Witches in Wonderland

by Lauren Quick

  Seeing Vivi through the glass, Honora waved her into her office.

  The office manager and intellectual wizard extraordinaire, Sawyer, was having an animated conversation with Jenny Liu all while encased in a gigantic ball of transparent golden light in the adjacent office, separated by a glass partition.

  Vivi’s sandals sunk into the plush carpet as she stepped into Honora’s office.

  “What’s going on in there?”

  “We’re testing out new magical privacy shields. We call that one Goldie. Eavesdropping is becoming a growing problem, especially with all the advancements in magical scrying and spying. The laws against scrying aren’t doing much to deter curious witches and wizards. We need to be on our toes and keep our clients’ business as private as possible.”

  “Sawyer must have had a blast designing that,” Vivi said.

  “He’s having such a good time creating magical devices I can’t keep him from working overtime.”

  “So business is good?” Vivi asked, admiring her sister’s office.

  “It’s great. But you didn’t come all this way to talk about my business. Sit.” She motioned to a white leather chair. “Tell me what happened last night to get you so riled up.”

  Vivi sunk down into the soft leather chair opposite the desk and spilled her guts about the sender witch, Maybelle, and the Darklander’s request. Honora leaned back in her chair and listened patiently, not interrupting her once. But her nose wrinkled and her lips pursed like she’d taken a bite of a sauerkraut sandwich.

  “My first thought was to say no and not do it, but then I began to reconsider.” Vivi crossed her legs, her foot bouncing up and down.

  “Do you want me to check this guy out for you?” Honora asked with brow arched.

  “No. That’s not why I came, I just needed to talk and pick your brain a little. That’s all. I’m not sure what I’m going to do.”

  “Did you tell your love puppy, Lance, what happened?” Honora’s facial muscles relaxed and her smile broadened as she teased her sister about her boyfriend.

  “No. He’s out of town at a convention for crime scene detection magic. It’s held every couple of years in a lodge with lots of law enforcement types. It’s the one time where he gets to relax and enjoy himself with colleagues while learning about breakthroughs in magical spell tracing and wand prints. I don’t want to ruin his good time.”

  “Sounds awesome. I need to go to one of those conventions. But I totally see why you don’t want to contact him.”

  Vivi drummed her fingers on the armrest. “And Mom’s busy with work, so I can’t ask her what she thinks either. Honestly, I have no idea what she’s up to. Some top-secret Hex assignment from what I could squeeze out of Rye Finn. I still can’t believe he’s her boss.”

  The Mayhem matriarch, Elspeth Mayhem, was working for Everland’s secret crime fighting unit Hex Division after returning to Everland after a dangerous ten-year assignment in the Otherworld.

  Honora’s brow furrowed. “The timing’s not a coincidence, you know. Mr. Dark and Stormy probably picked this week to contact you to put you in this position.”

  “Which makes it even more creepy that he knows my family’s and boyfriend’s schedule.”

  “So just tell the creep no. Don’t do it. That’s what I’d do.”

  Vivi stared off, gazing at a shelf behind her sister. It was decorated with bizarre objects her sister had picked up over the past year—a bone from a magical bear, a curved ax with runes carved into the metal surface, and about a half-dozen knives displayed in glass cubes. Honora had a strong personality and sometimes the two of them approached life from different angles. “I’m not you. Am I?”

  Honora rolled her eyes and fluttered her long lashes to make sure she’d gotten her not too subtle point across.

  “What?” But Vivi knew what her sister was going to say. Her opinion practically radiated out of her.

  “You’re way too nice and accommodating.” Honora sat up straight in her chair.

  “It’s not about being nice. I have a strong feeling about this wizard. When I heard his name, it was like I knew him already, or I would know him.” Vivi recalled the feeling that shot through her when she heard the name Devlin Strange. “It was a powerful instinct. And that feeling has overridden everything else.”

  “You mean like a premonition?”

