Apparently Elton had some kind of grocery delivery app, which was news to Terry. They’d ordered groceries which were on the way. While they waited, Terry had an idea. He checked his inside coat pockets and pulled a pair of thick leather gloves out.

  “Know anything about electricity?” he asked.

  Elton looked at him with a confused expression.

  “No. But I can look it up. What’d you have in mind?”

  As he led Elton through the house to the backyard, he explained.

  “We have food on the way. Great. It’s going to go bad. Not great. They need power to get this fridge going. I figure between the two of us we can hook their power back up and make things a bit easier on them.”

  Elton gave him a devilish look.

  “Mister Lingal! I’m surprised at you! That’s illegal!”

  Terry smiled and looked over his shoulder as he walked down the steps into the lowered, overgrown garden.

  “There’s a difference between legal and right, Elton. I'm only worried about the one right now. Besides, this is temporary until we can get them on their feet. Now, can you help me figure out how to illegally wire a house?”

  Terry found the meter and Elton just kept giggling as he started scrolling in his phone.

  About thirty minutes later Terry heard the sounds of goblins putting groceries away and a whole mess of gasps as the lights inside came on and the compressor on the fridge kicked in. He’d managed to do the job with only almost getting electrocuted. He turned to Elton and held out his hand.

  “Happy to commit crimes with you, sir.”

  Elton grinned, took his hand, and shook. Delores stuck her head out the back door and looked down at the both of them.

  “WHAT DID YOU DO?!”

  “D!” Terry shouted. “I’m glad you’re back! Do you have any spells that can mask this hack job we just did for a few days?”

  “I’ll check.” She said and ran back inside.

  Terry turned back to Elton. He was happy with what they’d just accomplished but there was still a major hurdle.

  “I still have no idea how to fix this situation permanently. That food we bought will hold twenty-five goblins for a couple of days but I’m at my charity limit.”

  Elton looked genuinely upset, which Terry was glad to see. The bard turned and started pacing with his hands in his pockets. Terry looked around. The garden was completely overgrown, of course, but it would be beautiful eventually. It had just been allowed to go nuts. Maybe the goblins could start a vegetable garden. Suddenly Delores came down the stairs with one of her notebooks. She was grinning.

  “Find something?” he asked.

  She simply held up the notebook’s cover to him. Written in ballpoint pen on it was “No-No’s”. She turned it around, opened it and started leafing through handwritten spells. He looked at her questioningly.

  “Ever heard of the Anarchist’s Cookbook?” she asked. He shook his head but she didn't notice.

  “Well,” she continued, “this is my mage’s equivalent. Anything that seemed vaguely useful but of questionable legal standing I wrote in here and hid it inside another notebook.”

  “That dangerous?” he asked.

  “Only in a red state.”

  She stopped, reread something several times and thrust the book at Terry, which he held between two fingers as if it was going to bite him. He watched as she closed her eyes and began chanting and moving her hands and then her feet. She began a strange, almost-dance as her wrist components started to glow the sickly purple that made Terry so nervous. It gradually, actually did become a dance, involving her whole body. He watched her movements and found himself fascinated. She moved with a grace and a certain. . .

  Terry shook his head. This was highly inappropriate for him to watch so he looked to see what Elton was doing. Elton watched Delores for a moment before pulling his phone out and doom scrolling, which didn’t help Terry at all. He turned back and tried to not watch what he was seeing. He continued to watch what he was seeing.

  Delores finally undulated forward. That was the only word he knew for what she did. She began tracing shapes around the meter and continued speaking strange, breathy words. She was flushed and covered in a sheen of perspiration. The lines she drew in the air stayed there as glowing purple beams until her wrist components seemed empty. She pushed the shape into the meter, then she seemed to say something with reverence.

  He snapped his jaw closed just as she opened her eyes. His ears felt hot and he knew he had to be blushing. She looked at him and she seemed to realize how the whole thing had looked. They both glanced at Elton, who was on his phone and ignoring them. They looked back at each other and Delores suddenly seemed self conscious.

  “Uh, sorry.” She said awkwardly, rubbing a hand on the top of her head. “I, uh, I forgot what all went into that.”

  Terry found himself unable to look away from her. He had no idea what to say or do. All he could do was try to work moisture back into his mouth. She finally broke eye contact and looked at the meter.

  “ANYWAY, that should work until we can get these guys in a better place financially. Then they can actually get power.”

  Terry ran a hand through his hair and tried to seem unbothered.

  “Thank you.” It barely come out as a whisper so he cleared his throat and tried again.

