by Liz Schulte
Boone bent down so he was at the same level as the kid. “Adam, stay with Maggie. She will protect you.”
Adam raced over to me and Chloe, while Boone walked up to the thorn bushes.
“Don’t let them scratch you,” Phoenix said.
Boone stood back, staring at the bushes. He walked a little closer and reached a hand toward them, without touching one. The whole bush leaned toward him like he was a magnet. “Just like the vines,” he said. “Maggie, can I have your apron?”
I took it off and handed it to him.
He searched the ground until he finally found a stick and a couple rocks. He wrapped my apron around the end of the stick, knelt on the ground over it, and began sliding the rocks against one another, making sparks.
“Quite the boy scout,” Phoenix said. “I’m almost impressed.”
I didn’t bother looking at him. “Jealous much?”
“Not at all. He’s about to charge through a field of poisonous thorns to save another woman. I think I’m good. How about you? Are you feelings pangs of jealousy?”
I rolled my eyes. “I came here to get the kids and Nicole back. Why would I be jealous that we’re saving her?”
He shrugged. “You may not feel that way if you heard the things she said about you. Whew, she was angry and you were the root of all evil. But don’t worry, it’s a fun position to hold.”
This time I did look at him. “You were spying on them?”
He shook his head. “Not me, but one of my people. They’re thorough.”
I shook my head. “When we get back, all of this stops, okay? I don’t care what Holden said. You are not my personal bodyguard. If you can’t figure out how to be a friend, a real friend, then I don’t want you anywhere near my life. Is that clear enough for you?”
He nodded. “Do you want me to stop the jinn from promoting your bakery?”
My head whipped toward him. “What does my bakery have to do with anything?”
Phoenix shrugged. “I thought you might need a boost to get it off the ground.”
Shit. I should have known. Business had been too good, too fast.
The sparks finally took and my apron burst into flames. Didn’t think they were supposed to do that.
“You see, Maggie, I am your friend. You just don’t want to admit that sometimes you need someone like me, someone who isn’t afraid to take what he wants. And you’re even more afraid to admit that deep down, you like it. You like the benefits of it and you like the danger.”
Boone held the makeshift torch toward the thorns and they parted. “You ready?” he asked us.
“Go to hell,” I told Phoenix quietly, then added, louder, “Right behind you,” to Boone. “Chloe, stand behind me and hold onto my skirt. No matter what happens, don’t let go. Adam, I will hold your shoulders. Follow Boone.”
And that’s how we wove our way through the thorn bushes, back to front in as tight of a line as we could stand. On the other side, the castle door opened as we approached. Inside there was a courtyard with five possible paths.
“Five corridors, five people,” Phoenix said. “It wants us to split up.”
“No one splits up,” Boone said immediately.
“You have to go to the tallest tower,” Chloe said. “That’s where she will be.”
Phoenix pointed to the hallway to our right. “That’s the one that should take us to the tower based on the outside of the castle. So, we should go down that one.” He pointed to the opening on the left.
I nodded. “Everything is backwards.”
“Exactly.” He led the way and almost immediately we came to a staircase.
After about twenty flights of stairs, we hit a dead end. No rooms at all. We went back to the main entrance and chose the next hallway. This time there were only fifteen flights of stairs before they came to a disappointing end. By the fourth hall, I was beginning to lose heart and the children were complaining about their feet. Chloe climbed on my back and even Adam let Phoenix carry him. This time, though, the stairs kept going up and up and up and up until we finally reached a door. Boone pushed it open and revealed a bedroom. Nicole lay in the center of a small bed, with her arms folded over her chest.
“Nic.” Boone rushed toward her, taking her by the shoulders and giving her a gentle shake.
“You have to kiss her,” Chloe called out. “That’s how the prince saves her. True love’s kiss.”
Good thing it was her and not me. I’d be screwed. I didn’t have a true love.
