A Deadly Deed in Faerywood Falls Read online

  A Deadly Deed in Faerywood Falls

  Blythe Baker

  Copyright © 2019 by Blythe Baker

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Description

  Newsletter Invitation

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  About the Author

  When just one evil curse isn’t enough ...

  Marianne is still dealing with the fallout from her last paranormal investigation when a new disaster strikes – this one closer than ever to home. With the daughter of an acquaintance turning up dead, everyone’s a suspect, even members of Marianne’s own family.

  Calling on a new magical gift she didn’t know she had, Marianne must once again battle the forces of darkness at work in Faerywood Falls. But with a killer more subtle than any she’s faced yet, Marianne will have to think fast before she becomes the next victim.

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  1

  I never cared much for confrontation. Not that anyone really did, but I especially didn’t like the way my stomach twisted into knots whenever I thought about actually opening up my mouth and saying the things that kept chasing themselves around the inside of my mind. I didn’t like how my palms were slick with sweat, and how my heart started to beat so fast that I may as well have been running a marathon.

  Of course, I couldn’t be the only person in history who had to confront someone about keeping secrets. And not small secrets, either. Secrets that could, and probably would, change my life completely.

  Moving to Faerywood Falls was a big change. I decided to pick up and move out there when I learned that my mother wasn’t actually my real mother, and in my late twenties, that was a completely insane prospect. It wasn’t that I didn’t love her anymore, but it opened up the door to all sorts of questions that I needed answers to.

  I found out I had been discovered in a basket as an infant on the outskirts of the dense forest that Faerywood Falls was nestled in.

  I learned that I had more family, including a loving aunt and a spunky cousin who was only a year younger than me. We’d developed close relationships fast, and even though I wasn’t blood related to them – no one knew who I was really related to, not even them – it was still nice to know that I had people who cared and were supportive of me finding out the truth about myself and my past.

  I also discovered that I was a faery, and that there was such a thing as magic and mythical creatures. My cousin was one of those who had magical abilities. I learned that we were called Gifted, and that many Gifted lived in secret in Faerywood Falls, which was one of the few places on earth where magic still thrived.

  You’d think I would be upset that someone had kept these secrets from me. And I was initially, at least a little. But now, a few months later, it was old hat.

  I’d learned something else that had made me question things. I was upset because one of the people in my life who I thought I could trust had hidden the fact that the baby blanket I was found with as an infant had been spattered with blood, and put away in a box where she probably hoped I’d never find it.

  And that person who’d done the hiding…had been my aunt.

  You don’t have to go over there, said the fox sitting on my couch in the tiny cabin that I was pacing around.

  She was no ordinary animal but a magical being that had ties to me. I’d found her half dead on the side of a road a few months ago and had taken her home to nurse back to health. We’d been best friends ever since.

  And she didn’t speak, exactly. Because I was a faery, I had the magical ability to steal other Gifted peoples’ skills. I’d walked into a gas station one night and, completely by accident, I’d stolen the ability to speak to animals from a woman who had been working in there. That was how my relationship with Athena the fox was born.

  “I know I don’t have to go,” I said. “But I really should. I can’t look at her without feeling frustrated now, and I just…I just want to know why, you know?”

  Athena blinked at me, her large, dark eyes watching as I padded back and forth across the tiny space. Her long, fluffy tail twitched at the end.

  You just went through this big fiasco with that maid who worked for Cain, Athena said. Don’t you want some rest from all the excitement?

  “I mean, yeah, I do,” I said, running my fingers through my hair.

  I didn’t want to think about my recent murder investigation that had ended in the death of a maid back at Cain Blackburn’s place. That was over now.

  I continued, “But this thing with my aunt isn’t going to change until I bring it up. She has no idea I found that box in the store room the other day with my old baby blanket inside it, and…I just don’t want to keep worrying about it is all.”

  Athena shook her head, much like a dog trying to expel water from its coat. Her entire body shivered. Soon, though, she righted herself and sat back down on her hind legs. Very well. Would you like me to come with you?

  “I think this is something I need to handle on my own,” I said with a heavy sigh.

  Alright, Athena said. Then could you bring me back some of those cans of fish on your way home? Maybe Aunt Candace has some.

  I smirked at her, and gave her a quick pet behind her ears. “Will do. I’ll see you later, okay?”

  Athena didn’t seem too bothered; just before I left the cabin, I saw her spinning around on the duvet, looking for a comfortable nest to nap in.

  The box with the baby blanket in it was in the trunk of my car again. I’d picked it back up from the police station after the DNA tests were completed.

  Sheriff Garland had asked me why in the world I wanted it back, and I said that I had hoped it would help me discover the truth. Maybe someone would recognize it, or maybe I’d remember something.

