Spinning Tales

by Brey Willows

  “And someone didn’t like being kept in line.” It was an easy thread to follow. Villains didn’t like being kept in line in this world, either.

  “Right. Except it wasn’t just one. Someone started pulling strings, gathering villains and getting them to band together. Even the good guys started to believe in the propaganda. Armies started hunting the aos sí, decimating them. At one time, there were enough of them to have several tale spinners at once, to spread out among the different sectors. But all too soon, they’d been hunted to extinction. Both them and their shepherds.”

  The pain in Kody’s voice was palpable. How many friends had she lost? Did she blame herself for not being able to stop it? Maggie let her talk, not wanting to interrupt.

  “And so they came for your parents, and for you. You would be the last tale spinner, and once you were gone, there wouldn’t be anyone strong enough to keep the sectors in order.”

  The finality of Kody’s words made Maggie ill. “My parents?”

  Kody closed her eyes, the lines around them speaking of the pain she’d faced. “I tried to save them. I wanted to stay and fight for them after their shepherd was killed. But they convinced me that the only way I could help them was to protect you. Every tale spinner needs a shepherd, and I was the last of my kind, too. If I died there, there’d be no shepherd to help you when the time came.”

  “Were they killed?” Maggie whispered.

  “I don’t know, Maggie. I wish I did. But when I came here, along with Shamus, Brenda, and Lacona, I was cut off from our world. I want to believe they went into hiding and that they’re still there, just waiting for you to come back. I hope, and want to believe, that there are other tale spinners in hiding, too.” She opened her eyes and looked over. “I’m sorry I can’t give you a better answer than that.”

  Maggie took a deep, shaky breath. “Okay. The thing is, you can’t say they aren’t alive, so I’m going to hope. And we’ll leave it at that until the day comes that we find out.” She stood up, needing to move. “I’m going to get an iced tea. Want one?”

  Kody nodded, looking off into the distance like she was still somewhere else. Maggie went in and got two bottles. She pressed one to her head to center herself before going back outside. She handed Kody the bottle. “That leads you to the second part of the question.”

  Kody opened her bottle and nodded. “It does. And that’s a harder one to answer. I already told you about the switch made to keep you safe.” She glanced at Maggie and shrugged slightly. “Sorry, but that’s true. All this time they’ve thought you were dead. With the cottage keeper gone, they’ve probably thought there wasn’t anyone to oppose them. Timson, the guy who showed you the place, is a crossbreed. He’s human and wood nymph, and he decided he wanted to live here. So he was the one kind of unofficially watching over the cottage. When he noticed something was wrong, he decided it was time to put an ad in the paper. We knew from watching you all these years it was a habit of yours, and we knew it was time.”

  “Do you have any idea how creepy that sounds?” Maggie pictured fairy tale creatures peering in her window or going through her trash.

  “I do. But we needed to know you were okay without interfering in your life. So we did what we had to, but tried to keep it to a minimum.” Kody raised her eyebrows as if to ask if she could continue.

  Maggie nodded. It wasn’t much weirder than all the rest of it.

  “Anyway, we don’t know if the cottage keeper kept to her vows, either. It’s happened in the past that the keeper got a little power crazy.” She waved her hand like that didn’t matter. “The fact is, you’re here at the cottage just like we were told you would be, and we know for certain someone has come through from the other side, if not several someones. Word is bound to get back that you’re alive, and when it does…”

  Maggie’s stomach churned. “Then I’m still the last tale spinner with a target on my back.” Shamus came out and sat in the sun, his face tilted toward it. He was a furry reminder that everything Kody was saying was true. “So they didn’t want me dead until I took the job here. But I had to take the job here because I’m needed in a world I didn’t know about, but was somehow destined to return to. Where people want to kill me.”

  Kody shrugged. “Yeah. That’s pretty much it.”

  From his spot in the sun Shamus said, “And Kody. They want to kill the last shepherd, too.”

