From wrist to elbow, the underside of each sleeve had an intricate, almost unsettling pattern of miniscule crystals embedded into the fabric. It was akin to the veins that ran through my arms. Their shimmering against the backdrop of deep blue made the whole thing look like the nervous system of a night sky.
When I focused I could see the crystals change in luminescence. They went from bright to invisible and back again in tune with my heartbeat. The faster my heart pounded, the more they sparkled. When I was breathing slowly they seemed duller, like faraway fireflies.
Then I took a look at Daniel.
The first thing I noticed was that his hair had been trimmed a bit and the extra shagginess it’d developed over our adventure was gone. In addition, he looked freshly shaven and no longer had patchy stubble on his face.
In terms of what he was wearing, Debbie had left his leather jacket alone (apparently it met her qualifications for a good outfit). But beneath it he now wore a crisp, dark gray shirt. His pants were also new, as was his belt. I wasn’t very good at describing boy fashion. But if he was anyone aside from Daniel, I would’ve said he looked pretty h—
Nope. Can’t say it. It’s Daniel.
Just like I had with my wand, Daniel instinctively made sure his golden pocket watch (which held a picture of his girlfriend) was still in his pocket. Once he ascertained that it was, he crossed his arms and scowled at Debbie.
“We didn’t ask you to do that. We were fine before.”
Debbie twirled her wand, morphing it back into a hairpin mid-spin. “You didn’t have to,” she replied. “And no, you weren’t. What kind of Godmother would I be if I let my Godkid run around in the same outfit for all eternity? I don’t care whether you’re facing magic hunters, antagonists, or mermaids—appearances matter.”
Daniel looked like he was about to say something else, but I put my hand up to stop him. “It’s fine, Daniel. Let it go.” I turned to Debbie. “Thanks, Deb. The clothes are great. I love the weird shifting clouds,” I said, gesturing to the fluctuating weather patterns on my boots. “Are all your clothes like this? Every time I see you your dresses are crazy.”
“Thanks!” Debbie exclaimed. “And yeah, they are. I’m double majoring in fashion design and weather manipulation for my Fairy Godmother Training. If you want to turn off the magical effects in your dress and boots, click your heels together three times. That’ll shut it down faster than cops at a Century City rave.”
“Knight,” Daniel said with frustration in his tone, as well as a touch of hostility. I guess I could understand. First off, he was a boy, and no boy should have to spend this long talking fashion with a Fairy Godmother. It was just cruel. Moreover, the stakes were high and we had to get moving. The sooner we spoke with Lenore, the sooner we could get out of here and resume our mission.
I glanced over at the door. The promise of answers lay somewhere down the hall in the Godmother Supreme’s office and I was ready to face her.
“Debbie,” I said, exhaling. “Take us to the Godmother Supreme. We’ve stalled long enough.”
“All right,” my Godmother said, biting yet another nail. “One last piece of advice before you go. I realize you met the Godmother Supreme briefly before, Crisa. But we had a whole staff meeting about the subject of your break-in, and like I said, she’s brought you up at several meetings since then. So proceed with caution. If there is one thing I’ve gleaned from all of it, it’s that Lena Lenore does not like you.”
I let out an amused huff. “Don’t worry. That’s never stopped me before.”
aniel and I sat on a cotton candy-colored couch.
The plush seat was in the office of Joan Pricklewood, whom Debbie had introduced us to a few minutes ago. She was Lena Lenore’s secretary and her office was adjacent to that of the Godmother Supreme. I didn’t know what was more eccentric—this new Godmother or the area she inhabited.
Joan Pricklewood had white, wiry hair that poofed from her head like she’d been electrocuted. Her eye makeup was a flurry of contrasting colors—shadows of pink, blue, and green highlighted by sparkly silver eyeliner. Her neck was so long and goose-like that I was certain no one had ever blocked her view of a parade.
The Godmother’s office was adorned with creepy troll dolls, most of which had better hairstyles than the secretary did. There was a white terrier asleep in the corner in the warmth of a red basket. I kept resisting the urge to touch the light pink walls, which looked squishy.
