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it was she was about to see.
“Now remember, I’ve placed a charm
inside yer wand to open thot doorway,” he told
her. “Ye must always keep yer wand safe from
here on out, and ye must always remember to
close the door behind ye, like this.”
Dervish waved his own wand, and all the
fragments that had pieced away as the portal
opened were instantly back in place. Felicity
flicked her wand a few times, opening and
closing the doorway. She wanted to be sure she
had a good feel for it.
“How do ye do it so fast, lass?” Dervish
inquired as he watched her. “It takes everyone
else twice the time to do the task.”
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“I’m not sure, really,” she admitted.
“I’ve always been really good with locks and
doors and such. There’s never been a door that I
couldn’t open.”
“Aye, including my own,” he agreed
with a slight grimace. “Perhaps ye’ve got a bit
of the Fae in ye. But remember, I want ye to use
yer powers only to the good from now on. No
more opening doors thot ye are not meant to be
opening, especially the doors in here. There are
many wondrous things inside this place, and not
all of them are as tame as a young girl such as
yerself would like.”
“Oh, Dervish, I can take care of myself,”
she grumbled with a slight blush. “I’m a big girl
now.”
Dervish chortled derisively as he cast a
glance at her smallish form. “Just heed my
warning in this, Felicity. Within these walls lie
all sorts of magical artifacts and Grimoires, not
all of them good. They are here so thot people
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who would use them to commit deeds most foul
dinna lay their hands upon them.”
“Why keep a book around if you can’t
even read the thing? It seems a real waste of time
and space to me,” Felicity scoffed.
“There are more to books than just the
spine and the contents, Miss Lake,” he
explained. “Some books can have parts thot try
to get out on their own, and those books need to
be watched. Thot being said, ye may now enter
the real Museum, as no one but a very few can
ever see.”
“My goodness! You have an Unveiling
fountain right here in the middle of the room?”
Felicity gasped as she spotted the large pool of
which she spoke. They stepped further into the
cavernous chamber, and she walked right up to
it. “There are only supposed to be four portals to
Mundania in all of England. I never dreamed
there was another one hidden in here.”
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The magical fountain of water appeared
deceptively calm to the untrained eye, but in
truth was one of the most powerful objects in
their world. It was, of course, possible to enter
and exit the two worlds without using it, but the
device made doing so much quicker and allowed
the user to immediately travel to anywhere in the
world that they wished to go.
Felicity examined the three stones that
operated the speed and severity of the unveil
spell that the object was meant to enhance. The
first was an emerald, the second was a ruby, and
the third was a sapphire. The most important one
was the ruby, as she knew from all the times she
and her aunt had used such a device in their own
travels between the two worlds.
“Dinna touch the crystals, lass,” Dervish
warned her as she drew near.
“Oh, I know,” she reassured him. “My
aunt made very sure that I knew how to proceed
whenever I was near one of these.”
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“I have this one here because it needs to
be repaired,” he explained. “The problem is, I
dinna know anyone who can repair it.”
“What seems to be the trouble?” Felicity
wanted to know as she gave it a cursory glance,
the look on her face clearly suggesting an
expert’s knowledge.
“It keeps taking me to Siberia,” he
explained with a trace of irritation.
“It probably just needs to be recalibrated
to the universal destinations setting,” she told
him. “I’d start with the ruby, then the sapphire,
and then the emerald, instead of the other way
around.”
“How do ye know such things?” he
inquired shrewdly.
“Easy,” she answered with a smirk. “I’ve
done it before.”
“So, wot is a slip of a girl not even old
enough to be outside the Veil alone doing
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learning how to repair broken Unveiling
fountains?”
“Well, since my aunt was the only one
available to take care of me, she had to bring me
with her wherever she went,” said Felicity. “One
of the places she went frequently in search of
parts for her inventions was Mundane London.
You’d be amazed how many parts in her gadgets
start out as non-magical items. Non-imbued
items can be more easily impregnated with the
specific energy one wishes it to have.”
“I remember thot crazy old witch who
lived up on the hill inventing things who finally
went loony. I remember when they took her to
the insane institution last year. Of course, I dinna
know she was yer aunt at the time. I am sorry to
hear of yer loss.”