  She tilted her bottle at him. “Thanks for the reminder, buddy.”

  “Pleasure. Did you look at the newspaper?”

  Kody nodded and pulled the folded piece from her back pocket. “And that brings us to our most pressing issue and probably one of your other questions.” She handed the paper to Maggie. “Look at the one with the red circle around it.”

  She read it and shook her head. “What about it? Weird stuff like that is always in the ads. They make me laugh. I always figured it was nerd talk, something to do with role playing games or whatever.”

  “That ad is offering something specific, and the dream seller is a big player in the market sector in our world. If he’s selling things like that here, that means there’s a market for them. And that isn’t good news.”

  “That could mean more people than we know of are here.” Shamus raised his nose and sniffed the air. “Snow is coming.”

  Maggie turned to Kody. “So how do we find out?”

  Kody looked at Shamus. “The moment we start this thing, Maggie will be in danger.”

  He nodded. “She’s probably already in danger. Better to face the dragon than have it come at your back.”

  “Um, hello? I’m right here.” Maggie hated being talked about like she wasn’t in the room.

  “Sorry.” Kody sat up and turned to face her. “My suggestion would be that we go and see the dream seller once you’ve got a handle on your powers. If it’s him, you can bind him and send him home after we get the information we need from him. We’ll get a client list.”

  “That sounds amazingly straightforward. Problem one is how do I bind someone? Problem two, which is actually problem one, is how do we recognize him? Will he be green? Or made of sand?”

  “Her parents left a hag stone in her crib.” Shamus walked past them, his tail swishing and puffy, showing he wasn’t as relaxed about all this as he might seem.

  “Can I see it?” Kody asked.

  Maggie pulled it from her pocket and handed it over. “What does it do?”

  Kody turned it over and around in her hand, looking at it thoughtfully. “It does a few different things. The first is that it shows you truth. You look through that hole in the center at whatever it is you want to see and it will show you its true form. The second thing it does is attach to your particular power. To be honest, I’m not sure how that works. Every tale spinner has their own version of it, but only they know how it works. You may have to practice with it to work that out.”

  Kody handed it back to her and she wrapped it in her palm. “Is that why my parents left it for me?”

  Kody nodded, still looking contemplative.

  Maggie closed her eyes and pressed it to her chest. If you can hear me, if there’s any way on this planet or any other, I hope to hell you can help me. And that you’re still out there somewhere. It was as close as she’d ever come to praying, and she meant every word with all she was. Fortified, she stood and looked down at Kody.

  “Let’s go see the dream seller.”

  Chapter Eight

  Wanted: private investigator willing to get hands dirty. Must need very little sleep and have ability to move unseen. Critical moment in plan. People employing the usual methods need not apply. Contact frogspawn99

  Blech stayed behind, and Maggie had the distinct feeling it was just in case they didn’t come back. Someone would need to know, surely, that the last tale spinner and the last shepherd were dead? The thought made her wince, but she didn’t think they’d be dying today. She held the hag stone tightly in her hand.

  “Why is it called a hag
stone?” she asked.

  “Old fairy tale wisdom says hags are wise and always see through disguises of any kind. The stone does the same. So, hag stone.”

  It was a simple explanation that made Maggie feel a little better. It was nice to get something straightforward.

  They were headed for Midtown. Maggie had sent an inquiry to the dream seller’s ad address and received an invitation to meet with him when the club opened. In the hours between, she’d played with the stone, looking through it to see if anything changed. When she looked at Blech through the little hole, she saw Shamus. Whenever she tried to look at Kody through it, Kody moved away. She didn’t push the issue. It would suck if the hot shepherd she was going to be spending a lot of time with ended up looking like a lizard or something in real life. But no matter what she did with the stone, she couldn’t figure out how it would work with whatever power she was supposed to have.

  “I still think we should have stayed back and let you practice longer. We should have waited at the very least until you knew what your power is.” Kody looked distinctly put out about the situation.