I rested my elbow on one of the sofa’s armrests and propped my head up with my hand. Debbie was chatting with Joan at the other end of the room. I assumed the subject must’ve been something of particular comedic value as the two would not stop giggling. Daniel had his hands folded behind his head and was staring up at the ceiling, deep in thought.
My mind wandered to Lena Lenore. Debbie hadn’t been lying when she said the Godmother Supreme didn’t like me. Granted, I didn’t like her either, but I only had one magical power, which I didn’t even know how to use. Lenore had the full range of Fairy Godmother magic that didn’t have any restrictions that I knew of. So while I may not have been afraid of the woman, I would’ve been a fool to think she didn’t pose a threat.
Everything I’d learned about Lena Lenore had caused me to equate her with cold guile. She’d fired my godmother Emma from the Fairy Godmother Agency then lied to keep me away from her for ten years. She was the one heading up the protagonist selection conspiracy. And she’d forced Ashlyn to choose between her true love on Earth and ever returning to Book again. Then for good measure Lenore had cursed the Lost Princess from being able to set foot in the water—despite her Little Mermaid blood—as a means to keep her from revealing the holes in our realm’s outer In and Out Spell.
When I’d first met Lena Lenore, my instinct had told me that there was an unseen depth to her darkness, like an ocean’s shimmering surface veiling its true power. In this case I regretted that my instinct was right. If Lenore really was the only one who held the answers Daniel and I sought—her being arguably the most powerful person in Book—I had a feeling that getting them would come at a hefty price.
A blue light lit up on Joan Pricklewood’s desk accompanied by a buzzing sound. Joan straightened her posture, hustled out of the room, and returned a minute later.
“The Godmother Supreme will see you now,” she said, gesturing to the door.
Daniel and I got up from the couch. As we followed Joan I elbowed him lightly.
“Hey,” I whispered. “Let me do the talking when we get in there, okay?”
“Knight, when do you not do the talking?” he whispered back.
I paused. “All right, fair point.”
We moved into the familiar white corridor that led to Lena Lenore’s office with Debbie in tow. Joan held open the equally familiar door with the word “MANAGEMENT” printed on it. When we entered, we found the Godmother Supreme sitting in the black leather chair behind her glass desk, just like the night of our first meeting when we’d broken into Fairy Godmother Headquarters.
“Crisanta Knight,” she said.
Lenore’s voice sounded sweet, but it made me shiver. How one woman could pack so much subtle power into so few syllables was beyond me.
The Fairy Godmother Supreme was beautiful in an intense kind of way. Her dark skin shimmered with a (for lack of a better word) magical radiance. Her arms were relatively sculpted, making me wonder if Fairy Godmother Headquarters had a gym. Large hazel eyes—sharp and focused—seemed to see every detail.
I was glad she was seated. Adding to her intimidating persona, the forty-something woman was close to six feet tall (and that was without heels).
“I had a feeling it was only a matter of time before you came knocking on my door again,” Lenore said as we stepped forward.
“This wasn’t exactly a planned visit,” I said.
“Things of an unexpected nature tend to happen around you quite often, don’t they, Crisanta?” Lenore stood from her chair and walked o
ver to us. She wore a sleeveless silk turtleneck top. It was light pink and tucked into a silver pencil skirt, the likes of which perfectly matched her light pink pumps with glittering silver straps.
I instantly knew I’d seen those heels before. They were the last things I’d seen the night in the Forbidden Forest when I’d stumbled upon the Scribes’ protagonist book library. When I’d discovered the secret place, someone had struck me from behind with a bolt of magic. At the time I’d assumed it had been one of the Scribes in an effort to keep me from learning anything else about the books. Now I knew it had to have been Lenore.
“Nice shoes,” I commented. “They must be comfortable if you wear them so frequently.”
Lenore’s eyes creased at the edges as if she were amused. Her hair was not in a bun today. Rather, it fell in dark, cascading waves around her shoulders as she looked down on me. With the boost of her pumps she easily passed six foot two. I pitied anyone who’d ever tried to give her a high five.
