The Emerald Staff

The Emerald Staff

(Custodian Novel #2)

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2011 by Alison Pensy

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters,
places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s
imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual
persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely
coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may
be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without
written permission from the author.

Published by Laxsaro Publishing, Publishing
on Smashwords / April 2011

ISBN: 978-0-9825438-2-5

CHAPTER ONE

Halloween was just around the corner, and
Faedra’s father, Henry, was arranging a Halloween costume party.
Faedra was mulling over what she could possibly dress up as.
Sitting on the swing and gazing up at the trees in her yard for
inspiration was not helping the least little bit. As yet, she still
didn’t have a clue.

She had a good idea what her newfound friend
Jocelyn was going to be coming as… herself. Although Faedra was
slightly skeptical that people would have a hard time believing her
wings were not actually real, Jocelyn was eager to take the risk.
And who was Faedra to stop her?

Let’s face it, who actually believes in
fairies anyway?

She certainly hadn’t until a few short months
ago. And as for her Guardian, Faen, she had no idea who, or what,
he would dress as. He definitely couldn’t go as himself because no
costume rental store could ever re-create his wings, even in their
wildest dreams.

Closing her eyes, she leaned back and started
swinging, enjoying the feeling of the breeze on her face and
through her hair. There would not be many more evenings like this
before the cold and damp of winter crept in and claimed the land,
so she was going to take advantage as long as possible.

She smiled. The leaves were turning now, of
their own volition this time and she took a moment to look around
her. The trees that lined the circumference of her yard glowed with
ethereal radiance in the setting sun, and at that moment all was
right with her world. She shuddered at the thought that it could
have turned out so differently if she hadn’t been able to recover a
book the fae use to control nature. The nagging reminder in the
back of her mind that it had been stolen by none other than the fae
king’s daughter as some kind of revenge was still there. She
couldn’t figure out what the revenge was all about. She knew it had
something to do with her, but as yet, no one, including the king,
her Guardian, or her friend Jocelyn, had been forthcoming with any
information whichever tact she used to try and wheedle it out of
them. She felt in her heart that they knew exactly what Vivianna’s
motive was, but they were being tight lipped about it. If it was
one thing she had learned in the short time she’d known them, it
was that fairies could be extremely stubborn when they wanted to
be. Well, she was a redhead with the temperament to match, and
could be just as stubborn. She would find out what Vivianna’s
problem with her was, if it was the last thing she did. And based
on the fairy princess’s sword skills, it may very well be.

Faedra shrugged and let out a sigh before
leaning back as far as she could, her arms outstretched from
holding onto the ropes. After a few more swings, she came to an
abrupt halt in mid air, her head now pressing against something
warm and firm.

She opened her eyes with a start and looked
up to see a familiar face staring down at her.

“Faen.”

She smiled up at him. He held onto the ropes,
holding them so that she was almost horizontal to him. Her head
rested at right angles against his chest as he stood over her, his
aqua blue eyes locked with hers. He returned her smile with one of
his own and walked forward until the swing was vertical. Taking his
hands from the ropes he caressed each side of her face, and leaned
down to brush his lips against hers in an affectionate upside down
kiss. She closed her eyes and reveled in the feeling his touch
evoked.

After a moment, when Faedra’s muscles had all
but turned to jelly, and Faen’s lips were starting to feel a tingle
from the energy her emotions were building, he pulled away and took
hold of the ropes again.

“What are you doing out here by yourself?” he
asked.

“Thinking.”

“May I ask about what?”

Faedra sighed and pulled herself to sit up.
Faen gave up his hold on the ropes and moved around to face her.
She looked pensive.

“You look worried, Faedra. Can I help?”

“I don’t know what to wear to Dad’s party. I
have no idea what to go as,” she blurted, knowing it wasn’t as if
it were a life or death situation, but it was bugging her all the
same.

“You are worried about that?” Faen asked,
incredulous. “You have your mythology tests tomorrow and you are
worried about what to wear to a costume party?” Faen’s eyebrows
pinched together, forming a frown.

After discovering on her eighteenth birthday
what she was, Custodian for the Amulet of Azran, she decided to
change from her previous choice of psychology to study mythology
and parapsychology. It dawned on her that with her first hand
experience, there was every chance that she would be able to ace
her grades.

“Yeah, I know it’s a stupid thing to worry
about, but I also know that Amy and Zoë will look super cool, coz
they always do. And Jocelyn, well, Jocelyn will look like Jocelyn,
and I needn’t say any more on that subject. Still I don’t have a
clue what to wear.”

“If I may, Faedra, you seem to have your
priorities somewhat muddled. You have a week left to think about
what to wear but only tonight to brush up on your test.”

“That’s not helping either, Faen. So, what is
Frederick
going as?” she asked with a wry smile.

“I am not telling you. You will have to wait
and find out.”

“That’s not fair,” she grumbled and stuck out
her bottom lip in a childish pout.

“Come,” he said, a patient expression
plastered on his face. He held out his hands to take hold of hers.
“If I promise to think of a costume for you, will you go upstairs
and study? Your grades are extremely important.”

She sighed again as she slid off the swing at
Faen’s encouragement. “Okay, if you insist.”

