Night Rune (Prof Croft Book 8) by Brad Magnarella (best e reader for academics txt) 📕

the hair at the front of her bonnet was glamoured strawberry blond, the face that peered back at us was natural. She appeared a little older than I remembered and was sporting fewer freckles.

“Is this the shipment from the Hackensack?” Seay asked.

It took me a beat to realize she was referring to a tribe and not the city. When her associates answered in the affirmative, she came over to examine the pelts, running a hand over the fur. She kept her right hand behind her back.

“Six guilders per pelt,” she declared.

The Dutchmen conferred and came back with seven. Seay agreed and signaled to the two half-fae. They disappeared through a side door, presumably to retrieve the payment. Under Caroline’s enchantment, the Dutch traders moseyed to the far end of the storeroom, leaving us alone with Seay.

She glanced up at us, eyes glimmering green, then stepped around the cart. Her lips pursed as she searched my face. I’d rehearsed a pitch to explain who we were and why we’d come, but she spoke first.

“Nice teeth, Everson.”

I stared back at her. “You remember me?”

Her right hand flashed into view. I stumbled backwards, the sting that spread across my cheek only adding to my confusion. Did she just slap me? She’d clearly seen through my glamour, clearly remembered me—so what was with the hostility? She advanced, but Caroline stepped over to meet her.

“Okay, calm down,” Caroline said. “We’re here to help.”

“Help?” She thrust a finger past Caroline’s shoulder. “Bucky here abandoned us in 1776. He left us in that hellhole to die.”

“No,” I said firmly. “Malphas blocked your return.”

“One of his demons compromised the fae,” Caroline explained. “Made it so you couldn’t come back. Everson’s been working his ass off to get back into the time catch so he could find you and the others.”

“And who are you supposed to be?” Seay demanded.

Caroline relaxed her glamour, allowing her face to become her own. Recognition registered in Seay’s eyes, but she maintained a surly expression as Caroline’s fair-skinned features turned Algonquin once more.

“Wow, fae royalty,” Seay deadpanned. “I’m floored.”

“Look, we have Gorgantha and Malachi,” I said. “And now we’ve found you. Only Jordan and his druid circle are left, and Malachi knows where—”

“Jordan,” she cut in. “I’m almost as pissed at him as I am at you. He’s the reason we ended up here.”

“Yes, Gorgantha told us what happened,” Caroline said gently. “And I’m sorry. But it’s time to leave.”

“Leave?” Seay snorted. “Not going to be that easy, your highness.”

Assuming she was referring to her clothing business, I said, “We’re in a time catch, Seay. This place has already happened. It’s going to loop and loop until it comes apart—which could be any moment.”

Seay was wearing a long coat over her gown. She unfastened it in front and raised her eyebrows at us as a round belly pushed into view. I swore to myself and exchanged a look of disbelief with Caroline.

Seay was pregnant.

Really pregnant.

“So, what happened?” I asked her.

“Do you really need the rod A, slot B explanation?”

“I mean everything,” I said, flustered, “from the beginning.”

We had moved the conversation to Seay’s office, a small room off the workshop with an ornate wooden desk and velvet chairs. The Dutch traders remained in the storehouse helping count out the pelts.

Seay sighed. “After Jordan split for his druid circle, we stayed in the woods in Brooklyn, waiting for you.” Though she narrowed her eyes at me, the look didn’t hold the same venom as it had only a few minutes before. “Gorgantha was supposed to get us some food, but she never showed.”

“She became trapped in another time catch,” Caroline said.

“That explains it. A group of us went out looking for her but came back empty. Thought maybe she’d decided to throw her lot in with Jordan. Anyway, after a couple days, we were in sorry shape. There were some villages nearby, and we went out at night to see what we could find. Long story short, we got lost and ended up here. We enchanted our way into farm work on a huge estate up in Yonkers. It sucked, but we got food and shelter out of the deal and time to figure out how everything worked. The farmer’s brother was in the fur trade. With a little more enchanting, we learned the ins and outs and started our own business. And then we’d forgotten we’d ever done anything else.”

“But you recognized me,” I said.

“Only because you activated this,” she said, showing the symbol on her right hand. “Everything came back in an instant, all fresh. The fear and anger especially. Sorry about the handprint on your face.”

“No worries,” I said, touching the still-prickling spot. As my gaze dropped to her belly, a nervous rush hit me. Partly at the thought of my own child, but mostly at what I had to ask next. “Is the father one of your friends, or…?”

“No, he’s local,” she said.

Dammit, that’s what I’d been afraid of.

“We’re not married or anything,” she hurried to add. “He’s this young merchant who works on the waterfront. I met him at a party at the governor’s mansion. After a night of dancing, and yeah, drinking, I woke up under a pile of bedding between him and one of the scullery maids. Hey, it happens,” she said defensively.

“No one’s judging you,” Caroline said.

“I hear a but in there,” Seay said. “But what?”

I cleared my throat. “We’re worried about the baby.”

She placed a protective hand over her swell. “What about him?”

“With the way time catches work,” Caroline said, “nothing can travel outside them, including people. They’re locked in this particular place and time. Outsiders like us can come and go, obviously, but…” She gestured at Seay’s belly. “We’re just not sure how this is going to work, the baby having elements of both.”

“Leaving the time catch could kill him?” Seay asked.

I nodded grimly. “We don’t know, but potentially. Yes.”

Seay stood and paced behind her desk, her green eyes sharp and pensive. I