Lenore’s hair whooshed as she abruptly pivoted on her heels and headed back across the office’s silver carpet. She leaned against her desk under the shadow of the room’s black chandelier. “Miss Knight, there are several things I value—order, regulation, and time. So for the sake of preserving the latter, why don’t we skip to the point. Later we can discuss the matter of you breaking in here for a second time. But before I ask you my questions.” I noticed her eyes and smile darken ever so slightly. “Why don’t we begin with yours? Debbie told Joan that you have a few things you wish to discuss with me.”
She gestured to a set of chairs against the back wall, but I stepped into the center of the room. “As a matter of fact, we do.”
My brain flipped through the many things I had to ask her. With so many mysteries unsolved, I decided to ask her about one of the very first that had crossed my path when this adventure began.
“Why do the Fairy Godmothers have a file on a girl from Earth named Natalie Poole?”
My friends and I had found the folder with Natalie Poole’s name on it in Arian’s bunker beneath the Century City Capitol Building. But a while before that I’d found a similar folder in the Godmothers’ Grand File Room when we’d broken into Headquarters.
Aside from a picture of teenage Natalie and some basic information about her background, this folder (like Arian’s) contained the following information:
• Magic Classification: Category 1, 2, & 3 priority
• O.T.L. Candidate: Ryan Jackson
• Key Destiny Interval: 21st birthday (cross-reference Eternity Gate)
I now knew who Ryan Jackson was and that Natalie’s twenty-first birthday was the antagonists’ deadline for breaking her spirit and opening the Eternity Gate. But the rest remained an enigma.
I hoped maybe Lenore could shed some light on these mysteries. With a file on the girl at Headquarters, at the very least she should be able to explain Natalie’s importance.
My best theory so far was that maybe Natalie had a Fairy Godmother in this building. I’d always thought that Fairy Godmothers only had Godkids in Book. But between the folder found here and the protagonist book I’d found on Natalie in the Scribes’ protagonist book library, it was enough to make me think otherwise.
Lenore opened her mouth to respond, but Daniel cut her off before she could address my question, his own priorities piping in.
“And how could you let the ambassadors conspire to rig protagonist selection? Everyone in Book deserves to know who they are. What gives you the right to interfere like that?”
So much for letting me do the talking. Dude hates to keep his mouth shut almost as much as I do.
“We have a file on Natalie Poole because our Fairy Godmother Agency used to service Earth as well as Book,” Lenore responded, somewhat confirming my theory. “And as to the ambassadors, they were not conspiring, young man; they were simply following orders.”
I crossed my arms. “Your orders, I presume?”
Suddenly Lenore shot a look at Debbie and Joan.
“Debbie, darling, will you please escort Miss Knight’s companion to the waiting area? I would like a word with her in private.”
“Um, yes, ma’am,” Debbie replied with a touch of fear in her tone. She put her hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “Come on, Danny. There’s free candy in the lobby.”
“Yeah. I’ve seen it,” he said, shrugging her off. “No way am I leaving.”
Lenore sauntered back over to her chair and repositioned herself confidently. “Leave, or I won’t answer any more questions. It’s that simple.”
“Anything you say to me, you can say to Daniel,” I asserted.
“Crisanta,” Lenore sighed. “I am not going to argue with you. I have a busy schedule, so either play by my rules or leave now. The choice is yours.”
I thought on the proposition. This was the closest I’d come to answers in a long time. If the only price for me getting them was being alone with Lenore for a few minutes, then I was more than willing to pay it.
“Go on,” I told Daniel. “I won’t be long.”
Daniel shot me an incredulous look. “Knight, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be on your own here.”
His concern was sweet. Irritating, but sweet. Nevertheless, I was set in my course of action. Yes, Lenore was crafty, calculating, and powerful, but I needed to hear what she had to say. I’d risked far worse in the past few weeks to cower to anyone, let alone a woman dressed like a glittery lawyer.