“Unfortunately, yes, they did take her
away,” Felicity said with a sigh. “She pushed the
wrong button on one of her experiments, I’m
afraid. I’m going to have to get myself a flat now
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that I’m not at the Academie any longer, for I’m
certain the degree of toxicity in our home has not
reached a tolerable background level.”
“She’s made quite a few useful tools
over the years,” Dervish said as he placed a hand
thoughtfully on his chin. “Perhaps ye are another
one of them.”
“Me, a tool?” Felicity scoffed. “That’s
silly.”
“I’ll set ye to working on thot machine
someday, I ken, but not until I’ve seen more
evidence thot ye can do the job.”
“There’s no job I can’t do,” Felicity
scoffed.
“Good, then thot must mean ye are ready
to go in there and greet Lancelot Jones.”
“Well, almost no job,” she amended with
a smirk. “Him, I don’t know about. Too many
unknown factors.”
“Then it should prove a challenge for
ye,” Dervish chuckled.
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“I accept your challenge, sir,” she
giggled. “I’ll have Lancelot Jones eating o
ut of
the palm of my hand in no time.”
“I wouldna go as far as thot,” he said
sternly. “Remember, he’s supposed to be
teaching ye how to be an adult.”
“What’s there to know about that?”
asked Felicity with a chuckle.
“Ye’ll have to ask him, lass,” Dervish
chuckled as well. “Let’s go.”
The pair of them lifted their wands and
wandered through a vast array of halls, glancing
down each one briefly as they went. Finally, at
the farthest end, they stepped into a living room
of sorts, and beyond that, a small kitchen.
Lancelot Jones was ensconced halfway
inside of the cupboard beneath the sink, aiming
his wand at some errant pipes. “Sealant!” he
said, and the pipes immediately stopped
dripping.
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“So ye finally decided to fix the sink, I
see, and quite a few other things around here as
well,” Dervish chuckled. “Perhaps I should have
gotten ye an assistant before now, if this is to be
the result of it.”
Lancelot ducked and pulled himself free
of the cabinet, then used the sink to wash his
hands, casting another spell to dry them. He
wore a bland expression and did not look at
either of the new arrivals.
“Ye remember Miss Felicity Lake, I
trust?” Dervish prompted with a gleam in his
eyes.
Glancing at Felicity with feigned
disinterest, he replied. “Yes, of course. The last
time we met, I believe you turned my wand into
a toad.”
“Well, if you don’t aim it at me again, we
shouldn’t have a problem,” she informed him
with a saucy twitch to her lips.
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“Indeed,” he replied with a slightly
raised brow. He stepped closer as he waved his
hands about in a wide arc. “Well, Miss Lake, as
you may have seen, there are still many things in
the Museum that need to be properly archived.
It’s a bit late this evening to begin, of course, so
perhaps you’ll want to start fresh tomorrow? I’ll
see you at nine sharp.”
“Well, all right then,” she agreed, feeling
somewhat deflated by the brisk dismissal.
“Dervish, can you direct me to a good place to
get a flat?”
“I’ll take ye to the perfect one,” he said.
“It’s right next door to my niece’s, and they’ve
been looking for a tenant for quite a while.”
“You needn’t do it, Dervish,” said
Lancelot quietly. “I could take her there, if you
like. She is, after all, entrusted to me.”
“Maybe the next time,” said Dervish
with a knowing smirk. “I think ye have been
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working hard enough already today, Lance. Get
yerself some rest.”
“All right,” Lancelot agreed with a great
reluctance. “Tomorrow, then.”
“Good night, Master Jones,” said
Felicity politely.
“Sweet dreams,” he replied, finally
looking into her eyes. The last thing Felicity saw
before Dervish popped her away was a smile
that warmed her from head to toe.
Damn, that wizard was a handsome man!
She was quite sure it was going to be difficult to
work beside him each day, if a brief meeting left
her in such a state. Tonight, her sweetest dreams
would definitely be of him.
