by Emery Belle
“Tell me,” I said, forcing a casual note into my tone that I certainly didn’t feel, “where were you the morning of Hattie’s disappearance?”
“Get out!” Pearl shouted, her face purpling with rage. She swung her wand wildly toward me and a blast of green light erupted from its tip, missing me but hitting the stack of wands behind me. They burst from their boxes simultaneously, illuminated with the same green light, and before I could react, they began blasting spells in all directions of their own accord.
Pearl screamed as the walls began shaking and made a lunge for me, but Pierre beat her to me, pouncing forward with more speed than I thought possible from his roly-poly frame and dragging me out of the shop. He dropped me on the sidewalk a short distance away and stumbled backward, his entire body trembling from the effects of the rogue spells he’d absorbed in my stead.
Garnet was running after us, her arms thrown over her head for protection, her auburn hair flying behind her. As I jumped to my feet and heaved Pierre over my shoulder, I could just make out Pearl’s figure back in her shop, waving her wand frantically as she tried to regain control.
“Come on!” I shouted to Garnet, grabbing her hand and dragging her down the sidewalk to safety. We didn’t stop running for several blocks, until Pierre became too heavy to lug around any longer. I set him gingerly down on a patch of grass and dropped to my knees beside him while Garnet bent over, hands on her thighs, and wheezed as she struggled to catch her breath.
“Pierre!” I shook the dog by his limp shoulders, tears welling in my eyes.
“Do something!” I cried to Garnet, who crouched down beside me and cupped my familiar’s head gently between her hands. She murmured to him in a soothing voice, stroking his fur, and eventually he opened one eye and looked at her. As I held my breath, waiting to see if he was okay, his nose began twitching, slowly at first and then more rapidly. Eventually he began pawing frantically at Garnet’s pants and whining, and I watched him fearfully, my heart in my throat.
“Do you think his brain’s been addled?” I asked, dreading her response.
“No,” she said. “I think…” Her sentence drifted off, and I resisted the urge to shake her.
“You think what?”
She smiled. “I think he wants a snack.” Reaching into her pocket, she retrieved a stick of unicorn jerky—don’t even get me started on how disgusting that was—and held it in front of Pierre’s nose. He took another tentative sniff, then lurched forward and swallowed it whole before nosing around in her pocket for more. Finding none, he threw himself from her grip and plopped down to the ground on his back, kicking his legs in the air in an all-out tantrum.
“Come on,” I said with a sigh, heaving the dog to his feet. “Let’s go get ready for the dance.”
Chapter 14
The next few hours were a flurry of activity as Garnet and I prepared for the coven’s dance, and by the time evening rolled around, I’d almost forgotten about my confrontation with Pearl Dixon. That was helped along, of course, by the sight of the inky-black bruise that had now trickled all the way down my face, stopping just above my jawline and banishing all thoughts from my head except how awful I looked.
Garnet, per usual, was a vision, her emerald gown a perfect fit and her glossy hair pinned to her head in a mass of cascading curls. Calvin was set to arrive a few minutes earlier than Sebastian, who had to finish writing an obituary for a dwarf who’d gotten drunk and decided to take an ill-advised ride on a manticore. When we heard a sharp rap on the door, Garnet sucked in her stomach and pushed out her chest before opening it. Monty let out a sharp wolf whistle as she walked by and licked a glob of drool from his fat lips.
Calvin, dressed in a gray suit and plum-colored dress shirt, looked, well, hot. “Wow,” he said, raking his gaze over Garnet before producing a corsage from his jacket pocket and sliding it onto her wrist. “You look… wow.”
Then, remembering his manners, he turned toward me, the compliment dying on his lips as he caught sight of my face. He quickly recovered and stuttered out something that vaguely resembled “Nice dress,” before Garnet looped her arm through his and dragged him out the door before the death stare I was throwing her burned a hole in the back of her dress.
“Don’t even start with me,” I growled at Monty, who had just opened his mouth, no doubt to lob a few insults my way. He closed his mouth again, looking wounded, as there was another knock at the door. Steeling myself for Sebastian’s reaction, I inhaled deeply before opening it.
