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  The Golden Egg

  Witch’s Path World

  N. E. Conneely

  Copyright © 2018 N. E. Conneely

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher or author. Requests for permission to copy part of this work for use in an educational environment may be directed to the author.

  * * *

  This book is a work of fiction. References to historical events, real people, or real locales are made fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Contents

  The Golden Egg

  Also by N. E. Conneely

  New Release Newsletter

  About the Author

  The Golden Egg

  Elron held open the door and motioned me forward. Smiling, I walked into the foyer of the Victorian bed-and-breakfast where we would spend the weekend. Soaring ceilings with intricate crown molding greeted me. To the right, a grand staircase curled up the wall to the second floor. On my left, a woman in a purple silk blouse stood behind a front desk.

  The door closed behind me. I glanced at Elron, a satisfied grin spread across his face. This weekend had been his idea, and so far, it looked just as lovely as he’d promised.

  The woman behind the front desk smiled politely. “Do you have a reservation?”

  “Yes, for two, under Oaks,” Elron answered. He’d made the reservation, but since he was an elf and didn’t use a last name, he’d given them mine.

  “I’m sorry, we don’t have anything under Oats.”

  I was inordinately proud of myself for not rolling my eyes.

  Elron sounded patient enough when he said, “Oaks. O-A-K-S.”

  She hit a few keys and nodded. “There you are! Sorry about that. We have you staying with us for two nights in a room with two twin-size beds, is that correct?”

  “Yes,” Elron said.

  “Then everything is in order.” Her shoulders relaxed. “And you’ve prepaid.” She opened a box and pulled out two iron keys with a four-leaf clover design set into the handles. “Your room is this way.”

  I followed the woman up the stairs, enjoying the feel of the wooden banister under my fingertips and admiring the palette knife paintings on the wall.

  As we walked, the woman kept up a steady stream of chatter. “The original house was built in 1839 by Robert Burns, but was destroyed during the Civil War. In 1910, his great-granddaughter, Trinity Burns, rebuilt on top of the old foundation.”

  We turned to the left at the top of the stairs and took in a grand view of both the entry and the crystal chandelier filling the center of the space.

  “Trinity intended for the home to be a legacy for the family,” our guide continued. “Sadly, she died in a train accident and didn’t leave behind any heirs. The house was abandoned for some time, but in the seventies, Mr. and Mrs. Rathton purchased the home and began the restoration. They lived here for nearly twenty years, before they moved out in the early nineties. Their daughter, Annette, turned the home into a bed-and-breakfast a year later.”

  We passed several towering wooden doors as we followed the hallway to the right. We stopped in front of a door with a small plaque that read Sunset Room.

  Our guide unlocked the door, handed me the keys, and took a step back. “Enjoy your stay, and let us know if there is anything we can do to improve your visit.”

  The brass doorknob was cool in my hand. I felt a clunk when the latch retreated. The door swung open and I was looking at a bay window with an unobstructed view of a garden that slowly morphed into fields. Buildings stood far off in the distance. Stained glass panes depicting sunsets with vivid purples, reds, oranges, and blues flanked either side of the window. The built-in seat beneath the window was piled with pillows, the perfect place to sit with a hot cup of tea and take in the view.

  Canopied twin beds stood on either side of the window, complete with velvet curtains that could be pulled closed for privacy. On the far side of the bed on the right side of the room was a small table with two wingback chairs and a fireplace, and a door was set in the same wall. The door was open just enough for me to see a claw-foot tub. That was obviously the bathroom. Spinning around, I noted dressers on either side of the main door and a luggage rack tucked in the corner, upon which Elron had already placed our bags.

  He was leaning against the door, his waist-length silver hair contrasting sharply with the dark wood. He smiled. “Michelle, do you like the room?”

  “It’s beautiful. I can’t think of a better place to spend the weekend.” Two days wasn’t much of a getaway, but it was all we could manage. Elron had recently used all his vacation days so he could help me through a tough time. By birth, I was a witch, and by choice, I consulted with police departments and helped them solve magical crimes. But a recent case had gone awry, and I’d lost my powers. Witches aren’t meant to be without magic, and the loss had affected my mind.

  Thankfully, I’d had my parents and Elron to support me. Without them, I wouldn’t be here now. Through an odd series of events, which I was still trying to understand, I’d started to heal. I had regained some of my magic, but I was under strict orders to avoid using it. Apparently, the less I manipulated magic the better I would heal and the faster I would get back to full strength.

  Unfortunately, a witch who couldn’t use magic wasn’t much help to the police. My longtime clients had been understanding, but I had concerns about the future. Nevertheless, this weekend was about getting away from all those worries.

  Elron tucked a strand of hair behind his pointed elven ear, his eyes still on me.

  Stepping closer to him, I looped my arms around his waist and looked up into his blue eyes. “What would you like to do tonight, my wonderful and loving fiancé?”

  He leaned down, tangled a hand in my hair, and pressed his lips to mine. My hand slipped slowly up his back, and I pulled him toward me, crushing my body against his. Elron nipped at my lower lip, and I lost myself in the kiss.

