Prohibited Magic is the third book in the Grimoire Society of Dark Acts series. Episode 3 is up on my Patreon—it’s pay-what-you-like—and it’ll go up later on Kindle Vella.
Episode 3: Knox finds out that Anne is now paying a price for her use of prohibited magic, and he’s devastated. But he doesn’t know how deep that price goes.
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What Prohibited Magic is about:
With Grimoire Society of Dark Acts’s magic book and crystal ball in the hands of the parasitic Ruin Rats, Carmichael’s decision to take the Book of Blessings and infiltrate the magical gang has left Dark Acts magically crippled. Gertrude is trapped in Grimoire Assassins’s magical realm; only the never-before-seen Grimoire of Blood can save her. Dark Acts and its allies split up to stop the worsening imbalance in the Magic Societal Universe, an unprecedented state with unfathomable consequences.
Episode 3: What If?
KNOX
On the way back to Grimoire Assassins’s house, Knox and Finnegan were both silent. It felt as if Finnegan wanted to say something, especially with the way he was fidgeting with his shillelagh, but was also trying to give Knox space while he thought through what to do next.
Earlier, at the Lynde Hotel, one of the employees had apparently gone for the police shortly after the Ruin Rats left, after the thin, balding man at the front desk had discovered Babble’s dead body upstairs, brutally stabbed to death.
By the time Knox was ready to leave, two day policemen by the names of Dunbar and Hook had arrived. Of course they’d immediately suspected Knox of the crime—one look at his scars, his cauliflower ear, and his muscular frame was all they’d needed. But the balding man who worked there—it turned out his name was Charles Mowbray—had insisted the murder was committed by different men. Under Dunbar’s relentless questioning and Hook’s scrutiny, a shaky Mowbray was able to answer every question: exactly when Knox had left, the precise time the Ruin Rats had come, their looks and clothes, and the time of Knox’s return. Finally, Dunbar and Hook had relented.
A coroner had shown up, of course asking a lot more questions. He didn’t offer his name. Before starting his questioning, he’d openly looked Knox up and down, moved past him to Finnegan, sneered once he had a clear view of the Irishman and stopped him mid sentence once he heard the thick Irish accent. Ultimately the coroner passed over them both in favor of questioning the Lynde Hotel employees.
It was nothing Knox and Finnegan weren’t used to.
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© Christie Stratos 2023