The Lost Gate by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub

11

S ERVANT OF S PACETIME

Marion and Leslie Silverman were old enough that all of their own kids were grown and gone. The day Danny arrived there, Leslie—Mrs. Silverman—proudly showed him the pictures of five little families on the top of the upright piano. Danny was inept enough to ask, “Are any of them Orphans?”

Leslie raised her eyebrows. “Don’t you think that if any of them were, they’d all be?”

In a moment, Danny realized how it had sounded to her. “I meant, are they mages … like you.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” said Leslie, looking truly puzzled.

“Have we taken in the wrong stray?” asked Marion from the kitchen, where he was making pies.

“He thinks one of us is dead,” said Leslie. “Or both of us.”

“No,” said Danny. “I just thought … Stone told me…”

“Now he thinks that he can talk to rocks,” she called out to her husband. “What do you think, Marion, is he a keeper? Or a discard?”

Danny was completely baffled. They had brought him into the house the moment Leslie found him in the barn—before dawn, because apparently the cows got testy if they weren’t milked every day at the same time, and it was a very early time. He had assumed they knew exactly what and who he was. But no, apparently they took all strays into the house.

“Look, call Stone,” said Danny. “He sent me here.”

“Now I’m supposed to talk to rocks,” said Leslie. “Marion, what did you put in those omelets? Am I going to start hallucinating, too?”

“Only if you forgot to take your meds, darlin’!” Marion called back. “Now hush, please, I can’t have any emotion going on when I make the crusts or they won’t be flaky and delicious.”

“I’m yelling to be heard, not because I’m angry.”

“Yelling’s yelling,” called Marion. “We’re scaring the dough.”

“So he makes the pies, and you milk the cows?” asked Danny, changing the subject since it was apparent they were bent on pretending not to know anything about magery or why Danny had come here. Unless they weren’t pretending, in which case this was some elaborate hoax Stone had pulled. At least Danny could give Stone credit for sending him to such a hospitable couple.

“We each do what we like most,” said Leslie, “or if it’s a job that has to be done and we both hate it, then whoever hates it least. Or we trade off. I’m milking because I’m an early riser, and he’s pies because pies don’t like me so the crust never behaves.”

“I thought maybe because you both have names that could be either male or female, you got all mixed up on men’s work and women’s work,” said Danny. He smiled and started to laugh, thinking he was being kind of funny and clever.

Apparently not.

“Sorry,” he said.

“Don’t know what for,” said Leslie.

“Should I leave now?” asked Danny.

“Heavens no,” said Leslie. “We’ve hardly started to get to know you.”

“I just seem to be saying everything wrong,” said Danny.

“Not at all,” said Leslie. “Where did you get such an idea?”

“I didn’t just happen to come here, I had your address.

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