Now things made sense. Colin made the money. She needed him alive to take care of her. Roderick was just incidental.
"Colin doesn't do metal smithing anymore," I told him. "He's an accountant. I don't think he even remembers his time here. They way he acted when he saw the collar, I don't think he knew what it was. He and Aurellia had a daughter. The necklace killed her. That's their son." I pointed down toward the valley where the boy and dog played. "Aurellia had put the necklace on him to keep it off Colin."
Ivar's face jerked. "The necklace was never meant to follow the blood. It was only meant to keep Colin here."
Roderick came up the stairs. His face was flushed. "We don't have to go yet, do we?"
I would not take him back to that bitch.
Ivar looked at his grandson. There was a sadness there and regret. A lot of regret. I could see the resemblance between them now: same dark hair, same serious, somber look in the eyes.
"Do you like it here?" Doolittle asked.
Roderick nodded.
The medmage looked at the dwarf. "Second chances don't come about often."
Ivar's face went slack.
"He's right," Curran said.
Ivar took a deep breath and smiled at Roderick. "Roderick, I'm your grandfather. Would you like to stay here for a while? With me?"
Roderick looked at Doolittle.
"It's your choice," the medmage said. "You can come back with me, if you would like."
Roderick mulled it over.
"I never had a grandfather before," the boy said.
"I never had a grandson before," Ivar answered.
"Can I go swimming?"
"Yes," Ivar said. "Your grandmother will be back from the market soon. We'll have us some lunch and you can go swimming. The water's cold but you might enjoy it. Our kind does."
Roderick smiled. It was a tiny hesitant smile. "I would like that."
Ivar got up and offered the boy his hand. "Would you like to see my smithy?"
Roderick nodded. The two of them walked off the porch together, hand in hand.
The three of us sat on the porch, watched the river, and drank the iced tea.
"What about Aurellia?" I asked.
"She's still married to DA's brother," Curran said. "A woman told me it would be a bad idea to do anything about that."
"I wouldn't worry about Aurellia," Doolittle said, watching Ivar and Roderick but the smithy. "I have a feeling she'll get what's coming to her."
Epilogue
"Atlanta Avery hospital reported an extremely troubling case: a local woman, Aurellia Sunny, has aged forty years overnight. The medmage professionals theorize that accelerated aging had occurred due to a gold ring that had arrived in the mail and was left on Mrs. Sunny's front porch. The ring has since dissolved into her skin and is impossible to remove. The aging process is continuing and the family has been advised to make the proper arrangements. PAD detective Tsoi, the lead investigator on the case, had the following advice to the genral public, 'Don't accept gifts from anonymous parties. If you don't know who the package is from, don't open it.'"
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
THE END