by Gina LaManna
Jonathon nodded. “It went according to plan, after all. Then once I broke free, I waited here and watched as they took off carrying everything they could hold.”
“Where did they go?”
“I imagine they haven’t told anyone,” Jonathon said. “I certainly don’t know.”
I shook my head. “They’re gone. The question is for how long?”
“I have something more for you.” Jonathon reached into his pocket and handed me a crumpled sheet of paper. “It’s from Peter.”
I scanned it quickly, and gave a soft laugh. “Another article.”
Jonathon stood. “He also asked me to let you know he’s still expecting an exclusive when this is all over.”
“Exclusive?” X asked.
“An interview.” I shook my head. “For the paper.”
“Did the others make it?” Jonathon stretched, looking into the blue shades of sky. “Is it too much to ask for a ride out of here?”
“I’ll ride with X,” I said to Jonathon. “You can take my broomstick. We should be getting back.”
“Poppy?” he asked. “Is she…?”
I couldn’t meet his eyes. “She’s still the same.”
“I’m sorry, Lily.”
“It’s not your fault,” I said. “Let’s get out of here.”
Chapter 36
THE JOURNEY BACK TO MAGIC, Inc. was a fast one.
Jonathon, X, and I returned the broomsticks, then waited around as the medical team performed a quick full body scan. They finally declared all of us clean to head back to The Isle and arranged for transportation. The others had already gone before us.
By the time the bungalow loomed into view, we were all weary and exhausted.
“Do you need a place to stay tonight?” I asked Jonathon, “You could always stay here, and I could go with X.”
“No, thank you,” Jonathon said. “I’m going to head home. Not that my mother will notice, but my friends might. Thanks again for everything.”
“Thank you.” I gave him a hug, and then stepped back as Ranger X shook his hand. “If you think about it,” I added. “Swing by next week for Poppy’s birthday party. I’m sure she’d like to see you.”
The caveat remained unspoken. If she remembered him.
I climbed the front stairs, leaning heavily on X as we did so. “Do you feel like staying here tonight?” I asked, then came to an abrupt stop as I entered the storeroom. “What are you guys doing here?”
Gus, Hettie, and Poppy sat before a roaring fire, the former two cupping mugs of tea in their hands, the latter humming a nonsensical tune as she examined every jar and vial in the place as if she’d just seen it for the first time.
“They couldn’t find anything wrong with her,” Hettie explained, nodding toward her granddaughter. “They scanned her for everything from human medical issues to magical malfunctions.” She shook her head. “The only thing the MAGIC, Inc. doctors suggested is that the blood magic scrambled with her brain.”
“She’s a vampire,” Gus said. “That magic ain’t made for vamps.”
“This magic was stronger than I’ve ever seen.” I moved across the room and rested a hand on Poppy’s shoulder. “How are you? Do you remember me?”
Poppy squinted for a moment, then gave a gleeful smile. “Hello, I’m Poppy. Have we met?”
“She’s needs an anchor.” I straightened, shaking Poppy’s extended hand while speaking to Gus and Hettie. “Something from her past, something so strong that when she sees it, or remembers it, she’ll have no choice but to slip back into reality. She’s not lost, I know it. She’s…”
“Scrambled,” Gus said. “Scrambled like eggs in there.”
Hettie elbowed him. “Be sensitive.”
“I’m just saying,” Gus said. “Lily, isn’t there a way you can…unscramble her?”
Another elbow from Hettie and a grunt from Gus.
“I don’t know.” I shook my head, my lips in a thin line. “When we pulled Zin out of the mind bending trance, it was an accident. It wasn’t something I tried to do.”
“Well, we have to figure something out,” Gus said, crossing his arms. “Her mother can’t see her like this.”
“We need an anchor,” I repeated, thumbing through my supplies. “Or maybe there’s a better way. Maybe I can create some sort of Mix, something familiar that will trigger her memories to return.”
“You can’t reverse an antidote,” Gus said. “That’d just be the original spell.”
“I know that,” I snapped. “But I can take piece of it, and…here we go, Poppy. Poppy? Can you do me a favor?”
