Shadow Duel (Prof Croft Book 9) Brad Magnarella (the best novels to read .TXT) đ
- Author: Brad Magnarella
Book online «Shadow Duel (Prof Croft Book 9) Brad Magnarella (the best novels to read .TXT) đ». Author Brad Magnarella
âReminds me of the time my battalion was on a night march through the Ungling Bog. Our lead was this goblin named Cuirk. Strange kid, but had a nose like you wouldnât believe. Anyway, it was coming on midnight when we heard him shout, âHag!â The rest of us scattered. Never did see Cuirk again, though a salamander turned up at camp that night and wouldnât leave. Mightâve been coincidence, but who knows? We kept the thing just in case.â
I finished activating a pair of pre-made potions, popped the tops off, and handed one to Bree-yark.
His nostrils wrinkled from the steam. âWhatâs this?â
âNeutralizing potion,â I said. âSo we donât end up like Cuirk.â
He shrugged and drank it down. I grabbed the empty tube before he could chuck it out the window, then drank mine. As the potion tingled through my system, I checked my coat pockets to ensure my casting implements were at hand before grabbing my cane.
âReady?â
âYeah,â he grunted, tightening the buckle of a blade strapped to his lower leg.
We made our way down the warped boardwalk toward the main building. Bree-yark was right about the stench. It was rank, and the midday sun on the stagnant water wasnât helping. Farther back in the reeds, I spotted three squat houses. In addition to their antiques business, the sisters also called the swamp home.
At the door to the main building, I stopped between a pair of potted shrubs and turned to Bree-yark. Though he hadnât brought it up on the ride here, I could tell the encounter with Gretchen and her boyfriend had bothered him. And there was no telling how that might manifest under stress.
âListen, there canât be any outbursts,â I said. âNot with these three. Iâm going to have my hands full as it is.â
âNo, no, I get it.â
Weâd discussed the plan on the way here. It basically amounted to me taking the brunt of their viciousness until they wearied and told me what they wanted in exchange for the info on the tanzanite. That they would want something was guaranteed. And it wouldnât be hair and fingernail clippings.
âWith any luck, two are out sick today,â I muttered.
âNo, theyâre all here,â someone said. âUnfortunately.â
Bree-yark and I looked around, but we were the only ones on the boardwalk.
âA little lower.â
âHoly thunder!â Bree-yark exclaimed, jumping back.
The voice was coming from the scraggly two-foot-tall shrub to the right of the door. Except for appearing in need of water, it looked commonplace. I couldnât even see where a mouth would go.
I followed Bree-yarkâs gaze to the other shrub.
âThat one doesnât talk,â the first shrub said. âJust me.â
âMust be some sort of enchanted growth,â I told Bree-yark. âProbably for security.â
âI wish,â the shrub said. âNo, a few months back I tried to haggle the sisters down on a rocking chair. They didnât react very well.â
âThey turned you into this for trying to haggle?â Bree-yark asked, incredulous.
âWell, I was being sort of an ass about it.â
âDo you have a name?â I asked.
âYeah, but I forget it now. Plant memory isnât the same as human. Doug, I think. Anyway, I overheard you talking about the sisters, and I wanted to warn you that theyâre in a really weird mood today. Might want to come back another time.â
âSounds like a good idea,â Bree-yark said, jerking his eyes back toward the lot.
âUnfortunately, we need something from them,â I said. âAnd itâs time sensitive.â
Doug blew out his breath.
âAny advice?â Bree-yark asked.
âYou want advice from a shrub? I mean, what can I say? Donât be me?â
I lowered my voice. âListen, I have friends in the magical community who might be able to restore you.â
âDonât bother.â
âAre you sure?â
âI may not remember my old life, but I know Iâm a lot less stressed. And my buddy over there isnât bad company.â Bree-yark and I followed his subtle twist to the other shrub. It was half dead and listing to one side.
âCan we at least get you some water?â Bree-yark asked.
âA Diet Coke would be nice, actually. Havenât had one of those in ages. Thereâs a machine in the store.â
âYouâve got it,â I said. âWell⊠good meeting you, Doug.â
âYeah,â Bree-yark put in. âThanks for the heads-up.â
âBe careful,â he called.
We entered the main building. The large space was filled from floor to ceiling with furniture, framed paintings, vintage collectibles, and memorabiliaâeverything well organized and in excellent condition. Thanks to hag magic, it was also illusory. Within a year of the purchase of a Gowdie rarity, the varnish would start to thin, the paint to flake, and rot to set in. Just enough time that the buyer would question their own care for the now-worthless item rather than blame the sisters.
The hags also dealt in hard-to-find ingredients, but those they didnât dare sully. Most magic types would spot the fraud and peg the blame where it actually belonged. The sisters hadnât remained in business for more than a century by pissing off customers they couldnât turn into shrubs.
âPlace is kinda cool,â Bree-yark said. âI mean, enchantments aside.â
A door opened in back, and ominous footsteps approached. The elderly sisters had been wearing Victorian-era funeral dresses the last time I was here, so I expected something similar. Definitely not the prep school diva who stepped into view.
She was wearing knee high socks with a pleated green skirt and matching jacket. Blond hair fell neatly past her shoulders. But it was the face that nailed it. Besides the teenage smoothness, sheâd mastered the snobbishness. Her two sisters fell in behind her, both similarly glamoured, though with brunette and auburn hair to accent their own bitch-faces.
âWeird is right,â Bree-yark muttered, recalling what Doug had said.
The lead hag looked me up and down critically. âCan I help you?â she demanded in a Valley Girl voice.
âItâs Everson,â I said.
She squinted before the angles of her face softened, and she broke into a brilliant smile. âEverson Croft? Where have you been, babe? Itâs been, like, forevs.â
âGrizela,â I said in greeting, then nodded
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