  “And I think my power, or whatever it is, won’t manifest without being pushed in some way.” They’d had this conversation already, and Maggie figured out that when it came to the last word, it belonged to her. “And we don’t have to actually capture him tonight, right? If we know it’s him, we can decide on a plan from there.”

  “That’s the only reason I’m going along with this.” Kody turned to her and said quietly, “I’m supposed to protect you, Maggie. We’re going into a situation blind, and you don’t know what you can do yet. It’s stupid.”

  Her words were blunt, but there wasn’t any malice in them. “I get it, and I promise to be careful.” She squeezed Kody’s forearm to reassure her. “Will you tell me about your tattoos at some point?” She held her arm lightly, aware of the many tattoos hidden under the leather jacket.

  Kody shook her head but smiled. “Sure. One day.”

  They came to their stop and made their way to the address she’d been given, which turned out to be the Dreamer Gentlemen’s Club. Maggie rolled her eyes and looked at Kody. “Don’t they have rules about letting women in?”

  “Not if you know how to play the game. And you’ve got an appointment.” Kody slipped her arm around Maggie’s waist. “Play along.”

  Words and thought fled Maggie’s entire being, pushed aside by the solid feel of Kody’s arm around her. They walked up to the doorman, who grinned.

  “Hello, hello, ladies. We welcome all couples. Come on in.” He waved them into the dark entryway.

  Dance music thumped through the dark room. Stages were lit and had the obligatory people writhing on them. Customers were arrayed throughout, and only a handful looked truly interested in the entertainment. Most others just looked like pathetic, lonely people drinking in a bar after work. They walked past one pedestal and the dancer dropped into a crouch. “Hey there, gorgeous. It’s been a while.”

  Kody grinned at her and tightened her arm around Maggie’s waist when she went to pull away. “Hey, Sheila. Good to see you. How’s the degree going?”

  The dancer wrapped herself around the pole and flipped herself upside down, holding on with just her thighs. “Awesome. That help you gave me really paid off. I passed my exam with flying colors. Only one semester to go.” She dropped back onto the stage and bent backward. “Surprised to see you here, though.”

  Kody grinned. “My lady here has an appointment with the dream seller.”

  The dancer looked at Maggie with real distaste. “I wouldn’t have thought you’d go for that type.” She twisted away. “If you ever want someone with a lighter soul, give me a call.”

  Maggie very nearly said something, but Kody leaned close and whispered, “Stay calm. That tells us something about who he is.”

  Maggie relaxed back into Kody’s arm. That was true, and it didn’t matter what someone she didn’t know thought of her. That’s what she told herself, anyway. The thought of the dancer thinking she wasn’t good enough for Kody rankled.

  “Hey, Sheila, where can I find him?” Kody called up.

  Sheila dropped to her back and pointed to a door on the left with her toes. Kody nodded her thanks and led Maggie past the tables to the indicated door. A large man stepped out of the shadows in front of them.

  “Sorry, that’s for staff.”

  Maggie gave him her best smile. “I have an appointment. Mag Wilk.” She felt Kody stiffen beside her, but she didn’t react. Giving her real name didn’t seem like a smart thing to do, so she’d improvised and used something she’d remember if she needed to.

  He opened the door and stuck his head inside to speak to someone before he opened it wider. “After you.”

  They went in and Maggie leaned against Kody. The thought of going after bad guys was exciting until you actually came face-to-face with one. Then excitement fled and left only fear in its wake. The man behind the desk stood and held out his hand.

  “Welcome, Mag.”

  Maggie stepped forward and shook his hand and noticed the small tic of surprise. He’d clearly expected to be dealing with Kody. Always underestimating the femme. She smiled and tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with me.”

  He sat back down and motioned to the chairs across from his desk. She and Kody took the small leather chairs, and Maggie instantly missed the warmth of her arm wrapped around her.