Boone’s lips touched hers in what looked like the softest, sweetest kiss in the whole world, but all I could feel was pain. Phoenix was right. I was jealous of the coma girl. He kissed her the way I wanted to be kissed. Still worse, the way I wanted to be kissed by him. I looked away, not missing the fact that Phoenix was scrutinizing every move I made.
“Well, this is awkward,” Phoenix finally said.
“It’s the spell,” Boone said. “As you said, this whole place is backwards.”
“That is true,” Phoenix said slowly. “Maybe I should try.”
“Shut up, Phoenix.” It was bad enough Boone kissed her. Phoenix wasn’t getting anywhere near her.
“Mom says shut up isn’t nice,” Adam chimed in.
“Your mother is right, Adam. It isn’t very nice, is it?” Phoenix told the boy, then looked back at Boone. “Maybe the problem isn’t the backwards world. Perhaps you aren’t quite sure how you feel these days. After all, you spend a lot of time with Maggie. I can’t quite figure when you’re actually with Nicole. Apparently neither can she.”
“Stay out of it. This isn’t the time,” I hissed at Phoenix. “Just pick her up and we’ll take her like this. We need to go home.”
The door to the room slammed shut.
“I can’t allow you to do that.” Holda walked into the room. “I brought you here. It would be rude to leave before we had a chance to talk.” She cradled a lamp that looked an awful lot like a genie lamp in her arms. We were in big trouble.
How had she gotten away from Olivia? There was no way Olivia would have let her go. I glanced at Phoenix, but his eyes, churning with hate, were steadily trained on the lamp. He lowered Adam to the floor and nudged him over to me and Chloe.
“What do you want?” he asked in a slow and measured tone.
“I want my world to be complete, but going back and forth has weakened me. So I have a proposal for you, genie. I will keep the girl and everyone else here, but send you home. You will provide me with the people to finish my collection and at that time, I will release one person of your choosing.”
He squared his shoulders. “How many people are we talking about?”
“You can’t seriously be considering this?” I said, unwinding the children’s hands from my skirt.
“Silence,” Holda thundered. “If you speak again, I will remove your tongue or perhaps your head.”
Phoenix shook his head at me ever so slightly, before turning back to Holda. “How many to save Maggie?”
“I believe ninety or so would complete my collection.”
“Done,” he said without hesitation.
“Excellent.” She held the lamp up in front of her.
I ran at her with everything I had. I wasn’t immortal, I didn’t have my vampire strength or speed or healing, but I hit her low and hard enough to knock the lamp from her hands and scattered her image. I knew Olivia wouldn’t have let her go. This wasn’t Holda, at all. Holda would have taken my head and not threatened me. It was a shadow of herself. No doubt powerful enough to come back through.
I scooped up the lamp and rubbed my hand back and forth across it. “I wish everyone who doesn’t belong in this world was back at the door to leave now.”
Phoenix grinned at me. “Your wish is my command.” He snapped his fingers, and the castle vanished. We were in the meadow again, but this time the door was back.
I sent Boone carrying Nicole through first, followed by the kids, then nodded for Phoenix to g
o.
He shook his head, giving me a bow. “Ladies first. Especially the ones who were obviously football players in another life.”
I laughed. I was little, but mighty. “It’s all the sugar I used to eat.” I began to step forward, the lamp still tucked under my arm, but I paused, reaching back for Phoenix’s hand. “Let’s go together.”
He put his hand in mine with a slight grin. “This doesn’t change anything.”
I didn’t miss the mockery. “Not a thing.”
Chapter 16
We stepped out into the parking garage. Not much had changed since we left.
“It is of no concern to you,” Holda was saying in a complete déjà vu moment.
“Everything that happens in my world is my concern,” Olivia said.
Suddenly the weight in the room lessened considerably, and Holda roared. The rest of us scattered back into hiding, everyone except the hotel maid who was still frozen next to her car.
“You will return home and not come back to this world,” Olivia said, speaking in a tone I had never heard from her. Her soft voice thrummed with power as cold and ancient as time and space. “You have no place here. If I find you again, I will take exception to your presence.”