  “Thank you, Delores.” It still came out softly and for some reason that made her blush even more. He tried clearing his throat again. He realized he was still holding her notebook limply in one hand. He took it up firmly in both and held it out to her. She took it and clutched it against herself as if she could hide behind it. Was she smiling?

  Suddenly Runt hopped out on the back porch and leaned over the wooden rail to yell down at them all.

  “Yo, heroes! You guys want to celebrate with us?”

  Terry looked up, suddenly thankful for the distraction.

  “Not tonight, your highness. My hero work isn’t done yet and we promised to eat with the Shorts. I’ll let you know how that turns out and get back to you when I think of a solution for all this.”

  The goblin jumped over the railing, landing on the ground in front of Terry and held out his hand, which Terry shook.

  “Mr. Lingal,” he said.

  “Terry.”

  “Terry then. Terry, I can’t thank you enough for all the help. Even if you don’t figure something out, this’ll get us through a couple of days and maybe we can find somewhere else to move. Maybe there’s a Waffle House somewhere that needs a crew.”

  “I’ll always be happy to help, your highness.” He said smiling down at the goblin.

  It took time to say their goodbyes. Most of the goblins wanted to say thank you and several required hugs. A couple of the females gave Terry appraising looks and smiles that left no mystery about their intentions. Terry even caught one slipping Elton a scrap of paper and mouthing “call me” before they could get out to the scooters. They left and tried to not speed like they were being chased.

  As they drove through downtown Natchez to the Short’s house elsewhere on the outskirts, Terry was extremely aware of Delores’s arms around his waist all of a sudden. Then she started the teasing.

  “You guys would have lovely children.” She giggled over his shoulder.

  “Quit it.”

  “You know, if one stood on top of the other and they wore your duster, you could take them out somewhere nice.”

  “Not funny.”

  “Didn’t you say they were adorable earlier?”

  Terry decided his best weapon was silence. Unfortunately, Delores’s weapon was laughter and she was obviously winning.

  Terry found the door to the Short home unlocked so he knocked and went ahead and entered. He’d barely made it into the living room before he found himself crushed in a bear-hug from Lawrence that actually popped something in his back that he didn’t know needed popping. The man set him down and Terry saw Delores getting a less aggressive hug from Cindy. He looked back at Lawrence.

  “You got her back.” He said with a hand on Terry’s shoulder. “You said you’d get her back and you got her back.”

  Terry smiled and the man just shook his head. The smile slid from Terry’s face.

  “Mr. Short, I’m sorry if you had reason to doubt me. I don’t know what reputation knights have picked up here because of. . . certain people, but I promise I’ll try to make it right.”

  “Don’t you worry about that.” He said, guiding Terry to the couch and sitting him down. “I’m starting up dinner. May take a while but it’ll be there if anyone wants it.”

  Elton perked up at the mention of dinner.

  “I’d LOVE some dinner. I haven’t had anything since,” the man turned green again and Terry grinned, “that pig ear sandwich.”

  Delores exchanged a smile with Cindy until Sara ran from the back of the house with that bear, Shmoofy. She was suddenly reminded of something she’d meant to ask the parents.

  “Mrs. Short, did you buy Sara a bear with enchantments? Say, defense enchantments?”

  The woman looked at her in confusion.

  “No. We can’t afford those sorts of toys. Why?”

  Delores watched the girl for a moment. She was telling Terry about Shmoofy’s recent discussion of legal defenses for goblins in court. She looked back at Cindy.

  “Then I think Sara might be a natural born magic user.”

  “Oh-“ was all the woman said. Delores heard the unspoken "no" at the end. She ignored it. She knew mages were tolerated but that didn’t mean magic didn’t frighten people.

  “Mrs. Short, this isn’t a bad thing. I think Sara may be an enchanter and a natural at it. If that’s true she won’t require a lot of training and she can write her own ticket. There is a huge field of opportunity for her.”

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  Cindy still looked nervous.

  “But, what if we decide not to get her training? What then?”

  Delores smiled and tried not to show her frustration.

  “Well, you really have three options here. One, you let her just grow up. Her powers will manifest and she’ll become an independent wizard because she WILL use her powers. Two, you take her to a Circle of the Greenman, like in Hattiesburg, and she registers as a mage. They give her training where she needs it, she learns her full capacity, and she can find a career using it for public service or in the private sector. The world is her oyster. Enchanters are rare and in demand everywhere.”

  Delores made sure the smile stayed plastered on her face before continuing.

