The Terrible Truth of Faerywood Falls Read online

  The Terrible Truth of Faerywood Falls

  Blythe Baker

  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

  Marianne’s search for the dangerous beast hiding in Faerywood Forest comes to a sudden halt when a body is discovered in the lake near her aunt’s lodge.

  With no shortage of murder suspects, can Marianne ferret out the truth and capture the real killer, all while getting to the bottom of a local myth as old as the town itself?

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  1

  There was something soothing in repetitive rhythms. Scrubbing dishes sparkling clean, or doing ten loads of laundry. Even making beds over and over was pretty mindless, and I found solace in those kinds of tasks. It gave my mind a break, gave me something to focus on, and helped me to forget, albeit temporarily, about the last week.

  I always thought I hated cleaning. It was one of those things I knew that needed to be done, but I just despised doing it. I felt so much better about everything when it was done, but it was finding those few hours a week to get it to the point where I was satisfied that was irritating sometimes. I knew I was just making excuses, but putting laundry away and unloading the dishwasher were about as unbearable as getting my teeth drilled on some days.

  Especially on days when I’d been trying to struggle through yet another near-death experience.

  This corner isn’t tucked in all the way, Athena said to me from her perch on the dresser.

  I looked up, brushing some of my long, chestnut hair away from my flushed cheeks, wishing I’d grabbed a hair tie from Bliss’s room when I’d passed it an hour ago. I glared at Athena. “Backseat driving again, are we?” I asked, arching an eyebrow.

  I was somewhat glad for the very early morning tasks, as I’d been having a hard time sleeping. Ever since the night I’d been attacked by that ghost walker Susan Bennet, I hadn’t been able to set foot inside that cabin unless it was the middle of the day. Aunt Candace had taken pity on me and told me to stay with her in Bliss’s room at the lodge, insisting that I remain as long as I wanted until I felt ready to return to my own cabin.

  In a lot of ways, I didn’t like feeling so weak. It was maddening to feel trapped by my own fears, and even if in my head I knew that Susan was gone and couldn’t hurt me again, the memories of her fingers closing in around my throat as I lay in my own bed were enough to deter me. I fantasized about burning the whole cabin to the ground to get rid of those memories, but I knew that wouldn’t help. That, and it would make Mrs. Bickford furious with me.

  How can I backseat drive when I can’t even drive in the first place? Athena asked, the end of her copper tail twitching.

  I shoved the sheet underneath the mattress and stood, grabbing the ends of the bedspread and tossing it over the mattress. “Fair enough,” I said with a sigh.

  These tasks, while therapeutic for me the last few days, had definitely taken a lot longer than it used to when Bliss was still around. Sure, she was doing good work by protecting the magical book that we’d managed to get back from Delilah, a spell weaver who had it out for me for being a part of a scuffle that killed her sister…But I wished it hadn’t required Bliss’s leaving for it to be protected.

  Still, I knew she was safe, and that was really what mattered in the long run.

  She and I used to blow through these chores easily, and make it down for breakfast long before anyone else. I missed those mornings where we’d sit and have coffee together as the sun came up behind the Lodge, the first golden light of the day filling the room, glinting off all the stainless steel appliances and the ceramic of our mugs.

  I missed those times with her, where we’d have time to talk, just the two of us. She may not have been blood related to me, but she was more family than I’d ever had, and she understood me in a way that no one else ever had been able to.

  You’re thinking about Bliss again, Athena said.

  I fluffed the pillows at the top of the bed, but didn’t have the energy to contradict her. That, and it’d be a lie if I did. Ever since I’d found her on the side of the road, something between us clicked. Everyone called her my familiar, and while I still didn’t really understand what it meant, I did know that we had promised one another that we’d always be there for the other, and there was a magical tie between us. Destiny seemed to think we needed each other. And every day, I was grateful for it.

  Because of our bond, it seemed like every day we were able to read one another’s minds more and more. I communicated with her primarily through her thoughts, and my verbal response. But ever since a time where I’d stolen a gift of shapeshifting, I was able to communicate to her with my own thoughts. We’d been practicing, and it came in handy during times where other people were around.

  But lately, it seemed like more than just what I wanted to say to her was bleeding through. Stray thoughts, feelings, emotions were brushing up against one another, and sometimes I wasn’t sure where her thoughts started and mine ended.

  “Yes, I was thinking about Bliss,” I said eventually. “It’s been weird around here without her.”

  Your Aunt seems to miss her a lot, too, Athena said.

  “She always knew that Bliss wouldn’t be here forever,” I said. “I think Aunt Candace just thought she’d leave when she got married or something.”

  I grabbed the throw pillows from the armchair beside the window, and started arranging them across the other pillows.

  “I wonder if she blames me for Bliss leaving…” I said in a lower voice.

  No, Athena said at once. That’d be silly. Why would she do that?

  “Because Bliss wouldn’t have had to leave if it wasn’t for that book, and that whole fiasco with Delilah happened because of me,” I said.

