by Zoe Arden
"We would not die right away. There would be a period of at least five years before our numbers began to dwindle, and at least twenty before we were wiped from existence. Certainly, in that time—"
"What if they do come up with a solution?" Eleanor said, interrupting him, which he clearly did not like. "But the solution only works if they have enough of the royal's blood on hand? What if it turned out they needed Sheriff Knoxx to be alive, and you were the one to put him to death?"
Perx scratched his chin, thinking. "I take your point." He walked to the door of his office and opened it. "I shall give you five days to find King Zulubar and Kyrab."
"Five days isn't very long," I said.
Eleanor poked me in the ribs with her elbow. "Thank you," she said and smiled gratefully.
Out in the hallway, I told her I didn't know how we could find them in that short a time.
"It doesn't matter," Eleanor said. "We had to buy some time, and we've bought it. If we can't find Zulubar or Kyrab in the next five days, then I'll do the next best thing."
"What's that?"
She looked at me. "I'll break him out of prison. And you'll help me."
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CHAPTER
TWENTY-NINE
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Trixie and my father had no luck with either Melbourne or Russell. They both said they believed them when neither of them had known were Colt was or how to get ahold of him. I wasn't as trusting as my father, though.
The next morning, I left Trixie, Eleanor, and my father at the bakery, thinking it would do them all some good, especially Eleanor, to focus on work for a while. Russell's apartment wasn't far, and I made the trip in record time.
I knocked on the door and got no answer. I knocked again, louder this time. It was the middle of the morning, I reasoned. Russell was a vampire. He might not be ignoring me; he might just be asleep. Even though vampires could come out in the daylight, they preferred evenings and cloudy days.
I made a fist with my hand and banged on the door several times as hard as I could.
"I'm coming," Russell called from inside. "I'm coming, hold your horses."
A minute later, the door opened. Russell stared at me with groggy eyes and a sleepy face. I'd been right; he'd been in bed. I didn't feel in the least bit guilty.
"Where is he?" I asked, pushing past him.
"Hey!" Russell shouted after me. "I didn't invite you in. This is my apartment if you don't mind."
"Where is he?" I repeated.
"Where is who?" Russell asked.
"You know perfectly well who I mean," I said, facing him with my hands on my hips. I was trying to put on a stern face like Eleanor sometimes did when I was in trouble. I wasn't sure how well it was working though. Russell was looking at me like I was no scarier than a poodle.
"Colt isn't here," he said.
"You see, you did know who I was talking about."
He indicated the door. "And now that I have answered your question, you should go."
"Why should I go?" I asked, feeling persnickety.
"Because I was sound asleep when you so rudely began pounding on my door, and I'd like to go back to bed."
"Are you sure it's not because Colt is here? Hiding?"
"Quite sure," he said.
"Then you won't want mind if I take a look around."
I turned on my heels and began going from room to room without waiting for his response. He chased after me, almost stopping me before I got to his bedroom. He didn't quite make it though, and I was able to push my way inside and glance around before he caught up to me.
"See? There's no one here besides us."
"That doesn't mean he wasn't here before. He told me once that if I needed to talk to him, I should let you know. Well, I'm letting you know. I need to talk to him as soon as possible."
"Ava, I respect you and what you're trying to do. Your dad told me about Sheriff Knoxx last night, and I promise that if I see Colt I'll pass the information along. I don't want Sheriff Knoxx to be harmed any more than you do."
I sighed. I'd really hoped to find Colt here, and now that he wasn't, I was sort of out of options.
"All right," I said and went to the front door. "Sorry if I woke you."
"It's fine," he said but shut the door with a bit of attitude behind it.
It was clear that Colt wasn't here now, but I still wasn't convinced he hadn't been before or wouldn't be later. Instead of going back to the bakery, I went home. I found Snowball and Tootsie sleeping together on the couch. I gently woke them up.
They lifted sleepy feline eyes to me and wagged their tails. Even though Trixie was technically Trixie's familiar, she and I had a special bond as well. Tootsie had been my mother's familiar, so we had a connection that went above and beyond the normal one.
"I need you two to do me a favor," I said. Snowy opened her mouth and I cut her off. "Yes, you will get tuna if you do this for me." I knew that even if I'd said there would be no tuna, she would have done it anyway. But I liked to keep her happy, and a little extra incentive went a long way. To Tootsie, I promised bacon.
Rocky was asleep in the corner. At the mention of bacon, his head shot up. "Bacon?" he woofed. "Rocky wants to help, too, if bacon is involved."
"All right." I looked at the three of them. "I need the three of you to keep an eye on Russell Hudson's apartment for me. If any of you see Colt or any goblins show up there, let me know."
"Okay, Mama," Snowball said and licked my face. Tootsie and Rocky gave an affirmative nod and the three of them trotted off to come up with a plan.
I wondered what Sheriff Knoxx would say if he knew that his fate rested in the hands, or rather paws, of two cats and a dog. Knowing the sheriff, he wouldn't be too amused, but I thought they were the safest paws he could be in.
* * *
CHAPTER
THIRTY
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I drummed my fingers on the counter, watching Natalie go back and forth between the vanilla dream bars and the peppermint chocolate bars.
