Campaigns and Curses by S. Usher Evans

Author:S. Usher Evans
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sun's Golden Ray Publishing

Drop out of the race or I'll tell everyone you've got barus magic.

Chapter Thirteen

Bev stared at the note, shocked. "You…You've got barus magic?"

Wilda's face was bright red. "Well, not a lot of it. But enough to get on with."

"You're the one who gave Felicia the bauble to put in her pie, didn't you?" Bev said. "At the Harvest Festival. I thought she'd gotten that from the…well, there's another barus in the forest."

She nodded. "His name is Constantine. He's a full barus, whereas I'm only… Well, let's say I passed muster with Her Majesty's forces." She toyed with her hands as she avoided Bev's gaze. "My magic increases when I'm nearer to a source, as does every barus. When I go to the dark forest, I'm able to conjure all sorts of things." She twirled her fingers in the air. "Poof, whatever sort of magic I need."

"And how often have you needed magic?" Bev asked.

"A quiet spell here, a little pobyd magic there," she said. "But it's such a dangerous thing to do, I really only risk it around the Harvest Festival."

Bev pursed her lips. "So I remember."

"I don't think it's cheating if it's my magic," she said, redness creeping up her neck. "In any case, when poor Lillie was having her issues around the summer solstice, I was practically dripping with it, too. Had to make baubles to keep myself from levitating off the ground, you know…" She chuckled. "But it's all past now. Those baubles are buried in my root cellar for a rainy day. Nobody will ever find them."

Biscuit probably could. "You should think about getting rid of them. Unless…" Bev narrowed her gaze. "You aren't using them as bribes, are you?"

Her face screwed up in horror. "Bev! How dare you even insinuate such a thing?"

"Someone's sending blackmail letters," Bev said. "Clearly, all bets are off. And you'd asked Lillie to use her magic on the cupcakes—"

"Only so they wouldn't melt, Bev. Light magic, a touch of suggestion. Not a full-fledged barus bauble, capable of giving the person the kind of magic they need." She shook her head. "In any case, I'm not willing to risk my neck for the mayor's job. At least, not risk it like that. Nobody knows about my barus powers."

"What about your cousin?" Bev asked. "The mayor? You were making barus baubles for her during the Harvest Festival, right?"

"Miranda?" Wilda fumbled with her fingers. "She knows about Constantine. In the forest. So I told her that the baubles came from him, and that I'd paid him handsomely."

"What about Lazlo? Does he know?"

A momentary pause, then she nodded. "He doesn't have the magic, though. Haven't a clue why it skipped him and came to me, but I've heard magic can be funny like that." She chewed her lip. "In any case, no one else is supposed to know. But here's this letter, and now…" She swallowed. "I'm so careful, Bev."

"When was the last time you went to the dark forest?" Bev asked.

"Ages ago. Before the Harvest Festival last year," she said.

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.