The Final Redemption by Michael Manning (little red riding hood ebook free .txt) 📕

that couldonly indicate a wizard, and the feel of it was familiar. I turnedto Walter, “You said ‘we’ a moment ago…”

He nodded, “Gareth should be backsoon.” The eagle still hadn’t gotten within his range.

I gave him a quizzical look, “But…?”Unable to find the words I set the platter back down and waved myhands across my body.

Now it was his turn to look puzzled.“What? You thought that—oh!” He began laughing then, which annoyedme to no end. “Wait ‘til I tell him!”

“I really don’t think this isamusing,” I protested. “I thought the man was dead!”

“You didn’t seem too sad about it,” henoted, before adding in a mock tone, “’You probably tell all theredheads that’.”

“I’d already been through all theemotional turmoil I could handle in one morning!” I said inexasperation.

Walter’s eyes flicked to one side thenas he sensed Gareth’s arrival. “Well, you can rest easy. He’s aliveand well.” Glancing around in a conspiratorial way, he lowered hisvoice and added, “And still as difficult as ever to deal with. Justbetween us, I’m starting to think his aloofness is a normal part ofhim.”

“I always figured it was a part of thedragon-nature he had taken on,” I commented.

“Me too,” said Walter. “But he’scompletely human now, and yet he’s still pretty stiff.”

The eagle transformed intothe redheaded archmage in the courtyard. It was graceful the way hedid it, shifting just before his talons reached the ground. He wentfrom flying to walking on booted feet as easily as I might haveremoved my coat on entering a house. Thatwould be the Gaelyn gift, I suppose.

A couple of minutes later he walked inand greeted us, giving me an odd look at the same time.

“I feel the same way when I see you,”I told him dryly.

Walking closer he lifted one hand toadjust a stray bit of my hair. “You look good,” he saidapprovingly, “but you need to pay better attention to yourgrooming. A beard like that is a blessing; you should treat it asone.” His face was solemn.

“Penny nearly broke my arm when shewoke and thought it was you in bed with her,” I informed himsourly.

That made him chuckle slightly. “It’sa wonder you have survived marriage so long. I had thought her astubborn woman, but now I see she must have a great deal ofpatience.”

“Patience?!”

“To put up with your shenanigans,” hesaid, as if that clarified things for me.

Irritated, I glared at him, “Look, Ihad only woken up once before she did. There were no shenanigans.She’s quite ill and all of this...,” I gestured to indicate myface, “…was very upsetting for her.”

Gareth took one of the bowls from theplatter I had placed nearby. Collecting a spoon he walked past me.“Then you should have changed it,” he suggested.

I stared at him, flabbergasted, whilehe stuffed a large spoonful of Walter’s soup into his mouth. Mybrain had seized up, so my mouth kindly helped out by turning outphrases without consulting it. “That was for Penny,” Isaid.

“No, that one was,” he said pointingat the tray. “Since you like wearing my face I could just take bothof them up to her for you. Is that what you’resuggesting?”

I briefly consideredflinging the other bowl of soup at him, but my poor brain finallysorted through what he had meant. ”Oh!” I’m a damned idiot! There’s onetransformation that any archmage has to know. Whether you arespeaking to the wind or the earth, whether you change your flesh ormind, the one transformation that always has to occur is the returnto yourself.

In the past I had always begun as‘me’, and while Moira Centyr had once taught me that I could modifythat deliberately, I hadn’t taken the time this morning to think itthrough. Gareth had given me a copy of his body, but it certainlydidn’t have to remain that way.

Walter had already filled another bowland replaced the one on my tray that Gareth had taken. I could seethe mirth in his eyes. “You could have reminded me sooner,” Icomplained.

“I am neither an archmage nor a Gaelynwizard. My body stays pure and undefiled. I have no idea what shapeshifters are capable of,” he said honestly. “You should take thesoup up to her before it gets cold,” he suggested.

I ignored him for a few minutes.Leaving the tray where it was, I closed my eyes and turned myattention inward, remembering myself as I had been. I listened, notto the outer world, but to the voice of my flesh, joining its songto my conscious awareness—and then I changed. My self-imagefaltered for a moment as a vivid memory of my dead body flickeredthrough my mind. My heart stopped, and the world grew dim for asecond, but I recovered quickly, returning to the image of myselfas I had been a year ago. Opening my eyes at last, I stared atGareth.

His eyes had a hint ofalarm in them. He had probably noticed my near mistake. If I hadn’tcorrected it before it had taken hold, I’d have died again.That would have been annoying,I thought. I wonder ifthey would have tried to save me a second time.

“You should have kept the beard,” headvised me, returning his attention to his soup.

I crossed my eyes and twisted my faceinto a goofy expression, “I don’t need to cover it all up now thatI don’t look like this anymore.”

Walter snorted and Gareth chuckled. Ileft then, heading for the door. I couldn’t wait to show Penny mygood news.

“I hope she isn’t too disappointedwhen she sees how he looks now,” said Gareth to Walter, just loudlyenough for me to hear. “It’ll probably be hard for her to get overthe letdown.”

Chapter 49

Another day of Walter’s cooking, and alot of rest helped considerably. I was still wounded inside, inways I hadn’t even dared to look at yet, but I had too much to doto let myself fall apart.

Penny was worse physically, but herspirits were high. I hoped she would emerge from all of it withoutas much mental scarring as I would likely have, but there was noway to compare. Human beings simply aren’t meant to survive thethings we had.

The empty castle was a strangeexperience. Never in all the years that