Chapter 24

As we walked toward the two buildings I noticed that the grass around the yard had been mowed recently.

"Who mowed the grass?" I asked.

"I did, after I serviced the equipment. I needed to see if those things worked properly. They are fairly old, you know."

"I'm no expert, but it looks to me that they just need a coat of paint and a regular schedule of service. I'm sure that they will run for a long time."

Tony nodded at my comment and said, "Whoever did the maintenance for Mrs. Phillips took good care of the equipment."

Tony then went on to point out what he thought should be done to the place. I absorbed all of that and then added some other items—including the paving of the yard and drive. I remembered plowing pea stone drives in my youth and the mess I had when spring came. As we talked my stomach started to growl and Adin said, "I think we need to get back and have something to eat."

On the way back to the RV I asked Tony to call his wife to see what time would be good to go to Down-East Modular the following day. Once a time was settled upon I called Connie and set up our meeting.

"You're welcome to stay for supper, Tony," I said thinking that we could talk about the types of vehicles that I should buy.

Tony smiled weakly and said, "If you don't mind I'd like to go home. I need to explain why you don't want the house that the women picked out. You see I'm the one that insisted on a double."

"Ahh well ... in that case I agree that it would be best that you go home, too," I said with a sympathetic pat on his shoulder as I tried to hide my smile.

It was a quiet evening as we ate our supper and then went to bed. Adin was lying next to me with her head on my chest and her left arm across my body.

"What are we going to do with that treasure?" she asked.

"We, my sweet wife, are going to get rid of it," I said as I kissed the top of her head.

My wife snuggled up closer to me, hugged me harder and then said, "Mmmmm ... I love being with you like this. Mmmmmm ... anyway what ARE you going to do?"

"Did you ever hear of Oak Island?"

"No."

"Do you want to hear the story or go to sleep?"

There was no answer, Adin was already asleep.

"Well, we'll deal with that when she asks me about it, later, " I thought.

In moments, I too, was sound asleep.

However, it was not a restful sleep! I had bad dream after bad dream. At least I think they were bad dreams. I finally admitted defeat and got up and went down to the kitchen, it was two AM! I made some hot chocolate and then sat down at the dinette. My problem was that I didn't remember what I was dreaming about but I knew that it was some kind of premonition.

After a few sips of my comfort beverage I suddenly sat up and smacked my forehead with the palm of my hand. Ryn's words were ringing in my ears, "You can write any spell that you need, Kade."

I then thought about what it was exactly that I wanted and then spoke the spell softly. Instantly I remembered what my dreams were. Again my lack of training was a problem! I had given Adin magical powers but had not given her a magical weapon!

I sat thinking of all of the staffs that I had seen in the movies and on TV, trying to decide on a staff that would suite my wonderful wife. An ebony shaft, one and a half inches in diameter and forty eight inches long seemed right, but I wanted more for her.

I thought some more.

"Something more feminine, but not frivolous ... Hmm... "

I ran through various designs and finally settled on engraved gold fittings. The top will be a solid spherical finial, three inches in diameter, while the bottom of the staff would sport a cylindrical gold sleeve that was six inches long and of equal weight as the top piece — a weapon needs to have perfect balance, after all.

Once I was settled on the design I liked, I conjured the staff and imbued it with a permanent connection to an elemental power source. I didn't want Adin to run out of magical energy in the middle of a fight. As I worked on that, the shaft was enveloped in a cloud of energy that was varying in size and color until, with a final explosive burst, the cloud dissipated. The end result was a gleaming black and gold staff that was quite beautiful. However the thing needed something more ... After considerable thought I put a two inch wide platinum band, engraved with different animals, at the balance point.

I stood back and studied the new staff and decided my part was finished. I knew that Adin had a penchant for naming things, and fully expected that this staff would have a name before the day was out!

Now that the staff was completed, the antsy feeling that I had during the night was completely dissipated. I returned to bed and soon was fast asleep.

With a shriek like a Valkyrie, Adin pounced on me as I slept, but she forgot to let go of her new staff, I had left it beside the bed for her to discover when she woke. She gave me an almighty whack on the side of my head with the thing in her excitement. Her happy shrieks turned to ones of sorrow, as she then proceeded to smother the injured area in kisses. However, she still had not let go of the staff and continued to bang it on my head.

I finally managed to pin her in a hug, and then worked to force her fingers off of the staff. It was not an easy thing to do for, in her excitement, she didn't want to let go of her new gift.

Finally, I said in my Master voice, "ADIN! LET GO OF THE STAFF, NOW!"

All of the joy left her as she became Adin the slave again.

"Yes, Master," she said firmly as she scrambled from the bed and knelt in the slave's submissive posture at the side of the bed. It always amazed me how still she could be when in that position. I watched her as I rubbed the pain out of the injuries to the side of my head.

"Get up and get back into bed, Adin."

Quickly she obeyed but did not leave her slave persona. She lay on her back with her arms at her side and legs straight. It looked as if she were standing at attention only lying down.

"Adin please sit up and behave as my wife."

She sat up but did not leave the slave completely. She asked, "What did I do wrong, Master? Is that staff not for me?"

