The Uncanny Raven Winston Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Description

  Praise for Book One, The Undead Mr. Tenpenny

  Dedication

  Author's Note: Tower Terminology

  Title

  Prologue - The Report

  1 - Home Design

  2 - Too Much Magic

  3 - Number Three

  4 - Bacon Bouquet

  5 - New Roommates

  6 - Pippi Problems

  7 - Facing the Firing Squad

  8 - Letter from HQ

  9 - The Final Show

  10 - Packing Up Pablo

  11 - Passenger List

  12 - No Passport Required

  13 - Arrivals Hall

  14 - A Chat with Olivia

  15 - Solas Charm

  16 - Across the Universe

  17 - Meeting Nigel

  18 - You Did What?!

  19 - Great Balls of Fire

  20 - A Strange Friendship

  21 - Straight from the Horse's Ear

  22 - The File Room

  23 - Making Plans

  24 - Strange Encounters

  25 - Morning Workout

  26 - Butting Heads

  27 - Checking In

  28 - The Test

  29 - Shoop Shoop

  30 - Test Results

  31 - Searching Again

  32 - The Museum of London

  33 - A Lunch Date

  34 - That Afternoon

  35 - Sneaking Out

  36 - Jammie Jams

  37 - Truth and Consequences

  38 - An Unwelcome Lesson

  39 - Office Meetings

  40 - Betrayal

  41 - Reports and Unicorns

  42 - Silencing Spells

  43 - Cupcakes and Dahlias

  44 - The Opponent

  45 - Winston the Raven

  46 - Revelations

  47 - Date Night

  48 - We Meet Again

  49 - Show Down

  50 - Into the Dark

  Free Stuff!

  If You Enjoyed This...

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  About the Author

  Keep Reading

  Back Copyright

  THE UNCANNY RAVEN WINSTON

  The Cassie Black Trilogy, Book Two

  by

  Tammie Painter

  —THE UNCANNY RAVEN WINSTON—

  There’s nothing like an evil wizard to ruin a perfect good trip to London.

  Ever have one of those weeks? You've taken an overdose of magic, you've just melted a twelve-year old girl, and Magic HQ has sent a letter "requesting" you come by to discuss your magic control issues.

  No? Just me then?

  I don't want to go. I've got a boss in a wheelchair (my fault), a zombie cat who demands his treats on schedule, and no interest in sorting out the quirks of another magical community.

  But when someone slips me information tying my parents' disappearance to HQ, I can't pack my bags quickly enough.

  I'm soon destroying historical displays, befriending befuddled ghosts, and focusing more on uncovering the truth about my past than on figuring out how to rein in my magic. Which, since HQ has a test for me that if I fail… Well, best not to think about that.

  This second book of The Cassie Black Trilogy squeezes you through a magic portal, lodges you in a hidden corner of the Tower of London, and plunges you into a tale of mysterious mishaps, peculiar ravens, and TV-binging trolls.

  If you like contemporary fantasy with unforgettable characters, snarky humor, and a touch of paranormal mystery — or if you've ever wondered what those garden gnomes are really up to — you'll find it hard to pry yourself away from The Uncanny Raven Winston.

  PRAISE FOR BOOK ONE, THE UNDEAD MR. TENPENNY

  THE UNDEAD MR. Tenpenny is a clever, hilarious romp through a new magical universe that can be accessed through the closet of a hole-in-the-wall apartment in Portland, Oregon.

  —Sarah Angleton, author of Gentleman of Misfortune

  Man oh man, did I love this book! …The plot was great, and got even better as things progressed…. I think the biggest pro of this book is the characters.

  —Jonathon Pongratz, author of Reaper: Aftermath

  …suffused with dark humor and witty dialogue, of the sort that Painter excels at…a fun read for anyone who enjoys fast-paced, somewhat snarky, somewhat twisted, fantasy adventures.

  —Berthold Gambrel, author of Vespasian Moon’s Fabulous Autumn Carnival

  It's a bit "Pushing Daisies" meets Hogwarts, which makes the novel a fun and entertaining read. Great wit too.

  —Carrie Rubin, author of The Bone Curse

  When I saw the book title…my first thought was, “another zombie apocalypse”. A wonderful surprise greeted me with an entertaining story that was written with humor, a great story line and new twist on the undead.

  —J. Tate, Eugene Reviewer

  Wow and wow again! I absolutely loved this book! You get such a feel for the characters and the story is so fast paced you don't want to put it down.

  —Goodreads Reviewer

  The whole story was a bit of wild ride, but it was a ride I wanted to stay on all the way through! There is mystery that actually kept me guessing, there’s humor, magic, and a unique storyline.

  —Goodreads Reviewer

  I was unable to put this down when I started reading it. The author combines humour with a fast paced murder mystery all packed into a funeral home.

