A Kind of Magic

by Shanna Swendson

  He did see another familiar face. Mrs. Smith had her shopping cart fully loaded and was pushing it as though she was heading into battle. Maybe she was, he thought as he approached her. “Something’s going down tonight,” she said.

  “I know. Josephine took Sophie. I think they’re in the park somewhere, maybe heading to whatever market is happening.”

  “How did the enchantress take your fairy princess?”

  “I didn’t see that part—I was under a spell at the time—but she seemed to have some kind of magical hold on her, controlling her.”

  Mrs. Smith nodded as though familiar with the concept. “I think I know what to do about that. Come on.” Even with her cart, she put on enough speed that he had to hurry to keep up with her. Then up ahead, he saw Sophie and Josephine. They’d stopped on the edge of the path for Josephine to talk to someone.

  “If we distract Josephine, that might give your ballerina a chance,” Mrs. Smith whispered. “You ready?”

  Michael tried to think of what he could do to create a diversion, short of firing his weapon. He had a police whistle, and he had his iron to use against Josephine’s friend. “Ready,” he said, bracing himself.

  Forty-seven

  The Upper West Side

  Meanwhile

  Rather than try to deal with a doorman who wouldn’t be inclined to take someone babbling about an emergency seriously at this time of night without calling the police, Emily called the sisters from the sidewalk outside their building. Amelia sounded surprisingly alert when she answered, and Emily didn’t waste time on pleasantries before saying, “In case you had any doubts about Josephine being bad news, she just kidnapped Sophie. Do you think you could stir yourself to move against her and help, or would that be violating your oath?”

  “What’s all this?” Amelia snapped.

  “Josephine just ambushed Sophie outside my place and seems to have taken her away. What are you going to do about it?”

  “Where are you?”

  “In front of your building.”

  “I’ll have the doorman send you up.” Amelia ended the call before Emily could answer. Emily stared at her phone for a second, then shrugged and headed into the lobby.

  “You must be Miss Drake,” the doorman said. “Go on up. You’re expected.” His tone suggested that this was all highly irregular and was probably the fault of an impudent young person such as herself.

  She was surprised to find that both Amelia and Athena were up and fully dressed, and they didn’t look like they’d hastily thrown on clothes. Funny, she hadn’t ever pictured them as night owls. Then again, they apparently went to midnight markets fairly regularly.

  Amelia barely let her enter the living room before she said, “Now, what’s this about Sophie being kidnapped?”

  Emily forced herself to take a deep breath and calm down rather than shouting. “Michael heard Sophie call out for help, then saw them walking away. Eamon also confirmed that something’s up. He thinks Josephine might be headed for the market with Sophie. Maybe she wants to use her as a hostage or a trade or an example, or something.”

  Both sisters’ faces looked skeptical. “Are you sure Sophie didn’t go willingly?” Athena asked, wringing her hands.

  “After crying out for help? And have you met Sophie? Look, I don’t know how the politics work, but I would hope that helping a friend takes priority over some oath you’ve sworn that allies you with someone you don’t much like, and while we’re discussing this, Sophie is out there with a woman who seems to have some power over her, and there’s no telling what she has planned. If it helps, think of it as rescuing Josephine, because she’s probably going to end up in big trouble with Sophie.”

  “But what would she want with Sophie?” Athena asked. “Who would be there to see her at a fairy market? That’s not going to solidify Josephine’s position.”

  “Nothing Josephine has done so far has made a lot of sense to me,” Emily said. “Maybe her agenda isn’t what we think it is. Or maybe she’s going to use Sophie as bait. Or a hostage. Or a trade. If she wants a war with the Realm, taking Sophie would be a pretty good way to start it.”

  “Why would she want a war?” Athena asked.

  “It would be an excuse to take power. Isn’t starting a war pretty much inevitable when you get a wannabe dictator?” Emily wasn’t entirely sure if that was true, but her vague memories of history classes and her roles in historical plays suggested it was the case. Wars and dictators tended to go together.

  “But we aren’t that hierarchical,” Amelia said.

  “Yet,” Emily snapped in response. In desperation, she added, “You can help me now, or I can find a way of letting all your enchantress friends know about your adventures in the Realm. You know if Sophie gets outed, that’ll affect you, too. I can make it happen, and I will. My sister needs backup.”

  Emily thought for a moment that they’d argue, but they looked at each other, and Amelia said, “I’ll get our coats. Athena, we’ll need some supplies.” As she moved past Emily, she shot her an icy glare and said, “I hope you’re right about the situation. That kind of threat isn’t one to be made lightly.”

  Forty-eight

  The Park

  Next

  The longer Josephine talked with her friend, the more control Sophie regained. Not enough to free herself, but enough to no longer feel quite so helpless. She was even able to summon a tiny bit of magic. That little magic allowed her to struggle against the magical bonds, like working at a knot to loosen it.

  She was so intent on trying to free herself that it took her a second or two to notice the runaway shopping cart flying down the path. Mrs. Smith stood on the edge of the lower rack, leaning over the front seat, and the rest of the cart must have been weighted down pretty heavily because it coasted forward, building up speed, without tipping over. As she rode the cart toward them, Mrs. Smith sang “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” in a hearty contralto.

