by Sonia Parin
“Also,” Rebel continued, “According to the rumor mills, you aspire to be a feline companion to a High Chair and that’s the only reason why you’re prepared to overlook her shortcomings because every other High Chair already has a feline companion. I’m surprised you haven’t gone on a killing spree to create a vacancy.”
“I’m going to pluck your wings,” Luna growled. “Maybe not today, or tomorrow. When you least expect it, you’ll wake up and think everything is rosy and then you’ll try to fly and—”
Lexie sighed. “Both of you need to put a sock in it.”
Luna curled up into a tight ball, “She started it.”
“I need a breath of fresh air.” Lexie turned to Octavia and gestured for her to follow her. Once outside, they headed out to the old Oak tree. Along the way, Lexie explained, “We need to find a way to get back home. The tree has some sort of revitalizing energy. It should help clear our heads.”
Lexie knew she could figure out a way to transport herself and Luna, but she also knew she’d land in her closet and that would defeat the purpose. If they returned to her apartment, they risked exposing themselves to the forgetting spell again and they might forget why they’d returned. She only had one shot at this and she needed to get to Mackenzie Hall. “Can you come up with a spell?”
Octavia straightened and gave her sleeve a tug. “How many are traveling?”
“I can’t leave these two behind and I’m thinking Slacker should come.”
“Five,” Octavia said.
“Huh?”
Octavia counted on her fingers, “You, Luna, Rebel, Slacker and me.”
“You? Oh, no. Not you. You need to stay here with Cat and Jonathan.”
“What about me?” Jonathan asked.
Lexie turned and saw him approaching. “Nothing.”
“What are you two plotting?” he asked.
“Go back to your drawings. You need to stick to what you know. You’re supposed to be working your way to a breakthrough.”
“This is big, Lexie. You’ll need all hands on deck. So whatever you’re planning to do, you’ll have to count me in too.”
Luna leaped up and down, calling for Lexie’s attention. “Octavia could come up with a spell to restore our memories. If she did that, then you’d know where you stand.”
“That’s a good idea Luna but I think Octavia needs to put all her focus on getting us to Mackenzie Hall. Whatever spell she comes up with is going to draw attention to us. We have to prioritize and get the best result from our one shot at this.”
When they reached the old tree, Lexie settled on the mossy mound. Jonathan looked at the tree with suspicion. Lexie patted the spot next to her. “You should try it. Cat says it works wonders for her.” Relaxing, Lexie closed her eyes and waited for the tree to take a hold of her, but it didn’t. She felt a buzz of energy course through her and she could still move her arms and hear the sounds around her. She guessed that first time she’d been super charged.
A few minutes later, Octavia sighed. “It’s marvelous. I’m tingling all over.”
Luna agreed. “If we could bottle this up, we would make a fortune.”
Lexie glanced down at Luna who’d settled beside her lying flat on her back, her little legs stretched out.
“I think my tongue is lolling out. I can’t tell, I’m so relaxed,” Luna purred.
“Ha, ha. You’re driveling,” Rebel teased.
“Sticks and stones. Now hush up. Can’t you see we’re trying to relax?”
Rebel and Luna fell silent. Five minutes into the group meditation Lexie heard a light humming. Peeling an eye open, she saw Rebel hovering around the tree. Up and down. Up and down. Noticing Lexie watching her, she stopped and mouthed an apology.
“Has anyone come up with any bright ideas?” Lexie asked.
Rebel made a broom-broom sound and swept around the tree.
Octavia shifted, stretched and yawned. “Cat’s protection spell over her forest will work against us. It’ll be like a gravitational pull. Whatever spell we use will need an extra kick to it.”
“We can’t ask her to lower the shield,” Lexie mused.
Rebel flew by, still making the broom-broom sound.
“She’s such a child,” Luna said.
Jonathan stretched his legs out. “I think Rebel is trying to tell you something.”
“We should ignore her,” Luna said. “She’s only trying to draw attention to herself.”