Poppy balanced precariously on a stepstool, climbing to reach for a glass jar of frog legs near the top shelf. “A favor?”
“Come on down from there,” I coaxed. “I need you to try something for me.”
She climbed down, giving one last, longing glance at the frog legs. “Try what?”
I brought a few jars to the middle of the storeroom and began combing Dust of the Devil into small piles. I had nearly completed Poppy’s latest batch of Vamp Vites before my unexpected visit to Wishery.
“Take a sip of this,” I said, extending her a glass of water. “And then have a seat. We’re going to put something together to make you feel better.”
“But I feel fine.”
“Who am I?” I asked her pointedly.
She frowned, but didn’t answer.
“Exactly,” I muttered to myself. I struggled to keep the nerves at bay, to push away the fear that Poppy’s damage had become permanent. “Not even a flicker of remembrance.”
“How are we going to keep her away from Mimsey?” Gus asked, looking perplexed. “She’ll ask about Poppy the second I see her, and I can’t lie.”
“We’re all staying here until we get to the bottom of this,” Hettie said. “Let’s get working. No sneaking out on us, Gus.”
“I don’t sneak over to Mimsey’s,” Gus retorted. “We’re both adults. Hell, we’re old folks.”
“If you’re old, what does that make me?” Hettie snapped, then gripped Gus’s ear and gave it a good shake. “Watch your mouth. Don’t forget, you date my daughter, and I don’t care if she’s ninety-two years old, she’s my baby.”
“She’s not…” Gus hesitated. “Ninety-two?”
Hettie just crossed her arms and gave Gus the death stare when, as if on cue, Ranger X stiffened just a second before the door burst open. There, framed with the darkness behind her, stood Mimsey, panting with exertion.
“You’re back?!” Mimsey puffed, her eyes streaked black with mascara and rimmed in red. “Why did nobody tell me—” She stopped dead at the sight of her daughter, her eyes widening. “Poppy!”
Poppy had her back to her mother, sorting through a few more jars on the shelves. She’d returned to humming, pausing only to ask, “Who are you?” as she turned.
“Poppy…” Mimsey’s voice froze in her throat as her daughter stopped moving and faced her. “Poppy, I’m so sorry about everything. I’ve been trying to explain, but you went away, and I couldn’t find you. I promise that I can explain everything.”
Mimsey halted her speech, the rest of the group bowing their heads. I took a step back, desperate to leave the room and give the mother and daughter their privacy.
However, Poppy’s new phrase of Hello, I’m Poppy, never came.
After a painstakingly long wait, I glanced up and watched in awe as Poppy took a step closer to her mother.
“What’s wrong with her?” Mimsey asked to the general audience. “Why is she acting strange? Is it me? Do you still hate me, Poppy? I promise, I love you more than anything.”
“I love you,” Poppy parroted, a weak sounding voice as she took another step closer. “Mom?”
“Of course it’s me, honey,” Mimsey murmured. “I’ve never gone anywhere. I’ve always been your mother, I promise you.”
“Mom, I don’t know…” Poppy stilled, then turned in a slow circle. “Lily? And X? W
hy am I here? What happened?”
Hettie shrieked in excitement. “Do me! Do me next! What’s my name, Poppy?”
“Stop it, Hettie,” Poppy said, wincing as she covered her ears with her palms. “You’re bursting my eardrums. Will someone please explain why you all are staring at me like I’m one of Lily’s weird Mixes?”
“What did they do to you?” Mimsey asked, still struggling to comprehend. “Why can’t you remember how you got here?”
“Mimsey, until you walked in, she couldn’t remember a thing,” I said, stepping forward. “She couldn’t seem to remember my name, even after I’d told her several times. All from a blood magic spell gone bad.”
“But—” Mimsey spluttered. “That’s impossible. She knows who I am.”
“What the hell was in that cup of water you gave her?” Gus asked me in a whisper. “I want some of that potion if my mind ever starts to go.”
“It wasn’t a potion,” I argued. “It was water.”
“Water is a potion?” Mimsey asked. “What are you all talking about?”