  Athena yawned wide, shaking her whole body before jumping down from the dresser. That’s ridiculous, and you know it. Bliss has always struck me as someone who’d want to have an adventure of her own someday. I think she would have jumped at an opportunity like this even if you had never come back to Faerywood Falls in the first place.

  I sighed, stepping back to check the bed. “Maybe you’re right,” I said. “She always did have that adventurer’s streak in her.”

  Exactly, Athena said. Alright, let’s head to the kitchen. I’m starving.

  I smirked. “Maybe Mrs. Warren will have some of that pâté for you.”

  We made our way downstairs through the silent lodge. The sun had just risen, and most of the guests were probably still sleeping. I knew I would have been, if I was on vacation in such a beautiful place.

  Mr. Terrance was at his usual station near the front lobby. He gave me a small wave and smile as we walked past toward the kitchen.

  It smelled like garlic and bacon when I pushed the door open, and my mouth watered. I longed for a cup of hot coffee between my tired fingers, and a moment to just sit and breathe in the heady scents that only breakfast could ever provide.

  Mrs. Warren was standing at the commercial stove Aunt Candace had installed that summer, flipping sizzling bacon in the pan. She glanced over her shoulder at me as Athena and I walked in, her greying blonde hair pulled up i
n a tight bun behind her head, her green eyes widening as they fell on me.

  “You’re still here, huh?” she asked with a smile. “Thought you were heading home last night.”

  I sank down into one of the bar stools around the enormous island in the middle of the kitchen. “I tried, but I basically had a panic attack in my SUV. I thought it was probably best I stay here a few more nights.”

  “Nothing wrong with that,” she said. She turned and set down a plate with bacon and scrambled eggs on it in front of me. “Eat up. Your aunt has already hurried through here like a tornado with a list as long as her arm of things to do today – oh, there you are, Athena!”

  Mrs. Warren turned, her face lighting up as she spotted my fox, who had just jumped up into the stool beside me.

  “Who’s a pretty girl?” Mrs. Warren asked, abandoning the searing bacon to hold her fingers out to Athena to sniff. “Oh, aren’t you just the most beautiful creature? Here, I’ve got something for you.” She hurried over to the fridge and pulled it open. She withdrew a sealed bowl containing a brown paste that resembled refried beans. “Just let me heat this up for you, dear, alright?”

  I picked up the fork Mrs. Warren had set down with my plate and glanced down at Athena, reaching out and stroking her neck and back with my free hand.

  She’s in a rather good mood this morning, isn’t she? Athena asked.

  Don’t give me that, I said with internal laughter. You love the attention she gives you.

  What’s wrong with knowing I’m loved? Athena asked, her ears twitching as she watched Mrs. Warren pop the small glass bowl into the microwave. At least she doesn’t chase me out of here like most people would.

  You’re right, I said to her, smirking.

  I hurried and ate my breakfast, alongside Athena who was in fox heaven devouring the pâté that Mrs. Warren had laid out for her. After washing our dishes, I grabbed Bliss’s apron from the back of the door in the pantry and set about chopping up some vegetables for the salad for the guest’s lunch that afternoon.

  More monotonous tasks for me, and more chances for my mind to be void of any thought or feeling.

  Mrs. Warren had set up a small, wicker basket beside the window where the sunlight came in, out of the way of everything and everyone else, filled with blankets and pillows for Athena. She loved having her around while she worked, and I knew Athena didn’t mind the attention or the treats she’d get while present.

  Who wants to hunt when I can just wait here long enough and she’ll give me anything I want? Athena asked on more than one occasion.

  You’re becoming more domesticated every day, I told her with a grin.

  “I can’t thank you enough for being willing to help me this week while you’ve been here,” Mrs. Warren said as she enthusiastically whipped a bowl full of pancake batter. “I know your aunt has been feeling somewhat shorthanded since Bliss left.”

  “It’s my pleasure, really,” I said. “I am always happy to help out around here. Aunt Candace has done so much for me. And so have you, Mrs. Warren. You’ve made me more dinners than I think I’ve made for myself since living here in Faerywood Falls.”

  Mrs. Warren laughed. “While I’m sorry you had to go through everything you did, it’s certainly been nice to have company like this in the morning. Now, are you ready for some coffee?”

  “That sounds great,” I said, pushing the knife and vegetables aside.

  This had become my life, my routine. I knew it wouldn’t be this way forever, but for now, I was enjoying not being alone in the mornings. I felt productive, helpful. It helped me get out of my own mind. I never thought I’d be in a place where I was just so overwhelmed with the dark things that had been happening around me, but if I was honest with myself, I’d finally reached it.

  And I was afraid.

  I was just tipping the cutting board filled with freshly cut tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions into the large salad bowl when I heard a terrible shriek.

  The shock made me drop my knife, and Mrs. Warren and I wordlessly met each other’s gaze over the kitchen island that separated us.

