The Baskerville Tales (Short Stories) by Emma Jane Holloway Read Free Book Online Page A

like guilty fear.
    Evelina trembled with anger. “I’ve been out since last night chasing over hill and dale.I’ve had no sleep and almost no food and I am in no mood for nonsense.”
    Violet’s defenses fell away, leaving confusion in her eyes. “What are you saying?”
    Downstairs, a choir of girls began “Adeste Fideles.”
    “I’ve been following Tom Cannon. I think he wants to talk to you. That’s what happens when you use a summoning spell.”
    “Oh, dear God.” Violet clapped a hand over her mouth. “No. That’s a lie. He’s dead.” The girl’s eyes filled with tears and something like panic. She’d been found out, and much, much worse. “Are you sure? Tell me!”
    Evelina’s stomach twisted with astonishment as she suddenly understood far too much. As much as she wanted to loathe Violet, she heard the longing in her voice. “You loved him.”
    Violet looked away, her lips twisting in a snarl. “That’s not your affair. And it was never that simple.”
    “I wonder what it was, then?” Violet and Tom had been two of a kind—passionate, fierce, and bothersome to be around—but there had been feeling between them. But then, even wolverines had mates.
    Tears slipped down Violet’s face. Now that she was looking closely, Evelina saw red-rimmed eyes that had done a lot of crying. No wonder she’d been in a devil of a mood. She was grieving.
    Pity softened Evelina enough that she stepped back. She didn’t have to like Violet, or even forgive her, but she knew anguish when she saw it. “Why you chose to cast that spell is your business. I just want to know how you did it.”
    “Why?”
    “I need to stop him before someone gets hurt.”
    Violet darted her a frightened look. “Hurt?”
    Evelina struggled for words. “Tom’s not himself.”
    Violet’s lips pursed into a thin line, making her look much older. “I didn’t believe it would work. I went to the graveyard on the full moon. I took three birds, like the book said.”
    So the russet-haired girl was the fox who’d been in the dovecot. Evelina nodded, offering no further comment. A silence stretched between the two young women, long enough for the sharp angle to leave Violet’s shoulders.
    “I wanted to see him again,” she said at last, her tone defensive. Then she swallowed hard. “You wouldn’t understand.”
    “Maybe. I don’t know.”
    “We fought.” Violet’s voice was thin and hard but fragile as the frost on the windowpanes. “We always fought and then made our peace. Making up was the sweetest part. I need to see him one last time.”
    The thought made Evelina sick. “No, you don’t.”
    The girl’s head bowed, a look of defeat flitting across her features. “Is it that bad?”
    There was no good answer to that. “We might not have much time.”
    “All right.” Violet looked up, eyes angry now, as if she’d been cheated. “I’ve still got the spell.”
    “I need to see it. Maybe it can be undone.”
    Violet nodded curtly and led the way back to her room. Evelina followed. She’d never been in Violet’s chamber. It was larger than hers, with a small table and chair set by the window. Some pictures hung on the wall, including a watercolor of the renowned Asterley Hall. The one interesting detail was a ragged toy half hidden by the pillows on the bed, so old Evelina wasn’tsure what type of animal it was meant to be.
    Violet crossed to her dressing table and opened her jewel box. She took out a square paper and handed it to Evelina.
    Evelina took it. “Did you steal a letter out of my parcel?”
    Violet stiffened. “No.”
    There was no way to tell if that was a lie. Evelina didn’t answer, but unfolded the paper Violet had given her. It was the missing page from the spell book. Evelina read the short stanzas quickly. It was a simple summoning by sacrifice, meant to draw the beloved back from the grave to claim their lover. Simple, but that made it strong, with disgusting potential.
    “There’s one