by Julia Crane
As they stood beside the unmoving carousel, Keegan groaned. “I’m starving.”
“Big surprise there.” Lauren rolled her eyes and Anna grinned.
“Thanks for having us.” Anna butted her hip against Lauren’s. “I really didn’t want to come, but Keegan convinced me a change of scenery would be good for me. She’s probably right.”
“I’m so glad you guys are here,” Lauren responded happily. She frowned sympathetically. “Keegan told me that your boyfriend is overseas. That must really suck.”
“You have no idea. All I can say is thank the goddess for the internet.”
“Technology does make life easier,” Lauren replied thoughtfully.
A loud honking noise and a flashing red light above the carousel indicated that the baggage was about to come out.
Of course, the first hundred bags weren’t theirs. Then Anna’s purple luggage came through and, soon after, Keegan reached down and grabbed her red plaid bag. They had learned long ago to avoid black luggage or it would take forever to find.
Keegan pulled out the handle on her rolling bag, dragging it behind her as they headed for the elevator to the parking garage. “What about you—how’s your love life? Still with that hunky dark fairy?” Keegan lowered her voice.
“Of course. I can’t wait for you guys to meet him. I just know you’ll love him.” At least, she hoped they would. She thought of Calvron’s harsh opinion of Tristen, and then Donald…. If Keegan and Anna didn’t like Tristen, Lauren felt like she would cry.
“I don’t have much to eat at my house,” Lauren went on. “Want to stop and grab something on the way home?”
“In-N-Out Burgers!” Keegan chirped.
Anna laughed. “I’m so glad you’re not a vegetarian anymore.”
“It feels just like old times.” Lauren smiled, feeling content for the first time in a while. “As if we have never been apart.”
Keegan pinched her on the arm. “We’ll be best friends when we have grey hair and are reading cat mystery books. We’re stuck together forever.”
“You are so crazy,” Anna said, clucking. “Who reads cat mystery books? I could see if you said knitting or scrapbooking, but cat mysteries?”
“Haven’t you ever noticed in bookstores the old people are always near the cat mystery series?” Keegan gave an impish grin that lit up her face.
Lauren nodded in agreement. “She’s telling the truth. I’ve seen some of the books at my grandmother’s house.”
“Do the cats actually solve the mysteries or are they the suspects?” Anna wondered aloud.
Keegan shrugged. “I’m not going to be weird and read them until I’m old and gray. Then I’ll let you know.”
With the airport parking garage packed from to rim to rim, it took almost twenty minutes just to find the car and get out. But it was a warm, sunshiny day outside—perfect weather for her friends to visit.
“I’m going to pass out from starvation,” Keegan moaned from the backseat as they sat in the line to pay the parking attendant.
“You are not,” Lauren responded, exchanging an amused glance with Anna.
It was just like old times.
“So when do we get to meet your man?” Anna asked as she dunked her french fry into ranch dressing.
“Probably tomorrow, or maybe tonight. He’s looking forward to meeting you guys.” Lauren really didn’t want to talk about Tristen. Not yet, not so soon after that weird run-in with the old woman at the coffee shop. “Tell me about Tommy. I can’t believe you have a boyfriend. No offense.” She smiled sheepishly. Anna never had a boyfriend high school, which made no sense, because she was gorgeous.
Anna laughed. “None taken. I guess I was just waiting for the right guy. He’s perfect. Well, that’s not true. He’s not perfect, no one is perfect, but he makes me happy. It just sucks that we’re just getting to know each other, and he had to leave.”
“Welcome to my world.” Keegan sighed. Every time she and Rourk got together, something pulled them apart. “I guess at least absence makes the heart grow fonder or something like that.”
Anna grunted and shook her head, then took a bite of her burger.
Lauren looked back and forth between her two friends, and her heart swelled. They were so lucky to have each other.
“Donald’s friend Audrey is tutoring me,” Lauren said casually. She wasn’t very good with subtle segues. She munched on a fry, watching Keegan’s face for her reaction.
“Who’s Audrey?” Anna asked.