Holda didn’t move, but when Olivia took a step toward her, she floated back to the door. “I will not forget this, angel.”
Olivia gave a single nod. “I am counting on it.”
Holda stepped through the door and it silently shut behind her, sparks flying.
“Now,” Megan yelled and she sprang out of hiding with Stephanie, the two of them chanting a spell, fast and low.
The door buckled and bowed outward. Then it exploded, sending shards of wood everywhere that quickly sizzled away.
“That’s it? Is she gone?” I asked.
“For now,” Olivia said calmly. “It won’t take her long to figure out what happened. When she regains her strength, she’ll try to come back.”
I went to her and threw my arms around her. I didn’t care if she was an angel of death. She was awesome. “I don’t understand half of what happened or how no time seemed to have passed here, but I cannot thank you enough.”
She hugged me back, laughing softly. “Me? It was all you. You stepped through the door, then a second later you came back out. I didn’t have anything to do with that, but I’m glad you got everyone. Did you have any problems?”
I shook my head. “We managed.”
She went to the kids and knelt down to look them in the eye. They stared back at her. Then she tapped each of them on the forehead and their eyes closed. “Phoenix,” she said. “Take the children home. They were lost, but found their way back unharmed. Make sure they understand.”
My mouth fell open.
“It’s always nice seeing you, Olivia.” Phoenix scooped up both kids and left without another word.
“You can’t just change their memories,” I said.
She looked back at me. “You would rather they live the rest of their lives with the memory of what happened?”
I shook my head. I didn’t like the idea of someone’s memory being manipulated, but they were too little to know any of this was real. That wasn’t fair either.
“Then I can change their memory.” She moved over to Boone who had Nicole cradled in his arms. She still wasn’t awake. Olivia’s hand hovered over Nicole, as Boone watched with wide eyes, but didn’t say anything. “She’ll be fine,” Olivia finally proclaimed. “Take her home, put her back in bed, and tomorrow morning she will wake up from the best night of sleep she has ever had.”
Boone nodded and looked at me. “I don’t know how to thank you.”
Olivia followed his gaze back to me. That serene gaze penetrated me. Finally, she turned back to him and patted his shoulder. “I’m sure you will find a way.”
Megan and Stephanie stood next to me, grinning from ear to ear. “Maggie Edwards you are, by far, the coolest person we’ve ever met,” Megan said.
“We’re totally glad you moved in next door. You know a flipping angel. Amazeballs,” Stephanie said.
Olivia came back over, looking like a completely normal person. Just looking at her you would never guess the power she held. “It was nice meeting both of you. I think the three of you will be friends for a long time. If you don’t mind, may I talk to Maggie for a moment?”
“Sure,” Megan said. “It was so cool meeting you too.”
“Hey, celebratory drinks at the candle shop,” Stephanie said, backing away. “Nice meeting you.”
Olivia and I climbed into Izzy’s car, but I didn’t bother starting it.
Olivia snapped her fingers. “Releasing the housekeeper,” she said.
I nodded. “Thank you so much for helping tonight.”
She gave me a weird look. “Anytime, Maggie. We’ll always be here for you.” She gave me another searching look. “And the other problem?”
“Taken care of. You were right. I just needed a more intimate connection than a touch.”
“Sounds like you’ve had a busy day. You vanquished a potentially dangerous demon and beat a goddess at her own game. Do you still doubt you can do this?”
I laughed. “Not when you put it like that.”
Olivia smiled. “There will be an adjustment time, of course, but the path you’re on right now? Well, I think you’re going to end up loving every minute of it…if you don’t forget to share it.”
“I’m trying.”
“You’ve made a good start and have aligned yourself with an interesting group. How did Phoenix end up here?”
I shook my head. “Who knows? I think Holden told him to watch out for me and he’s gone overboard. Like we are starting to reach stalker levels.”
“Hmph.” Was all Olivia said.
“Izzy wants to be my partner at the bakery. She has all sorts of ideas.”