  When he finally pulled away, his breathing was as ragged as mine was. “I believe on the drive over you said you wanted to go sightseeing.”

  “Maybe I changed my mind.” I threaded my fingers through his hair and pulled him down for another kiss.

  Far too quickly, Elron lifted his lips from mine. “We can do this later…or at home. We only have tonight and tomorrow to enjoy the town.”

  I leaned my forehead against his chest. “I’d rather spend the time with you.”

  He kissed the top of my head, then untangled himself from me. “I have no intention of leaving your side. However, part of the reason I picked this place was for the activities.” He grabbed a sheet of paper off the dresser. His brow furrowed. “What is a scavenger hunt?”

  I tried to think of what a similar activity would’ve been called in the past. “I guess it’s a bit like a quest.”

  “A quest?” His eyes went back to the paper. “How can we finish a quest in three hours?”

  I laughed. “Elves should get out of the forest more often.”

  He jerked his head up. “With age comes wisdom.”

  “And mold.” I smiled to soften the quip and took the paper out of his hand. It listed town activities and attractions, including a scavenger hunt that started soon. The winning couple would get a complimentary dinner at a local Greek restaurant. “A scavenger hunt is sort of like a race to get a prize, but instead of a map you get cryptic clues that guide you from one place to another
until you find the prize. According to this, we’d start at the park. That’s where we’ll get the first clue. Then we’d have to figure out what that clue means so we can find the next one.”

  “A race to a prize?” His eyes lit up and he leaned close, reading the flier. “We have enough time to eat a quick lunch and explore the town before it starts.”

  “Then let’s go!” I grabbed my purse and the keys.

  Elron folded up the flier and tucked it in his back pocket before following me out the door. We wound our way through the inn, leaving through the same door we’d entered. Holding hands, we walked down the broad sidewalk. The next home was a charming cottage with periwinkle gingerbread trim and a scrollwork sign proclaiming it to be a day spa. The house after that displayed delicate glass dragons, rearing unicorns, and other glass novelties in its windows. Across the street, the ample porch of a cottage was lined with wind chimes.

  My stomach rumbled, and Elron’s gurgled in kind. We picked up our pace as we entered the shop portion of the street, and headed for a bistro with sidewalk seating. Before long we’d demolished two oversize sandwiches and a truly enormous basket of fries. Once sated, we sat sipping tea and watching other tourists dart into shop after shop, occasionally emerging with a bag or two. The wind tickled the back of my neck and set the ends of my hair to dancing, though it seemed to like Elron more, as the breeze pushed his hair across his shoulder, sending strands into his face.

  “Stop that.” He brushed it away. The wind kicked up again, but this time he simply sighed. “Not in my face.” The air swirled, pushing the hair back over his shoulder.

  I toasted him with my cup of tea. “Nicely done. Do you think you can teach me how to do that?”

  Elron rolled his eyes, but I could see a smile hiding underneath. “You can always ask, but the wind has its own mind. Most of the time I cannot persuade it to play politely.”

  A thick lock of hair smacked him squarely on the nose. He pushed the hair away and calmly sipped his tea.

  I hid my smile behind my teacup.

  An hour later, after leisurely strolling through the touristy part of town, which was most of the small town, we joined a group of fifty people in the park for the scavenger hunt. There were couples of various ages, including a few teams with young children. We spent a few minutes standing around before a woman with short, curly gray hair, a jovial smile, and a plump figure hurried up the steps of the pavilion to a microphone.

  She tapped the microphone and cleared her throat. “Welcome to our monthly scavenger hunt! I’m Myrtle, the town event coordinator. I hope everyone is ready to have fun.” She cleared her throat. “The rules are simple. Every team will draw a starting card, which will include their team number, the first clue, and a map of the area in which the hunt will take place. To keep things fun, everyone will get a different sequence of clues leading to the prize. Everyone should meet back here in three hours. If there’s a winner, we’ll announce it then. If you steal another team’s clues, you’ll be automatically disqualified. In addition, our town may be small, but our police are out and about to ensure everyone’s safety and to discourage any personal disputes from taking away from the fun. Any questions?”

  It seemed straightforward to me, but I glanced at Elron anyway. “Any of that unclear?”

  He kept his eyes focused on Myrtle. “The rules appear to be simple enough.”

  After a lengthy pause, during which no one spoke, Myrtle smiled brightly. “Well then, if you’ll just form an orderly line past the bottom steps here, I’ll hand out your starting cards and numbers. Be sure to wait for the signal before opening your envelope.”

  I couldn’t really call the stampede of people orderly, but after some jostling and more than a few glares from Elron, we had a place in line. When it was our turn to dig through the bucket, I scrounged around and pulled out an envelope with the number eighteen on it. We moved away from the crowd, and I handed it to Elron.

  He turned the envelope over in his hands. “What do you think our first clue will be?”

