Amuletto Kiss

by Gina LaManna

“Fine,” I said. “What’s wrong?”

  “My mission is nearing its end,” Zin said, a ferociousness on her face. “There’s a vampire hunter loose on the island, and he’s after our cousin. I need her safely gone—anywhere, so long as it’s away from here—until I can end this once and for all.”

  We looked at one another, the brief spat from yesterday’s alley incident completely obliterated by our new bond to protect the family.

  “Of course,” I said. “How soon can you get her here?”

  “Hello,” Poppy said, poking her head through the door. “Zin said to meet here before breakfast. What’s up?”

  “I’m going on a trip,” I said pleasantly, “and I’d like some company.”

  “Where to?” Poppy asked. “I’m always available for sidekick duties.”

  I smiled, took Poppy’s arm in mine. “Come on, I think it’s better if I show you where we’re going.”

  Chapter 22

  “I DO not understand how humans use these things.” Poppy pumped at the gas pedal, slammed on the brake, then cranked up the heater and fiddled with the radio all in rapid succession. “Stupid death traps.”

  “I can drive if you want.” I peeled one eye open from the passenger’s seat of our borrowed corporate car, courtesy of Ainsley’s string pulling at MAGIC, Inc. Apparently, paranormals didn’t feel the need to keep well-maintained vehicles on hand, judging by the state of this one.

  “No, look at you—you’re exhausted. The bags under your eyes are horrendous. I’ll drive.”

  “Thanks, Poppy. Do you need me to give you directions?”

  Poppy hesitated, the thoughts in her head seeming to confuse her. “Actually, I know exactly where to go. Don’t ask me how, but as soon as you said the name Olympia, the path just opened right up. Know what I mean?”

  I nodded, just as the car roared to life.

  “Ah,” Poppy said, settling in and cranking up the stereo. “Much better. Rest now, darling. Relax and enjoy the ride.”

  It was a difficult ride to enjoy.

  Driving wasn’t Poppy’s forte. We wove in herky-jerky patterns across the state, whizzing far too quickly down the highway and taking the side streets at a snail’s pace. Don’t get me started on the stoplights.

  I eventually drifted off sometime after we crossed state lines. When I woke later, Poppy was muttering about a wrong turn, and I watched as we re-entered the state of Minnesota across an unfamiliar bridge. That’s when I closed my eyes and opted to go with the flow, slipping back into nightmarish dreams to pass the time.

  I woke what felt like hours later, mumbling after the remnants of a dream in which something—someone—had been chasing me. There’d been the dark of night, the pulse pounding thrill of the hunt, and a hooded figure.

  Then I’d woken, sucking in deep, even breaths as I glanced across the console at Poppy, relieved to find her humming innocently along to the music while applying pink lip gloss.

  “Where are we?” I asked, easing my seat upright from its reclined position. “How long was I out?”

  “I have no clue where we are,” Poppy said. “And to your second question, I think you slept a good six or seven hours.”

  “Wow. Sorry about that!”

  “Oh, no problem. I’ve only been driving about four hours because I stopped quite a bit.”

  “Why’d you stop?”

  Poppy thumbed toward the backseat, a sheepish glint in her eye. “I told you I’ve never been to the mainland.”

  I mentally smacked my forehead as I looked over my shoulder. There on the backseat sat every cheap token a human might buy at a rest stop. Postcards, candy, pre-wrapped cookies, random keychains. There was even what looked like a hot dog wrapper and a lottery ticket.

  I groaned. “I totally forgot about that, Poppy! I’m sorry! We should have made this more of a special event. Instead, I was dead to the world for your first experiences here.”

  “Oh, it’s alright! I had a great time. I wasn’t sure how to get all the right money, so I had to ask for help. But anyway, now that you’re awake, how about you explain why we’re here in the first place?” Poppy’s voice was light, but the glint in her eyes was hard. “You haven’t exactly told me why we’re here or where we’re going.”

  I sighed. “I’m sorry.”

  “Stop apologizing and let me in on the secret,” she said. “It can’t be that serious, or else you would’ve invited Ranger X or Zin instead of me. I’m just a little confused as to what we’re doing.”

