Keeper: Chapter 27

Chapter 27

While the wait was not long, to Jamie it felt as though each minute took an eternity. He realized he was nervously eating and stepped away from the tea cart. He walked to the window and looked out over the front yard. Shadows were starting to stretch long fingers across the yard as if the forest was reaching greedily for the house. Jamie shivered a little. Nothing moved in the yard and he wondered if he had finished with visitors for the day. He heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Del helping Burr into the room. The robust architect looked as bad as the High Talbot had after dealing with Albe’s bedroom.



“What happened?” Jamie asked moving to help Del get Burr into a chair. Del poured out a cup of the tea and Jamie was glad the pot had been set on a warming plate as Burr seemed to need the warmth as well as the tea. There were tinges of purply blue on his fingernails and he seemed to be shivering. “I didn’t hear anything.”



“Wasn’t much to hear truth be told,” Del said to him. “Not all magic is showy stuff.”



“Still looks like it was a bit of a scuffle,” Jamie said with a shrug, taking in Burr’s condition. His tie was askew and his formerly white shirt had several dark smudges. His unruly hair had moved more into the unkempt category. It seemed to bother him less than it had the High Talbot.



“That it was,” Burr said. “The tea was a help though. Burr’s voice sounded tired but the shaking was slowly ending.



“What happened?” Jamie asked again, sinking back into his chair.



“What happened was someone was expecting me or someone like me to be called into repair the damage and I went in there expecting all the harm to be aimed towards you.” The tired voice sounded grumpy.



“I’m sorry,” Jamie said, unsure of his response. Burr waved away the apology and took another sip of tea.



“It was a stupid mistake on my part. The disruptor had my name on it. I should have thought before I acted. Would have saved some trouble.” Unsure what the reponse should be Jamie refilled Burr’s cup and then poured his own cup of tea, more to be companionable than for any other reason. Del stood behind Burr’s chair in case his assistance was needed.



“So is the problem fixed?” Jamie asked hesitantly as the silence stretched. Burr let out a short bark of laughter.



“Not exactly,” Burr said. “It will take a bit of work to set it right but there is a temporary block on it for now so nothing nasty will be sneaking in during the night. I’ll be back in the morning to start working on a more permanent sort of fix.” Jamie took in Burr’s worn appearance and Burr snorted. “There’s more life in these old bones of mine, never you fear. I just need a good night’s rest and the proper tools.” Burr’s face hardened. “I don’t appreciate people mucking about with my work.” Burr set his empty coup down on the small table and slowly pushed himself up out of his chair. The arms of the chair protested his weight and Jamie thought they were unused to such an ordeal. Del continued to hover, not wanting to offer assistance that would insult the architect but wanting to be on hand in case he was needed. The trio made it to the front door without incident where Burr made his farewells and promised to return with his complete set of tools in the morning.



“And I’ll also be thinking long and hard over who’d be able to do this nasty bit of work.” Burr said as he turned to go. “While I can think of several who’d not have a problem thinking of something like this, very few of them have the skill. I don’t think it will be a long list.”



“Do you think Terrell San Vojnoen of the House of the Fiery Lily would make that list?” Jamie asked. Burr lifted one bushy eyebrow in surprise.



“I don’t know,” Burr said slowly. “the San Volnoen Clan has always kept to itself. Have you had problems with them?”



“Not really,” Jamie admitted. “But he visited earlier and refused both drink and food while offering help.” Burr sucked in his breath at Jamie’s words.



“Then he should be one to watch,” Burr said. He looked Jamie up and down. “You know most new Keeper’s take a little longer to find trouble.”



“It isn’t like I went looking,” Jamie replied.



“No it isn’t. And that is something.” With those parting words Burr left the porch and walked into the shadows, becoming an indistinct blur faster than Jamie would have thought. Jamie blinked and Burr was gone. He turned to Del.



“Did he just disappear?” Jamie asked. Del smiled.



“No he just left this side of the barrier.”



“This side?”



“You are called the Keeper of the Crossroads,” Del reminded him as Jamie shut the door.



“So the cross roads are where the Fay world and the normal one meet?”



“Yes,” Dell said with a grin. “Although I’d probably not call the human world normal.”



“Fair enough,” Jamie replied with a smile. Del moved into the parlor and cleared the remains of the tea. Jamie decided he needed a short stretch of time to sort out what he knew and decided working on the inventory might be a good idea. Checking items off a list might just help him clear his brain a little and sort through events. With this thought in mind he went back upstairs to the library to retrieve the inventory. He looked at the thick packet of pages and was at a loss as to where to begin. Part of him wanted to return to the hidden rooms but half of him was a little afraid.



“That mirror wasn’t exactly showing me the fairest of the land,” he mused. “Of course the fairest wouldn’t be of much use to me.” He tapped the inventory in thought. “That room seemed to have the artifacts from the destruction of the older house stored there which means it might have more answers than anything.” Calling himself a ‘fraidy cat he picked up the inventory and decided he might want to go there after all. “For a short while anyway.” He set the alarm on his watch for two hours and told Del where he was going.



“Here’s hoping I actually find answers instead of more questions.”