A flicker of sadness went through Olivia’s eyes that I didn’t quite understand. “You will never look back on your life and regret the time you spent with your best friend. Cherish it.” She shook her head slightly, seeming to snap out of whatever funk had overtaken her. “I have to get home. I’m glad you worked everything out. I never had a single doubt that you could do it. Oh, and one more thing. Why do you have a genie lamp?”
I looked down at it on my lap. I had forgotten that I never put it down. “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you all about Holda’s world later.”
“Can’t wait.” She reached for the door, but hesitated. “Have you and Phoenix been spending a lot of time with each other?”
I raised my eyebrows. “Why?”
“I shouldn’t say anything, but I get the feeling that he might have a thing for you.” She raised an eyebrow. “Has he said anything?”
I licked my lips. “How would I know if it is real and not just a manipulation?”
She shook her head. “I always just listened with my heart.”
Well my heart didn’t have ears. “In that case, he hasn’t said a word.”
She laughed. “I’m not taking sides, but give him a chance. There’s goodness in there. Have a good night.”
****
I stopped by the candle shop to toast Megan and Stephanie, who really came through for me in a pinch. Then I drove Izzy’s car home and walked back to the bakery. My mind felt split. Part of me was still thinking about Phoenix. I couldn’t reconcile so many aspects of who he was, but despite all of that, I also couldn’t hate him. He was strangely fascinating. The other part of me wondered about Boone. Not about whether or not what Phoenix implied was true, but about how we could keep working together after everything that happened. So long as he kept Nicole in the dark, she was never going to understand the time we spent together, and if my jealousy told me anything, it was that my heart apparently didn’t understand it either. .
And on that note, just like every day, I started with bread dough. Kneading and working it until it began to form. My life wasn’t perfect, but eventually it would take shape.
URBAN FANTASY/PARANORMAL ROMANCE
The Knead to Know Series
Knead to Know (A Knead to Know Short Story)
Fairytale Ambrosia
Psyche Souffle (Valentine’s Day Knead to Know Short Story)
Ghostsnaps (Coming Soon)
The Sekhmet Bounty Series
Sweet Little Lies (A Sekhmet Short Story)
Catatonic (A Sekhmet Short Story)
Catastrophe
Catacombs (Coming Soon)
Catapult (Coming Soon)
The Guardian Trilogy:
Secrets
Choices
Consequences
Be Light (Guardian Trilogy Christmas Short Story)
Snow and Mistletoe (Guardian Trilogy Christmas Short Story)
Good Tidings(Guardian Trilogy Christmas Short Story)
The Jinn Trilogy:
Ember
Inferno
Vestige
Without a Map (A Jinn Trilogy Short Story)
The Easy Bake Coven Series:
Easy Bake Coven
Hungry, Hungry Hoodoo
Pickup Styx
Tiddly Jinx
Ghosts in the Graveyard
Ollie, Ollie Hex ‘n Free
Frost’s Bite (An Easy Bake Coven Short Story)
If the Broom Fits
Stark Raven Mad (Coming Soon)
Moonlight Madness (Coming Soon)
MYSTERY
Dark Corners
Dark Passing
Dark Obsession
The Ninth Floor
MANY AUTHORS CLAIM to have known their calling from a young age. Liz Schulte, however, didn’t always want to be an author. In fact, she had no clue. Liz wanted to be a veterinarian, then she wanted to be a lawyer, then she wanted to be a criminal profiler. In a valiant effort to keep from becoming Walter Mitty, Liz put pen to paper and began writing her first novel. It was at that moment she realized this is what she was meant to do. As a scribe she could be all of those things and so much more.
When Liz isn’t writing or on social networks she is inflicting movie quotes and trivia on people, reading, traveling, and hanging out with friends and family. Liz is a Midwest girl through and through, though she would be perfectly happy never having to shovel her driveway again. She has a love for all things spooky, supernatural, and snarky. Her favorite authors range from Edgar Allen Poe to Joseph Heller to Jane Austen to Jim Butcher and everything in between.
