Her Lying Days Are Done

by Robert J. Crane

  “Where are we going, Iona?” I asked as she pulled out of the driveway. “You’re being tight lipped. Which is, I suppose, kind of usual for you, except when you're delivering an insult or quip.”

  “Well, I'm fresh out of those at the moment,” she said. “I'm too busy holding back my absolute terror.”

  I frowned. “Why do you say that?”

  “It’s not dangerous, is it?” Laura asked.

  Iona laughed, but it was more like a bark of disbelief. “Of course this is dangerous. Absurdly so.”

  Laura’s eyes widened, and Xandra snorted.

  “It’s not like we could die, or whatever, right?” Xandra said. “We have a vampire and a faerie with us. What could possibly go wrong?”

  “Famous last words,” I said, staring at Iona’s face. There was something about the smirk on her face, the glint in her eye…

  “Wait, we could actually die?” Laura asked, sitting up in her seat, leaning toward Iona.

  “Oh, yeah. It’s almost certain that one of you will,” Iona said. “Which is why I was so glad we had many volunteers. Reduces the danger to me when the blood starts to really fly.”

  Silence fell over the car; an unpleasant, prickly sort of tension that made my skin crawl.

  “Wait, so…why did you let us come with you?” Xandra asked. “That really doesn’t make any sense. We’re just squishy humans after all.”

  “I don’t really like any of you,” Iona said, giving Laura and Xandra brief glances in the rearview mirror. Then she looked at me. “When we get there, Cassie, you should stay close to me so you aren’t the one who gets mangled.”

  “If you knew that it was dangerous—” Laura said.

  “I get that you aren’t a human anymore, but seriously—” Xandra said.

  “I don’t suppose there's anything that you could tell us to prepare us for what is coming?” Lockwood asked. “I, too, am rather curious about what to expect.”

  Iona’s grip tightened on the wheel. “Just shut up, all of you. You're making it more difficult for me to manage my terror. And I can't afford to go to pieces right now.” She shifted in her seat. “I only have one more infraction left on my license before it gets revoked.”

  Xandra collapsed back against the seat with a huff, crossing her arms over her chest. Laura deflated and started to pick at the chipping blue fingernail polish on her thumb, one eye on Iona, as though waiting for her to declare everything she'd just said was an elaborate joke.

  I glared at the back of Iona’s head. She was often bullheaded for no reason, but I could see that she was uneasy about this. Her posture was hard, her muscles tight.

  We were driving farther into the city, where the highways all began to snake in and around one another, overhead and underneath. The skyscrapers were like giant fingers reaching into the sky, their brilliantly colored signs and patches of lit windows scaling their tall, metal sides. The city was alive, but completely unaware of us and the war that we were fighting.

  Lockwood was staring out of the window. Xandra was scrolling through her Instaphoto feed. Laura was leaning back against the seat, her head on the head rest, staring at the ceiling.

  It was quiet. Like the calm before a hurricane.

  I had a bad feeling about all of this. Was it because I was worried about where Iona was taking us? Or because I worried that whoever this person was, they wouldn’t be able to help Mill?

  Mill.

  It physically hurt to think about him, like someone driving a frozen knife in through my heart, robbing me of any warmth or happiness. I couldn’t really remember the last time that I had really felt at peace with anything in my life. And within the last…what…forty-eight hours or so? My life had completely been turned upside down… Again.

  My parents knew about vampires. And faeries and werewolves and witches.

  I closed my eyes and tried to focus on my breathing again. I hated feeling like the walls were closing in on me. My heart was racing. My head was swimming.

  Panic attacks were a thing, right? And with everything I was dealing with, it only made sense that I would be the one to deal with one…

  Because yeah…that’s about where I was right now.

  Closing my eyes, I settled back, trying to put my thoughts at ease as we rolled down the freeway into the coming night, and I tried not to think about what terrible evils might wait ahead at our destination.

  Chapter 24

  Ikea.

  We went to Ikea.

