Once Upon A Rose - Chapter 14
We are highlighting a different series every Thursday at our Lavender Cottage Books website. We started yesterday with Memoirs of a Secret Agent. The first ebook is FREE at our Lavender Cottage BookShop and most retailers. The rest of the series is on sale for $0.99 each at Amazon and also available in Kindle Unlimited!
Here’s the blurb: Secret agent Jazzmyn Storm met the man of her dreams while in Romania. At least, she thinks she did. All she can remember, after being found floating in the Black Sea, was that she was on assignment…and now she’s missing a month of time.
With no answers to what really happened, her only clues are in her dreams. A mystery man with an incredibly sexy accent, whose name she can’t remember…but whose touch she can’t forget.
As she tries to piece together that missing month, she realizes the answers are in Romania. Jazzmyn defies her superiors and goes back to uncover what happened, who this mystery man really is…and maybe even the truth about herself in this paranormal suspense.
Many of our ebooks are in Kindle Unlimited for the spring. We may not keep them there for long, so this would be the time to check them out if you have a subscription.
And now, here is the next part of our story.
Chapter 14
Orris looked up as Celsiana walked into his office. “You’re right on time. I like that.”
Celsiana nodded and waited for Orris to stand. “I appreciate the opportunity.”
They walked out to the street with one of his men. Celsiana resisted the urge to glance behind her. She knew her friends were following them.
They walked about half a mile, then Orris turned right and headed down an alley. A few minutes later, her stopped in front of a large building. “We use this for storage,” he explained as he took out a key and unlocked the padlock.
Celsiana followed him inside and immediately noticed the smell of chemicals. She wasn’t familiar with what type, but she could tell the building needed more ventilation.
“Don’t worry,” Orris said, seeming to read her mind. “It’s nothing that’s explosive…yet.”
Celsiana forced herself to relax. If they were planning something dangerous, she really needed to find Nicholas and get them out of there.
“Here’s the one I told you about,” Orris said, opening a door into another room. This one was smaller, but still large enough to hold storage crates stacked up almost to the ceiling. Behind them, she saw a long table and someone sitting at one of the chairs.
“I’ve brought you some help,” Orris said, walking over and pulling the man out of the chair. It was Nicholas. He started to say something, then stopped when he saw Celsiana.
“Why did you bring the gardener?” he asked, then glared at Orris. “You said you’d leave my family alone.”
“You’re related?” Orris turned to Celsiana and took a step towards her.
“Not even close,” Celsiana replied, keeping her voice lower than usual. “I did some work for the family in exchange for food.” She shrugged. “One of the few things I can’t conjure when I need it.”
“We have food,” Orris said, glaring back at Nicholas. “What we don’t have is the special item I promised my client.”
“It can’t be done,” Nicholas replied, glancing over at Celsiana. “There’s no way to make what you want from the items you have here.”
“I’m not so sure,” Orris said, glancing over at Celsiana. “This one blew out a candle with a glass of wine. I think he might be able to help you, then we’ll both get what we want. I’ll have a very grateful client…and you’ll go home to your family.”
Nicholas looked past Orris to Celsiana. “Let’s see what you can do.”
“I’ve got some people to meet,” Orris said, “so I’ll be back to check on your progress very soon. And there had better be progress.”
He spun around and walked out of the room with the other man. Celsiana walked over to the table and waited until she heard the other door close. “I’ve come to get you out of here,” she said quietly.
“Really?” Nicholas asked, raising one eyebrow. “And how do you plan to do that?”
“I’ve got a plan, but we’ll need to stall Orris for a little while.” She looked at the papers on the table. “What exactly does he want you to do?”
“Prepare a potion to make arrows burn without going out,” Nicholas said. “Surely, all gardeners can do that.”
“I understand you’re frustrated,” Celsiana replied, “but I’m all you’ve got at the moment. Do you want to give it a try?”
“We can’t make something like that,” Nicholas said. “Who knows what he plans to do with it.”
“Sell it to his client, it would seem,” Celsiana replied. “All we have to do is give him something that lights on fire, right? It doesn’t have to burn for very long.”
Nicholas’ eyes narrowed. “What are you thinking?”
“That we just need to make something that keeps burning for a little while after someone throws water on it.” Celsiana walked over to the jars and bowls on the other end of the table. “Do you have any linseed oil?”
“I think so.” Nicholas walked to the other side and picked up a jar. “It will burn, but not for long.”
“How about some soap?” Celsiana asked as he handed her the linseed oil.
“There’s some over by the basin,” Nicholas said, looking over at the dresser on the other side of the room.
“Then, this should work.” Celsiana walked over and picked up the soap, then came back and sat down at the table. “I don’t suppose you have a knife?”
Nicholas pulled out a small pocketknife and handed it to her. “You’re going to put soap into the linseed oil?” He sat down beside her. “That would burn for a moment, but not long enough to impress Orris.”
“It will when I finish,” Celsiana replied. “We’ll need a metal bowl if you have one.”
Nicholas came back with the bowl and set it on the table. “I don’t suppose you want to tell me how you plan to make this work.”
“Watch and learn,” Celsiana said with a small smile.
Read another chapter next Friday!