by Sarah Noffke
“Okay, fine,” he surrendered. “You don’t have to kick the kitten. Maybe just insult it. Make fun of it for being short and inexperienced.”
Liv continued to regard the lynx like he’d gone too far, although she knew he’d never hurt an innocent animal…or at least she hoped. She didn’t know much…well, really anything about the feline beside her. Only that she loved him almost more than anyone else. He was…well, the best way she knew how to put it was that Plato was a part of her.
“What’s your deal with kittens?” Liv asked him.
He shrugged. “I only have a few kryptonites in this world.”
“What about in other worlds?” Liv asked, trying not to get excited that the lynx was sharing with her. She maintained an indifferent stance, causally staring over the edge of the building as Alicia continued to lay the bait.
“Still only a few,” he answered.
“So we know that you’re powerless against lophos,” Liv said, thinking about when they had encountered the ancient snake in the monastery.
Plato watched as Alicia disappeared behind a bend. The door to the shop opened and three gremlins peeked their heads out, each looking in a different direction as they sniffed the air.
“And then you mentioned something about how sharing your secrets would cause you to lose your power,” Liv continued.
“I don’t believe I did mention that,” Plato said as the gremlins piled out of the shop, hitting each other as they raced for the chocolate. Alicia had shared that Shitkphace didn’t feed the gremlins very well, instead forcing them to scavenge for food. That made their strategy planning a bit easier for the first phase.
“Well, maybe I deduced that,” Liv stated. “And then it appears on the short list of your shortcomings are kittens. That makes total sense. An all-powerful being who can go anywhere and transform into many different things is disempowered by sweet little cuddly kittens.”
“They poop in a box and chase their tails,” Plato argued.
“Right, which only further proves my point about how incredibly strange it is to have a kryptonite that is so unsuspecting,” Liv said.
When Plato didn’t appear interested in adding to her observations, she shrugged. “But I guess the snake was pretty powerful. And then there are secrets. That’s everyone’s shortcoming, isn’t it?”
“I’m not certain,” Plato said. “I can’t speak for everyone. However, if we’re going to stay on schedule, I better be going.”
Liv nodded, watching as the gremlins took the bait. “Thanks for helping rid us of those nuisances.”
Plato gave her a casual glance over his shoulder as he disappeared.
“I simply hope you don’t meet a kitten tonight. Or on any night,” Liv said to the cold dawn air. “I hope you never meet your kryptonite, Plato.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
The first step in Alicia and Liv’s complex plan was to draw the gremlins away from the shop. They were, as Liv knew from her first encounter with them, tricky, slippery little jerks. According to Alicia, they were ruthless, taking cheap shots and doing despicable things. Liv laughed to herself, realizing they’d meet their match with Plato.
The next part of the plan involved drawing Shitkphace away from the shop, which would be slightly more difficult. He apparently didn’t leave it that often, usually sending the gremlins out to do his bidding. But if they had sunk to the bottom of the canal, or whatever Plato decided to do with them, they couldn’t run errands for the evil magician.
However, Liv knew they couldn’t simply draw Shitkphace away. They had to weaken him first. She could spar with him for hours, but that would only diminish her magical reserves. No, to reduce an evil, power-hungry magician’s magical energy, they needed to rely on what they knew about him. According to Alicia, he was a workaholic, obsessed with his deadlines, pushing himself to work long hours, and in the past, pushing Alicia to produce the magical tech.
Liv waited until she saw the sparks fly from the back of the building to the shop. The lights in the shop flickered before all the windows went completely dark.
Alicia had done both her jobs. Now it was Liv’s turn. She stepped onto the ledge of the two-story building where she stood. Taking a deep breath, she launched into the air, landing in a crouch in front of the dark shop. Liv flipped up her head, staring straight at the door in front of her.
It was almost showtime.
Alicia De Luca had lived in Venice for a long time. She knew this island better than most, although for even the locals it was a maze at times. For that reason, she wanted to be the one who drew Shitkphace away. It only made sense. However, she was also the only one who could build the electromagnetic signal.
She’d advised Liv Beaufont as best as she could, giving her a strategy for getting around through the canals. Alicia had spent enough time with the magician to know that she could adapt and figure things out on her own, but Shitkphace wasn’t like others. He’d be armed, and he’d be out for vengeance—especially when he realized he’d been tricked. And if he paused things, Liv would be screwed. And it would be all Alicia’s fault.
She waited in the shadows behind her shop. Strangely, she could smell the familiarity of the place at her back. It had been her parents’ shop before she’d inherited it. They had sold potions and herbs to the local magical community. Although supportive of Alicia, they hadn’t understood her obsession with tinkering.
Magical tech wasn’t just strange in the old world, where things were done a different way. It was still considered pretty adventuresome in circles of progressive magicians. That was why when the House of Seven had moved to registering magicians who used technology. It was considered extremely liberal.
