Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What is the story 'Roses' about?
Hi there, Billy Hindle here, the voice of Alice in the Magnus Protocol. I'm here to let you know that Rusty Quill will be attending UK Games Expo at the Birmingham NEC this May 29th to May 31st. We are hosting two free shows, along with our friends at Montecut Games and Indie Boards and Cards.
If you come along to the Monty Cook Game Stand at the Expo, you will be able to demo the Magnus Archives role-playing game and the Magnus Protocol Mysteries game and grab a copy for yourself. You can find out more about our shows at rustyquill.com forward slash expo, that's rustyquill.com forward slash expo.
You will need a ticket for entry to the UK Games Expo, but once inside, Rusty Quill shows and demos are 100% free on a first-come, first-served basis.
Hi there, Jonathan Sims here. And before today's episode, I wanted to tell you about From the Library of Jürgen Leitner, an upcoming The Magnus Archives prequel novel available for pre-order right now at www.rustyquill.com forward slash novel.
Return to the world of the Magnus Archives in From the Library of Jurgen Leitner, an official prequel novel written by Nebula, World Fantasy, and Aurora Award-winning author Premi Mohamed, with the help of yours truly.
From the Library of Jurgen Leitner explores an infamous organisation from the Magnusverse for the first time, the perilous private library of the enigmatic collector Jurgen Leitner. from the Library of Jürgen Leitner will be published on October 27th, 2026 and is available for pre-order now as a hardback, audiobook and e-book. Visit www.rustyquill.com forward slash novel for more information.
That's rustyquill.com forward slash novel or click the link in the show notes of this episode.
Roses by Abbey Kinsella Violet Steele, eleven years old, bright under Fresnel, and cradled in a thousand strong gaze, holds hands with a ghost. She had landed in Chicago seventeen hours previously, and slept six since then. curled under Othello's cloak like a sparrow in a nest.
Othello had not been performed since the previous November, and the cloak smelt stale, but the man who had swaddled her in it had sad, kind eyes that shone like a hazy moon and had glinted at the prospect of offering her a place to rest. So she had not complained, and had dreamt bleeding watercolour dreams of being high up in the treetops.
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Chapter 2: How does Violet Steele interact with the ghost?
For the next two years, the ghost pulled her through corridors and coaxed her through wings. It hauled her up staircases and dragged her across car parks, and when her bare-walled bedroom of the night in whatever unfamiliar city became a ballroom, it spun her around and around and around. It pointed out of taxi windows and told tales of when things were different.
It marveled at what was the same. It applauded when she deserved it and grimaced when she did not. It mimicked her mother with a snooty, upturned nose. It bounced on the forbidden furniture. It screamed beside her in the clearing behind the house. It asked quietly if her feet were cold and looked sad when she said they were. She had kept the socks that were not for her and sleeps in them now.
Early morning, Violet weaves her way through unfamiliar faces. She is one of only two returning cast members, Duncan giving her a small half-wave as she is blown through the doors by a gust of wind. "'Remember me?' he asks cautiously, like she is five years old and he a half-remembered uncle. "'I remember you,' she says softly, and immediately feels a staring hand between her shoulderblades."
It is the read-through today, but Violet's silent role renders her presence useless. She is taken instead to the dressing room, and given a robe to change into. The ghost faces the wall politely. The lady does not ask before pouring the brine onto her head.
She does not explain, nor converse, nor check for comfort as she works the salt water into her skull, massaging with thick fingers adorned with stacked and shining rings." She works tangles out with a wide-toothed comb, then teases them back in with a fine brush.
She peers through the tresses, micromanaging a ruin of undead follicles, moving three strands left, four right, backcombing here and smoothing there, an abstract of lifelessness blooming from her scalp. Blooming like roses. Watchfully, the ghost's smile takes root, and it grows. It grows as grey is brushed under her eyes. It grows as a shimmer is dotted across her cheekbones.
The tiniest fissure of red is painted at the corner of her lip. A spot by her ear. The ghost grins. The ghost glows. The lady with the fringe steps back to admire her handiwork. She stands with her head cocked to one side and her thick thumb pressed to her lips. She cups Violet's cheek and applies one final dash of glitter to her cheekbone. Then she nods.
Your costume is in the other room, is all she says before she is gone. The ghost shifts from foot to foot, grinning so hard that it looks like it would hurt if it experienced such things. ''You're back,'' it says softly. ''You're back like me.'' Violet smiles in return and hops down from the chair. She crosses the room to the mirror and admires herself in the mirror.
She raises a hand to tussle her hair, but stops herself. She's perfect, she reminds herself. She is perfect, and there will be roses. Opening night. Violet Steele, 11 years old, bright under Fresnel, and cradled in a thousand-strong gaze, holds hands with a ghost.
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