  “I’m sorry, but I feel like I really missed something…” I said, staring out into the dark parking lot. Even an hour from closing, the giant blue and yellow store’s parking lot was still pretty busy.

  Iona was scrolling through some old messages on her phone, and despite how I shifted in my seat, I couldn’t read them.

  “How is this magical…at all?” Laura asked, peering out of her window.

  “I can kinda see it,” Xandra said. “I do find something spellbinding about discount Swedish furniture.”

  Laura gave her a scathing look.

  Xandra ignored it. “I mean, who doesn’t want an Ektorp to take home?”

  “How did you know that off the top of your head?” Laura asked with a glare.

  “Like I said, who doesn’t want to take one home?” Xandra asked.

  “What is an Ektorp?” Laura asked, folding her arms.

  Xandra rolled her eyes. “If I have to explain it, then it’s not a joke anymore, is it?”

  “I have to agree with the girls,” Lockwood said. “This place doesn’t look like—”

  “You of all people should know that these things are never how they appear,” Iona said, still reading through her messages. Whether she was looking for information or killing time, I didn’t know.

  “So, it’s not actually a Swedish furniture store?” Xandra asked. “Does that mean the meatballs aren't real? Or caloric, maybe?”

  Iona made a noise of disgust and threw open her door, stepping out into the humid night. She slammed it shut behind her.

  Xandra followed suit. “Wait, so is this not actually an Ikea? Is it secretly a demon hideout?”

  I scrambled out of the car after Xandra, and found Iona glaring at Xandra over the roof of the car.

  “Of course it’s an Ikea!” she said. She rolled her eyes in disgust. “Just…let’s go. And try to contain your stupid thoughts within your stupid self.” She started toward the entrance.

  Laura fell into step beside me, Xandra on my other side, Lockwood trailing behind.

  A vampire, a fae, and three teenage girls. What a sight we must have been.

  We wandered inside, the bright lights on every surface contrasting with the dark, industrial ceiling, making the place surprisingly cozy.

  “Oh man, I wonder if they're still serving food,” Xandra said as we stared around the entrance. An escalator led upwards, with signs above it indicating different areas; living, dining, kitchen, bedroom. “Their Swedish meatballs are the bomb dot com.”

  “Nobody says bomb dot com anymore,” Iona said with utter disgust.

  “I'm bringing it back,” Xandra said.

  Iona made a noise like a gagging sound deep in her throat. “You would, you anime-loving hipster.”

  “I just can’t believe an Ikea could be dangerous,” Laura said, shoving her hands in the pocket of her pink sweatshirt.

  “It’s very dangerous to your wallet,” Lockwood said. “I challenge you to come in here and not walk out with something.”

  “I’ve actually never been here before,” I said, looking around. “It’s actually pretty cool.”

  Laura’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Wait until you see the apartment displays. I designed my bedroom around one. The hanging lights? So gorgeous.”

  Lockwood nodded his head. “My point is made.”

  “I don’t really think that any of us are of the home organizing age yet,” I said. “Or at least I'm not, being somewhat more concerned about vampires at present. B
esides. My wallet was back at the house…probably lost in the fire, with all five dollars it contained.” RIP Mr. Lincoln. How keenly I will miss you the next time I want a chicken sandwich.

  “Come on, there's no time to dawdle,” Iona said, motioning for us to follow her up the escalators.

  It was like a totally different world at the top of the escalator. Mini room displays were set up with vibrantly colored couches, chunky coffee tables with glass tops, and dark espresso pieces along the faux walls set up around them.

  Laura flounced over to one of the couches, touching the mustard yellow fabric, her eyes wide with excitement. Xandra had turned and started toward the elevators, and I noticed the sign for food hanging from the ceiling in that direction.

  There were quite a few people here, all absorbed in their own dreams for their homes, totally oblivious to us. One couple was totally entranced by one of the couches, the husband marking it down while the wife plopped down happily, over and over.