The grin dropped from his face as he took in my appearance. “Wren, what happened?” he said, stepping into the room and setting a small box containing a corsage on the floor. He cupped my bruised cheek gently in the palm of his hand. “Does it hurt?” His eyes were warm with concern as he tapped on my face and I sucked in a sharp breath.
“I had an accident at the daycare yesterday. You can go,” I added, stepping away from his touch. “Don’t feel like you have to take me when I look like this.” I gestured toward my face, and he frowned.
“Why wouldn’t I want to go?” He sounded genuinely confused. “Hang on.” Sliding his wand from his pocket, he circled it around my face, muttering an incantation beneath his breath. A warm feeling trickled over my skin as I felt the tenderness recede, and a few moments later, my face felt as good as new.
“How did you do that?” I asked, continuing to pat my cheek, unable to believe my own fingers.
“My mother’s a doctor,” he said, returning his wand to his pocket and stepping back to examine his handiwork. “I guess I’ve picked up a thing or two from her.” He paused, then looked me up and down as if seeing me for the first time. “Wren, you look absolutely beautiful. I’m going to have to beat the other wizards off with my wand tonight. That dress…” He shook his head as he took in my formfitting red gown. “It’s really something.”
“Thanks,” I said, blushing with pleasure. “You don’t look so bad yourself.” And he didn’t—in fact, in his royal blue suit jacket that was perfectly tailored to his lean, muscular form, he was giving Calvin more than a run for his money. He bent down to retrieve my corsage, a spray of small white roses sprinkled with baby’s breath, and when he fastened it around my wrist, another feeling of warmth washed over me—although this time it had nothing to do with a spell.
“Shall we?” Sebastian said, taking my arm gently and linking it through his own. I caught a glimpse of us in the mirror as we passed, and my heart fluttered; we didn’t look half bad together, especially now that I resembled an actual person again. Even Monty seemed at a loss for insults as we stepped through the door, merely wishing us a good time.
“And don’t forget to bring me some nibbles,” he called after us. “Stewed hedgehog if they have it, otherwise chicken will have to do. A sizeable portion—I am a growing head, you know. I’ve been working on my third chin for quite some time.”
Sebastian escorted me down the dorm stairs onto the sidewalk below, and I gasped softly as a carriage pulled by winged horses, their manes glowing silvery-white in the waning sunlight, came into view. “I thought we would arrive in style,” he said with a wink, helping me up the carriage steps before seating himself beside me. The horses took flight, their feathery wings beating softly as we sailed over my dorm, heading for the jungle that housed Sparrow Manor, the coven’s headquarters and the location of the evening’s dance.
The air grew colder the higher we flew, and when I shivered involuntarily, Sebastian removed his coat and wrapped it around my shoulders. Then he turned his hand palm-up on the seat between us, an invitation for me to hold it. I hesitated, but only slightly, before placing my hand in his. He gave it a gentle squeeze and smiled at me, the dimples in his cheeks deepening, and we sat in comfortable silence for the rest of the brief journey, until the jungle came into view.
“Look!” I breathed, releasing his hand and pointing at the sky ahead of us. Ignis and Glacies, the dragons who guarded the coven’s headquarters, were circling high above the manor’s tur
rets, their magnificent wings illuminated by the glow of the moon just beginning to peek out from the clouds. When they turned their fierce gazes to us, my heart stopped beating for a moment, and Sebastian pulled on the horse’s reins to slow their pace. Ignis swooped toward us, his red-orange scales like a blur of flames as he beat his powerful wings.
“What business do you have here?” a voice rumbled in my head, much like the last time I’d visited the manor. Bursts of golden steam spiraled from the dragon’s nostrils as he hovered in the air before us, his silver eyes glowing eerily as they swept over our faces.
Sebastian bowed his head, and nudged me to do the same. “It is I, Sebastian Blackwater, here with my companion for the evening, Wren Winters. With your permission, Ignis, we are here at the manor to attend the coven’s dance.”
