Lily hadn’t known any of this herself, unfortunately. Her mother, Freda, had spent the past seven years colluding with Madam Barrington to keep Lily as far away from other wizards as possible, all in an attempt to keep her hidden from her father. Their attempt had backfired rather spectacularly, of course, but as angry as it had made Lily, she couldn’t blame them for trying to protect her. The dynamics of current wizard society were something her mentor had only recently explained, now that the cat was out of the bag, so to speak. It made their prospects look pretty bleak, though when Lily made a comment to that effect, Madam Barrington had cryptically implied they weren’t as friendless as it might seem. But before they did anything else, she first insisted Lily go visit her family.
It wasn’t that Lily didn’t love her stepfather and stepsiblings. She was just so…different. She didn’t fit into their country way of life. They were perfectly content to drive tractors, raise crops, and enjoy the simple but rigorous life of Alabama farmers. Lily, on the other hand, disliked working outside. Knowledge was her milk and honey, and all she’d ever wanted was to read, study, and be left alone. Growing up on a small peanut and cotton farm with four younger siblings to take care of didn’t afford much alone time. She’d been happy to leave and was apprehensive about returning.
Even so, she missed her family more deeply than she cared to admit and was worried how they would react to her visit. What if they wouldn’t forgive her long absence? How was she going to explain about wizards and magic? Should she even try? What if they thought she was abnormal? What if they rejected who she’d become? These doubts, and more, were why she’d never come home. It was easier to keep her distance and bury her loneliness than to deal with the possibility of rejection.
“You know,” came a silky meow to her right, “you really should stop worrying. It only makes you cranky.” Sir Kipling twitched his whiskers, not lifting his head from where he lay curled up in the passenger seat. He was quite the picture, his large, fluffy gray body taking up a good part of the seat while his white-tipped tail hung over the side, slowly flicking back and forth.
“How in the world would you know if I’m worrying?” Lily asked, annoyed.
“You smell different.”
“I smell—” Lily stopped herself, and sighed. She should know by now not to try to fathom her cat’s maddening ability to know far more than he ought. He claimed it was all part of being a cat, which was hogwash, in her opinion. She was sure the entity who had given him human-like intelligence had given him far more than that, but so far Sir Kipling was playing dumb. So Lily simply grumbled about his “cat magic” and left it at that.
Silence returned to the car. Lily had turned off the radio to give herself room to think—all right, worry—and she stared blankly at the road. The passing scenery, a mix of coniferous woodland and verdant peanut and cotton fields, offered no comfort. It was only a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Atlanta to Bertha, and they were approaching the end of the journey. As familiar landmarks became more frequent, her apprehension grew, exacerbated by Sir Kipling’s exaggerated sniffs and whisker twitches. Of course, such behavior didn’t make him appear quite as disapproving as he probably thought it did, owing to the white circle of fur around his right eye and the splashes of white on his nose. They made him look like a crotchety old gentleman with a monocle, twitching his mustache, an amusing picture if Lily could have looked at it instead of at the road ahead.
In no time they were passing Eufaula. The sight of it recalled vivid memories of her and Sebastian’s “virtuous” break-in of the Shorter Mansion museum during their attempt to undo the Jackson family curse. And, of course, of Sebastian’s theatrical “escape” kiss. It had been suspiciously enthusiastic for being only a ploy to throw off the security guard. At the time she’d put it down to his generally over-the-top nature, but ever since he’d helped save her from her father’s clutches, she’d wondered. Of course, it wasn’t the kiss itself that made her blush now as they drove past the quiet Alabama city. It was the memory of how it had made her feel. Feelings she had promptly, and appropriately, quashed.
“You should have asked him to come with us.” Sir Kipling commented, once again out of the blue.
Lily pushed her glasses further up on the bridge of her nose and kept her eyes fixed on the road. Sometimes she wondered if her cat could read minds. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Oh please. Don’t insult me,” Sir Kipling meowed. “Your body temperature just shot through the roof and you’re blushing. You’re thinking about Sebastian.” It was not a question.
“That’s ridiculous,” Lily protested, attempting a casual tone. “I could be thinking about any manner of embarrassing things.” Self-conscious but trying to hide it, she reached up to tuck a wayward strand of her chestnut hair behind an ear. Most of it was caught up in the usual bun at the back of her head, but there were some strands that just refused to stay put.
“I suppose you could be,” Sir Kipling admitted. “But you’re not, because you also smell—”
“Alright, fine!” Lily interrupted, having no desire to know what she smelled like when she was thinking about Sebastian. “So I was thinking about him. But only because I’m relieved he’s not here. He would just make things worse. Imagine trying to keep him out of trouble and deal with my family at the same time. What a disaster.”
