Slippers and Thieves Special Edition

by Christina Bauer

  At this point, Elle had the hotdog halfway to her mouth. She pauses. “Dare.”

  “I challenge you to a Magicorum Killer tournament.”

  Her eyes widen. “Right now?”

  “Oh, darn. We’ll have to do that later, won’t we?” I wink. “My turn again.”

  “Truth or dare?” asks Elle.

  My phone starts blaring with beeps and chimes. I pull it out and turn it off. “This is a very important game,” I explain. “I can’t be interrupted.”

  Elle takes out her cell and does the same. “Mine’s off too.” She resets her cell into her bag. “Enough stalling. Truth or dare?”

  I lean in close enough that Elle’s breath fans out over my mouth. “Dare.”

  “Go with me to Cynder Mercantile.” She worries her lower lip with her teeth. “Okay, that was a little odd.”

  “Not at all. What’s Cynder Mercantile?”

  “It’s my parent’s old store. They’re gone now.” Elle’s voice quakes as she says those last three words.

  “I’m so sorry, Elle.”

  “Cynder was their business and I’d like to see how it’s running. I haven’t visited because of my stepmother and sisters.” A shiver rolls across her shoulders. “They’re everything you can imagine from the fairy tale life template. And I don’t have enough magic to go alone and stay hidden. Fae warden and all that.”

  “Of course,” I say. “That’s a second dare we’ll have to save for another time, though. I’ll need to gather a special set of gems.”

  “Thanks.” Elle sets down her hotdog. “I was worried about Bry before. I mean, back in the basement.”

  I shift my position so all my focus is on Elle. No question about it. It’s a big deal for Elle to trust me with this. “What about Bry?”

  “She’s turning eighteen. It’s a big day for anyone with a fairy tale life template. Her aunties want her to marry some douchebag named Philpott.”

  I wince. “Knox won’t be happy about that.”

  “You think they’ll get together?”

  “I’ll put it to you this way. Knox is very protective. End of story.”

  “That’s…” Elle looks into the line of trees and gasps. “Jacoby.”

  “Who?”

  A guy steps out from the park. He’s a dark elf of the handsome variety. I’m talking silver irises, pointed ears and heavy frame. Not very elf-like as these types go. “I’m Jacoby,” he says with a grin that’s the definition of the word smug.

  “I’m Alec.”

  “I knew that,” says Jacoby. “Everyone knows that.”

  Elle rolls her eyes. “What are you doing here, Jacoby?”

  The elf takes a seat on our bench, careful to position himself on the other side of Elle. He sets his arm across the back of the bench and across Elle’s shoulders. It’s a mark of possession.

  Are these two together?

  Elle scooches closer to me. It’s a very clear move that says, you don’t own me. I can’t help but grin. And if my smile is as smug as Jacoby’s, so be it.

  Speaking of Jacoby, Elle shoots a frustrated look in his direction. “I know Jacoby from my parents’ store.”

  “Consider me a concerned and very good friend,” says Jacoby. “Which is why I’m here today. I’ve found out some information about your new buddy Bryar Rose.”

  “What about her?”

  “Trouble coming for her eighteenth,” says Jacoby. “I got word from an animate. Very reliable. It’s a mannequin from a Wicca supply store in Salem, Mass. Now that she’s enchanted and alive, she gets tons of visions of the future. It seems you and Bryar Rose will fight evildoers and the go on a great journey.”

  Elle gives Jacoby the side eye. “That’s not very specific.”

  “I’m afraid that’s what I have for you.” Jacoby gives me a knowing glance as he speaks his next bit. “I’ll return when I know more.” Without saying another word, he vanishes.

  Elle groans. “That’s Jacoby. Always materializing and disappearing at odd times. I should have warned you before. My parents sold items made by artist animates. I’ve a rather odd collection of buddies from that era.”

  “I can’t wait to meet them all,” I say. And I mean it. “Now we need to have a Magicorum Killers competition and a visit to your parent’s store.”

  “That we do,” confirms Elle.

