by Gina LaManna
I moved the dish to the sink. In the background, Poppy was still laying into Gus, and Gus had gotten busy rearranging the vials on the shelves. Surprisingly, he wasn’t arguing back.
“What do you want?”
Tiger purred loudly.
“Are you trying to tell me something?”
As if he understood what I was saying, he flicked his tail at my knees, suggestively leading me forward. He took small steps, waiting until I followed. When he made it onto the beach out front, he turned and looked back, his eyes piercing.
“I’m coming!” I glanced back, but according to the sounds emerging from the storeroom, Poppy and Gus wouldn’t be done arguing anytime soon. I hustled out to follow the cat. “Where are we going, Tiger?”
CHAPTER 29
The trek to The Twist was brief. I wasn’t surprised to find Tiger leading the way back to Hettie’s treehouse. As I climbed the rope ladder, it dawned on me that Gus hadn’t been invited. Otherwise, Tiger surely wouldn’t have left the bungalow without both of us.
Pulling my way up, I swung my legs onto the platform and stood tall. Below, Tiger mewed, and then scampered away into the bright, exotic flowers.
“Hettie?” I called. “Are you around?”
“Up here!” My grandmother called down from the table at the very tippy-top of the tree. I looked up to find two pairs of feet. She had a visitor. “Come up, we’ve been waiting for you.”
I continued my climb, wondering if Ainsley had returned, or even Harpin. I hoped desperately for the former. Surprisingly, it was neither.
“Liam?” I asked. “What are you doing here?”
The handsome man offered a smile. He looked comfortable sitting next to my grandmother at the table, but then again he fit in anywhere. It was one of his many skills, a reason he was so successful in his line of work.
“He’s here because he has information,” Hettie said quickly, leaving out all mention of The Core. “And I trust him to never abuse the knowledge of this meeting place. Right, Liam?”
“I’d never.”
“Good,” she said. “Well, since that’s settled, let’s get started. Liam came to me asking what he should do with a certain piece of information. I thought you should know.”
I dragged my gaze to meet Liam’s. “Did something happen after we last talked?”
He cleared his throat and, for the first time, looked uncomfortable. “I left a few things out.”
“Okay,” I said slowly. “May I ask why?”
His eyes shifted toward Hettie first, and then down to the table where someone had laid out a variety of crackers, cheeses, and meats. “Because of its personal nature.”
My heart twisted at the look on his face. Traces of a distant, old pain that’d been dredged to the surface marred his usually calm, stoic features. “What happened?”
“The Puppeteer.” He swallowed, met my gaze evenly. “A long time ago, I knew her.”
I reached across the table. His fingers grasped the edge of the wood. Resting my hand on one of his, he finally released his grasp, his fingers regaining some color.
“She was a friend?”
“No, not exactly.”
Even Hettie was silent. Her lack of retort was unusual in itself, but the way her lips were pursed in thought, her wrinkles on display and exposing her true age, made me nervous.
Liam tapped his fingertips against the table. “She was my fiancée.”
I blinked, the surprise so thoroughly flooding me I couldn’t hide it. “Oh, I didn’t. . . didn’t know you’d ever been engaged.”
Liam gave a slow nod. “Once.”
I kept my eyes on Liam. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“No.” He reached for the platter, crafting a small sandwich with one cracker, a slice of brie, and a bit of salami. He didn’t eat it, just set it back on the table. “But I suppose you should know about it.”
“Why now?” I shook my head. “We just talked the other night, and you didn’t mention it.”
“Because she contacted me.”
“The Puppeteer? When?”
“Her name was Ilinia.” He sighed. “I suppose her name is still Ilinia, but no one has called her that since she went to prison.”
“Tell me what you can, Liam. I don’t need to know everything. Did she say why she tried to contacted you?”
“I’ll explain everything,” he said, his eyes meeting mine. “I have nothing to hide. It started over ten years ago.”
Hettie reached over and built herself a sandwich in the ensuing silence. Liam waited for her to finish before continuing.
“I was here on a business trip. Long enough ago that I wasn’t as successful as I am now, and my business relationships weren’t set. Believe it or not, I was doing a lot of the dirty work myself.” He gave a pitiful smile. “It was on this trip that I’d set up a meeting with the Witch of the Woods.”
“Liam knew The Forest like nobody else,” Hettie said. “He had those creatures eating from the palm of his hand.”
“I had to learn the hard way, just like anyone else. Years and years and years of blood, sweat, and tears.” He paused, his eyes distant with memories. “I’m getting too old to traipse through The Forest nowadays, though. I’ve been there, done that.”
“I didn’t know—”
“Not many people know my history. Even the ones who knew me back then seem to have forgotten how hard I worked. Days on end without sleeping, journeys through The Forest and beyond, trips that nearly stole my life. It is what it is, however, and on this particular trip I stumbled upon a lagoon. The most beautiful place in the world.”
“Where is it?”
“You’ll never find it, and I’ll never tell.” Liam shook his head, his lips tight. “It’s too dangerous. Too beautiful—deathly beautiful. That’s where I met Ilinia. Once upon a time, she lived there.”
“In the lagoon?” My mouth hung open. “A mermaid?”