Lexie sat up. She watched Rebel whizz by again. This time, her hands were stretched out and Rebel appeared to be playing at make-believe driving. “Jonathan’s right. I’m guessing she’s trying to suggest we drive out of here.”
Rebel came to a screeching halt in front of Lexie. “Finally.”
“You want to drive all the way home?” Octavia asked. “That will take months. Actually, it’s impossible because there’s an ocean to cross. In fact, two oceans since we’re headed to England.”
Lexie looked at Luna who appeared to be thinking. “Remember Gainsborough Mansion?”
Luna nodded.
“Can you remember how we got the buggy to travel through time?” Lexie asked.
Luna opened her mouth and closed it again. “Nope.”
“We can use Slacker’s Jeep but only if Octavia can come up with a seriously good rocket fuel spell. Will you be able to manage it without having access to Mirabelle’s extensive library?”
“I’ve been using my time wisely,” Octavia mused, “There are several important tomes, essential guides to spell casting, and they list the most effective ones. I’ve memorized them all. It’ll just be a matter of sifting through my mental catalogue to find something that will work for us and tweak it.”
“What can we do to help? Do you need us to be quiet? I could shove my socks into these two.”
“Oh, no. That’s fine. The chatter seems to work for me.”
Lexie sat back and closed her eyes.
“Octavia said we could talk. Who wants to go first?” Luna asked. “No one? Okay, I’ll start. I think we should keep a close eye on the fairy. You can’t know for sure if she’s loyal to you or to her fairy queen. For all you know, the fairy queen might have already sold you out to she whose name we don’t remember and Rebel is here to make sure you’re delivered to Mackenzie Hall. You should frisk her to make sure she’s not carrying a pair of iron shackles. Those can be dangerous to a witch.”
Jonathan tilted his head. “They’d be too small.”
“Oh, but she’s magical,” Luna explained. “They could expand. We should play it safe and ask her to empty out her pockets right now and if she objects, you could hold her by her feet and give her a good shake.”
Rebel sat on Lexie’s knee and cupped her chin in her hand and listened with rapt attention.
“Luna, please change the subject,” Lexie suggested.
“Okay.” Luna rolled her eyes from side to side. “I know. We could test our memories. I’ll go first. Ask me what I ate for lunch yesterday.”
Lexie gave her a scratch behind the ears. “What did you eat for lunch yesterday?”
“A fish head. Personally, I prefer my food to look nothing like its source but as I’m currently an exile dependant on the generosity of others, I can’t be fastidious.”
“What about those fishy treats I give you? They’re shaped like fish.”
“I never noticed, but now that you’ve mentioned it, you might want to switch brands. Do you remember what you ate yesterday?”
“I’m trying to forget.” Lexie sighed. “Chickpeas.”
“And do you remember what you ate at the café?”
“Blueberry pancakes.”
“Huzzah, you’re cured,” Luna exclaimed. “What about the last meal you had at the Kitty Café?”
“Oh, that’s easy. It’s my favorite.”
“Yes? But what is it?”
“Hang on. It’ll come to me.” Lexie sat up. “I guess my memory is still playing up.”
“What if our me
mory loss gets worse when we return and we all forget why we returned?” Luna leaped up and went on one of her frenzied sprints. “You could be setting yourself up as an easy target and then what will happen to me? She who mustn’t be named might force me to bend a knee. She might consider me unworthy of the role of feline companion and force me to become her court jester.”
Rebel snickered. “You wish. She’ll probably skin you alive nine times over.”
Lexie tapped her chin. “There is one thing I remember now.”
They all sat up.
“Do tell,” Luna said.
“I remember whizzing us to Charming Paraphernalia across the street from the Kitty Café so I could use Anya’s room to meditate. I had an epiphany of sorts when everything suddenly clicked and I realized I needed to embrace my new circumstances and, in time, I’d acquire new skills and more power. I remember thinking I didn’t know how something could come to me when I couldn’t even think of what I wanted.” Lexie clicked her fingers. “That’s when I thought it would be handy to have access to fireballs or lightning.”
Luna looked up at her. “Are you trying to instill confidence in us?”
