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center for attaching the hands.
    “Better, ” Moss replied
thoughtfully. “ But look again. ”
    “He ’ s trying too
hard, ” said a
very deep resonating voice from somewhere near the
floor.
    “No, he ’ s not. He ’s doing fine, ” Moss replied to the voice without looking away
from the clock. The voice, however, had already distracted
Nicholas, who looked down near his feet to see a small stone
gargoyle staring up at him. The creature was about two feet tall
and made of granite, but his movements weren ’ t rigid as he turned his neck to
look up at Nicholas.
    “Newton! ” Moss said with annoyance in his
voice, “ You ’ re distracting
him! ”
    “He needs
distracting, ” the gargoyle replied as he gracefully leapt up onto the
table, using his wings to lift himself through the air. He landed on his feet and sat next to the clock.
He flapped his reptilian-like stone wings a few more times and then
pulled them in close to his body.
    “He does not need
distracting, ” Moss insisted with emphasis. “ We ’ re
in the middle of a lesson here. ”
    “My name is
Nicholas, ” Nicholas said politely.
    “I ’ m Newton, the
castle ’ s finest gargoyle , ” the
creature replied as he extended a claw with long sharp talons.
Nicholas grasped it and did his best to provide a firm handshake
without cutting himself. Newton then turned to greet Megan with a
high five. He was small, but he was also formidable enough to meet
Megan ’ s
powerful greeting without being shaken in the
least.
    “You ’ re the castle ’ s only
gargoyle, ” Moss
replied flatly.
    “Only and
finest. They ’ re
not mutually exclusive categories, ” Newton explained with
confidence.
    “Why
haven ’ t I seen
you before? ” Nicholas asked.
    “I belong to
Moss, so I ’ m
really more of a gargoyle in residence when Moss is in the
castle. ”
    “You belong to
Moss? Like a pet? ”
    “Sort of. He
brought me to life, ” Newton explained. “ Technically, I could leave
him — but I
have a strong sense of loyalty ... although I sometimes feel that
it may be misguided. ”
    “Newton, we ’ re not here to give Nicholas
your life history. Some other time, please, ” Moss said. “ Now, can we get on with our lesson? ”
    “Sure, ” Newton replied, then he turned to
Nicholas. “ We ’ ll do lunch. ” He leaned closer and
whispered, “ If
you ’ re going to
work with Moss there are a few things you need to know about him.
Luckily, he almost always has underwear on. ” Nicholas nodded briefly and
then looked at Moss uncertainly.
    “Yes, yes. Do
lunch some other time. But right now there are more important
things, ” Moss
said, rushing the words as he spoke them. “ We have a lot to
accomplish. ”
    “Nothing is
more important than food, ” Newton said quietly as he stepped back from the
clock to observe the lesson. “ It ’ s
essential to life, not to mention that a well-prepared meal is one
of life ’ s finer
things. ”
    “Are you
leaving? ” Moss
raised his pale green eyebrows as he asked the
question.
    “No, ” Newton responded. “ I ’ m
going to watch. ”
    “Sometimes I
don ’ t know why
I brought you to life. ” Moss sighed.
    “Sure you do.
You need me, ” Newton replied as he puffed out his chest a
bit.
    “At the moment
I need to you be quiet. ”
    Newton closed his mouth and sat so
still that he appeared to return to a lifeless stone statue, but
then Nicholas saw him blink. Nicholas glanced back and forth
between the gargoyle and Moss a few times before finally settling
his gaze upon Moss.
    “Are we going
to continue? ” Nicholas asked. Moss glared at the gargoyle for a brief
moment and then turned back to Nicholas.
    “Focus on the
face of the clock, ” he said. “ Think about the current time and reflect on where you
are. ”
    “And what
else? ” Nicholas
asked.
    “Nothing. Just
focus. ”
    Nicholas
wasn ’ t sure
what Moss meant about the current time because there was no other
clock in the