The Trickster and the Thief: A Lochview Mystery (The Lochview Mysteries Book 2) by Ryan Vernel

Author:Ryan Vernel [Vernel, Ryan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Green Jumper Publishing
Published: 2023-07-19T23:00:00+00:00

16

Archie dropped a large dusty tome on the table in front of us. Its dark leather cover was worn and cracked with age. I could only just make out the title, written in faded gold lettering.

“The Sith of Lochview,” I read.

“It’s pronounced shee” Kaya corrected. “It’s the Gaelic word for Fair Folk.”

“Very good, Miss Kaya.” Archie smiled approvingly. “This is an encyclopaedia of local Fae. It was compiled by Eustace Dowell way back in the early thirteenth Century. In fact, it even predates this manor by over one hundred years. Now, I had started to bookmark some pages that I thought might be of interest. Perhaps there might be some mention of this shadowy figure you saw, Tyler.”

“His name is Cináed,” I said, much to Archie’s surprise.

“Cináed?” he repeated. “How do you know that?”

“He told us,” I replied.

“And he’s a Bòcan,” Kaya added. “It’s a type of Fae.”

Archie looked between the three of us, his eyes wide. He seemed a little shocked by how much we had discovered since we'd all sat together in the cafe.

“What exactly happened in that shop?” he asked nervously.

“Well, we found Mr McPhee,” I explained. “Only it wasn’t him, it was the Bòcan. He told us he wants payment for the stolen coin, but we refused because the payment he wants is Absy’s soul. So Kaya blinded him and we ran.”

His mouth fell open. I could almost see the cogs turning in his head.

“Hang on a minute.” Archie held up his hands. “What about your parents? I thought they were the payment.”

“Actually, that is something else,” I said awkwardly. “It turns out that I might have accidentally wished my family away. It would also appear that the only way to get them back would involve making a deal with the Bòcan.”

“My family is ok though,” Absy jumped in. “They just weren’t answering the phone.”

“Well at least there is one positive,” Archie said with a sigh. “So, what do we do now?”

“We don’t know,” I said simply. “I’m not sure there is anything we can do.”

Everyone fell silent. The only sound was the fire crackling softly. Its flames dancing gently in the shadows of the hearth.

The more I thought about it, the more impossible it seemed. Cináed was too powerful, he could be anyone and he could do anything. We were just three school kids and a tour guide, hardly the most formidable team.

“We need to change how we are looking at this.” Kaya rose purposefully from her chair and started pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace. “At the moment, Cináed is holding all the cards, but what if we changed that? What if we had an ace up our sleeve?”

We all stared at her blankly.

“He’s a Bòcan,” she said, as if we would all suddenly understand where she was going with this. “Bòcan’s make deals. It’s in their blood, they can’t resist it. We just need to find something he wants.”

“I am not giving him my soul,” Absy objected.

“Then we find something else,” she shot back.

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