“The Faction had attempted to use blood magic on Poppy, and…”
“They can’t do that,” Mimsey interrupted me with a sharp inhalation. “She’s a vampire. It either won’t work, or it will…”
“Scramble her,” I said, for lack of better words. “It completely wiped her memory.”
“But…” Mimsey squinted. “Is it back?”
“She needed some sort of anchor to her previous life, something so strong it couldn’t possibly let her forget,” I explained. “It’s you, Mimsey. You are her anchor—her mother. You brought her back.”
Poppy had been listening, too, her mouth hanging open in surprise. “How long have I been wandering around clueless?”
“Too long,” Mimsey said, her gaze fixed on me. “Is she fine, otherwise?”
“Fit as a fiddle,” Hettie said. “They did a full scan on her at MAGIC, Inc. They just couldn’t figure out why she struggled with memory loss. They worried it might be irreversible.”
“Do you remember…?” Mimsey asked, her voice hushed. “The conversation we had just before you left?”
Poppy frowned, thinking hard, and then stilled. The moment it clicked, there was a visible slump to her shoulders. “Yes, mom, I’m so sorry…I’d meant—”
“I’m sorry, honey,” Mimsey said. “I’m sorry that I kept it from you for so long.”
“I’m sorry I ran off,” Poppy said. “I’d only meant to grab a breath of fresh air, maybe talk to Zin and Lily about it…I’d never meant to disappear.”
“I thought you wanted nothing to do with me.” Mimsey’s lips quivered, her entire body shaking with terror and relief. “My darling, I love you more than anything in this world, and I just want you to know that whether you’re my blood or not…I’m yours. I’m here for you, if you want me as a mother.”
Poppy collapsed against Mimsey, her arms reaching around and latching on from behind. “Of course you’re my mother! I’ve never doubted that, mom, I was just processing. It’s a surprise, you know?”
“Of course,” Mimsey said, half giggling with hysteria, half crying. “B-but I thought maybe I wouldn’t be good enough for you anymore.”
“You’re the only mother I’ve ever had, ever needed, and will ever need,” Poppy said. “If anything, we’re lucky. People don’t get to choose their families, but we…I guess we sort of did.”
“No,” Mimsey said, wrapping her daughter into her arms. “There was never a choice. You were always mine.”
Chapter 37
“SO, WHAT YOU’RE SAYING is…” Poppy began, leaning toward the group with a smile on her face. “We should celebrate my birthday more often?”
“How do you figure that?” Zin asked. “You practically passed out from thinking we hadn’t planned anything.”
“But you had planned something,” Poppy corrected. “And if Lily hadn’t created the Long Isle Iced Tea, you wouldn’t have gotten into the uniforms and out of the castle. Speaking of parties, is mine still on?”
The whole lot of us who’d returned from Wishery, along with Zin, sat around a crackling fire in the bungalow. We’d spent the last few hours talking, eating our fill, and generally enjoying the feel of home.
“Of course your party is still on,” I said. “Sorry it’s no longer a surprise, though.”
Poppy waved a hand. “I’ve had enough surprises.”
“Well,” Hettie said. “I’m ready for a hot shower and my bed. These muscles aren’t what they used to be. What do you say we break for now and regroup later?”
“Poppy,” I said, as everyone stood. “Can I talk to you for a second?”
“Sure, Lil.” She followed me off to the side of the room, concern inching her eyebrows together. “What is it?”
“Did they…” I paused to clear my throat. “Did anyone ever tell you why they took you?”
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” she said. “I’m back, and—”
“It might matter. He’s still out there.”
Poppy’s bright eyes faded some, and her shoulder sagged. “It was to keep you there,” she said. “He told me himself. Said it was a way to keep you around without having to lock you in a room.”
“Poppy, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s my fault,” she said. “If it were Zin or Ranger X, they’d probably have been able to get themselves out of the mess, but me…”
I wrapped my hand around her wrist and pulled Poppy close. “No, of course not. It’s because we’re family,” I told her. “It has nothing to do with anything else. In fact, speaking of family…”
“Yes?”