“I’m only saying, there’s more to me than I realized.” Lexie gave a firm nod. Yeah, she could do this…
Octavia jumped to her feet. “I’ve got it. I’ve got it. I remember coming across the spell and wondering if I’d ever get the chance to use it. This is it.” The words tripped out of Octavia as she recited the spell and had Jonathan say it back to her.
“Okay. Now we know how to get out of here. All I have to do is convince Slacker to go along with the plan,” Lexie said.
“The plan,” Jonathan said. “What plan? You don’t have one.”
“We know who our target is, we know where she is. We know how to get there. That’s enough for now.”
“You should give us a pep talk,” Luna suggested, “Rev us up and tell us how wonderful we are because we’re always there to support you. Most of all, you should reinforce the notion that you’re able to accomplish anything you set your mind to and assure us, that if worse comes to worst, you’ll forgive us if we hightail it… Sorry, that slipped out.”
“Luna’s right.” Lexie nodded. “You all know I’m counting on you. This is your chance to bow out. Whatever I’ll be facing is after me but something tells me she won’t care about collateral damage.”
Luna tilted her head from side to side. “Short and to the point but quite effective. I think I speak for everyone when I say we’ll stick by you, no matter what.”
Lexie patted Luna on the head.
Giving her a kitty grin, Luna said, “Now it’s your turn to try to convince us to stay behind because you can handle this by yourself. That will be our cue to object and insist we must accompany you straight into the lion’s den, like fools rushing in where angels fear to tread, like lambs to the slaughter. At which point, you should exercise your prerogative as incoming High Chair and order us to stay behind. We’ll pretend to abide by your order but we’ll secretly stow away and go with you.” Luna gave a firm nod. “That’s how it’s done in the movies.”
“Do you want to come or not?” Lexie asked.
“I think you skipped a few steps,” Luna purred.
“Does she ever shut up?” Rebel asked. “Someone please stop winding her up. She’s like one of those toys with a long lasting battery.”
Luna lowered her head. “Since this will be your first time assisting us I suggest you steer clear of the crossfire, fairy. Otherwise, you might end up being the first casualty.”
Lexie surged to her feet. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
Luna leaped up into Lexie’s arms. “Your chronicler will write tales about you and call this the Unraveling. He might even add a footnote and mention my contribution. I think we should have a feast before setting off. It might be our last meal.” Luna looked around her. “Where’s Rebel?”
“She’s probably snuggled up in my hair. Come on. We should break the news to Cat.”
“She’s not going to like it,” Jonathan warned.
Chapter Eighteen
Lexie strode out of the cottage and made her way toward the Jeep. “I accept full responsibility for upsetting Cat.”
“She’ll get over it,” Octavia offered. She’d changed out of her suit and into a commando type outfit of black tights, a leather jacket and boots. “I know this is a highly unprofessional look but I believe the task ahead calls for more suitable clothing.”
“It suits you.”
“It doesn’t compare to your chain mail dress. Jonathan said it’s quite impregnable.”
Lexie nodded. “He threw a shoe at me and I didn’t even feel it. I’m assuming she who can’t be named will have something more powerful than a shoe.”
“There’s still no sign of Rebel,” Luna purred. “I told you she couldn’t be trusted.” Luna leaped up onto Lexie’s head. “I don’t see her anywhere, and she’s definitely not hiding in your hair.”
“Great. So you can stop digging your paws into it,” Lexie said.
Cat came rushing out of the cottage, her fingers curled into tight fists. “You still haven’t left so I can still try to talk you out of this crazy plan.” She hadn’t liked their idea and had taken her ire out on Slacker who’d refused to stand in Lexie’s way.
“You can try but you know as well as I do someone has to do something. From what Mr. Ellsworth said, the evil twin will be coming after me anyway, so I might as well cut to the chase and save her the trouble. You should be thankful I’m not leading her straight to your front door. Your enchanted forest will be safe.”
Cat’s eyes shimmered. “What if, heaven forbid, you fail?”