When it was time for Alicia’s parents to retire, she took over the shop, phasing out the potions and replacing them with the magical tech she created. Venetians hadn’t known how to respond to the progressive move at first. However, within the first year, her shop was busy all the time, overwhelmed with orders. That kind of attention brought in magicians and magical creatures from all over. Everything was going great until Shitkphace showed up on a windy autumn day. From that moment on, Alicia had regretted altering her parent’s shop and bringing this evil to their home.
“Questo è per voi Mamma e Papà,” Alicia said, looking out at the starry sky from between the buildings.
A moment later, the back door of the shop swung open, which made Alicia tense and zip up her body against the stucco wall behind her. Water sloshed over her galoshes. The tide was rising. They didn’t have long.
“Damn it!” Shitkphace said, his nasal tone grating against Alicia’s core. She hadn’t missed that voice. “What happened to the electricity?”
I happened to it, you big faced jerk, Alicia thought, holding her breath.
“How am I supposed to…” Shitkphace muttered to himself.
There was no way to fix the generator manually, not the way that Alicia had damaged it. She’d have to buy a brand new one after this, but it would be worth it. She was also going to buy herself a new set of tools and a cat, and innovate a better security system.
A popping noise told her that Shitkphace had done the only thing available to him to fix the problem—he’d relied on his magic to fix the generator. That would cost him half his reserves, if not more.
He sighed and cursed loudly as he slammed the back door.
Alicia rolled her eyes, hoping he hadn’t broken anything in her shop by slamming things around.
I’ll also have the whole place deep-cleaned once he’s out.
She eyed her watch, counting the seconds until the next phase. Soon she’d be back in her shop, where she belonged. Nothing had ever sounded so good.
Gremlins were pretty much the most annoying creatures on the Earth. For no one else on this planet would Plato face such horrid beasts, but no one was like Olivia Beaufont. She was every bit as incredible as her parents had told him on that day so many years ago. What astonished Plato was that he hadn’t be
lieved Guinevere and Theodore Beaufont when they’d told him about their daughter. He’d thought they were biased, overprotective parents. Instead of believing what they told him about Olivia, Plato’d had to learn it on his own, but it was almost better that way.
The gremlins squeaked and cackled as they ran through the streets of Venice. Plato lifted his head from the dead-end of the dark alley, his tiger eyes glowing yellow. Seeing perfectly in the dark, he watched as the three gremlins froze at the sight of the giant cat. They screamed, running backward and dropping many of the chocolates they’d collected.
Plato lowered his head, shaking it. This was almost too easy.
He vanished, appearing in the place he knew the gremlins would turn down next. They were incredibly easy to predict. All he had to do was think of the short-term solution. That was what gremlins did.
The gremlins’ eyes widened at the sight of the black panther. One looked to have wet himself, but that could just be from the water they were splashing through. Soon the streets of Venice would be flooded. Plato would have run these pests to the far side of the island by then, where they’d take a boat to get as far from him as they could, never returning again.
He disappeared, waiting for the gremlins to turn the corner. It would take them a bit longer this time because they were on edge, sneaking around the corners instead of running around wildly. It didn’t take much to diminish their morale.
The gremlins were the opposite of Liv. Nothing ever broke the girl. Plato had met her five years ago as Olivia Beaufont and had soon learned exactly why her parents had wanted him to watch out for her if anything should ever happen to them. She was everything they had said: passionate, intelligent, and absolutely meant for greatness.
Whether Guinevere and Theodore Beaufont subscribed to the prophecies that could involve their children, Plato would never know. All he knew for sure was that a decade prior, those two magicians had asked one favor of him in repayment for something they had done to help him. He had spent several years babysitting magicians and other magical creatures out of obligation, and that was what he’d thought he was getting into again when he’d agreed to watch over Olivia if something should ever happen to them.
Plato was a lot of things, but he was always true to his word. That was why when Guinevere and Theodore Beaufont died, he dutifully showed up beside Liv. However, the agreement was only that he protect her until she came to full power, and that time had long since passed, once she became a Warrior for the House of Seven.
Plato had originally agreed to watch over Olivia Beaufont out of obligation. However, he planned to stay by Liv’s side for as long as she let him because she was the most incredible person he’d met in his long life.
He only hoped she never found out all his secrets. Some she might not forgive him for. Such was the way of a lynx.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The water in the streets was almost to Liv’s ankles. She sloshed through it, noticing how the water slowed her down.
This is going to make for an interesting chase, she thought as she neared the door. The lights had just flickered back to life in the tech shop. She ran through what Alicia had told her about Shitkphace in her head. He was a conniving liar who also happened to be highly superstitious. Even more important than that was the fact that he was highly regimented.
When he had taken over her shop, he’d reorganized it, putting things where he thought they should go. Liv was counting on this for the next phase. This plan was all about being smarter and more strategic than Shitkphace, which for two ladies like Alicia and Liv that shouldn’t have been hard.
Raising her hand, Liv took a deep breath before rapping on the door.
“Go away!” Shitkphace yelled.
Liv knocked again.
“I said, go away!”
Another knock, this one louder.
“Klutz, go get that!” Shitkphace ordered.
Knock, knock.