  “I always thought that Ikea was really cheap stuff,” I said, touching one of the green paisley armchairs. “But I'm actually kinda impressed now that I see it.”

  Iona loomed beside me and nodded, just once. “I have some pieces in my place from here.” Her look soured. “Or I did…before I had to abandon my home to wild dogs and street gangs and whatever other unwashed horrors might wander in now that I'm gone. Street mimes, probably.”

  “Sorry,” I said. “About your place.” I paused, thinking about it. “Also, about any possible street mime infestations you have to deal with once this is over with. Those things are impossible to get rid of.”

  She shook her head. “Come on.”

  “Oh, I like that white one,” Laura said as we moved into the couches, “but I really like that blue one, too. Do you think it would show cat hair? I wonder how much it costs? Maybe Mom will let me get that for my dorm in a few years.”

  “Let me guess, you want to go to FSU, right?” Xandra asked. “Like every other person around here?”

  Laura’s eyes narrowed. “No. I want to go to a school down in Fort Myers, thank you very much.”

  “Wow, I’m impressed,” Xandra said. “You're so cookie cutter in every other way, I was sure you'd be an FSU loser.”

  “We need to split up,” Iona said, hanging back.

  “What, do we look too suspicious like this?” Xandra asked.

  “No, I just really don’t want to be seen with you,” Iona said. “And I don’t want to have to listen to you. I’m also very hungry, because somebody interrupted my dinner last night.” She gave me a pointed look.

  “Okay, now she’s scary,” Xandra said.

  “What exactly are we looking for?” I asked, moving along the path, following the arrows. We had made it into the kitchen section, which from the map hanging from the ceiling suggested we were at the back of the store. Plates and glasses sat in the sleek cupboards. Vases with flowers lingered on the tablets and counters. Homey touches like that filled every surface. They really made you feel like you lived there.

  “Are we looking for a magic lamp, by chance?” I asked as we passed by a really cool green glass lamp. I made a note to ask Mom to come here with me. I was going to need a whole new room, right? And the prices weren’t all that bad…

  “No,” Iona said.

  “How am I supposed to know when you won’t tell me anything?” I asked.

  Iona didn’t reply, just kept walking through the kitchen displays.

  “Oh come on, he follows you around like a little puppy,” I heard Xandra say.

  “He does not,” Laura said.

  “He so does,” Xandra said. “He’s your neighbor. Isn't that awkward?”

  “Gregory is a really nice guy,” Laura said.

  “Friend-zoned him already, huh?” Xandra asked. “Smart move.”

  “He doesn’t like me like that,” Laura said, her words as cool as ice.

  I held in a snort. Gregory totally did. She was just in denial. But that was probably easy for her, since almost the whole male population of our school was in love with her.

  “Okay, we’re here,” Iona said, and she stepped off the path and into one of the displays.

  It was a combo kitchen and laundry room, with a small walkway between them. It gave shoppers the chance to wander around among the pieces, touch them, get a feel for them. Open the fridge, see if you like the height of the cooking surfaces.

  Iona looked up and down the path, making sure that we were alone, then ducked through into one of the next displays. Another kitchen, but it also had a small pantry tucked away in the back, out of the eye of anyone on the main path between displays.

  “What’s in here?” I asked, following her. It wasn’t very big inside, and when Lockwood, Xandra, and Laura were all squeezed in there with us, we were all standing shoulder to shoulder.

  Iona, who was near the shelves, was eyeing the back wall.

  “So…a pantry.” Xandra said, nodding. “Super magical. Why, it's practically out of Harry Potter, it's so magical.”

  I watched as Iona pressed the tips of her fingers together, closed her eyes, and started murmuring something under her breath.

  “Um…Iona?” I asked, my heart starting to race.

  Lockwood had gone pale. “I can feel it.”

  Xandra snorted. “You can feel what? The savings?”

  “No,” he said, “the power.”

