Serafina and the Twisted Staff: Chapters 35–52

by Robert Beatty
In this second book of the series, Serafina, now accepted by the Vanderbilts and allied with their nephew, encounters a presence that tests her connections to both high society and the shape-shifting cats of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–6, Chapters 7–12, Chapters 13–21, Chapters 22–34, Chapters 35–52
40 words 7 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. perturbed
    thrown into a state of agitated confusion
    “It’s not the horse I’m worried about!” she said, perturbed.
  2. exude
    release in drops or small quantities
    The trunks and the branches and the ground itself were coated with sticky black sap that exuded like dark blood from the bark of the trees.
  3. permeate
    spread or diffuse through
    The sap permeated everything with a reeking, sickeningly sweet smell.
  4. viscid
    having the sticky properties of an adhesive
    She had to put her hand out in front of her to keep from running into dead hanging branches, but each time her fingers touched something in the darkness, the viscid pitch stuck to her fingertips, slowly coating her hands with an oily mucus.
  5. inadvertently
    without knowledge or intention
    As they crawled forward into the smoky haze of the fire, Serafina’s hand inadvertently touched a cold, flat, slimy surface that she thought was a rock.
  6. concoction
    an occurrence of an unusual mixture
    At the man’s feet lay a dark pile of skinned fur, black and brown and white, the remnants of animals that he had used in his terrible concoction.
  7. viscous
    having the sticky properties of an adhesive
    She couldn’t imagine what horrible thing he was doing, but then he raised the Twisted Staff upward and dipped it into the pot, coating it over and over again with the thick, viscous liquid as he mumbled words she could not understand.
  8. desolate
    crushed by grief
    She could hear nothing but the faint and desolate sound of wind in the trees. Is this how I’m going to die? she thought.
  9. infuse
    fill, as with a certain quality
    The man dipped the Twisted Staff into the mixture over and over again, infusing it with its terrible power.
  10. buttress
    reinforce with a support usually of stone or brick
    Buttressing her feet against the other side of the mortsafe, she used the strength of her legs and torso to push her head through the hole, scraping her ears so close that they tore and bled.
  11. credentials
    a document attesting to the truth of certain stated facts
    “He represented himself as an officer of the law, so I didn’t think I should interfere with his investigation, but I hired a private detective to check into his credentials.”
  12. scaffold
    provide with a temporary arrangement for support
    It was amazing to see the scaffolded walls of Biltmore rising from nothingness in photograph after photograph.
  13. parcel
    an extended area of land
    He bid his lawyer to see if it was possible to purchase that particular parcel of land.
  14. subsistence
    minimal resources for survival
    The site had a good distant outlook, but the land itself had been abused by scavengers and subsistence farming for many years, the soil was depleted, and the woods were miserable, the very hillsides eroding for lack of trees and undergrowth.
  15. ravage
    cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly
    Much of the land had been ravaged and lay in a most desperate state.
  16. reclamation
    the conversion of wasteland into land suitable for use
    That same year, as we began the reclamation work, we soon learned that the clear-cutting and selling of the wood wasn’t just happenstance.
  17. depraved
    deviating from what is considered moral or right or proper
    There was a depraved and conniving man named Uriah organizing it all. He didn’t have any more right to this land than the other squatters, but he was a trickster, a deceiver.
  18. conniving
    good at tricking people to get something
    There was a depraved and conniving man named Uriah organizing it all. He didn’t have any more right to this land than the other squatters, but he was a trickster, a deceiver.
  19. relish
    derive or receive pleasure from
    I think he must have been an old slaver or something because he seemed to relish having power over other people. He seemed obsessed with controlling everything.
  20. vestige
    an indication that something has been present
    He was in bad shape. He seemed desperate in his dealings with us, like he was barely hanging on to the last vestiges of the corrupted empire he’d built here.
  21. loath
    strongly opposed
    I never trusted him, but I sensed that he was far more sinister than he seemed, and I was loath to make him too sharp an enemy. There’s nothing more dangerous than a desperate man.
  22. parquet
    a floor made of a patterned wood inlay
    But she found herself in an elegantly attired chamber, with goldenrod damask wallpaper, a parquet wood floor, a Persian rug, a small fireplace, and chestnut furniture.
  23. ideal
    conforming to an ultimate standard of perfection
    Her pa had told her once that there was nothing hotter than a forest fire burning through a stand of pines, that the trunks of the trees actually exploded when the sap boiled. It would be an ideal way to start a fire inside a house, even one that was designed not to burn.
  24. occult
    beyond ordinary understanding
    Her first thought was that he was obsessed with following reports of occult and supernatural phenomenon.
  25. upholster
    provide furniture with comfortable padding or covers
    She noticed a slight discoloration on the floor in front of one of the upholstered chairs.
  26. sentinel
    a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event
    It sounded like a wolfhound sentinel in the woods had spotted Braeden and was sounding the call for his white-fanged brothers to join him.
  27. splay
    widen or spread apart
    Grathan lay flat on the ground now, faceup, with his limbs splayed, the snakes draping and coiling around him.
  28. ruse
    a deceptive maneuver, especially to avoid capture
    Her snobbish English accent seemed to have decayed into a casual, snarling tone, as if she’d grown weary of the ruse.
  29. snobby
    tending to associate only with people of a similar background
    It goes with my outfit! she had insisted in her snobby tone.
  30. goad
    a pointed instrument used to provoke into motion
    The stallions reared up with terrifying neighs, like they’d been prodded by a painful goad.
  31. maul
    injure badly
    She knew she only had so many steps before the bear caught up with her and attacked her from behind. It would drag her to the ground and maul her with its teeth and claws until she was dead.
  32. careen
    move sideways or in an unsteady way
    The carriage careened off the road and went tumbling down, Serafina and the stallions battling all the way, until it finally crashed into the bottom of the ravine.
  33. condescending
    characteristic of those who treat others with arrogance
    “You know it’s going to come back down,” she said condescendingly.
  34. echelon
    a body of troops arranged in a line
    There were skeins of geese flying in echelons of V’s, swans and ducks in long lines, and clouds of fluttering waxwings, cardinals, and jays.
  35. vanity
    low table with a mirror where one sits while dressing
    Serafina sat in a red damask-upholstered gold chair in front of a French-style vanity table and mirror in the Louis XVI Room on the second floor of Biltmore House.
  36. charlatan
    a flamboyant deceiver
    I heard that Mr. Vanderbilt checked into that peculiar Mr. Grathan. Turns out he was some sort of shady character who goes around the country investigating ghost stories and ever what. He was a complete charlatan.
  37. taxidermist
    a craftsman who stuffs and mounts animal skins for display
    “One of the groundskeepers found something in the woods. He wasn’t sure what to do with it, so he gave it to the taxidermist.”
    As Serafina walked into the room, she looked around her. On the sculpted marble fireplace mantel sat a stuffed animal on a stand.
  38. solemn
    dignified and somber in manner or character
    She gave the owl a slow and solemn nod. “Good evening, Rowena. Excuse me, I’m so sorry…Lady Rowena.”
  39. opulent
    rich and superior in quality
    Serafina gazed into the soft glow of the candlelit Christmas party in the opulent room.
  40. esplanade
    a stretch of pavement or grass for walking by the seashore
    Serafina lay on the front balcony of the Louis XV Room of Biltmore House, swishing her tail and looking out across the open grass of the Esplanade as the moon rose, casting its silver light over the tops of the distant trees.
Created on Wed Apr 10 16:11:58 EDT 2024 (updated Sat Apr 13 17:41:05 EDT 2024)

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