by R. L. Naquin
“Thanks for your help, all of you.” He tugged Buzz’s arm. “Let’s go.”
Buzz stumbled, then went along. He stopped short of the door and turned back to face us. “You’ll regret this, Tahm. You never should have crossed us.”
Tyrell gave him a rough yank, and they went through the door with the big minotaur closing the door behind him, leaving me alone in the living room with Tahm.
I frowned. “Where is everyone?”
He spread his hands. “Most of them aren’t here. Miss Angelica’s out running errands.”
“But where’s Ash?”
Footsteps stomped on the stairs and Ash appeared with a towel, dabbing at her wet hair. She stopped when she saw us staring up at her. “What’s going on? Did I miss something?”
Tahm and I looked at each other and laughed.
“Yeah, honey,” he said. “You missed a lot.”
* * *
Dinner that night was quiet. The little folks at the small table rarely said much anyway, though Matt occasionally tried to make small talk. With the leprechauns and elf sisters gone, that left Kelli sucking down soil through her fingertips, and Douglas, who shoveled stew and bread into his mouth as quickly as he could before excusing himself and going to bed.
“Don’t worry about him. He’ll be okay.” Kelli smiled and dug her fingers deeper. “He really liked those girls. His heart hurts that they betrayed him.”
Matt nodded and waved his small piece of bread in our direction. “He sort of thought of himself as a father figure to them.”
“I wonder if there’s anything we can do to cheer him up.” I stabbed at a carrot floating in my bowl.
Tip, who I was sure I’d never heard speak, fluttered her little pixie wings and spoke in a voice that sounded like bells ringing from a distant church. “Take him with you.”
“What?” I blinked at her. “He won’t fit in the truck. The three of us are already crammed in there. Is he even interested in chasing souls?”
She giggled, and it sounded like a rainbow, if rainbows made sounds. “The convention. Take him to help. It’ll take his mind off it.”
“Oh.” I glanced at Tahm, then Ash. “What do you think?” I was wary of bringing in anyone else who might get hurt.
Ash shrugged. “We could use all the help we can get.”
Tahm nodded. “Yeah. She’s right. Doug can handle himself.”
Kelli pulled her fingers from her bowl and flicked a worm back into it. She wiped her hands clean with a napkin and a wet wipe. “I’m coming, too.”
“And me.” Matt held up his glass as if he were making a toast, then took a swig.
Tip and Mindy clinked their glasses with him, which I assumed meant they were coming, too.
“You guys. I’m not sure how comfortable I am putting all of you in danger.”
Kelli set her napkin next to her bowl and stared at me like I was an idiot. “Why do you think we’re here? My room is full of elf ears and wreaths.” She pointed at the smaller table. “Tip and Mindy make silver jewelry. And Matt sells collectables. All four of us are vendors and come here every year for the con.”
Her smile was kind, but I felt terrible. I’d never asked why they were there. “What about Doug, then? If he’s not a vendor, why is he here?”
Matt titled his head. “He’s a permanent resident. That’s why he likes to play bartender.”
Heavy feet stomped on the stairs. “You know, I can hear you up the stairwell.”
I turned in my chair to see Doug standing there, holding his toothbrush and a towel. “I’ll save you the trouble of asking. I’m going, too. We’ve had enough of people dying and getting arrested.” He stomped back up the stairs muttering to himself the whole way. “People breaking laws. Killing and stealing. I’ll not have it.”
“Okay, then.” I went back to eating my dinner.
Miss Angelica burst from the kitchen, pushing a trolley with a huge chocolate cake. “I’m going too, you know. You can’t leave without me. This is my first time, and I’m going to sell a million copies of Unopoly Flash Bang, and the manual for Desktops & Dystopia should fly off the table.”
Tahm poured himself a cup of coffee from the cart. “I know one more person who’ll want to join us.”
I wiped my mouth with my napkin. “Who?”
“Brody. He’s got a score to settle.”
