by Emery Belle
“So he didn’t kill Cassandra?” I asked, adding another mental check to the long list of reasons pointing to Fiona Thane. “You’re positive?”
The head narrowed his eyes. “Lazar has not the brains nor the skills necessary to pull off such an event, but there is one who does, and that person may be closer than you think.”
I swallowed hard and looked around as the image of the man in black’s face invaded my mind. Was he here now, watching, waiting? I turned to leave, suddenly aware of just how alone I was, when the lock on the shop’s door slid smoothly into place.
“Let me out,” I demanded, jabbing my finger squarely into the shrunken head’s nose. “You can’t keep me here.”
“I can keep you here as long as I please,” he answered smoothly, curling his tongue over his bottom lip. “It seems to me, Wren Winters, that I have given you the answer you so desperately sought. Now what do you plan to do for me in return?”
Without answering, I shoved my credit card into the doorframe again and jiggled the lock, but it was no use. The head clearly possessed magic of his own, and he was using it to hold me hostage here. Deciding it was probably safer to play along, I planted a smile on my face and turned around to face him once more. “What would you like me to do for you, Mr., uh, Head?”
“My name is Beaumont Gaylord, but you may call me Lord for short.”
“I’m not doing that,” I snapped, rolling my eyes.
“Fine,” he snapped back. “Monty, then.”
“Okay, Monty,” I said in a sickly-sweet tone. “Please tell me what I can do for you in return so you’ll let me out of this shop?”
Monty let out a long, theatrical sigh, then gazed around the dark shop with disdain. “I have been entombed here for far too long, Wren Winters, with nothing to do but listen to Lazar weep about his silly, self-created problems.”
He paused, pursing his lips for a moment before looking up at me, his eyes brimming with excitement. “I think I should very much like a change of scenery.”
Chapter 14
“Garnet Moon!” Monty bellowed, swinging back and forth on his chain as Garnet shrieked and dropped the armful of books she had been carrying all over the floor.
“What is that thing doing here?” she gasped, clutching her hand to her chest as Monty snickered and then fell silent when I threw him a death stare.
“I told you to stop doing that,” I hissed, jumping up from my bed and hurrying to help Garnet pick up her books. She glared at me, hands on hips, silently demanding an explanation. “This is Monty,” I said, shuffling my feet guiltily. “He’s going to be staying with us for, uh, a short while.” The timeline was still a little fuzzy, but Garnet didn’t need to know that. Best to ease her into the idea of our new roommate.
“Beaumont Gaylord,” he corrected in a huffy tone. “But you may refer to me as Monty, since someone refuses to call me Lord.” I shot him another death stare, and he thankfully fell silent, though his eyes continued to dance with mischief.
“Wha—” Garnet began, then stopped and shook her head. “We’ll talk about this later, Wren. Are you ready to go to class?” She checked her watch. “If we don’t leave now, we’re going to be late, and I heard that Lady Winthrop has a no-tolerance policy. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be stuck cleaning out the groundskeeper’s insta-potty tonight as punishment.”
“I’m ready,” I said, grabbing my spellbook and falling into step behind her. On our way out the door, I waved to Monty, who made a great show of being offended when I refused to take him with me. He was still muttering mutinously under his breath when I slammed the door behind me and offered an apologetic smile to Garnet, whose lips were pressed into a thin line.
“So,” I said, eager to change the subject, “is tonight the night you’re going to pay Fiona a visit?”
We bounded down the dormitory steps and emerged into the beautiful sunshine, and I breathed in a lungful of sea air tinged with just a hint of wildflowers. It was easy to forget your troubles on a day like this, even though I hadn’t slept a wink last night. Garnet had stayed over at her parents’ house, and though Monty’s presence was, admittedly, somewhat comforting, I still kept my eyes open and my gaze alternating between the door and the window until the first rays of sun burst over the horizon.
Garnet immediately perked up. “Yes! Are you sure you don’t want to tag along? You could always hide out around the corner, or we could bribe someone to change the shape of your nose so Fiona won’t recognize you. We’ll probably be able to get it changed back after we’re done.”