  “No, I wouldn’t have taken them. I couldn’t have even if I wanted to because it’s supposed to be you.” I looked over at her, gauging her response. “I’m glad it’s you, Poppy. This might be one of the most important things I’ll have to do in my life.”

  “I-I don’t understand.”

  “You and I are meant to be here,” I said, and it was as simple as that. I reached for her hand and squeezed it. “And more importantly, I want you here with me.”

  “So, Zin didn’t slough me off on you as a babysitting gig?”

  I didn’t respond for a long moment. When I did, I started at the beginning. The very beginning, figuring if nothing else, I owed her the truth. “Have you heard of the Master of Magic?”

  Poppy’s hands gripped the steering wheel tighter and tighter as we drove, her lips growing thinner and thinner as I launched into my story and piled one piece of information onto her plate after the next.

  By the time I reached the portion where Zin had asked me to get Poppy off the island and away from the vampire hunter, I could see the light fading fast from Poppy’s eyes.

  “I knew it,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m here because I’m a burden.”

  “No!” I crossed my arms. “I couldn’t even mention the name Olympia to X or Zin or anyone else. I physically was bound from speaking it aloud. Why? I don’t know, and I’m sorry. I wish I did.”

  Poppy settled back in her seat with a harrumph of agreement. Just in time, because at the next turn, her fingers loosened and she clapped her hand against the wheel in excitement. “Lily, we’re here! Do you see it?”

  I nodded, nerves skittering through my stomach at the sight of the sign. It was the very same sign with blurred text I’d witnessed through the eyes of the Keeper during my Amuletto Kiss journey into his memories. The word was scrawled on an old wooden thing, unceremoniously poked in the ground, the background cracked and the lettering painted in what looked like ancient script: OLYMPIA.

  Poppy took the turn onto the marked road. As I glanced around, struggling to get a pin on our location, I adjusted my travel belt tighter against me. I’d taken a few vials of Amuletto Kiss, along with Aloe Ale, a few protective spells, and my usual array of traveling supplies. Since I couldn’t be sure exactly why I was needed here, I’d tried to be prepared. I’d included a Long Isle Iced Tea for good measure, though I didn’t intend to use it if possible.

  “You know, I don’t even know which state we’re in,” Poppy said. “I assume we haven’t crossed state lines again after I made that wrong turn back in Wisconsin, but I can’t be sure.”

  “I think that’s probably the beauty of a hidden city,” I agreed. “Hard to say exactly where it’s located.”

  Poppy’s gaze focused hard on the road ahead. “It gets really steep up ahead. I hope this stupid car doesn’t roll backward on me.”

  The road grew more and more winding, curling, dangerous. We’d been driving through sparse forests for the past hour on a little two-lane highway, and we hadn’t passed another car during the entire time I’d been awake.

  “Is that a tunnel ahead?” I squinted to look. “It’s so dark it’s hard to tell.”

  The road to Olympia felt different than before, as if we’d crossed some invisible threshold a few miles back. We were still surrounded by tall, lean trees that cast sweeping branches over the road, and the dimness of forest lighting surrounded us with the same haze, but it was as if the air had shifted.

  As we neared t
he looming darkness ahead, I realized we faced a sort of natural, living and breathing tunnel. Here, the trees knitted together tightly to form a near-solid tube of blackness. Poppy didn’t bother to slow down as the car lurched into the tunnel, throwing us into a dark abyss. I reached over and demonstrated how to turn the brights on, causing the tunnel to flood with light. Poppy breathed a sigh of relief.

  Then the bulbs went out, extinguished, and we were thrust back into complete darkness.

  “Poppy!” I screeched. “Watch out!”

  “I can’t see!”

  “Put on the brakes!”

  “I can’t seem to stop!”

  We both broke into shrill screams, and I closed my eyes, picturing the deadly smash of our car into a tree as we hurtled forward. We shot through the black hole with a twist and a lurch, as if it were a portal into another world entirely.

  When I finally sensed our journey was coming to an end, I forced my eyes open just in time to watch the car burst from the tunnel and skid to an abrupt stop on the other side. For a long moment, all was silent save for our racing hearts and our ragged breaths.