  —Amazon Reviewer

  DEDICATION

  This book is dedicated to David (aka "Mr. Husband"), to whom I owe a debt of gratitude (and maybe a vacation) for putting up with my 24-7 work schedule while creating this trilogy.

  It is also dedicated to my grandmother, Bertha, who would have approved of my use of the word "floozy" in this book.

  AUTHOR'S NOTE: TOWER TERMINOLOGY

  THE MAJORITY OF this book takes place in the Tower of London. The Tower of London has many towers…which is a little confusing, so let me explain how I use the term "Tower" in this story.

  The Tower of London is a large complex that includes walls, living quarters for the Yeoman Warders, and structures like Wakefield Tower, Salt Tower, and the White Tower (the castle that started it all).

  In this book and in The Untangled Cassie Black (Book Three), I use the word "Tower" by itself only when referring to The Tower of London as a whole. Other towers within the Tower are referred to by name.

  I don’t know if this will help dispel any confusion, or add to it, but there it is.

  To get an understanding of the layout of The Tower of London, take a gander at the excellent map provided by the Historic Royal Palaces website at:

  www.hrp.org.uk/media/1587/tower-map-2018.pdf

  Oh, and if you aren’t familiar with the "Shoop Shoop Song" mentioned a couple times in the story, you can see Betty Everett’s rendition on YouTube at:

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4L7WTpxcPfQ

  THE UNCANNY RAVEN WINSTON

  PROLOGUE - THE REPORT

  "REPORT IN FROM the Yanks, sir."

  The grey-haired woman glanced up at the stout, somewhat hairy man who’d just stepped into her office.

  No, she thought upon noticing his hands had only four digits. No
t a man. A troll. Judging by his lack of a bulbous nose, and with ears that didn’t stick straight out from the sides of his head, he was only half troll, but he still possessed that frustrating troll trait of being difficult to train out of a habit. Once a troll got an idea stuck in his or her head, it was near impossible to get it back out.

  It’s what made them excellent guards. You simply made them promise to keep whoever they were meant to guard alive, and that became their primary focus, even if some of them went about it in unconventional ways. However, this sticky-idea quirk was also why you always had to be careful when working with them.

  "I've told you before, I'm not a sir. Ma'am, mum, even just Olivia would be fine."

  "Yes sir, mum," he said, mumbling the two titles together.

  Olivia Waylon rolled her eyes and, even though she made a great effort to hold it in, let out an exasperated sigh. It was too early in the day for this, and someone — probably one of the pixies they hired as cleaners — had hidden the cords for all the electric kettles. Which meant Olivia was not only having to deal with a pile of troubling information that had surfaced about the Starlings, but also with a dim-brained half-troll without the benefit of caffeine from the tea department of Fortnum & Mason.

  No witch should have to endure so much before ten a.m.

  Olivia pushed back from her desk. The chair’s wheels stuttered over the stone slab floor.

  "What is it?"

  Before the troll could begin, a man entered her office. He appeared to be in his mid-thirties and was slim with cheek bones so sharp they could slice cold butter.

  "Ah, you've heard the report, then?" Rafi said, taking a seat in one of the chairs before Olivia’s desk.

  "Not yet."

  "Chester, why haven't you told her?" he asked, speaking in a tone of mock reproach as he twisted his lithe frame around to grin at the troll. "Never mind. Tell her now."

  "The Mauvais is back," Chester said as flatly as if delivering a weather report.

  "Damn, Chester, you could've eased into it," Rafi chided. Olivia caught a hint of Rafi’s sandalwood scent as he turned back to face her.

  "Sorry," said Chester. "That was the report, though."

  Olivia's dark cheeks had paled to an odd shade reminiscent of a paper sack left in the sun too long. Did this have anything to do with the information she’d just received on the Starlings? The single sentence from Chester — and the lack of any tea — left her head pounding. She rolled forward, put her elbows on the desk and began rubbing her temples.

  "Never mind, then," Rafi told Chester. "Go to the next person on your list and relay the news."

  "Yes sir. Goodbye, sirs." Chester gave a little bow and touched his three fingers to his forehead in a salute.

  "You do know we’re only supposed to use them as guards," Olivia criticized as soon as Chester’s heavy footsteps could be heard thumping down the hall.

  "I know, but I keep thinking there’s more to them. I mean, with their level of dedication to a job, it just seems with the right training…" Rafi’s words trailed off under Olivia’s it’s-not-going-to-happen stare.

  "So, what's this about?" Olivia asked. She couldn’t shake the idea that whatever Rafi had to say had something to do with the file humming under her fingers. Her throat went dry and she swallowed hard to relieve it.

