Maren Raines, the apothecary assistant from The Faerie Apothecary Mysteries dishes on her job at Gooseberries, her Christmas present, and more!
Happy 2019! Last year was crazy, wasn't it? Every Mossie I know couldn't stop talking about all the crazy weather, the scare at Fairfield Castle, and the arrival of the King of Sidhe and Elves - not to mention the murders.
Thanks to my boss and friend, Carissa Shae, I attended the King's welcoming party. It was amazing - until the unexpected death. This was the third tragedy this year. I have a theory that all of this started when a nature faerie showed up on the doorstep of my workplace, The Seelie Tree Apothecary. Her name was Chaos. Isn't that a sign or something?
Anyway, Carissa hasn't told me much. I think she will, though. She's always keeping things to herself, but I usually manage to pry her secrets out of her. It's for her own good, of course. No one should be all closed up like that. Plus, I like knowing what's happening around me and I can tell certain people know what's going on in Moss Hill more than others.
I did get one secret out of Carissa. It has to do with the grim reaper figure hanging out around town. You would think a best friend would tell a person if they know the grim reaper personally! You won't believe who it is - actually, I shouldn't say anything more.
I think Carissa feels guilty about not telling me sooner. She gave me a faerie locket as a Christmas present. It's the fastest way to see into the Otherworld. It's supposed to be hard to make one, but she wanted me to have it for the apothecary shop so I can keep more in the loop with our fae customers. All I have to do is turn it and the charms inside of it do their work. I don't understand all of it, but it's so neat!
Now, having said that, I'm not sure I want to see into the Otherworld all the time. Why, you ask? Well, let me tell you what happened to me at work yesterday.
Some of you know I've been working at Gooseberry part time, which is amazing! I'm getting very good at making pie and pastries. That's not the point.
I was at the counter yesterday morning when I saw a figure materialize right in a booth in the corner of the bakery where there were no windows. When I say materialize, I mean he didn't come in through a door; and when I say a figure, I don't mean a person. I mean the ankou in grim reaper form - you know, all bones. I nearly jumped out of my own skin! No one else seemed disturbed by the sight. No one else could see it.
I realized I had activated my locket earlier and forgot to turn it back. What I was seeing was in the Otherworld! If I hadn't had the locket, I wouldn't have known that he was sitting there and everything would be just fine.
But I was wearing it and I did see him. What's worse is who I saw come in next: Varick of Vale. He walked right through the door behind a customer in our world and then sat down at the booth, plain as day like he was meeting an old friend. Only, Carissa told me specifically that the sidhe don't like ankous. In fact, they hate them. So, why was Varick meeting with the ankou all secret-like and whispering? They stayed only a half-hour or so and left. I tried going over and bussing a table, but the closest one to clean up was still too far away to hear what they were saying. I wonder, does Carissa know about it? Should I tell her?
I really wish I knew what they were meeting about yesterday. I guess I'll have to snoop around a little to get more info. I'll let you know what I find out.