Lexie looked around her. “I think you’ll withstand any attack. If it comes to that…” Lexie closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. Cat’s protection spell worked in tandem with the energy residing in every plant and tree in the forest. The most powerful source came from the old Oak tree. It would look after the forest. Its power had deep roots within this ancient land. “You’ll all be safe here.” Lexie was about to open her eyes when she sensed something dark slither inside her mind. She managed to hold herself steady without alerting the others. “All right, people. Let’s do this.”
Cat waved her hands. “Wait. This is too hasty. You should at least rendezvous with Mirabelle. Yes, I’m sure you didn’t kill her. Mr. Ellsworth is right. If something had happened to Mirabelle, we would have felt the loss. I’m sorry for suspecting you.” Cat wrung her hands. “Please. Please, I’m begging you. Go to Mirabelle first.”
Lexie shook her head. “I can’t do that. She went to the Crone’s realm for a reason. If I go there, I’ll risk leading the enemy to her door.” If she failed, Mirabelle could tap into the Crone’s knowledge and find a solution.
Cat stomped her foot. “You can’t tackle her by yourself.”
“I think you need to have a little faith in my abilities.”
“You’ll be on your own,” Cat wailed. “We’re always there with you, but not this time.”
“Maybe that’s the way it’s supposed to be.” Lexie cringed. Something dark had swept through her mind. Jonathan had suggested the light and dark presence she’d felt might have been a message she’d sent to herself, but Lexie doubted that. She’d never been cryptic in her life. Could her mom’s evil twin be trying to find her?
“What’s on your mind?” Jonathan asked.
Lexie didn’t want to worry him unnecessarily. “Just wondering how we’re going to fit into the Jeep. You don’t have to come. In fact, I’d rather you didn’t. Someone has to stay behind and chronicle my deeds and or misdeeds.”
Jonathan snorted. “Nice try.”
“Do you know something I don’t?” Lexie asked. “Of course you do and you’re not about to tell me.”
Smiling, he cocked an eyebrow at her.
“Fine. Whatever.”
Slacker strode out of the cottage, his stride effortlessly cut
ting the distance to the Jeep. “Everyone ready?”
Cat lunged for Lexie and threw her arms around her. “Please be careful.”
“I will. Okay. You have to let go now.”
Cat stepped back. Her sparks had lost their sheen. “Fine. Go. But you better kick some butt.”
“I will.”
They all piled into the Jeep. Lexie sat in front while Jonathan and Octavia squashed up in the rear seat, their knees pressed up against their chins.
Luna came bounding toward them and, taking a leap, landed on Lexie’s lap. “Still no sign of the renegade fairy. After this is all over, I think we should go on a fairy hunt.”
“Ready?” Slacker asked.
Lexie looked over her shoulder. “Octavia, this is your moment to shine.”
Slacker revved up the engine as Octavia began reciting the spell.
“Wait for me. Wait for me.”
Luna clambered up to Lexie’s shoulder. “I don’t believe it. She’s got a nerve showing her face around here again. She’s cannoning toward us.” Luna huffed. “That’s it, she’s diving straight into my mouth.”
Lexie clamped her hand over Luna’s mouth. “We need to give her the benefit of the doubt. Let her explain herself first. For all we know, she might have been scared off. Not everyone has the spirit of adventure.”
“All right. I’ll be good.” Luna blinked up at her. “Did I ever actually say I had the spirit of adventure?”
Rebel landed on Lexie’s head. “Oh, thank you for waiting.”
“Where did you go?”
Rebel hung upside down and peered at Lexie. “I had to prepare. I couldn’t go empty-handed.”
“You’re not seriously going to let her come with us. She’s a spy,” Luna grumbled. “Please let me get rid of her for you.”
“Slacker, can you please put the pedal to the metal. If these two don’t kill each other first, I will.” Lexie turned to Octavia. “Take two. Are we ready to rock’n’roll? Sorry, I’ve always wanted to say that.”
Octavia nodded and began her chant. “Speed through space, this Jeep takes flight at the blink of an eye and arrives just in time.”
“I’m a little worried about the wording,” Luna murmured, “It suggests we’ll crash-land in the middle of a momentous scene.”
