Creature Magic
by
Constance Barker
&
Corrine Winters
Copyright © 2020 Constance Barker
All rights reserved.
Similarities to real people, places or events are purely coincidental.
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Chapter 1
A light, crisp wind carried the scents and sounds of the Ardensville Harvest Festival. Before Thea Beal and her friends even reached the ticket booth they could smell the candy apples and spiced pumpkin doughnuts and hear the delighted shrieks of children from high up in the tallest carnival rides.
“Wow,” remarked Jesse Woodman, taking it all in as they joined the long line. “You folks really take fall seriously, don’t you?”
“You mean you’ve never come to the festival before?” Pippa Paulson asked, alarmed.
Jesse blushed faintly, as he often did when Pippa was around. “I mean… no, I’ve normally been, you know… studying.”
Like Pippa, Jesse was a graduate student at the university the next town over. Unlike Pippa, Jesse hadn’t grown up in Ardensville, Illinois, this idyllic little town not far off from the Mississippi River.
“That’s no excuse!” Pippa cried happily. She turned eagerly to Thea. “Can you believe we get to show Jesse the festival for the very first time?”
Thea was standing slightly behind her friends, lost in thought. At Pippa’s words, however, she looked up and smiled.
“You’re going to love it,” she said. “It’s magical.”
Jesse’s eyes widened. In a low voice, he asked, “Is it… is it really magical?” He eyed the tall nearby thrill ride warily, as if expecting it to give off sparks.
In addition to his art studies at the university, Jesse was also undertaking studying magic as a warlock. He wasn’t very advanced, though, so he still sometimes got rather skittish around elaborate displays of magic.
Thea laughed. “No, no. The mayor may be a powerful witch, but Ardensville is still all about keeping things down-low vis-a-vis magic, you know that. It’s just a normal traveling carnival.”
“Some of the local booth operators, though… them, you gotta look out for,” Pippa said, elbowing Jesse teasingly. “Witches and shifters and fairies galore!”
He looked at the place where her elbow had touched him as though he was considering never washing it again.
“Next!” a sharp voice called, and the three friends shuffled up to the ticket booth to purchase their entrance wristbands.
Before long they were strolling the long lanes of booths, checking out the games and shops and restaurants. Jesse and Pippa were chatting amiably, but again Thea had fallen into a distracted, thoughtful silence.
“I’ve got an idea,” Pippa said. “Why don’t I grab us all some apple ciders and then Thea can tell us all about whatever has her so distracted tonight?”
“I like that idea,” Jesse agreed.
Thea pulled out of her thoughts again and laughed self-consciously. “All right,” she said. “Except the cider’s on me.”
Once they each had a warm paper cup in their hands, Thea opened up to her friends about what was on her mind.
“So let me get this straight,” Pippa asked when Thea had finished. “Your parents aren’t really dead like you’ve thought they were since you were a child?”
Thea shrugged. “They still might be. We don’t know. They just disappeared, I guess.”
“Wow,” Jesse remarked with a low whistle. “That’s heavy stuff.”
“I guess I feel like I’ve never really known enough about them,” Thea said. “I’ve known that they were magic. Like Granny, or Aunt Tiegen, or me.”
“Runs in the family,” Pippa suggested.
Thea nodded. “But I don’t know much about their lives. If they disappeared… I guess I want to find out what happened to them.”
“You know we’ll help you,” Jesse said.
Thea smiled warmly at him.
Pippa nodded emphatically, then checked her watch. “And in the meantime, we’ll help you find your date.”
Thea laughed. “It’s not a date. He said it was a friend thing.”
Actually, Blaine Coburn had said it was both a date and a friend thing. But Thea was too flustered to admit that just now.
“Where were you going to meet him again?” Jesse peered out over the crowds, craning around to look for Blaine.
“Over near the local restaurant booths, I think.”
They started moving in that direction. Now that Thea had gotten the news about her parents off her chest, she found it easier to enjoy the sights and smells of the festival. The cider in her hand was perfectly warm and spiced, and there were so many fascinating people to see.
Among the people they passed, Thea spotted her aunt, Mayor Tiegen Beal, bustling around, businesslike and industrious as ever in her sharp tailored suit and perfectly coiffed dark hair. Trailing right behind her was her equally officious, strawberry blond assistant, Sandra, who was dressed like a mini-me version of her boss. Tiegen caught sight of Thea briefly and spared a moment to wave, but there was evidently no time for greetings.
“What’s with all these people in robes?” Jesse asked, clearly nervous.
Thea glanced where he was indicating. He was right. There was a strange number of people--most likely tourists, since Thea didn’t recognize them--walking around in long, matching robe outfits.
“I don’t know,” Thea said honestly. “Maybe some kind of tourist group?”
“What kind of tourist group wears matching robes?” Jesse wondered aloud.
Pippa, however, wasn’t paying attention. Instead, she pointed to the busy restaurant stall they were approaching.
“Witt’s End! This diner is legendary.” Turning to Jesse like a tour guide, she explained, “This diner has been around in Ardensville forever. It won the best restaurant of the year thirty years in a row, or something like that.”
