Read Online Prospero in Hell by L. Jagi Lamplighter - Free Book Online
Authors: L. Jagi Lamplighter
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childhood, while Astreus was more like the storm winds for which he was named—sometimes hot, sometimes cold, always unpredictable.
I had particularly enjoyed my long talk with Ferdinand. After all these centuries, what a novel pleasure it had been to have a confidant with whom I could relax who was not a member of my family. With the elf lord, the exact opposite was true. I had to be ever on guard and watch my every word. And yet, there was something captivating about the Lord of the Winds, as if some bond had been forged between us, the nature of which I did not understand.
There was no purpose to comparing them, of course. The elf had returned to the Void. I would not see him again. Ferdinand, on the other hand, I would see in less than a fortnight at my brother Erasmus’s New Year’s party. The thought made my heart beat faster. If I freed the Aerie Ones and successfully became a Sibyl, we could be marr—.
The library door creaked open.
“Ma’am?” Mab plopped himself down in another armchair. “Just wanted to go over a few things, if you have a moment?”
“Yes, of course.” I hid the coat-of-arms sketch inside the back cover and closed the little black book.
“I’ve just been going over what we know.” Mab flipped through his notebook. “We’re still no closer on most of these questions than last time we talked, down in the Caribbean, Ma’am, but, here’s the big ones we haven’t touched on recently.”
He handed the notebook to me. I read:
What’s up with Mephisto turning into a demon?
What’s supposed to happen on Twelfth Night?
What was Mr. Prospero trying to do on September 23rd, when he freed the Three Shadowed Ones? And how do we rescue Mr. Prospero from Hell? (Note: Three Shadowed Ones are Baelor of the Baleful Eye—mind reader, Seir of the Shadows—teleporting incubus, and Osae the Red—shapechanger.)
Where did Mr. Prospero get his magic books and did he really turn the books into the magical staffs the Prospero Family now carry, like the demon Baelor of the Baleful Eye claims?
What’s up with this Ferdinand Di Napoli guy showing up andclaiming Mr. Prospero dumped him alive in Hell five hundred years ago?
Where’s Mr. Gregor’s dead body?
Where is Mr. Titus?
What’s up with the voodoo dollhouse of Prospero’s Mansion in the library at Madam Logistilla’s place in the Okefenokee Swamp?
Does Mr. Prospero have Miss Miranda under a spell that makes her obedient to him?
I read them over carefully, snorting at the last one, then closed the notebook and handed it back to him.
“The only question we’re any closer to answering is number seven,” I said. “Thanks to Father Christmas’s scrying pool, we now know Titus’s children are at Logistilla’s estate in Georgia. When we get back to Oregon, I’m going to send an Aerie One to find out if Titus is living there—Logistilla hardly uses the place, she prefers her home on St. Dismas’s—or if there are any clues in the house as to where he might be. I’d like to visit myself, and meet the children. They should not be in any immediate danger, however, as they do not have staffs. So, we had better find the others first.”
“Can’t you do it from here?” Mab gestured at my flute, scowling. “Send one of us, I mean.”
“I could call up and send a local Aerie One, but I’d rather send someone I know and trust.”
“Good point.” Mab nodded. “Might be a good idea to post someone savvy enough to keep an eye on that dollhouse, too, while we’re at it. Considering that Titus’s children and freaky voodoo dollhouse are in the same mansion.”
I shivered. “Hadn’t thought of it quite that way. Let’s send one of your people, someone who is schooled in the magical arts who can tell us whether there are spells on that thing and whether it would be safe to move it to a safer place.
“Here’s a question you might want to add to your list,” I added. “ ‘What is this curse on my family that the demon Baelor of
I had particularly enjoyed my long talk with Ferdinand. After all these centuries, what a novel pleasure it had been to have a confidant with whom I could relax who was not a member of my family. With the elf lord, the exact opposite was true. I had to be ever on guard and watch my every word. And yet, there was something captivating about the Lord of the Winds, as if some bond had been forged between us, the nature of which I did not understand.
There was no purpose to comparing them, of course. The elf had returned to the Void. I would not see him again. Ferdinand, on the other hand, I would see in less than a fortnight at my brother Erasmus’s New Year’s party. The thought made my heart beat faster. If I freed the Aerie Ones and successfully became a Sibyl, we could be marr—.
The library door creaked open.
“Ma’am?” Mab plopped himself down in another armchair. “Just wanted to go over a few things, if you have a moment?”
“Yes, of course.” I hid the coat-of-arms sketch inside the back cover and closed the little black book.
“I’ve just been going over what we know.” Mab flipped through his notebook. “We’re still no closer on most of these questions than last time we talked, down in the Caribbean, Ma’am, but, here’s the big ones we haven’t touched on recently.”
He handed the notebook to me. I read:
What’s up with Mephisto turning into a demon?
What’s supposed to happen on Twelfth Night?
What was Mr. Prospero trying to do on September 23rd, when he freed the Three Shadowed Ones? And how do we rescue Mr. Prospero from Hell? (Note: Three Shadowed Ones are Baelor of the Baleful Eye—mind reader, Seir of the Shadows—teleporting incubus, and Osae the Red—shapechanger.)
Where did Mr. Prospero get his magic books and did he really turn the books into the magical staffs the Prospero Family now carry, like the demon Baelor of the Baleful Eye claims?
What’s up with this Ferdinand Di Napoli guy showing up andclaiming Mr. Prospero dumped him alive in Hell five hundred years ago?
Where’s Mr. Gregor’s dead body?
Where is Mr. Titus?
What’s up with the voodoo dollhouse of Prospero’s Mansion in the library at Madam Logistilla’s place in the Okefenokee Swamp?
Does Mr. Prospero have Miss Miranda under a spell that makes her obedient to him?
I read them over carefully, snorting at the last one, then closed the notebook and handed it back to him.
“The only question we’re any closer to answering is number seven,” I said. “Thanks to Father Christmas’s scrying pool, we now know Titus’s children are at Logistilla’s estate in Georgia. When we get back to Oregon, I’m going to send an Aerie One to find out if Titus is living there—Logistilla hardly uses the place, she prefers her home on St. Dismas’s—or if there are any clues in the house as to where he might be. I’d like to visit myself, and meet the children. They should not be in any immediate danger, however, as they do not have staffs. So, we had better find the others first.”
“Can’t you do it from here?” Mab gestured at my flute, scowling. “Send one of us, I mean.”
“I could call up and send a local Aerie One, but I’d rather send someone I know and trust.”
“Good point.” Mab nodded. “Might be a good idea to post someone savvy enough to keep an eye on that dollhouse, too, while we’re at it. Considering that Titus’s children and freaky voodoo dollhouse are in the same mansion.”
I shivered. “Hadn’t thought of it quite that way. Let’s send one of your people, someone who is schooled in the magical arts who can tell us whether there are spells on that thing and whether it would be safe to move it to a safer place.
“Here’s a question you might want to add to your list,” I added. “ ‘What is this curse on my family that the demon Baelor of
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