around his waist to go back to his room. He dried himself off then pulled his dresser open to grab some clothes. He picked out a pair of slacks and a white, button-up shirt that he loosely tucked in then left his room to go into the kitchen where he smelled his sister’s favorite breakfast cooking - tomato and eggs. She always left him a plate so when he entered the room, he grabbed two slices of bread and slipped the tomato and eggs between.

Jace looked over at her while he ate his sandwich. She was pouring her tea into a hot cup for the walk and asked if Jace wanted some as well. He answered that he did and leaned against the counter, watching her do so. Every morning she was up earlier than he was. No doubt with her nose in their mother’s journal. She had been working on the translation since he had been home, and he was pretty sure longer than that. He wanted to tell her about the dreams he was starting to have, but he decided to keep them to himself. He wanted to learn more about them than deal with having no answers for Maggie when the questions started to flow in.

They left the house soon after and could hear crying a few houses down. It had been a week since the bi-monthly hunts were finished, but a few Knights decided to finish up a few arrests. Jace kept his eyes on the sidewalk as him and Maggie walked past what was happening. He tried to ignore the crying and screaming, but deep inside there was still that little boy who wanted to stop the Garzil. But as a kid he could get away with it. As an adult, he could suffer the same fate as everyone else: death. As they continued up the road, the screaming and crying stopped and the two knew exactly what had happened to their neighbors.

Maggie noticed Jace’s hands become fists and she linked arms with him. “Just keep walking,” she said, pulling him forward. They both knew the Knights had killed their neighbors, but she dared not to look back. Even when her mind questioned if Heath was there and ordered the sentence.

“I just wish there was something we could do…” Jace quietly said.

“One day, Jace, but not today,” she let out.

Hearing Maggie say this, reminded Jace of their mother. She said those words to him every time he wanted to help Vivian “beat up the bad guys”. Jace laughed at the thought, saying, “You know, mom used to say that.”

“Did she?”

“Then you’d tell me they’re too powerful which would make me so angry.”

Maggie laughed with him, thinking about how she used to tease him when they were younger. “Well they are,” she added, after a moment, “Fists will not stop them.”

“I always believed mom would stop them. She was so good at what she did.”

“Maybe she’s never stopped,” Maggie said, unlocking the bakery’s door.

“Mags. We both know what happened to her when she arrived in Valo.” Jace noticed the look his sister gave him when he said this. His eyebrow went up and he let out a laugh, “Wait. You really think she’s still alive?”

“It’s hard to explain,” she began, flipping the light switches on, “but I feel like I would know if she died…” Maggie then shook her head and waved her comment away, “Sorry, that’s nonsense. Kim will be here shortly,” she said, standing in the office doorway and looking back at him, “Don’t forget she retires in a few weeks and we really need to find her replacement.”

“I brought in three people last week and you said no to all of them,” Jace called out to his sister as she retreated into the office.

“That’s because they couldn’t bake!” she answered before shutting the door.

Jace rolled his eyes at his sister’s answer. Maggie had put the first person on trial and asked for them to make her a cake. The cake was too dry, which Jace had to agree with, but Maggie cast the next two people as being the same as the first. He knew it wasn’t about the baking, these people weren’t Kim who was amazing at her job. But she was seventy-six years old and needed a break from the daily grind.

Jace put the cakes Kim prepared the night before in the oven. Then began to work on the cookies that were needed for the front case. Kim arrived a few hours later and put together the tiny pastries for Jace to put into the display cases. They were pudding pastries topped with fruit and glazed over to hold the form. They became the customer’s favorite. After the pastries, she began to work with him on the cookies and cakes.

Towards the afternoon, Jace began to fill the empty spots in the display cases with desserts. At one point when he went up front with a cake, he caught his sister outside talking to two people. He could see they were Knights, but their backs were turned to the window. Maggie had her arms crossed as she listened to them, shaking her head at points.

Jace knew what they wanted. The Creed’s bakery was one of the last few shops that wasn’t owned by the Garzil. For the last few years they had been going from business to business buying them out. It was their new way of controlling the people and seeing who had ties to the Thaumaturgy. Knowing who were involved with the rebels would make the hunts much easier for them to supply Galena’s ruler with the magic he feasted on.

When Maggie came back in, he wanted to confirm his suspicions. He leaned against the counter and asked, “Who were they?”

“No one important,” she answered, going about her duties.

Jace’s eyebrow raised, “Looked like some sort of deal to me. Are you sure they weren’t looking to buy the bakery?” Maggie’s eyes went to her brother, telling him that’s exactly what they were doing. “How much are they offering?” he asked, surprised she confessed.

“Two karats.”

“You told them no?”

