by Sarah Noffke
“Good idea, but I don’t think the fae have to brush their teeth,” Liv stated. “I think they magically have no plaque and pleasant breath.”
“What about Serena?” Sophia asked.
“I don’t think she knows to brush her teeth. She hasn’t gotten there yet.”
Sophia snickered and picked up a frying pan. On the inside, it said, “For sunny side up.” On the bottom, it read, “For knocking him upside the head.”
“What about this?” she asked Liv
“You know what? I think that’s absolutely perfect for the happy couple.” She directed Sophia to the cash register for the store, where she was surprised to find Subner seemingly waiting for her, a sour expression on his face as usual.
“Hey,” Liv said, looking at him cautiously. “Does you-know-who have a mission for me?”
He shook his head. “But he wants you to stop by and see him.”
Liv nodded as she requested that the frying pan be gift-wrapped.
“Why do you think that Papa Creola requested you?” Sophia asked as they strode to the far end of the lane.
Liv shrugged. “I don’t know what’s going through that little man’s head half the time.”
“Do you think he’ll mind that I’m with you?” Sophia asked.
“No. If he requested that I show up, then he knows you’re with me.” Liv pointed toward The Fantastical Armory. “The man knows what’s going to happen before it happens, which probably makes most dinner parties and magic shows pretty boring for him.”
Sophia laughed. “Do you really think Father Time goes to magic shows?”
Before Liv could answer, Papa Creola waved them in from the front step. “Get in here, already. I’ve been waiting for you forever.”
Liv gave the gnome a look of disbelief. “Seriously, forever? Are you sure you’re not being a bit melodramatic?”
“No, I’m not,” he said, more on edge than usual.
“And really, shouldn’t have you known exactly when to expect us?” Liv asked.
“Just because I know most things doesn’t mean I know everything, Liv,” he said to her before giving his attention to Sophia. “And to answer your question, I attend as many children’s birthday parties as I can, although incognito. I actually enjoy the magic acts, but your sister wouldn’t believe it.”
Sophia offered her hand to the gnome. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Papa Creola, who was the same height as the little girl, wrung her glove-covered hand. “The pleasure is all mine, Sophia Beaufont.” When their hands met, he closed his eyes, an odd smile on his face. “Oh, yes, you have a strange and assorted future that not even I can influence. What an interesting life.”
“Pops?” Liv asked. “What’s going on?”
His eyes snapped open. “Right. Sorry. It’s not every day that I meet Sophia Beaufont.”
Liv gave her sister a sideways look full of caution. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes, as long as you’re working on that thing so magic isn’t erased forever,” Papa Creola said, leading them farther into the shop, where there was actually a crowd of people.
“I think you know I am,” Liv replied. “I could devote more time to it, but I’m supposed to go to this wedding…unless you think I should be excused from it for official Father Time business.”
He shook his head. “Oh, no. I’ll actually be in attendance as well. A wedding is a holy affair. And you especially should be there. It’s important for…well, future events.”
Liv gave Sophia another sideways look. “Isn’t it cute how he alludes to knowing things about my life but won’t say anything specific?”
“It’s adorable,” said Papa Creola and Sophia at the same time, one of them meaning it and the other not.
Her mouth popped open with surprise, but the gnome simply winked. “The bathroom is in the back, and yes, I’ll have you two out of here in just a few minutes. Way before your dragon wakes up from his nap in his shell.”
Sophia’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Liv leveled her gaze at her sister. “See, it’s freaking cute, isn’t it? Try planning a surprise party for the guy. It’s annoying.”
With an uncomfortable laugh, Sophia curtsied and dismissed herself, heading to the bathroom.
“Why would you throw me a surprise party?” Papa Creola asked Liv.
“For your birthday, of course,” she answered.
“Which is?” he asked, sounding amused.
“January first,” she guessed.
“Nice try,” he said, leading her to the back, where there were a few elves and other magical creatures gathered. “I brought you here so you could help with the selection process.”
“Selection process?” Liv asked.
“Well, how am I supposed to attend weddings or help with other things if I don’t have employees in the place?” he asked.
“So you’re actually expanding?” Liv questioned, surprised.
“Liv, I told you I was back and would employ others to filter requests and be the first line of defense,” he explained.
“So does that mean you’ll need my help less?” Liv asked.
He shook his head. “No. After what you accomplished at Hawaiki’s place, I think you’ve sealed the top position in my office.”
“What I accomplished?”
“Did you see the elf as young or old?” he asked, a mischievous grin on his face.
She shook her head. “I saw her in all her ages.”
He nodded proudly. “Which makes you the perfect employee for Father Time. You see people as timeless because you aren’t as governed by the restraints of time.”
“I have no idea what that means,” she said.
“I know,” he said, handing her a simple clipboard. “But one day, you will.”
“What do I do with this?” she asked, indicating the clipboard.
“Go filter out the bad employees,” he said, ushering her forward.
“So I should find the ones who will make your job easier?” she asked, studying the questionnaire on the page. There were questions like, “When traveling between point A and B, what’s the fastest way to bypass and get to M?”
