A Tangle of Secrets
Page 29
Miriam came out the back door of the house and caught sight of him. “Oh, Thaddeus, good to see you. You look clean and well rested.”
“Thanks, so do all of you,” Thaddeus said. He held the jar with the Bitter Burr out to her. “I thought you might be able to use this in one of your magic mixtures. Or, if not, I figured you would know how to get rid of it safely.”
Miriam held up the jar and shook it as she eyed the Bitter Burr inside. “I don’t use things with this dark of a power in my mixtures, but I’ll gladly see that it’s properly destroyed.”
“Thanks.” Thaddeus looked over at Fetter. “He seems to be adjusting to everyone.”
“It was a little overwhelming at first, I believe, but he’s really taken to his younger siblings.”
They both turned as Teofil walked up the slight incline that led down to the extra rooms. He smiled when he caught sight of Thaddeus and hurried over.
“Hi there.” Teofil gave him a quick kiss. “Feel better?”
“Like a different person,” Thaddeus replied. “Does Fetter get one of the new rooms?”
“He does.”
“How does he like it?”
Teofil smiled. “He’s already moved his things inside. He has the middle room down there, and Mum said Astrid and I could move into the ones to either side of him.”
“That’s really great,” Thaddeus said. Then he leaned in closer and whispered, “Are your younger brothers and sisters jealous about you all getting your own rooms?”
Teofil grinned and shrugged. “A little. But I don’t care.”
Thaddeus grinned back. “I’m sure you’re excited to get to know him.”
“I am. It will take some time, but I think he’s doing really well already.”
They watched Fetter work with the younger kids for a little longer, and then Thaddeus took Teofil’s hand. He tipped his head toward the gate, and Teofil nodded. Holding hands, they walked to the gate and out of the yard. Once the gate had shut behind them, Thaddeus pulled Teofil in for a kiss.
“I want to show you someplace special,” Thaddeus said. “It’s not far.”
“I’d like that,” Teofil said.
Thaddeus took Teofil by the hand and led him to the narrow path into the woods. They walked in silence for a short distance, and then Teofil started to speak.
“I really missed you. I know I was preoccupied as I read through Leopold’s journals. When I started to see his spirit, I wasn’t sure what was going on. And I could only understand some of what he was trying to tell me. I should have told you about his spirit sooner.”
“I couldn’t hear anything he said,” Thaddeus confessed. “I wonder if it was because of Andy’s…. Sorry, Maggart’s influence and the Bitter Burr?”
“Probably both,” Teofil said. “And I wish I’d understood things sooner.”
“Me too.” He squeezed Teofil’s hand. “Are you glad you got to say goodbye to him?”
“It was really difficult, but I am glad I got the chance.”
A short time later, they came to the edge of the fairy circle. Teofil smiled as he stood on the path and looked around the clearing.
“I never knew this fairy circle was out here,” he said and walked off the path into the small clearing.
Thaddeus was nervous as he recalled how the last time he was there he had not been allowed to enter the circle. Hopefully, now that Andy’s influence had ended and the poison from the Bitter Burr was out of his system, he would be permitted inside again. He licked his lips, hesitated, then took a single cautious step forward. His foot was permitted beyond the edge of the path, and he let out a breath of relief. Things were going to be all right.
He walked up to where Teofil had gotten down on one knee before the small tower of stones in the center of the clearing. Thaddeus imitated his pose, paying his respects to the fairies and this space of peace.
“It’s beautiful here,” Teofil said when they got to their feet again, and he took both of Thaddeus’s hands and smiled at him. “Thank you for bringing me out here.”
“My mom showed me this place,” Thaddeus said, and lowered his voice. “She used that tree over there to practice her fire spells.”
Teofil looked at the tree. “I’m sure the fairies understood.”
“I hope so.” Thaddeus dropped his gaze as he continued. “I came out here not very long ago. I was really angry after an argument with my parents. I tried to come into the circle, but something held me out. I couldn’t get inside.”
“The Bitter Burr’s poison had taken over much of your emotions,” Teofil said. “This is a place for pure magic. That’s why your mother could practice out here.”
“I was able to use magic here too,” Thaddeus said. “At least at that time.”
“But you felt at peace and relaxed, right? You weren’t filled with anger and bitterness.”
He nodded. “That’s right. I was here with my mom, and it was nice to spend that time with her. I hadn’t felt that calm for a few days when I couldn’t get back inside.”
“Either way, I think you’re going to be okay from now on.” Teofil leaned in to give him a quick kiss.
“I hope so,” Thaddeus said.
“I know so.”
They sat on the edge of the fairy circle and talked until the sun went down and night came to the woods. Tiny flickering lights drifted into the clearing from between the trees, and Thaddeus smiled as he watched the fairies gather. Teofil moved to the center of the circle and dropped to one knee again, bowing his head as he put his hand over his heart. The fairies floated around him, and then two broke off to fly to Thaddeus. They each took him by an index finger and led him to the center of the circle next to Teofil.
Thaddeus got down on one knee beside Teofil and bowed his head. When next he looked up, he was surprised to see the clearing filled with the flickering lights of countless fairies. He and Teofil got to their feet and stood looking at the fairies all around them. Teofil took his hands, and Thaddeus looked him in the eye.