“Klutz? Ponny? Ding?” Shitkphace yelled. “Where are you worthless thwarts?”
Knock, knock.
“Damn it!” Shitkphace yelled, whipping the door back. The lower half stayed in place, keeping the water flooding the streets from entering the shop.
Liv peeked out from under her hood as if it was pouring rain. “Hey, there. Sorry to bother you, but I just lost power in my flat.” She pointed roughly over her shoulder.
“I don’t care!” Shitkphace had a long gray goatee and a head full of dreadlocks that fell past his shoulders.
“I think gremlins took out the power,” Liv said. “I didn’t realize we had an infestation here. I just wanted to see—”
“I’m busy!” Shitkphace sputtered, spitting on Liv.
“Oh, sorry,” she said, glancing over her shoulder, looking for the object Alicia had told her about. “Still, I don’t think that will keep you from getting your place searched.”
“Searched?” Shitkphace said, his tone suddenly edgy.
“Oh, yes,” Liv stated. “I reported the gremlins to the House of Seven, since I’m sure they aren’t registered, and you know how that organization gets about such things. They are sending over a Warrior right now.”
“A Warrior?” Shitkphace peeked out his head, looking both ways up and down the narrow alley.
“Yes. I heard they were sending over Decar Sinclair,” Liv stated, catching a glimpse of the object she was looking for—a wind-up pink flamingo. When it was wound up, it shuffled forward on its feet, and what was important about the seemingly simple toy was that it was Shitkphace’s most treasured item. That’s why it was sitting on a top shelf at the back of the front room, exactly where Alicia had said.
“Not Decar Sinclair,” Shitkphace said in a hushed voice.
She nodded, trying to quell her frustration over this man being scared of the other Warrior. “Yes, and I hear he will be using deadly force.”
Just as Alicia had foretold, Shitkphace slipped his hand into the pocket of his robe.
So he was armed.
“Good to know,” Shitkphace said, again glancing up and down the alley.
While he was distracted, Liv flicked her finger at the small pink toy. It disappeared and reappeared in her hand, her fingers closing around it.
“Well, good luck with Decar,” Liv said, backing away, the water’s current nearly making her trip.
“Yeah, I hope you’re wrong, and they send a different Warrior,” Shitkphace said, his shoulders growing tense as he studied the area.
When she was a safe distance away, Liv opened her fingers, allowing him a glimpse of the object she’d just stolen. The pink winked out from her hand, catching Shitkphace’s gaze at once.
He spun around to look at the shelf and then back around. “Give that back!”
Liv shook her head. “If you want your little trinket back, you’ll have to catch me!” She took off running, knowing she didn’t have long before Shitkphace was after her.
Using a spying device she had constructed when they returned to Venice, Alicia had overheard Liv’s conversation with Shitkphace and knew the chase was on.
She slid out of the dark and over to the back door to the shop. Shaking her head, she laughed to herself. Shitkphace was scared of Decar Sinclair, but he didn’t know a thing about Liv Beaufont. He was about to learn that he should fear her.
Alicia slid the unlocker into the side of the backdoor. Shitkphace had wards on the shop, but they’d come down the moment he’d used his power reserves to turn the electricity back on. Most still wouldn’t be able to break into the shop because of the security that Alicia had installed on the building. However, if anyone knew how to get around those systems, it was the person who had invented them.
The magic-tech buzzed in Alicia’s hand as the lock released. She pushed open the backdoor of the shop, a wave of nostalgia washing over her. She was concerned about Liv, and whether she’d made it to the first barrier yet or in time. She didn’t hear anything over the spyware. However, she knew she couldn’t worry
about Liv, and probably didn’t need to. The Warrior would be fine—or she wouldn’t, and she’d find a different way. All Alicia could do was what she had come to the shop for.
Without being in her shop, she’d been able to build the unlocker, the spyware, and the barrier. However, what she needed to create the electromagnetic signal could only be found in this shop.
Alicia let out a deep breath, nearly choking up as she laid her eyes on the workstation where she’d done her best work. There had been a time when she’d thought she’d never return here, at least not in human form. Although she hadn’t given up, it had been difficult to hold onto hope after everything Shitkphace had put her through. But she was here now, and that much closer to shutting down the evil magician for good.
From the dark corners of the shop, small mechanical noises sounded.
Alicia tensed.
They couldn’t still be here. She was sure they were gone.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Splashing through the streets, Liv rounded the first corner, pulling the thick metal screen into place. It was attached to the brick wall of a building and drew across the alleyway like an accordion door.
She flexed her hand in front of her face.
It had to have worked. She remembered the last instance when the time remotes were used on her and she was rewound. Alicia said that sometimes when people were paused or fast-forwarded they remembered it, especially if they weren’t mortals. However, sometimes they didn’t remember anything, and then they experienced a little glitch in their movements, like a screen flickering. Liv didn’t have any of that happening to her. She hadn’t been paused or rewound.
Shitkphace would have tried to use the remote to stop her. When that didn’t work, he’d almost certainly have come after her, but the flood barrier would slow him down. He’d have to hop over that and then charge after her.