  “Third, if you’re religious you can approach the Church and she can become a Cleric and be a magic user in the service of God. Maybe Terry knows-”

  Terry stood up so fast it startled them both. He was staring dead at Delores. He looked down at Sara who had fallen back on her butt. He knelt and made a quiet apology that seemed to go a long way with the kid before walking over and joining the grown ups.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt, D,” he said quietly, “I heard you mention the Clerics. I don’t mean to talk out of turn but I can't recommend that route.”

  Delores was completely shocked. It must have showed on her face because he continued even more quietly.

  “The Clerics? They’re not like mages. They’re indentured servants at best. Eventually some can work their way out of their service, but usually become priest-clerics which still isn’t real freedom. If you love your daughter, and I know you do, please consider the Circle.”

  Delores put a hand on his arm.

  “Is that true, Terry?”

  The Errant nodded.

  “I’m not proud of most of the Church. The Order is what I try to focus on.”

  Delores looked back at Cindy. The woman had an unreadable look on her face as she looked at Terry. She reached out and took his hand in both of hers and held it up between them.

  “Thank you, Mr. Lingal. I appreciate your honesty. I’ll consider it.”

  She let his hand go and walked to her daughter, gave her a hug, and began playing with her.

  They both watched her for a time. Delores looked up at Terry.

  “I had no idea. Thank you for that.”

  He closed his eyes before looking at her again.

  “I know I’m naive, Delores. I know I can be overly trusting. But I pay attention. I listen. The Church puts a positive spin on everything they do, but they can’t hide this.”

  He looked angry for a second, but the expression seemed to float away.

  “There are no happy endings for Clerics.”

  “Every time you say something,” she said, “I learn something else about you that makes me think you’re going to disappear in the morning.”

  Terry looked at her. He looked a bit confused.

  “What do you mean?”

  She shook her head. Why HAD she said that out loud?

  “It’s nothing. Go sit down. I believe you have something to explain to the folks.”

  He nodded and sat down on the couch on the opposite end from Elton. Delores found a plush chair and sat down and watched Elton type and Terry get back involved with playing with Sara. People like Terry just don’t exist, she thought, I didn’t think they did, anyway.

  Dinner was, Terry found, fantastic. It turned out that Lawrence worked in food service at a one of the local restaurants and it showed. He didn’t think he’d eaten this well in days and he savored every bite. He found himself looking to Delores and for some reason every time he did she laughed and looked away. All he could do was shake his head in wonder.

  After dinner there was small talk, which Terry watched Elton excel at. Delores was charming in her own way. Terry was quiet and distracted. He didn't pay much attention. He still had to tell them about Runt and had no idea how to broach the subject. How was he supposed to tell them he felt sorry for the guys that kidnapped their daughter? How would they react? Sara solved the problem for him in the blunt manner of children.

  “Mr. Terry, you didn’t hurt King Runt, did you? Or Lenny? Shmoofy feels bad for what he had to do and would hate it if you did something terrible.”

  It had the effect of stopping all conversation at the table. Lawrence looked surprised.

  “Baby, did you say Runt? The goblin, Runt?” he asked.

  She turned excitedly.

  “Yeah! They treated me real good! Well, pretty good. Shmoofy had complaints, but they did the best they could.”

  Lawrence looked at Terry.

  “DID you hurt him?”

  Terry realized the worry he’d been experiencing might have been unnecessary.

  “No, sir.” He said. “I was trying to figure out how to tell you about this.”

  Cindy looked between them before speaking.

  “Larry, do you mean it was the goblins from the tavern? I didn’t think they’d hurt a fly!”

  Larry rested his elbows on the table and rested his mouth against his clasped hands, his brow furrowed.

  “They wouldn’t. Hell, if I’d even suspected he’d done this I would have just found him and talked to him about it. I know that house they stay in. I seriously assumed it was some feral tribe from Smith County or something ranging out this far. Runt never even crossed my mind.”

  “Mr. Short,” Terry interrupted, “I take it you’re familiar with him and his brood?”

  “Oh yeah. The restaurant scene here isn’t big. You get to know a lot of people. I've only met him once. They got done dirty by that woman they worked for.”

  “Do you know why they kidnapped Sara specifically then?” Delores asked. “They must have known you aren’t well off.”

  Lawrence thought for a bit and finally shrugged.

  “My guess is he thought the owner of my place would front me the ransom. Or not. Runt isn’t a genius.”

  “I know,” Terry said. “They only asked for two hundred dollars.”

