4 Tiddly Jinx

by Liz Schulte

  “Go to hell, you undead piece of shit,” Frost snapped back.

  He stretched his arms above his head and smiled. “Fun place. Could use a better bartender.”

  “One more word out of you and I’ll make you my fangy puppet.” She crossed her arms over her chest and turned away from him.

  He bared his teeth, about to retort when Selene interrupted him.

  “Corbin. Stop. If you can’t be helpful then leave.” Selene sighed and refocused on Frost. “But he’s not wrong, is he? You can’t really help if that’s all you have to offer.”

  “I said I can help and I will.” She licked her lips. “I’ll cast the spell.”

  We all stared at her, but no one spoke. A million thoughts zipped through my mind at once, but I settled on the one that seemed the most pressing. Whoever cast the spell would be the one to retrieve the Pole. Did we want to trust her with it? If she had the book and the Pole, could we even stop her?

  Selene rubbed the space between her eyebrows.

  “But you’re a necromancer, not a witch,” Sebastian finally said.

  Frost rolled her eyes. “My mother was a witch. I think I’ll be fine.”

  Selene shook her head. “You haven’t trained as a witch. It’s not really as easy as saying a couple words in Latin and poof, there’s magic. You have to make it happen. Magic is like a muscle. You may have it in your blood, but if you don’t use it and train it you can’t cast. You’re years from being able to cast a spell of this magnitude. You simply won’t have the power.”

  “Look, I don’t see anyone else volunteering. You’ll have to give me a crash course.”

  Selene leaned back in the chair, studying her. “You would be the logical choice…if we could trust you.” Before Frost could object she held up a hand. “You didn’t come back here after you disappeared with the Pole. You refused to help us when we asked. What would stop you from taking the Pole once you got it and disappearing with it?”

  Frost glowered. “Nothing. If that’s what I choose to do there’s nothing you can do to stop me. I guess you’ll have to find a way to give me the benefit of the doubt.”

  “Why did you refuse to help?” Sebastian asked, leaning forward to rest his arms on his knees.

  “You need me, not the other way around. This is my offer. Take it or leave it.”

  The tension in the room was palpable.

  “You aren’t seriously considering this, are you?” Corbin asked. “Look, we don’t need her. Surely Selene can cast the spell or we can find someone else, someone other than a necromancer. The only thing she’s good for is killing people. I don’t know why we’re even listening to her. It’s no wonder you’re constantly in trouble, pet. Just do what you need to do.”

  Sebastian scoffed. “Selene just doing what she needs to do without considering the future is what got us here.”

  “Stop.” I held up my hand. Everyone was exhausted both mentally and physically and tempers were flaring. “We aren’t going to decide tonight. Frost, you are welcome to stay at the castle, and we can discuss your proposal further more in the morning.”

  “But—”

  Selene cut Corbin off. “We weren’t going to do anything tonight anyway. We have to make plans.”

  “Fine,” he ground out. “But if you go after the Pole, wait for me to get here.”

  I stood and slowly everyone else followed. While I found someone to get Frost settled into a room, I saw Corbin pull Selene off to the side. Her arms were folded over her chest and she tugged on her lower lip, but she was listening to him—the vampire. As much as I told myself I didn’t mind and that he had helped us, I did mind. A lot.

  I RAN THE BRUSH through my hair harder than normal. The bags under my eyes and the worry that pinched the edges of my mouth made my face look foreign. I was just so tired and hungry, though the thought of food made my stomach turn.

  “We can’t really trust her, can we?” I asked as I stepped out of the bathroom and took in Cheney lying in our bed, looking entirely too shirtless and tempting, showing off his tightly muscled, lean chest. My tongue darted out over my lips before I shook off the moment of lust. I had to get some sleep tonight.

  “I honestly don’t know. What do you know about necromancers?”

