The Dashkova Memoirs 01 Revolutionary Magic by Thomas K. Carpenter

Author:Thomas K. Carpenter
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: historical fantasy, Urban, fairy, alternate history, fae
Publisher: Black Moon Books
Published: 2015-05-02T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

When we got into his steam carriage later that day, I expected Ben to point the vehicle in the direction of the countryside. I thought we'd be going deep into the Pennsylvanian wilds, maybe even switch to a steamboat and troll up the river, until we found ourselves at an encampment of witches.

I voiced my surprise when I realized we were headed east, towards the Delaware River. "Where lives this Chloris? And what is she?"

"Don't let the myths of your youth confuse your thinking. These creatures want comfort and companionship as much as we do," he explained.

"Creatures? What do you mean? You've known one of these things and said nothing? How do you know it's not the one behind these incidents?" I asked.

His lips tentatively held the semblance of a smile, the memory of some event nearly turning it to a grimace. "The gauntlet led me to Chloris. She was in a bad way and I helped her. For a while, we had an arrangement." He flattened his lips. "And now we don't."

"If she's one of them, why not ask her who sent the memory thief?" I asked, shading my eyes from the angled sunlight streaming through my side of the carriage.

"It doesn't work like that," he said. "She only knows this world. I can only guess that one of her forbearers came from Otherland. Escape? Exile? For profit or mischief? I cannot say. She barely knew her mother, who died when she was young."

"Then how can she help us?" I asked, both curious and worried, because Ben appeared uneasy, constantly shifting in his seat as he steered the steam carriage through the Philadelphian streets.

Ben mulled his answer over, chewing on his thoughts. He still hadn't answered when we arrived at Ram Cat Alley. My gaze went immediately to the window of the spymaster's apartment that overlooked the street. I wished it was night, so my entrance might be hidden. It would be in a few hours.

We stopped outside of the Magdelen House. The big front window was boarded up where I'd shot it out.

Ben turned to me, his hands still gripping the wheel. "Chloris finds things. Answers, people, whatever you want. She's like a magnet, and whatever you want is the iron."

"Like a magnet, can it not attract over long distances?" I asked, sensing the reason he chose this analogy.

"Yes," he said. "And Otherland is a long way off. If the desired answer or thing was powerful enough, she might be able to pick it up, but otherwise, it is not within her capability."

I nodded, and thinking we were done, I reached for the door handle. Ben put a warm hand on my arm.

"This danger cannot be underestimated," he said.

"You and her were once friends?" I asked.

His cheek twitched. "I wouldn't exactly use that term, but circumstances have changed. We must be on our guard." He glanced at the red velvet curtains around the door of the Magdelen House.

"These are the rules which we must abide by at all times.

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