The Midnight Gardener by R. G. Thomas

Author:R. G. Thomas [Thomas, R. G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ya romance
ISBN: 978-1-63476-268-7
Publisher: Harmony Ink Press
Published: 2015-11-12T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter ELEVEN

THADDEUS COULDN’T stop smiling. The house he stepped into was cluttered with knickknacks and furniture of all sorts. A table hewn from what appeared to be a number of logs with chairs that matched was pushed into the corner of the kitchen. Pots and pans hung from a variety of hooks, along with dried herbs and other plants that generated a fragrant blend of aromas. Countertops were crowded with a number of teakettles in all sorts of strange shapes, sizes, and colors.

Even though he tried to pause and soak in the atmosphere of the kitchen, Thaddeus was borne along with the entire group as they shuffled through a doorway and into a large sitting room. Mismatched chairs and footstools were strewn about, crammed into corners and jostled up against each other. Small ceramic jars with cork stoppers lined shelves all along every wall. There were electric lamps, but scarves draped the shades, and a number of flickering candles chased the shadows from the corners. Large oil paintings hung on the walls, the colors dark and the subjects stoic men, women, and, Thaddeus assumed, gnomes. Most of the depicted battle scenes brought to mind stories by Tolkien, and he had to remind himself to stay in the moment, to be present in what was about to happen. This was the oddest and most important gathering he’d ever been involved in.

Once this meeting was over, he sensed he might lose this initial thrill he felt at being in the company of so many mythical beings: a family of gnomes, a number of fairies, and Teofil’s odd grandfather, who could not be a simple human based on what Thaddeus had seen so far. When the sun rose in the morning, Thaddeus knew his view of the world would be changed, and he wanted to hold on to this feeling of awe and wide-eyed wonder as long as possible. With the beast roaming the woods and the sense of urgency he sensed from those here now, this might be his first step into true adulthood, and he wasn’t entirely sure he was ready for it.

“All right, all right, settle down everyone,” Leopold said. He stood before a large fireplace with a wide mantle atop it. A massive hourglass stood on the mantle behind him, the sand trapped within deep red, and Thaddeus noticed that the bottom contained more than the top.

Time for something appeared to be running out.

The group positioned themselves on chairs, love seats, footstools, and in open spots around the floor. Thaddeus sat beside his father on a love seat, adjusting his leg to a comfortable position. He smiled when Teofil gently nudged his legs apart so he could sit on the floor between his feet and lean back against the love seat. Thaddeus’s heart pounded, and his injured leg throbbed quietly, his muscles thrumming like taut wire due to Teofil’s proximity. Thaddeus avoided looking at his father, focusing his attention instead on Leopold, who stood across the room.

“Friends, there’s been a change in the wind.

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