But what other choice do I have?Celeste thought, as she waved goodbye as Mrs. Eriksson went back to her front door.I can’t tell anyone the truth – they definitely wouldn’t believe me, even if I was allowed to.
That was the other thing, she supposed: she was sworn to secrecy. With very good reason.
Sighing, her breath a puff of white in the cold air, Celeste carried on up the hill and toward the main part of town.
It didn’t really matter if people would have thought she was a lunatic if she explained what she was really doing in the lighthouse. If she told anyone, she’d immediately be subject to censure by the other magic users who regulated its use. Her Uncle Gordon was only one of them. He wasn’t the most powerful – though he probablywasthe most knowledgeable – but he did have quite a bit of sway. But that didn’t matter, since if Celeste broke the rules, he, just like the other powerful men and women who oversaw magic, would definitely see to it that she was censured.
Celeste understood it perfectly well. Magic was something people would be frightened of if they knew about it, just like they’d be frightened if they knew about the other creatures that existed in the world, like shifters and fae and elementals.
If it were up to her, Celeste thought, she wouldn’t want to live in such secrecy. But it really wasn’t her decision, and she didn’t really think it was up to her to put other people in danger because she didn’t like having to fib to sweet, kindly old ladies.
For the moment, she simply had to accept the situation as it was.
Even if that means… what it means.
Shaking her head, Celeste pushed the thought aside. She didn’t have time to dwell on such gloomy thoughts. For some reason, they’d been crowding in on her today. Though that was probably just because she was worried about the wards, so she felt anxious and gloomy in general.
Well, tomorrow Uncle Gordon will be here, and he’ll definitely know what to do.
With that thought firmly in mind, Celeste marched on up the hill, finally reaching the edge of town.
Oh… I guess it reallyisclose to Christmas!she thought, pausing, momentarily dazzled by the sight before her eyes.
Since she didn’t usually come into town over December, Christmas often passed her by completely, unremarked on, uncelebrated, unremembered.
But… wow… clearly I’ve been missing out…
Celeste had neverseenPortsmith looking so… so…beautiful.
It wasn’t exactly what you’d call a glamorous town: the little cottages and shops were quaint, of course, and you could even say it was charming, since it was so old-fashioned and there weren’t many places like it in the world. But the weather here was harsh, and the salty winds took their toll on the place, with rust and worn paint a feature of almost every building. But now, you’d never know how run-down the place could often look.
Now, it seemed every building was decked out in Christmas finery – fairy lights swayed in the ocean winds, and Celeste could see tinsel adorning some of the more sheltered porches and entryways, where there was less risk of it being blown away. Some brave souls had even ventured to put standees of Santa and his reindeer in their front yards, though Celeste had to imagine they’d secured them pretty tightly to the earth to stop them from flying away for real – and putting anything on the roof was completely out of the question.
But still, despite the limitations imposed by the weather, Celeste could see that Portsmith had been determined to celebrate Christmas in style – and they’d definitely succeeded. In the frosty air, each fairy light looked like a little golden star that had fallen to earth; the tinsel, defiant in the wind, like some kind of ethereal shining mist.
… Okay, well,maybeCeleste was romanticizing it a little bit, she had to admit. She was sure other, grander towns hadmuchbigger and better Christmas displays. But she hadn’t seen anything like this since she’d gone to live in the lighthouse, and she had to say that she was absolutely enchanted by the town’s new appearance.
It definitely makes a nice change from the usual,she thought in wonderment, as she passed by Portsmith’s singular giftshop, featuring a window display of wooden elves working busily in Santa’s workshop. Even the tiny little supermarket had a huge sign readingSEASON’S GREETINGS!with sprigs of holly stuck to its doors. And the bakery had clearly had some kind of Christmas-themed drawing competition for the local children, the results of which were now proudly displayed in the front window – each picture was a riot of color and imagination, with Santas, elves, reindeer, snowmen, ice witches, and… other things, which Celeste was less able to identify, but the important thing was that the kids had clearly had fun drawing them.
It’s so cute,she thought as she wandered.I wish I could spend more time here…
Shaking her head, Celeste forced her mind away from the thought. It didn’t do any good to start with that kind of wishful thinking. It would only lead to resentment in the end, and if she started to resent her duty – the thing she’d beenbornto do – then she’d only end up miserable.
She’d had to give up bigger things than being able to freely wander around adorable little towns, she thought with a sigh. She couldn’t start getting bitter about it now. She had a job, aduty– the only thing she could do was accept it, and try to make the best of it. Or else, she’d go mad.
Still, she lingered wistfully a moment longer at the bakery window before she turned away, heading up the street to find the place she’d be staying in tonight to wait for the arrival of Uncle Gordon.
And hopefully, he can help me figure out whatever’s going on – and fix it. Fast.
Chapter 2
This,his pegasus griped as Hardwicke guided his car off the ferry’s ramp and onto solid ground again,is undignified.
Hardwicke grimaced a little, ignoring it.
Everything that wasn’t taking flight and dazzling every living creature within a one-mile radius with a blaze of sunlight on its golden wings was undignified, according to his pegasus. He’d just had to get used to its constant grievances and complaints about literally every little thing that it felt was beneath its station – which was pretty much everything.
It wasn’t a surprise, really, that even driving a car to an island instead of flying to it, landing in the town square, and announcingLo! For I have come,was upsetting his pegasus’s sense of what was right and proper. According to it, the conveniences of modernity – not to mention the necessity of remaining inconspicuous in order to carry out his investigation – were things that a pegasus should simply not have to concern itself with.