“The tiger that was at Keegan’s wedding.”
“Really?” Keegan’s eyes widened, then she broke into a radiant smile. “What’s she like?”
“She’s great. I think you’ll really like her. She and Donald are just friends, but she wants it to be more.”
Keegan took a sip of her iced tea. “Give them time. My brother said they would be together, and you know he’s never wrong.”
Keegan’s brother, Thaddeus, was a seer. He was only thirteen—or maybe he was fourteen, but he was very powerful.
A goofy smile danced across Anna’s face as she stared fondly at the wall. “He was right about Tommy.”
“She’s always like this about him,” Keegan whispered loudly to Lauren. “It’s obnoxious.”
“You’re obnoxious.” Anna flicked a small crispy fry across the table at her.
Lauren chuckled, her spirits rising because of their banter. She took a drink before saying, “It must be weird to know the future.”
“If by weird you mean ‘extremely awesome’ then I agree,” Anna said wistfully. It was funny how everyone longed for something they couldn’t have. Lauren did the same thing with her lame power.
“I don’t know. I don’t think it would be that great. Thaddeus doesn’t even like to be around people because of his gift. Can you imagine how solitary life would be?” Keegan picked at the bun on her burger. “You guys are making me homesick. I haven’t seen my brothers or parents in months.”
“We should all go back to Tennessee together. That would be fun,” Anna spoke up. She drank the rest of her cup and shook it. “Anyone need a refill?”
“Yeah, maybe this summer,” Lauren said absently, handing her own cup across the table.
Truth was, she really did need to take Tristen to meet her family, but she was worried about their reaction.
He was a dark fairy after all.
Chapter 11
Lauren pulled the car into her usual spot and cut the engine. “We’re here.”
Anna peered out the window, the sun illuminating her pretty face. “I forgot how awesome your place was.”
“It’s pretty nice,” Lauren admitted. “I got lucky.
Anna turned to narrow her eyes at Keegan. “Not that I don’t want to be here, but I still don’t know why we had to come back to change. The flight wasn’t that long, and you look fine.”
Keegan shrugged, but didn’t answer as she grabbed her bag from the back seat and tossed the strap over her shoulder. She avoided both of their gazes.
Lauren raised an eyebrow, glancing over her shoulder at Anna for confirmation. “If I didn’t know better, I would say you’re stalling, Keegan.”
“Stalling for what?” Anna asked, confused, but then her eyes widened in understanding, and she stared at Keegan. “Are you nervous about seeing Donald?”
Keegan’s face flushed. “It’s a little weird. I haven’t seen him since I married Rourk. I guess I’m just worried it’s going to be awkward.”
“I’m sure it will be fine.” Lauren reached out and squeezed Keegan’s arm. “He’s moved on, I think. Don’t worry about it.”
They all stepped from the car into the breezy afternoon, and Lauren hit the button to lock her doors as they started up the walk to her apartment building. “Wait till you meet Audrey,” she told her friends excitedly. “I hope you guys don’t mind, but I invited her over for a sleepover this week.
“A sleepover? What are we—five?” Anna slung her b
ag from one shoulder to the other.
“Anna, I know you never did girly stuff.” Keegan laughed. “But I think it sounds fun.”
“We should make this quick so we can meet the guys. Thankfully, Tristen is still at work.” Lauren pushed open the front door and held it for her friends to enter.
“Thankfully?” Anna asked. “Why would you be thankful that he’s working? Don’t you want him to hang with us?”
Lauren cringed as she led them to the elevator, weighing her words as it beeped its arrival. “Um, yeah, I always want him with me,” she said slowly. They boarded the elevator and she hit the number for her floor. “It’s just…I want you guys to meet him without everybody else around.”
“Oh, so like an unbiased opinion then?” Anna nodded. “Sure, that makes sense.”
“Kinda,” Lauren agreed as the elevator dinged and the doors opened on her floor. Really, she just didn’t want to deal with Tristen around the guys anymore; the animosity on both sides made her head spin. She was really looking forward to an evening with the old gang.
