by Sarah Noffke
She opened the container, offering it to Sophia. The crispy chips were covered in melted cheese and piled high with carne asada, pico de gallo, guacamole, and lettuce. “Are you ready to try nachos?”
“Yes,” Sophia declared, picking up a single chip all proper-like, as if she were lifting a teacup into the air, her finger extended. She took a small bite, her eyes lighting up with delight. “Wow, those are the best things I’ve ever tasted!”
“I told you,” Liv stated triumphantly, pulling a chip free from its brethren, a string of cheese reaching between the two. Unlike Sophia, she crammed it into her mouth, enjoying the burst of flavor.
“Don’t worry, John,” Liv said, sliding a container in his direction. “I didn’t forget about you.”
He rubbed his hands together excitedly. “Can’t wait to dig into this double-steak chimichanga with extra-hot salsa.”
“About that,” Liv said between bites. “I altered the order just a little bit.”
His enthusiastic expression dropped. “Why’d you do that?”
“Because your order was a heart attack waiting to happen, and I can’t have that,” Liv explained. “Instead I got you something similar, but with a little less meat, a few more vegetables, and nothing fried.”
John opened the container and grimaced. “What is this?”
“Spinach and chicken enchiladas with a side salad,” Liv answered.
He eyed their nachos with envy. “Those look better.”
“We’re hardly able to choke them down,” Liv said, fighting Sophia for more steak pieces.
“What’s in there?” John asked, pointing to the other container sitting next to Liv.
“More nachos,” she answered. “I told Sophia I wouldn’t share with her, but that’s not the sisterly thing to do, so I got us two orders. When we finish these, we can move on to more.”
John took a bite, not at all looking happy about his meal. “I wish I were a magician who could eat ten thousand calories a day and not have to worry about my heart.”
“Speaking of which,” Liv said, “have you had a chance to look into the family records like I mentioned?”
After visiting Dr. Dowling’s office, Liv had started to piece together a hypothesis about why John could see magic but other mortals couldn’t. It might explain why the brain waves being transmitted, if that were in fact the case, didn’t affect him.
“Not yet,” he answered. “But I will straight after lunch if you don’t mind watching the shop while I dig around in the storage area.”
“Not at all,” Liv said. “That will give me a chance to teach Sophia how to—”
Liv didn’t have a chance to finish her sentence, because at that moment a portal appeared in the open space next to the row of shelves. It appeared the same as all other portals, full of blues and greens.
She expected Clark to step through with a sour expression, which would deepen once he found out about the dragon. She even expected that Stefan might be visiting, since he’d been threatening to stop by her other place of work. Or it could have been Hester, who had wanted to check on Liv’s injuries after Vera had attacked her.
Get the summoning stone, a voice yelled in Liv’s head. She glanced down at Plato and knew immediately that it was him. She did as he said, reaching into her pocket and wrapping her fingers around the stone Rudolf had given to her.
Out of all the things Liv might have expected, she had never pictured a large black bear with a thick collar on a leash stepping through the portal. And even more surprising was that holding his leash was the most beautiful woman in the world: Queen Visa of the fae.
Chapter Thirty-Six
The first time Liv had seen Queen Visa in the kingdom of the Fae, she was so beautiful it had hurt to look at her, but somehow she appeared even more radiant now as she stepped in the repair shop wearing a backless red gown that flowed behind her like she was being blasted by a fan at a photoshoot. Her long blonde hair cascaded down her back, and her eyes smoldered with hot contempt.
“Warrior Liv Beaufont,” she said, her tone full of acid. “Prepare to die for what you’ve done.”
If Liv had had any chance of believing that the queen had merely stopped by for a visit, that was gone now. When they’d first met, Queen Visa had been quite taken with her, stating that they should grab a drink or get massages soon, but apparently, they were no longer friends.
Liv stepped forward, trying to put as much distance between her and the others as possible. “Queen Visa, I can explain if you only give me a chance.”
