Spellsmith & Carver: Magicians' Reckoning by H. L. Burke & H. L. Burke

Author:H. L. Burke & H. L. Burke [Burke, H. L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-10-13T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Lotta held the strap as the train jerked to a halt. Her insides roiled with a mix of anxiety and excitement. Seeing Auric again would be like Christmas morning. Accepting his proposal … more like putting together a machine from scrap without any schematics to reference. How did one make a marriage? There really should be instruction manuals about that sort of thing.

“Do you need help with your luggage, ma’am?” the elderly conductor asked.

“Oh, no, I’ve got it.” Lotta pushed a button on her trunk. Something within it whirred, and a set of wheels popped out of the bottom. She fished a controller from her handbag. “I lead it with magnets.”

The conductor whistled. “Ain’t that somethin’. Almost like magic.”

She opened her mouth to explain the differences between engineering and magic and how of the two engineering was far the superior, but thought better of it.

Making her way off the train and onto the platform, she spied a small knot of men. A head of dark hair stuck out over the rest of them. A familiar head.

“Jericho?” she called.

Jericho turned towards her, and a smile captured his face. “Ah, Lotta. You’re back.”

“Yes, well … Auric … yes, I am.” She flushed, uncertain how much Jericho knew about her soon-to-be engagement. Probably everything. Auric tended to talk too much.

He chuckled, coming to her side. “Good. Tell Auric he’s a lucky—” His smiled died. “Actually, never mind. It’s good to see you.”

“I was going to rent a carriage to Spellsmith Manor. Did you walk into town or ride? If you walked, we can ride back together.”

“I … well, I’m not heading back to the Manor today.” A look crossed his face that even she could identify as pain.

“You’re not? Why? Is everything all right?”

“There are two missing children, and I’m helping with the search.” He pointed towards the crowd. In their midst stood a wide-eyed child of perhaps twelve. “Mervin was the last person to see his little brother, so we’ve been trying to get anything relevant out of him. No luck so far.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. Do you need help?”

“Not at the moment, but thank you.” He pushed his hair back from his forehead. Dark circles surrounded his eyes, sad eyes, hurt eyes, eyes that looked as if they wanted to quit.

Lotta hesitated. She liked Jericho. He seemed to understand her and looked after Auric like a protective older brother. She’d always considered him an ally—perhaps a friend even.

“You look tired.” She cautiously touched his arm. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

He gave her a weak smile. “No, but don’t worry about me. Auric will be glad to see you.” He squeezed her shoulder. “Do me a favor and take care of him for me?” He started to turn away.

Lotta’s mind raced. She didn’t know much about people, but she did know about broken things. Something about Jericho’s behavior screamed “broken.” If he were a machine, she’d take him apart and see what was wrong. What did one do with a

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