The Angel and the Dragon (Hattie Jenkins & The Infiniti Chronicles Book 8) Read online

  The Angel and the Dragon

  Pearl Goodfellow

  Copyright © 2018 by Pearl Goodfellow

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  You guys are magic. I mean it.

  Thanks so much for reading, and keep up your crazy sorcery.

  Love, Pearl

  As this is the final book in this series I wanted to dedicate a space for readers pets. Pets that have been loved and lost along the way.

  We all know how these animals become such a large part of our lives, and when it’s their time to leave us …. well, the pain is something else, ain’t it?

  This is the pet hall of fame. Everyone one of them was loved.

  And I’m happy you guys got to hang out with these wonderful furry creatures.

  Sally - Gem, you enhanced my life in so many ways. You made me smile, laugh, cry.

  Barbara - Magic, my handsome black kitty. One of a kind in the very best way. You gave me so many great stories with your crazy antics. Dearly loved and still missed.

  Laura - Samiam. You were my protector, my snuggler … and a pillow hog! You used to wait by the window when I came home. You listened to me, and gave the best advice.

  Lady Dee - Max, my sweet fur baby. You were with us for eleven years before you got sick and we had to say goodbye. It’s been several years and there will always be a hole in my heart. You were my baby, my heart, my life. We loved you to the moon and back and we probably should have called you Shadow, because you were mine.

  Dee H - Miss Prissy. You passed only recently at the age of 15. We were in tune with each other, and you were such a sweet baby. We gave you a new life: safe and well loved. I miss you sitting on me and your purr. I will always remember your bottle-brush tail.

  Ann - Charlie, you were more human than cat. You loved to share coffee and cuddles. I will miss you with all my heart, bab.

  Denice - Emmy. A real life Fraidy cat, you were. You’d try and hide behind twigs just to feel safe. You added so much joy to my life and you have left a huge hole in my heart with your passing.

  Sara - Zorro, you were my first rescue cat. I found you in a parking lot crying in a box. You grew (and grew and grew) into the bestest cat ever. Still miss you and love you.

  Deenise - Nala, you loved everyone. And everyone loved you. To see your face everyday just made me so happy.

  Jana - LC, you chose me as your human the day you walked into my yard 15 years ago. You were a great companion to both me and my other fur babies. I lost you just last year and I still miss you to this day. I know you are keeping mom company and waiting for the day when we’ll all be reunited.

  Penny - Mr Bear, you passed last year and I miss you every day. My husband brought you home just after we were married. You were a fuzzy fur ball and we made an immediate connection. You were my loyal companion who gave me unconditional love.

  Shawna - Smokey, we had to bottle feed you when you lost your mother just after you were born. I was there with you when you opened your eyes for the first time, and I was there with you when you closed them for the final time. You were with me through illness and pregnancy. You chirped when I clicked my tongue to call you. You used to flush the toilet and watch T.V. I miss you and wish you were still with me.

  Helen Mary - My beloved George, my best friend and partner in crime. My lap is a lonely place without you.

  Kym - Fezzik, you truly were the Brute Squad. I loved how you could never resist a sheet-changing session. Love you and miss you, boy.

  Paul James - Leo, you came into our lives 10 years ago as a two year old rescue. We loved how you greeted us with your big eyes and happy face. You doggie brother, Buddy, misses you too.

  Diana - Zeus, Ra, Athena, Trooper, Willie, Uther and all you wondrous companions of my life, we miss you still.

  Contents

  Foreword

  Introduction

  Also by Pearl Goodfellow

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  The Happy Epilogue

  Map of the Coven Isles

  The Infiniti Chronicles

  About the Author

  Foreword

  Dear readers,

  I’ve crafted this series so that you can read each offering as a stand-alone. However, because I truly love the world of Hattie Jenkins & The Infiniti, I have also created a back-story that will build throughout the series, along with deeper character developments, more in-depth world building, and evolving romantic relationships. This last instalment, in particular, has a lot of ‘bunching up’ of the back story as it reaches its natural conclusion. So, if you’re going to read out of order, go for it, but I would suggest that you definitely read this one LAST.

  It would be my recommendation that you read the series in the order they’re written. And I genuinely say that for you, the reader’s, benefit. I wouldn’t want you to miss out on some read-worthy background story arc. If you do jump about the series in no particular order, I’m convinced you will still thoroughly enjoy the chronicles, and dare I say, you might want to know more about this zany, spirited world.

  All this said, I do hope you enjoy the chronicles. I’ve never had so much fun writing before, and I have formed a deep and long lasting relationship with my characters, I swear. I wish they were my friends in real life! :)

  Pearl

  Sign up for list: www.soarfreepublishing.com/pearlgoodfellow/

  Introduction

  Hello!