  At the same time, a shrill whistle sounded behind Sophie, and a voice she recognized as Michael’s bellowed, “NYPD, stop right there!” Sophie was able to move enough to smile while her hopes soared.

  It took Josephine a split second longer to notice, and then she reacted instinctively to the shopping cart bearing down on them by jumping out of the way, off the path and onto bare ground, pulling Sophie with her. She immediately turned to look for the commotion behind them, and that was all the distraction Sophie needed.

  The instant her feet touched the natural ground, she summoned a gateway, then she fell against Josephine, carrying both of them through it. They landed in a heap together inside the Realm, and Sophie instantly rolled away from her captor, simultaneously throwing up a magical shield to keep Josephine from imposing her will upon her again.

  She’d expected Josephine to lash out in rage at having the tables turned on her and being abducted by her abductee. Instead, her eyes went wide, and then a smile slowly spread across her face as she glanced around, drinking in every detail of her surroundings. Even more surprising to Sophie, tears began trickling down her cheeks, and her smile made it clear that they were tears of joy.

  That wasn’t the outcome Sophie had expected. Bringing Josephine into the Realm was supposed to startle her by removing her from her comfort zone, but Sophie was getting the feeling that this was something Josephine had wanted desperately. Had she played right into her enemy’s hands somehow?

  Josephine raised her arms over her head and cried out in a voice that was not only physically loud, but that also radiated magic in a way Sophie was sure would carry. She knew her ears weren’t hearing this sound, that it went straight to whatever magical senses she had, but she nevertheless had a strong urge to put her hands over her ears.

  The sound of Josephine’s cry still seemed to be ringing in the air when figures began appearing in the distance, rapidly drawing closer with each step until they surrounded the spot where Sophie and Josephine sat. Josephine stood, and as she did, she changed.
<
br />   She no longer looked like a Cruella type in late middle age. Now she was tall and willowy, young and beautiful, with flowing red hair.

  And she was unmistakably fae.

  Forty-nine

  The Park

  Meanwhile

  Michael was already running toward Sophie when she and Josephine disappeared. “Sophie, wait!” he called out. Beau barked furiously, like he, too, was calling Sophie back. But they were already gone before he reached them. Mrs. Smith hopped down from her cart and pulled back on it, slowing its progress and bringing it to a stop just in front of him. “She must have taken her to the Realm,” he said, knowing he was stating the obvious, but needing to have what he’d observed verified.

  “That should give Sophie an advantage,” Mrs. Smith said.

  “Yeah, but it takes her away from her backup.”

  “And away from Josephine’s. Speaking of which …”

  Michael noticed then that they weren’t alone. They were surrounded by fae, and the only saving grace was that they were even more surprised by Josephine and Sophie’s sudden disappearance than Michael had been. Beau barked a warning, and Michael whirled just in time to fling a handful of iron filings at the fairy coming up behind him. “Back off!” he warned.

  He scattered iron around himself, turning back to see Mrs. Smith waving a lit torch to fend off more fairies. The torch ruined Michael’s night vision, so he couldn’t see details of how many fae there were or what they were doing. He reached into his pocket to find his iron nails and slid some between his fingers so the pointed ends stuck out from his fist.

  “What did you do to her?” a voice said from the darkness.

  Facing the voice, Michael said, “I didn’t do anything. I’d guess Josephine took the wrong captive and found herself in the Realm.”

  “She made it to the Realm?” the voice said, sounding excited rather than alarmed.

  “Michael Murray!” another voice called. Michael turned to see light glinting on silver. “Where is Sophie?”

  “I think she took Josephine into the Realm,” Michael said, squinting toward Eamon. Beau had stopped growling, which made Michael wonder if the other fae had scattered at Eamon’s arrival. “We should go after her.”

  “That would do little good.”

  “Maybe if we go now we’d get there in time to help.”

  “There is no gateway near here, and we couldn’t be sure of coming out in the same place.”

  “But Sophie left from right here.”

  “Sophie is different. She has the ability to control the Realm and create gateways. I must find existing gateways, and I cannot control where I arrive.”

  “Then what do we do?” Michael demanded, trying to fight back a rising panic.

  “Emily is supposed to bring the enchantresses to the market. We should meet her there.”

  Michael started to protest, but he was distracted when a white streak ran out of the nearby bushes and transformed into the woman dressed in unseasonal white, who stopped right in front of him and clutched his arm. “The traitor has the princess,” she said. “She’s in terrible danger.”

  “I know,” Michael said, then realized what she’d said. “Wait, the traitor? Do you mean Josephine? That’s who you’ve been talking about as the traitor?”

  “I was exiled with her when she tried to usurp the queen.”

  “I thought you couldn’t tell me about her.”

  “That was before she took the princess. Now I don’t care what she does to me. I will be a traitor to the queen no more.”

  Eamon stepped forward, his eyes flashing angrily. Michael had always seen him as relatively harmless, but now the fairy looked frightening. “You supported the traitor?”

