by Amy Boyles
"You're a grown woman, Dylan."
"I know, but the bakery and our lives are in Silver Springs."
"Brock would move there. We'd split our time between the two."
I shook my head. "You'd be the monkey queen, and I'd be driving my old sedan around town, towing Reid and Grandma everywhere they wanted to go."
Sera rolled her eyes. "I'm going to get a car, too."
"What is going on? You're leaving, you're getting a car—did I do something to make you mad?"
Sera laughed. "No. Not at all. It's just— We're adults, Dylan. Grandma's out of her coma, and she's doing well. It's time we accepted certain things and started moving in other directions. I mean, you don't think you, me and Reid will grow old together, never having married or had children, do you?"
Maybe.
"No, of course not. I know things will change." I released my hold on her. "Listen, I want to talk about this—I do. But there's something I have to do first."
Sera rolled her eyes. "Trying to avoid things again, Dyl? Like you've been avoiding the witch community?"
I narrowed my eyes. "No. I'm a witch, Sera, and so are you and Chasity and thousands of other people. These people here, the ones in Fairyland. These are my people. They are my tribe, and I've got to make sure they all remain safe."
Her eyes flared at my words. I didn't wait for a response. My gaze found Roman, and I strode off. He'd just finished his conversation with Brock when I eased up to him.
"Hey, darlin'," he said, wrapping a searing-hot arm around my waist. "Where've you been?"
"I've been drinking from the fountain of death."
His green eyes widened. "What?"
I nodded. "I know. Crazy. It's all Clothar's fault. When this is over, remind me to charge him double for any online orders he makes. I barely escaped without marrying the sprite queen's son."
"What?"
"Seriously. I'm pretty sure I heard wedding bells down in the caves. Anyway, I need to talk to you."
Roman brushed a stray hair from my mouth. My knees nearly buckled at his touch. "About what?"
The feel of his skin over mine made every coherent thought fly from my head. "I forgot."
Roman nuzzled my ear. "Maybe we should go somewhere more private."
"No, there was something important I needed to say. What was I talking about?"
He nibbled the tip of my earlobe. Dear Lord. His touch just scrambled every bit of my body. I started to sink to the floor, but he pulled me back up. "It was something about the fountain of death."
That jolted me back. "Oh! Roman, I know what's going on. I think I figured out the whole Pearbottom thing."
A sound akin to a bolt of lightning blasted the middle of the banquet. Wood splintered; food and platters skyrocketed in every direction. A plume of smoke rose from the ground. When it dissipated, Jonathan Pearbottom stood in the very center.
"Get him," Brock yelled.
A troop of monkey guards surged forward. Jonathan raised a hand. A whirlwind of magic knocked them back. Pearbottom searched the crowd quickly, zeroed in on someone, and ran. I followed his line of sight and saw that he was heading straight for Chasity.
No! I sprinted toward him with Roman right on my heels. Roman, being nearly a foot taller than me, overtook my steps in less than a second. He pushed off the ground and catapulted straight into Pearbottom, knocking him to the ground.
The inspector didn't miss a beat. He leaped to his feet, raised a hand and sent a stream of magic directly into Roman.
Light blinded me. Chasity and I were so close I had to turn my head. The stench of burnt clothing filled my nose. When I looked back at Roman, he was lying on the ground.
His eyes were closed.
I didn't see his chest rise or fall.
Pearbottom snatched Chasity into his arms. She struggled for freedom. He raised a hand. A tornado of magic coned around them.
I threw myself at Pearbottom and grabbed the cuff of his pants. The whirlwind enveloped us. In half a second the canopy of people disappeared. Monkey Town was gone.
Roman was gone—and I was all alone with Pearbottom and Chasity with no idea where he was about to take us.
TWENTY-FOUR
I landed on my shoulder. Pain tore up my arm. My head throbbed, too. Someone really needed to teach Pearbottom how to transport folks from one place to another.
An image of Roman's lifeless body popped into my mind. Fury raged inside me. I jumped and found myself—in the middle of my own living room?