  I’m on Facebook, if you’d ever like to join me there?

  https://www.facebook.com/PearlGoodfellowbooks/

  I’d also like to invite you to join my mailing list. In return for signing up I’m giving away this fabulous book straight from The Angel Apothecary; The Handbook for Healthy Living and Healing.

  100 all natural, make-at-home recipes for all aspiring witches of any level. Bring on the lotions and potions!

  See below for what you’ll receive. Click the pretty book cover and get your cauldron ready!

  Also by Pearl Goodfellow

  If the full volume of the Infiniti Chronicles haven’t yet cast their spell on you, you can jump into the magic here!

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  Chapter One

  “It’s too big!” Fraidy shrieked, pacing backward on the table. My neurotic cat looked as if he were trying to step out of his own skin. “It’s falling over my eyes. I can’t see! It’s too big!”

  “Kitty, I’m not going to ask you again … can you please, for the umpteenth time, stay still so I can see what the problem is?” Orville Nugget implored the most jittery of my eight cats. The young alchemist turned to me. “Can I get a hand here, Hattie?” The teen’s jaw grew taut … Fraidy had been giving him the runaround for the best part of twenty minutes now. I squeezed Orville’s shoulder and reached for my cat. “Sweetie, you have to calm down, okay?” I said. “You need to be still so Orville can find out why the measurements are off.” I picked him up and put his face in front of mine. “You want this to be over with quickly, right?”

  “Whether I move about or whether I’m still will NOT change the dimensions of this stupid helmet!” Fraidy’s eyes flashed as he shook his head vigorously from side to side. The too-spacious helmet crashed to the floor. Still in my hands, Fraidy’s eyes darted around the room to take in his seven siblings. They stood, in a row, their newly designed dragon-steel helmets snug to their heads, watching their scaredy-cat brother’s freakout.

  “All of their hats fit!” My cat wailed, his voice cresting upward. “Why do they get to be Dragon-proof and not me?! It’s not my fault my head isn’t the size of a basketball!”

  “I’ll get it right next time, kitty,” Orville said, reaching for Fraidy’s discarded hardware. “I think I can see the problem around the ears here. Not sure how I calculated this curve, but clearly my math is off.” He looked at my cat from under his lengthy bangs. “Honestly, Fraidy, it’s a piece of cake. I can fix this in under a day most likely.”

  Fraidy’s eyes glazed over. He seemed to be on a rapid descent into CATatonia, so I knew I needed to act fast.

  “Sweetie, come here.” Pushing his head to the side of my face I turned to kiss him. “I know you’re feeling jittery. We all are. But you need to calm down, okay?” I dug my fingers into the fur of his outer cheek and massaged in slow circular motions. Under his silky coat, I felt Fraidy’s sinewy muscles relax a little.

  “My helmet doesn’t fit, Hattie,” he whispered. He flopped his head on my shoulder in a tragic display of defeat. “I’m …. I’m scared. The dragon’s gonna breathe on me, and my head’s gonna go up like a pig-tallow torch!” Fraidy’s chattering teeth made ticklish vibrations in my ear.

  “Ahem.” My female kitty stepped forward from her neat row of brothers. “If pea-head there has finished with his antics then I’d like to get this tin pot off my head if you don’t mind? I only just washed my hair an hour ago.” Gloom thumped her tail against the floor of Orville Nugget’s alchemy lab. My she-cat isn’t known for her sweet nature. Truth is, Gloom does have a wonderfully big, kind and loving heart. It’s just she’s a class-A jerk too. Still, I love everything about her.

  Keeping Fraidy in my arms, Orville liberated the cats from their steel headwear. Dragon Steel.

  Dragon Steel helmets formulated, designed and forged by none other than the brilliant teen alchemist, Orville Nugget, himself. I looked at the boy as he unfastened the straps holding the helmets to my kittie’s furry heads. Pale skinned, long hair -- a good chunk of it over his eyes -- gangly frame, and lumbering walk; Orville looked nothing like his father, the late (and also brilliant), Aurel Nugget.

  Nugget senior had been murdered by his supposed best friend and badminton partner at the Alchemical Society, Norris Copperhead. Aurel’s death had been a massive loss to the Coven Isles, to Glessie Isle in particular, and even more viscerally felt by the occupants of this room; this underground, top-secret lab where we all now stood.

  I watched the cats jabbering and washing their ears, faces, noses, ridding themselves of the metallic odor of the Dragon Steel.

  Shade halted his ablutions for a second to survey Orville. “Eww, dude, what’s that on your paws?” The young alchemist brought his hands up to his face, peering at his blackened skin. “What the Goddess is this?” He said, taking a hesitant sniff of the dark smears on his fingers.