“There’s something I need to tell you. There’s a reason he came after you to get to me.”
“Right, because you’re the Mixologist.”
“No, it’s more than that,” I said, twisting my fingers in front of my body. “I’m…he’s my father.”
Poppy’s eyes widened, and then her face crumpled into an expression of pure sympathy. In true Poppy form, she didn’t ask questions or press for more. She simply opened her arms, pulled me to her, and held me for a long moment.
Eventually, we parted and Poppy rejoined her mother’s side as she took off with Mimsey and Hettie. The sun had begun to rise in the distance, glinting off the shimmering surface of the water. The only people to linger behind were Ranger X and Zin.
“So, how do you feel about me sticking around for a bit?” Zin asked. “Not to move in permanently, but maybe for a couple of days? It’s just—”
I raised a hand to stop her. “Pick your favorite room.”
As Zin climbed the stairs, I sank against Ranger X and watched the glow across the lake.
“When did you know I was gone?” I asked him, quiet. “I wanted to give you a warning, but Lucian didn’t give me time.”
“I suppose I knew right away. There was this uneasiness in the air,” X said, his voice a soothing rumble in the early morning sunlight. “Gus and I arrived at the bungalow at the same time. He’d come back from dealing with the shipment of supplies, and I’d felt…I’d felt a need to check on you. When we both realized we hadn’t heard from you, we knew something was wrong.”
I squeezed his arm to me. “This isn’t over, I suppose. Wishery. The Faction.”
“It’s never over,” X agreed. “But we’ll find Peter and the rest of the prisoners; the Rangers are already on it. I briefed them while you were in testing at MAGIC, Inc.”
“I just wish—”
“Be careful what you wish for,” X said, turning to face me. “Wishes are powerful.”
I remembered the wish I’d made just a few days ago. Then, I looked into the skies and said a tiny thank-you to Lizzie and her team at Wishery.
Having my family around me tonight—everyone tucked safely back home—came very close to perfect.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR Poppy…” we all chorused. “Happy birthday to you.”
She smiled, blinking back tears,
and then raised a glass of Long Isle Iced Tea. “Thank you to everyone who put this party together. It’s the best surprise yet. Now, drink up and show me your costumes!”
I’d offered to host the party at Magic & Mixology, the bar area just outside the bungalow, so the festivities could sprawl across the beach.
Torches burned along the edges of the grounds, giving the air a flickering, almost tribal sort of feel. Underneath the sky dotted with stars, we all began to sip the cocktail that’d transform us into the costume we most desired. Poppy went first, and with a soft pop turned into a princess. Her outfit came complete with a pretty pink dress, a tiara, and white gloves up to her elbows. She twittered with happiness.
Ranger X approached me, and I turned to him, startled. “I thought you said you’d be late!” I opened my arms, but he didn’t lean in for a hug. “Is something wrong? Is it work?”
“Something is seriously wrong,” Ranger X said, but it wasn’t Ranger X’s voice. “Lily, it’s me. Something went wrong when I drank the potion, and I turned into…this! Save me!”
I squinted. The voice was familiar and, now that I looked, the shape of X was all wrong. Far too feminine. Under the darkness of night, however, I couldn’t trust my judgement. “Who is it?”
“It’s me! Zin!” She pulled me to the side. “You need to reverse this before the real Ranger X arrives. How embarrassing.”
I covered my mouth with my hand. “You’re saying you drank the potion, and it turned you into Ranger X? That’s your costume?”
“I kept thinking in my head I just wanted to be a Ranger. And, well…” She shrugged helplessly. “This happened.”
“I guess he’s made an impression on you.”
“Real funny, Lily. Now, fix me before it’s too…” She trailed off as a shadow appeared behind her. “It’s too late, isn’t it?”
A throat cleared behind Zin.
“Oh, um, hello,” I said, as the real Ranger X appeared under the flickering torch light. “How are you?”
X didn’t respond, staring down at his Mini Me. “Who is that?”
“Nobody,” I said, spinning the real Ranger X around and sending him off with a little shove. “Go wish Poppy a happy birthday.”