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Dela's new job comes with a chronometer and a lot of questions. The magical archivist takes a new job with the time travel division of a magical agency, Tempus Armis. With her socius and service animal Freckles, a Pony of the Americas, by her side she knows she can handle anything. Will her job come with more than she bargained for? When the first artifact arrives, Dela meets another member of the team and her list of questions grows. The idea of finding obscure magical artifacts before they fall into wrong hands may prove to be too interesting to resist.
This is a short story set in the world of the Musimagium and Radio Arcanum. As with most stories in the world, this cozy fantasy story with a disabled main character can be read as a standalone, but characters from other books may make an appearance.
The drab halls screamed office park, which was why the strange swirly image on one wall appeared so out of place. Not just as if someone had lifted it from a stereotypically-70s design magazine or what they thought people probably put on their walls back then, but also because the picture didn’t have a frame. I would have called it a tapestry, but it wasn’t just hanging on the wall; it was the wall.
What was even stranger was that as I approached it, I swore the patterns began to move. The chronometer on my wrist, delivered by next day service earlier in the week, glowed blue, and before I could contemplate why the directions had sent me down this dead-end and dead-ass boring office hallway, the colors in the image shifted to reveal an opening which glowed with a pale, blue light.
READ MOREFreckles, my service animal, a stout Pony of the Americas, stood as if he saw such things all the time, and not just the inside of office buildings and big box stores. I leaned against his back for a moment. Ready for this? I asked. They call it Tempus Armis, and it’s a long way from cataloging artifacts.
I got you, he replied, and I knew he did. He’d caught me on more than one occasion.
I took a deep breath because walking anywhere with a not-small horse drew attention, and questions. So many questions. Why did I have a horse? What was it trained to do? What was my diagnosis? When did it poop? Would it poop in their store? Nearly all those questions were illegal, of course, due to the Americans with Disability Act, but that didn’t stop them from asking.
I saw cubicles along the pathway with blue glass dividers along the path. I wasn’t sure if they could see me, and the people in suits bent over computers or shuffled papers never looked up at my passing. A typical office on the surface.
They requested us, Freckles told me, shaking me from my inaction. They requested you.
That they did, I told him back, and after ruffling my fingers through his mane, took a step forward. Freckles stayed with me, his steadying presence lowering the anxiety rising inside me. I took a deep breath, focusing on my breathing just the way I’d practiced. I felt a warm muzzle touch my hand, reassuring, reminding me that I didn’t have to face things alone.
My watch chimed and instructions flashed across the screen. TURN LEFT AT THE NEXT CUBICLE.
COLLAPSERead this story for free here: https://kitauthor.com/a-pony-in-time/ or download from one of the retailer links listed. Note that the retailers may not all match the price to free, so if you see the story is $0.99 somewhere (*looking at you Amazon*), come back and try another link. Thanks!
Other Books By Kit Muse
Stand-Alone Books
Series: Limel Magus
Series: Second Joy Series
Series: The Pegasus Enchantment
Series: The Time Archivists