  Fraidy began to purr. I knew from the low registers of that purr that my timid kitty wasn’t rumbling from pleasure. The black stuff on Orville’s hands was an unknown quantity in my anxious kittie’s eyes, and Fraidy wasn’t at all equipped to deal with strange anomalies. To say they made him nervous would be an understatement. All I could do was massage the little guy’s cheek again.

  I looked over his head at Orville Nugget. “Maybe it’s from the forging process?”

  Orville wiped his hands on some paper towel. “Yeah, maybe,” he said. “I dunno though … this seems to be like a powder. Along the lines of coal dust or something.”

  “Did you use coal for the forging?” I asked helpfully.

  Orville nodded. “Yeah, that’s probably it.” The teen shook the bangs out of his eyes and busied himself with collecting the helmets. He’d been working hard, and I could see his efforts etched clearly on his young face. Orville still had a mountain of work ahead of him -- these kitty helmets were only the first stage of the Dragon Steel armor. Although already expertly designed, Nugget still had to forge and mold the miniature suits of armor for the Infiniti; breastplates, shoulder plates, knee pads, etc. I was wholly invested in the brilliant alchemist’s success, of course. My cats lives depended on Orville’s knowledge of dragon-proof steel, after all.

  I looked over the row of my beloved cats, through the brick-thick plate glass, and into the HQ of the Custodians.

  The man I loved, and also my best friend in the world, David Trew, strode back and forth; his hands flying in wild gestures as he paced. Portia Fearwyn, the old witch that owned this underground lab and command room as well as the imposing edifice above it; Gaunt Manor, watched the chief, arms folded, lips pressed together in a tight scowl. I wondered vaguely what my friends could be talking about, but my mind couldn’t shake the more imposing feeling of disbelief of what was happening here right now. I couldn’t believe that less than a year ago, my life was really … I don’t know … pleasant, maybe? But also incredibly ...predictable. You can believe me when I say that life was entirely average for me. In fact, I’d say I was above average in the average stakes. Anyway, it was always just a work, sleep, eat, kinda deal, you know? My ‘social’ life consisted mostly of nights of binge-watching Miss Fisher or Father Brown while slugging back the diet cola and chomping on whatever snacks happened to beg for my attention. Which were all of them.

  But now? So much had changed. I had changed. That’s what having experiences does to you, I guess. I never had the chance to argue with my current predicament, and, if I’m to be honest, if I had been asked, I would never have consciously agreed to the situation I find myself in now. But life can pull some fast moves as I’m sure you’re aware. And if there isn’t time for the power of foresight to kick in then you have no choice but to run on your inner power. That energetic authority we all are blessed with. That energy that doesn’t involve your brain. I’m talking about the instinct you feel in your gut, your heart, in and around your ‘spidey’ senses, wherever they may be located for you. Even if its demand for attention is as delicate as fine threads; even if it’s weak and unpracticed, you feel it. You know it’s there. You always did. And you always, without fail or exception, will.

  The events of late had undoubtedly pulled the rug from under me. I had had no choice but to jump in without analysis; operating on pure instinct instead. And it’s from this place of deep knowing that I have conjured some extremely potent spells and charms. Without doubt, I am, unwillingly or not, on the path of magic. This track, my path … although I’d have never knowingly chosen it for myself ... I knew it was opening in me an expansiveness and vitality that I don’t really remember feeling since childhoo
d. I felt that strange tingle of gratitude playfully rush under my skin. Maybe comfort zones aren’t all that? Maybe being pulled from your perch from time to time, although undoubtedly terrifying, did things to you. Things that might not feel very pleasant, but underneath the discomfort of whatever trauma you’re going through, you have a very quiet and sneaky suspicion that you might just be growing. Emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

  The Universe always has your back, Hattie. Grandma Chimera’s voice sounded as real as if she were standing right next to me. I smiled and mouthed thank you to the air. I hoped Granny was my sincere appreciation for my current situation.

  I looked into the command room once more and appraised my ‘current situation.’

  Behind Chief Para Inspector Trew and Portia Fearwyn, stood the other members of this rag-tag crew known as the Custodians. Elven beauty, Verdantia Eyebright, was in a lively conversation with her Icelandic counterpart: the Queen of the Faerie’s, Hinrika Jonsdottir. The Faery Queen, here in Glessie from the Faroe Islands, was here to help the Witch Fearwyn’s campaign against the Warlock terror.

  The Custodians; that’s the name for our little underground fellowship, in case you were wondering. I could hardly believe I was about to be inducted into this top-secret, anti-terror group. I’d resisted for so long because I hadn’t been terribly interested in practicing magic. I couldn’t save my parents from a house fire when I had tried to cast a simple Diluvium spell. And, all these years later, it still hurt.