Abi was so surprised her mouth fell open. Stung, Abi changed into her tiny fairy corps size and flew to Tanesha’s shoulder. Her actions indicated to everyone that Abi was afraid the king had planned to turn Tanesha over to the serpents.
“The serpent is correct,” King Manannán said. “It’s time for you to stop your nonsense attachment to these humans.”
“Without these humans, you would still be wandering under the Irish Sea,” Jill said.
“That was his choice and his choice alone,” King Manannán said.
“Jacob is as lost as you were!” Jill said. “All because he tried to help your son.”
King Manannán whipped around to Jill. He raised his hand to throw an enchantment at her but Perses stepped in the way.
“You will not, little fairy king,” Perses said.
King Manannán swallowed hard and stepped back.
“Let your elders take care of this,” Perses said.
Perses inclined his head in Hera’s direction, and she stepped forward to the serpent.
“Hera,” the serpent said. “Back again?”
“I brought what you asked for,” Hera said. She gestured to Heather.
Heather shook her head at the goddess. Hera turned to look her full in the face.
“Her father gave her his power when he went on vacation,” Hera said.
The serpent’s mouth turned up in a terrible grin. When Heather didn’t protest, her friends knew that this was some kind of trick.
“No!” Katy yelled.
“This is your chance to destroy all of the love in the world,” Hera said. “And to take over the fairy world.”
Hera’s voice was soothing and filled with enchantment. Paddie moved to tap the Sword of Truth, but Jill stilled his hand. The magic began to fill the entire bowl. The serpent weaved back and forth as if he were drunk.
King Manannán shifted closer to Fin. As if to test their heft, the men bounced their swords in their hands. A gorgeous, magically enhanced woman appeared next to the serpent. The image of her large breasts and delicate features seemed hazy, like heat waves rising off pavement in the desert.
“Celeste,” Tanesha said under her breath.
“Sir!” one of Alex’s men yelled.
He pointed to Alex’s feet. Alex was sinking into the ground. Perses, Hera, and Heather were slowly being absorbed by the earth as well. Sandy, Jill, and Tanesha were mired in the amber sand up to their knees. The humans, the Olympians, and the Titans were all slipping into this version of the Sea of Amber. Only the fairies remained standing on top of the amber sand. Abi touched Tanesha and she shrank to her fairy corps size. Tanesha and Abi flew above the crowd.
Alex slipped the USB drive into Sandy’s hand.
“On guard,” Alex said in a low voice. Her team seemed to respond.
For a moment, time seemed to stand still. The serpent was motionless. Even as she slipped into the earth, Hera’s spell continued to swell. The military team and the fairy army stood at the ready. No one seemed to breathe.
“NO!” Celeste screamed.
She pushed the serpent, who woke up from his enchantment. He lurched forward toward Hera. King Manannán swung his sword.
“Don’t do it!” Jill and Sandy screamed in unison.
“No!” Heather and Tanesha yelled.
King Manannán lopped off the head of the serpent. The serpent’s head bashed against the jagged rock edges of the bowl, and a high hysterical laugh came from Celeste. Thousands of baby serpents streamed from the wound. Unlike the babies in Sandy’s salon basement, these small serpents were immediately able to fly. The tiny serpents immediately sought human hosts. They bypassed the Olympians and Titans and flew at the humans. They zoomed through the ranks of the fairy army looking for the human fairy hybrids.
Alex’s team attacked with the flame throwers. Soon, the entire area reeked of baked serpent. But the baby serpents kept coming.
“Sandy!” Alex yelled.
“How?” Sandy yelled.
“With Paddie!” Alex yelled.
“Paddie?” Sandy asked.
Up to her knees in the amber sand, Sandy turned to her right where Jill still held Paddie and Katy.
“What does she want?” Jill asked.
“She was told that my mother’s symphony would help,” Sandy said with a shrug.
“It’s our only chance!” Alex yelled.
“How?” Sandy yelled to Alex, who was caught up in a fight with a particularly aggressive baby serpent. The serpents wanted inside Alex. She was fighting for her life.
