Free Protected by Stone (A Paranormal Romance Novel) by Cynthia Brint

paperwork at the Barrow Village Hall, you'll be fine.”
    I lifted a single eyebrow. “That's all well and good, but why can't you go, too?” Maybe he doesn't want my company. The thought was poisonous, I buried it fast.
    “I simply can't.” He said it so factually, I bit my tongue and decided not to press it. “I'll see you soon, Miss Blooms.”
    “Do you... want me to bring anything back?”
    The bridge of his nose crinkled. “What?”
    “I just figured, well, if I'm running some kind of weird hotel here—” I pushed on faster at his scowl, “—I should maybe grab some supplies? Food and things?”
    His forehead smoothed, one long finger tapping his chin. “Hmn. The stocks are actually very low. Yes, that's a good idea. Let me get you a list.”
    A list will quickly break what tiny amount of money I have left. “Um, actually, on that note.” I poked my index fingers together uneasily. “I asked you about money, before. I'm going to need money to buy things, you know?”
    Grault waved a hand, not looking phased by my comment. I wasn't used to people shrugging off requests for money. “Yes, yes. Come this way so we can get this moving.” He mumbled softly to himself while we walked. “Some things for the larder... and the pantry... hmn.”
    My attention wandered as I gazed around the room and its stairs, eventually fixating on a string of round lights. Covertly, as we got close, I waggled my fingers at them.
    The glass bulbs remained dull, unlit.
    Sighing, not really surprised, I trailed Grault into the study. He wasted no time, shuffling behind the long desk below the big portrait.
    Standing there, looking up at that smiling painting, I felt tiny as a pebble. Tessa was amazing, they all keep saying it. My lips crawled down at the edges. She was a witch, she had powers and years to practice how to take care of this place. I don't. It's not my fault that this is harder for me than it was for her.
    “Here we are.” Grault stood triumphantly, a tiny bag dangling from two fingers. He nudged the drawer behind the desk closed, striding my way in two long steps. “Here, this should be more than enough.”
    Cupping my hands to catch the bag when he dropped it, I untied the top. It felt heavy, but I still wasn't ready for what was inside. “This is...”
    Stacked perfectly, wrapped in an elastic, was a rectangle of twenty dollar bills as thick as my wrist. “There has to be over eight hundred dollars here!”
    My pale companion nodded knowingly. “More than enough, correct?”
    “Yeah. Yeah, correct, I—Grault, how much did my grandmother leave me?”
    His eyebrows lifted a hair. Reaching out, he gestured for the will. I tugged it from my purse, handing it over. “Were you really not paying attention?” Flipping the papers, he pointed to a section that outlined the wealth.
    I'd never seen so many zeroes.
    “Her own mother left her a fortune,” he said, “it is enough for anything you could need. Now, let me make you a list, and you can hurry along before it gets too late. I'm unsure how long the town lawyer will be in the Hall.”
    I had nothing to say, my fingers trembling on the money. He wasn't kidding at all. I remembered Grault's words, my mind buzzing wildly, his voice dull in my ears.
    I never joked with you, Miss Blooms.
    Not once.
    It was that moment that I truly, in my very core, believed everything that was going on around me.
    If all of this was real...
    What else was waiting for me in that strange house?
    ****
    T he walk into Barrow Village was refreshing. It helped to clear my head, though that only served to make me dissect my new perception of the world more clinically.
    Magic, witches, monsters—no, not monsters. Grault said they weren't monsters, though he didn't actually clarify what my 'guests' actually were.
    Now that it was the middle of the day, I saw that the town was bustling as everyone went about their business.
    Catching an older woman in a wide brimmed hat watching me by a