Prodding my nose, which I rather liked, I shook my head emphatically. “Percival wants to know where we stand on the Cassandra investigation, so Sebastian and I are staying late tonight to work on some more theories. We’ll probably grab a bite to eat at some point… What?” I said when Garnet stopped walking and glared at me. “What’s the matter?”
“Sebastian is what’s the matter,” she said, her voice curt. “I know he’s handsome and charming, Wren, but I’m sick and tired of seeing you falling all over yourself for him—”
“I am not falling all over myself—” I began hotly, but Garnet kept talking as though she hadn’t heard me.
“Do you have any idea what his reputation is around the island?” When I shook my head, she gave me a grim smile. “He’s a player, Wren, a love ’em and leave ’em type who doesn’t care whose heart he stomps on along the way. He’s dated three-quarters of the women on this island—young, old, and everywhere in between—and the vast majority of them would love nothing more than to curse him to the Frozen Island. In Antarctica,” she added when I shot her a puzzled look.
“Look,” I said, anger blooming in my chest, “if you’re jealous or something—”
“Jealous?” Her eyes blazed, and I half-expected sparks to shoot out of them. “I wouldn’t touch him with a ten-foot wand, Wren, and neither should you.”
She spun on her heel and continued walking, her shoulders rigid with annoyance, then stopped and swung back around to face me. “I’m just trying to look out for you, Wren,” she said, her voice still hard. Then she sighed and pressed a comforting hand to my shoulder. “I don’t want to see you get hurt, okay?”
Her green eyes were warm, and though part of me wanted to continue arguing, I nodded reluctantly and followed her down the sidewalk, my head swimming with confusion. I no longer knew what to think, or who to trust, except for the one person I had always been able to rely on.
Myself.
“Miss Winters,” Lady Winthrop said, sending my training wand flying out of my hand with a flick of her own wand. “Are you quite sure you’re all right?”
I blinked and looked around to find Garnet examining her chopped-off hair in the mirror with a look of horror; I was supposed to have been trimming her split ends, but I had somehow managed to shear off the entire left side, and now every bump on her skull was on full display.
“I look like a monster!” she wailed, grabbing her own training wand and trying to set it right. It grew back frizzy and disheveled, and she let out another wail, sharp and high-pitched, and I covered my ears with my hands.
“I think you look beautiful,” Hunter said, his cheeks turning a brilliant shade of pink, but Garnet whipped her head around, snarling at him.
“Don’t you dare make fun of me, Hunter Wallace. Look what she’s done!” She pointed a shaky finger at me and gave an enormous sniff.
“Everybody calm down,” Lady Winthrop ordered, examining Garnet’s hair with interest. “Hair styling isn’t my specialty, Miss Moon, so I’d suggest you pay a visit to The Tortoise and the Hair after class for a slight… revision. You can ask him to send the bill to the academy.”
The bell rang, but Lady Winthrop held up her hand to stop us from gathering our things. “For the first time, I’m going to permit the three of you to take your training wands home to practice.” She narrowed her eyes on each of us, her lips pursed sternly.
“You will practice only the s
pells you have learned in our lessons thus far, and nothing further. You will use these wands only in the safety of your dormitory. Rest assured that if I catch even the slightest hint of any of you using your wands outside of these parameters, you will be forced to forfeit your citizenship on this island. No excuses.” She pointed a slender finger at us. “Do you understand?”
We nodded mutely, which seemed to satisfy her. “Very well,” she said. “Have a pleasant evening.”
She swept from the room, leaving the three of us alone. Garnet kept her back turned to me as she yanked a sunhat out of her bag and shoved it over her head in an attempt to hide my poor spellwork. I knew there was no point apologizing right now; she’d get over it eventually, especially when I reminded her just how much damage her own wand had caused.
