She grabbed her bow and swiveled to face us. Her green eyes flashed with fury. “Into the sea. Run!” she shouted.
For a second I was frozen, but then I turned and ran. I heard arrows whiz through the wind. I didn’t look back. I was afraid to.
Mercutio, Zach, and I rushed headlong after Bryn as he jumped off a cliff that jutted out above the water. I held my breath as my stomach lurched into my throat. A second later I plunged into the fae ocean, my tears mixing with the cool water.
I surfaced, gasping for breath. Bryn caught my hand and called for the others to dive with him.
“There’s a waterway, a faery path under the surface. Sutton, grab Oz. When I pull you into it, you’ll lead him through. Hurry!” he yelled.
I followed Bryn’s gaze to the ledge of the cliff, where the queen’s archers were lined up and shooting arrows.
Zach and Oz swam to us.
“Where’s Mercutio?” I shouted, but Bryn didn’t answer or wait for me to spot him.
“Follow me,” Bryn said to Zach, and then dragged me down.
When I thought I’d surely run out of breath and my heart thundered in my chest against my screaming lungs, Bryn kissed me and gave me his breath. Moments later I felt the water shift. It became heavier and colder. A current grabbed us and suddenly we were in a churning tunnel. I felt like a ball shot from a cannon, whooshing so fast even sound couldn’t catch up.
I began to feel dizzy, like I would pass out. My belly cramped. The pain was so deep and hard within me I thought I might die.
I lost track of the water, the path, the world.
Finally the waterway released us. We broke the surface like corks popping from a champagne bottle. The spray was icy cold, but I was so exhausted I almost sank underwater.
Bryn pulled me to him and kissed me, laughing and obviously exhilarated from the journey. He had no idea how close he’d come to losing me and the future we planned.
His black sealskin faded almost instantly, and his wizard’s magic poured into us, which rejuvenated me.
We’re okay. We made it.
Zach and Oz burst from the water a few feet away.
“Yahoo!” Oz yelled, pumping his fist. His dreadlocks had uncoiled, and his golden hair was plastered to his neck and shoulders and shimmered in the sun.
Zach ran a hand over his face to get rid of the excess water and then turned and swam toward shore.
There was a stone fort to our right and boats bobbing in the water in front of us. People—human people wearing jeans, sweaters, and jackets—came running to the beach when they spotted us. A few of them surrounded something and kept looking down.
When we walked from the ocean, the thing they’d surrounded came bounding down to meet me. I dropped to my knees on the sand and hugged Mercutio.
“You made it! If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times: You’re amazing, Merc. Thanks for coming with me into the Never and for getting out of there alive.”
I looked over my shoulder, shivering in my half-frozen soggy clothes.
The friendly Irish people tried to hurry us away from the shore, asking dozens of questions, but I resisted being led to shelter. I smiled at them, but pulled back without answering.
“Let’s wait. She might be right behind us,” I whispered to Bryn, returning to the water’s edge.
“The queen won’t kill her. She’s too valuable,” Bryn said.
“Probably not. But maybe she didn’t get caught at all. She said her horse will run off cliffs. She could’ve followed us out.”
“Tamara, she covered our escape. She was pretty far from the water,” he said grimly.
I chewed on my lip. “I shouldn’t have left her there,” I said. “After he died like that.”
“She’ll be all right. That girl’s tougher than month-old beefsteak,” Zach said, walking to a pair of middle-aged women who offered him a blanket.
“Yeah, she’ll be okay.” She has to be. “It’s just that . . .” I shook my head.
“You’re worried about her,” Bryn said.
“Yes. Also, I did something. I’ll tell you later,” I said, glancing at Zach. I didn’t trust him with the truth. “Zach, you should get that wound looked at. One of the nice ladies can take you to a local ER. Do you need money to get back to England?”
“Are we parting company?” Zach asked, putting a hand over the back pocket of his jeans.
“Yes,” I said. “It’s time for us to go our own ways.”
