Toadmila Wartly: Book 3: Toadmila Wartly, #3

By Diana Parparita

Toadmila's familiar is guilty of having broken the witches' law by using magic and Toadmila and Auggy are subjected to an official inquiry by the Office. Taking advantage of their absence, an assassin targets the king. As Toadmila returns to the palace, she must uncover a deadly conspiracy if she wants to keep Gilbert alive.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Diana Parparita
• Release date: Mar 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201438906

Diana Parparita

Diana Parparita writes fantasy and science fiction. Her short stories have been published in a number of magazines and anthologies, including Mad Scientist Journal, The Great Tome of Fantastic and Wondrous Places, Strange Economics and Avast, Ye Airships!

Book preview

1. NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED

Miss Gwendolyn Lowerbanks from Shock and Accommodation was baffled. She had been told that the wizard’s tower was in the palace garden, somewhere, though no one knew its exact location for that day. And yet, she had been walking through the gardens for over two hours, and there was still no trace of the tower. She might have felt some irritation at this vain search, but she couldn’t bring herself to be upset with dear Auggy, everyone’s favorite eligible young wizard. Everyone at the Office had their eyes on him, either for a daughter or a niece, or for some young friend in need of a husband. Magic, of course, was not hereditary. Anyone could learn magic, given the right teachers and a willingness to learn. But talent was rare, and it would have been a real pity to let it go to waste without passing it on to the next generation. Gwendolyn was, by her own account, too old to have anything but a motherly interest in dear Auggy. But she did have a favorite among the young witches who were just the right age to contend for his hand in marriage. And she had every intention of seeing her favorite win.

Lost in such thoughts, she barely noticed the tower sneaking up behind her. One moment she was standing with her back to a lovely pond, and next she knew, a shadow fell over her, and a flock of geese cried out, scattering in a flurry of frightened birds all around her. There was a loud splash, droplets of water landing on her uniform, and when she turned around, the tower was standing behind her at the far edge of the pond, silent and motionless as if it had always been right there, in plain sight.

Several flights of stairs later, heaving heavily and cursing in her mind the rules of wizarding etiquette that required her to leave her broom upon entering the tower, Gwendolyn arrived at a large and heavily decorated door, which opened to reveal a small study. Auggy was sitting at a small but richly engraved mahogany desk. He rose from his seat to greet her, all smiles and affability.

So good to see you, Auggy! Gwendolyn said, indulging in a light kiss on the cheek. You know, of course, why I’m here.

Office business, I presume, Auggy said, offering her a chair, which flew from the other side of the room to accommodate her.

It’s about that shocking business with Rashvin, Gwendolyn said, arranging herself in the chair while Auggy was taking the seat opposite to hers. He’s on trial for participating in the war. It seems...

She lowered her voice and leaned closer to impart this outrageous bit of gossip.

"It seems he has instigated it."

Auggy did not look shocked, and Gwendolyn found this lack of reaction utterly unsatisfying. But for someone who had faced Rashvin in battle, that piece of information might not have been so new after all.

Do they need my testimony? Auggy asked calmly.

Oh, no! Gwendolyn answered. "We have crystal balls, you know. And we have his full cooperation. He’s hoping that once the trial is over, if he helps with the investigation, we will restore his hands. That is what I’m here about. A remarkable spell, of course. But it seems that it was cast by a familiar."

Auggy did not offer confirmation of this rumor. But he did not hurry to deny it either. Gwendolyn herself did not know the details. She’d been hoping she would be able to get more information out of him, unofficially, of course. But while he was all charming smiles, he let nothing slip past his polite façade. She leaned back in her chair, a little disappointed.

There is to be an official inquest, she said. My mission is to inform you that your presence will be required at the Office in a month’s time. And you are required to bring Miss Wartly in for questioning.

I’m sure Wartly would show up of her own accord, if she were as cordially invited, Auggy said, smiling affably.

In truth, Gwendolyn had been tasked with informing Miss Wartly of the inquest in the same way. But she had her own reasons for asking Auggy to handle the matter in her place.

I’m sure Miss Wartly won’t offer resistance, she said reassuringly.

Of course, Auggy agreed. It is always an honor to aid in Office business.

2. ONE MORE THING

And how have you been, Miss Gwendolyn? Lefroy asked sweetly, offering her a cup of tea, which Gwendolyn sniffed cautiously. The Office must be so busy these days. Are they treating you well?