By this point I had mixed emotions, first her still acting like a slave upset me. However, her behaving like a slave also hurt me and made me feel compassion for this woman. Such a mix of emotions also angered me even more.

"Adin, look at me and listen to what I have to say. Do not try to fit me into the box that you have in your mind as to how Masters behave. Got it?"

Now she looked confused and fearful. I was just digging my hole deeper.

I got out of bed and paced back and forth a few times then sat on her side of the bed and took her hands into mine.

I then spoke softly, "My beloved wife, the only reason that I spoke harshly to you was because you kept banging meI on the head with the staff. That thing has a lot of power in it and there could have been a very unfortunate accident. It also hurt a lot. Now please leave your slave personality and return to being my wife, PLEASE, I miss her already."

As I spoke Adin's eyes got bigger and bigger and then she finally flung herself into my arms and hugged me fiercely.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't know that I was hurting you, but what are you talking about when you say that there is a lot of power in the staff? I thought the power comes from the wielder."

It felt so good to have my wife back. <Sigh> I sat and relished the feeling of her body against mine for a couple of minutes then I explained, "No my darling both of our staffs are connected to the earth's elemental energy. They are like a stick of dynamite and, if mishandled can misfire."

"OOOOhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!" Adin said as she leaned back, without letting go of me, so that she could look into my eyes. "You mean that I could have killed you?"

"No! I mean that you could have killed BOTH of us! You will ... no, scratch that. WE, you and I, will have to train as boxers do before a fight. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Kade. I'm sorry I hurt your head. Is it ok, now?"

"It's fine, honey. Now would you like your staff back?"

"Oh! Yes, please," she said with a huge smile and a little giggle.

Sometimes my wife was just like a kid, and this was one of those times; but, with a bit more restraint this time. She knelt on the bed with her knees together and her hands on her knees—though her fingers were definitely twitching.

I got up and walked around the bed and retrieved the staff and held it horizontally as I presented it to Adin, and in a formal manner, I said, "My dear wife I present to you, your magical staff. It is your weapon of war."

My wife lifted her hands from her knees and took her gift from my hands reverently. Her eyes got big as she said, "I can actually feel the power! Why didn't I feel it before?"

"Because she had not bonded to you, yet. In your excitement, you disrespected her, and she didn't bond to you then. Now I think she has accepted you."

"You talk as if this staff is alive!"

"In a way it is. And they have gender, too. My staff is very rugged and has a very strong maleness about it, while yours is definitely female."

Adin bent her head and spoke directly to her staff and asked, "Do you have a name?"

Nothing happened. Adin waited a few more minutes and then asked, "Would you like to help me find a name for you?"

Adin's head snapped up and she said to me, "She answered me with a little shock!" Adin bent her head down toward the staff again and said, "This is serious business. We will have to study names until you find one that you like, ok?"

Adin looked up with a wet smile and tears of joy in her eyes.

"She did it again! She talks to me in tiny shocks. Thank you my darling she is so beautiful."

"Okay, my sweet, now you need to figure out where you are going to store her when she isn't in use."

Adin looked serious for a moment and then bent over her staff and whispered to her. A moment later there was a golden flash and the staff was gone. In her place was a pendant on a delicate golden chain. Adin smiled and put the necklace on.

"There she will always be with me," Adin said.

"Hmm ... perhaps I should do the same thing with my staff ... hmm... " I thought.

"It's eight thirty, sweetheart. We need to get going for the day.I In fact, I expected Tony and his family to be here by now. I wonder what's keeping them."

Instead of answering me, Adin dashed past me and ran into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

I grumpily took that to mean that she would be ready but that I would have to rush to do my morning ablutions since she would be taking forever, as usual. I swear I don't understand why it takes women so long to get ready!

Just then I heard Tony call out as he and his women entered followed by Ryn and Madame, "Morning all. We brought food."

I put a robe on, brushed my hair and went down to the kitchen. To my greatest pleasure I could already smell coffee in the making. I looked at the table and saw a platter of cut up fresh fruit and next to that was a box of croissants from the local French bakery. If I was not a magical person I would weigh three hundred pounds by now. I love those flaky buttery pastries so very much. I am unable to go past the place without buying a box. It was Madame that found the place on a small side street and introduced me to this particular bit of gastronomic wonder.

A full fifteen minutes earlier than I expected the bathroom door opened and Adin's head popped out. "Do I smell croissant?"

"Oui ... and fresh fruit pieces mon cher," Madame called back.

There was a sudden slam of the door and a crashing and thrashing in the bathroom. Then the door opened and Adin emerged but it was obvious that she had not finished her prep work for going out. I looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

My sweet wife glared at me and said, "Oh, shut up! You know damn well that if I waited even a few minutes that you pack of ravening wolves would scarf all of this good stuff down, without leaving so much as a crumb for me."

I just shrugged and put two croissants on my plate along with four wedges of fresh pineapple. My greedy little wife sat down next to me, grabbed a plate and filled it with three croissants and several pieces of assorted types of melon.

Eventually we were ready to leave for our eleven o-clock appointment. We all piled into Tony's van and rushed off. Barring a major problem we would arrive just in time.