I waved goodbye to Hunter and left the academy alone, my pulse racing as I made my way toward the café where I had agreed to meet Sebastian for a quick meal before we headed to the office. Although Garnet’s words still rang in my head, I had no real reason to cancel our plans, especially since Sebastian had been nothing but kind to me so far. No, it was best to play it cool and let the chips fall where they may, but I certainly wasn’t going to allow myself to be just another notch on Sebastian’s broomstick.
He was waiting for me outside the Witch’s Brew, a quaint tea shop and café located a few blocks from The Islander offices. He was seated on a bench, his nose buried in a book, and was looking casually windswept, his dark hair falling over one eye. I watched him for a moment from across the street, noting the way many of the women who passed him did a double-take, though he seemed not to notice. When he looked up and saw me standing there, he tucked the book under his arm and stood, grinning as he waved me over.
“This place is one of the best-kept secrets on the island,” Sebastian said as I greeted him with a tentative smile and we walked inside. “The food is out of this world, and you can order any flavor of tea you’re able to dream up, even if it’s not on the menu. I highly recommend the razzledazzle spice.”
He leaned against the hostess station and said, “Two please,” and while I looked around to see who he was talking to, a couple of menus lifted themselves into the air and floated toward a cozy table in the corner.
“So,” he said as we sat down and perused the menu, “did you find out anything interesting about Lazar when you went back to his shop last night?” Before I could respond, a metal cart weighed down with desserts zoomed toward us and screeched to a stop at our table, a harried-looking woman hot on its heels.
“No, no!” she cried as it began shuffling plate after plate of dreamy-looking lemon custard, chocolate lava cake, and raspberry pie onto our table until it was practically groaning under the weight of all the goodies. “I told you table 23, not table 32! Can’t you do anything right?”
She ran a hand through her frizzy hair and gave us an apologetic smile. “Sorry for the intrusion. I’ve been trying to train him for two months now, but he just doesn’t seem to get the hang of it.” She glared at the cart before waving her wand at our table. The desserts slid back onto the cart, which sagged sadly under the woman’s criticism.
My disappointment must have shown on my face, because Sebastian plucked several of the dishes right back off the cart and set them in the middle of our table with a wink. “I think we’ll skip the main meal and go straight for dessert tonight. Sound okay, Wren?”
He laughed when I nodded enthusiastically, and the cart seemed to straighten up again, as though it had regained some of its confidence. It zoomed happily off to the next table, the woman hurrying after it, still brandishing her wand.
I took a bite of the chocolate cake and moaned happily, and when I glanced up again, Sebastian’s eyes were lingering on my lips, his expression unreadable. Feeling slightly flushed, I pushed the plate away as Garnet’s warning about Sebastian’s reputation rang in my ears again. My eyes slid to the diners around us, and I noticed for the first time that a blonde woman sitting at the opposite end of the café was staring daggers at him… and me.
“Um, anyway,” I said, trying to regain my focus. “About Lazar. I talked to Monty—you know, the head that hangs in his shop? He was pretty adamant that Lazar had nothing to do with Cassandra’s death. We don’t have any concrete evidence one way or the other at this point, though, so I’m definitely not ruling him out yet. The head said—”
“Excuse me.” The blonde woman I’d noticed staring at us had appeared by our table, smiling down at us with her hands clasped daintily in front of her. “My apologies for the intrusion—I don’t want to interrupt your date—but would you mind if I have a quick word with Sebastian here?”
“Oh, we’re not on a—” I began, feeling flustered, but before I could finish my sentence, the woman had picked up my half-eaten chocolate cake and, in the blink of an eye, dumped it over Sebastian’s head.
“That’s for my sister,” she snarled as I stared up at her, shell-shocked, and Sebastian wiped at a glob of icing that had fallen onto his lap. “Go anywhere near her again, and next time it’ll be much, much worse.” Then, with the threat still hanging in the air, she wiped her hands on our tablecloth, turned, and flounced away.
Sebastian pulled out his wand, muttered a spell, and began siphoning off the chocolate, his cheeks blazing with embarrassment. “Sorry about that,” he said as I reached over to help him. “Last year I—”
“Stop.” I held up my hand. “It’s none of my business, and I don’t want to know the details.”