Zach’s eyes never left my face. “If that’s how you want it.” He waited.
I didn’t say anything more.
“I’ve still got my wallet. Don’t know if my card still works, but I’ll manage,” he said.
“Bryn, can you give him some of the cash you have?”
“No,” Zach said, holding out a hand. “Listen, your aunt Edie’s still a priority of mine. I brought her here. Not planning to go back to Texas while she’s stuck in London.”
“We’ll handle that,” Bryn said.
“Got it covered, do you?” Zach asked, narrowing his eyes. “Don’t need help searching Scottish woods? You don’t need a hand defending yourself against wild dogs, huh?”
“Don’t worry about wild dogs or anything else. Just go on back home,” I said.
Bryn held out a handful of money. Zach shook his head.
“No, thanks,” Zach said, then glanced at me. “I’d never do anything to hurt you.”
“You already did. You lied. And your mission was more important than me and my family.” I shrugged. “Never expected that. But things change. I understand.”
“Hey, darlin’, you’re the one who changed first.”
“I know.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I want to go,” I said, looking at Bryn. “Can we?”
“Yes,” Bryn said, taking my hand and holding it tight so our rings touched and magic arced between us. I felt another cramp deep in my belly and then warmth all through me.
“Things are real different. Changing all the time,” I said.
“Definitely,” Oz said, tossing his arms wide. “I made it! Almost didn’t. Nearly drowned! But I’m here now.” Then, as he looked up, his smile faded. “It’s very cloudy here,” he said, glancing at the sky. “Is the sun up there? Probably it is. Hey, where are we?” he asked, turning to the people.
“Kinsale,” a woman said, surprised. “Did your boat sink?”
They’d asked us that several times earlier, but none of us had answered. Finally Zach did, saying, “No, we jumped from a boat on a dare.”
“What? What boat?” the woman asked.
Zach shook his head. “I’m not gonna say.”
I don’t know if they believed him about the dare or not. I didn’t really care.
“Where is Kinsale?” Oz asked.
“Ireland,” Bryn said quickly. “We’re still in Ireland.”
“Ireland,” Oz said with a smile at the locals. “All right. I’m the great and powerful Oz,” he said, thrusting out a hand. “You’ve probably heard tell of me. For my first activity, I’d like to meet Bono from the band U2. Would you be cool and introduce me?”
The people stared at him, speechless.
“He’s joking,” Bryn said, hooking an arm around Oz’s shoulders. “This way, Mr. Great and Powerful. Let me explain a few things.”
“Oh? Okay, dude.”
I stared out at the water, but Kismet didn’t emerge. I finally had to admit she wasn’t going to.
32
I NEVER THOUGHT I’d be grateful for Bryn’s being rich, but his wallet full of cash and credit cards had gotten us transportation to Killarney to get our van full of luggage. We arranged via texts to meet Zach in Dublin just to hand off his bags to him.
We also got a hotel room and a cell phone for Oz and plane tickets for B
ryn and myself to England.
Oz got seventeen invitations to be people’s houseguest. And that was just in the Dublin airport. He borrowed a musician’s guitar and played a version of Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven” that made people cry and tip him a pile of money while he waited with us for our flight to board.
He also met a girl who knew Bono’s daughter and said she could take him to a party to meet the superstar.
“You’re the best,” he said, giving the girl a hug. He’d mastered hugging in about five seconds. “But we’re going to England. So I guess I’ll concentrate on meeting Keith Richards and the Rolling Stones. Keith Richards hasn’t died, has he, wizard?” he asked Bryn.
“No, he’s alive,” I said. “But listen, you’re not coming to England, remember? On account of you don’t have a passport?”
“Oh, I’m going. I’ve wanted to see England for a long time. The Beatles are from there, you know?”
“Are they really?” Bryn quipped.
I smiled. “Cut it out, Bryn. We’ll call you on the cell phone, Oz. Take a taxi back to the hotel. Your room is paid for for the week. We’ll figure something out after we take care of our wizard business.”