  I thought it was just the close proximity to all of them, but I realized I could sense a shift of some sort too. Like running my hand over a balloon, feeling the static electricity.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  But before he could answer, against the back wall, where the shelves had once been, a huge, swirling, glowing doorway appeared, crackling and humming. Wind rushed past us, creating a tunnel effect. Light poured out of it, like a great cyclone of blue and white. It smelled like ozone, like water evaporating off hot pavement.

  “Holy crap,” Xandra said, throwing her arms around Laura, who was as pale as white cake batter.

  Lockwood looked even more terrified than Laura, and that made my heart slam against my ribs. If Lockwood was afraid…

  Iona ducked her head as she stepped through the portal, treating it like nothing more than a low doorway.

  “Iona, wait—” I said.

  She disappeared from view, the swirling blue tide pool of light swallowing her up. Her hand appeared back through it, beckoning us forward.

  A magic portal. In the middle of Ikea.

  She was joking, right?

  “What do we do?” Xandra asked.

  The humming was so loud that my bones seemed to vibrate.

  I swallowed my nerves. I had to rescue Mill. And if that meant that I had to go through some creepy, unknown portal to a place that Iona had completely left me in the dark about, then I would do it.

  For him. I was going to find a way to save him.

  I stepped into the light and left Ikea behind.

  Chapter 25

  “You have got to be kidding me…”

  Xandra’s words struck me as being just about right.

  We followed Iona through the portal, winds battering me as I stepped through, my hair twisting and twirling around my face, flapping my T-shirt, pulling at my shoes.

  As quickly as the tempest had begun, it ended, and I found myself in an entirely different place.

  We stood on a cliff overlooking a giant chasm, waterfalls tumbling down into its dark depths. The falls were of differing heights, stretching along the wall of the cliff and sending spray into the air. Cool spritzes flecked my face, making me squint away out of instinct. In the distance, over the higher cliffs, I could see huge, craggy mountains, grey against the bright blue sky overhead.

  But the most impressive aspect of the valley where we found ourselves was the immense temple in the distance, surrounded by waterfalls.

  A red bird appeared in the sky overhead, as big as a dragon, wings shimmering in the bright sunlight. As
it flapped its wings, they seemed to change color, the long feathers like glass, with light piercing through.

  The waterfalls made a dull roar, like background noise. Growing up in New York, I was no stranger to waterfalls, but these were even bigger than Niagara Falls by at least double, if not triple. The bottom of the chasm was blackness. Who knew if there actually was a bottom? It could have gone on forever, and I never would have known, the depths disappearing into endless dark.

  Something felt off with this place. There was nowhere like this on Earth, but it was similar. The sun was warm, we could breathe the air…but I couldn’t put my finger on what was—

  I blanched as I saw Iona standing in direct sunlight.

  “Iona—” I said, reaching for her, “What are you doing?”

  She yanked her arm out of mine the moment I touched her. “It’s fine. This isn’t Earth’s sun. It’s not even a real sun.”

  I blinked and stared around. Laura was hanging back near the portal, and Xandra was slowly making her way to the cliff's edge beside Iona.

  “What is this place?” Xandra asked, staring around. “It’s like something out of a dream.”

  “It’s dangerous, is what it is,” Lockwood said, standing straight, angrily shooting daggers at the back of Iona’s head with the heat of his stare. “Why did you bring us here?” he asked in a more threatening tone than I had ever heard him use. “This is suicide, Iona. If we do one thing, one thing wrong, then we—”

  “We won’t be doing anything wrong, okay?” Iona said. But I could see that even she was a little shaken. “Or at least I won't. Can't speak for the blue-haired hipster or the zombie queen of the cheer squad.”

  Lockwood fumed, but said nothing, and I knew it wasn't because of Iona's clever nicknames.

  “What’s going on?” I asked him.

  He shook his head. “I care about Mill, too, Cassandra,” he said, never taking his eyes off Iona. “But he would not approve of us going to these depths to help him.”

  “You’re just mad she can do what you can’t,” Iona said. “Now come on. We have to get to that temple.”