by R. A. Gates
to
be
the
saddest,
most
heartbreaking thing I’ve ever heard.
“Bummer.”
“So, I came up with a theory that
since she can't kiss him any longer, being
dead and all, maybe a direct female
descendent can. That's where you come
in.” He sat there beaming, like he was
waiting to be smothered with praise.
He'd be waiting awhile.
“Can't you get another cousin to
pucker up?” She still didn't like the idea
of kissing this guy.
Garren laughed. “Tell her the
best part.”
Uh-oh. She didn't think she was
going to like anything Garren found so
amusing.
“That's
another
interesting
discovery. You're the only female
descendent of Leviena's I can find. And
believe me, I've searched.” He took the
diary back from her and laid it on the
corner of the desk.
“Wait a minute,” she said, her
head swimming with confusion. “What
about your sister, Cora? Why can’t she
do it?” The twinge of guilt that arose
from trying to involve the freshman girl
was easy swatted away with the
possibility of escaping all involvement.
Garren’s earlier enjoyment fell
away as he jumped to his feet. “No, no,
no. Cora is my sister and we are in no
way related to you too. Two totally
different sets of parents.”
Ivy
raised
her
hands
in
surrender. “Fine, I get it. And quite
frankly, I’m relieved to know you and I
aren’t genetically linked.” She dropped
her head back against the wall, her
tongue playing with the piercing on her
bottom lip. If she agreed to help Thane
out, and it worked, then the wards
keeping
Salmagundi
hidden
from
Eradicators—a secret organization of
humans whose mission was to rid the
world of all magic— could be repaired.
If it didn't work, then all she did was
kiss a dead guy. Gross, but harmless. As
long as he wasn't decaying or anything,
she could handle it. Maybe breaking the
prince’s curse was what she needed to
do to score some karma points and
redeem herself. But, she had a sneaking
suspicion this master plan wasn't as easy
as Thane made it sound.
“I told you she wouldn't do it,”
Garren said as he flipped through the
latest issue of Wizard Weapons.
Grabbing the magazine from his
hands, she plopped down on the
opposite side of the bed. She needed
more information. “So, where exactly is
Prince Sebastian lying in rest?”
“He's been moved around a few
times since he fell under the curse, but
the last location I've found is in
Sacramento, California.”
Ah, hell no. Of all the places in
the world, he had to be there. “Well,
boys, this all sounds real exciting, but
I'll have to pass.”
She bolted off the bed and to the
door before they could argue. With a
stomp on the end of her skateboard, it
was in her hand as she reached for the
knob, but she wasn't quick enough.
Thane blocked her escape by
barricading the door with his body.
“Wait. Why don't you want to do this?”
He towered over her by at least a
foot, but she was a fighter and could
easily take him down. But he had one
advantage over her, Garren.
Garren was six feet of solid
muscle. Being an athlete, he was strong,
and together they could possibly put up a
good fight. It just wasn't good manners to
beat up and humiliate her hosts on her
first visit.
She sighed. “Look, I'm not sure
it's a good idea. Sacramento is crawling
with dark creatures. Mean ones, from
what I've heard. And where there are
dark creatures, there are Eradicators.”
She stood in front of Thane, arms
crossed, waiting for him to move away
and let her leave.
Garren's warm breath tickled her
neck as he leaned in from behind to
whisper in her ear. “Where's your sense
of adventure, your sense of justice, your
sense of obligation to the town that took
you in?”
Damn it, he had to pull the guilt
card. She turned to face him. He didn't
back away but locked gazes with her, his
blue eyes daring her.
“What are you talking about?”
He grinned. “You could be this
poor man's only hope of returning to the
living, not to mention all the people in
town you'd be keeping hidden. And you
don't want to help because you’re scared
of some hunters?” He scoffed as if he
thought the Eradicators were nothing to
fear.
Her fists clenched at her side.
She wasn't going to let this jackass make
her look like a coward. Facing Thane's
pleading face, she said, “I'll think about
it.”
His worried expression melted
into a broad smile as he stepped aside
and let her leave. At least this bought her
time to come up with a better excuse to
refuse the mission. She’d find another
way to pay Mr. McGregor and make
amends for her past. There was no way
in hell she'd ever step foot in
Sacramento again.