Inside Lauren’s apartment, Keegan dropped her bag on the floor of the living room and sighed. “I guess I don’t really need to change. I was stalling. I’ll just brush my teeth real quick, and we can go.
Lauren looked down pointedly her bag. “Put your bag in the guest room.”
“Yes, Mom.” Keegan grinned and swiped the bag up, then made her way down the hallway with Anna close behind.
Lauren stopped into her own room to change tops. What was up with her lately and spills? She was getting as bad as Keegan. She’d managed to spill coffee on her t-shirt at the airport, and she didn’t want to keep walking around with a trail of brown stain on her chest. She picked out a fitted cotton blouse with three-quarter length sleeves.
Intending to brush her hair and put it up, she headed for the bathroom, but paused just outside the cracked door as she heard her name.
“Is it just me or does Lauren seem different?” Keegan asked. Lauren heard water running and the distinctive clunk as she yanked the wash towel off the rack.
“Different how?” Anna responded through a mouthful of what was presumably toothpaste.
Lauren stepped closer, her heart speeding up.
“I’m not sure. Not as perky as she used to be, maybe.” The towel rack clunked again as she returned the towel.
The sound of Anna spitting preceded her response. “What do you mean? She seems fine to me. Maybe just a little tired.”
“You really don’t think she looks…sad?”
Lauren bit her lip, staring at the floor as she listened. Was she sad? She had never been able to keep anything from her best friends. It wasn’t abnormal for them to notice something was bugging her before she had any idea.
There was a pause, the sound of the faucet, then the towel rack noise again as Anna dried off. “You’re probably just reading too much into it. You know you always do that.”
“Yeah. You’re right,” Keegan murmured absently. Lauren heard the clack of someone’s toothbrush hitting the jar on the counter. “Guess we should get this over with.”
“It’s not like you’re marching to your death, Keegan,” Anna said with a chuckle. “It will be nice to get the gang back together. We’re just going to hang out with the guys like we have thousands of times before.”
Lauren broke from her reverie, backtracked down the hall, and then made sure her flats made sharp tapping sounds on the floor as she walked towards the bathroom.
“I know,” Keegan answered as Lauren pushed through the door.
“Hey. What are you guys talking about?” Lauren asked, pulling open the door where she stored her hairbrush.
She saw the look that passed between her two friends.
“How paranoid Keegan is about seeing Donald,” Anna quipped, leaning to stare closely at her face in the mirror.
Keegan twirled, smoothing down the bodice of her dress. It was a knee-length white dress with a layered skirt. “Are you sure I look okay?”
Anna rolled her eyes and walked out of the bathroom.
Lauren hugged Keegan, her mind on the previous conversation as she answered, “You’re just as beautiful as always.”
“Where in the world are we going?” Anna moaned from the back seat. She tapped on the back of Lauren’s seat they turned onto a small dirt road leading up a hill and into a thick, dim forest. “We’ve been driving forever.”
“You’ll see,” Lauren said mysteriously, her eyes on the twisted, narrow path before them. “Don’t worry. It’s not much further.”
“I’m not exactly dressed to go hiking in the woods.” Keegan motioned to the floorboard and her platform sandals.
“You’re fine.” Lauren smiled at her best friend; Keegan’s face registered a sense of relief. Maybe she needed to smile more; that was the problem.
They drove for another five minutes before Lauren pulled the car into the overgrown grass. The girls looked around; there was nothing but woods. The sun was starting to set, bathing the forest in a surreal orange glow.
“Umm, are you sure we’re at the right place? No one else is here,” comment Anna, always willing to state the obvious.
Lauren smiled mischievously. “Just follow me.”
The girls piled out of the car and followed Lauren on the uneven grass, trying not to twist their ankles in hidden rabbit holes.
“It’s kinda creepy out here.” Keegan stooped down to scratch her leg. “And the grass is really itchy.”
“It’s not creepy. It’s beautiful,” Anna said with a sigh.
“Still itchy,” Keegan argued.
