sisters headed to the cozy fire Derek had lit in the big hearth in Clover’s living room and snuggled down on the overstuffed sofa to talk. A beautiful red fox with a bushy tail was curled up on a pillow in front of the hearth. Rusty was Clover’s familiar, and spent most days prowling the woods by her house, but in the winter he loved a toasty fire as much as the sisters did.
Clover sipped her wine. A stitch formed in her brow. “All kidding aside, I’m scared for you. Maybe you should go to the council and officially report Jonathan Rainer missing. You could turn in the Hexer who attacked you.”
Honora sunk into the sofa, her mind made up. “His wife already tried that. Plus, with Hex involved, I think the council already knows and doesn’t want me snooping around.”
“So why are you? You could bow out. Let the case go. Tell his wife what happened to you today. I’m sure she would understand,” Vivi said.
“I’m not a quitter. No way I’m backing down, especially now that Hex Division is against it. I’m more committed than ever.”
“You’re going to need more than the manual to find the Woodsman,” Clover said.
“Oh, that reminds me,” Honora said, going for her purse and digging out the cracked crystal ball that January had given her. She tossed the baseball-sized orb to Vivi. “Got any idea what this does?”
“Where did you get this? It’s a real beauty.” Vivi rolled the crystal ball around in her fingers. “I’ve only seen the one Scarlet has at her shop. They’re very rare.”
“Really? What exactly is it? And what’s it do?” Honora asked. Maybe it wasn’t a piece of junk after all.
“It’s called a blind eye, and it’s a tool used in prophecy.” Vivi smiled proudly. During the last couple of months, she’d been studying up on her divination skills since she began training with Honora’s old friend and sometimes nemesis Scarlet Card, who owned a fortune-telling shop in Willow Realm. The sisters had agreed Vivi would not attempt to use her persuasion of prophecy on them. “Not many seers have them anymore.” She tossed the crystal to Honora.
“ Blind eye doesn’t sound like a good name for a soothsaying device, but many ancient oracles were physically blind but could see into the ether,” Clover said.
“That’s a nice history lesson, but what’s it do? Can it see the future?” Honora asked.
“No, not at all. That’s what makes it so rare,” Vivi said. “This crystal sees the present. It sees what’s right in front of you. The event or thing you are missing in your life.”
“Interesting.” Honora examined the ball with her new information.
“I’ll take it if you don’t want it,” Vivi said with an envious smirk.
“Well, I don’t know how much good it will do me on this case, but if it comes up bust, then you can have it.” Honora nudged her sister. “I’m sure you’ll have much better use for it than me.”
Even though it was well after Midnight, Honora stopped by the office on her way home to see what progress Sawyer had made that day and was shocked to find him still at his desk. His schedule was flexible, and he often came in later in the afternoon and worked late, but this was true dedication. She smiled. He was one of the most devoted and hardest-working wizards she’d ever met.
“What are you still doing here?” she asked. “Shouldn’t you be home relaxing by now?”
“Hey. I could be asking you the same thing.” He leaned back in his chair and stretched. “I got caught up working on a few new spells for compiling data and lost track of time.” He shrugged. “What can I say? I love my job so it doesn’t feel like work.”
“You’re the best.” She winked. She filled him in on all the juicy details she’d discovered at Clover’s house. “What’d you find out today?”
“There’s no news back from the lab on the blood from your wand, so I got you a replacement.” He handed her a slim box with a new wand
Clover sipped her wine. A stitch formed in her brow. “All kidding aside, I’m scared for you. Maybe you should go to the council and officially report Jonathan Rainer missing. You could turn in the Hexer who attacked you.”
Honora sunk into the sofa, her mind made up. “His wife already tried that. Plus, with Hex involved, I think the council already knows and doesn’t want me snooping around.”
“So why are you? You could bow out. Let the case go. Tell his wife what happened to you today. I’m sure she would understand,” Vivi said.
“I’m not a quitter. No way I’m backing down, especially now that Hex Division is against it. I’m more committed than ever.”
“You’re going to need more than the manual to find the Woodsman,” Clover said.
“Oh, that reminds me,” Honora said, going for her purse and digging out the cracked crystal ball that January had given her. She tossed the baseball-sized orb to Vivi. “Got any idea what this does?”
“Where did you get this? It’s a real beauty.” Vivi rolled the crystal ball around in her fingers. “I’ve only seen the one Scarlet has at her shop. They’re very rare.”
“Really? What exactly is it? And what’s it do?” Honora asked. Maybe it wasn’t a piece of junk after all.
“It’s called a blind eye, and it’s a tool used in prophecy.” Vivi smiled proudly. During the last couple of months, she’d been studying up on her divination skills since she began training with Honora’s old friend and sometimes nemesis Scarlet Card, who owned a fortune-telling shop in Willow Realm. The sisters had agreed Vivi would not attempt to use her persuasion of prophecy on them. “Not many seers have them anymore.” She tossed the crystal to Honora.
“ Blind eye doesn’t sound like a good name for a soothsaying device, but many ancient oracles were physically blind but could see into the ether,” Clover said.
“That’s a nice history lesson, but what’s it do? Can it see the future?” Honora asked.
“No, not at all. That’s what makes it so rare,” Vivi said. “This crystal sees the present. It sees what’s right in front of you. The event or thing you are missing in your life.”
“Interesting.” Honora examined the ball with her new information.
“I’ll take it if you don’t want it,” Vivi said with an envious smirk.
“Well, I don’t know how much good it will do me on this case, but if it comes up bust, then you can have it.” Honora nudged her sister. “I’m sure you’ll have much better use for it than me.”
Even though it was well after Midnight, Honora stopped by the office on her way home to see what progress Sawyer had made that day and was shocked to find him still at his desk. His schedule was flexible, and he often came in later in the afternoon and worked late, but this was true dedication. She smiled. He was one of the most devoted and hardest-working wizards she’d ever met.
“What are you still doing here?” she asked. “Shouldn’t you be home relaxing by now?”
“Hey. I could be asking you the same thing.” He leaned back in his chair and stretched. “I got caught up working on a few new spells for compiling data and lost track of time.” He shrugged. “What can I say? I love my job so it doesn’t feel like work.”
“You’re the best.” She winked. She filled him in on all the juicy details she’d discovered at Clover’s house. “What’d you find out today?”
“There’s no news back from the lab on the blood from your wand, so I got you a replacement.” He handed her a slim box with a new wand
Similar Books