  There was a sad look in his eyes as he’d passed it back to me, but he did so without any other questions or comments.

  I dismissed the sheriff from my mind as I buckled my seat belt and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. I let out a sharp exhale, and started the engine.

  The car was another example of the way my life had changed since moving to Faerywood Falls. My last car, the one I’d purchased with my own hard-earned money, had recently ended up in a river when I’d been a fool and driven it through the middle of a torrential rain storm up a mountain.

  I’d been rescued by a vampire, but that wasn’t the whole of it. After I’d rested and gone home, he’d given me one of his cars out of his personal collection. It was, just like my other vehicle had been, an SUV, but this one probably cost more than most people’s houses did.

  And he’d given it without a second thought…so I took care of it like my life depended on it.

  The Lodge, which was what the locals called the huge bed and breakfast place that my aunt owned, was nestled up on a hill that overlooked the huge lake that was an icon for Faerywood Falls. It was less than a mile from my own cabin, which could be seen in the distance, and the thick forest surrounded it on
every side.

  It was a place that attracted tourists for its natural beauty, and many magic users from around the world for its mystery and magical properties. It was one of the reasons why I’d inexplicably been drawn here, and it was why this was the only place that had ever really felt like home for me.

  I parked my SUV next to the sleek silver sedan that my cousin Bliss owned. The Lodge wasn’t nearly as busy as it had been during the weekend; Faerywood Falls had a big fall festival every year, and this year, it had almost been completely rained out.

  It wasn’t quite skiing season yet, and with Halloween still a little over two weeks away, I wasn’t all that upset to have things back to normal around the sleepy town.

  I grabbed the box and locked my car, my heart in my throat and all my nerve endings singing a high-pitched tune. It frightened me to think about all the ways that my Aunt could react to me. I didn’t think she was going to be angry, because I didn’t think she had an angry bone in her body, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to be hurt about the fact that I’d uncovered the box in the first place…

  I walked inside to an empty lobby. It was the first time I’d seen it that way in many weeks. Mr. Terrance, an elderly gentleman, was standing dutifully at the check-in desk, wearing his usual black suit and tie.

  “Hi, Mr. Terrance,” I said with a wave before adjusting the box under my arm. “Any idea where my aunt might be?”

  “Out on the back terrace,” he said with an easy smile. There was a reason that my aunt kept him up front; he just exuded gentleness and kindness.

  “Okay, thanks,” I said.

  I wandered through the large living room, with the huge two story windows shining the late afternoon sunlight onto the overstuffed leather sofas, tendrils of dust motes hovering in the bright beams.

  The back porch was a place that Aunt Candace had specifically designed for guests. There were several sitting areas with outdoor couches and chairs, lanterns with citronella candles on every surface to keep the bugs away, and solar lights all along the banister that came on just as dusk fell.

  I found Aunt Candace overseeing some of the guys she hired for keeping the grounds nice as they built a new firepit. The last one had been too small, and most of the concrete blocks that had been used to surround it had all cracked. I watched as two of the men carried boxes of thick, clay bricks to a stack beside the pit, where two others were standing down inside it, laying the bricks in a meticulously perfect circle around the outside.

  My aunt turned as she heard my shoes scraping across the dry, autumn grass.

  “Hey, sweetheart,” she said, smiling at me. “What brings you around here this time of day?”

  I shifted the box I carried so that it wasn’t as easily visible to her. I didn’t know why I wanted to delay it, but part of me just wanted to turn around and run away.

  “Hey,” I said. “Can I, um…can I talk to you for a minute?” I asked.

  Concern darkened her face. “Sure, sweetheart,” she said.

  I turned and walked back toward the deck overlooking the backyard, out of earshot of the men working in the yard.

  “What’s going on?” she asked, and just as I was opening my mouth to speak, her eyes fell on the box, and they widened to the size of saucers. “Wait a second, where did you – ”

  “I found it when Bliss and I were cleaning out those storage rooms for you,” I said. “It was totally by accident, but…Aunt Candace, did you know what was inside?”

  Her mouth hung open slightly as I set the box down and opened it. I pulled the blanket out and showed it to her.

  “Marianne…” she said, and her face lost some of its color.

  “I know this blood was my mother’s,” I said. “Not your sister’s, but my real biological mother’s blood.”

  “How…how do you know that?” Aunt Candace asked.

  I sighed, putting the blanket back down into the box. Just touching it made me sick to my stomach. “I had it tested,” I said. “Checked it against my DNA, and it’s a positive match.”

  “And…you didn’t say anything – ” Aunt Candace said.