I smiled, thinking of my friend Darius. “Oh, Sister is in trouble.”
We were getting a mothman on the team.
Chapter Eighteen
The day of the convention began, as I suspected it might, with an argument.
“Don’t be such a big baby about it, Tahm. I told you we were all going in costume. I gave you time to think about it and choose what you wanted. You could have even made one with your hands if you were going to be so damn stubborn about not using magic. But now it’s time to get dressed.”
I tried not to be too pissed off. We were all nervous about what we’d be doing that day, and I’d known he wasn’t going to have a costume ready. I was pissed anyway.
Tahm gave me a stony look. “I was a little busy trying to catch a couple of thieves.”
I narrowed my eyes. “And that’s why you should have told us what you were doing. So we can share the workload.” I shoved a bundle of blue cloth into his arms. “Don’t forget the shoes.” I topped the pile with sparkling gold slip-ons with curled toes. If he wasn’t going to play along, I’d make him dress as the Genie from Aladdin.
He took a step back as a look of horror spread over his face. “I’m not wearing this.”
“You could have worn anything you wanted. Now you’re part of the team. Get dressed.” I spun on my bare heel, went into my room and slammed the door.
Ash stood in the middle of the room in her poofy yellow, red and blue dress. Her blue eyes shone with laughter. Her magically black hair was so different from her normal dark blond, I took a step back.
I frowned and straightened her red bow. The dark hair made her looked familiar somehow. She reminded me of someone who wasn’t her. Not the character she was dressed as. Someone else. From a movie, maybe?
“Your lipstick is smudged, Princess. You can’t be fairest of them all with messy lips.”
I slipped into Jackie’s frothy blue dress, and Ash zipped me up. The layers of crinoline under the skirt might turn out to be a problem if I had to chase a snake-haired woman across a crowded convention center, but it was so magical, I didn’t dare change it. The black choker and the elbow-length gloves completed the look, except for two things. I’d need a little magic to finish it right.
I closed my eyes and felt my hair swirl around my head, gather and pile on top of my head with a blue velvet headband. When I opened my eyes, I checked the mirror and smiled. I was blond. Lifting my skirt, I confirmed the most important accessory—glass slippers. Well, plastic. But they looked authentic and they wouldn’t pinch.
We gave each other a last once-over to be sure we were perfect, and we flounced out into the hall.
I stopped so abruptly, Ash bumped into me. Tahm stood waiting for us at the top of the stairs.
My mouth fell open. “That’s not the costume I gave you.”
He bowed low, then straightened and held out his elbow. “I said I didn’t want to wear a costume. I didn’t say I didn’t have one.”
He was dressed as Prince Charming. It wasn’t a perfect costume. There was a polyester look to the red pants, and the white-and-gold jacket was a little tight across the shoulders. This was not a costume custom-made by a master seamstress, like mine, nor was it a costume magically transformed from something else, like Ash’s.
Despite its flaws, it was the most perfect costume I’d ever seen. In it, Tahm looked every bit the handsome prince he portrayed. I thought he looked gorgeous in his regular jeans and button-up shirts, but in
this, he was something more. Something elegant and regal. Something...charming. And this beautiful man had done it to make me happy.
“Where did you get it?” I was so stunned, I had trouble finding the words to ask the right questions.
He reached out and tucked my gloved hand in the crook of his arm. “I went out three days ago and bought it from a costume shop.”
I picked up my skirt so I wouldn’t trip going down the stairs. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”
He sighed. “Because if I told you I bought it, you’d be mad that I didn’t use magic.”
“Oh.” That was probably true. I kept looking up at him, astonished by his thoughtfulness and more than a little twitterpated. “I’m so sorry I yelled at you. Again.”
He led me into the living room. “It’s okay. I’m getting used to it.”
Snow White, with her slightly shorter skirt, skipped down the stairs behind us with her cloak in her arms. “Maybe my prince will be there, too.”
