Spell Maven Mysteries: Paranormal Cozy Boxset : Complete Series by J. L. Collins

Author:J. L. Collins [Collins, J. L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-10-20T22:00:00+00:00

10

Queens and Pawns

The last time I was standing at the entrance of the wildflower-strewn valley that dipped into Arcadia I was trying to be as stealthy as possible. On official MARC business and with both Uncle Gardner and my Aunt Bedelia (who refused to be told she couldn’t come) inside the glaringly obvious MARC carriage transport, stealth was no longer a concern of mine.

I was more worried about the dark and heavy clouds rolling across the Arcadian countryside straight ahead. They began at the towering castle—our ultimate destination—spreading out in thick tendrils and tufts of stormy gray. Even with whatever the Fae were brewing, the breeze carried a soft and sweet scent with it, reminding me of honeysuckle.

“Well. Let it never be said that the Fae aren’t dramatic hosts,” Aunt Bedelia said, staring off into the distance as thunder cracked across the earth.

Passing the invisible border that marked the end of Spell Haven and the beginning of Arcadia, the three of us sat in silence. Aunt Bee was busy watching the colorful flowers blur by us along the road while Uncle Gardner was swiping through the magical holoscope that controlled the carriage transport, its screen pulling up an image of the very same short sword I’d found yesterday. Next to it on the screen, was a similarly-shaped weapon in the hands of some Fairy Knight, the knight’s face out of view.

“What’s this?” I asked, pointing to the latter.

“The Fairy Knights do carry shorts words—this is a more recent image of one from my own memory. After the betrayal of . . . someone,” he said, the lines around his eyes tightening, “I called a Head of Creatures Council meeting. With the Queen Mabily in attendance she ensured her royal guard was there too, including the Fairy Knight with that particular sword. It is the current style of weaponry the Fae use, I believe.”

I frowned. “A Head of Creatures Council meeting?”

“Each race of creature in all of Danann appoints a leader to make—”

“I know what a Head of Creatures Council meeting is, sir. What I mean is why did you call it? Those are usually only done in emergencies. Unless I missed something?”

Uncle Gardner sighed, avoiding my gaze. “To apologize. I-I wanted to apologize to everyone for letting someone like Gentry Whitemourn get deep enough within the MARC to sabotage in from the inside out. I made the mistake of trusting Whitemourn. Hell, I made him my own Lead Investigator. And he completely fooled me into thinking he deserved that placement. That honor.”

I sucked in a breath, surprised at Uncle Gardner’s candor. While he was pretty much always blunt and truthful, it was a rarity to see something affect him this way. “All due respect sir, but he fooled everyone. I’m part of that everyone too, you know. He was in it for the long game, and you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself about trusting him.”

He swiped away the holoscope, setting his shoulders back. “The short sword you found outside the Athenaeum was forged in an ancient style.

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