  Not a lot. I didn’t understand her type of magic at all. Necromancers were fairly rare. Those who weren’t killed or imprisoned—there weren’t many—went one of two directions. They either became reclusive or they were evil. Maybe it wasn’t their fault, though. They weren’t accepted into most of the lighter Abyss societies, and the only homes they could find were amongst murderers, thieves, and the generally untrustworthy. All I knew about necromancers was that they used death magic, which went hand in hand with dark magic. “I don’t think she is evil, but—“

  “She has her own goals.”

  “Who doesn’t?” I went back into the bathroom and sat the brush on the counter. I looked in the mirror one more time before shaking my head at myself and turning off the light. “She helped us yesterday.”

  Cheney watched me climb into bed. “Yesterday was a different day,” he said. “We had a contract with her. She did what she said she would do and we paid her. She doesn’t want money this time, she wants the book.”

  Goosebumps popped up all over my skin and everything in my body stilled. “So that’s what she wants.”

  “That’s why she agreed to talk to us.”

  I nodded. “She told me she wouldn’t help me find the Pole because she could sense the darkness in me while I was carrying the book. Do you think dark magic offends her or she didn’t want the competition?”

  “Or she didn’t want you to bring another necromancer into the world. I can’t imagine it’s a fun life.”

  “I wonder why she saved the baby.”

  “I don’t know, but she doesn’t want to hurt the baby or see it hurt.”

  “We can’t give her the book. I don’t even know what’s in it. It could be anything. Did she say why she wanted it?”

  He shook his head. “Is there anything you can do? She isn’t familiar with magic, right? Can you bind the book so she can’t use it? That way we can give it to her, but it would be useless.”

  “It’d only be a matter of time before she figured out how to break any bond I could put on it. Nothing like that is permanent.” However, his idea wasn’t bad. We said we would give it to her, not let her keep it. “But if I bind it, give it to her, and then steal it back before she can break it, that might work.”

  “If we do that, we’ll have a new enemy without the protection of the crown.”

  I nodded and laid my head against his chest, listening to the echo of his breath. “Better an enemy we can fight than an enemy we can’t.”

  “It’s a plan.” His fingers danced over my hair and traced a gentle pattern over my arm.

  I nodded slightly. “I’ll ask Jessica and Katrina tomorrow to find a spell that would work and I’ll start teaching Frost how to cast. Hopefully she’ll be a natural.”

  “What if she’s not?”

  “Then we’ll need another option. As it is, Frost needs to be able to cast, but she won’t be strong enough to do it alone. She’ll need the whole coven with her and maybe Grandma, too. My guess is this will be a big spell.”

  “Is that dangerous for the rest of them?”

  “If she leads and we add our energy to the spell, I think we’ll be okay.”

  Cheney’s hand on my arm paused, and he wrapped his other arm around me as well, crushing me to his chest. “I wish there was another way to do this.”

  “We could wait for the Pole to pop up. Whoever has it will probably use it. But there is no guarantee we can get there before they disappear again.”

  “If it shows up after we abdicate the throne, someone might investigate. We need to finish this before anyone else takes over or we’ll have a lot more enemies than just one.”

  “Have you told Sebastian yet?”

  “Yeah. He thinks I’m
abandoning my people.”

  “Aren’t we?” I asked not to be mean, but because it was a thought I couldn’t escape.

  “We can’t abandon people who don’t want us here to begin with. It’s a new start for the fae. Allowing them to choose their own rulers makes more sense.”

  I closed my eyes. Everything was changing so fast I could barely keep up. Hopefully it wasn’t a mistake. Two hundred years from now, I didn’t want Cheney to look back and regret this, or choosing me.

  Cheney and I went down to breakfast together. The whole coven was already in the dining room talking about wedding plans.

  “Selene,” Devin said, her face suddenly very serious. “Lilacs or jasmine?”

  “Um,” I glanced at Cheney and he shrugged. “Lilacs?”

  She sighed. “Are you asking or telling me?”

