by Sonia Parin
“And what did they say?”
The Crone sighed. “Nothing much. They were sure you could be contained here.”
And she’d proven them wrong. What would happen now? “You’re not going to deny there was a plot against me?”
Dismissing the question as irrelevant, the Crone tilted her head slightly. “Have you come here to seek your revenge?”
Lexie considered it for a moment and thought she heard Priscilla gasp and murmur something about using the element of suspense in her next fairy tale.
Lexie couldn’t help asking again, “You’re not going to deny your involvement?”
The Crone looked down at her gnarled hands and then up again. “You and I are destined to cross paths too many times for me to lie to you. You need my realm and, needless to say, my realm can’t exist without me. It stands to reason you will want to stay on good terms with me.”
“So you did help them.” Something hard settled in her stomach. She had been in denial. Even after Priscilla had admitted to working for the Fairy Queen. Now she had confirmation.
The Crone gave a slow shake of her head. “Not in the way you think. I didn’t encourage you or stop you.”
“But you knew once I set off on the road I might never return and you made sure I undertook that journey by saying you didn’t have all the ingredients when, in fact, you did.”
The Crone’s gaze drifted over to Priscilla.
Gasping, Lexie turned. “You work for the Crone?”
Priscilla’s eyes danced around. “Well… Sort of. This is her realm. For the record, I would never have let the Queen of Hearts execute you.”
The Crone gave her a brisk smile. “I knew where you were every step of the way. No harm would have come to you.”
Jonathan nudged Luna with his boot. “Isn’t this your cue to say something?”
Luna murmured, “I don’t like to be too predictable. But if you insist, I did warn everyone about the fairy.”
“So, what are you going to do?” the Crone asked.
What could she do?
Lexie turned to the others. “Could you give us a moment, please?”
Reluctantly, they stepped outside but didn’t close the door.
When they were alone, Lexie asked, “Names. I want the names of everyone responsible for bringing me here.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
One step closer to home
“They were within their rights to try to contain you,” the Crone said in a matter-of-fact tone. “You displayed tremendous, unforeseen powers, which you don’t even understand.”
How did she know that?
Lexie pushed the thought away and went through the list of names the Crone had provided. She could only put a face to one of the names. Everyone else remained unfamiliar to Lexie. She only knew them as the Coven Disciplinary Board and the Fairy Queen. “This is really all about fear of the unknown.”
The Crone gave a small nod. “I urge you to proceed with caution and that is all I will say on the matter.”
Lexie took a step toward the Crone. “Can anything contain me?” If worse came to worst…
The Crone looked confused and snapped, “Did you learn nothing about yourself?” When Lexie didn’t answer, the Crone gave an impatient shake of her head. “When you came here, you were confused about yourself, your destiny and the powers you think are beyond your control.”
Powers she had called on only when she’d needed them, Lexie reasoned.
“What happened out on the road?” the Crone asked.
She’d dealt with some obstacles and… She’d died.
“What do you think a rogue witch would have done with the Queen of Hearts? And the Giant? Did you kill him?”
No, she hadn’t.
“You displayed full control of your powers and only used them when you had to.” The Crone’s shoulders stooped slightly, her voice lowered, “Nothing is known about you. Only you can write your destiny.”
Priscilla had said something along those lines.
“You’re being extremely helpful,” Lexie mused. “Why did you agree to cooperate with them?”
“I knew you wouldn’t come to any harm. Mostly, I expected the journey to teach you something.” The Crone looked over her shoulder at the TV. “Are we done here? The next episode is about to start and it’s my favorite.”
Feeling she had been dismissed, Lexie took a step only to stop. “You betrayed me…”
“Well? Do we have a hit list?” Luna asked when Lexie emerged from the cottage.
Herding them toward the path that led to the dark forest, Lexie said, “We have all the ingredients. That’s all that matters. Now we can go home.”
“Are you saying you’re going to let everyone off the hook?” Luna snorted. “This is your chance to show everyone who’s the boss. Opportunities such as this one don’t come around every day. Your survival depends on it. If you land in prison, the first thing you have to do is to pick a fight with the biggest and toughest inmate…”
“I’m not in prison,” Lexie argued.
“What if they try again?” Luna asked.
“What exactly do you suggest I do?”
“Give them a demonstration of what you can do,” Luna suggested. “Very few people have witnessed you in action. Then, they will really fear you and think twice before trying anything underhanded again.”
“Whatever happened to flying under the radar and not showing anyone my full powers?”
Luna purred, “I’m entitled to change my mind. Besides, you can do so much more now. They need to know you are not a pushover.”
“That’s okay. I don’t have anything to prove.”
Luna leaped up and settled on her shoulder. “But I’m your loyal feline companion. I’ll be a pushover by association.”
Lexie shook her head. “Can we please change the subject?”
“I’ll change the subject.” Priscilla hovered in front of Luna. “Would you like me to give you wings and make you roar like a lion?”
Luna’s eyes widened. “Yes, please.”