“No,” he said with a ghost of a smile. “A human, though the rumors say her grandmother was a mermaid who became human. However, this means that Ilinia has mermaid blood. Which makes sense—she has the most beautiful eyes, the color of the lagoon. She belonged there, blended with the water.”
“What happened then?”
“I stayed for three days. Talking, befriending her. . . falling in love.” The look in Liam’s eyes was torn between equal parts tragic and hopeful. Love had found him, and it’d been taken away. The scar was still fresh, though years had passed. “Eventually I had to leave; it was the hardest thing I’d ever done in my life.”
“But you went back, I assume?”
“We used to communicate with lights. Flash a light into the sky four times—red, white, green, yellow. That’s how we’d set up our times to meet. I made many journeys deep into The Forest to see her. It was on one of these trips that she asked if I would take her away, bring her fully into the island culture so we could be together forever.”
A looming sense of foreboding filled the room. “And you did?”
“I proposed to her on our next visit. I couldn’t imagine living without her.” Liam pressed down on a cracker until it shattered into pieces. “She told me yes.”
“But something went wrong?”
“We weren’t ready to marry right that second; she lived in the lagoon, and at that time, I was at the height of my traveling. My primary home was on the mainland, but that was just an address. I bounced around every continent once a week.”
“Building your business?”
“Forming relationships, working odd jobs, anything I could get my hands on.” Liam folded his arms across his chest. “I knew where I wanted to be in five years, ten years, and I knew that it’d take a lot of work to get there. I was putting my time in while I was young and able, so I could relax when I got older.”
“Are you there now?” I asked, gently brushing the cracker crumbs off the table. They fell between the tree branches, whirling into the air. “Where you want to be, I
mean.”
A shadow passed over his face. “In some senses, yes.”
“You mean in business?” Hettie asked. “Or love?”
“In business, I am happy,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Leave it alone, Hettie,” I warned. “Now’s not the time.”
“It’s fine.” Liam uncrossed his arms stiffly. “This happened years ago, I’m over it.”
That was a lie, but nobody commented on it.
“I asked her to give me a year,” Liam said. “Within that year, I would either make my own business work, or I would get a job with MAGIC, Inc. on the mainland—a stable job—to support a family.”
“I think that’s fair,” I said. “It was a big decision, and—”
“We didn’t make it a week,” he interrupted. “She was arrested three days after I proposed.”
“What?” I gasped. “Why?”
“They say she used blood magic,” Liam said, his words clipped. “As far as I’m concerned, it has still never been proven. She’s been locked in jail ever since.”
My reaction was delayed. “Sorry, I’m trying to work out the details. How could she have been thrown in jail if nothing was ever proven? Are you telling me that The Puppeteer might never have performed blood magic?”
“It was reported that there was one witness,” Hettie interjected. “However, the name of this witness was never revealed for safety reasons. The first Ranger on the scene made the arrest.”
“Was the Ranger the witness? What if he lied?”
“No,” Hettie said. “He showed up too late. The witness was on the ground, unconscious, according to this Ranger. He then suspected Ilinia of using blood magic—the signs and symptoms were all there. He arrested her, searched her home near the lagoon. There, he found mind bending paraphernalia, though her dolls had been hidden away. He found one or two practice ones and enough materials to suggest that she’d been working on a collection of dolls to encompass the entire island.”
“Her arrest stuck. Blood magic is difficult to prove, but a jury of islanders voted that there was enough evidence to keep her locked away,” Liam said. “For the greater population’s protection.”
“And what do you think?”
“I think. . . ” he hesitated. “I loved her. I didn’t think. I’m not sure I could believe it then, and I’m not sure I do now. If there was a witness, why wouldn’t the Ranger expose the witness?”
“For safety?” I suggested. “Who was the Ranger?”
Liam met my gaze. “You are dating him.”
“Ranger X made the arrest?” My heart pounded in my chest. “But… he must have been so young! How long ago was this?”
“It was his first year on the job,” Liam said. “And the arrest stuck, I had no say in the matter.”
“No, this doesn’t make sense. So X knows the name of the witness?” I was reeling in shock, stumbling to get my bearings. “He never mentioned it.”
“I’m sure he didn’t.”
“He was so upset when he heard she’d escaped,” I said, “but he never explained. . . Oh, no. What if she goes after him?”
“She’s not going after anyone!” Liam stood up. “She’s in trouble, that’s why I called you here!”
“In trouble? She escaped from prison!”
“She signaled me late last night,” Liam said. “The same way we used to do it, using lights in the sky. I know it was her. She’s in trouble.”
I looked to Hettie for her opinion.
My grandmother shrugged. “I don’t know the answers, dear.”
“What makes you think she’s in trouble?” I asked. “How do you know it’s not a trick?”
“She’s been misunderstood for all of these years. What if none of this is her fault? What if someone from The Faction is holding her captive, forcing her to use mind bending against the Candidates.”
I bit my lip, my mind fuzzy with the onslaught of information. “It seems a little far-fetched, Liam.”
“They must be threatening her with something.” Liam ran a hand through his hair. “Not her own life, surely—maybe someone else’s.”
