Sea Haven 02 - Spirit Bound

self-defense, weapons and even shooting guns. If the two of you ever got together we’d be an armed camp instead of a farm.” She pushed open the door to an enormous room and stood back, a smile of pride on her face as she indicated for him to go in.
    Judith’s studio was huge and filled with light. The outside wall had been made of thick glass, the French doors wide and inviting one to the outside garden, which grew wild with brilliant, vivid colors. Tubes poured light down from the ceiling, illuminating the rows of beads, gemstones, glass, wire and charms. Genuine joy filled this room, and happiness was reflected in the chaotic colorful creativity spilling out of bins in every corner of the room.
    The walls were white, the light fixtures, wide windows and large French doors drawing light into the room. Judith had hung pictures of her favorite mandalas—images repeated in patterns in the kaleidoscopes by the mirrors and objects in the cells. He studied those for a few moments, knowing this room and these images held one of the keys to Judith’s character. She created beauty here, peace. This was where the artist poured her soul into her creations.
    He looked around the room, noting every detail. This was where Judith really lived, not upstairs in her comfortable, beautiful home. Here, in this happy chaos her soul was at peace. He could almost hear her laughter, carefree and confident. This place represented Judith more than any other he’d seen in the house.
    “That wall is set up for cutting the mirrors,” Judith explained and pointed to the far wall where a large square table held some sort of rig he had never seen before. “I need perfect cuts and straight lines every time. This allows the placement of the mirror edge against the iron bar with this movable bar guiding the cutting blade.”
    “It looks a little dangerous.”
    She flashed a quick grin. “You should have seen me when I first got the thing.”
    The idea of anything hurting her, even while she was in the learning phase, bothered him on a level he didn’t understand. Stefan hadn’t realized he had any protective instincts left in him, and yet she seemed to be bringing all of them out.
    He glanced at the second work table on the same wall. Blades, glue guns, cutters and specialty tapes lay in happy chaos. “At least you’re well armed in here since you never set your alarm. I’d hate to be an intruder catching you in this room.”
    Judith laughed again and pointed to another wall. “That’s my lampworking station where I twist and sculpt colored rods before they go into a cell.”
    Protective goggles lay beside the oxygen/propane torch and the tanks feeding it. Tall, clear vases held the bright, vivid colored glass rods she referred to.
    “I use the small kiln to put cut pieces of glass I shape that I want in the mirror systems.”
    Another table contained boxes with packing material tucked under it for shipping. He could see that in the midst of what looked like chaos, she was really very organized. On one wall a row of long, narrow tables housed clear acrylic boxes containing an abundance of objects. Beneath the narrow tables were plastic drawers filled with cells, various parts, discs, lenses and eyepieces, all sorts of intriguing things she had collected as well as tubes and bases for various types of scopes.
    Stefan was drawn to the splashes of bright color spilling out of the boxes on top of the table and sauntered over to look into the treasure trove of items. He turned to her with a raised eyebrow.
    “Those are all the various bits and pieces I use in making kaleidoscopes,” she explained.
    She was happy in this room. He could feel a wealth of joy permeating the very walls, and the room itself as well as in the objects in the boxes. Although there were tens of thousands of items, each box contained only one color creating a rainbow effect, much like her gardens.
    “Where do you find these things?”
    “Everywhere. Aren’t they glorious? All that color and texture and shapes? I look at something and immediately see the opportunities. Scopes can calm people, entertain them, make them laugh or cry. I make themed scopes and personal scopes.” For the first time, Judith sounded just a little shy. “I’m making that one there as a special gift for Hannah Drake, well Harrington. She’s due to have their first baby any time and I’ve promised Jonas I’ll finish it soon.”
    She motioned with her hand and he followed her