  Then we began to see the world around us.

  I noticed the light first. It was brighter here, as if more than just sunlight provided the rays. It appeared the very lands before us glowed, sparkled like the pages from a picture book. The reds of the berries on trees were brighter here, the greens deeper, the skies so pale blue they ached with clarity.

  “Wow,” Poppy gasped. “What is this place? It’s stunning.”

  I shook my head, also staring at the expanse below us—a colony that felt freshly sculpted and placed here on earth, every atom of its existence filled with a purity and rawness, an uncontaminated freshness ripe with wonder.

  “Olympia,” Poppy said, turning to look at me. “If the Master of Magic didn’t pick here to settle down, he’s got problems. It’s gorgeous.”

  Poppy and I sat still in the car for another few moments, struggling to absorb it all—to appreciate the beauty and bask in the newness. We were perched on a hill high above the town, and from here, it looked like a little Alpine colony tucked among mountains in Sweden or Switzerland or the like.

  “Shall we head down?” I asked, tentative. “This is where my instructions end.”

  “What do you think we should do next?”

  I shrugged. “I suppose we begin the hunt for the Master of Magic.”

  “Doesn’t look like the peace has been disturbed here,” Poppy said. “It looks perfectly calm, unlike the rest of the world. I’ve never seen The Isle so dark and stormy before.”

  “If we found our way here,” I said, a grim set to my voice. “We have to imagine that others may be right behind us. Not friendly faces.”

  “Well then,” Poppy said, shifting the car into gear with a clunk. “Let’s meet the gods.”

  Chapter 23

  THE CAR PUTTERED DOWN the hill, a horrible knocking and banging sound coming from somewhere in the engine.

  “Nothing like announcing to the world we’re here,” I grumbled as we backfired with enough intensity that several faces poked out the windows of nearby houses.

  “Stupid MAGIC, Inc. and their budget cuts,” Poppy said. “I really would’ve liked something prettier. This thing is a turd on wheels.”

  Houses had begun to pop up along the hillside as we swirled down a gentler road than the one we’d taken on the other side of the tunnel. That road had been a death trap; this one was a pleasant picnic.

  “Oh, I’m famished,” Poppy said. “And you must be, too. Can we stop?”

  I looked up at a crooked sign marked with bright blue and red letters. “Bean in Love?” I muttered. “Is it a shrink or a coffee shop?”

  “Both?” Poppy shrugged. “Come on, it’s adorable. Let’s take a look inside. We can ask around for some information.”

  Before I could disagree, Poppy pulled into the small dirt lot and parked. There were no other cars around, but through the window, I could see heads bobbing in line, others bowed over tables as people sank deep into their conversations or chattered lightly over plates of food.

  Poppy pulled the front door open and waited until I passed through first. I landed in an explosion of love. Pale pink stools were the focal point, pushed up against a diner-like counter. Baby blue tables were scattered around the seating area while little paper hearts and window clings clung to every surface.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “What is this place?”

  “I love it,” Poppy beamed. “So much love.”

  At the sound of our voices, every head in the room swiveled to face us. The chattering drew to a stop as all locals surveyed the newcomers. In an odd twist of reality, it was impossible not to notice the slight glow around each of their faces, some brighter than others. The smallest of halos, the palest of lights. As if these people weren’t quite real.

  The scrutiny continued, and I tried to ignore one particularly hostile gaze. I debated turning around and leaving when a slender hand landed on my shoulder and squeezed.

  “Well, hello! We heard you might be coming.” A bright, red-lipped smile turned warmly on us. “What can I get you ladies?”

  The woman belonging to both the smile and the slender hand continued to grin at us as we blubbered around, trying to answer her basic question. The woman herself was beautiful: Her skin was the color of mocha, her hair black as night save for the neon pink tips, and her nails were dainty works of art doctored with hearts.

  “Are y’all feeling okay?” she pressed at our dumbfounded gazes. “We have a special going on today with the Love Blend, but I understand if you’re looking to start with something simpler.”

