The Head of the Horseman: Gretchen's (Mis)Adventures Season One, #10

By P.A. Mason

Getting waylaid in the forest by a headless horseman wasn't what Gretchen was expecting in the dead of night, and she's on a mission to get her hat back from this ghostly thief.

 

And evict her new houseguest while she's at it. Nora has given up her position with the baron, and has grandiose plans of taking up a seat on the Witches Council. Gretchen doesn't have the heart to tell her it's a long shot, but can't put up with her crowding up the cottage indefinitely.

 

Damned souls and secrets kept by the Witches Council twine together, and hats aside, the horseman must be dealt with. All Gretchen knows is her pal needs some renewed purpose… and her damn hat back.

 

Curses, coverups, and politics make for dark machinations.

 

And what is a witch without her hat, anyhow?

• Language: English
• Publisher: P.A. Mason
• Release date: May 24, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201371111

Book preview

Copyright © 2021 P.A. Mason

All rights reserved.

First Edition

Editing services provided by CJ Skye

Cover design by P.A. Mason

GRETCHEN’S (MIS)ADVENTURES

Season 1, Episode 10

The Head of the Horseman

P.A. MASON

CHAPTER 1

Homework? Gretchen rubbed her eyes and took a healthy swig of ale. I don’t remember signing up for that. We agreed you’d go to the academy during the day. If they want you making potions, they can do it during school hours.

Piper gave Gretchen a level stare from across the table at The Salt and Bog. Cramped handwriting filled the notebook splayed in front of her, and Gretchen wondered what else she had in store for their spare time.

The other students get to go on a field trip in the forest after dark to look for luminescent mushrooms. Since I’m with you, I need—

The door of the tavern swung open with an almighty bang and Gretchen turned in her seat to see Nora step in, her face a frenzied mask of victory.

I’ve done it, she announced. I told that snooty little pipsqueak where he can shove his job!

She hooked her boot around the door to close it, and the silence that followed in the taproom was heavy with shock. Gretchen’s eyes flickered between Jurgen, Piper, Nora, and even the gnomes in the corner, waiting for the spell to break. Nobody said a word, and Nora held up her arms with an indignant scowl.

Well? Isn’t anyone going to say anything? Congratulations, perhaps?

Jurgen cleared his throat from behind the bar and thumped a tankard under a tap. I suppose that calls for a drink.

Next round’s on me. Nora swaggered to the bar to the cheers of the gnomes. Tonight, we party!

Gretchen realized her jaw was hanging open and clicked her teeth shut with a shiver. It was the last thing she’d expected to hear on a quiet afternoon while taking respite from the cold at her favorite watering hole. Nora had been in the baron’s employ for years, and in recent times had taken more than one blow on his account without complaint.

After taking a gulp from her tankard, Nora spun on her heel and made her way to their table. Gretchen met Jurgen’s eyes over Nora’s shoulder, and the burly troll only shrugged. When her pal dropped to the chair beside her with a contented sigh, Gretchen grasped for words to keep Nora busy while she reconciled with the news.

What? Ah, well. Tell me what happened.

Nora grinned and laced her fingers over her midsection as Piper tucked her notebook into her satchel. Jurgen ambled over wiping his hands with a dishcloth, and pulled up a seat to listen in. Gretchen reckoned even the gnomes would tilt their ears in Nora’s direction, and that soon the tavern would be brimming with all sorts of magical ilk seeking gossip and free grog.

Well. Nora drew a deep breath. It was the last straw, you see? His uptightness took offense to a quip at court by Lady Bishop and insisted I make her bald! Usually, I put him off a day or two and he settles down, but this time he wouldn’t take no for an answer.

She took another gulp of ale and smacked her lips.

Now, nobody will accuse me of being squeamish, but I only agreed to bothersome hexes when I signed on. Persistent cases of athlete's foot, boils the size of plums, itching in inconvenient places… but permanent baldness is just too far. She shook her head. And the lady in question is a good egg. She’s done me one or two kindnesses over the years, and I refuse to have her in one of those gaudy wigs for the rest of her days.

Gretchen turned her tankard in her palms and bit her lip. Jurgen swallowed and pursed his lips.

So, he ventured. I take it things didn’t end well?

I told the twerp that he needn't spread his misery just because his scalp had long since given up. That he was a master of bitterness and held in low regard among every barony in the kingdom. A cliched man of short stature renowned for an even shorter temper. She waggled her eyebrows and held a finger up. And that without my services he would find himself in a tenuous position among the blue bloods of the realm, and I would laugh heartily at his fall to ruin.

Gretchen couldn’t help the snort of laughter that escaped her lips and lamented the fact she hadn’t been there to witness the look on the baron’s face.

Piper’s features remained solemn, and she opened her mouth to speak. Sounds more like you got fired.

It was too much, and Gretchen doubled over in her chair, holding her belly as she cackled. Embellishing stories was something of a pastime for Nora, and Gretchen wondered how many times her friend had practiced that little speech on her way to The Salt and Bog. She wiped tears from her eyes and strove to get her breath under control.

Nora’s eyes narrowed. The man might be an idiot, but he isn’t stupid. She considered Piper and cocked her head. Dismissing a witch renowned for her hexes would be foolish. No, I quit. It’s been something on my mind for some time, and the portents aligned to that purpose today.

Oh? Gretchen