“I know how,” Katy said in Jill’s ear.
“Go ahead,” Jill said.
“I want hairspray!” Heather yelled. “Hera! Abi! Someone!”
A case of hairspray appeared at Heather’s feet.
“Hey Alex!” Heather yelled.
She threw a can to Alex. She threw one to Jill, which Katy caught. Hera picked up a can.
“And this will . . .” Hera asked.
“Look!” Heather said.
Alex Hargreaves had lit her hairspray and was burning the tiny serpents that had surrounded her. The humans were turning the tide against the baby serpents.
“Go ahead, Katy-baby,” Jill said.
“Ok,” Katy said. “Paddie?”
She gestured for Paddie to hold his sword out.
“Auntie Sandy?” Katy asked.
Sandy was fighting the tiny serpents with her hairspray flame thrower. She glanced at Katy.
“Put that thing on Paddie’s shiny sword,” Katy said.
“But . . .” Sandy burned the tiny serpent in front of her.
“Do it,” Katy said with a nod.
Sandy threw down her hairspray flame thrower and took out the USB drive. The tiny serpents were on her. Perses used his sword like a bat to knock them away.
“Go on,” Perses said.
Sandy opened the USB drive and held the end to the sword.
Nothing happened.
The tiny serpents attacked Sandy. Perses threw down his sword to grab a canister of hairspray. He fought to keep the tiny serpents away from Sandy.
“Don’t give up!” Alex yelled.
Straining to hear anything, Sandy heard only the steady stream of hairspray, the louder gas-propelled flow if the military flame throwers, and the grunts from the fighting people around her.
Then there was a “tap, tap, tap” sound.
The hairspray streamed. The flame throwers burned gas. The people grunted.
And the symphony began. The music rose in volume until it echoed through the bowl.
“What the . . .?” Hera asked.
The tiny serpents were not motionless. They floated in the air. The soldiers burned swathes of them. King Manannán and his army batted them out of the air.
“Are they dead?” Jill asked.
“Asleep, Mommy,” Katy said.
“Look at Celeste!” Abi screamed from her tiny form.
Celeste had also stopped moving. She seemed completely overcome by the music. Her magical beauty enhancements slipped to show a plain woman with a slightly hunched back.
“She must have one of those creatures inside,” Fin said.
“You’ve said as much before, son,” King Manannán said. “You were right.”
“Hedone?” Hera asked. “It’s your turn.”
Heather nodded.
“You know . . .” Hera started.
“I’ve got this!” Heather said.
Heather closed her eyes.
“You have to . . .” Hera started again.
“I’ve got this,” Heather snapped.
Heather gave Hera a hard look and returned to her meditation. After a moment, she opened her eyes.
“Hey!” Jill said as Perses stepped out of the amber sand.
Perses walked to Jill and helped her out of the amber sand. He then helped Sandy and Hera.
“Jill!” Heather yelled. Perses helped her out of the sand. She nodded her thanks, and then call
ed, “Sandy! Tanesha! I need your help. Yours too, Perses.”
“Of course,” he said.
“What can we do?” Tanesha asked. She flew over and landed on Heather’s shoulder.
“We need to pull our friends from the Sea of Amber,” Heather said. “Our friends and family first, then anyone else before the symphony ends.”
“Hurry!” Hera yelled.
“First,” Heather said, “Perses? Hera? On my mark, we must call to him.”
“Who?” Tanesha asked, but her words were lost.
“Zeus! Hear me now!” Hera called.
“Zeus!” Perses said.
Heather clapped her hands together. Much to their amazement, the torso of a man appeared in the sand. He was emaciated. His hair was long and disheveled. Perses grabbed his arms and pulled him from the sand. He shook himself from head to toe like a dog. Liquid amber came off him and hung in the air. After a moment, it dropped to the ground.
“Hera,” Zeus said.
“That’s Zeus?” Sandy asked.
“He’s been stuck there for most of time,” Heather said.
“All those stories about him?” Sandy asked.
Zeus gave Hera a tender hug. In her arms, he was restored to a handsome man.