  Vivi curled a strand of hair around her finger, giving it some thought. “More of a spark of curious intuition. I’ve decided to do a quick check and see if I can find anything out about him, and if not, then I’ll move on. No harm. All he asked was for me to find him, nothing else. It’s not like I have to hunt him down and drag him to the Darklander’s lair or anything. Just some harmless research and then I report back to him using the sender and that will be the end of it.” She hoped. “I don’t even need to see him.” Vivi relaxed, her mind made up.

  “Now that we have that settled. I’m helping.” Honora jumped up, pulled a heavy black book down off a floating glass shelf, and carried it back to her desk. Next she dug around in a drawer and pulled out a sleek feather quill and a small bottle of black ink. Vivi guessed it was a hawk feather.

  Honora uncorked the ink bottle. “Since you’re here we can do a quick search using my new connection to the Master Registry.” Upon birth every witch and wizard was registered in the council’s official list of Everland citizens. The record was kept in a magical book, used mostly for historical data on council members and registry of birth and death certificates, flying licenses, school records, and marriage certificates. The actual book was kept in the council building and Honora’s volume was magically linked to it. Most witches didn’t have their own link to the archives, but in the last few months since expanding the private investigation firm, Honora wanted the instant access to information for quick and dirty background checks. And though Vivi hadn’t planned on asking her sister for help, she wasn’t about to refuse it either.

  With a glimmer in her eye, Honora flipped the book open to a blank page and dipped her pen in ink. “Are you ready?”

  “Yep,” Vivi said, leaning in to get a good view.

  Honora scribbled the name Devlin Strange in a large flourished script. The parchment page absorbed the ink and then went blank. “It takes a couple seconds.”

  The page remained blank. “Any second now.”

  After about thirty seconds, Honora tried again. But still nothing appeared on the book’s page. “Nothing. No birthdate or Haven Academy registration. Not even a death certificate. Nothing at all on Wizard Strange.” Honora tapped the quill on the page. She scribbled her own name and a list of dates and registrations appeared including her P.I. license and her flying license and club registration, just to name a few. “The book’s working, so that’s not it.”

  Vivi sat back in her chair. “This is a good sign, right? I mean, if he doesn’t show up in the registry then I don’t have to worry about him. He doesn’t exist. Maybe the Darklander got the name wrong or something, and then it’s his problem.”

  Honora twisted her lips into a pout. “No, actually, this isn’t a good sign at all. Well, you could be right and the Darklander got his name wrong, but I doubt that. He’s ruthless, not careless.” She stared at the empty page and tried one more time, but again the page stayed blank. “Almost always something comes up, even if just a birthdate or an old childhood address or Haven Academy records, something.”

  “You said almost always. What about the other times when a name doesn’t come up? What does that mean?” Vivi clutched the edge of Honora’s desk.

  “If it’s not an error, then it means he has a blank page.” Honora’s jaw was set firmly, her expression grim.

  “Who has a blank page?” Sawyer asked, his voice deep with concern. He stood in the doorway to the office, leaning his broad shoulders a
gainst the frame.

  “Hey, I thought you were working on a magical device to counteract eavesdropping.” Honora smirked.

  “Too true!” Sawyer slipped into a leather jacket and rubbed his hand over his short black hair. “But you know how we are with curiosity. When I heard what I thought you were talking about, I was sucked in, my ears on fire. Sorry. I couldn’t help myself.” He grinned. “So who has the blank page?”

  “Someone has a blank page?” Jenny Liu sauntered in and plopped down into the other chair opposite Honora’s desk. She was wearing her signature pink flying suit and pink-tinted sunglasses. “Hey, Vivi. Long time no see.”

  “Good to see you too,” Vivi said, her curiosity piqued by their sudden interest.

  Jenny nodded to the book. “Do tell. I want all the dirty details on your new case and the blank page.”

  Honora flipped the book shut with a heavy thud, resting the quill on top. “It’s not my case, and we aren’t sure about the blank page yet. But the guy we’re looking for isn’t in the big bad registry.”

