The fall equinox — which this year is today, Wednesday September 22! — marks the beginning of autumn. It’s also the pagan holiday Mabon, a celebration of the second harvest. Mabon comes largely from Scottish and Welsh traditions, and while it is an excuse for a feast, it’s also a time of reflection.
Many of the folks in Beyond, the world of my cozy mysteries, observe pagan holidays. I made that choice because it felt right for a fairy tale world, since most fairy tales have that vague “long, long ago” feeling. Pagan traditions are also inextricably woven with our (society’s) notions of magic, folklore, and alchemy today.
In any case, all that’s just to introduce the following excerpt of my novel. As a celebration of the equinox — and a chance for me to buy some quiet time! — here’s a sneak peek at Chapter Four, in which alchemist Red and local police officer Thorn find themselves outside a haunted castle in the middle of the night, along with a murder victim and a mysterious ghost named Jade.
~~
Thorn stood abruptly, swearing again as she turned to me. When she looked behind me, she stopped still.
“What was it you were saying about ghosts?” she asked.
Carefully, cautiously, I turned and looked over my shoulder, out into the fog. Just at the edges, where it lost its silvery light, shapes shimmered in darkness.
“They are the cold,” Jade whispered in my ear, as though talking too loudly would draw their attention. “They are drawn here, and to the body. Lights are the only thing to keep them away.”
Lights. I cursed inwardly. The one thing I didn’t keep in my many pockets or on my trusty toolbelt as a matter of course. That would definitely have to change. If I made it through the night.
Briefly, my enmity vanished. In that moment I trusted Jade without thinking about it. I turned to Officer Thorn. “Do you have anything on you that’ll make a light?”
“‘Sat all we need?” The officer looked incredulous and yet also a little pleased, like a child about to show off a new toy. “Well, we can try it.”
In one swift, self-assured movement, she swung her club down through the mist. The shadows beyond leapt and twisted. The club scraped as it hit the ground, and there was a strange sizzle—and then the fog around us glowed iridescently orange. Thorn had struck her club against the stone patio and, like a giant match, it came back up alight.
“Nice, isn’t it?” Her toothy grin loomed in the firelight. “The Witch did it for me as a gift at the last harvest festival. Won’t burn forever, but it’ll go a good while, and at the end my club’ll be as good as new.”
“Then let’s get out of here,” I said, feeling myself free to move again. I thought I heard Jade sigh somewhere behind me, but it was impossible to be sure over the airy growls of the shadows as they retreated from the light.
~~
A spell for a re-usable torch is a pretty fitting Mabon gift, I think, given that it’ll provide light in the dark months to come.
And who is Jade, you ask? And what are the creatures and why-oh-why would a pair of otherwise sensible people be out at a castle at night?
Well, you’ll just have to wait for the book to find out. 🙂 And in the meantime, have a lovely fall!