“Maybe.” I smiled, then realized I was still holding Tahm’s arm and slipped my hand away.
“How about a dwarf, Princess?” Doug came out of the dining room wearing armor and a sword, which I suspected he’d probably already had. Not exactly one of the Seven Dwarfs from Disney, but certainly a fantasy dwarf—The Lord of the Rings, perhaps. He held his arm out to Ash and she took it.
“This is going to be awesome,” she said. “I feel like we’re going to the prom.”
The giddy sensation in the pit of my stomach turned sour. I’d never been to a prom before. But I’d seen the movie Carrie. I hoped things turned out better for us than blazing fire and pig’s blood.
Otherwise everything would have been for nothing.
* * *
For a convention that was supposed to be small and local, the line to get in was surprisingly long. We were there early, though, and the volunteers had instructions to let me and anyone I was with come in before the doors were officially unlocked.
The OGREs had already arrived wearing their human disguises and were stationed around the convention center working to blend in. Until the sun went down, Brody looked as human as I did and, like Tahm, did not find dressing up in a costume to be appealing. The rest of the people from the boarding house had already arrived hours earlier to set up their booths.
Like Doug, Miss Angelica and Kelli had left off their human disguises and come dressed as themselves—a bridge troll and a tree sprite. It was one of the few places they could walk among humans in their own forms, and they weren’t going to miss it. The big surprise for me was a trio of humans, two girls and a guy, all wearing superhero tee shirts and huge grins. They walked right up to me and spoke as if they knew me.
“Hey, Kam! Wow! Those costumes are amazing.” The shorter of the two girls ran her fingers through her curly blond hair and stared at our dresses with admiration. “Make sure you stop at our booth and let us get a picture.”
The other girl, a darker blonde, nodded enthusiastically. “Definitely want a picture.” She tilted her head at Tahm and clucked her tongue. “Is that store-bought?”
He coughed into his fist and didn’t answer.
The guy who was with them stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans and snickered. “You look great, Tahm. Don’t listen to her.”
I blinked at them, confused. “I’m sorry, I—” My eyes flew open in surprise. “Matt?”
He nodded. “This is what we look like outside. Sorry.” He held his hands out from his sides.
Mindy and Tip laughed and spun around. They almost looked like twins. Tip, I think, had the darker hair, though I wasn’t positive.
I passed around reflective sunglasses. “Make sure these face out and are on you all the time. Keep an eye on each other. The glasses should keep her from making us into statues, but she still has her snakes. Tyrell’s crew has antivenin and first-aid kits with them, so if anybody starts looking like they need help, call him.” I gazed at the three formerly tiny people and felt my heart squeeze. I hated that they were putting themselves in danger. “Be so, so careful, okay?”
Mindy—or was it Tip?—kissed my cheek. “Stop worrying. We’ll be fine. She’s not even after us. We have your phone numbers. If one of us spots her, we’ll call.”
The girls held hands and skipped through the door.
Matt put his hand on my shoulder with a serious expression on his face. “I’ll take care of them. Don’t worry.” He followed them, flashing the badge on his lanyard to the guy at the door.
Once the vendors went in, I took a deep breath and let it out. “Okay, guys. You ready?”
Tahm nodded. “Ready.”
Ash gave me a brave smile and a thumbs-up. Brody grunted and pulled his shoulders back.
We showed our badges and went inside to wait for a gorgon.
* * *
At first, the convention was fun. I kept an eye out for Sister, but I also got my picture taken a lot. In fact, Tahm and I were quite the photogenic couple. We couldn’t walk three steps without someone wanting us to pose or to pose with us.
Ash had a lot of attention, too. And to our surprise, a whole slew of Disney characters were cruising the aisles and eventually picked us up to be in a group photo.
Conventions were weird.
After a few hours, the photo sessions lost their charm, and my eyes were beginning to hurt from squinting at everyone I saw, trying to see if they had snakes on their head beneath their illusion of human hair.