Our carriage tipped slightly to the left as the draft from the dragon’s wings hit us, and I clung to Sebastian’s arm and tried not to look down at the vast, sprawling jungle below us. I’d only walked through it once, when Lady Winthrop brought Hunter, Garnet, and me on a tour of the manor to see the coven’s sacred grimoire, but I was in no hurry to return. The jungle was dense and gloomy, a place that held secrets, and where magic shimmered in the air around those who traversed its narrow, twisting paths alongside the creatures who watched, unseen, in the shadows.
Ignis considered our request for several long moments before finally tipping his magnificent head forward in a brief nod. “Very well. You may enter these hallowed grounds, but do no harm to those who reside within.” Then, with a roar loud enough to carry over the ocean, he set off again in a shower of red sparks, joining Glacies, who was perched on one of the massive stone gargoyles lining the manor’s gabled roof.
Both pairs of dragon eyes were locked on us as our horses made a quick descent, landing smoothly on the grass in front of the manor’s black wrought iron gate that stretched several stories high. Sebastian escorted me down the carriage steps, then slid a gold coin and an apple into the sack each horse carried on its back. He reached for the gate’s gold knocker in the shape of two sparrows with entwined wings, but before he could touch it, the gate swung open, inviting us inside.
Although the air outside was cool, the temperature changed dramatically—and magically—the moment we stepped through the gates, enveloping us in a pleasant warmth that spread from the top of my head down to my toes. The manor’s courtyard had been transformed into a romantic wonderland, with archways of cream-colored roses, thousands of shimmering balls of light held by palm-sized fairies, and a sprawling skeleton orchestra in one corner playing a melodic, haunting tune, their bony hands reflecting off the fairy lights as their fingers flew across their instruments.
In one corner of the courtyard was a stage overlooking a few rows of chairs where I assumed the robing ceremony for the new witches and wizards had taken place earlier; a beautiful set of gold sparrow wings spanned the length of the stage, fanning up and down slowly. “Someday that’ll be you,” Sebastian said, nudging me gently in the side. I nodded; the day seemed too far off to conceive of, and I still had so much to learn about my newfound abilities.
Crowds of people were milling around drinking spiked cider, nibbling on hors d'oeuvres being passed around on silver trays floating through the air, and slow-dancing in the middle of the courtyard beneath a canopy enchanted to look like a starlit night sky. Most of the attendees were witches and wizards, but a few other species were mixed in, including a couple of werewolves devouring plates of rare steak, a leprechaun lustfully eyeing a gold medallion around one witch’s neck, and a beautiful siren sashaying between the tables, the eyes of dozens of men following her. I even noticed Kellen in the far corner of the courtyard, chatting amicably to Lady Winthrop, who was wearing shimmering silver robes in honor of the occasion.
As we weaved through the tables, looking for a place to sit, I thought I saw a flash of black robes sweeping through the crowd, and my heart leapt into my throat. I stopped walking abruptly, causing Sebastian to almost trip over my gown. “Are you okay?” He frowned down at me as I scanned the courtyard frantically. “You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”
Or a gargoyle, I wanted to say, but held my tongue. My gaze swept over every inch of the courtyard, but I saw nothing amid the throngs of partygoers. Shaking my head to clear it, I turned back to Sebastian with a tight smile. “Sorry. I thought I saw Garnet and Calvin. Should we find a table?” He squeezed my hand and we continued walking alongside the dance floor, Sebastian shoving me to the side as an overzealous zombie tripped over his own two feet and almost crashed into us while attempting to moonwalk.
A head table stretched across one side of the dance floor, where in addition to the newly robed witches and wizards and their families sat some of the esteemed coven members, including a very morose-looking Glenn. I wound my way over to him through the crowd and bent down to give him a kiss on the cheek. He cupped my face and offered me a tender smile, then shook hands with Sebastian. “I hope you’re taking good care of my Wren,” he said.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Sebastian replied with a twinkling smile, placing his hand on the small of my back. I had the sudden urge to step away from his touch, but I resisted—I had, after all, invited him to the dance, not the other way around.
“Are you okay, Glenn?” I asked, staring into my guide’s gentle eyes, which were underscored by pouches of purple, as if he hadn’t slept in days. And with Kellen hot on his trail, he probably hadn’t.
