The Squawking Dead: A Cozy Witch Mystery (Magic Market Mysteries Book 7) by Erin Johnson

Author:Erin Johnson
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2020-07-14T04:00:00+00:00

21

THE JUNGLE

I crossed my arms and tapped my fingers on my elbow. If I had magic, I could just use a spell to amplify the sound of the voices, but I was unfortunately cursed. Wah wah. Magic kept the animals enclosed, but would it keep people out? Only one way to find out.

I tied my jacket around my waist, crouched down, and lowered myself over the edge of the bridge so that I hung from the planks, my toes dangling over the soft, dark earth below. The rope bridge swung gently, and I let go, dropping onto the ground with a soft thud. I took a deep breath and headed toward the trees.

The other night at the party, Quincy had needed to spell the magical barrier to allow him in. But the phoenix had been about to combust, with hundreds of guests milling just outside the cage. No doubt keeping people out was a greater security concern then.

I was sure it took a ton of magic to keep these force fields running day and night. They probably only had enough power to enchant the animals to stay in. With guided tours, people would be supervised. Plus, nobody would be dumb enough to try and get to the animals. I grinned as I dipped under a low branch. Nobody except this girl. Wait….

I closed my eyes and stretched my arms out as I approached the slightly shimmering magical force field. I was about to get quite a jolt if I was wrong. I winced and stepped forward.

Cool, tingly magic brushed my fingers, but they passed through. I peeled my eyes open, grinning, and stepped through with the rest of my body. I followed the sound of the voices, climbing over twisted roots and pushing aside leaves the size of my torso.

I silently whispered a prayer that I wouldn’t inadvertently cross over into the spider monster’s enclosure—whatever that was. I froze as Mark and Quincy came into view, then ducked quickly behind a thick tree with smooth bark before they could see me. I crouched down and eased back out, peeking through the feathery stalks of a fern.

Quincy’s chest heaved, and a deep red flush covered his face and neck. His voice shook as he scowled at Mark. “I’ve been going through the records.” He raised his thin brows. “Malorie always took care of everything, but now that I’m looking into it, I see she let you have too much freedom.”

Mark stood in front of Quincy but didn’t face him. He held one arm across his chest, the other at shoulder height, a smoking cigarette between his fingers. “What are you talking about?” He took a puff of the cigarette, his glasses slightly fogged from the humidity.

Quincy bristled and pointed a trembling finger at him. “Now—now I know you’ve been stealing potions. The numbers aren’t adding up.”

I raised my brows. Come again now? The veterinarian was stealing from the sanctuary? I remembered how surprised Quincy had been when we opened the chilled cupboard in the sanctuary’s office the other night and found so many potions missing.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.