The black bear rose on his back legs, towering as he growled. Until recently, Liv would have said he was the largest animal that she’d ever seen, but werewolves actually rivaled his size.
“I agree, Bruiser,” the queen said to the bear. “It is sad that I’ll have to kill such a beautiful specimen, but that’s what happens when someone lies to me. You didn’t give me your blood. There will be no explanations for you, Warrior. You’ll pay for what you’ve done, and so will everyone you care about.”
Liv held out her arms protectively. “No, please leave them out of this. They didn’t do anything wrong. Just punish me.”
“No,” Sophia argued and bravely came around to stand in front of her sister, protecting her.
Queen Visa wasn’t swayed by this act of courage. She probably would have killed them both on the spot, but the dragon’s egg on the workbench caught her attention. “What is that?”
Liv’s mind raced. She needed to get Sophia and John out of there, but there was so much going on. She didn’t know how she’d manage it. While she had a chance, Liv placed a shielding spell on them. It wouldn’t hold for long, but it was the best she could do under the circumstances.
“It’s a dragon’s egg. I’ll give it to you if you like,” Sophia said. “All you have to do is let us go.”
Liv’s heart was lightened by her little sister’s act of bravery and selflessness.
However, Queen Visa wasn’t impressed. “Child, why would I let you go in exchange for the egg when I could simply take it?”
“Because it’s mine,” Sophia said boldly. “If you take it, the dragon won’t hatch for you, but if I give it to you, it might.”
Queen Visa considered this, lowering her chin and running scrutinizing eyes over Sophia. “You are as beautiful as your sister. What is your name, little one?”
Liv ran her fingers over the summoning stone, wondering why Plato had told her to hold onto it. Then the words from Mysterious Creatures came back to her, and the strange chapter she had read about fae made more sense all of a sudden:
The fae do have some weaknesses that their adversaries can exploit in order to weaken them. However, the best defense against a fae is another fae. Whereas magicians and elves struggle to penetrate their tough exterior, another fae has little problem getting past these shields. It is for this reason that the fae rarely battle one another, knowing that the biggest weakness to their brand of magic is one of their own. The fae have little history of civil war because of this fact, knowing that if they turned on one another, they would be extinct in no time.
The realization hit Liv hard. She actually needed Rudolf. Without him, there was no possible way to defeat the queen of the Fae.
“My name is Sophia Beaufont,” the little magician answered, curtseying to the queen. Even when facing a deadly enemy, she was still polite.
Queen Visa took note of her manners too, smiling wickedly. “Maybe I’ll only kill Liv and the mortal. I like the idea of having you as one of my pets.”
“But you could have my dragon,” Sophia argued.
“I don’t want your dragon,” the queen countered. “Not when I can have you.”
Liv slid in front of her sister, having had enough time to formulate her plan. “Sophia isn’t up for discussion, and neither is killing me.”
The queen’s eyes grew hot again as she tightened her grip on the bear’s leash. “Bruiser, can you believe how she speaks to me?”
Liv tuned the queen out and focused, gripping the stone. Come on, Rudolf, I need your help.
The form of Rudolf sprang up in front of Liv, his back to the queen and Bruiser.
“Well, hey there, love,” he chirped, looking at the table. “Having a fiesta and want me to join? I do make everything more fun.”
Liv shook her head adamantly.
Rudolf must have caught the seriousness in her eyes because he froze, his smile dropping.
“There’s something dangerous and deadly behind me, isn’t there?” he asked.
She nodded.
He sniffed the air. “And it reeks of B.O. and garbage…” A moment later he added, “Oh, and I smell a bear as well.”
Liv deflated. Maybe calling on the fae to help hadn’t been such a good idea. She remembered now how he had cowered in front of the queen when they were in Las Vegas. Rudolf had obviously lost his confidence when Queen Visa struck down Serena and buried her at the bottom of the fountain at the House of Seven. But if what Bermuda said about fae was correct, Liv didn’t stand a chance without him. On a good day, she could outthink the queen, but everything was happening so suddenly. Her only hope was to open a portal beside the House of Seven and get Sophia and John to safety.