  “Who is this guy?” Jenny asked.

  “An acquaintance asked me to help find a wizard for him,” Vivi said. “What does it mean to have a blank page?”

  Honora uncrossed her legs. “It means the wizard had all his information removed from the book. Every date and detail of his life erased. He turned himself into a blank page. And trust me, it’s not an easy task to say the least.”

  “Easy?!” Jenny barked. “It’s a nearly impossible feat of magical code breaking to get into the Master Registry at the council archives and then have the entry scrubbed.”

  No wonder the Darklander asked for her help. He’s having trouble finding him. “But it can be done?” Vivi asked.

  Honora glanced at the magical tech-savvy Sawyer who answered Vivi, “The council and Hex Division have had to put a few witches and wizards into hiding over the years and erase them. Does your wizard have an inside connection with the council? If not, he’d have to know the right witches or wizards who could pull off the magic necessary to do the job. For a lot of gold, anything is possible. But like Jenny said, it’s really tough.” He shrugged. “Maybe a half-dozen witches and wizards in Everland could do it.”

  Devlin Strange was becoming more fascinating by the second. “What kind of wizard would have himself removed from the book?” Vivi wondered aloud.

  Honora jumped on the question. “Someone who wants to disappear and doesn’t want to be found.”

  “You’re saying he’s on the run,” Vivi said. Maybe even from the Darklander. “That’s interesting.”

  “Interesting in a dangerous, mysterious way,” Jenny said. “Blank pages shouldn’t be underestimated.”

  Sawyer leaned against the doorframe. “You should be careful. This wizard could be anyone, and he’s gone underground, so I’d watch my back. Some wizards aren’t worth finding.”

  Honora cleared her throat. “I suggest you report back to your acquaintance that you did a search and couldn’t find Devlin Strange. There’s no need to mention the blank page. It’s not your responsibility. Tell him your little favor or debt or whatever is paid, and if he has a problem, he can talk to me about it.” She waved her finger in the air, accentuating her point. “And if he needs any more investigation work, tell him to hire someone to do his dirty work for him. There are plenty of professional investigators who will walk the dark side for a little gold.”

  But Vivi’s mind was racing, her curiosity growing by the second. “You’re probably right. If he has a blank page, then he went to a lot of trouble to hide from someone, and I should leave him alone,” Vivi said, standing and ending the conversation. “I’m starving. Are we going out to eat or what?”

  “I’m always ready to eat,” Sawyer said.

  “Me too.” Jenny leapt out of her chair, graceful and slim as a lynx.

  “Let’s roll.” Honora stood and they headed out. “You’re going to love this place.”

  Turned out the new fad in magical culinary creations was glowing food. Luminescence was all the rage, according to Jenny. Vivi was skeptical, but let her sister pull her into a pitch-black restaurant. The room’s main light source came from the drinks and the food, which glowed in vibrant blues, greens, purples, and pinks. The waitress set a plate of towering orange cubes in front of them that smelled surprisingly like chicken. She wore a glowing hoop around her neck to identify herself as a member of the staff and brought plate after plate of glowing spheres, cubes, and strange sauces each with a different flavor palate. Of course Honora ordered tons of food and the group spent hours eating, laughing, and having a great time. Spending time relaxing and unwinding with her sister and her coworkers was just what Vivi needed.

  After a fun night of indulging, Vivi returned to Willow Realm and her shop and knew she’d have a hard time sleeping. Her mind buzzed. She couldn’t stop thinking about the blank page. Sawyer was right about curiosity. It was like a drug to a witch; once in her system it was impossible to get out. The blank page had been like a hook and so had the fact that the wizard was in hiding and might not want to be found. Maybe she should do a little more digging before she gave up looking for Devlin Strange.

  3

  Pulsing music from the restaurant still echoed in Vivi’s head as she crawled sluggishly into bed. Her throbbing head sunk into the feather pillow. Her stomach gurgled, but she ignored it, too entrenched between the warm sheets to climb out of bed and get a stomach soother. Instead she closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind, finally drifting off, tumbling into a restless, dream-filled sleep.