Lauren pushed through the underbrush and into a clearing. Behind her, Keegan and Anna screamed gleefully. A glass door hovered a foot in the air in the middle of the clearing. The sunset glinted off the silver frame, casting crystalline reflections on the emerald grass.
“I can’t believe it’s almost been a year since we did this together,” Anna said, clapping her hands in excitement.
“There’s nothing quite like Calvron’s worlds,” Lauren agreed.
Keegan hurried up and peered through the door. Anna snuck up behind her, pushing her through. Keegan fell forward and stumbled, trying to catch herself before she fell on her face.
Two strong arms appeared from the other side of the door and grabbed her. As Anna and Lauren followed her through, Calvron hugged Keegan to his chest, then swung her around like a doll.
“It’s about time!” he crowed.
“Put me down!” Keegan squealed.
Calvron dropped her to the ground with a thump.
“Ouch!” She hit him on the bicep with the back of her hand, but smiled as she did it. Her dress had been replaced with an ankle-length, pale blue dress that looked almost translucent on her. Glitter outlined her eyes, and her feet were bare.
As Lauren passed through the door, she felt her wings unfurl behind her, shaped like a butterfly’s wings with ragged edges, sparkly and pale. Her simple shirt and skirt transformed into a short, pale pink, pixie-like dress with a gauzy skirt and a tight corset top.
She glanced over at Anna, who now wore a purple velvet hooded robe and a black, pointed witch’s hat. Magick crackled in the air around her and she opened her palm, bright purple flames dancing across her skin.
Calvron had chosen to create an inside world. They stood in a courtyard, surrounded on all four sides by a white marble building. Above them, sun shone through an open roof and, around them, a garden bloomed, complete with a pond and waterfall.
Keegan straightened to look around, her mouth agape. “Calvron, you’ve outdone yourself. And if you drop me again, I’m going to kick your ass.”
Calvron gave her a rueful smile. His costume, outlandish as usual, included a plain pair of black pants topped with a technicolor, quilted tailcoat. “You said to put you down.” He turned towards Lauren with a grim look on his face. “I can’t believe you actually made it. The dark prince let you out of his sights?”
&nbs
p; Anna and Keegan looked back and forth between Calvron and Lauren. Neither had ever seen any kind of tension between the two of them before.
“Don’t start with me.” Lauren glared at Calvron. “Not today.”
Calvron raised his hands in surrender and backed away. “Just glad you brought the girls.”
Just then, three big cats loped up: a panther, lion and a tiger. They slowed as they neared, and stalked through the huge marble corridor between two massive pillars. The lion and panther walked around the girls, rubbing their huge heads against their legs like domestic cats, but the tiger stayed back, his blue eyes staring warily.
Surprised that Audrey wasn’t with them, Lauren wondered if Donald had asked her not to come.
Anna rubbed the lion’s head. “I missed you guys.”
The three cats morphed into their human forms, fully dressed—thankfully. They wore normal street clothes, which looked strange compared to the others’ fancy “other world” clothes.
Lauren noticed Keegan staring at Donald, but he didn’t meet her gaze, choosing instead to look up at the purple sky where a huge, orange moon hung as bright as a sun.
“Just like old times.” Anna smiled.
“Thanks for doing this, Calvron. I’ve missed your creations. This place is gorgeous.” Keegan smiled warmly.
Calvron gave a slight bow. “Only the best for you and Anna.”
Lauren clenched her fist when he left her name out—and she knew he did it on purpose because of Tristen. Calvron was so immature. It was infuriating. Why couldn’t he just be happy that she was there now instead of making a big deal out of it?
“So what is this place?” she spoke up, trying to keep the anger from her voice. If he was going to be a jerk, she was going to be as sweet as pie.
Calvron stared at her for a moment, and Lauren wondered if he would answer or not.
Finally, a wicked grin spread across his handsome face. “You’ll see.”
The girls all shared a look and groaned. That was never a good phrase to hear coming from Calvron.
“Come on, this way,” Calvron said, and with a flip of his coattails, he led them down a side hallway. The white hall had no other doors in sight, and it ended abruptly, opening to the outside.