  "Turns out some American girl—" Olivia scolded Rafi with her eyes. "Sorry, a young American woman woke up the watch, brought some dead people back to life, and this alerted the Mauvais’s senses as to the watch’s location. He’d already been on the hunt for the watch, but we assumed he lost the trail when Corrine Corrigan shut down her messenger portal."

  "That was an inconvenient fiasco." Olivia watched Rafi’s face. He met her scrutiny with a patient, level gaze. "There’s more, isn’t there?"

  "The Mauvais got the watch." The words rushed from his lips in a tumble of syllables as if, like ripping off a bandage, he could make delivering the news less painful if he did it as quickly as possible.

  Olivia burst up from her desk. "What the hell, Rafi?"

  In rapid, angry strides, she paced the office from one tapestry-lined wall to another. With each step she mentally listed everything that needed to be put into place immediately. When she realized her head was going in circles with tasks, she stopped at the desk, hovering over Rafi like a hawk over its prey.

  "The Mauvais has the watch? Don’t you think that’s what you should have led with? The wizard who wants to rule us Magics and enslave the Norms has regained the incredibly powerful, the insanely dangerous object that could allow him to do that very thing. And you send me bloody half-troll Chester with the news? Why are we not on full alert?"

  "First off, if I can't call her girl, you can’t go around pointing out Chester's impure bloodlines in such a disparaging tone."

  Olivia no longer wanted tea. Who cared if it was only ten a.m., she needed scotch.

  "Sod the bloody semantics, Rafi. We need to activate all the defensive tactics we have ready."

  "No, we don't." Rafi leaned back and put his feet up on the edge of Olivia’s desk. He wore a grin that made Olivia want to scream. The only thing holding her back was that she hated revealing the tiny drop of banshee blood she carried in her veins. Well, and the fact that she could kill Rafi with her scream.

  Not that she wasn’t tempted. Her fingers twitched with the urge to wrap around his long neck. But since being a frustrating twat first thing in the morning wasn’t a punishable offense, she restrained herself. Instead, she shoved his feet off her desk.

  "Need I remind you I have the authority to set your hair on fire?" Olivia said through tight lips. "Which I will do if you don't explain things more clearly right this very second."

  "The Mauvais had disguised himself. He got his hands on the watch, but the watch is useless because the girl absorbed all the power out of it. Supposedly she's got a knack for magic, even though she only started training a few weeks ago."

  The lurch within Olivia's stomach had nothing to do with hunger. Too many issues, problems, and rumors were snapping together to create a tower of concern.

  "Where did this take place?" she asked, although she was willing to bet she already knew.

  "Portland community. Busby Tenpenny, he was one of the people she brought back."

  "Busby’s dead?"

  "Not anymore."

  "This girl—"

  "Young woman," Rafi corrected.

  "Whatever. She doesn't happen to be named Starling, does she?"

  "No, Black. Cassie Black." With a heavy exhale of relief, Olivia dropped into the chair opposite Rafi. He then added, "But she is the daughter of a couple Starlings. Name got changed somewhere along the way, I guess."

  Once again, Olivia pressed her fingers to her temples and worked them in small circles.

  "What’s her name matter?" Rafi asked, his voice suddenly full of confused worry. Olivia was one of those people who were never shaken. She was a steadfast rock who radiated confidence and authority without being overbearing. For her to show this much distress made him wish he’d left Chester to deliver the information.

  "Because I just received a stack of reports from various sources indicating Simon and Chloe Starling may still be alive."

  "She's their kid?" Rafi asked, awe replacing his concern for his boss. "The people who got the watch from the Mauvais in the first place?"

  Olivia nodded.

  "And based on the information I’ve just received," she said, tapping the folder in front of her, "they could indeed be alive. If they are, they would be in extreme danger. Until you and Chester came in, I’d been thinking we might put a team together to sift through the files, sort out their exact location, and extract them." Rafi’s mahogany skin went a shade more in the direction of pine. Olivia raised a hand as if wiping a slate clean. "Sorry, not extract as in extraction. Although, that may have already happened. I mean, extr
act as in get them out. Rescue them. If we can. They deserve our care after what they did for the community at large."

  "How can they not be dead after all this time? It’s been what? More than twenty years, yes?"

  "Twenty-four. If they are alive, it won’t have been a thriving existence. They’re nothing more than pawns to whoever has them. Likely kept just enough alive. Again, assuming these reports aren’t false leads, if the Starlings aren’t dead, it’s quite likely they wish they were."

  "You’re thinking the Mauvais has them." Chills went up Rafi’s arms.

  "I haven’t had time to sort out what I’m thinking, but from what you’ve just said, if this daughter of theirs has tricked the Mauvais and it turns out they’re being held by him, he’s going to use them to get to her. He’ll dangle them in front of her then throw them away once he has what he wants. What I don’t understand is why wouldn’t he just go after her directly? What good do the parents do him?"