Thea and Jesse looked at the Witt’s End booth. It was being run by what looked like two middle-aged women. Thea wasn’t sure, but she thought one of them--a cute, comfortably dressed woman with short ash-blond hair--might have been a fairy. There was a sizable line waiting to be served, and a number of customers sitting out at the tables in front of the booth, digging into fresh diner food.
“But that place says it’s the best restaurant of the year.” Jesse pointed to a different stall across the way.
Indeed, a large food truck across the food court clearing boasted a large sign that gave the restaurant’s name--CUISINE MALINE--just underneath an even larger banner boasting that it had won the title of Best Restaurant for the most recent year.
“Oh yeah,” Pippa said. “I remember now. This place broke Witt’s End Diner’s streak.”
Standing just outside the Cuisine Maline food truck, surrounded by several young, attractive women, there was a slim, striking man. He caught Thea’s attention, not only because of the faint magical energy that lingered around him, but also because of the strange clothes he was wearing--a suit and trilby, almost like he had stepped out of some earlier age.
The man looked up and caught Thea watching him. Smirking, he winked. On instinct, Thea flashed him a smile.
To whi
ch the man responded by blowing a kiss.
Thea’s face flushed deeply, not sure how to extricate herself from this politely.
Luckily, that was the moment when Blaine Coburn chose to appear.
Chapter 2
“Evening,” Blaine greeted Pippa and Jesse pleasantly.
“Hi, Blaine,” Pippa said, while Jesse aimed a polite wave in his direction.
Turning to Thea, Blaine said, “I’ve got a whole pack of food and ride tickets burning a hole in my pocket. Care to join me in spending them?”
“Did you buy these tickets fair and square?” she asked. “Or have the people of Ardensville taken to bribing the new detective in town?”
Blaine pressed a finger to his lips. “A guy’s gotta endear himself to the community somehow. I figured spending half of my first paycheck here at the festival was probably the best way to do it. I hope you’re hungry.”
They said goodbye to Pippa and Jesse, and Thea moved off with Blaine through the crowd.
***
Thea had been a little anxious that her friend-date with Blaine might be awkward and quiet. When she’d known him back in high school he’d been the strong, silent athlete type. But she was pleasantly surprised to find that, once they got to talking, they actually had a lot to say.
Blaine told her all about his time with the police up in Chicago, which sounded so dangerous and interesting to Thea. To her surprise, she found him equally interested in stories of life in Ardensville, of Granny and Tiegen and even A Stitch in Time, the little arts and crafts store Thea owned. Wrapped up in pleasant conversation with a handsome man, all thoughts of the mysterious stranger in the trilby soon disappeared.
“I’ll bet I can win you a huge teddy bear,” Thea said as they passed a dart-throwing game.
“I do like the look of that teddy bear,” Blaine agreed with a chuckle. “It looks like one of the family.”
Thea giggled. Blaine was a shifter, capable of turning into a giant, hulking bear at will. His bear form looked nothing like the bright pink bear toy with the rainbow on its stomach.
“But could you win it without magic?” Blaine teased.
Thea shook her head. “No way. These things are rigged.”
“Oh?”
Blaine grinned and walked up to the booth, handing a ticket to the operator. He received a few darts in return. As Thea looked on, Blaine carefully and accurately threw every single dart so that the balloon targets popped precisely.
“Wow!” the booth operator said, clearly surprised. Then, begrudgingly, he asked what prize Blaine wanted.
Which was how Thea ended up carrying the big pink rainbow bear under her arm when they walked up to the corn dog stall.
***
“You know what sounds good right now? Having a seat,” Blaine suggested. They’d finished their corn dogs, and their cotton candy, and they’d walked the entire length of the festival twice over.
Thea’s eyes grew wide with excitement as they came up to the large, colorful Ferris Wheel. “How about we have a seat in there?” she prompted.
Blaine looked at the ride askance, but one look at Thea’s eager face and he relented. They joined the line, and soon they were being shown into the little swinging car, the belt rail lowered to their laps.
Once the wheel started to crank them higher into the air, however, Blaine visibly tensed.
“What’s the matter?” Thea asked.
Blaine shrugged, clearly trying to keep it casual. “I’m not a huge fan of heights, that’s all.”
Thea gasped. “Oh no! You should have told me! I would never have made us get on the Ferris Wheel if I’d known.”
“It’s not a huge deal,” Blaine said. “I’ll be fine.”
Thea nodded. “Yes, you will. And look, this one isn’t even that high. Just high enough that we can see the tops of all the booths.” By now their car was nearly to the top of the wheel. “Look around, I think that could help. See there, the entrance booth. And the food court. And the corn maze….”
Blaine looked at Thea, curious as to why her voice had trailed off like that. She was staring intently out toward the corn maze.
He followed her gaze, but couldn’t see anything. Then, their car began to sink again, and the maze fell from view.
“What was it?” Blaine asked.
“I’m not sure,” Thea confessed. “There looked like there was something strange in the center of the maze.”
“Something strange?”