“Go ahead, Halfling. I’m the great and powerful Oz. I will prevail.”
Bryn laughed and was still shaking his head when we boarded. But five minutes after we sat down, Oz got on the plane and both our jaws dropped.
The flight attendant had apparently decided to overlook his lack of passport.
“She can’t do that. He could be a terrorist,” I whispered.
“I don’t know what to tell you. He’s the great and powerful Oz.”
I spent the flight eyeing him suspiciously. Had he borrowed the queen’s magic lip gloss? He didn’t appear to have anything on his lips. But there was no doubt that humans doted on him.
When we arrived in London, Oz bought black sunglasses and a charcoal-gray scarf with his tip money. He sold Bryn an uncut Colombian emerald for seven hundred dollars and promptly bought a guitar from a man who looked homeless. Then he bought a leather jacket from a guy with a half-shaved head.
“Here are your family’s earrings,” Oz said, hooking Aunt Mel’s emerald earrings into my lobes.
“Hey!”
“I said I’d give those back. The rest of the emeralds I’ll keep for bartering. Thanks for getting me to England. And as promised, the other part of my debt is repaid. Finished work on it. You’ll see. Hey, I recognize that car’s ornamental. That’s a Lamborghini. I’m going to ride with that guy. He’ll be able to introduce me to Keith Richards.” He waved and strode off.
“Oz, wait a minute! What do you mean, your debt’s repaid?”
But he didn’t turn around. He jogged over to introduce himself to the sixtyish-year-old man who seemed to speak only Italian. Oz made a few gestures and the man opened the passenger door and waved for him to get in.
“Do you think he’ll be okay?”
“I think he’ll be a rock star by Thursday,” Bryn said.
“Unless WAM spots him.”
“Right. Then he’ll be a jailbird. But until then, he’s the great and powerful Oz.”
* * *
WE CHECKED INTO the Savoy Hotel, which is Aunt Mel’s favorite. Bryn thought we were going to regroup and make a plan. He didn’t know I already had one that I hadn’t told him about.
I waited for him to fall asleep, gave him a kiss, and then took a taxi driven by a man named Colin to the World Association of Magic headquarters. He told me about World Cup soccer, which he called football. I confided in him that I’d had to steal from my sister to pay my aunt and my fiancé’s best friend’s bail, and that I didn’t know if my sister would forgive me or whether I’d even get the chance to explain, since she’d left the country and I wasn’t welcome in her home.
He said she’d forgive me. Family didn’t have a choice about that. I hoped he was right. Kismet was new to families. I wasn’t sure how far family loyalty would go with her.
I thought about the rift between my grandma and Momma, Aunt Mel and Edie. “Some families are real good at grudges.” I handed him a handful of money and waited for him to sort out the fare and his tip. “I like your money over here. It’s pretty,” I said. “Ours is plainer. Of course, it’s good, too,” I said, not wanting to seem unpatriotic.
He gave me back a bundle of bills. “Be careful, Tammy Jo. Not everyone will be honest when it comes to money.”
“I know,” I said. “But I like to give people a chance to be honest and good. Humanity is attractive. Just ask the faeries,” I whispered with a wink that left his eyebrows around his hairline.
The outdoor lights of WAM headquarters lit the front entry and the hulking gargoyles. They were just statues after all.
Conclave members acting as security opened the front door, and the president was with them.
“Hey, there,” I said, walking right up to him. “Thanks for meeting me so late.”
“Where are the boys?” Poppy asked, stepping into view.
“They’re safe,” I said. “And hi.” I didn’t shake Anderson’s hand. Instead I slapped the amber into it. “There you go. Give me my friends.”
Everyone in the lobby seemed to have been struck dumb. They huddled around him.
“It’s amber from an ancient tree, certainly.” Anderson put on small spectacles and brought the amber practically to his nose. “There’s definitely something within it. Wake Basil and Mrs. Hurley. Ms. Trask, you can wait here or go back to your hotel. If this proves authentic, your friends will be dropped off at your hotel by morning.”