  The edges of her dream were soft and gauzy. Spring sunshine filtered through the newly budding trees, dappling her bare arms with warm light. Vivi wore a beautiful spring dress and ran barefoot through the woods out in the Meadowlands. Fresh air filled her lungs. A caw sounded overhead. Vivi kept pace with a white raven flying from branch to branch, following the strange bird that reminded her of her familiar deeper into the woods. Her feet beat a quick pace on the cold hard-packed ground, her breath quickening. The raven’s white wings fluttered and the bird landed on a branch of a large oak.

  Vivi slowed and then stopped, resting for a moment. Her heart raced. Sweat beaded on her neck. A smile of wonder spread across her face. Enchantment surrounded her—a colony of speckled mushrooms sprouted from the mossy forest floor, giant colorful butterflies fluttered in the sunshine, and vibrant wildflowers grew from twisty green vines creeping up the tree trunks. The sweet scent of honeysuckle filled her senses. The white raven hopped from his perch and landed on the path right in front of her. It was strange for a raven to hop along the ground as if it wanted her to follow.

  The bird hopped for a few feet before leading Vivi off the path and into a tangle of hanging ivy. She pushed through the thick leafy curtain, the bird disappearing into the ivy. “Wait!” she called after the raven. Losing focus, she stubbed her toe on a large rock and stopped to rub her foot. After gaining her bearings, she stepped tentatively forward but quickly spun in a circle not knowing which way the raven had gone. Panicking, Vivi rushed through the branches and almost bumped into a giant witch-sized mushroom with a portal keyhole on the side of the enormous red cap.

  Impossible. Vivi ran her hand along the velvety smooth surface, noticing a huge silver key dangling from the lip of the mushroom. What was a portal doing in the middle of the forest? She couldn’t remember a mushroom portal ever existing in Everland. She grasped the key chain, but right as she was about to insert the key into the hole and select a destination, someone pushed her from behind and she fell through the portal.

  Warm magical energy surrounded her. The portal had been activated, a destination selected. She was at its mercy. Without warning, Vivi stumbled into Have Your Cake Tea Shop in Willow Realm. She caught her balance on the sleek tile floor. The air was perfumed with strong tea and sugary sweets
. She had been to the tea shop many times before, but she’d never seen it like this and it didn’t even have a portal connection.

  The owner, Madeline Lebrew, was hosting a tea party on the garden patio behind the shop. Madeline was eccentric, wearing dramatic make-up, hairstyles, and over-the-top outfits, but today she had taken it to a whole new level with a towering twisty hairdo dotted with fresh flowers, extravagant pastel-colored make-up and lavender lipstick, and a cinched-waist corset dress with a huge bustle that bordered on costume. She fluttered from guest to guest. With a flick of her wand, Madeline poured streams of golden tea from a floating teapot into waiting teacups.

  A dozen or so witches, dressed in their finest spring party outfits topped with massive hats, sat around a long table decorated with grapevines and floating flower arrangements. Porcelain plates were piled high with tiny cakes and miniature pies. The noise of chatter and laughter was deafening, merriment overflowing.

  Vivi recognized many of the witches in attendance. The highly prophetic witch, Esmeralda Carr, wore a huge feather-plumed hat and hunched over a teacup, reading tea leaves. Her daughter, Scarlet, and a group of young witches who worked in her prophecy shop, The Evil Queen, were laughing and tossing grapes at an adjoining table of wizards all while nibbling lush pastries.

  Suddenly Madeline spun on her heels, headed right for Vivi, and latched onto her arm. She pulled Vivi close and said, “You need to get dressed, my dear. This frock is nice for a tea party, but it won’t do for the big day. You have to hurry up and get ready. Hurry up. Don’t delay,” she said, her voice rising to singsong levels.

  “What big day? What’s going on?” Vivi asked but the witch waved her wand and levitated a teapot around the table, filling cup after cup.