Papa Creola shook his head. “Oh, no. I invited you to help with hiring because having the right people will make your job easier. You’ve been promoted.”
“Because I saw all the ages of Hawaiki?” Liv asked in disbelief.
“There was that. But also because when you learned the truth, you didn’t overreact.”
Liv thought about that for a moment. “I thought you knew what was going to happen before it happened. If so, didn’t you know I wouldn’t overreact or that I’d see all ages of Hawaiki?”
Papa Creola held up a finger, pausing her. “There is the magic in life for me. I see potentials. Very real possibilities. However, you, Liv Beaufont, continue to do things I don’t suspect.”
“Shouldn’t that make me a risk?” she dared to ask.
He shrugged. “It also makes you highly entertaining, which is something I need after a few centuries of boredom,” he said, encouraging her toward the group of magical creatures vying for jobs with Father Time.
Chapter Eighteen
“Are you sure about this?” Clark asked, looking cautiously at Liv as they stood outside the Chamber of the Tree.
Liv gave him a meaningful look and nodded.
She hadn’t liked seeing the hurt expression on her brother’s face when she’d told him what happened with their mother. He was jealous. How could he not be? She would have been too if he’d had one last moment with their mother without her. But it wasn’t like she had known it was going to happen.
Thinking back, there were a hundred things she’d wished she’d told their mother when she had the chance. It had all happened so fast, and so much had transpired in a matter of minutes, then Guinevere Beaufont was gone. Stardust and ash, floating away in the wind.
In a place they knew to be safe, Liv told her brother what thei
r mother had told her about unregistering her magic. At first, Clark was against it, but when she told him how their parents had been killed, he instantly got angry. It was the first time she thought she might have to restrain her brother. But he was always in control, pulling back just before he lost it. She should have expected that, she realized.
When she finished telling him everything, his chest was rising and falling rapidly like he was hyperventilating. She could see the emotion pouring out of him. That was how she had felt when she learned Adler had murdered their parents. Telling Clark about it had sparked her anger all over again. She wanted to charge after the albino right then, and she tried, but it was Clark who stopped her. His passion had reignited her fire, and he had stopped her from doing what she had wanted to from the beginning.
“No,” Clark said, holding onto her before she left the place she now shared with Sophia. “We don’t take him out yet. We don’t do anything yet. We plan his demise. Just wait, and one day he’ll suffer. I promise.”
Her brother’s words played in her head, reminding her of the revenge she craved. But she also had to be the voice of reason for Clark. They did that for each other.
“Yes, I’m sure,” Liv said adamantly, her eyes flicking to the Black Void on the other side of Clark. She didn’t trust speaking right there, or really anywhere in the House of Seven. Even though Adler and Decar were gone, she still couldn’t shake the feeling that someone else was in the House, watching them. Sneaking. Doing something. But Liv also reasoned that it could be paranoia. It was an easy thing to fall victim to after learning that your parents were murdered by someone who was supposed to be on their side.
“Are you sure the chamber is empty?” Liv asked in a whisper.
Clark nodded. “Except for the regulators. They are always in there.”
Liv didn’t think Jude and Diabolos would be an issue. Their job was to call out when someone was deceitful during the meetings. The magical animals were just like the lophos she’d encountered at the monastery. They didn’t need food to survive, and they didn’t age. Their job was timeless and required them to always be present and accountable to the council.
“Okay, I’ll go first,” Liv said, stepping through the Door of Reflection. She expected to see something ridiculous in the vision of her latest fear, like her wearing the awful dress Rudolf had picked out for the wedding. However, the image that burned across her vision wasn’t as trivial as that previous fear.
In the vision, Liv stood on the top of a hill, looking down at a battlefield. A great war raged below her as magicians and mortals slaughtered each other. The mortals had guns and tanks, and the magicians fought with swords and blasts of fire. Neither side appeared to be winning, but rather, each alienated the other.
“What if I’m wrong?” Liv heard herself say out loud. The thought brought a gasp to her mouth. She hadn’t hesitated to unearth the truth, to pick up the mission her parents had started, but she’d never stopped to wonder if she should. Adler was a bad man; that was obvious. But what if he or whoever had started this was right? What if mortals weren’t supposed to be in the House? What if allowing them to see magic again would ruin everything? There was no history book she could turn to in order to find out exactly what had gone wrong. All of that had been covered up. And so, the question plagued her mind.
What if revealing the truth was wrong? What if another war would come out of it?
Everything would be her fault.
Liv shook off the image of fires raging and death on the battlefield as she stepped all the way through the Door of Reflection.
It was strange to stand in the middle of the Chamber of the Tree without the council peering down at her or any other Warriors in the space. Overhead, the twinkling lights of the Tree shone down on Liv, reminding her of the mission they’d come here for: to unregister their magic.
She’d been in the chamber many times lately and had forgotten to study the Tree behind the council’s bench. The names of the Seven were depicted on its massive branches. How different would it look when they revealed the truth?