  Everyone fell silent as heads around the table shook, even Sara’s. Terry thought she was only doing it because the grown ups were. Finally, Terry spoke again.

  “Mr. Short, I didn’t do anything to Runt and his people except to buy them some food. They were starving. I got some power hooked up for a few days as well so they can keep the food stored. But that doesn’t solve the bigger issue. I want to help them.”

  Lawrence looked at him with genuine surprise.

  “That’s very kind of you. I wouldn't have expected that from. . . Well, forget what I expected. I’ve been wrong a lot today. Have you got an idea?”

  Terry sighed and his shoulders dropped.

  “No. I seem to have hit the one thing that I can’t fight. Money.”

  Terry looked up as Elton scraped his chair back from the table and held his phone up.

  “Sorry. I got a text from family. Gotta make a call.”

  With that he stood and walked out of the room and they heard the front door open and close.

  Cindy looked at Terry with sympathy.

  “I’m sure you’ll think of something Mr. Lingal. We have the back room cleared up if you three would like to sleep indoors for once. It’s not much but it’s a safe place to set up your bedrolls.”

  Terry smiled. It really wasn’t much but the meal alone was more than he’d hoped for. This was just frosting on top.

  “Thank you so much, ma’am. We would love to be away from mosquitoes. Right, Delores?”

  He looked and she was unconsciously scratching a spot on her arm.

  “Yeah. Definitely.”

  After Elton came back, they were led to the back room and set up their sleeping bags. Terry turned to Delores afterward.

  “D, I hate to ask, but can you help me get out of my armor?”

  “Um, ok. Sure.” She said as she waited for him to lose the duster, boots, jeans, and tabbard. The revealed armor looked more complex than it was and reminded him of that movie Robocop, but much more form fitting. It barely added mass to his profile thanks to its enchantments. But, enchantments or not, two days running was too long to wear it.

  Delores was oddly quiet as she helped him removed pieces. Some strapped on, but a lot of them had special fasteners that let them just snap on to his under suit and kept them there. As they removed a piece, Delores would take it and place it against the wall. It became clear she had an order she was placing them in.

  “You don’t have to do that.” He said after seeing what she was doing. “I usually just sort of, well, chuck it. It’s strong and I clean it regularly.”

  “Shush.” Was all she said.

  Terry looked at Elton, who was watching, and the bard just shrugged.

  “Your family ok?” Terry asked Elton.

  “Huh?” he said.

  “The phone call. Your family is ok?”

  “OH! Right! Glad you mentioned that. I’ll be right back.” Elton bolted from the room and shut the door behind him.

  Terry shook his head as he finally managed, with Delores’s help, to remove his chest plate. He stood there in a form fitting white jumpsuit with red hems at sleeves, ankles and neck. George had said it looked like a superhero’s outfit when he'd first gotten it. Sean had said it showed off his "batch".

  “Need help with that?” Delores asked.

  “No. No thank you. I’ve got this.” He said. In very little time he was down to his shirt and boxers, with only mild embarrassment, and in his sleeping bag. He looked up and Delores was standing there with her hands on her hips.

  “What?” he asked. It suddenly struck him what it might be. “OH! I’m sorry, Delores! Thank you for the help. I really do appreciate it. I can get in and out of the armor by myself but it’s always faster and easier with help.”

  She smiled at him, and he wondered if he’d said something amusing. She just looked tickled. She squatted down in front of him, the smile never leaving her face.

  “You, farm boy, need to be very careful.” She said quietly before she reached out, ruffled his hair, and then grabbed her night clothes and left to go change.

  Terry blinked.

  “The heck?”

  Elton left the two to their weird semi-flirting. When those two finally got over themselves and finally hooked up he knew he'd never get any sleep while camping out. He quickly walked into the kitchen to find Mr. and Mrs. Short doing dishes. He stopped in the doorway, suddenly feeling nervous. He fell back on his business training for once.

  “Mr. Short. Mrs. Short. Can I bother you two for a moment?”

  They both looked up. Mr. Short nodded.

  “Elton, was it? What can I do for you? Need a statement?”

  “Actually,” Elton said as he walked in, “I have a proposal for you.”

  They both stopped their work to watch him approach. Lawrence with suspicion, Cindy with curiosity.

  “I’m not sure if either of you heard my full name earlier when we arrive, since you were distracted with your daughter. Elton. Elton BEASLEY.” He paused hoping the weight he attached to the last name would let it sink in. Cindy’s eyes began to widen. Larry didn’t seem to catch it.