Oh, yes, very well, Gwendolyn said, setting the tea aside untouched. All the extra hours are paid double, and we have been offered time-travel privileges, so we can go home and sleep all we need and be back in five minutes or less. Although I hear Lucy from Enrollment has taken a whole one-year vacation to Ancient Greece during her five minute break. And they’re not even that swamped with work in Enrollment.

She puffed emphatically to show her disapproval of Lucy in Enrollment, and drank her tea up, forgetting entirely that it could be calming magic tea. The beverage was warm and silky, and smelled of roses and lavender.

Are they as strict as ever in Enrollment? Lefroy asked, offering her a plate of flower-shaped cookies.

This time, Gwendolyn felt that she could leave all caution aside and took one cookie in each hand.

Not strict enough, she said, munching on the cookies, or else Rashvin would have never been trained. They are busy devising a new strategy for screening candidates. I think that’s all rubbish. You can never tell when a witch or wizard will go bad. They just do. Everyone was so worried about you being a hazard when you were enrolled, and look how well you turned out! There’s no way to predict it.

She swallowed her fifth cookie and suddenly felt that she needed to wash it down with tea. Lefroy waited until she’d finished her tea before asking casually:

What about the age requirement? Is it still mandatory to start at the age of eight?

Gwendolyn nodded emphatically, and considered having another cookie.

Would they be able to make an exception?

Gwendolyn looked at him carefully. For the first time, it occurred to her that this was not just a little chat to pass the time.

Why would you need them to? she asked circumspectly.

I have a girl—

Oh, Auggy! We were all hoping you’d get married first!

A girl we picked up in the war, Lefroy said sweetly. The king has made her a war hero. She was the one to inform us of Rashvin’s whereabouts, you see. And, as she is an orphan now, the king has permitted her to stay at the palace. But she is a bit of a nuisance. She seems interested in magic, so I thought she might be better off at the Academy.

I see, Gwendolyn said, swallowing her cookie. She’d be far from here, and once she graduates, she’d be assigned a place, hopefully just as far. How old is she?

Fourteen, Lefroy said, trying to sweeten the word with a bright, angelic smile.

That would be out of the question, Gwendolyn noticed, pulling her hand back from the plate of cookies. Something in his smile made her realize that she should have stayed away from the tea and the cookies entirely.

Normally, it would be, Lefroy said just as angelically. And I’m sure everybody at the Office already knows about Lucy’s little one-year vacation to ancient Greece, unofficially. But perhaps the perpetrator might not be so keen on having the incident reported to the higher ups officially, because then they’d have to do something about it, other than have a good giggle in their coffee break.

He came over to her side of the table and took her hands in his.

Will you help me? he asked, looking pleadingly into her eyes.

Gwendolyn gulped and gawked at him helplessly. Lefroy was known to be arrogant to his equals, and detestable to his underclassmen. And yet there was none of that arrogance in the way that he looked at her now. She felt flattered, appreciated, special. And she felt a little dizzy. Had his eyes always been so deep? Had his hands always been so strong and so soft?

Yes, she said, a little flustered, trying to remember what exactly it was that he had asked.

Her name is Ann, Lefroy said, still holding her hands and still looking into her eyes. Please convince Miss Lucy to have her enrolled at the Academy this very year.

Gwendolyn nodded and he released her hands and smiled.

Thank you, he said, turning back to his seat on the other side of the table. And just like that, the magic was gone and Gwendolyn realized what she had promised to do.

3. SOMETHING NOT QUITE RIGHT

As soon as Gwendolyn left, all smiles and youthful blushes, Lefroy hurried to move the tower again. He had not looked out the window to check, but he felt that a certain shadow of a girl was dangerously close to disturbing his work, for the eleventh time that week. He had no intention of playing tutor to a bright-eyed peasant girl with an undying curiosity for all things magical, even if she was the king’s favorite war hero. And while a part of him admitted that she had saved Prince Gilbert’s life by showing him Rashvin’s location, there was another part of him who found this child to be utterly exhausting.

Having found a safe spot to place his tower, he leaned over his crystal ball to check the palace grounds. The anti-scrying spells that kept the palace hidden from other wizards did not prevent his own scrying, although he was certain that if he were to try to see Wartly’s rooms, they would be hidden by her own spells. But he had no interest in Wartly’s rooms. He scanned the surroundings for any threats, inspected the guards as they went about their duties diligently, eavesdropped on servants’ gossip to keep himself up to date with palace intrigue, and finally ran over his routine check of the candidates to the