  Leslie laughed. “What Devin means is which would you prefer for decoration. Alana had the idea that we should hang bundles of a fragrant flower among the lights. Which scent do you prefer?”

  “Oh. Lilacs would be nice.”

  “I think in a former life I was a wedding planner…or Elizabeth Taylor…or Foxy Brown,” Devin said, taking a big bite of oatmeal.

  “Dude. They were both alive in our lifetime. How could you have been them in a former life?” Jessica said.

  “Stop judging, judgy,” Devin laughed.

  “You seem more at peace today,” Leslie said to me.

  I smiled. “I am. Things are coming together.”

  Sebastian came into the room and greeted everyone, then took a seat on the other side of Cheney. The two of them spoke quietly to one another, but I couldn’t quite hear what they were saying.

  Leslie nodded, pulling my attention back to her. “What do you want to do about dresses? You sort of have to be there for that.”

  I held back a sigh. Trying on dresses should be a fun thing I got to do with my friends, but I just didn’t see how I could fit that in if I had to teach Frost how to cast—and, you know, save the world. “Could you guys pick out like five or six and then I can try them on here? I think that will be easiest.”

  She nodded. “Any preferences?”

  “Lace, satin, silk, velvet, anything?” Devin added.

  “Not really. Nothing short. Other than that I don’t care.”

  All the girls got involved with wedding dress talk as they individually sized me up. Cheney touched my arm then leaned in and whispered in my ear. “Sebastian set up the assembly for today to make our announcement.”

  Today was impossible. We weren’t ready. We still had no idea when we could cast the spell or how long it would take to get the Pole back. “So soon?”

  He nodded, but his eyes betrayed the same worry that I felt.

  “What time?”

  “In an hour.”

  I released a slow breath. “Okay.”

  After breakfast I pulled Jessica and Katrina to the side and asked them to meet me in the archive. Once there I explained our plan and what Frost wanted.

  “We might need to see your grandma. They don’t have a lot of human spells here,” Jessica said.

  “I’ll send Sebastian down to help you after the assembly.”

  “What assembly?” Katrina asked.

  “Cheney and I are abdicating.”

  “Like, stepping down? Why?” Jessica said.

  “Wait, you didn’t clear this with me. Where am I going to live?” Katrina asked. “Does this mean I have to go back?”

  “Cheney thinks it will be safest for me and the baby and he can spend more time with us.”

  “But what will he do?” Jessica asked.

  “I don’t know. I don’t think he has a plan past not being the Erlking.”

  “So you won’t have the castle or the guards or the cooks or maids or any of this?” Jessica asked, and I nodded.

  “Wow. Like, seriously, that is crazy.” After the initial shock wore off, she started to look thoughtful. “But you know what, it’s sort of sweet he’s willing to give all this up. He’s a keeper.”

  I laughed. “I like to think so. I really have to get back. Thank you guys.”

  I headed over to Cheney’s office where he was waiting by himself. “Where’s Sebastian?” I asked.

  “He’s running the assembly. He’ll send someone for us when it’s time.”

  I took his hand. “You know, it’s not too late to back out. You haven’t even told the council yet.”

  He looked at me with solid, unwavering eyes. “I don’t want to back out. Do you?”

  I sort of did, but I also wanted to support Cheney. If this was what he wanted, then I would stand by him. “I don’t want you to regret this later.”

  “I’ll never regret choosing you. Not ever.”

  I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him. His arms were wrapping around my waist, tugging me closer to him and deepening the kiss when there was a knock on the door before it opened.

  “It’s time, Erlking,” said the guard.

  Cheney nodded, and we walked out hand in hand. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. The assembly hall was packed wall to wall with elves. Sebastian stood at the podium in the front of the room. He nodded stiffly to us as we joined him on stage. A hush spread through the room like a fire in a drought.

  Cheney released my hand and shook Sebastian’s before he took the spot at the podium.