The furniture had been swept away, pushed into the corners of the room. I hauled up to my feet and looked straight into the face of Jonathan Pearbottom. Chasity was nowhere to be seen.
Anger pumped through my veins. I threw myself across the room, ready to pummel this guy into a pulp.
A wall of magic stopped me. I banged on it. I kicked it.
"You horrible son a witch! What you did to Roman!"
Pearbottom swiped a finger under his bottom lip. He studied me before saying, "That's how things go. You know that. People get hurt. Killed, even."
I slapped and hit until I grew tired. He waited patiently on the other side, untouched by my tantrum. Deep in my mind, I knew I needed to save my strength. This was far from over, and I would need every drop of will and energy I had left.
I pressed my palms against the glass and glared at him.
"Smiley Martin," I mused. "The last time I saw you, you were a frog hopping off into some dark, ugly cave to lick your wounds."
Pearbottom smirked. "How long did it take to figure it out?"
I crossed my arms. "I've known all along," I lied.
"Wrong," he said. "If you'd known all along, you would've taken me out before. You just figured it out."
"Maybe. Where's Chasity?"
"Safe. For now. Until I kill her, that is. ’Cause you know that's what's going to happen. Can't be helped."
I quirked a brow. "Pretty sure it could be. Pretty sure all of this could be."
"It would have been if LaRue hadn't started talking."
"You killed her. That night in the bushes."
He nodded. "You want to hear the whole thing, I guess. Bask in my brilliance for a moment."
I rolled my eyes. Yeah, that's what I wanted to do. "Shine some light on how smart you are."
"After I escaped your crazy grandmother Milly—when she killed my niece, Dewy—I ended up hiding out in Fairyland. Oh, I had my contacts, of course. But I was informed that once Boo Bane remembered a few things, you'd be looking for someone—Wanda LaRue. It was only a matter of time. So I put Chasity in a coma and told LaRue if she talked, we'd kill the girl. When news got out that you had visited LaRue, the Master had a change of heart."
Oh, the Master. I'd forgotten all about him. That's who Smiley always referred to when I assumed he was talking about the magic-stealing ringleader.
"What change of heart?" I said.
"I was to bust LaRue out and tell her that we'd forgive her for talking if she helped us get rid of you."
"What?" I shrieked.
He rolled his eyes. "Don't kid yourself, kid. You're not that important. It was a lie. I helped LaRue escape and then killed her, using her own power to strangle the life out of her."
"She trusted you?" I said.
"That woman would've done anything to help her daughter."
"But there wasn't a record of you visiting her," I said.
He pulled a cigar from his coat pocket and put it unlit in his mouth. Smiley Martin-as-Pearbottom started sucking on one end. Ugh. I'd forgotten he had that stupid habit. "I went in as Pearbottom. Since he was witch police, the visit wasn't recorded in the ledger."
So that's why Roman didn't discover that.
"Why not just kill LaRue in prison?" I said.
"It was too hard to kill her there. We needed her out."
"And you're telling me this because you figure you're going to kill me now."
He smiled like a serpent. "You got it. Hate to ki
ll. Messy stuff. But sometimes it's just gotta be done."
"So when did you put on the Pearbottom glamour?"
"Almost a week ago."
"After he put us under house arrest."
Smiley nodded. "It's intriguing that you know. I'm impressed. It's a pretty good disguise. How'd you figure it out?"
"We saw you kill the fake Chasity."
He bit into the cigar. "That was a good one. Took me a while to realize it wasn't the real girl."
"And now you have to get rid of me, too?"
He licked his lips. I shivered. That did not look good. At all. Something weird was up. The fine hairs on the back of my neck rose to attention.
"You know, glamours are good, they are, but there's something much better."
"What's that?"
"Crisscross. Switching bodies. Much more effective method of making sure no one discovers my disguise. LaRue told me all about it before she died. After she killed you, LaRue was going to switch places with your grandmother so that LaRue could be caught and executed—only it wouldn't be the right LaRue."