*****
She tromped down the stairs that
connected the boys' apartment to their
family's apothecary shop. As soon as she
landed on the bottom step, the odor of
various potion ingredients assaulted her
nostrils. The pungently sweet odor of
cinnamon camped out among her nose
hairs, wreaking havoc on her sinuses.
She scrubbed her nose on the arm of her
sweatshirt to ease the tickling that
threatened to turn into a sneeze. How
anyone could work here and not develop
debilitating allergies was beyond her.
She caught sight of Thane's dad
working at the counter by the front door.
He was her father's identical twin and
the closest she would get to actually
seeing her dad. She wasn't ready to face
her uncle yet, especially since he didn't
know she was family. Thane hadn't told
his dad about what he found.
Waiting for an opportunity to slip
out while he was distracted, she lingered
in the back by the contraceptive potions.
Over the year she'd been living among
magic, she had gotten used to the idea of
using potions to make life easier. The
migraine elixir was truly a miracle i
n a
bottle. But she also knew of the
horrendously malicious potions that
could be created, too. Concoctions
brewed for the purpose of melting your
enemies internal organs came to mind.
She backed away from the shelf of
brightly colored vials in front of her.
Thane's family wouldn’t sell such items
in their store, but the very idea made her
shudder.
Creeping closer to the exit, she
observed her uncle from behind rows of
bottled dragon parts. He looked nothing
like her. Where she had dark, curly hair,
his was straight and blond. She was
short and slender while he was tall and
bulky. She was tan, he was fair. Maybe
Thane was mistaken. She couldn't
possibly be related to that man.
Which means no kissing dead
guys.
She saw her chance to slip out
unseen when a customer bombarded him
with questions about sleeping potions.
She kept her head down, hair shielding
her face, as she made a beeline for the
door. Just as she touched the door
handle, she glanced over to see him
looking right at her. Her heart jumped in
her throat when she saw his eyes— her
hazel eyes.
He opened his mouth to say
something, but she didn't want to hear it.
She didn't want to get to know him,
didn't want to like him. Not yet.
“Bye, Mr. Brasser,” she called
out as she sped out the door.
She dropped her skateboard to
the sidewalk and hopped on. The last
remains of the day's sun lingered in the
sky behind the mountains circling the
town. A few stars made their appearance
in the blackness directly above.
She concentrated on the path in
front of her and pushed back any
thoughts of her father. Thinking of him
meant thinking of her mother. She didn't
want to go there. Even though she
unexpectedly had more family than ever
before, she had never felt lonelier.
“Watch it!”
She swirved just in time to avoid
colliding with Glenn, an obnoxious,
bright green faery.
“Sorry.” Tool.
She kept pushing forward, not
caring if the guy was all right. The fae
were rumored to 'borrow' humans to
serve them in the fae realm. She avoided
them at all cost even though they never
took someone with magic.
She banked around the next
corner and headed toward the harbor.
The cool breeze wafted over the cold
canal water and into her face, making
her shiver.
Salmagundi sat along the Lynn
Canal in the Southeastern part of Alaska.
The only way to come to the hidden
town was by ferry. Only those with
magic, and who needed the protection
the town offered, were able to buy a
ticket. The ferry that brought her to town
over a year ago was docked at the wharf
with another load of refugees. Climbing
aboard that vessel was the scariest thing
she ever did, but she didn't have any
other choice. The fear and anxiety of
constantly running from Eradicators
wore her out.
Carrying her skateboard, she
wandered down the weather-worn
planks toward the large boat. Passengers
from around the world disembarked and
passed her by on their way to town. Only
a handful of people got off, including a
rather smug looking goblin no taller than
a fire hydrant. An Elfin mom dragged a
small boy behind her as they stepped
down the plank. The looks of wariness
mixed with hope on their faces reminded
her of the day she stepped off that ship.
“Ivy girl, 'ow are you doing?”
Orpheus, the Jamaican wizard who
worked on the ship, asked as he stepped
off the boarding plank following the last
traveler. The radiant smile he always
wore was contagious and she couldn't
keep it from tugging at her lips.
She strode across the wharf to
meet her friend. “Surviving. What do
you
know
about
this
batch
of
castaways?”