“Some are true. Hera made up about half of them up to cover for him being here,” Heather said. She cleared her throat. “We don’t have a lot of time. Hera! Zeus!”
The Olympians turned to her.
“Jacob! Delphie! Keenan! Rodney!” Heather called. “Come to my voice!”
Nothing happened.
“Join me in the call!” Heather said.
“Jacob!” Jill yelled at the same time Katy screamed, “Daddy!”
Nothing. They stared in shock and despair at the spot of amber goo. Suddenly, a hand the size of a frying pan shot out of the sand.
“Dad!” Tanesha yelled.
Fin grabbed Rodney’s hand and pulled. His father took the other side. Soon, Rodney’s head was above the amber sand.
“I have them all!” Rodney said. “You have to help!”
“Just love them,” Heather said. “I love you, Rodney Smith!”
He shot out of the sand. He reached his hand in and pulled Delphie out. Tanesha grew to human size and hugged her father.
“Love them!” Heather yelled.
Delphie tugged on a small dark hand and Keenan came out of the sand. King Manannán picked him up and twirled him around.
“Jacob?” Jill yelled.
“He’s got the rest,” Rodney said.
Rodney let go of Tanesha and bent down. Delphie knelt down next to him.
“You have to help me love them!” Heather yelled.
Jill set down Katy and Paddie. She ran to Rodney and Delphie.
“I love you, Jacob!” Jill said.
Jacob shot out of the amber sand and into her arms. Katy rushed to join them. Sandy held Paddie back so that the symphony wouldn’t be disrupted.
Without warning, people began to shoot up out of the amber sand. Everyone, including the military team, began pulling people out. Within minutes, the entire bowl was filled with thousands of people.
“Send them home, Hera!” Heather said.
“Go home,” Hera waved her hands in the air. “Go back to the moment of your capture. Return to your time and your lives. Be well.”
One at a time, the people began to disappear.
“We’re almost near the end of the symphony!” Alex jogged over to them.
“Go!” Heather said.
“How will you . . .?” Alex asked.
Fin clapped his hands, and all of the military people disappeared. A cheer came from the helicopter hovering overhead.
“I’ll stay,” King Manannán said. “I have some business with the serpents.”
“I’ll stay with you,” Abi said.
“It would be my honor,” King Manannán said. “Son? Send these people home.”
In a flash, Jill and Jacob were standing in their bedroom in each other’s arms. Katy held onto one side of their legs and Paddie the other.
“Sandy?” Aden’s deep voice resonated from below them.
There was a “Yahoo!” from Sam as Delphie reappeared in the Castle living room. Across the city, Tanesha returned to her bedroom to find Jeraine and Jabari hogging their bed.
In an instant, Heather was standing on the landing at her and Blane’s home. Ivy was asleep on the floor while Tink and Mack were asleep together on the couch in her room. The phone rang.
“Hello?” Heather asked.
Tink and Mack woke up. Heather carried the phone over to the couch and picked up Mack.
“Heather?” Blane asked.
“Blane,” Heather said.
“I don’t really know what happened, but I’m back,” Blane said. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure,” Heather said.
“They want to run some tests,” Blane said. “So you can’t come for a while, but . . .”
“We’ll be there,” Heather said. “I love you, Blane.”
“I love you, too,” he said and hung up the phone.
Heather grinned.
“Everything fixed?” Tink asked in a sleepy voice.
“Almost,” Heather said. She turned to look at the girl, but she was already asleep. Into Mack’s hair, she whispered, “Almost.”
She set the child in his crib and went to shower.
In Arizona, Rodney found himself standing at the foot of a queen sized bed in a secure hotel room in Phoenix.
“Rodney?” Yvonne asked as she opened her eyes.
He sat down on the bed next to her.
“How . . .?”
“Just missed my girl,” Rodney said. “I should shower.”
“Don’t you dare leave this bed,” Yvonne said.
She pulled him into bed.
After depositing everyone at the right place, Fin returned to the bowl one second before the music ended.
“Ready, son?” King Manannán said.