“Maybe yours,” Hettie said. “If she loved you as much as you loved her, maybe she’s doing these things to save you.”
“We have to find her. I’m going to help her,” Liam said. “I’m sure she’ll be near the lagoon. Maybe she’s escaped, hence the warning lights. I’m sure she needs help.”
“What do you think?” I asked Hettie. “I don’t know what to say.”
“This is between me and Ilinia,” Liam said. “I’m going to help her, but I thought you should know.”
“Do you want me to come with you?” I asked quietly. “Is that why you brought me here?”
Hettie snorted. “He won’t let me come, good luck with that.”
“Lily is the Mixologist,” Liam said, turning a careful expression toward me. “If Ilinia is in trouble, you might be able to help. I don’t know who else to ask for assistance. I’m the only one who believes her.”
I stood up, stalling as I paced around the room. “I think we should bring Ranger X into this. An escaped prisoner is part of his jurisdiction.”
“Absolutely not,” Liam said. “He arrested her in the first place. He’d never give her a second chance now.”
“You don’t know that,” I said, my voice rising. “He’s the most fair, honest man I know. If he arrested her, he had a good reason for doing it. He’s seen mind bending before, the effects of it on a person. One of his Rangers fell victim to her. And he never recovered.”
“Well, it’s me and you, or it’s nobody,” Liam said. “I know you want to get to the bottom of this as much as I do—I heard about what happened with Zin. The Trials are cancelled. How long can this go on?”
Both of our tempers flared high, and it was Hettie who finally waved her hands around and quieted us. “Stop it, both of you. Don’t lose sight of the end goal. We need to find out who’s behind the attacks on the Candidates. For Raymon, we need to bring the responsible party to justice.”
“There is only one way to find out the truth.” Liam stood, turning to face me. “If you come with me, Lily, you’ll know for sure one way or another.”
“I’ll go with you under one circumstance,” I said. “Hettie stays here, and if she doesn’t hear from us within a few hours, she’s allowed to divulge everything—absolutely everything—to Ranger X. And if he arrests Illinia again, so be it.”
Liam’s eyes flashed, but he gained control of his emotions and extended a hand. “Fair.”
We shook on it, the heated temperature of the tree fort slowly cooling to a more manageable level.
“How far away is it?” I asked. “What do I need to bring?”
“We can make it in one hour if we leave now,” Liam said. “Bring whatever you like, but don’t pack heavy.”
“Best to take some defensive spells,” Hettie said. “And maybe a few snacks. Want some power bars? I make them fresh with granola and cranberries. Really tasty. It goes great with a sip of my delicious homemade lemonade—lavender flavored. You’ll have energy for weeks!”
I reached into my pockets and fingered the tiny vial of single-serve Jinx & Tonic that I’d stashed before disappearing with Tiger.
“I have what I need,” I said. “Let’s go.”
CHAPTER 30
“What do you know about lilies?” I asked Liam as our feet swept through the soft grass of The Twist. “Where they grow, things like that.”
We’d just finished a small meal at Hettie’s treehouse—her idea, not ours—and then prepared for our journey into The Forest.
Liam shot me a surprised look. “Lilies? Well, they are challenging to grow on the island. They’re considered a relatively rare plant to find in the wild.”
“That’s what Gus told me. On the mainland, lilies aren’t particularly rare.”
“The soil here is different, flowers grown on the island have magic infused through their core,” he said.
“You could use lilies from the mainland in potions, but they wouldn’t be as strong.”
“So if I wanted to find calla lilies on the island, where would I go?”
Liam stopped walking, ran a hand over his forehead. “I’m confused. Has Trinket run out of them?”
My back straightened. “Trinket?”
“Gus gets a somewhat regular supply from your aunt. To grow a lily here on the island takes exacting care—it’s a lot of work, but Trinket’s managed to get a successful garden going behind her house. I thought you knew.”
I caught sight of my face in the reflection of a pond outside The Twist. “I didn’t know.”
“I’m sure there’s a reason Gus didn’t tell you.” Liam resumed walking, and I followed. “It’s not a secret.”
I bit my lip. “Does anyone else grow them?”
“They might grow wild in The Forest, but I don’t know anyone who harvests from there. It’s difficult and dangerous to grow lilies without constant attention. In the wild, they are even rarer. If anyone ever asks me, I direct them to Trinket.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize—”
“Are you low on your supply?” Liam frowned. “What makes you ask?”
A new thought dawned on me. “Have you sent anyone to Trinket for calla lilies lately?”
“Why the sudden interest?”
“It’s personal.”
“As is my business,” he said. “I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again; I operate with the utmost discretion.”
“It’s important,” I said. “I think someone’s been threatening me.”
Liam reached out, his hand grasping above my elbow. “Who else knows? Have you told Ranger X?”
I shook my head as his fingers dug into my skin. “No, I haven’t told anyone. I don’t even know if it is a threat.”
“Explain, and I’ll give you any relevant information.”
I hesitated, but when I couldn’t come up with a better option, I nodded. “There have been two instances so far when someone left a lily for me—no note, no explanation, no clues.”
Skepticism radiated from Liam’s face, so I continued.