“Don’t worry,” I said to Daniel. “I’ll be fine.”
“I don’t know.”
“Daniel, seriously.” I met the concern in his eyes with the certainty in mine. “I’ve got this. You want answers too, don’t you?”
A beat passed until he conceded. “All right, fine. I’ll go.”
Begrudgingly, Joan, Debbie, and Daniel left the room, closing the door behind them. The confidence I had about the situation wavered when I got a look at Debbie’s nervous expression before she left. She was worried, and not just a little.
When the door shut I rotated back around to face Lenore. “Okay, they’re gone. Care to explain why Daniel had to leave?”
“It wasn’t just him,” Lenore replied. “Debbie is a newer recruit—not yet high enough in the ranks for me to ascertain the strength of her loyalty. I could not allow her to hear the details of what I am about to tell you.”
“Which are?”
“The answers to your questions, Miss Knight.” Lenore folded her hands together as she sat back in her chair. “You’re right. The ambassadors of all the kingdoms take their orders from me, just as the Scribes do. The Author may be the one who can predict the future, but I am the one charged with regulating it. Protagonists are not approved to know who or what they are unless I say so. And if someone I feel needs to be a protagonist is not chosen by the Author, then I simply have a forged book drawn up for them.”
I was surprised that Lenore was being so direct with me. I’d become so used to half-answers and riddles that part of me sort of expected the same now. I was grateful for the candid talk. At the same time, the fact that such unapologetic honesty on such a sensitive subject was coming from this powerful woman made me worried.
Yet I pressed on.
“But why?” I stammered.
“For the same reason that Fairy Godmothers no longer service Earth. Order. We used to cater to the people of that realm as we do the people of this one, attempt to help them reach their happily ever afters with the aid of our magical interference. But after years of struggling to keep up with the chaotic way Earth is run, we decided to withdraw.
“Natalie was an Earthling chosen as a protagonist a long time ago. But like all others on Earth, her future was too turbulent to benefit from our intervention. We decided many years back that the energy to try was not even worth it. That world is too disorderly for us to continue wasting our time there. It plays by no concrete rules, and because of that it lacks security and control. Where there is no control th
ere is no winning against the darkness. There is just the constant, exhausting fight against it. We Godmothers were tired of taking part in it.”
I blinked but stood frozen as I processed the words. Something burned inside of me like acid. It was a kind of anger I’d only felt once before—the day I’d received my prologue prophecy. While I couldn’t address the cause of my anger (the Author) then, this time I had the source of my rage right in front of me. She sat there, looking unremorseful.
“So you abandoned the people of Earth?” I clarified, my voice hard and my glare even harder. “You left them to fend for themselves because you couldn’t be bothered to keep trying to help them?”
Lenore shrugged. “If it’s any consolation, they probably weren’t worth helping. And on the off-chance that some of them were, it still wouldn’t have mattered. We simply could not afford to expend energy on beings that are so perpetually lost. In this realm there are leaders who have control to shape fate in the correct image. Earth has no such regulations. Everything there is messy—people thinking that each and every one of them is special, a protagonist in his or her own right. It’s as naive as it is mad. In the end that type of mindset negates any chance order has of succeeding.”
“I thought Fairy Godmothers believed in happily ever afters, not order,” I said, crossing my arms.
“You’re young, Crisanta. You believe in fairytales because you’ve been taught to. Every story you were exposed to as a child was designed to give you hope and keep you blissfully unaware of how the world really works. It is a kindness that our realm’s leaders, myself included, bestow upon citizens to spare them the burden of cynicism. But seeing as you’re so adamant about knowing the truth, allow me to burst your bubble with it.”
Lenore stood and leaned over her desk. I noticed a silver ring on her index finger. It had an elaborate ruby spiral insignia that glistened in the chandelier’s light. The spiral was identical to the mark that protagonists received on their foreheads right after their prologue prophecies appeared. It also mirrored the structure of the skylights I’d seen in the Capitol Building and the Scribes’ protagonist book library.
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