Magic most deadly, p.22
Magic Most Deadly, page 22
Not that he wanted a promotion—tied to a desk, overseeing others, stuck filling out paperwork while other agents got to work in the field. No, thank you. That life was not for him. He craved adventure and excitement too much to want that. He was happy doing exactly what he did.
Only … now that Alec’s ghost was finally laid to rest, and Jamie’s as well, was he still as absorbed in this work as he had been? He had no one to avenge anymore, no shoes to fill or banners to take up. Not that he had ever considered himself doing this work for that reason, but …
He needed a holiday, Len decided. That was all that was wrong with him. He could go up to Scotland, visit his sister and brother-in-law, rest with them for a fortnight. Pippa and Cam were always happy to see him, and the Cameron stables were famous. He could ride every day, blow away all the ghosts of the past that still wanted to linger.
Or … Len got up from his easy chair and began to pace. Or he could stay in London and pay a casual call on Maia, see how her training was going. She had told him a little of her plans before they’d both left Little Oaks, how Miss Rawlings had initially said she wouldn’t train Maia after all but Maia was going to persuade her to change her mind. Len had been in a bit of doubt as to which stubborn woman would win, but a note from Maia a few days ago had let him know she had prevailed. She was in London now, and already learning “heaps.”
Although, the note had said, nothing has yet lived up to the lux spell you taught me that night in the woods. I shall never forget the thrill I felt when I saw that light spring to life above my head! It was magical in more ways than one.
He smiled. He would never forget that moment either.
He made up his mind. He would tell Harrison he needed some time off, and he would spend a few days taking Maia out in the afternoons, after her lessons were finished, showing her London and introducing her to more of the magical community. Then perhaps a week in Scotland with Pippa and Cam, and then, hopefully, he would be refreshed and ready for whatever new tasks came his way.
“Becket!” he called. “I’m on my way to Eastwood’s!”
“One moment, sir,” Becket said, entering the study with a telegram on a silver tray. “This arrived just now.”
Len groaned. Why Harrison couldn’t contact him magically with a new mission was beyond him. Why did it always have to be telegrams? He opened this one with no little dread.
“Russia?” he said blankly, staring at the single word.
“I shall pack our warmest clothes, sir,” Becket said, preparing to leave the study.
“Wait!” Len called after him, scowling.
“I need a holiday, and so do you,” he said. “Harrison can simply send someone else to Russia in our place.”
Becket’s eyes widened, but he said nothing.
“I’ll go to Eastwood’s now and tell him so,” Len said.
“Very good, sir.”
Len crammed on hat and coat and set off at a rapid pace toward East London—it was a long walk, but he needed the movement.
He had apprenticed to Harrison Eastwood at a young age, and started working for Magical Intelligence not too long after that. He had done everything that was asked of him ever since. Sometimes his missions failed, more often they succeeded. Sometimes he had had to do things his conscience still protested long after they were over and done with. He had given himself whole-heartedly to the work, and never once asked for anything in return except what it gave him naturally—a chance to exchange the stultifying life of a country gentleman for one of adventure and excitement, and a chance to protect England’s magicians from outside threats while doing it.
Now, though, he needed a rest. Not for good—he couldn’t see himself giving up this work any time soon. It was his life, after all. But a rest all the same. Maia’s words about his chameleon spell still rankled. Did even he know who he was without the mask anymore?
Maia … Len’s steps slowed and his face softened as he thought of her. There was a person who was so wholly herself she couldn’t hide it if she tried. A jewel of a woman, shining out like a splendor even in the drab setting of her home and her family burdens. He snorted softly to himself, startling a passing woman, as he thought of Ellie’s attempt to make Maia look shabby and herself look glamorous. Maia’s true worth only shone the brighter in comparison to Ellie’s cheap trinkets and shallow charm.
He would have admired and respected her even if she hadn’t been a magician. Finding out he didn’t have to hide that part of himself from her had only made him all the more glad to consider her a friend. And perhaps one day even more than a friend …?
By the time he reached the warehouse where Harrison kept his office, Len had worked off much of his temper, but he was still determined not to go to Russia, no matter what Harrison said.
“Ah,” Harrison said as Len entered the office. “Sit down, Davies.”
The same words as before the last mission, the words that had sent him to Little Oaks and started the chain of events. Or were they only one more link in a chain that stretched back far longer than that? Back as far as Corbin’s theft, as Alec and Jamie’s death, as Len accepting the mission to gain proof of the Kaiser’s Advisor’s perfidy, of the rumors of her existence that Harrison had tracked down, of his apprenticeship with Harrison in the first place, of even more events before that? Len shook his head. He had no time for philosophical musings today.
“I can’t go to Russia, sir,” he said abruptly, without taking a seat. “I need a holiday. And so does Becket,” he added as an afterthought.
“I said sit,” Harrison said.
Len relented and sat down. Harrison passed a folder across the desk to him.
“Read.”
“What is it?” Len asked warily. Why hadn’t Harrison responded to his declaration?
“Just read it,” Harrison said.
Len relented and read. As he did, a heavy weight settled on his soul.
“I see,” he said, handing the folder back.
“I wouldn’t ask it of you if I had any other choice,” Harrison said.
There was never any other choice. It was always necessity. Len’s shoulders bowed a little under the weight of duty, but he consciously squared them. He would not complain over what had to be done.
“Russia in winter … it won’t be very jolly,” he said with an attempt at airiness.
“Then you’ll have to do your best to finish the job before winter sets in,” Harrison said, un-airy and unamused.
“You know I’ll do my best, sir,” Len said, dropping the act.
Harrison eyed him, then nodded. “You always do.”
Russia it was. Pippa and Cam, Scotland, horses, the delights of London’s magical community, and even Maia, would all have to wait.
He still had a job to do.
The End
About the Author
A storyteller from the time she could talk, as soon as E.L. Bates learned to write she began putting her stories down on paper and inflicting them on the general public. Stories of magic and derring-do have been her favorites from almost as young. She is a firm believer in Lloyd Alexander’s maxim that “fantasy is not an escape from reality; it is a way of understanding reality.” Also, it’s a lot of fun both to write and to read.
When not writing, Bates works as a freelance editor and an office admin, and recently returned to school for Information and Library Science. In her spare time (what’s that?) she enjoys knitting, reading, and hiking with her family.
You can find out more about E.L. Bates via her website, or you can sign up for her newsletter for exclusive looks at new books and upcoming sales.
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Also by E.L. Bates
Whitney and Davies
Magic Most Deadly
Glamours and Gunshots
Death by Disguise
Magic & Mayhem (short story collection)
While Shepherds Watch (a Christmas novella)
From the Shadows (a cozy space adventure)
Writing as Louise Bates
Pauline Gray Investigates
E.L. Bates, Magic Most Deadly