“Of course, I told them no. Did you forget what’s in the office?” Maggie asked, giving him a look. “If I sold and they found mom’s base, the Garzil would be at our doors and we would be dead,” she answered, then turned her attention to the girl coming in through the front door. “I have to go to the bank. We’re low on gems.” And with that grabbed a small bag of jewls and headed out the door.

Jace watched her walk past the windows, then looked back at the girl who was looking at the cakes in the display case. “Can I help you?” he asked, walking over to her from behind the counter.

The girl stood straight and looked up at him. Jace felt his breath catch as he looked back at her. Her lightly freckled face turned rosy as she smiled at him; and all he could think about was how gorgeous she was.

“Are you the son of Vivian Creed?” she asked, pulling her blonde hair over her shoulder.

“Depends on who’s asking,” he smirked at her.

“Well it might sound crazy, but I was shown this place and told to come.”

“Oh yeah? By who?” he asked, dropping his eyes to her necklace which she was playing with. He recognized the symbol and asked, “Yhden?” The way her face seemed to light up told Jace that his joke might actually be the truth. He held his hand out to her over the case and locked eyes with her. They were blue like the ocean and filled with such warmth that Jace felt like he could trust her. “Jace Creed.”

“Emma Hart,” she answered, taking his hand.

“You knew my mother?”

Emma shook her head. “I know of her,” she said. Then noticed the Looking for Help sign on the board behind Jace. “Are you still looking for help?”

“Sure are. My sister should be back in a few minutes. She’s who you want to speak with.”

Emma gave him a smile and thanked him.

While they waited for Maggie, Jace asked if she was from Galena. Emma answered that she didn’t visit the city often and that she lived in Kent. She knew she couldn’t tell him the truth – she was lucky enough that he didn’t get weirded out when she told him why she was there. They stood together talking until Maggie came in. Jace right away introduced the two. Maggie took Emma’s hand and kept her eyes on her. Normally she wanted all potential helpers to bake for her, but something told her to hire Emma. So, she asked when Emma could start and Emma told her immediately if that’s what they needed.

“You can bake?” Maggie asked, making sure she was making the right choice.

Emma nodded, “Cakes, cookies, brownies- you name it.”

“Bread?” Maggie asked in a serious tone which made Emma stumble on an answer. “I’m just kidding, we don’t make bread here. Introduce her to Kim,” she said, looking at Jace, then looked back at Emma, asking, “Can you stay till five?”

“Of course!” Emma happily answered.

Jace opened the counter door for Emma to walk through. He brought her to the office to hang her bag and cloak then brought her into the kitchen to meet Kim.

“What a beautiful charm,” Kim commented, looking at Emma’s necklace. Kim was pleasantly surprised to see a young person wearing Yhden’s symbol. She kindly smiled at Emma.

Jace put his arm around Kim’s shoulders, after seeing Kim give him a wink. “Kim’s been with the shop since we were kids, so she’s looking to retire.”

“Thank Yhden,” she announced and smiled, “Twenty-five years has been a long time.”

Emma grinned at Kim’s words and continued to walk with Jace around the kitchen. He explained where everything was and what everything did. Then left Emma with Kim so she could teach her about the recipes.

“What happened to the trials?” Jace asked quietly as he stood with Maggie.

“Did you want me to give her one?” Maggie asked, raising her eyebrow at him.

“No. It’s just you turned down the others.”

“I didn’t like the others. I feel like we know this girl.”

Jace looked back towards the kitchen doors. Now that Maggie said this, he felt the same way - and if it wasn’t her per-say it was her energy. “I’m sure she’ll do well,” he let out.

“I’m sure too and if she doesn’t, she’ll just work the counter and you’ll do the baking,” Maggie teased, giving him a tight smile before she walked away.

For the rest of the afternoon, they had a few customers who Jace had Emma help with. She caught onto everything quickly, which Maggie and Jace were happy to see. By the end of the day, Maggie spoke with her about pay and hours and Jace offered to walk Emma to Kent since Maggie was staying late. Emma graciously took the offer. On her way into Galena her insides were shaking from her nervousness. It was one thing to go to the temple in Kent - it was another to go into the actual city, so she was happy to have the escort back to her door.

Jace rarely went into Western Kent, where the buildings were taller, and people lived in multifamily homes and apartments. The Creeds lived on the other side of Kent where each house was a single family and had yards that separated them from everyone else.

“Thank you for walking me home,” Emma said, turning to Jace and smiling up at him, when they reached her building.

“You’re only a few blocks away so it was no problem at all,” he answered, returning her smile. “I kind of feel like it was fate meeting you today,” he let out.

Emma slowly smiled at him, “I couldn’t agree more.”

“So, I’ll see you at 9AM?”

“Yes. See you tomorrow,” Emma answered and smiled at him again, telling him goodnight.