  “My pleasure. Your email was intriguing. You said you were looking for a key to a specific door?”

  “Indeed. I have a…well, let’s say an acquaintance, who assures me there’s a place here in New York where I could find a door to a place I’d very much like to visit. Your ad said you have access to that kind of thing. Money would be no issue.”

  He steepled his fingers and pressed them to his mouth. His eyes were small and dark, and there was no mistaking the suspicion in them. “Can I inquire as to this friend’s name? Perhaps we have a mutual acquaintance.”

  She tried for a charming smile, though she wasn’t sure she had one. “I think we both know names should never be exchanged unless absolutely necessary.”

  He tilted his head in acknowledgement. “Good answer.” He leaned forward and stared at her intently. “I’m afraid your friend is mistaken, however. The door you’re asking about isn’t available to people who haven’t already come from beyond the door. Outsiders are unable to pass through.”

  That was the answer Maggie needed. He was who Kody and Shamus thought he was. But now what? She thought quickly. “That’s a shame. I would have been very interested in doing something so unique.” She shrugged like it didn’t matter and stood. “Thank you for your time.” She moved to the side and stumbled, dropping her bag. “Damn.”

  He stood to look over the desk as she bent over, and she pulled the hag stone from her pocket and spun to face him. Looking at him through the hole, she gasped.

  He was hideous. His face was long and pointed, his nose sharp, his eyes ruby red. A rat. He’s some kind of rat. She gripped the stone and thought of what she’d been told. Bind him to me so I can send him back to where he belongs, she thought, focusing on him through the stone.

  Forest green light spilled from the stone and into the room. Tendrils of it surrounded him, wrapping around him as he struggled and swore. The door behind her crashed open and a body slammed into her, making her drop the stone as she fell to her knees. The light went out, and she scrambled to grab the stone. She heard Kody shout and a body hit the wall. By the time she was back on her feet, the dream seller was gone and the bodyguard who had interrupted them was knocked out on the floor.

  Kody, breathing hard, looked furious. “God damn it, Maggie. We said we’d wait until we had a plan. That guy could have shot us both, no need for fucking fairy tale magic.” She rubbed her side like she’d taken a hit. “Not to mention the dream seller got away. We need to get out of here.”

  Maggie hated the look of a
nger and, worse, disappointment in Kody’s eyes. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking, and I just wanted to grab him so he didn’t escape.”

  Kody sighed and her shoulders dropped. “I get it. But it’s not going to make things easier.”

  Maggie nudged the unconscious bodyguard’s foot. “Since he’s out, do you think we could at least rummage through the desk to see if we can find any information? While we’re here?” She wanted to make things right, since she’d messed up pretty monumentally.

  Kody moved closer to the guy on the floor. “Go ahead. I’ll make sure he stays put. But hurry. We don’t know how fast the dream seller will move to tell others.”

  Maggie went around the desk and started pulling open drawers, searching for anything at all. But all she found was usual desk stuff. On a hunch, she pulled the stone from her pocket and looked at the desk through it. At the edge of the hole she saw a blue shimmer and followed it to a small trap door under the desk. She pulled it open.

  “Got it.” She removed the thick black notebook and a jar that looked like it contained marbles and showed them to Kody.

  “Perfect. Let’s go.”

  Maggie put the things in her bag, and they left the office. Kody took Maggie’s hand and they casually left the club, not looking in the least like they’d just had a showdown with a rat man from another land.

  * * *

  Brenda met them at the door. “Thank goodness you’re back. Shamus has been calling down here every ten minutes.” She moved around behind Kody and locked the door. “He said you’ve done something stupid and we need to lock the place down.”

  “Always the optimist.” Kody led the way to the elevator. “Word must travel faster than we thought.”

  Brenda rode up with them, but Maggie wasn’t ready to articulate what had just happened. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, she was shaken and just wanted to sit in front of the fire and think.