  Her clutch on Michael’s arm tightened, but she didn’t flinch away from Eamon. “I did. Once. And I was exiled for my crime. It changed me. I had to change so I could live in this world. But I no longer believe in her cause. I want to help the princess.”

  “So this means Sophie took an exiled would-be queen into the Realm?” Michael said as his heart sank. “She took her right where she wanted to go.” Suddenly he realized what it was he’d noticed about Josephine’s aura the night of the ballet. “And I should have seen it. I did see it. Her aura was fae. Sort of. It was different, but now that I think about it, it was there. How could I have missed it?”

  “Was it a regular fae aura?” Mrs. Smith asked. She’d blown out her torch, which made it easier for Michael to see as his eyes readjusted.

  “No, not really.”

  “Then stop kicking yourself, son. I’m not sure what you think you should have done about it. She’s fae in some weird kind of way we haven’t seen before.”

  “I didn’t see it, and I was there when she made her last bid for power,” Eamon said. “Her human glamour is very good, unlike anything I’ve seen before.”

  That didn’t make Michael feel much better. He turned to the cat woman. “But if all her supporters were exiled, how does she have conspirators in the Realm?”

  “I have not been in the Realm since I was cast out, so I don’t know what has happened there,” the cat woman said. “They have been trying to bring me back into the traitor’s company. I won’t. I know I was wrong.”

  “How many of the fae do you think will support a traitor?” Mrs. Smith asked Michael.

  “I don’t know. Loyalty doesn’t seem to a big consideration there. Look how many times someone’s tried to take that throne in just the past few months. Sophie seems to be the only person who doesn’t want it. Someone always seems to be after it, and there’s a good chance that there are a lot of fae who aren’t happy about having a human queen.”

  “This Josephine woman can’t be full fae anymore if she’s passed so well as a human.”

  “But if she was exiled while Sophie’s ancestor was on the throne, she can’t have become mortal. That’s been centuries. How did you survive?” he asked the cat woman.

  “My exile was not as harsh as hers. I may enter the markets, and I may enter the Borderlands but not the Realm itself. That has been enough to sustain me. When I change form, I am like any other cat in your world.”

  “How did Josephine manage? She’s done too many things that the fae shouldn’t have been able to do. That’s how Sophie figured out that her attempts to stir up a fae versus enchantress war were bogus.”

  “Your princess can also handle iron,” Mrs. Smith pointed out.

  “But she’s mortal. She’s not going to live for centuries unless she moves into the Realm for good. That’s the issue here. Apparently, there are a lot of fae who don’t accept a mortal—or formerly mortal—ruler.”

  “They may not accept what Josephine is, once they see what she’s become.” She chuckled in that way she had that was almost a bark. “But I guess you don’t have to worry about her taking over the enchantresses anymore, do you?”

  “I don’t care about that right now. I’m more worried about what she’ll do to Sophie, and I don’t think it’ll be good for us if she gets the throne.” He started walking, not because he had a destination in mind, but because he felt like he should be doing something. “Where’s this market where we can meet up with Emily?”

  Fifty

  Belvedere Castle

  11:58 p.m.

  Emily had to give it to the enchantresses—when they went in on something, they went all in. A few of Josephine’s cronies from other regional circles were still in town, and the sisters had somehow convinced all of them to show up in Central Park in the middle of the night when it was freezing. They looked rather bewildered, and Emily hoped that the information about the market’s location was accurate, or they were going to have a lot of explaining to do.

  She edged over to Amelia. “There are plenty of fairies around here, but I don’t see Sophie. What if Josephine didn’t bring her here?”

  “We’ll find out soon enough when the market opens,” Amelia said. She radiated calm, but Emily still detected tension in her post
ure.

  A loud bark nearby got her attention, and she turned to see Eamon and Michael running toward her, Beau at Michael’s heels. Mrs. Smith came up behind them, pushing her shopping cart, on which a white cat perched in the child seat. Emily didn’t get a chance to ask what was going on before Michael blurted, “Josephine’s a fairy.”

  “She’s what?” Emily said. The enchantresses were too stunned to even speak.

  They didn’t get a chance to recover before the market appeared, stunning them even more as the terrace was suddenly filled with bright light and colorful booths. The climate changed, as well, warming to a comfortable crispness in the air, just cool enough to be pleasant.

  Even as the enchantresses gaped at the sight, Michael continued, seemingly not even noticing the market. “And Sophie took Josephine into the Realm. I don’t think she knew what she was, but Josephine seems to have been exiled after trying to take the throne ages ago. Come on, we need to go after her.”

  “She won’t be here?” Amelia asked.

  “Not unless she comes back on her own. But we should go now.” Emily wasn’t sure she’d ever heard him sound this frantic.

  “The queen is expecting us,” Eamon added.

  The enchantresses were still staring at the market. “This goes on all the time here?” one of them said to Athena, her tone vague and her eyes dazed.

  Athena patted her gently on the shoulder. “It goes on all the time everywhere. You just need to develop some contacts to find the days and locations.”

  Another enchantress frowned. “A gathering of fae in our world is something we should have known about.”