“I’m not leaving,” I said, sitting in a lobby chair.
“Where did you get it? And how?” Poppy demanded.
I folded my arms across my chest and tipped my head back to look at the painted ceiling. “Nobody said I had to give an explanation. All I had to do was deliver it,” I said, swirling my hand in a ta-da gesture.
“Answering questions about where it was unearthed should be part of the authentication process. Like provenance for a painting,” an operative said.
“That wasn’t part of the deal I made.” My stomach growled. “I’m hungry, though. For a chocolate croissant, I’ll let you in on a little secret.”
There were murmurs, and after about fifteen minutes a warm chocolate croissant and a mug of tea with milk were delivered to the lobby.
I ate the entire croissant in four bites and drank my tea. “The truth is, I did something underhanded to get it. And I’m still not sure it was the right thing to do, so I’d rather be boiled in oil than tell you the details. I don’t expect Conclave spies to understand my troubled conscience, since you guys don’t seem to have consciences at all, let alone troubled ones. Let’s just say I’m the great and powerful Tammy Jo and leave it at that.”
There was a little bit of an uproar, but I just shrugged. I’d been through too much over the past few weeks to get riled over arguments.
Sure, I’d tricked them into giving me a croissant. Not great manners. But how bad was I supposed to feel? They were the worst bunch of liars I’d ever met. Besides, it had been an emergency. I really needed that pastry. I frowned. Okay, you could take a Halfling out of the Never. But it was going to take more than a day to get the Never out of the Halfling.
* * *
I WOKE CURLED in the lobby chair and was informed that the verification of an ancient relic was going to take more than a day. What did I expect, they wanted to know, when I couldn’t explain how I’d miraculously found their treasure in a few days after a group of highly trained operatives hadn’t been able to find it in two years?
I was trying to decide what to do when Edie emerged from the elevator. She wore a sage-green sweater with a black pencil skirt and green suede knee-high boots. She strode across the lobby followed closely by a man and woman who were dressed like unde
rtakers.
“Hi,” I said, standing to hug her.
She smelled like Chanel perfume.
“How come, if you’re a prisoner, you’ve got fresh clothes on and smell real nice? And I’m not one, but I’ve got crumbs on my shirt and haven’t combed my hair?”
She smirked. “I’ve had lots of practice getting ready after sleeping somewhere other than my own bed,” she said with a wink.
I gasped.
“An all-nighter is never an excuse for looking rumpled. Now, I’ve heard that you brought them what they want. Well-done!” She clutched my hands. “Naturally, they haven’t released Andre and me. They’re not to be taken at their word. Ever. But we already knew that, didn’t we?”
I nodded, frowning.
“So,” she said, sneakily pressing a piece of paper into my palm, “we’ll soldier on. I need a few more sundries that I forgot to pack. You’ll be a darling and run out for me, won’t you?”
“Um, I was going to wait for you and then we could all take a cab back to the hotel and leave England,” I whispered. My stomach rumbled. “I’m hungry again.”
“Shocking,” she said dryly. “Take a few minutes to get breakfast. And to run a brush through your hair,” she said, finger-combing the strands closest to my face. “Then go on my errand.”
I tucked my hair behind my ears with a sigh. “Okay.” I stood and shoved the paper in my pocket. I accepted a quick kiss on my cheek.
When I got to the door, the operatives hesitated to step aside. I gave them a hard look. Finally the guy moved and opened the door for me.
I took a cab back to the Savoy. I ate a basket of pastries and fruit and drank two glasses of milk before I brushed my hair and teeth. I confessed to Bryn about stealing an amber and giving it to WAM. He said nothing.
“You mad at me?”
“No,” he said. “I’m just not sure about the repercussions of your actions. What if the gates to the Never disappear altogether?”
“That’s not possible.”
He rested his hands on the table, leaning forward. “We don’t really know what’s possible, do we?”
Casually Cursed Page 29