“Mmm,” Sir Kipling murmured, obviously unconvinced. “Of course, his absence also conveniently lets you avoid confronting your feelings.”
Lily looked away from the road long enough to glare at her cat. “Who elected you matchmaker? I’m dating Richard, for your information—”
“You mean that lawman who suspects you’re lying about everything? At least Sebastian already knows you’re a wizard.”
Sir Kipling’s comment earned him another glare as Lily’s insides squirmed. “Sebastian is an uncouth reprobate with entirely too many secrets of his own. In any case, he’s taken up with that witch, Tina. If you ask me, they deserve each other.” Lily knew her words were harsh, but Sir Kipling’s barb had stirred an uncharacteristic defensiveness in her.
“I see. So, since when does one coffee translate into ‘dating’?” He asked, eyes still closed.
“Well, there would have been more,” she pointed out, “but things got in the way.” Things like being kidnapped by her father, to be precise. She’d only just recovered from that fiasco when Agent Grant got back in touch, hoping to schedule another date. They’d settled on next Friday evening. Or at least she thought they had. She’d written it down on a slip of paper by the phone but hadn’t been able to find it the last time she’d looked. She would look again when they got home. That is, if she survived the weekend with her family.
“If you say so,” her cat said, dropping the matter, much to Lily’s relief. Faced with the dubious task of navigating familial relationships, this was no time to face the complicated tangle of emotions that were her feelings for her troublemaking friend.
* * *
(Don’t want to stop reading? You can continue the story HERE)
Afterword
Thanks so much for reading Lily, Sebastian, and Sir Kipling’s latest adventure! Don’t miss future books in the Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus universe by signing up to my mailing list at www.lydiasherrer.com/subscribe for new release alerts, behind-the-scene sneak peeks, book giveaways, and chances to help me out in the story-making process.
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Also by Lydia Sherrer
Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus Universe
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The Lily Singer Adventures:
Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus Book 1: Beginnings
Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus Book 2: Revelations
Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus Book 3: Allies
Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus Book 4: Legends
Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus Book 5: Betrayal
Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus Book 6: Identity
(Book 7 coming in 2021!)
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The Lily Singer Adventures Novellas:
Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus: A Study In Mischief
Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus: Cat Magic
* * *
Dark Roads Trilogy (Sebastian’s Origin)
Book 1: Accidental Witch
* * *
Other Works:
* * *
Ashes of Hope: A Post Apocalyptic Dark Fantasy Short Story
Acknowledgments
Many overflowing thanks to the people who made this book happen. There were my faithful beta readers, who never complained about my ridiculous deadlines. Also to “blame” is my good friend Reggie Van Stockum, who first told me I should publish and lent me his copy of Writer’s Market (he had no idea the maelstrom he was unleashing upon the world). Then there’s my wonderful editor, Lori Brown Patrick, who took a chance with me. Much thanks to my exceptionally skilled and patient cover artist, Tony Warne, and my ever-helpful fellow authors, Robert Turk, Terry Maggert, Jessica Sherwood, and editor Alexandra Birr. I'm also indebted to Joseph Hagan; Maria Bowden and Richard Powell; and Brent, Karen, and Sylvia Hinton, whose generosity helped this book happen. Most special thanks to my wonderful parents and sisters who have spent hours reading and editing my attempts at writing, never once discouraging me from doing what I love. And lastly, to my beloved husband, who, one cold winter night over a year ago, helped me conceive this story and has been my sounding board, biggest fan, and greatest supporter ever since.
About the Author
Award-winning and USA Today-bestselling author of snark-filled urban fantasy, Lydia Sherrer thrives on creating characters and worlds you love to love, and hate to leave. She subsists on liberal amounts of dark chocolate and tea, and hates sleep because it keeps her from writing. Though she graduated with a dual BA in Chinese and Arabic, after traveling the world she came home to Louisville, KY and decided to stay there. Due to the tireless efforts of her fire-spinning gamer husband and her two overlords, er cats, she remains sane and even occasionally remembers to leave the house.
LOVE, LIES, AND HOCUS POCUS
The Lily Singer Adventures Book 2: Revelations
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Copyright © 2016 by Lydia Sherrer
All rights reserved.
ISBN 13: 978-0-9973391-2-3 (paperback)
ISBN: 978-0-9973391-3-0 (ebook)
Published by Chenoweth Press 2016
Louisville, KY, USA
No parts of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Under no circumstances may any part of this book be photocopied for resale.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity between the characters and situations within its pages and places or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Cover art by Molly Phipps www.wegotyoucoveredbookdesign.com
Interior illustrations by Serena Thomas
Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus Revelations Page 24