Clark entered the chamber a moment later, appearing disoriented, as most did after passing through the Door of Reflection.
“Did you have a vision of you wearing a t-shirt?” Liv asked him.
“Ha-ha,” he said, not appearing amused. “My worst nightmares aren’t of me wearing relaxed clothing.”
“Oh, are your nightmares of a world where there’s no hair gel? The inhumanity of it all!”
Clark shook his head, setting up a privacy spell in the chamber. “I have real fears, you know. Ones that involve you and Sophia.”
Liv nodded, not liking that he had gotten real. It would have been better for her if they merely made fun of each other during the time they were in there.
“So, do you think you can unregister us?” Liv asked.
“Well, I shouldn’t be able to without the other Councilors,” he stated, striding over the bench. “However, if Adler was able to lock our family’s magic without anyone else, then it has to be possible.”
Liv was about to pull out her phone to call Alicia, who she trusted to help and who would know how to work around the magical tech. However, right then, the white tiger sauntered around the side of the bench. She almost didn’t pay him any notice, thinking he was simply there to chill and observe, as usual.
There was something different about Jude this time, though, Liv realized. His body weight slid backward on his hind legs, and his green eyes narrowed. If Liv wasn’t mistaken, he appeared ready to attack.
Clark, who was focused on getting to the bench, hadn’t seen the white tiger. He hurried forward, crossing Jude’s path just as Liv realized what was going to happen next.
“Watch out!” she yelled, throwing her hand into the air. A blast of wind shot from it, hitting Jude straight in the chest as he reared back on his hind legs, his massive paws stretched out on either side of him like he was about to bear-hug Clark.
He shot back, knocking into the far wall from the force.
The floor under their feet shook, and the lights flickered. A cold blast of wind streamed into the chamber from somewhere, making the temperature drop instantly.
“What have you done?” Clark yelled, glaring between the white tiger crumpled beside the wall and Liv.
“I had to!” she said, pulling out Bellator. “He was going to attack you.”
“That’s because I’m doing something wrong, Liv.”
She shook her head, striding cautiously over. “The privacy spell will protect others from finding out about this. We’ve got to hurry.”
“But what if you’ve killed him,” Clark argued. “How are we going to explain that?”
“I didn’t kill him,” she stated. “I just protected you. You’re welcome.”
If she were honest with herself, Jude did appear to be dead, his head resting to the side by his paws and the rest of his body looked lifeless.
What if she had killed one of the regulators for the House? How would they explain it? She’d taken out the good regulator. What did that make her?
Clark had done what she’d suggested, hurrying to his spot on the bench and getting to work. He was scrolling through his codex.
Liv halted when she reached the top of the bench. It was strange to peer down on the chamber floor from there, judging those who stood on the Warrior’s places. How different the Councilors’ positions were. They had comfortable seats up high, while the Warriors stood on the ground, looking up at them. Behind them was a narrow platform where books and other supplies apparently used to be stored for reference. That was before they had moved to digital codices and magic tech. Presently that space was empty.
“I really don’t understand how I’m supposed to do this,” Clark grumbled, scrolling through his codex. “It shouldn’t work for only one Councilor.”
Liv dialed Alicia, relieved when she picked up after only one ring.
“Hey, birdie,” she said to the Italian when s
he answered.
Alicia didn’t think this nickname was funny, but she laughed anyway.
“Remember when you offered to help if I ever needed something done with complicated magical tech?” Liv asked over the phone.
“Of course,” Alicia answered.
“Well, I’m calling in the favor,” she said, handing the phone to Clark, who looked at her reluctantly.
It wasn’t advisable to loop anyone else into what they were doing. However, without Alicia, they wouldn’t unregister their magic, so they’d fall victim to Adler’s attacks the same way their family did.
After shooting Liv a frustrated expression, Clark took the phone.
“She can help,” Liv said encouragingly.
Clark nodded, sticking the phone to his ear.
Feeling proud, Liv lifted her chin and surveyed the room. That was when she saw it. Or rather, lack of it.
Jude was gone.
Chapter Nineteen
“What is it?” Clark said, pulling the phone away from his face as he took in Liv’s panicked expression.
She shook her head, scanning the chamber. “It’s nothing. Just explain the situation to Alicia. We need her expertise.”
Clark didn’t appear to believe Liv as he slowly raised the phone back to his face.
Was it really a problem that Jude had disappeared after trying to attack Clark? Liv tried to tell herself it wasn’t a big deal. When that didn’t work, she told herself she’d mistaken the whole thing. The white tiger would never attack. He’d only ever been stoic and graceful when she’d been in the Chamber of the Tree.
And yet, every second she couldn’t find him filled her with dread. Liv edged down the stairs from the high bench, constantly scanning the area for a sign of the regulator.
“It’s a complicated bit of magic tech,” Clark said in an impatient voice. “I don’t think turning it off and back on it going to help.”
“Just do whatever she says,” Liv ordered, her focus on the many dark spots in the circular room.
Her brother shot her an angry expression. “But she wants me to turn off the entire system. I shouldn’t be able to do that.”