Fireside and Stone by K.E. O'Connor

Author:K.E. O'Connor [O'Connor, K.E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: K.E. O'Connor
Published: 2024-02-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Sabine had fretted about the stone heart amulet for several minutes, and although I’d directed her back to Augustus’s murder, she wasn’t moving from the topic.

I checked the time and gasped. “I need to leave! I’ll be late for work.”

“Of course, of course.” Sabine grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “Bell, it took great courage to question me. I had no problem with Augustus. He was a foolish, arrogant man, and I can’t say I grieve his loss, but I wish you well on your quest. It won’t be easy to bring down whoever is using the stone heart amulet.”

I nodded my thanks. “I really must go. If a family member notices I’m missing—”

“Allow me. I can get you back to the castle faster than the portal tunnels.”

Before I could question what Sabine intended to do, a hot gust of wind blasted around us, and what felt like icy raindrops pounded against my skin for several seconds. When the wind died down, I found myself with Hodgepodge back at the castle.

Hodgepodge shuddered and shook himself from head to tail. “That is one witch I don’t want to meet again.”

I shook out my skirts and patted myself over to check everything was where it should be. “Sabine has incredible power. It’s no wonder the family pays her to stay away. I’m certain, if she set her mind to it, she could destroy them by clicking her fingers.” I took a moment to get my bearings then dashed around the side of the castle and into the servants’ entrance.

“Can we trust her, though?” Hodgepodge asked. “Power of that magnitude often leads to an unstable character. And I still haven’t forgiven her for grabbing me.”

“That was rude.” I dashed along the chilly tunnel. “Sabine has no alibi to speak of. She showed us those mushrooms, but she could have picked them any time. It sounds like she’s a loner, keeps to herself as much as possible, which means it’s unlikely anyone saw her foraging.”

“Even if they did, we’re not going back to find out if she was snooping around the woodland looking for dangerous mushrooms or sneaking into the castle to kill her former lover. If we returned to the moor, we’d only end up in a more dangerous situation. Probably stumble across a deranged moor nymph who’d force-feed us her poisoned cake.”

“That lemon cake did look amazing.”

Hodgepodge grumbled to himself. “Ach, that it did. Better miss out on cake than die from mushroom poisoning.”

I hurried into the main hallway and collected my cleaning equipment. “We need to find out if Sabine was telling the truth about the last time she saw Augustus. She acted as if their relationship was a passing fancy and they hadn’t been seeing each other regularly, but I’m not sure if that was true.”

Hodgepodge clung to my shoulder as I dashed along. “She was scared of the stone heart amulet.”

“So am I. The amulet is ancient. It must have been used thousands of times, and it grew stronger with every use.

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