“I thought so.” Priscilla hovered away.
“Where are you going? What about my wings?”
“Oh, I didn’t say anything about actually giving you wings. I only wanted to have you believe I’d give them to you so you’d feel good. Did you feel good?”
“Yes, I did,” Luna muttered under her breath. “You have a cruel streak and I suppose it serves you well when you write your fairy tales.” Luna waited a moment before adding, “But once you cross that door and come into our world, watch out.”
The path narrowed and the trees converged to form a canopy casting everything into darkness.
Lexie patted her pockets to make sure she had the carrot and the ginger. “Okay. Everyone, stay close together.”
“I could light the way for you,” Priscilla offered.
Jonathan sidled up to Lexie. “Are you going to tell us what went on in there?”
“I think the Crone outsmarted us all. In a way, she managed to remain neutral.” The same couldn’t be said for the Coven Disciplinary Board or…
Her mom.
She looked straight ahead and said, “I know more about myself now than I ever did before.” And she’d needed the Crone to point it all out to her.
“I wish I could say the same.” He brushed both hands across his face. “If I ever want to connect with the O’Connors again, I might have to go into some sort of isolation tank. I think there might be too much interference on our side.”
The door came into view. Lexie breathed a sigh of relief.
Luna whispered, “Jonathan might need a little push.”
“What do you mean?”
“I had to bite him, otherwise he would never have come through the door. Are you going to tell the shrink about it?”
“Your actions were clearly well justified. Besides, she doesn’t need to know everything.”
They reached the door. Finally, Lexie thought, they were one
step closer to home.
Priscilla flew up to Lexie and hovered in front of her. “I suppose I should say goodbye now.”
“Are you sure?”
Priscilla wavered, “I should think after everything you’ve heard about me, you won’t want me to join your household.” Priscilla looked over her shoulder. “Then, there’s the question of me actually leaving the Crone’s realm. She won’t like it.”
“She won’t object and I think Rebel will enjoy having another fairy around.”
Luna peered down at her. “And who’s going to keep the fairy tales alive?”
Priscilla raised and lowered her shoulders. “I’m not indispensable. They’ll find a replacement.”
Jonathan stopped in front of the door and scratched his head.
“Just don’t think about it,” Lexie suggested and gave him a gentle shove.
Luna followed him through the door. That left Lexie and Priscilla.
“Well?”
Priscilla gave a small nod. “I might find inspiration for new tales.”
Lexie tapped her shoulder. Once Priscilla settled on it, she stepped through the door and stopped to look around, her feet set firmly on the ground, her hands hanging by her sides but ready…
She hadn’t known what to expect but it would not have surprised her to find the O’Rourke detectives waiting for her.
They weren’t…
Chapter Thirty
Home
“So, what’s the plan?” Jonathan asked. “Are you going to blink your way to your apartment?”
They’d arrived a few minutes after they’d left. The Crone had been right. Time worked at a different pace in her realm. “Are we really here?”
Jonathan looked around his inner sanctum. “Everything looks the same.” He pressed his hand to the wall. “Feels the same too.”
Lexie released a long breath. “We’ll walk back. I… I want to make sure everything is as it should be.”
They made their way through the next door and up the stairs to the pub. The lively chatter from the pub almost came as a shock to the system.
“Is this a tavern?” Priscilla asked.
“We call it a pub.” Luna pranced toward the exit. “You’ll get the hang of it.”
“I’m coming too.” Jonathan held the door open for Lexie. “You still look suspicious.”
She’d made a road bend to her will. Giving a casual shrug, Lexie said, “Cause and effect.” What if her actions had somehow affected the rest of her world?
Seeing Priscilla on Lexie’s shoulder, Luna settled on her other shoulder and scanned the street around them. “I don’t see any O’Rourke detectives. Maybe they’ve given you up for lost.”
Priscilla shrieked and cowered. “What are those dreadful monsters?”
“She must mean the cars,” Luna snickered.
Priscilla grabbed hold of a handful of Lexie’s hair and held on tight. “Why are there so many people and where are they going?”
Luna whispered, “I give her a week and then she’ll be begging to go home again.”
They rounded the corner and wove their way through the throng of people. If they’d arrived moments after they’d left, would they bump into themselves?
Lexie hurried her step, her heart punching hard against her chest until she caught sight of her apartment. So far, so good, Lexie thought. Everything looked normal. She had no idea what she expected to find.
“They wouldn’t try anything out in the open,” Jonathan assured her.
Lexie laughed. “Is that supposed to be comforting?” She glanced at him and saw him flinch. “What’s wrong?”
“I know what you are,” he whispered. “That’s what Luna said to me when she came to get me. With everything that’s been going on, I only just remembered. What do you suppose she meant?”
“Luna?” Lexie tugged her tail. “What did you mean by that remark?”
“You know I tend to ramble on,” Luna said. “I would have said anything to get him to go through the door. Maybe I wanted to engage his attention and lure him with a puzzle. I do work in mysterious ways.”
Priscilla moaned.