  “Ok. Sure. What do you need mister NO. WAY. Beasley? Like, THOSE Beasley’s?”

  “Yes, sir. Unfortunately. I’m trying my best to make amends out here. I’m hoping I can make a start here. With you. And with Runt. I have some small experience with their situation.”

  Larry turned and leaned on the counter. Surprise still on his face.

  “Well, Mr. Beasley. Why don’t we sit down and talk about what you have in mind?”

  Elton nodded.

  “Honestly, I hate to have to involve you with this, but for legal reasons it can’t just be King Runt. There needs to be a human, and from what I’ve seen you might be the human to give the gentry around here the middle finger. We just don’t need to let Terry know about this. Ok?”

  They both agreed. The discussions lasted into the night.

  The next morning, Terry and Delores were woken by excited voices in the rest of the house. Terry looked at Delores, who shrugged, so he got his pants on quickly before running out to see if he was needed. He found Elton walking toward the room, hanging up from a phone call.

  “You’re up! Great! I’ve got some great news!”

  Terry scratched a spot between his shoulder blades.

  “Yeah? What’s up?

  Elton grinned like a maniac as he explained.

  “So yesterday I posted on social media about this whole King Runt situation and how bad off they were. I got a lot of responses.”

  Terry turned and saw Delores come out and walk up behind him. Elton flashed a smile at her and she waved awkwardly.

  “Anyway, we had some anonymous donors come through and they are buying that empty restaurant in Natchez-Under-the-Hill! The only problem is goblins can’t legally sign the paperwork so Larry has agreed to be their supervisor and manager!”

  Terry blinked. Elton was telling a fib so big he could smell it. It was in his body language and eye movement. He wasn't as bad as Terry himself, but still. He’d have to dig into this later.

  “That’s great, if a bit fortuitous.”

  Elton’s smile dropped and he stared at Terry. He became defensive quickly. Yep, Terry thought. Fibs.

  “You're supposed to be the religious one. Aren’t you required to harp on about miracles and such?”

  Terry’s eyes narrowed.

  “Don’t get me wrong, Elton. I’m not looking a gift horse in the mouth, but in my life I’ve seen precious little evidence of miracles. You’ll pardon me if I leave my opinions out of this for now.”

  Elton looked at him in surprise and when Terry turned to look at Delores she was as well. He suddenly realized how little they knew about him. They wouldn't know why he felt the way he did. Heck, he didn't know anything about them, really. There needed to be a talk tonight.

  “Look, I’m sorry,” he said, “I don’t mean to rain on the parade. This is great news. Are you involved in finalizing anything here?”

  Elton nodded. He was suddenly more subdued.

  “Yeah. It’s gonna be a few hours. Do you want to help with a few things?”

  Terry smiled.

  “Of course. Let me get dressed and I’ll be on it.”

  After re-donning his armor with help, Terry and Delores got started running around town delivering paperwork, talking with Runt and company, and any other number of tasks that Elton and Larry could find for them. Terry tried to keep his thoughts positive as he watched the goblins' lives change in the matter of a few hours.

  Lenny, who Terry had thought of as the unfortunate looking one, had immediately commandeered a marker board from somewhere and had began mapping out menu ideas and marketing strategies. Terry felt awful for making assumptions. He’d need to remember that moment.

  Delores put her superior social skills to work wherever they went, acting as his representative when Terry’s skills fell short. Together the work went quickly. During the day, Delores kept giving him looks that Terry couldn’t read until finally he had to ask.

  Terry waited until the afternoon and they were pulling up to the Short’s home one last time to fetch Elton To finally ask his question. She’d hopped off of Thunder and he turned, still sitting.

  “Ok. What’s on your mind, D?”

  She stopped and turned, her face troubled.

  “Why aren’t you as happy about this as you should be?”

  Terry sighed.

  “Because there’s a lot we don’t know about each other, and if we’re going to be working together and hopefully be friends then we need to be open. I’d like to have a group talk tonight after dinner if that’s ok?”

  She tilted her head and gave him a questioning look.

  “Is it Elton?”

  Terry sighed.

  “It’s not NOT Elton. Something is going on and I’d like to know what it is. I want to be able to trust him.”

  She continued to look at him quizzically.

  “But not me?”

  He was genuinely surprised by the question.

  “I already trust you, D.”

  A grin split her face and Terry had to smile back. He couldn’t help it.

  “In that case, Mr. Lingal, I think an after dinner discussion is just fine. I’ll go get Elton. Don’t run off without me.”

  “As if.” He said as she trotted into the house.