Spring Eclipse Riddle: Magpie Cove Cozy Mysteries Book 2 by C Farren

Author:C Farren [Farren, C]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gracie Books
Published: 2022-04-20T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

“Cloris?” I asked them, unsure which was which. They both looked the same.

The quokka on the left smiled up at me. The other one darted off down the hospital corridor. It rambled around a corner before I could ask it some questions.

“Do you know who that was?” I asked Cloris.

Cloris shook her head.

“Do you know who they’re bonded to?” I asked.

The quokka shook her head again.

I picked Cloris up, saying, “You shouldn’t go wandering about like that. You know how big hospitals are. You could’ve gotten lost.”

I was about to take the quokka back to my sister when my cellphone rang. It was my mother.

“I’m currently riding a dragon at the dragon sanctuary in Beijing,” Serinda said. “I can’t stay on for long. What is it you wanted?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “You called me.”

“I’ve had several passive-aggressive texts from your father.”

“Dolphin was in an accident. She nearly died. She will be fine, but it was touch and go there for a while.”

My mother was quiet for a few moments as a dragon roared. I almost dropped my phone in shock. I’d only ever seen a dragon in safari parks. You couldn’t pay me enough to go anywhere near one of those monsters.

“Sorry about that,” said Serinda. “The dragon has an upset stomach. Too many milk products. Anyway, give Latrice my love. Tell her I’m thinking of her.”

She disconnected, leaving me angry. Was that it? Did the near-death of her daughter-in-law not warrant anything more sincere?

Cloris rubbed her nose against my legs.

“I know,” I said, pushing back my annoyance. “I shouldn’t get angry at her. She is what she is, and I can’t change it.”

“Your mother doesn’t act like a mother,” said Rhea. “She acts more like a flighty cousin who has no responsibilities.”

I pushed aside my resentment towards Serinda and picked up Cloris again. Thinking about the woman would only make me bitter, and Latrice needed me to be optimistic right now. I needed to be positive for myself. Otherwise, I’d end up with acid reflux.

“I’ve never seen another quokka familiar before,” I said as we traveled down the long, winding hospital corridor. “They must be quite rare.”

“I haven’t,” said Rhea. “And I’ve been around a very long time. Familiars are almost exclusively location-based. You don’t find many people with tiger familiars outside of India.”

I’d never considered that, though I wasn’t sure there were actually many people in India with tiger familiars. Did people in Africa have giraffe familiars? I remembered a sitcom on TV once about a Chinese-American woman with a familiar panda. It was terrible. The show, not the panda. The panda was adorable.

“So, where do quokkas come from?” Widdershins asked.

“Australia, I think,” I said, though I wasn’t sure.

Dolphin was awake when we finally reached her room. She was sitting up in her hospital bed, taking a sip from a glass of water, as Latrice fussed around fluffing pillows. Dolphin rolled her eyes with amusement as our eyes met.

“How’s the head?” I asked, placing Cloris by her human’s side.

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