Page 66 of The War is Coming

Alex looked at Gargoyle Tudor. “Be back soon, sweetheart.”

Baylan, Alex and Maddy appeared in the living room of her house. The place had been trashed and smelt of decay.

Maddy was holding Baylan’s hand, her other hand clutching his arm. “Those men did this when they were looking for me,” Maddy said, sniffing.

“Maddy, which rooms were your parents killed in?” Alex asked softly.

“The kitchen,” she replied.

“Okay. Do you and Baylan want to go upstairs and pack, and I’ll sort out down here?”

“We can do that, can’t we, honey?”

Maddy nodded.

“We’ll be down later,” Baylan said.

Alex nodded and walked out of the lounge and into the kitchen. He found Maddy’s parents lying where they died. No way did he want her to see the state of their bodies. He used his magic to send them to the room of the fallen, in the hospital where the slain dragons and gargoyles had lain.

He pulled his phone out and texted Ajax, letting him know. They could hold a funeral for them later.

Next, he used his magic to clear the smell and tidy the downstairs up, making sure everything was back in its place.

Then he started going through draws and cupboards, looking for any paperwork that Maddy would need in the future. He found a safe and called everything that was inside it to him.

Baylan walked into Maddy’s bedroom, which, like everywhere else, had been trashed. Clothes and toys were thrown everywhere. The clothes were ripped and toys broken. The furniture had been upended, draws thrown on the floor.

Maddy looked at the mess and started to cry.

Baylan pulled her into a hug. “I can fix this, honey,” he said softly and, using his magic, fixed everything in her room. He made sure the other rooms up here were also tidied. “See, honey, all sorted.”

Maddy lifted her head and looked around at her now perfect room. “Thank you, Baylan.”

“You’re welcome, honey. Now let’s start packing your clothes and toys. If you want your furniture, we can arrange a van to collect it.”

Maddy wiped her face on her sleeve. “Okay.”

Ares and Jason pulled Kieran away from the playing children and took him over to the garden table and sat down.

“What’s up?” Kieran asked.

“We wondered if you wanted to go home and collect your things and bring them here,” Ares said softly.

Kieran’s eyes filled with tears and he shook his head. “No, my family all died there; their bodies are probably still in the house.”

“I can go and bring your family here. We can hold a funeral for them if you want, and they can be buried by the chapel ruins,” Ares said.

Kieran wiped his eyes. “Please, I’d like that.”

“I can bring your things here as well if you want.”

Kieran nodded. “Please, Ares. Thank you.”

“Sorry, Kieran, we should have thought of this sooner,” Jason said.

“I should have asked, but I was trying not to think about what happened,” he said, sniffing.

Jason pulled him close and hugged him.