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THIRTEEN
“Ah, Miss Felicity Lake, yes, I have
heard of you,” said Master Kirkpatrick as she
and Dervish stood before the kind but effusive
landlord. “It is rare for a young woman to stand
up to her betters, to be sure, but even rarer to see
her and that man become friends. Perhaps you’d
care to explain how you have come to my door
together?”
“Master Jones has just taken Miss Lake
as his protégé for the next six years,” Dervish
explained. “We thought under his careful
direction the lass might better learn to mend her
meddlesome ways. However, now that she’s
finished her schooling, she is in want of a place
to stay.”
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“Should she not better have gone to stay
with Jones in the usual way?” he asked
curiously.
“Master Jones has no female to lend an
air of propriety, should he have brought her
home with him,” Dervish pointed out, smirking.
“I don’t believe Felicity is quite ready to
surrender all of her maidenly modesty.”
“Dervish!” she gasped, blushing.
“Besides which,” the man continued,
completely unrepentant, “Lance is often plagued
by unwelcome encounters with unsavory beings,
from which I prefer to shield her until she is
ready. I feel Miss Lake may need to undergo a
bit more training in defense before meeting up
with any of them.”
“A wise idea, sir,” Kirkpatrick agreed.
“At least while staying here she will have the
protection of the town’s shielding. Master
Jones’s desire to live out in the wilds can do her
no favors at this point, I fear.”
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“My thoughts precisely,” Dervish
agreed. “And I believe, sir, that ye still have that
flat to let?”
“Indeed, yes,” he said, nodding. “Have
no concerns, Miss Lake, the place is yours.
Dervish and I can settle your terms.”
“I thank you, sir,” said Felicity with a
grateful smile.
“Why don’t we have Penelope Ann
come and bring her there now?” Dervish
suggested. “My niece has often expressed the
opinion that Felicity Lake is a lovely young
woman. I’m sure she’ll be excited to learn she
had become her newest neighbor.”
“Of course I have brought nothing with
me here, since everything I own is in my aunt’s
home,” Felicity added, blushing. “And nothing
that is currently in there is important enough to
risk going after.”
“Yes, Miss Lake, I understand,” he said
with sympathy. “But have no fear, the rooms
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have furnishings enough for one night at the
least, and I’m certain we’ll be able to acquire
more in short order. Run along now, dear. I’ve
just sent a summons to Miss Gilwalter, and
she’ll soon have reached the front door.
Welcome to your new home.”
“Thank you, sir,” said Felicity with a
slight bob as she hurried to the sound of a knock
and threw the door open wide. The familiar
young woman on the other side gave a squeal of
delight as they hugged each other.
“Isn’t it
wonderful, Felicity?” said the
school librarian happily. “I hoped to see you
again soon, but I never expected this! Now we
can be the best of friends, and I shall never have
to restrain our interactions again!”
“Indeed, yes,” Felicity agreed, following
enthusiastically as she led her across the
commons and to a particular door. “And we shall
dispense with all the formality, too. From now
on I shall simply call you Penelope.”
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“That will be wonderful,” she said,
grinning.
They stepped inside the door, and
Felicity made the happy discovery that despite
the place looking cramped from the outside, the
rooms within were elegant and comfortable, and
magic had obviously been used to increase them
in size.
“Oh, I never expected such a place!” she
said excitedly. “I can hardly believe it’s all
mine!”
“We shall have to decorate it and
populate it with a few nice things, of course,”
said her friend. “But I wouldn’t worry about it,
you’ve got plenty of time.”
“Yes, but I suppose I’m stuck with just
this couch for the night,” Felicity replied, eyeing
the piece of furniture dubiously.
Penelope chuckled as she looked at it
too. “Oh, I don’t think it’s quite so bad,” she
commented, flicking her wand at the thing so
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that it transformed from old and uncomfortable
into a plush, modern design. “That should do for
now, until we’ve found you the real thing.”
“Penelope, don’t waste your spells on
me,” she grumbled. “I could have done that
myself.”
“Nonsense, you would have done no
such thing,” she scolded. “Someone must see to
your comforting, since you’re much too
stubborn to do it properly. Now, if I were you
I’d get some sleep. You’re going to need all of