  The woman moved behind the counter and rested her palms against it. Her hands, I noted, were the only thing slender about her. The rest of the woman was round and soft, and just like her smile, friendly and warm.

  “We’ve got a Hot Shot,” she continued, “but that’ll knock you right off your feet. Maybe just a little Love Brewin’?”

  “Oh, um, coffee?” I asked. “What about regular? No love needed.”

  “Everyone needs love!” The barista gave a booming laugh. “But I think I have just what you want. And for little miss vamp?”

  “How’d you know I’m a vampire?” Poppy frowned. “Is it that obvious?”

  “Honey, you’re not from around here. In the land of the gods, nobody has secrets. You learn it’s useless to hide them soon enough.”

  “That’s not true.” The customer who’d spoken was a man sitting alone at a nearby table. “Everyone has secrets. Also, you didn’t introduce yourself. That’s Lucy—she’s one of Aphrodite’s, so just ignore her. I’m Derby. One of Hermes’s.”

  “Hermes?” Poppy asked, stunned. “Like...”

  The man stood, his physique the lean, taut build of a marathon runner. Not particularly handsome, nor particularly beautiful, but sturdy and efficient. He made a gesture as if he were running. “Hermes. You know. Hermes.”

  “I’m not sure these ladies know, Derby. Now sit your skinny ass down and leave them alone.” Lucy chuckled behind the counter. “I’m guessing the Keeper didn’t give you all that much information about these parts when he sent you, huh, sugar?”

  I shook my head. “No, we didn’t have a whole lot to go on.”

  She sighed. “Sometimes I think Gerry takes his job too seriously.”

  “Gerry?” Poppy asked. “Who’s Gerry?”

  “Master of Mischief, the Keeper, the guy who made sure you knew how to get here. Don’t get me wrong—” she held up a hand, defensive. “Gerry is the best man for the job. But his chest puffed up just a bit when they named him Keeper after Jonah retired.”

  “Gerry.” I tried the name on for size. It fit like an old glove with my image of the little Monopoly man who’d hidden under my bed. “Is he here? Maybe he could help us out. We’re a little lost.”

  “He’ll be working now. Come, sit first and have a bite to eat. Y’all look shell-shock
ed.”

  Poppy bobbed her head. “I’ll take a...” She blushed. “Did you say you have Love Brewin’?”

  Lucy winked. “That’s perfect for you, darlin’, and for you, Miss Lily, I’m thinking a regular brew with a shot of celebration.”

  As Poppy and I eased onto the Easter-pink stools, conversation resumed around us. I leaned forward, elbows on the counter as I faced Lucy. “Any chance you could give us a little more information about this place?”

  Derby moved from his seat, inching closer to our conversation. “Olympia is a city, a town, rather, created for the descendants of the ancient gods. In order to acquire residency here, one must prove the purity of their bloodline. They also must prove their intentions are pure, otherwise...” He made the off with your head gesture.

  “How much lineage do you need to belong to the club?” Poppy asked. “Is there some sort of test?”

  He shifted. “It’s not really an exact science.”

  “Poor old Derby here is one parent away from being human,” Lucy said with a wink. “On the other hand, both my parents were direct descendants from the Twelve, so I’m a shoe in.”

  “The Twelve?” Poppy asked. “Like, the Pantheon?”

  “Exactly like that,” Lucy said, pouring a coffee for me and sliding it over. “I’m a healthy mix—strongest bloodline is Aphrodite from my pop’s side, but on my ma’s side I’ve got the Hestia bloodline.”

  Poppy and I stared blankly at her. Finally, Poppy spoke. “What does that mean?”

  “My Aphrodite genes are strongest, hence the specialty in love,” she said, gesturing around her. “But Hestia—”

  “Goddess of hearth, family, home—” I filled in. “I’ve read about her, too.”

  “Yeah, she’s got a whole list of things she’s famous for,” Lucy interrupted. “I’ve got that too. It’s a nice mix to run the coffee shop.”

  Our conversation quickly became the centerpiece of the shop as other patrons chimed in, adding their stories and heritage to the mix. I took a sip of my coffee, an absolutely delectable cup, while Poppy hesitantly took a sip of her Love Brewin’. And smiled.