Lexie glanced at her and saw her pressing her little hands against her ears.
“How can you stand all this noise?” Priscilla wailed.
“I changed my mind,” Luna said. “She won’t last a day.”
Lexie nudged Jonathan. “Have you noticed anything different?”
“You’re really worried about the ripple effect.” He pointed to a building. “I always see that guy sitting by the window. He must be a writer.” He pointed out other familiar looking faces, some he knew by name and others by sight.
Lexie’s gaze bounced from one window to the next and then onto the next building. Yes, she could see familiar faces; people she recognized going about their business, but were they the same?
“Stop worrying,” Luna purred. “If worse comes to worst, you still have us.”
Coming to a stop in front of her apartment, she looked up at her building.
“Brace yourself and hold on tight, Priscilla. I believe the High Chair is about to sprint up the stairs.”
Lexie drew in a calming breath and proceeded with caution. Jonathan followed a step behind. While Luna shifted around, clearly impatient for something to happen.
Her mind should have remained fixed on what lay ahead but instead, it wandered off. The Crone had expected retribution from Lexie.
They went up the front steps and through the front door. Her hand slid along the balustrade. She looked up toward the landing. Her senses were alert to any movement or noise that might indicate the presence of someone… Good or bad.
She felt Jonathan following and she also knew he kept looking over his shoulder.
You’ve tapped into the spark inside you that is older than time itself.
What had the Crone meant by that? If Luna had picked up on the thought and if she had any opinions, she had decided to keep them to herself.
There are rules and laws, both written and unwritten. Yours are mostly unwritten…
Lexie tried to make light of the matter by thinking this all sounded too much like homework. “When something is not defined, everything is possible,” Lexie whispered. If her powers hadn’t been defined, they had no boundaries. No limitations.
Lexie’s breath caught in her throat.
The Crone had said anything that could be imagined could exist in her realm. Could the same be said for her powers? If she could picture it…
Lexie reached the landing and picked up her pace, walking with more determination.
Luna lowered her head. Her purrs deepened. Her paws pressed against Lexie’s shoulder.
This is it, she thought as she stood outside her apartment.
Drawing in a breath, she closed her eyes for a moment and then…
Her hand should have reached out to open the door. Instead, she stilled and…
Lexie went right through it.
Luna’s head swung around. “Huh?”
Lexie stopped in the middle of the room. Her gaze swept around. She saw Mr. Ellsworth stiffen. Mrs. Ellsworth gave a soft growl and elbowed him. Surprisingly, the gnome didn’t turn to clay.
A moment later, the door opened and Jonathan walked in. “Um… What did you just do? I mean, it shouldn’t surprise me, after all, you went through the door to the Crone’s realm, but that door is magical and this door is ordinary.
Octavia sprung to her feet. “Wow. That was quick.”
Luna leaped off Lexie’s shoulder and scurried toward Octavia. “We have traveled far and wide and have collected many tales to tell. How is Rebel? Never mind, I’ll see for myself.” She crossed the room to the table and settled down beside Rebel. “Is she dead? Oh… No, she’s sleeping.”
Priscilla flew toward the table where Rebel lay in her soap dish tucked in inside the cashmere sock. She hovered over her and sprinkled some fairy dust. Rebel stirred. Seeing Priscilla, she brightened and sat up.
The gnome stood with her hands on her hips and glared at Lexie. “About time. Did you get everything?”
Lexie wove her way to the fireplace and, kneeling down, she put all the ingredients on the small stool the gnome had been using as a table.
Straightening, she looked at Octavia. Their eyes locked and held for a moment. Neither one blinked.
She saw Octavia take a deep swallow. Clasping her hands together, she shifted.
Before Lexie could say anything, Cat and Mirabelle’s orbs whizzed in.
“She’s back. She’s back,” Cat exclaimed.
“Of course, she’s back,” Mirabelle clipped out in her British accent. “I never doubted she’d make it through.”
Without turning, Lexie felt Jonathan’s shoulders stiffen and his jaws clench together.
He stepped forward, his tone filled with accusation when he asked, “What have you two done?”
Mirabelle’s orb rose and brightened until its light filled the room. “You forget your place, guardian,” Mirabelle said.
To his credit, Jonathan stood his ground. “You were both in on this.”
Luna looked up. Her back arched. Full understanding of the situation registered in her little face. She sprung off the table, flew across the room and took a swipe at Mirabelle’s orb.
“Control your feline companion,” Mirabelle hollered. “She’s turned feral.”
“Has she?” Lexie asked, her voice nonchalant. “Luna has superior senses. Maybe she picked up on something you did.”
Luna lunged for Mirabelle again, only just missing the orb.
“Lexie,” a voice resounded from behind her.
Lexie turned and saw her mom.
Morgana stepped through the door, her long hair flowing, her green eyes bright, her expression surprisingly serious.
Growling, Jonathan swung around and pointed his finger at Morgana. “You. You’re responsible for all this.”
Morgana roared, “How dare you…”