Rudolf pressed his hands into the lapels of his maroon jacket and mouthed the phrase, “I got this.” Then he spun to face the queen. “Oh, yes, I totally knew it was you, Visa. You haven’t gotten that gland issue taken care of yet, have you?”
The queen’s porcelain-white face flushed red. “Rudolfus, why do you look like you’ve aged? What have you done to yourself?”
Rudolf set off on a path around the queen, snaking behind her and talking over her shoulder. “Why, indeed? Do you remember when you murdered the woman who would have been my wife on our wedding day?”
Queen Visa, undeterred by his closeness, batted her eyelashes. “And here I worried that you’d forgotten all the nice things I’ve done for you.”
When Rudolf came around to the other side of the queen, he stuck his face up next to the bear, seeming to have a staring contest with it. “Well, I managed to get Serena’s body out of the fountain where you accidentally left it, you silly blonde.”
“You what?” Queen Visa said in disbelief. “How could you do that…” Her eyes swiveled to Liv. “You! You helped Rudolfus to get that tramp back? Now you’re really going to pay.”
Liv knew Visa was a woman of her word, which meant time was running out. She had to get Sophia and John out of the shop. Hopefully, Rudolf would create a distraction for her to do it since that was what he was good at.
As if sensing her thoughts, he pulled his face away from the bear and glared at the queen. “The bear has much better-smelling breath than you.”
Liv almost laughed but instead took this opportunity to open a portal behind Sophia.
“What are you doing, girl?” Queen Visa yelled. “You’ll die now for this.” She raised a hand, seconds away from ending Liv’s life.
The Warrior turned to usher Sophia through the portal, but a loud roar cut through the air. Liv spun to find that where Plato had been standing was a large black panther. It leapt through the air and attacked the bear, who growled furiously. The panther had the advantage, wrestling the bear onto its back and swatting it in the face.
“No! Bruiser!” the queen yelled. “Get off of him, you beast.”
Liv took this chance to shove Sophia through the portal and ordered John to follow. He didn’t move fast, his face white and his eyes filled with horror. Once they were through, she closed the portal and turned to find the panther and the bear rolling around, knocking into the shelves, appliances raining down on them.
“You dirty lynx!” Queen Visa screamed. “I’ll kill you for this!”
“No!” Liv yelled and strode forward, but Rudolf cut her off with a devilish grin.
“I’ve got this, love,” he said, pushing her aside. “Visa, you’ve gone too far, oppressing your people. Holding us back. It’s time you were stopped for your treachery.” He held up his hand, about to spell the queen, when she shot a single look at him, making him falter and clutch his chest like he was having a heart attack.
“Rudolf,” Liv said, diving forward to catch him before he hit the ground.
“I’m okay,” he said in a hoarse whisper as she led him to the workbench, which he used for support.
“No, he’s not,” the queen stated. “He’s too weak to face me. You’ve always been too weak, Rudolfus. We both know that. I took your confidence long ago, and now I’ll take your life.”
Liv knew they were out of options. Plato was maintaining his own in the fight as he and the bear exchanged assaults, but how long would that last?
“What exactly do you want?” Liv asked. “Do you want my blood? I’ll give it to you. Just leave us alone.”
Plato suddenly had the upper hand on the bear, delivering a punishing blow. Bruiser cried, rolling over and covering his head with his paw like he was begging for mercy.
“You good-for-nothing lynx,” the queen spat. “I’ll take care of you next, after your master.”
Rudolf sputtered out a cough and pushed himself upright. “No, Liv. You can’t give her your blood. She’s too dangerous.”
The queen smiled ruefully. “It’s true, I am too dangerous, which is why it’s laughable that you ever thought you could face me, Rudolfus. As your punishment for going against me and bringing back that little slut Serena, I’m going to kill your friend and make you watch. Then I’ll end you very, very slowly.”
