Moody And The Beast (Shadowvale #4) - Kristen Painter Page 0,1

every last bit of air from her lungs.

With her next inhale, she thought that if her mother were still alive, she would have whipped Welten Middlebright into shape. His gambling had always been a problem, but it had escalated after her death. Which was when his illness had set in as well.

Caralynne Middlebright had been a sharp, loving, no-nonsense kind of woman. A little on the plump side, which had made for the best hugs, and a hard worker who’d always had a kind word and warm embrace for her only child. She’d smelled of sugar and vanilla and sometimes cinnamon. That’s how Theo remembered her mother.

She’d been the guiding light that had kept Theo’s father on the straight and narrow. She’d also kept a tight hand on the purse strings. She’d worked long, early hours in the royal kitchens as a pastry cook. That money had kept them in good stead and sent Theo to one of the best lapidary schools in the kingdom. Theo had been happy then. They all had.

And then Caralynne had gotten sick.

Theo sucked in a ragged breath as the memory of her mother’s passing came crashing down on her, along with the anger and bitterness that always followed.

If her mother had still been alive, Theo wouldn’t be standing here.

But her mother wasn’t. And Theo most definitely was standing here. She swatted at a bug that tickled her neck.

Theo glared at the gate a little harder. “Oh, for crying out loud, are you going to open or not? I know I’m not the one who’s supposed to be here, but I’m here to take his place. It’s all the same. You might as well let me in. I thought you were supposed to be magic, but I guess you’re just a dumb hunk of metal.”

The gate didn’t budge. Not even a creak from one of the rusted hinges.

That really didn’t leave Theo much choice. She’d walked here from the closest bus stop, which had to be six or seven miles away. She wasn’t about to spend the next couple of hours walking back. Besides, she didn’t have enough money for a ticket to the nearest portal to Limbo anyway.

And what good would going home do her? Or her father?

This big debt would still be unpaid. As would all his little ones, of which there were plenty. And all of that would only serve to darken her attitude further.

No, she was here for the duration. The good news was she had youth and persistence on her side. Plus, she was strong. And had a talent no one knew about. A talent she’d kept to herself since she was a child, when her mother had told her it would be useful to her one day if she kept it secret.

She glanced around to make sure she was alone and that her secret would remain that way. Seemed so.

With a frustrated groan, she grabbed the tattered bag she’d dropped at her feet earlier and gave it a heave up and over the gate.

It landed with a soft thunk on the other side. Then she shifted into her most favorite of forms and launched herself into the air.

She flew up and over the gate easily, making only the slightest sounds, and landed on the other side a handful of seconds later. The gate had looked even rustier up close. She ruffled her feathers once before turning back to her human form.

There was a road on this side. A well-maintained, paved road. Good. That would make traveling a little easier.

She hoisted the bag’s strap onto her shoulder and set off walking. She took a few steps before stopping to look back at the gate. “Not so tough now, are you?”

The gate did the same thing as earlier. Nothing. Then a breeze sailed past, and she heard creaking. Just a tiny noise that lasted a brief second. But she’d heard it.

Stupid gate.

With a frown, she started walking again. Her father had given her the map on the back of his indenture agreement, where it had magically shown up. But the paperwork was tucked in her jacket pocket. She’d had plenty of time on the bus to memorize the directions. As long as nothing had changed since the map had appeared, all would be well. She had decent recall, better than most goblins, maybe. Nothing extraordinary. But she was observant, and that helped.

In all aspects of life, really. You learned more by letting other people talk than you did by filling the