After stealing one last bite of dessert, I threw down some gold coins, slung my bag over my shoulder, and began walking out of the café without bothering to check if he was following me. Garnet was right—as far as potential boyfriend material went, it was becoming clearer and clearer that Sebastian was bad news, and despite my attraction to him, I needed to stay as far away from him as possible.
Chapter 15
Sebastian was quieter than usual when we reached the newspaper offices and got down to business, spreading Cassandra’s most recent gossip columns around the cubicle floor and making a new list of possible suspects. I noticed his gaze sliding toward me on more than one occasion, but whenever he opened his mouth to say something, I hurriedly inserted a new suggestion about the investigation to fill the gap.
“What about this?” I said, holding up a column Cassandra had written about a vampire baker who had been caught injecting blood into his island-famous baklava recipe.
Sebastian shook his head. “No, that only boosted his business among the bloodthirsty crowd.” He hesitated and looked around, then shifted closer to me. I could see a smudge of chocolate still on his eyelid. “Listen, Wren, about what happened at the—”
“Glinna!” I bounced to my feet and greeted the fairy, who was fluttering by my cubicle balancing a stack of papers. “What keeps you at the office so late tonight?” Sebastian smiled up at her, but the corners of his lips were tight.
“Oh, Percival wanted me to help with some budgeting project,” Glinna said airily, holding up the papers. “These are photo copies from the Magic Island phonebook. Since our revenue and circulation numbers are down so much lately, he’s got it in his head that we need to start cold-calling every man, woman, and child on the island and badgering them until they’re practically begging us to take their money just so we’ll leave them alone.” She rolled her eyes, and I made a sympathetic noise in the back of my throat.
“Want to help us with the Cassandra investigation?” I asked, waving my hand at the newspapers spread all over the floor and ignoring Sebastian’s hot gaze, which was practically burning a hole right through me. “We sure could use someone else’s input.” And I could use any reason not to continue sitting next to Sebastian in such close quarters.
“I wish I could,” she said, her eyes darkening as they slid over Cassandra’s columns, “but Percival is starting to get frantic. There’s some big investor meeting coming up next week, and I get the sense they’re going to be asking hi
m some pretty tough questions about all the money we’ve lost.” She furrowed her brows. “Let’s just hope we all have jobs by the time it’s over.”
“All the more reason to get back to work,” Sebastian interjected smoothly, grabbing my wrist and tugging me back down beside him. “If layoffs are coming, we don’t want to be the first ones on the chopping block.” I allowed myself to be pulled to the ground, but I kept my back against the cubicle wall, putting as much distance between myself and Sebastian as possible.
After Glinna waved goodbye and fluttered off, he picked up one of Cassandra’s columns, scanned his eyes over it, then set it back down again with a sigh. “Too bad Cassandra blew up her own computer or we could see if she was working on anything that might give someone a motive to murder her.”
He waved his hands over the newspapers scattered between us. “My gut is telling me these are all dead ends.” He checked his watch. “When did you say your friend Garnet was going over to Fiona Thane’s house?”
“Tonight,” I replied, stretching my neck from side to side and swallowing a yawn. “She’s probably there right now, in fact.” I glanced at the phone sitting silently on my desk. “She promised to call me directly as soon as she was done. I told her I’d be here all night.”
“We’ll be here all night,” Sebastian corrected. “I promised to help you, Wren, and I meant it. We have no idea what you’re up against here, and I refuse to sit back and let something happen to you if I could have prevented it.” His expression was so solemn, so sincere, that I had to shove my hands under my bottom to resist the sudden urge to reach over and stroke his cheek.
Instead, I pulled a stack of newspapers toward me and buried my nose in them. Sebastian must have finally caught the hint, for he did the same, and we worked in strained silence for a while, the only sound the rustling of papers and the occasional sigh from one of us as we tossed aside potential leads. By now, the offices were empty; Glinna had fluttered past my cubicle not long ago to say goodnight, her eyes drooping with tiredness and her wings looking lackluster in the dim light.