by Brey Willows
Shamus opened the door to let them in and then locked it behind them. “I take it that didn’t go as planned.”
“What makes you say that?” Kody asked.
Maggie walked past them and curled up on the sofa. She was happy to listen, but wasn’t ready to talk.
“Someone tried to open the door.”
“And?” Kody shrugged. “Doesn’t that happen?”
“Every once in a while. But they don’t keep trying. It only stopped when you got back, though it seems coincidental since they couldn’t know you’d arrived.” Shamus went to the window and tried to lift it. “And the cottage doesn’t lock itself up, generally. Every window is locked and the front door locked itself too. Fortunately, it let me open it when you were back in the building. But whatever you did has sent it into panic mode.”
The house is in panic mode. The actual building is protecting itself. Sure it is. Of course. Why not? Maggie curled into herself and listened.
“Why didn’t it go into panic mode when the last keeper disappeared?” Kody sat on the couch beside Maggie and pulled her feet into her lap. She unlaced her boots, took off her socks, and began to massage her feet.
At first, Maggie just watched like it was happening to someone else. And then the strength and warmth of Kody’s fingers began to register, and her back muscles began to relax. The knot in her stomach unfurled, and slowly, she could breathe again.
“We’ll come back to that. What happened?” Shamus perched on the edge of the couch. Brenda jumped up onto the chair beside him.
“It was the dream seller from the market. No question. When we went to leave, Maggie used the hag stone and saw what he was. Her power came to her, but she was knocked over by someone coming into the room, and we lost him.”
“You found your power already? Congratulations!” Brenda’s smile was like a proud mom’s. “It can take a spinner years to figure out their power.”
“I didn’t exactly figure it out, though, did I? He got away, and now the house is in panic mode.”
Shamus waved Maggie’s words away. “They were going to find out you were here one way or another. He probably went straight to his nearest buyer. Did you get any information we can use?”
Kody handed him the book Maggie had found, along with the jar. “These.”
He took the book and Brenda took the jar. He slid his reading glasses from somewhere in his fur and began flipping through it while Brenda held the jar up to the light. “I’ve never seen anything like these. Have you?” she asked.
Kody and Shamus both shook their heads.
“What if the last keeper didn’t really disappear?” Maggie pulled her feet from Kody’s lap with a grateful smile. “What if she turned into a bad guy or something?”
Kody kicked off her boots and pulled her legs under her. “Unlikely, but I guess it could be possible. We don’t know exactly how long she’d been gone before Timson placed the ad.”
“Which means not only could she still be out there, but she could also have a way to communicate with people on the other side of the door.” Maggie watched Shamus as he read the book, but it turned out it was hard to read a cat’s expression. “I don’t suppose her name is in there?”
He shook his head, and when he looked up, Maggie knew it was bad. It might be hard to read his expression, but worry came through loud and clear.
“Read the list, shepherd.” He handed Kody the book open to a certain page.
She started reading and shifted to sit forward, almost hunched over it. “Warlock shit and monkey fucks, Shamus.” She snapped the book closed. “How could it have gotten this bad?”
Brenda took the book from Kody and started reading. Moments later, she got up and retrieved blank sheets of paper from the printer. She knelt beside the coffee table and started drawing on them as she read whatever was in the book.
“How bad is it?” Maggie asked. If it was going to be worse than looking at that horrible rat man she wanted to know.
“Pretty bad.” Kody sat back and laced her hands behind her neck. “He wrote down the items he sold, and who he sold them to. There are names in there I haven’t seen in years upon years. And the fact that they’re in the book suggests they’re here in New York, rather than where they should be.”
“It’s the third column that bothers me. He sent a percentage of every sale to ‘the boss.’ Someone is still pulling the strings.”
“Could ‘the boss’ be the old cottage keeper?” Maggie asked.
No one answered. Finally, Brenda looked up from what she’d been doing. “The cottage keeper is the only obvious connection. There are villains here from every sector of our world. Every country, every subsector. Dozens have come through.”
Maggie closed her eyes and considered the information. She focused on the idea of the cottage keeper as the primary bad guy, but instinct told her that wasn’t right. They were looking for someone else. When she opened her eyes, Kody was watching her intently.
“Thoughts?”
Maggie shook her head. She was rattled by today’s experience, but her instinct never failed her. “It’s not her. I don’t know how she fits into this, but it isn’t her.”
Shamus was looking at the book over Brenda’s shoulder. “I think we should consider the possibility that the person listed as the boss here could well be the same person who instigated the removal of the spinners and shepherds.”
Before the words had fully left his mouth, Maggie knew they were true. “That’s it. That’s who it is.”
Kody stood up and went to the window. “That means you’re in terrible danger, Maggie.”
Her back was stiff, and Maggie thought she was practically vibrating with tension. “It means you are too.”
Kody turned around. “You’re the only one who can truly fix this, though. We’ve got to keep you safe until we can come up with a plan.”
Shamus jumped down from the couch, and Brenda gathered up the papers she’d been drawing on. Shamus handed Kody the book and jar.