“I’m just fine, my dear,” he said, patting my hand and shooing me away. “Don’t worry about an old man like me—I’ve got plenty to keep me occupied. Go on, now. Have a good time.” So I had no choice but to leave his side, though I’d have sat there all night if it meant keeping a smile on his face, however small.
Sebastian craned his neck to see over the crowd. “I think there’s a seat over—”
“Hey, Wren!” I felt someone tap me on the arm and turned to see Hunter grinning at me, and on his arm was a haughty-looking blonde woman with bright red lipstick and an extremely voluptuous figure highlighted by the belly-button-deep V-neck of her matching red dress. “This is Jolynn,” he said, gazing on her with pride. “She works with me at the real estate office.”
“Hi,” I choked out, trying not to laugh at the expression on Sebastian’s face; his eyes were so wide they were practically popping out of his head, and I could hardly blame him—Jolynn looked, well, ridiculous, especially at such an elegant event.
“Where’s Garnet?” Hunter said, glancing around and trying to sound nonchalant. “I thought we could all sit together.” Jolynn unwrapped a piece of gum and began smacking it around in her mouth. I thought I caught Hunter giving her the faintest look of disdain, but he covered it so quickly with an adoring smile that I couldn’t be entirely sure.
“I haven’t seen her yet,” I said, tearing my eyes away from Jolynn, who had begun adjusting her bra straps, pulling her cleavage tighter until it threatened to burst right out of her dress. But I’d spoken too soon, because just then I glimpsed Garnet holding Calvin’s hand as they weaved their way through the crowd. She spotted me and waved enthusiastically, and Hunter spent a few moments straightening his tie and smoothing back his hair as she approached.
“Hi!” she said brightly to me and Sebastian, then turned, noticing Hunter for the first time. When her eyes landed on Jolynn, her mouth dropped open comically, and Calvin made a tiny noise in the back of his throat.
“I, uh…” She swallowed hard and gave Hunter a look that plainly said, Are you serious? Then she cleared her throat and tried again. “We found a table in the back, and there’s plenty of room for everyone.”
“Fantastic!” Hunter said, leaning in to kiss Jolynn’s cheek. She, on the other hand, looked rather bored. “Lead the way.”
Sebastian shot me an amused look as we followed Garnet to the table, and I couldn’t help noticing that several of the witches we passed were shooting him looks as well—although th
ey were decidedly less pleasant. It was easy to forget that Sebastian had a less than stellar reputation with the women of Magic Island, since he’d never been anything but gentlemanly with me, but a feeling of unease settled over me as I noticed that several unflattering stares were now being directed at me too.
We arrived at our table just in time for our first course, a delicious sweet soup made of candied elderberry leaves that I suspected was also intended to help get everyone in the mood for a good time. And it worked—by the time I soaked up the last bit with my piece of spongy coconut bread, we were all laughing and joking and having a wonderful time. Even Jolynn had let her hair down—literally—and was leaning over the table toward Calvin, one hand on his arm and the other twirling around flirtatiously in her blonde locks while Hunter pretended not to notice and Garnet shot her death stares.
After our final course, chocolate lava cake with a divine raspberry cream frosting, and while Sebastian was deep in a heated conversation with an Islander editor the next table over about Sandrine’s latest round of insults lobbed at the reporters, I grabbed my glass and headed over to a row of fountains at the back of the courtyard that were bubbling over with drinks of every variety. As I stood debating between a gooseberry martini and a unicorn-inspired rainbow wine, something black flashed in the corner of my eye and I whipped around just in time to see the edge of a cloak disappearing through one of the manor’s side doors.
I followed, still clutching my empty glass, my heart rate picking up as I scanned the near-empty corridors leading deeper into the labyrinthine manor. My feet sank into the velvety red carpet as I chose a corridor at random and started down it. Portraits of some of the coven’s past leaders and esteemed members lined the black-draped walls, and I felt a shiver crawl over me as their eyes slid toward me, following my progress. I had no idea where I was going, or exactly who I was following, but the faint echo of footsteps urged me forward until I found myself standing before a silver door I recognized from my only other visit to the manor.
