Chapter One
CASSIAN
The first sign of trouble came when my desk caught on fire. Believe it or not, it wasn’t the fire.
I tried to stifle the flames with my cloak, but magical flames are stubborn.
“Cassian!” my cousin shouted through the office door. “We’ve got a problem at checkout!”
The bigger problem would have been if I had let the inn burn down. “Be right there!” I yelled back while my cloak crumbled in my hands.
I hovered my hands over the flame and shot as many spells as I could remember at it. I don’t know which one did the trick, but my grandfather’s old oak desk finally sat smoking from my attempt to teleport a book from one end to the other. Thank the gods I hadn’t tried to teleport myself.
Satisfied that the inn and its occupants were safe from the fire, I emerged into the lobby, spilling out right behind the U-shaped front counter where my cousin Jasmine waited, wringing her hands. “Sorry to bother you, Cass, but Mr. Mimster lost his key and says he can’t pay for a replacement.”
Jasmine didn’t even like asking people to pay for their room half the time, so she called me up front a lot when issues arose. I didn’t mind.
“Hey, Mr. Mimster! Good to see you again. You misplaced your key?” I asked.
“I’m so sorry, Mr. Fibbersnap. I don’t mean to inconvenience you, but I only had enough to make the final stretch of my journey. I don’t have the money to replace it.”
“Let’s see…” I said, swinging around the counter to examine the lobby. I scanned the seating area to the left, where two sofas faced each other in front of the large fireplace. I was pretty sure I saw him eat his dinner there last night. He had also spent a good amount of time at the pub, which was through a door beneath the staircase.
I peeked beneath each sofa and the table between them before shooting up and running to the pub. The barkeeper, Griffin, hadn’t arrived for the day yet, so I was safe from his attitude as I searched the room. The pub was not a big room, but it held a lot of tables and chairs for its size. I didn’t feel like searching under every single one, and why should I if I had magic?
I threw a glance over my shoulder before uttering,“Oca key.”
My eyes darted to a glimmer of brass beneath a stool with the same automatic instinct as if it had moved. Sure enough, it was a key. I snatched it off the floor and returned to the lobby, eyeing the engraved number as I approached the counter. “What was your room number, Mims?”
Mr. Mimster gave a small chuckle at his cute new nickname before answering. “Fourteen.”
“You’re good to go. Thank you for staying at Fibbersnap Inn,” I said.
“Oh, bless you, Mr. Fibbersnap. You certainly take after your grandfather. He was always so kind.”
The compliment was bittersweet. Grandpa Fibbersnap had passed away two months before and left Fibbersnap Inn to me, which was a surprise to everyone. The staff had made it clear they didn’t share the same sentiments as Mr. Mimster, but I was grateful for the remark. I had always admired my grandfather. “I’m very flattered, Mr. Mimster. I hope to see you here again soon.”
“You will. Take care, now,” he said.
It made me sad to think of Mr. Mimster seeing my grandfather for the last time, and the dark, grieving part of me wondered when would be the last time I saw Mr. Mimster. He was around my grandfather’s age.
Growing up in my parents’ inns, that was the worst part: meeting people from all over knowing I’d never see them again. It was like saying goodbye forever to new friends every day.
I couldn’t escape it, though. Not even moving away to learn witchcraft got me out of the innkeeping life.
Jasmine turned to me, still wearing that fretful look. “Business has been tough lately, Cass. Do you really think it’s wise not to charge fees?”
“It was a lost key fee, Jaz. I found the key, so it’s not lost anymore,” I said, wagging the key in her face.
She looked away. “You’re right. It just worries me how slow it’s been.”
“Yeah…” I rubbed the back of my neck and eyed the empty lobby. Usually, there would be at least two groups eating breakfast by this time of day. Griffin and Olive hadn’t even been showing up in the mornings lately because it was so slow.
We didn’t get any customers for the rest of the day, which was strange. Fibbersnap Inn was one of the more prominent inns for travelers in the area, considering its position at a major crossroads where five roads met, each coming from at least a half day’s journey from the next nearest inn.
I wondered if there was something larger going on in the world preventing people from traveling. The next afternoon, I hiked the short distance up the footpath to the crossroads and found the road as busy as always. The Fibbersnap Inn sign stood tall at the end of the footpath, stained violet just like the log building itself, which was definitely visible from here, even with the forest guarding the property.
I stood by the sign and called out to travelers to let them know the inn was there, but none were interested. I returned defeated to another empty night at the inn.