So that had been her plan. Milly was right. Kudos to Milly. I'd have to tell her if I survived this.
Wait. What did that have to do with me?
My stomach soured. "What are you saying?"
Smiley took a long puff of the unlit cigar before saying, "You and me are going to switch places, kid. Then I'm going to kill you and take over your life."
TWENTY-FIVE
Smiley yanked a knife from his back pocket. Lamplight glinted off the steel.
I backed away. The courage in my gut deflated faster than helium from a popped balloon. "Sure you want to do this? I mean, you'll be stuck as me—a woman—for the rest of your life. You'll have boobs and other things we probably don't want to discuss."
"Best idea I've had in years," Smiley said. "Best one yet. All I need is a drop of your blood and we're good."
I scrambled right, throwing myself into the cluster of furniture. An invisible force pulled me delicately from beneath the claws of a three-legged table. I rose into the air and sailed on a magical current back to Smiley, who was all smiles, I had to say.
Super annoying.
He threw the stupid bowler cap Pearbottom always wore to the floor and raked his fingers through the detective's thinning hair.
"Know what the best part of this whole thing is?"
"What's that?"
"You're a strong witch. Everyone's heard the rumors of how you've managed to defeat others in my circle. I was worried coming for you, but then I discovered that Pearbottom locked your magic away. You have, what? A few more days before you get it back?" He chuckled softly. "So nothing to worry about here. I'll do the transformation, we'll switch places, and I'll kill you, and then I'll have access to your power. If I had supper waiting on the table, I'd be home in time to eat dessert."
Whatever that meant.
I floated up to Smiley and landed on my feet directly in front of him. I lurched back, but he held me in a powerful vise. I couldn't move. All I could do was watch as he pressed the cold steel into my arm.
"All we need is a little blood. Ready, kid?"
He brought the knife back as if he was considering exactly how to make the cut.
Clomping feet charged up behind him, coming in at full speed. The hooves screeched to a halt, and Smiley flew directly at me, smacking into my chest. The vise holding me vanished, and we were both sent sprawling across the floor. My right side collided with the couch. The stupid thing knocked the air from my lungs.
The knife clanged to rest several feet away.
Ignoring the dull ache in my ribs, I glanced up and saw Adonis pawing the ground. What? How? When did he get back?
Meanwhile, Smiley clutched his rear end, howling in pain. I had one shot. I scrambled for the knife. My knees banged painfully against the floor as I rushed to grab the steel.
My fingers circled around the lacquered handle. I took hold and whirled around, jabbing the air. I was hoping to cut Smiley if he happened to be too close.
You know, on accident.
Smiley was already there. He yanked my wrist and slapped the knife from my hand. He pulled a second knife from his back pocket, cut my arm, and started chanting.
Adonis lunged forward. Smiley stopped him with a spray of magic. The unicorn froze as if suspended in time.
Smiley panted. "Lucky I know a few ways to stop a unicorn. They're darned hard to hold."
Smiley cut his own arm. Blood trickled down his skin. My head swam as he chanted. I could feel myself drifting, falling. Fog clouded me.
I felt a swoosh as my soul got sucked from my body.
I was floating, drifting overhead. I watched as my physical form collapsed to the ground. The words Smiley chanted lassoed my soul toward him. I sailed forward, edging ever closer. I watched as Smiley's spirit exited the Pearbottom glamour. We were like two ships passing in a fog—seeing the other was there, but not able to touch.
The tug was great. I would be pulled into his body, I would enter it and then Smiley Martin would kill me. It would all happen exactly as he said.
Except for one thing.
Smiley said I didn't have magic.
A spark flared in my chest. I slammed back into my body. My eyes fluttered open. I clenched my fists and said, "I have magic, Smiley. I have a lot of magic, and I'm ready to use it."
I didn't know where Smiley was—if he was still traveling or back inside his body. Guess what? I didn't care. A surge of magic expelled from my hands straight into his core. A tornado of power, all welled up inside me from the past week and a half of not being able to use my magic, expelled from my body and thrust into him.