“There’s only one safe place if we’re surrounded by villains here.”
Kody shut her eyes, and Maggie could feel the resignation and pain that ran through her like they were tethered together with wire. It made her want to weep.
“Yeah.” She turned to Maggie. “You should pack a bag. If you have a duffle bag, that would be best. Something easy to carry. But pack it full. We don’t know how long we’ll be gone.”
Maggie stared at her, disbelieving. “Where are we going?”
Kody took a deep breath. “We’re taking you home.” She looked at Shamus and Brenda beside her. “We’re all going home.”
Chapter Nine
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“How can it be safer? Surely there are still villains there too?” Maggie threw in an extra pair of jeans and a sturdy pair of walking boots. As exciting as it was to think of seeing this new world, she wished it wasn’t because she was running from something else. She hated not doing things on her own terms. “And what about the ones here? Shouldn’t we stay and deal with them?”
Kody sat in the window seat and watched her pack. She’d been to her apartment and come back with her own bag in what seemed an impossibly quick amount of time. “I haven’t been back there since you were born, Maggie. I have no idea what the landscape there looks like now. None of us do. But we do know that someone here has taken charge, and that there’s a whole heap of bad guys here, and they should be there. Which means there are less over there than there used to be.” She picked up a book and flicked through it aimlessly. “And it will be easier to find someone to teach you to use your powers over there.”
Since I was born. She glanced at Kody, taking in her strong, sexy profile before turning to stuff another sweater in her bag. How old is she? It seemed rude to ask, at least right now, so s
he didn’t. Maggie looked up from the shirts she was going through, trying to pick out the ones best suited to a place where fairy tale creatures lived. “Someone could teach me?”
Kody put the book down and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I think so. Like I said, it’s been a long time.” She stood up and looked at Maggie’s bag. “Ready?”
“I guess. I mean, how do I know what to bring, really? Do you have electricity over there?”
Kody rolled her eyes. “It’s not the dark ages.” She winced and shrugged. “Well, actually, no. But we do have indoor plumbing.” She picked up Maggie’s bag and headed downstairs.
Maggie followed her down, and Brenda and Shamus were waiting at the back door. Brenda had a bag too, but Shamus was just his usual self. He’s probably got more cat pockets. They were all looking at Maggie expectantly.
“What?”
Kody moved to the side. “You’ve got to open the door and bring us through.”
“Oh. Right.” She read the instructions about opening the door again in the book Shamus held open. “I just say all our names, right? How does it know where to send us? I assumed it opened into Lacona’s land because that’s where he was from.”
Maggie liked the flicker of approval in Kody’s eyes.
“Good catch. Because you’ll be saying our names, and all three of us are from the Celtic sector, it will open onto the boundaries of our area and we’ll make our way from there. If it was just you crossing, I’m pretty sure you’d come in at the core crossroads that would take you wherever you wanted to go.”
“Like a pinwheel,” Brenda said. “The spokes all meeting at one place in the middle.” Brenda, too, had left and returned in a hurry. Her flowered wheelie suitcase looked like it was about to burst open.
Maggie smiled at her. “Thanks, Brenda. I like visuals.” She turned back to the door and began the process of knocking and turning. She bit her lip when she put her hand on the door handle. This wasn’t like taking a trip to another state. Or even another country. This was going back to the place she’d come from, with people looking out for her. It was a world she hadn’t known existed all of four days ago. Now it was a refuge.
Kody’s hand was gentle on her back. “Go for it. We’re right behind you.”
Maggie opened the door and gasped softly. “That’s stunning.”
The world beyond was every shade of green. The grass looked bright and soft, the trees were varying shades of emerald and shaded olive, and the ferns were a yellow green drinking in the sun.
They stepped through onto a cobbled stone road and Maggie turned around. “I take it I just close it from this side?”
Shamus’s arms were still inside the doorway as he held the book in the cottage. “You do. Can you remember the instructions? Because the book can’t leave the cottage. It’s part of it.”
Maggie rehearsed them in her head. “Yeah, I’ve got it. Not exactly rocket science, right?”
Kody’s shoulders were tight, the lines around her eyes deep. “Spells can be a lot harder than rocket science.”
Shamus closed the book and set it beside the back door before coming all the way onto the cobbled road. Maggie shut the door and did the knocking and turning. Done, she tried the handle, which was locked. She turned to Kody. “Where to?”
Kody and Shamus shared a look Maggie didn’t understand. “What is it?”
“Like I said, none of us have been here in a long time. It’s a little hard to know where to start.” Kody looked down the road, thinking.
Shamus moved up beside her and put his paw on her arm. “The shepherd’s hut?”
She looked down at him, her eyes troubled. “Not yet. I can’t.”
They shared a moment, some understanding Maggie wasn’t privy to and which she was deeply uncomfortable seeing. She turned away to look at the scenery, hoping she’d understand what brought on the pain in Kody’s eyes one day.
“What about the Flying Horse?” Brenda said. She was sitting in the grass, taking off her high heels. She put her feet on the ground and laughed. “I’d forgotten what grass under your feet feels like.”