  “I don’t know, but considering we’re all tourists, I can’t imagine the clues will be very difficult.”

  Myrtle’s voice crackled out of the microphone. “All right, everyone, remember to have fun and be back here in three hours. On your marks, get set, go!”

  Elron peeled back the flap. The sound of ripping and rustling papers surrounded us. He tugged a folded sheet of paper out of the envelope. I leaned closer as he unfolded a map of downtown. One street and three alleys were carefully drawn out with every shop labeled, as well as town attractions, including the religious square and the park. At the bottom of the map there was a single cleanly typed sentence:

  You’ll find clue one hiding with the wind dancers.

  I went up on my toes, leaning close to whisper in Elron’s ear. “The house with the wind chimes.”

  “Agreed.” Elron trailed a finger across the map. “The most direct path is through the park.”

  “Lead the way.”

  He broke into a light jog, and I quickly matched his pace. Around us, groups were darting in different directions, but we were the first ones out of the park and hurrying toward the wind chime house. The town wasn’t that large, so it only took a couple of minutes to get there. We slowed to a walk as we hurried up the path to the front porch. I’d just put my foot on the first step when I spotted a small box full of envelopes tucked behind a railing post. I leaped up the last two steps and sat down next to it, quickly leafing through the envelopes until I found the one labeled eighteen.

  “Open it,” Elron urged.

  He didn’t need to tell me twice. I slid my finger under the corner of the envelope and pulled up the flap. There was a note card inside with the clue printed on it. I read it aloud. “You’ll find clue two relaxing where a triangle rests between grass and sky.” I sighed. “I don’t know what that means. You can rest anywhere between the grass and the sky.”

  Elron stood and offered me his hand, then pulled me to my feet. I gave him the clue, and he tucked it in his back pocket with the map. “There are benches arranged in triangular shapes in the park.”

  “Huh, I don’t remember seeing them.” And it didn’t seem like a logical place to send us since all the participants had been standing in the park just a few minutes ago when this thing had started.

  “You were watching the people, but I was watching the land.”

  “Typical elf,” I muttered as I took off for the park. I heard him chuckling before he caught up to me. It wasn’t long before we were in view of the benches he’d noticed.

  We both stopped on a gravel path. Now that I was paying attention, the benches arranged as triangles were everywhere. “How do you know which one? They all look the same.”

  Elron turned to face me. “You’re the one who’s done a scavenger hunt before. Is there some tradition I am unaware of?”

  I shrugged. “It’s like any other puzzle. A lot of it depends on the creator; however, there’s usually something distinctive about where the clues are hidden.”

  He pivoted away from me, slowly taking in the park. I followed suit. The section we’d been in before was off to the left, closer to the road. The majority of the park was made of grassy fields dotted with a few towering trees, though in the center was some type of fountain. There were more benches around the fountain, but from here, I couldn’t tell what shape they made.

  “The clue said, ‘between grass and sky,’ correct?” Elron asked.

  “Yes. Why?”

  He tipped his head in the direction of the benches around the fountain. “Those are the only ones sitting on the grass with open sky above them. All the others are under trees.”

  It took no more than a quick visual sweep of the park for me to verify what he’d said. I smiled. “Then we have a clue to find over there.”

  We jogged over to the benches. I split off to the right, and he went to the left. The benches were very traditional in style, with curved iron sides holding up
wooden slats, but they didn’t allow for much in the way of hiding places. Bending down, I checked under the bench where the grass was sparse. Then I straightened and circled it. There was nothing there.

  With a sigh, I moved on to the next bench. Elron joined me a moment later. “Can I have the clue back?” I asked. “I want to see if we misinterpreted it.”

  He dug it out of his pocket and handed it over without a word.

  “…where a triangle rests between grass and sky.” I sneered at the paper. “That could be anywhere. All the sidewalks have strips of grass. We could be looking for some silly thing tucked along one of the streets.”

  “Michelle?”

  “Maybe they meant somewhere entirely different.” I flipped the card over, but there was nothing on the back. “Elron, are there any other green spaces on the map?”

  “Michelle!” he snapped.

  I jerked my head up. “What?”

  He pointed at the tiered fountain. Usually there would be water cascading from the top, flowing from one bowl into another and finally to the pool surrounding the centerpiece. But today the water wasn’t running, the bowls were dry, and a rectangular box was sitting in the bottom bowl. Pressing up onto my toes, I could just barely see the edge of more envelopes.

  “Oh.” I tucked the clue in my pocket and sheepishly joined Elron at the edge of the fountain. “You know, a few weeks ago I could’ve floated the box over to us, but now…”

  “You were hurt. There’s no shame in that.” He wrapped an arm around my shoulders squeezed tightly. He let me go and lightly stepped into the fountain. He crossed over to the centerpiece, then flipped through the envelopes. After selecting one, he turned and walked out of the fountain.

  My fingers itched with the urge to cast a little spell, one just big enough to dry his pants and shoes, but I’d been warned. After an injury and a somewhat miraculous recovery, any use of magic could set me back.