“I love you, Thaddeus Cane,” Teofil said, the reflection of fairy lights dancing in his wide eyes.
“I love you too, Teofil Rhododendron,” Thaddeus said, and he couldn’t help smiling.
They kissed as the fairies circled them, and Thaddeus realized he had never been happier.
More from R. G. Thomas
The Town Superstition: Book One
Thaddeus Cane and his father have moved thirty-two times in all of Thaddeus’s fifteen years. Every time his father uproots them without a reason, it leaves Thaddeus friendless once again. Superstition is the town they’ve settled in this time, and despite its name, it seems like every other little town, except for one thing.
From the window of his bedroom, Thaddeus can look into their neighbor’s backyard. And every night, after dark, he sees a guy his own age putter around in the immaculately maintained garden. When Thaddeus visits his neighbor, the crush already blooming underneath surfaces, and Teofil, the midnight gardener, reveals he’s actually a garden gnome. When Thaddeus’s father finds out, more secrets are exposed, and Thaddeus embarks on the adventure of a lifetime.
Sequel to The Midnight Gardener
The Town of Superstition: Book Two
Thaddeus Cane is on the journey of his life. Having just discovered he is the son of a wizard and witch, he sets off on a quest to find his mother, who was cursed when Thaddeus was just a baby. He is accompanied by his father, Nathan; his new love, Teofil Rhododendron, the garden gnome who lives next door; and Teofil’s mother, brother, and sister. Though the world they travel through is familiar to him, they encounter a number of magical beings, some friendly and others quite deadly. When Nathan is gravely wounded, Thaddeus must choose between finding his mother and saving his father’s life.
Sequel to The Well of Tears
The Town of Superstition: Book Three
Thaddeus Cane and his garden gnome boyfriend, Teofil, travel with Teofil’s mother and sister, Thaddeus’s father
, and a new elf ally to Wraith Mountain, armed with the water from the Well of Tears. Thaddeus hopes to use the water to free his mother—cursed to take dragon form by the witch Isadora—and reunite her with her family. But their quest is far from over, and the party is forced to stop in the small village of Iron Gulch while they procure supplies for their trip up the mountain.
There, Thaddeus continues to gain strength in magic, and he will need it, because something is rotten beneath the idyllic facade of Iron Gulch. A new and dangerous adversary is bent on the destruction of not only Thaddeus and his friends, but everyone living in the town—unless their group can put a stop to it. The fight will be one of the hardest they’ve faced, but if they can prevail, it should prepare them to make their final stand against Isadora and put an end to her cruelty.
Readers love The Town of Superstition series by R. G. Thomas
The Midnight Gardener
“This is an exceptional young adult novel, full of intrigue and mystery, with enough of a dash of romance to keep you smiling.”
—Vampires, Crime & Angels… Eclectic Me
“This book was amazing. I love the story.”
—Inked Rainbow Reads
The Well of Tears
“I wholeheartedly enjoyed Thomas’s way of describing the atmospheric surroundings…”
—The Blogger Girls
“I loved the sweet moments between Thaddeus and Teofil…”
—My Fiction Nook
The Battle of Iron Gulch
“Wow! This was an action packed adventure right from page one.”
—Divine Magazine
“This novel is as magical, action-packed, and suspenseful as the other stories in the series…”
—Rainbow Book Reviews
R. G. THOMAS has been reading books from an early age. As a young gay man, however, he found very few characters with whom he could truly identify. Now that he’s an adult—or at least older than he used to be—he likes to write stories that revolve around gay characters. The Town of Superstition is his YA fantasy gay romance series that includes wizards, witches, and other magical creatures.
When he’s not writing, R. G. loves to read, go to movies, watch some TV, and putter around in the small suburban patch of ground he calls a yard. He visits his mother once a week, not just for the free cookies, and enjoys spending time with close friends drinking wine and making up ridiculous things that sometimes show up in his books. Although he hates the process of travel, he does enjoy experiencing new places. His dream trip is to one day visit the country of Greece, and he is currently saving his nickels and dimes to make that a reality.
Just over twenty years ago, he met a man who understood and encouraged his strange, creative mind, and who made him laugh more often and more freely than anyone else. Today they are legally married and still laugh often as they live in a suburb just north of Detroit with their two cats who act as both muse and distraction to him while he writes.
By R. G. Thomas
THE TOWN OF SUPERSTITION
The Midnight Gardener
The Well of Tears
The Battle of Iron Gulch
A Tangle of Secrets
The Midnight Gardener & The Well of Tears (Print Only Anthology)
Published by HARMONY INK PRESS
www.harmonyinkpress.com
Published by
HARMONY INK PRESS
5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 USA
publisher@harmonyinkpress.com • harmonyinkpress.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
A Tangle of Secrets
© 2017 R. G. Thomas.
Cover Art
© 2017 Tiferet Design.
http://www.tiferetdesign.com/
Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.
All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Harmony Ink Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or publisher@harmonyinkpress.com.
ISBN: 978-1-64080-043-4
Digital ISBN: 978-1-64080-044-1
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017951941
Published December 2017
v. 1.0
Printed in the United States of America