She dipped her finger in the air as if playing musical notes on invisible keys. Liv had no idea how to get out of this, and strangely, most of her being screamed to stay put.
“No, you wicked bitch,” Rudolf said, striding forward and sending a spell at the queen. Her hand froze in the air, and her eyes jerked to the side—and then, to Liv’s horror, she simply laughed.
“You’ve partially frozen me, but that won’t last for long,” she said. “You’re so weak, Rudolfus. You can’t even do one thing right.”
“That might have been true before,” he began, his voice fierce. “But not anymore. I have my confidence back. And better than that, I have friends.”
Rudolf held out his other hand beside him and glanced over his shoulder at Liv. She didn’t know what he wanted at first, and then it occurred to her. He wasn’t strong enough to kill Queen Visa, and she wasn’t either, but together, they might stand a chance.
Liv took a giant step forward and locked hands with the fae. Rudolf’s hand grew hot in hers as he began to recite words she didn’t understand. They sounded like power and mystery. Like the things dreams were born from and fairytales were made of. Instantly power streamed from his outstretched hand, covering the queen in frost. It embraced her legs, her hips, and her torso, rising steadily.
“No! No! No!” She screamed, and it was so loud that it burst the display windows in the front of the shop, sending glass everywhere. However, Liv didn’t even shield herself, only kept her power steadily streaming to Rudolf as he continued to chant. The frost covered the queen’s chest and neck, rising faster up her face and then covering her completely. It was so strange to stare at the frozen queen, and Liv didn’t know what would happen next, until there was an explosion of ice. Queen Visa shattered into thousands of pieces of ice like a sculpture, scattering all over the floor and melting almost instantly.
Liv was briefly aware that Plato was standing over the bear and that her ears were ringing. She was afraid to pull her hand from Rudolf’s, not sure if she could remain standing without his help.
He turned to her with a proud smile. “And now I can mark that off my to-do list.”
Liv was about to rejoice when the fae stumbled forward like he was drunk. She went to catch him but realized she was much too weak. Instead, the two of them slid to the floor as one, passing out in a puddle of ice water left by Queen Visa.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
“Try fanning her,�
� a voice urged.
“No, just shake her,” someone else stated.
“You two be quiet, or I’m going to put a silencing spell on you,” a woman threatened.
Liv felt a steady stream of energy flowing into her from the hand clasped in hers. When her reserves were partially restored, she forced her eyes to open, but they only fluttered.
“That’s it, my dear,” Hester said. The healer was sitting just in front of her. She realized then that the healer was funneling energy into her, similar to how Rudolf had taken it from her reserves. “You’re almost there. Just keep trying to come back to us.”
Drawing a deep breath, Liv opened her eyes, blinking to try to make the blurry figures take proper form.
“There you are,” Hester said, pulling Liv to a seated position.
Behind one of her shoulders was Clark, who didn’t look happy at all about things. Behind the other shoulder was Stefan, who was looking her over like she might have other injuries.
“Sophia!” Liv half-screamed, her heart suddenly racing.
Hester patted her hand thoughtfully. “She’s just fine. So is that mortal…”
“His name is John,” Clark offered. “They are in the back of the shop.”
Liv glanced around and was surprised to find the black bear lying as he’d been before, his paw covering his head. Beside him Plato was in his usual form, casually licking his own paw.
Feeling the warmth of another body next to her, Liv found Rudolf sitting next to her. “Hey, are you okay?”
“He’s fine,” Hester answered for him. “Fae recover much faster than magicians. I didn’t even have to do anything for him. He awoke on his own.”
Liv wasn’t sure what possessed her, but she threw her arms around Rudolf, hugging him to her. “We did it. I mean, you did.”
He pulled her in tighter. “No, it was you. I couldn’t have done it without your help.”
“About that,” Clark interjected, his tone clipped.
Liv separated from the fae and got ready for the lecture. “How could you face the queen of the Fae like that? You could have gotten yourself killed!”