Martin's body spiraled back into the couch. He jerked up as if suddenly wakened from a nightmare. Anger contorted his face.
The image of Pearbottom shrank away, leaving Smiley in his true form—that of a preschooler-sized toad.
"I got other tricks up my sleeve, kid." The frog hunkered down on all fours and leaped into the air.
Adonis, free from his frozen ice cube, jumped into the air with his head down. He butted into Smiley's side. A starburst of colors exploded in the room. I turned away from the brilliance. When the flash was over, I blinked away the spots clouding my vision.
A soft muzzle dipped into the cup of my hand. I ran my fingers over Adonis as I glanced at the spot where Smiley had been.
Adonis nickered softly.
"Good job, boy. Good job."
The unicorn, with such a power to heal and help, had knocked heads with a frog prince, or whatever Smiley had been.
The result was one dead frog, lying still in my living room.
TWENTY-SIX
I sat in the middle of the floor holding Adonis. Tears poured from my eyes. Chasity found me. Once Smiley was dead, the spell on her had been broken. He'd tucked her into a bedroom, putting her in the exact same coma position that he'd killed the fake Chasity in.
That dude had been weird. I was glad he was gone.
But none of that mattered now. All I could think of was Roman and how still he'd been after Smiley blasted him. There was no way he'd survived. No way. I think Chasity may have tried to comfort me, but I couldn't hear anything with the rush of blood pounding my ears and the ugly cry that currently wailed from the pit of my throat.
A hand squeezed my shoulder.
"Darlin', if I'd known you'd be such a mess, I would've brought you a towel instead of a tissue."
My eyes popped open. I whirled around. Roman! He grinned down at me. The corners of his eyes crinkled, and the mingled scents of musk and pine trickled up my nose. I leaped into his arms and threw my hands around his neck.
"You're alive!" I fingered his hair, making sure he was solid and not a ghost or something. "How?"
Roman squeezed me good and released me. I sank down to my toes, eagerly wanting to know his secret.
He pulled a blasted pouch from his shirt pocket. "This saved me."
The p
ouch of unicorn dust had a hole shot right through it, but it had worked. "You used it! You kept it." I ran my hand over what was left of the thing. The rim of the hole was inky black. Smiley's magic had burned through it, and would've done much worse to Roman if he hadn't kept it close.
Anger billowed up inside me. "Why didn't you tell me you were wearing it? I thought you had died. I was wrecked."
He quirked a brow. "Wrecked?"
"Yes, it's a new word I'm using. Learned it from Reid."
"Trying to relive your youth?" he joked.
"Why would I do that?" I said. "You weren't in my life then."
He tipped my chin up and kissed me long and deep. "I'm here," Roman said. "I'm not going anywhere."
"Thank goodness. And Smiley Martin is gone." I stared at the blanket covering Martin and shivered.
"How'd you fight him?"
"It was Adonis," I said, knuckling a tear from my eye. "He killed him. My magic helped a bit, but it was the unicorn who ended it."
Roman palmed my cheek. His face hardened. "Your magic?"
I nodded. "It was drinking from the fountain of death that did it. When I accepted all the thoughts and images, I also broke open my magic. It was hidden deep down, locked away with my fears and insecurities."
He stroked my hair. "I'm glad you got it back." Roman took a deep inhale. "You figured it out about Smiley, didn't you?"
I nodded. "When I was with the sprite queen, she said something about putting on a mask and pretending I was someone else. That's when it hit me. Pearbottom wasn't Pearbottom—he was someone else, and probably Smiley Martin. That's how I jigsawed it all together." I glanced at Martin. "So where's the real Pearbottom?"
"Right here," came what I usually considered to be the most annoying voice ever. Pearbottom stood at the front door.
My heart plummeted to my knees. I wasn't supposed to be out of the cuff, much less able to have my magic.
I immediately went on the defensive. "Yeah. Well, so…um, I know this looks bad and all, me being out of that anklet—"