  Not again. Please…not again.

  2

  We hurried out of the kitchen and into the hall. I looked up and down, unsure of where the scream had come from. It wasn’t just a playful scream, either. It was genuine panic, grief…fear. I’d recognize it anywhere.

  Murmurs of voices drew us back down the hall toward the foyer and living room. There we found a group of four or five people standing around a woman who’d collapsed into one of Aunt Candace’s favorite leather armchairs.

  As soon as I caught a glimpse of her face through a gap in the people surrounding her, I knew what had happened.

  “It’s alright,” I heard Aunt Candace saying. “Just take deep breaths. It’s okay.”

  I saw her dark hair over the shoulder of a woman standing in front of the woman in the chair.

  As we drew closer, the group parted.

  Aunt Candace sat on the arm of the chair, her hand resting on the shoulder of the woman in the seat. She couldn’t have been much older than twenty. She wore a bathrobe, and her short purple dyed hair was frizzy, as if she hadn’t had a chance to run a brush through it yet.

  Another woman sat on the other arm of the chair, her eyes fixed on the young woman in the seat. Tears filled her pretty, round eyes as she held the hand of the woman in the seat. I saw a resemblance in the shape of their noses; they were definitely sisters.

  “What happened?” Mrs. Warren asked beside me, her eyes fixed intently on Aunt Candace.

  Aunt Candace turned and looked over at us – at me. “Another body was found,” she said in a calm voice.

  It was like I’d been dunked in ice water. And yet, a part of me had expected this. It seemed I was always expecting it now.

  “A body?” Mrs. Warren said. “Here? On our property?”

  Aunt Candace shook her head. “No. Nancy and her sister Fran found her.”

  The sister sitting on the arm of the chair looked up at me, her large eyes still glittering with tears. “We just went out to have our coffee. It’s so pretty and quiet here…and that’s when we saw her…” She dissolved into tears, covering her face with her hands. “I’m sorry,” she said.

  “It’s okay, Fran…” Aunt Candace said.

  “Where’s the body?” I asked.

  Aunt Candace looked up at me. “Out back,” she said. “In the water.”

  I didn’t waste another second. I headed toward the side doors leading out onto the deck that overlooked the front of the Lodge and the lake beyond.

  I stepped outside into the cold morning air. The wind had a bite that tore easily through the sleeves of my sweatshirt, and it sent the branches in the trees knocking into one another as they swayed along with it.

  The lake was as still as it always was in the early hours. It was like a mirror stretched across the landscape, reflecting the far shore as perfectly as a sheet of glass.

  Bird songs filled the stillness, echoing off the lodge and sounding from trees all around me.

  I couldn’t see anything for a moment…until another gust of the wind pushed some of the branches down by the lake aside…

  And revealed a body floating in the water.

  For a moment, I thought the women had overreacted. The woman floating in the water was on her back, almost as if enjoying a morning dip.

  That was wishful thinking, of course. The water was probably freezing, seeing how it was the middle of November, and we’d already seen several nights of frost. Even from the distance I stood from the shore, I could see the young woman’s skin was bloated and blue, and that she’d likely been there for hours.

  My stomach twisted like it always did when I saw a dead body, though the shock wasn’t nearly as strong as the first few times. I’d heard that eventually, EMT’s became desensitized to death and bodies. They had to, in order to protect their sanity.

  Was that what was happening to me? I was getting used to it?


  I despised the very thought.

  The twisted feeling in my stomach became even worse when I realized I recognized the poor girl. She was one of the guests staying here at the Lodge with some of her friends.

  I’d seen them the night before. Aunt Candace had me prepare the fire pit in the back for a group of college students who had come to go skiing and hiking. They were from Denver, and were spending a long weekend here in Faerywood Falls. I’d overheard them discussing their final exams that were coming in the next few weeks, and complaints about professors and roommates. They’d all been laughing and carrying on together, and I remembered finding myself jealous of the relationship they all shared.

  The girl down in the water had been the one I’d spoken with briefly. She’d told me how much she was looking forward to her relaxing weekend away. She’d been looking forward to this time with her friends for weeks, and was excited that it was finally here.

  I’d noticed her silvery blonde hair that was so perfect it looked like she’d hired a stylist, and the deep blue of her eyes.

  She’d been laughing with the other kids around the fire, roasting marshmallows, drinking hot chocolate, enjoying the view, discussing their plans for the weekend…

  My throat tightened as I stared down at her bobbing near the shore, lifeless, all her dreams snatched away from her.

  I bowed my head in a moment of silence for her. I’d seen a lot of death since coming to Faerywood Falls, but not someone who was as young as she was. She couldn’t have been older than twenty, maybe twenty-one.

  The door behind me opened and Mrs. Warren stepped outside.

  “Mrs. Warren, you don’t want to see this – ” I started to say, but then realized it wasn’t just Mrs. Warren coming outside. Some of the other guests were coming out onto the porch with me.