“Yes, sir,” Fin said.
“General?” King Manannán asked Abi.
“Sir,” Abi said.
“Here we go,” King Manannán said.
Chapter Three Hundred and Thirty-six
Girlfriend Corps
“Wait, I was gone?” Jacob asked.
“For a couple weeks,” Jill said.
Jacob shook his head. Jill knelt down to Katy and Paddie.
“You don’t remember?” Jill asked. She glanced at Jacob, and he shook his head. She put a hand on Paddie’s and Katy’s shoulders and said to them, “I bet you two are hungry.”
“Brownies?” Katy asked and gave her “please” face.
“Why not?” Jill asked. “Paddie? What would you like?”
“Pizza,” Paddie said.
“But only cheese.” Katy nodded.
“Cheese pizza!” Paddie said.
“We have some frozen pizza,” Jill said.
“You have what?” Jacob asked. His voice rose with surprise.
“We slipped into some old habits,” Jill said with a smile.
“We love frozen pizza, Daddy.” Katy reached out her arms to him, and Jacob picked her up.
“Frozen pizza and brownies it is!” Jill said. “But first, we need to call Paddie’s mommy and Auntie Megan. They’ve been worried.”
Jill picked up Paddie and they walked to the kitchen area. Jill found her phone and dialed Paddie’s mom, Julie. She gave Paddie the phone and went to start the brownies. After Jacob set Katy down, he stood in front of the freezer.
“I had to see it for myself,” Jacob said.
“Very funny,” Jill said. She took out the homemade brownie mix she and Katy had made and started putting the brownies together.
“Delphie’s been gone, Daddy,” Katy said. “And almost everybody. We eat by ourselves now. Well, the widdle bra-ders, too.”
“Brothers,” Jill corrected.
“Delphie? Everybody?” Jacob asked.
“Noelle and Sissy are in New York,” Jill said. “Charlie’s staying at Seth’s house. Tink’s with Heather, and I think Ivy’s there or she was going to be there tonight.”
“I guess I remember that,” Jacob said. “I feel like I just went to sleep and . . .”
He looked at Jill and then at Katy. Jill shooed him away from the refrigerator so she could get some eggs and milk.
“I had the worst dream,” Jacob said with a smile.
He reached into the freezer and took out a frozen cheese pizza.
“I have a confession,” he said as he pulled the packaging from the pizza.
“You love frozen pizza!” Paddie said with a squeal.
“I do,” Jacob said, and laughed.
With the brownies in the oven, Jill took the phone from Paddie and called Megan. She walked away from their happy kitchen to the sitting area. After a brief call with Megan, she sat down. She lightly tapped her phone to her chin. She heard Jacob chat with the kids as he put the pizza in the oven. After a few minutes, she looked over at him. He caught her eye and gave her a “what’s up?” look. Drawn to him, she walked back into the kitchen.
“I think you’re right, Mommy,” Katy said and nodded.
“How so?” Jill said.
“You need to go back,” Katy said.
~~~~~~~~
“Serpents and evil men and fairies and . . .” Jeraine reached out to stroke Tanesha’s bare shoulder. “I don’t know whether to be jealous or frightened.”
They were lying naked in their bed. Tanesha was on her back staring at the ceiling, and Jeraine lay on his side facing her. Jabari was asleep in his little room.
“Both,” Tanesha said. “I’m just glad Mom’s okay. Both of our moms.”
Jeraine gave a slight nod. He leaned over to kiss her lips.
“How was it to be in the fairy corps?” Jeraine asked.
“I wasn’t really in the fairy corps,” Tanesha said. “I was kind of their project. Plus, they sold me out in a heartbeat to that awful Celeste. Abi was furious, but they felt like they were doing the right thing.”
“You can’t be in the fairy corps anyway,” Jeraine said.
“And why is that?” Tanesha asked. She rolled onto her side to look at him.
“It would seriously conflict with the girlfriend-corps,” Jeraine said.
Tanesha was silent for a moment before she laughed.
“Girlfriend-corps?” Tanesha asked.
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