The Maad Doctor [The Maad Series #1]

|11| Picturesque.

Lady Camilla sat behind her desk inside her home office. She held a sketchbook and a pencil, wanting to draw. But her mind was elsewhere. Stella's corpse haunted her. She remembered when the nurses told her Stella had died. She had cried, screamed, and broken things. When she calmed down, she contacted Michael. He had ears all over the city and associated with people who knew magic users.

An hour after their conversation, Michael had sent a witch to the hospital. She had warned Lady Camilla about using a demon to revive her daughter. There would be consequences, the witch had assured. What were they? The witch never revealed. But she had implied the effects would fall on Stella and not Lady Camilla.

If it was legitimate, this worried Lady Camilla. I overheard her speak to herself. Has the demon presented itself to her?

She didn't know much about Dark Arts, but her deceased husband had studied it. And every night, he would provide her bits of information about it. One of them was it could bring someone back to life through demonic magic.

I wish you were here, Tomas. I require your guidance now more than ever.

She turned to her left and regarded a picture of her Tomas hung on the blue wall. He was smiling as he stood between her and Stella, his hands on their shoulders.

I remember when we took that picture; it was the day of our anniversary. Stella had a stomach ache, and we had to cancel dinner midway so that we could accompany her to the hospital.

She then looked at the next framed photo on the wall. It presented Tomas on his deathbed, holding Stella's hand. They had cried after the doctor revealed Tomas had a week to live.

Cancer. Lady Camilla sighed, then scratched her forehead. Tomas had refused revitalization, claiming he wanted to see if he would end up in Heaven or Hell. You were stubborn; that's why I loved you. She rubbed off the tears streaming down her face.

A knock came on the door.

"Come in," she said.

An older man in oil-stained overalls and a straw hat walked in. He hadn't waited for her to speak, taking the chair opposite Lady Camilla. "Are you all right, Pa'ner?" he asked, staring at her with wicked eyes.

After leaving Stella's room, a servant had approached Lady Camilla with urgent news. A man from Sin City had claimed to know who stole the wings and sought an audience with her. But he had refused to divulge the information unless she arranged a tour of her home. Lady Camilla ordered the servant to show him the living room and kitchen, then take him to her home office. She would wait there.

"Indeed." She cleared her throat. "What do you know about the thief?"

He crossed his arms. "I know who he is, Pa'ner."

"And?"

"And..." He stared at the jaw of Furz on the desk. They were small, round, brown sweets made from sugar, roasted coffee beans, and cat feces. They were rare and expensive, making it one of the most in-demand desserts in the world.

Lady Camilla noticed the old codger licking his lips as he stared at the sweets. She opened the jar, grabbed a handful of Furz, and handed them to him.

"Much obliged, Pa'ner." He chewed some and stored the rest in his overalls' front pocket.

"Now, can you tell me who–"

"I need," he rubbed his fingers together, "coins, Pa'ner." He laughed.

"I understand." She nodded. "How much would you like?"

"A pouch of silver, Pa'ner." He smiled, revealing the gaps in his teeth.

"I possess something better." She opened her desk's drawer and took out five gold coins, handing them to him. "That's more generous, right?"