Читать книгу The Lost Gargoyle Series 3-Book Bundle - Philippa Dowding - Страница 21

The First Store

Judging by Gargoth’s description of the store and the large red “locomotion machine,” as he called it, Katherine had decided that they should start looking in the stores along the streetcar route of Toronto’s Queen Street East. The area was full of antique shops, comic book stores and strange little boutiques which were an odd mixture of both. There were plenty to choose from, so to pick the first store, she simply ran her finger down the list in the phone book and stopped randomly at Crystal Knights; she liked the sound of it. That would be the first store they would visit.

Katherine had ridden in peace on the subway, since Gargoth slept the entire trip. When she transferred to the Queen streetcar, he stirred a little but still did not wake up.

She found Crystal Knights without any trouble, and finally had no choice but to wake Gargoth. She was really nervous about doing this, since gargoyles are notoriously grumpy when you wake them up from a sound sleep. Luckily, there was a bench right outside the store, where she sat heavily and took off her backpack. Gently she shook the bag, saying, “Gargoth, we’re here! Wake up!” It took a few shakes and whispers before she heard the familiar snarl and snap. She was glad this was a sturdy canvas backpack.

Once Gargoth was wide awake and no longer snarling at her, Katherine re-shouldered the backpack and went toward the store. Her heart was pounding. Gargoth had promised to keep still but insisted that his head peek out the top of the backpack, so he wouldn’t miss a thing.

As Katherine opened the door, a little bell tinkled their arrival to the proprietor working among the boxes in the storeroom at the back. The place was warm and smelled like incense.

“Just a minute!” a happy, loud woman’s voice called. Katherine could feel Gargoth’s body tense behind her. “Katherine! This seems right! It smells right! It looks right! And it’s a woman here!” Gargoth was practically yelling at her.

“Be quiet! You promised!” Katherine snapped over her shoulder, but she had to stop because the unseen owner had just appeared, beaming at them over the counter.

A short lady with thick glasses and frizzy hair smiled down at her. “Hello!” she said pleasantly. “Can I help you?”

Here we go, thought Katherine. “Um, yes, please,” she said. “I have a gargoyle here, and we are looking for a matching one. My mother really loves this one and wants to try and find another one just like it. Have you seen anything like this one before?”

The lady-owner bustled happily around the counter and peered into the backpack at Gargoth. “Please, Gargoth,” Katherine breathed to herself, “be good!”

He was. As good as gold. He stayed perfectly rigid and still while the lady looked him over, very closely.

“Oh, isn’t he beautiful? Can I take him out?” she asked. Katherine froze. She hadn’t thought of that. Of course, the owner would want to see him and touch him! “Okay, I guess...he’s pretty precious! Be careful!”

The lady carefully took hold of Gargoth and lifted him from the backpack. She placed him on the counter, and she and Katherine stood back to admire him. Katherine was very worried, but extremely impressed with Gargoth’s statue-like demeanour. He really did look like a perfect little gargoyle statue, grumpy and lifelike. But not necessarily real.

There was a long silence. “He really is remarkable, isn’t he? I mean, you’d swear he’s alive!” She was just going to touch Gargoth again when the front door bell tinkled. A delivery man came through the door with a hand-trolley overflowing with boxes marked “Skulls/candles”.

“Just one moment, dear.” The lady turned her back to Katherine and Gargoth for a moment, and Gargoth took the opportunity to sullenly stick his tongue out at her as she retreated. Then he shook his head sadly at Katherine. This wasn’t the right store.

While the lady was busy with the delivery man, Katherine took off her backpack and carefully stuffed Gargoth back in. It would have been easier if he’d climbed in himself, but of course, they couldn’t risk that.

The lady came back to them just as Katherine was strapping her backpack closed. “You know, I’ve never seen another gargoyle like him, dear. He’s really one of a kind, don’t you think?” She smiled sweetly at Katherine.

“Yes.” Katherine smiled weakly back at her. “Yes, I’m quite sure he really is.”

Feeling sadder than she thought possible, Katherine left the store and headed back to the bus stop. She looked at her watch: 4:25! She’d have to hurry to make it to piano on time. She started at a trot. Gargoth was perfectly silent behind her, although he was being bumped and banged against her body mercilessly. She was sure she was getting bruised. Although he wasn’t very big, Gargoth was sturdy and pointy where he bumped against your body.

“I’m really sorry, Gargoth,” Katherine panted over her shoulder as she ran. “You couldn’t really expect the first store we tried to be the right one, though. Could you? I mean there are dozens of stores just like that one, near the street car lines. It could take us months to check them all, Gargoth.”

There was only silence behind her. And the occasional sniffle.

Katherine dashed to the Broadview bus, then ran all the way from the Castle Frank station to her piano lesson with just five minutes to spare.

As Katherine entered the timeless luxury of her piano teacher’s house, and the big oak door to the panelled piano room slid with a “shush” behind her, she realized she hadn’t thought of something: what was Gargoth going to do while she had her piano lesson?

Elaine, her teacher, was waiting at the piano bench for her. “Hello, Katherine! Just in time. How was your holiday?” she asked, happy to see her student.

Suddenly aching with worry and tired from her run, Katherine said, “Oh, sorry, Elaine! I just have to call my mother!” She bolted back out into the hallway, slid the door shut behind her and picked up the phone on the table. As she was dialing her mother, she whispered to her backpack, “Gargoth, you’ve got to be really, really quiet during my lesson. Can you breathe in there?”

Gargoth whispered back. “I will be quiet as long as you play well. I cannot endure poor piano playing.” Katherine caught a note of a sniff in Gargoth’s tone, just as though he was reminding her that he had listened to Mozart himself play, one of the greatest pianists the world has ever known.

Katherine sighed. There was nothing for it. Gargoth would have to listen to her piano lesson and stay perfectly quiet. Katherine left a message on her mother’s voicemail at work, propped her backpack up outside the sliding oak door and walked in.

“Katherine, are you okay?” Elaine asked her. She seemed a little worried.

Katherine really liked her piano teacher. She was a grandmotherly lady who dressed beautifully and who really enjoyed teaching kids how to read music. She’d been a piano teacher for thirty-five years, but unlike many others, she had never grown tired of the job. And she picked great music for Katherine to learn.

“Yes, yes, I’m fine. Thanks. Just a little tired.” She smiled.

“Where’s your music then?” Elaine asked, expectantly.

Music. Oh no, it was in her backpack! “Oh, yes, how silly of me! I’ll just get it.” She slid open the heavy oak door one final time and looked over at her backpack. To her dismay, there was her music sticking out the half-closed top, clutched in an all-too familiar claw.

She snatched it and slid the door closed once again. Luckily, Elaine hadn’t seen her music waving above her backpack in the hallway. She could breathe again.

Sadly, this wasn’t Katherine’s best lesson. And Elaine didn’t want to say anything to Katherine, but she was sure that every time Katherine hit a wrong note, which for some reason was rather frequent, her backpack sneezed. Or grunted. Or maybe it made a noise like the wind in the leaves.

They were both relieved when the lesson was finally over and Katherine’s mother beeped the car horn from the driveway.

“Thanks, Elaine. Sorry, I didn’t really practice much over the holidays. I think I’ll be better next week. Bye!”

Katherine grabbed her bag and dashed out the door to find her mother waiting. She was careful to stash her backpack in the trunk for the ride home, and she didn’t really care if certain individuals found it cold and uncomfortable back there.

Luckily, when they got home it was dark, and Katherine had enough time to sneak Gargoth into the backyard before her mother checked on him.

Katherine didn’t speak to Gargoth or even venture into the backyard for several days after that adventure. She was too shaken.