  “Thank you all for coming this morning. I will keep this short.” He looked out across the room and for a split second doubt crossed his face. I glanced over at Sebastian, whose face suddenly looked hopeful—he saw it, too. I held my breath, waiting for Cheney to continue. “I was fortunate enough to have been born and raised in this house. I have loved and lost in these walls. Learned and explored in the protection of this castle my whole life. It’s a part of who I am and I will forever be grateful for it. Now that Selene and I are starting our own family, there is a part of me that would like nothing more than to raise children here as my father and my grandfather did before, but that isn’t the path laid out before me.” He took a deep breath and glanced over to me. I did my best to keep my face passive yet supportive.

  “It was my privilege to live here for so much of my life, but not my right as those who came before me believed. I know that now. Many of you are unhappy with my choice to take Selene as my queen, but my heart knows there will never be another for me to share my life with. Selene and I discussed what we should do. We could campaign to win you all over and prove we do have our people’s—all of our people’s—best interest at heart. Or we can step aside and allow the fae something that perhaps should have been done long ago. We can allow you to choose the direction you would like to see our people move in the future. Will we stay as we are and allow the world to move on and the other races to break away, or will we unite as one strong force and secure the future of all of our people?”

  No one so much as twitched an eyelid as the audience waited with bated breath.

  “We’ve decided to step aside so that you may choose your own ruler. I leave the future of this great kingdom in your hands.”

  He stepped back from the podium and stood next to me. The silence in the room swelled into a murmur. Sebastian stepped back up to the podium and held up a hand, waiting for them to quiet.

  “The Erlking will stay in his position until a new official can be elected. The floor for nominations will be open for one week and the election will be held in six months’ time.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief. We had six months to take care of the Pole.

  “As first son of the house of Kireeth, I would like to make the first nomination.” The tone of the room had gone back to making libraries seem loud. “I nominate Cheney and Selene,” Sebastian said.

  I TOOK A STEP forward to decline the nomination, but Selene held tight to my hand. I glanced over at her and she shook her head ever so slightly. Her face stilled me. She had doubts. Leaving was the natural choice, but making that speech tore a chunk from me. One person somewhere near
the back began to clap, and slowly more and more joined in. Soon the whole room thundered with applause. Not everyone was clapping, but enough that the silent ones seemed fewer than they were. Sebastian came and stood on the other side of me. We exited in a line with Selene in the lead. Once we had cleared the crowd, Selene spun around and started talking before I could say anything.

  “Don’t be mad. Sebastian’s right. If the people elect you, then we know they want us here and your reasons for leaving become a lot less convincing. I’ll be fine. I don’t mind a few threats or even some protesters. We have to at least try.”

  “Don’t let them chase you away. Your legacy should be better than that,” Sebastian added.

  I ran my fingers through my hair. “No one is chasing me away.”

  “That’s not what it seemed like,” Sebastian said. “With the nomination you gain strength. Our enemies will be identified and can be dealt with. I cannot believe that everything you have fought for is so worthless to you that you can just walk away from it. You made me your child’s guardian. I will not allow her to live in a world that believes she is less worthy because of her heritage. She doesn’t deserve it and neither does Selene.”

  “Then you should have nominated yourself.” Walking away hadn’t been easy, and it pissed me off that Sebastian undid everything I had just done. I wanted to live my own life without the entire fae race dependent on me.

  Selene’s hand curled around my arm. “Cheney,” she said, her eyes soft and supplicating. “Is this really about us, or is it about your father?”

  “Shouldn’t you find Frost?” I snapped, and she raised an eyebrow.

  “Fine,” she said, but she wasn’t fine. She turned to Sebastian. “Thank you. No matter what he says, you kept him from making a mistake today.” She turned and walked out of the office, shutting the door harder than normal.

  Great. I was honing in on my irritation at Sebastian rather than on the guilt for taking it out on Selene when there was a quick knock on the door. It burst open shortly after and Sy came through, brushing off the guard outside.

  “It’s happening,” he said.