  A warm sense of satisfaction spreads inside me. Two dates with Elle and a pleasant lunch. The odd visit from Jacoby aside, this marks my best workday ever as a fake Vice President of Le Charme jewelers.

  7

  Elle

  Alec and I walk back from lunch. My brain is all foggy, and not because of Jacoby’s surprise visit.

  I can’t believe I did all that.

  How could I risk my security and tell Alec I’m a warden, too? Even Bry doesn’t know. But that’s not even the worst thing I did today.

  Why did I ask Alec to visit Cynder Mercantile?

  It wasn’t anything I planned to do. The question just fell out of my mouth. Sure, I think about the store all the time. I wonder about the animates as well. Jacoby says they’re all fine, but he’s not exactly Mister Honest. And I’d rather see things for myself.

  If there’s one consolation, it’s how Bry turns eighteen soon. That should keep all of us busy for a while. Maybe Alec will forget I ever gave him that dare.

  Somehow I doubt it, though.

  8

  Alec

  Two Months Later

  Knox and I are back at our favorite gaming couch in my parent’s penthouse. We’ve almost finished level twenty on Magicorum Killers. I’ve been playing with Elle, too, only we’ve hit level thirty-seven.

  Slam!

  The main door whips open.

  “Alec!” It’s Diamond calling to me from the front foyer. Based on the note of anxiety in her voice, she is not happy.

  Knox pauses the game. “Want me to stay?”

  “ALEC!” This time, there’s some serious hysteria going on.

  “Nah, you better go. Tell Bry I say hi.”

  Between me, Knox, Elle, and Bry, we’ve had quite a few adventures over the last few months. Knox and Bry are now officially an item. Turns out, she’s a werewolf just like Knox.

  “I will.” Knox strides from the room just as Diamond comes in. Knox does his chin-nod thing in my mother’s direction. “Hey, Diamond.”

  She doesn’t even acknowledge him. Oh, this shall be ugly.

  Diamond stands before me, her face at least three shades of red. She wears a long trench coat and carries a large satchel. After opening the bag, she pulls out a photograph. “What’s this?”

  I reach out my hand; Diamond places the photo on my palm. It’s a picture of me, Knox, Elle, and Bry. There are also a ton of dead zombie-mummies around us. Long story short, Knox finally got to watch his life-long nemesis, Jules, get totally destroyed.

  Did I say we’ve had an exciting few months? It’s true.

  I hold out the picture and make a great show of examining it. “Do you have someone following me?”

  “Both you and your father. Seems I can’t trust either of you.”

  “That’s exceedingly rude, Diamond.” But I say that with a smile. You can get away with a lot when you smile.

  “Stop avoiding the issue. What is this?”

  “I fought some zombie-mummies. It’s not like we don’t have one locked up in the sub-basement.” And we do. Another long story. “Knox has a new girlfriend. She got in some trouble. I helped.”

  “And this?” Diamond hands me another picture. This one shows the four of us in Egypt posing before the pyramids.

  “I took a long weekend in Egypt.” As I speak, i’m careful to keep my voice casual. “It’s another Knox thing. His girlfriend is rather prone to trouble. But it’s all good now.” I reach for the gaming controller. “If you don’t mind, I’m almost done with my level here.”

  Diamond moves to block my view of the screen. “I don’t care about Knox’s girlfrie
nd.” Diamond pulls out yet another pic. It shows Elle and Bry in West Lake Prep. We all started going there in the fall so we could spend our senior year together. I arranged it and thought I’d been pretty subtle about the whole thing. Guess not.

  “So?” asks Diamond.

  “We all go to the same school,” I confirm. “It’s not like there are a million versions of Magicorum high. Everyone ends up at West Lake Prep.”

  “That’s not what I mean.” Diamond taps the image. “What about her?”

  Sure enough, Diamond points to Elle.

  It’s an effort to keep my features blank, but I manage it. “What you see.” I squint at the image as if noticing Elle for the first time. “She’s buddies with Knox’s girlfriend.”