“I do.”

Faen didn’t let go of her hand until they got
up the stairs to her bedroom. She wandered over to her desk and
pulled her books from her backpack. Faen lay on her bed on his
stomach and rested his head in his hands, which were propped up on
his elbows, and watched as she gathered her study materials.

“You have the test tomorrow, too.” Faedra
stated when she noticed that he was watching her instead of burying
his head in a book.

She started college as planned at the end of
the summer, and her ever-faithful dog had joined her. Only he spent
his days in class as his alter ego, Frederick, and his evenings at
home in his canine form. It was a very strange situation.

“My dear Faedra, what I do not know about
mythology is not worth knowing.” He gave her a conceited smirk when
she narrowed her eyes at him.

It was starting to get dark outside. Her
father was not yet home from work. His company had given him a
project a few months ago that needed him in their office to
complete, so he had been coming home late each night. This turned
out to be very advantageous because he was not around to notice the
fact that her dog was missing each day she was at college. Faedra
wondered how much longer she could juggle Faen and Frederick before
her father became suspicious that the two of them were never in the
same place at the same time.

She must have been studying for a while
because it was pitch black outside when she heard the crunch of the
gravel driveway made by her father’s car, and lifted her head to
see him pulling up beside the cottage. A few moments later he was
calling from the dining room.

“Hi, Fae, I’m home! You up there?”

“Yes, Dad.”

“Well, take a break for a while. I’ve brought
take-out. Chinese; your favorite.”

“Thanks, Dad. I’ll be down in a minute.”

Faedra watched as Faen gave her a wink before
he blurred into his dog form. She didn’t very often have Frederick
around her home, for obvious reasons. If Frederick was there, Faen
wasn’t, and that would take a lot more explaining. As far as her
father was concerned, Frederick was still just a friend who boarded
his horse at the same stables as her horse, Gypsy. They
occasionally went riding together. Her father knew nothing about
him going to college with her. As far as she was concerned, that
was how it was going to stay.

She put her pen down and pushed her chair
back. Wandering past her bed on the way to the door she scratched
behind Faen’s ears. She’d been doing it for so long, she was
finding it an impossible habit to break. He didn’t seem to mind
though; as yet, he’d never brought up the issue. She pulled her
hands away when she caught herself doing it.

“Sorry,” she whispered. Her cheeks flushed a
little, and twinges of regret shot through her. She missed the
carefree relationship she had shared with her ‘dog’ until just a
few months ago when she turned of age and he had revealed his true
self. She suspected that Faen realized this fact all too well.
Perhaps that was why he never protested when she still kept
treating his dog form as her beloved pet.

“Come on, let’s go and have some dinner,” she
said with a sheepish smile. The shaggy white dog jumped off the bed
and padded down the stairs behind her and into the kitchen where
Henry was setting out the take-away boxes on the dining table. The
aroma wafted up to caress her nostrils and her mouth began to
water.

“Have a good day at college?” her dad asked
when she entered.

“Yes, thanks. How about you at work? How’s
the project going?” She leaned over and grabbed a prawn cracker
from a bag on the table, then took another and offered it to Faen,
who almost inhaled it he ate it so quickly.

“It’s going,” he sighed, “but not as smoothly
as I had hoped. It doesn’t look like I’ll finish it this week as
planned. But it should be done by the end of next week, just in
time for the party.”

“Since you bring that up, what are you going
as?” Faedra asked before putting another prawn cracker in her mouth
and crunching.

“You’ll have to wait and see,” he said with a
smirk.

“Oh, not you, too.” She huffed out an
exasperated breath. “Frederick won’t tell me what he’s wearing
either, and I haven’t got a clue what to dress as.”

“You’ll think of something, Darling. You
always do.”

She raised an eyebrow at him
. Isn’t that
the truth?

“By the way, I’ve invited some people from
the office. I thought it might be fun for you to meet some new
faces…” he hesitated, “well, one new face in-particular.”

Faedra watched as a flush came to his cheeks
and her eyes lit up.

“You’ve got a girlfriend?” she asked with
enthusiasm.

“Well, I wouldn’t go
that
far just
yet, so don’t go getting all excited.”

Faedra beamed a big grin at him. It was about
time her dad found a companion. He’d been on his own for much too
long, as far as she was concerned. Her uncle’s efforts at playing
matchmaker had failed miserably, which only ended up making her
father less inclined to want to try anymore. This was exciting
news, and now she couldn’t wait until the party next week.

“Well don’t leave me hanging, Dad. What is
she like?”

Henry’s cheeks reddened a little further.
“Well, she’s a little younger than me but that doesn’t seem to
bother her at all. She is beautiful, Fae. I don’t quite know what
she sees in me.”

“Oh, come on, Dad. You’re not bad looking
yourself, you know. You would be a catch for anyone. Come on, tell
me more.”

“Well, we have been out to lunch a couple of
times. She is very sweet natured and she loves animals, especially
dogs.” He cast his gaze over to the dog relaxing on the floor
beside them. “I’ve told her all about you and she can’t wait to
meet you. Oh, I do hope you like her,” he added somewhat pensively
to his daughter, who was looking hopeful.