Orpheus had a talent for getting
people to talk about themselves within
minutes of meeting him. It annoyed her
when she found herself spilling her guts
to a perfect stranger. But now they were
friends and he was her main source of
news from the outside world.
“They're from the Pacific rim,
mostly. De Eradicators are spreadin' all
ova Japan, now.” Orpheus frowned as
he inspected a pallet of supplies to be
loaded onto the ferry. “At leas' they will
be safe here. Well, as long as de wards
hol' strong.”
Guilt rippled inside her. Just
because there was a slight chance she
could help keep the wards working,
didn't mean she was responsible for
them in the first place. Garren’s words
about owing the town offering her
sanctuary wore on her.
Damn him. “I gotta get going,
Orpheus. See ya.”
Chapter 3
“Hey, Ivy, are you awake?”
Groaning loudly, she rolled over
to see at what ungodly hour she was
being pulled from her much needed
sleep. Five A.M. was way too early to
even think about getting out of bed. The
sun wasn't even up, for goodness sake.
Obviously, whoever was on the other
side of the bedroom door didn't care as
they knocked again.
“Go away!” She pulled the
covers over her head and did her best to
ignore the incessant rapping on the door.
It wasn't working too well because the
pounding grew louder. Giving up on
falling back to sleep, she yanked off the
blanket and stomped to the door, nearly
ripping it from its hinges when she
opened it.
“Oh good, you're up,” Athena
said as she strolled past her. The blonde
sat on the bed, still looking immaculate
in her date clothes. The twenty-
something practically lived at the clubs.
The stench of stale perfume and second-
hand smoke trailed after her.
Ivy rolled her sore neck around,
loosening up the kinks. The bruises left
behind from Mr. McGregor’s fingers
still ached. “What do you want,
Athena?” She closed the door and
crawled back into her nice, warm bed,
kicking Athena out of the way as she got
comfortable.
“I
was
wondering
what
happened last night. It's a mess
downstairs.”
“Hmm? Oh, your pack leader and
I had a little discussion,” Ivy mumbled.
“A little discussion? It looks like
World War III started in the parlor.”
Ivy sat up and smoothed her
unruly hair out of her face. “It's not that
bad.”
“Not that bad, she says.” Athena
walked to the window and peered down.
“There's glass scattered all over the
sidewalk.” Her breath fogged up a little
circle on the window.
Streetlights glinted off the shards
of glass on the ground. Oops. “I guess I
should clean that up.”
“Ya think? What about the
wall?” Athena asked.
“What wall?”
Athena stared at her as if she
were new to this planet. “There's a giant
crack in the plaster next to the window.
It's kinda hard to miss.”
“I didn't stick around to survey
the damage. He cracked the wall, so he
can fix it.” She was a lot braver when
Mr. McGregor wasn't staring her down.
Athena rolled her eyes and
laughed. “I'll be sure to tell him that.”
She turned to walk away, but then
stopped and leaned in closer to Ivy's
neck. “Are those hickies?” She brushed
Ivy's curls behind her shoulder to get a
better look.
Ivy swatted Athena’s hand away
and pulled her hair forward to cover her
neck. “No, they're not. Mind your own
business.”
Athena wandered over to Ivy's
dresser and picked over all the odds and
ends lying on top. “So, what'd you do?”
She stopped and glanced over her
shoulder. “This doesn't have anything to
do with the pup and the juice stain, does
it?”
She cringed inward at her
apparent transparency. “Kinda. I don’t
suppose you have $5,000 I can borrow,
do you?” Hope crept in her tone, though
she tried to hide it.
Then I won’t have to make out
with a dead guy for the reward money .
She sat back on her bed, pulling the
warm covers over her flannel-clad legs.
Athena laughed as she dropped
the pewter, skull-and-crossbones hair
clip back on the tray.
I guess that’s a no.
Regaining
her
composure,
Athena asked, “What's with the Knight in
Shining Armor complex you got going
on?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You. You have this need to save
everyone. First, it's that mangy three-
legged cat outside and now Danny. Give
it a rest already.” Athena opened the
carved wooden box sitting on the
dresser then sorted through Ivy's
jewelry. She held up some of the plain
gold chains and sneered before tossing