Reluctantly, Thea nodded. “I thought it was someone lying down, right there among the stalks.”
“Maybe an early Halloween decoration?” Blaine suggested, and Thea agreed that it might have been. But when the wheel rose to the top again they both trained their gazes over at the maze.
“No,” Blaine agreed. “There’s definitely someone out there.”
And that someone wasn’t moving.
***
Blaine had to flash his badge to get the Ferris Wheel operator to stop the ride and let them out immediately. Together, they rushed over to the maze, and Blaine had a word with the woman at the admissions stall before rushing in.
For a few minutes after Blaine disappeared inside, Thea lingered near the front. Grumbling tourists were trickling out the entrance, complaining about some cop who had ordered them to get out of there.
“I’d better get my tickets back,” one person grumbled loudly.
“What’s going on?”
Thea looked up, startled, to see Aunt Tiegen and her assistant, Sandra, bustle up nearby. Tiegen was looking right at Thea.
“I’m not sure,” Thea confessed. “There’s something in the maze, I think.”
“Something?” Tiegen’s eyes flared, and she looked toward the maze with a sharp, intense gaze, as though she could see through the stalks to what was within.
For all Thea knew, maybe her Aunt Tiegen could see through objects. She was a powerful witch, much more powerful than Thea herself. Thea wouldn’t put it past her.
Just then, however, Blaine stepped out of the entrance.
He cast a grim look at Thea before turning to Tiegen. “Madam Mayor,” he said deferentially. “I think the festivities might have to wrap up for the night. And we’ll have to close this maze for the remainder of the festival.”
Tiegen looked shocked, but after a pause she nodded.
Blaine began to clear the gathered people away. Tiegen, Sandra, and Thea waited nearby. Thea was not sure what to do. She was starting to feel foolish standing there with a fluffy pink bear under her arm.
Only after Blaine had succeeded in dispersing the grumbling crowd did he return to where the women were standing.
“It’s a body in the middle of the maze,” Blaine said. “Someone’s been shot.”
Chapter 3
The following morning, Blaine hurried over to Thea’s house to bring her an apology breakfast. Since their friend date was cut short the previous night, he figured that it was the least he could do to make it up to her. After knocking on the front door, it only took a few seconds to receive a response.
“Oh!” Freya Denver looked him up and down as she opened the door wider. He flashed a quick smile. “How are you? Are you here to see Thea?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he nodded, holding up the bagels and coffees. “I even brought her some breakfast.”
“That’s so sweet of you! Come on in, I’ll get her down here for you,” she said, ushering him in and closing the door. “Thea! Detective Coburn is here!”
“I’m coming, Granny!” Thea called out from upstairs.
Eventually, her footsteps could be heard as she made her way to the foyer where Granny and Blaine were standing, her fluffy orange kitten familiar, Sybil, right at her heels. Seeing him that early in the morning was a pleasant surprise.
“What’s the occasion?” Thea joked, accepting the coffee that Blaine handed to her. “You didn’t have to go out of your way to get some food, you know.”
“It was nothing, really,” he
reassured her. The two of them walked in tandem as Granny led the way to the dining room, watching them out of her peripheral vision. “I passed by the shop while I was heading here. I figured I would get you something since we never got to finish our night on a positive note.”
“That’s nice of you, Blaine,” Thea replied softly, taking a quick sip from her coffee. It had the perfect mix of cream and sugar.
“Speaking of which,” Granny cut in as she watched Thea and Blaine take seats across from one another at the table. “What happened last night? I heard that there was a murder during the festival.”
The small smile on Blaine’s face fell quickly once she mentioned that. With a grim expression, he nodded.
“Unfortunately, there was. We confirmed that someone was shot in the middle of the maze. It was an open area, but the noise would have been muffled by the cornstalks. The sound of the gunshot wouldn’t have carried well.”
“It’s a good thing I managed to see it at the top of the Ferris wheel,” Thea remarked, shaking her head. “The body would have been left there for who knows how long otherwise.”
“And who’s the victim?” Granny asked.
Blaine pulled out a small tub of cream cheese. “Marcel Faust, the chef and owner of Cuisine Maline.”
While Granny clamped a hand over her mouth, Thea gasped inwardly. She, Jesse, and Pippa had just been talking about Cuisine Maline yesterday. She shivered.
“What a tragedy,” Granny said. “Things were going so good for Marcel and his restaurant.”
Blaine nodded. “Cuisine Maline had just been awarded that prestigious annual award from the Better Business Bureau. It’s a shame that this had to happen to him soon afterwards.”
“His restaurant dethroned Witt’s End Diner. Pippa mentioned that yesterday,” Thea spoke up, gazing down at her food. She realized that talking about the murder probably wasn’t the best thing to do, considering her appetite was quickly fading away.
“It came as an upset,” he explained, taking a bite from his bagel and wiping away the crumbs on the side of his mouth with a napkin. “Many people were surprised that Cuisine Maline managed to win the award. Some of them were even angry, like Eleanor DeWitt. After all, she had claimed that title for thirty years.”
Creature Magic (Tabby Kitten Mystery Series Book 2) Page 1