  “Well, neither did you,” I pointed out. I couldn’t find it within me to be angry at her. I was just sad more than anything. “All this time you’ve known that I was looking for answers about my parents, and you had this box stashed away the whole time…”

  Aunt Candace sighed, and shook her head. “I’m…I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” she said.

  “Why didn’t you ever tell me?” I asked. “Why was it that in order to get you to talk about this, I had to find this box? Do you have any idea how it made me feel to see this? I would much rather it had been you who told me and showed it to me…”

  “I know…” Aunt Candace said. “Would you…maybe sit down with me?” she asked.

  She gestured to the pair of chairs beside her, and I agreed, taking the seat next to hers.

  She sighed and looked at me, her green eyes wide. “Look, Marianne…I don’t expect you to believe me, but ever since you arrived here, I have debated getting that box out to show you. But every time I went to the closet to get it, I just…I froze. I don’t know. I’m not proud of it, but it’s the truth. I was so worried of what you would think of me the longer I kept it hidden, especially when you started to look elsewhere for your parents identities, and…” She shook her head. “I’m ashamed of myself, really. You’re an adult, and you’ve seen…so many horrible things since moving here that I…I just didn’t want to make it any worse. I didn’t want you to think about your own past being filled with horrors like that, because that blood meant something dark happened. Honestly, I thought it would only lead to more questions for you.”

  “It definitely did,” I said. “While I know the blood is a match, I still have no idea who it belongs to. It doesn’t match any records, since my mother must have died almost thirty years ago, and the technology for this stuff was a lot less sophisticated than it is now…”

  “I’m sorry, Marianne…” Aunt Candace said. “I was trying to protect you. You’ve had a lot of information dumped on you since you got here, everything from the knowledge that you were adopted to the fact that you have some supernatural abilities. I can’t imagine it’s been easy to take it all in…”

  “No, it hasn’t,” I said. “But I really wish you would have been more open with me about all this from the beginning.”

  “I know,” Aunt Candace said. “And I agree with you completely. I should have known you were capable of handling it.”

  “I appreciate your honesty,” I said.

  “And I’m sorry it didn’t turn up more results for you,” Aunt Candace said. She reached over and took my hand in hers, squeezing it affectionately. “Faerywood Falls is a strange place, and knowing your magical background, being a faery and everything, I just…I’ve been worried sick over what dangerous thing you might uncover. I mean, what if your parents weren’t good people? What if they were harmful? Or wicked? Or – ”

  “I know,” I said, cutting her off. “I’ve thought about the same things myself. But I would just…rather not think about it, you know? I have to be prepared for anything I guess, but I think I probably would be a really different person if my parents were horrible people, right?”

  “Probably so,” Aunt Candace said with a heavy sigh. “You’re right, dear. You have too much compassion and care for others to have had parents who didn’t, too.” She exhaled, and let out a hollow laugh. “I don’t know why I was so nervous to talk to you about all this. Do you think you could ever forgive me for keeping it from you?”

  I looked at her, and all I could see was genuine affection in her gaze. I didn’t feel any anger toward her anymore, and knew it would be silly to keep holding onto a grudge when there hadn’t been any malicious intent from her. I had imagined there hadn’t been, but it was still a relief to know it for sure.

  “Of course,” I said, reaching over and giving her a big hug. “Thank you for being willing to talk abo
ut it, too. I’m sorry that I didn’t come to you with it right away.”

  “That’s alright, dear,” she said as I sat back down in my seat. She smiled at me. “I guess it was just uncomfortable all around, wasn’t it?”

  “Do you mind if…I leave this here?” I asked. “Like in one of the storage rooms? I just…don’t have anywhere in my tiny cabin where I can put it where I can’t see it. And then it just makes me uncomfortable, and – ”

  “No problem at all,” Aunt Candace said. “We’ll tuck it away for the small chance that we ever need it again.”

  “Right,” I said. “Thanks.”

  She smiled as she stooped to pick up the box. “Do you want me to tell you which closet I put it in?”

  “Sure,” I said. “I guess it’s good for me to know, just in case.”

  She nodded.

  “And Aunt Candace?” I asked.

  She turned back to me.

  “There’s nothing else that you’re keeping from me, right?”

  Aunt Candace’s face split into a smirk. “Very funny, Marianne.”

  I grinned as she turned away and made her way back inside.

  I stretched and got to my feet, letting out a breath along with all the weight and stress I’d been carrying around with me because of this whole ordeal.

  I was glad that she’d been so understanding. I realized it must’ve been hard to think about telling me something so horrible.

  Even still…

  Oh well. It was over now, and everything was alright.

  Much more content than I’d been in a few days, I went back inside the Lodge to look for Bliss before I headed home.