  “This is the same girl you chatted up back at the L Center,” explains Mom. “It was right before the first Le Charme Extravaganza. You were fifteen. Don’t you remember?”

  Of course, I remember. But I’m not admitting that to Diamond. All of a sudden, that dream warning from the Queen of Hearts appears in my mind’s eye, written in red letters.

  Legend will keep you apart fro your true love.

  I set the dream aside. There’s enough to deal with right now.

  “That was years ago.” I lean back on the couch and kick my legs out. “What’s this all about?”

  Diamond pulls another picture from her satchel and hands it over. It’s a snapshot of Elle in a ball gown, only something about the image doesn’t look quite right.

  “What’s this?” I ask.

  “That’s Raelyn Livie. She was your father’s first choice for his Glass Slipper Ball.”

  I tilt my head. “His first choice? I’d no idea he’s made a choice for anyone at all. I thought he walked in, met you, and the rest just happened.”

  Sort of. I don’t add in all the stuff about the Le Charme curse. Mom doesn’t handle that topic well, to say the least.

  “Yes, your father had a first choice.” Diamond grips the photo with more force. “He proposed to Raelyn two hours before his Glass Slipper Ball.”

  The couch seems to turn liquid beneath me. “I must have heard you wrong. Did you say Legend proposed to someone else?”

  “Yes, Raelyn turned him down and married Declan Cynder.” Diamond then pulls out the image of the pyramids. “That’s Raelyn’s daughter, Elle.”

  I can’t believe this. “Elle’s mother was Legend’s first love?”

  “Yes, and you’re traipsing around with her. That’s completely unacceptable. Do we understand each other?”

  “Knox is my best buddy. Bryar Rose is his mate. Elle is Bry’s best friend. I can’t avoid this girl.”

  “Listen to me, son. I don’t care what you do or where you go. We got Knox an apartment so you can have parties and that’s fine. But Elle Cynder?” Mom grabs all the photos and jams them back into her satchel. “She’s off limits.”

  Diamond stomps out of the room. I slump back against the couch. So that’s why Diamond lost it when she first saw Elle. My father proposed to Elle’s mother.

  Whoa.

  I rub my neck and think things through. Cut Elle out of my life entirely? Never. Clearly, my father made his mistake and lost his love.

  There’s no way I’m losing mine.

  9

  Elle

  The past few months have been a trip. I made it through fighting zombie mummies… jetting overseas for the first time… and acing an odd experience with the pyramids. Plus, I did it all with Alec, Bry, and Knox.

  Which means I can do this.

  I can walk back into high school again.

  Nearby, happy students chatter about starting senior year. Everyone looks like regular teenagers in school uniforms. They aren’t. Sure, there’s the occasional human in the mix. Still, most students are Magicorum. I spy weres, fairies, and magic users in the crowd. Alec waits across the walkway. As usual, he’s swamped with his many admirers. Everyone knows his Glass Slipper Ball is on Valentine’s Day. Right now, all the buzz is about the school’s Autumn Masquerade. Word is, whoever Alec takes to that will certainly be his bride.

  I try not to think about it too much.

  Bry and Knox stand nearby. Her head leans on his shoulder as a parade of weres march by them both. Basically, Bry and Knox are the total power couple of the shifter community now. Their buds, Hollywood and Abe, keep bowing and calling them your Majesties. And considering how Knox is the known warden of magic, that makes sense. Bry is no slouch in the power department, either. Weres sense this stuff, and it makes them submit.

  Sadly, it’s not the same deal with the fae.

  I’ve spent my whole life hiding the fact that I’m the warden of fae magic. As of today, only Alec, Bry, and Knox know the truth. And after our experience at the pyramids, let’s just say it’s not a lock that I’m as super-charged as I used to be. So why am I purposely hanging out with fae by attending this school? They could find out I’m a warden and still pretty powerful in magic.

  There’s only one reason I’m here, and he’s chatting up fans across the walkway.

  I am so screwed.