Kody nodded. “That would work. At least for a day or two while we make some inquiries and get up to speed.”
They started walking and Maggie followed along, inundated with scent and color. The air was so clean, the flowers of varying shades and shapes so vibrant. Her fingers twitched with the desire to pick up a paintbrush and capture it on canvas. “So this is the edge of the Celtic sector?”
Shamus pointed to the left, where the horizon grew even lighter, the hues a little more like a child’s bright pastel chalks. “That’s the Nordic sector out there. Lots of ice and white. Lots of witches who like monochrome.” He pointed a claw over his shoulder. “Behind us is the Western sector, which is a mishmash of tales from around the world that are unique to the West.”
Maggie turned to look back over her shoulder. The cottage was still there, which was a relief. The cobbled road they were on was met by a brick road coming from the left, what looked like basic tarmac from another, and dirt on yet another.
“But obviously it depends on where you open the door as to which sector boundaries you come in at.” He dropped to all fours and kept walking.
It should have been strange to see him walking along that way, but somehow he fit right in. So did Brenda. She was about as tall as he was when he was standing upright, and now, walking through the grass, she looked like she was part of the earth. She also looked as happy as a child at a country fair, except for the suitcase she was dragging along behind her. What would Brenda look like through the hag stone? No doubt she’d find out at some point.
“Does no one live on the borders of sectors? I don’t see any houses.” Maggie had been on the lookout for a cottage made of candy, or hut made of twigs. But it was just forest and grass as far as she could see.
“People and creatures who are a part of nature are a big element of Celtic fairy tales.” Kody pointed to a hill in the distance. “That will be someone’s house.” She nodded at the forest ahead. “And there are a lot of inhabitants in the forest. Eventually, you learn where to look. This world is never what it seems.”
It came on as a flush, and then a feeling of weakness. Maggie stopped and sank onto her heels, letting her hands rest in the grass. Dizzy, she closed her eyes and breathed deeply to still the trembling running through her. She hadn’t had a panic attack in years, but there was no question one was taking her down now.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Kody knelt beside her and put her hand on Maggie’s shoulder. “What’s going on?”
Maggie rocked back to sit on the grass. Without opening her eyes, she said, “I’m in a place that doesn’t exist. You’ve just told me about fairy tale creatures that live in the forest. Like it’s no big thing.” She opened her eyes. “I’ve been going along with this like it’s weird and different but fine. But I’m not sure I’m fine with it. Maybe Harry Potter was just dandy dropping into a world of wizards, but I’m not sure I’m okay with being a creature from a fairy tale. From a story.”
Kody rubbed light circles on Maggie’s back. “You’re right. I haven’t done a very good job preparing you for this. Let’s get to the inn and we’ll slow down and talk things out a little, okay?”
Maggie leaned into Kody’s touch, letting it melt away the panic. She focused on color, on creating a place where she felt safe. She pictured it in detail until it surrounded her. Imagery had always been her saving grace, her perfect escape. Her pulse slowed and the feeling of an elephant sitting on her chest eased. “Okay.” She pushed herself to her feet, feeling a little steadier. “I’m good. Let’s go.”
Kody’s look was searching, as though she was trying to see if that was the truth. “Just say if you need to stop for a break, okay?”
Maggie nodded and fell into step beside her. She concentrated on the beauty of their surroundings and let the questions she had fade into the background.
“Have you always had pan
ic attacks? I didn’t know that about you,” Kody said when they came to the edge of the forest and the trail narrowed so they had to walk two by two.
Maggie shrugged, embarrassed at having such a moment of weakness, and faintly glad there was something Kody didn’t know. “I didn’t know what they were at first. They started when I was about ten, and most everyone, including my parents, just thought I was being dramatic. But a teacher at school saw me have one and because she got them too, she knew what was going on. Thanks to her intervention, I got some help and learned how to control them. Once I moved to New York they pretty much stopped.”
Kody didn’t say anything, but Maggie could tell she was listening. It was nice to talk and have someone listen without having to dispense advice or wisdom. Someone who could just listen was a rarity. They walked on in comfortable silence, and Maggie watched the forest for signs of the people Kody said might be living in it. But other than birds and the occasional insect, she didn’t see anything. She pictured the scrawled map Brenda had drawn her the other day and looked over her shoulder.
“Brenda, where are we in relation to that map you drew me?”
Brenda tilted her head. “Well, my people are off to our left, probably about a full day’s walk. Shamus’s people are dead ahead of us, about three days’ walk.” She smiled. “Your region is off to our right, only about half a day away.”
Maggie’s pulse raced and she breathed deeply to slow it down. My region. “Will we pass it, where we’re going?”
Kody shook her head, that clenching jaw thing happening. “Not today. But I could take you there tomorrow, if you wanted to see it?”
She wasn’t sure what the answer was. “Can I think about it?”
Kody glanced at her and nodded. “Of course. Whenever you’re ready.”
The shadows shifted as they continued to walk and the air began to cool. Maggie shivered and Kody pointed.