The closest I’d come was a woman dressed as the Predator and a Jamaican guy with dreadlocks. Both were quite human.
From time to time we ran into other people from the boarding house or from the OGRE squad. For the most part, we studiously pretended not to know each other. Twice I saw Penelope in a gorgeous white gown. The shimmering, gossamer fabric was beaded in an elaborate pattern down the front and dripped with silver ribbons. Her dark hair was teased and tied with ribbons and gold. I knew who she was immediately—Sarah from the movie Labyrinth. It was the kind of dress dreams were made of. When she was around, people ignored me and ran to get her picture.
She put on a brave face, but I could see she was terrified. Two of Tyrell’s OGREs stayed by her side at all times, each sporting a pair of mirrored glasses dangling from the fronts of their tee shirts, and I spotted two more pretending to browse comic books and action figures nearby. She was safe.
But she was our bait. And hopefully, so was I, since I was wearing one of Sister’s creations.
But nothing happened all day. The crowd ebbed and flowed like the tide as panels with guest speakers began and ended. I would have liked to fully participate, maybe get an autograph or two, but I had to be watching. I couldn’t let my guard down. I couldn’t let anyone get hurt.
By afternoon, I was exhausted. A wide-eyed little girl wanted to take her picture with Snow White and Cinderella, so of course we said yes.
I kneeled low for the fiftieth time that day with my head bent toward Ash and the little girl between us. I clutched my mirrored glasses in my hand, since there was nowhere to put them on the dress that wouldn’t look ridiculous. As I pressed my cheek against the little girl’s, I smiled, despite the dull aches in my face from doing it so many times that day. “Cheese!”
Her dad took a million shots while my legs burned from holding the squatting pose. “Okay. Tell them thank you, Addie.”
Addie gave us a shy smile. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Princess.” I blew her a kiss, and she giggled.
We watched her walk away with her dad, who kept looking back and grinning at us.
Ash yawned. “I’m hungry. Think we could grab something to eat?”
“Can I take a picture of you, please?” An older woman with thick glasses and a bouffant stood in front of us, camera ready and a hopeful look on her face.
I nodd
ed, even though I wanted to yell no and smother the camera with my hand as if I were a movie star and she were paparazzi.
Tahm stood in between us, and we posed as if we were each kissing his cheek.
The lady got the shot and took a step backward. “Thank you very much.” The smile she gave us didn’t reach her eyes. “That’s a stunning dress. Pity it doesn’t quite fit you.” She disappeared into the crowd.
I widened my eyes in surprise. “What did she just say?”
Ash stepped closer to me, and we both searched the crowd. “That was kind of bitchy.”
“Did she look familiar? I feel like I’ve seen her before.” I thought hard, trying to match her to someone we’d seen recently. There had been so many new faces. I came up blank.
Ash shook her head. “You’re just hungry. I checked her out. She’s human.”
We went in search of food and to sit and watch from the sidelines for a while. Sister wasn’t going to show in the middle of a crowd like this. It was about the costumes. It had always been about the costumes.
My bet was on the masquerade.
Chapter Nineteen
The audience for the masquerade packed the ballroom. Apparently, the competition was one of the most popular events of the convention. I’d half expected people to stay away after so many cosplayers had been murdered, but most of them had died in the last couple of weeks. Word hadn’t gotten around much in the Hidden community, since the ones Sister had targeted had all been from the same place. The humans wouldn’t have heard about it at all.
I stood backstage, peeking around the equipment to keep an eye out for anyone charging the stage. Also because I was nervous as hell.
I hadn’t realized we’d actually be in the contest. Even worse, I hadn’t realized we’d be expected to have a skit. I wasn’t prepared to do an improvisational piece onstage with my Prince Charming. They’d probably expect a kiss. That was more than I was ready for, even if we were pretending. We’d be in front of a live audience.
I hadn’t signed up for that kind of pressure.