  A group of fae seniors walk by. Everyone calls them the Three Seasons, mostly because they’re named Autumn, Winter, and Spring. There used to be the Four Seasons, but Summer graduated last year. There’s no missing their whispers, mostly because they’re not trying to keep their voices too low.

  She doesn’t even have wings.

  How did she get into West Lake Prep anyway?

  I heard it’s because the shifters feel sorry for her.

  On reflex, my hands ball into fists. I’m half fairy, so you’d think I like my kind. Yet outside of my mother, I haven’t met anyone from the Faerie Lands who doesn’t suck.

  Bry steps to my side. “What’s wrong?”

  “What makes you ask that?”

  This is one of my best tricks, by the way: answer a question with another question. It’s a great way to avoid communicating anything that’s a downer. And Bry is so smiley today, I hate to rain on her happy shifter parade.

  When we first started school, Bry was relegated to studying in the basement. Long story. Now she’s in regular shifter classes and the equivalent of a queen. No one deserves happiness more than Bry.

  “Come on.” Bry sighs. “I can scent your worry.”

  “You can? Weird.”

  “Don’t avoid the question, Elle. I know most of your tricks. You taught them to me.” When she next speaks, her voice is very low. “What are you anxious about? I have a few ideas.”

  “Anxious? Me? No way. I can handle the no wing comments.”

  Bry gasps. “The fairies are teasing you about not having wings?”

  “All day long. You have shifter hearing. I figured you knew.”

  Knox steps up. Now his nose is telling him there’s trouble. “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m fine. You guys get back to your scene.”

  Knox frowns. “You’re worried that magic isn’t returning to the world, yeah?”

  This time I answer a question with another question, and it’s not on purpose. “What?”

  “We had all those adventures in Egypt,” says Bry. “That should have boosted the number of Magicorum around.”

  “Or made the ones who are here more powerful,” adds Knox. “That hasn’t happened. I just guessed that’s what was bugging you. Bry and I talk about it all the time.”

  The bell rings, signaling us to enter the school. We all wear enchanted bracelets that hide our true nature. On the exterior, West Lake Prep looks like a brownstone with a short flight of steps leading to a single wooden door. The students look like humans, too. Yet once you cross the threshold, the glamour vanishes. Everyone’s outfit changes. The shifters wear leather. The magic users all sport robes. The fairies dress in neon outfits which contrast their wings.

  As I step across the threshold, my own ensemble transforms as well. All of a sudden, I’m in jeans and a T-shirt. There’s no need to dress like the rest of the fairies
. If I’m not going to fit in, I might as well be comfortable.

  Once again, I wonder why I’m here.

  My gaze snaps to find Alec in the crowd. He’s chatting up a group of no less than six girls. His eyes find mine. He gives me the barest of winks. I nod, blush, and hurry off to the fae section of the school.

  My first class of the day is fae history. Turns out, everything I learned in my online classes was human stuff. Here at West Lake Prep, we learn about the Magicorum. Even so, most of this stuff I already knew from surfing Magicweb. When you retrieve magical jewels, learning comes along for the ride.

  I enter the classroom. Like everywhere else in this section, it’s painted in neon colors—green in this case. Loopy golden desk chairs line the floor. I slip into one in the back corner. There are about thirty other kids here, all of them in their seats. The trio of seniors from outside keep not-whispering about me. They really need a new hobby.

  Our teacher for this class is Goldilocks, the principal of the fae school. She looks like a little cherub with blonde hair, but make no mistake. Goldilocks is evil. Our principal flits to the front of the class and slaps her enchanted lollipop against her palm. Everyone quiets.

  “Good morning class.”

  “Good morning, Goldi,” say the students.

  “Every so often I introduce the new additions to our little community. There hasn’t been anyone in ages, so I’m very excited for the news today.” One of the Three Seasons raises her hand. Goldi gestures to her. “Yes, Autumn?”

  “We’ve had a new girl for a while now.” Autumn points to me. “It’s Elle.”

  “You should introduce her,” says Spring.

  “Elle?” Goldi stares at me as if she’s seeing me for the first time. “When did you get here?”