Through The Leaded Glass Read Free Page A

was left alone, without
income, save a few possessions.” Master Griff pointed to the
shield. “One that you see before you, much the worse for
wear.”
    Kate tapped her lips. She’d bet the twenty
bucks this thing cost that there was an identical one beneath the
counter, but what the hell. Alicia loved stuff like this and she’d
get a kick out of the story.
    She smiled. “I’ll take it. If the shield isn’t
worth your price, the story certainly is.”
    “ And now you have a very special
item. One no one else has.”
    “ And no one probably wants, judging
from the looks of it,” she added as she handed over the cash. How
many times a day did he tell this same story?
    “ Oh, trust me, there’s not another
one like it anywhere.” He patted her hand. “Have a wonderful
adventure here today. And be sure to visit the glass blower’s shop.
It’s on your way to the joust.”
    Kate slid her arm through the leather straps
as she left the ship, praying they’d hold together for the rest of
the day, but she wasn’t holding out much hope.
    She felt the heat from the glass blower’s
ovens before she saw the shop, but the tinkling butterfly wind
chimes were what got her to stop. They’d look pretty outside Emma’s
bedroom window.
    She followed the cobblestone pathway lined
with garden sculptures past the Enchanted Forest Gifts sign.
A fountain gurgled beneath pergolas overflowing with flowering
vines, silk butterflies, and twisting iridescent glass objects,
like something you’d find in a fairy forest. Unfortunately the
sounds of an airplane overhead and the trucks rumbling by on the
Pennsylvania Turnpike just beyond the faire walls stole a little of
the magic.
    Lord. Now she was sounding like
Alicia.
    An alcove held more glass objects amid scented
sachets, potpourri, and candles. She ran a finger lightly over a
delicate blown-glass tulip’s petals that appeared to be covered in
dew, and a ceramic frog peeked out from under a bundle of cinnamon
sticks beside a green-horned glass unicorn.
    Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a
flash of purple and silver as someone darted out from behind a
statue at the end of the shop.
    Had Master Griff followed her?
    She went after him, peering around the corner
where he’d run, but what she saw there stopped her cold.
    A two-foot tall stained glass window, arched
like something from a gothic church, leaned against the wall, with
a design…
    It was a picture of a woman. A woman with long
auburn curls, and a green and burgundy dress just like she was wearing.
    Exactly like she was
wearing.
    Kate walked toward the window. She wasn’t a
fan of coincidences, so either Alicia had had this outfit specially
made or—
    Or what? Kate shook her head. This
place was getting to her, what with tales of magical rings and
fairy forests.
    But then a fairy did approach her. Or,
rather, a teenager dressed as a fairy. Which was so much more
normal than the road she’d started going down,
thankfully.
    “ May I help you, my lady?” asked
the sales clerk.
    “ That.” Kate ignored the “my lady”
and handed her some cash. “I’d like to buy it.” Well, not really like to buy it; more like compelled to. She wanted to
get to the bottom of the coincidence.
    “ Okay,” said the clerk. “I’ll be
right back with some tissue paper to wrap it up.”
    Kate nodded absently, her attention caught by
the vibrant colors of the piece. The green was so brilliant it
looked like what the emerald on her ring ought to, and the woman’s
auburn hair gleamed like sherry when the sun hit it. The
resemblance was amazing.
    Kate brushed the long sleeves of her surcoat
up her arms, hiked the shield higher, and reached for the
window.
    All of a sudden, the air around her
stilled.
    Then it began to shimmer.
    Then, with a heart-thudding whoosh , it
spiraled around her like a cocoon, blocking out every sound but her
heartbeat. A brilliant burst of color whirled around her like a
tornado, her world tilted,