"Which are better?" Natalie asked.
"Depends," I said.
"On what?"
"On whether you prefer vanilla or mint."
She frowned at me and made another round past the glass display cases.
Trixie was sitting on a stool decorating some cupcakes. Eleanor and my father were in the back room trying to knock out ten dozen chocolate chip mini muffins with a combination of peppy powder and happiness extract in less than two hours. It had been a last-minute special order that had come in, and Eleanor hadn't wanted to turn it down.
It was better for Eleanor that she remain in the back room anyway. Ever since Sheriff Knoxx had been arrested by Perx, people had been coming into the bakery trying to get information out of her. They wanted to know if the rumors were true that he'd killed Zulubar; they wanted to know if he was really a king; they wanted to know if that made her queen. I actually thought that last question a rather good one. I was sort of curious myself, though I had no intention of asking her about that just now. She'd probably have turned me into a toad without even thinking about it, she was that on edge.
"Why don't you get some of each?" I finally asked Natalie.
"I suppose that'll do," she said. "It's always so hard buying for other people."
"Oh? I thought these were for you."
"No, they're for Dr. Dunne."
I stopped with my hand on the tray of vanilla dream bars and looked up at her. "Dr. Dunne?"
"Haven't you heard?" Natalie's eyes gleamed as she realized she would get to be the bearer of the latest gossip. "Dr. Dunne woke up."
I looked at Trixie, who dropped her frosting tip onto the counter and hurried into the back room.
"When?" I asked.
"Late last night," Natali
e said.
"Are you sure?"
Natalie laughed. "You know who you're talking to, don't you? Have I ever been wrong before when it comes to Sweetland Cove's current news?"
I could think of at least three occasions when the answer to that question had been yes. Especially the last time when she'd gone around telling everyone that Shamus O' Connor was really a leprechaun searching for his pot of gold. People all over town had run around trying to grab his leg and catch him so that they could get the money for themselves.
"I don't know what I was thinking," I told Natalie.
Trixie returned from the back room, followed by my father and Eleanor. They looked at me and Natalie.
"Trixie just told us Dr. Dunne is awake," Eleanor said. "Is that true?"
"I heard it from a nurse who works at Sweetland Hospital," Natalie said.
"Sadie?" my father asked.
There was a twinkle in Natalie's eyes. "A good gossip never reveals her resources. But no, it wasn't Sadie."
"We've gotta get down there," I said. "We need to ask him about Kyrab." Eleanor gave me a look that told me to keep quiet. She shot a glance at Natalie, and I felt my cheeks color.
Natalie's ears perked up. "Kyrab? You mean Zulubar's girlfriend? What does Dr. Dunne have to do with her?"
"Nothing," I said quickly.
"Then why do you want to get down there and talk to him about Kyrab?" Natalie's eyes were bright and shining.
"Because," I said, looking to Trixie for help. "I uh..."
"Before he disappeared, Zulubar asked us to make a celebration cake for Kyrab's birthday," Trixie said, looking back at me. "And..."
She was stuck.
"And... Dr. Dunne knows what her favorite flavor is," I finished.
"Why would Dr. Dunne know Kyrab's favorite flavor?" Natalie asked. "And what difference does it make now anyway when Kyrab and Zulubar are missing?"
She tapped her finger against her chin.
"There's something funny going on here."
"Here you are, Natalie," my father said, handing her a box of the vanilla dream bars and the mint chocolate bars.
"Hold on a second," she said, "I'm not ready yet."
"If you go now," my father said, "these are on the house."
Natalie looked down at the two boxes stuffed full with bars. If there was one thing she liked even more than gossip, it was getting a good deal. She shot us a parting glance but left the bakery without another word. I was fairly certain she'd be back, but hopefully by then we'd have everything figured out.
I flipped the open sign around on the door so that it read closed.
"Wait!" Eleanor cried. "The chocolate chip mini muffins. The special order." She was shaking her hands in the air like she was about to have a fit. Her face was red and pinched.
"I'll stay here with Eleanor," my dad said. "You two get to the hospital."
Trixie and I didn't need further prompting. We took off our aprons, set them on the counter, and hightailed it over to Sweetland Hospital. Sadie was at the nurse's station when we walked in.
"Sadie!" I cried. "We just heard about Dr. Dunne. How is he?"
"He's doing all right," she said. "He's awake and in good spirits."
"What a relief," I said.
"What room is he in?" asked Trixie.
"He's just down the hall," Sadie said. Trixie and I started down the hall she'd indicated. She ran after us. "But you can't see him."
"Why not?" I asked.
"Doctor's orders."
"What doctor?" I asked. "Dr. Dunne is the one in charge here."
"Not since he went and got himself shot with that arrow," Sadie said, her hands on her hips. "Doctors Walter and Kensington are in charge until Dr. Dunne is able to return to work, and they think that given the circumstances, it's best that no one visits him just yet. His attacker is still out there somewhere."
"Yes, but surely you don't think that Trixie and I—"
"No, of course not," she said. "But I can't just go against their orders. I could get in trouble."
I exchanged a look without Trixie. We both like Sadie, and neither of us wanted to see her get into trouble.
"Okay, we'll go," Trixie said and tugged at my sleeve. "Just tell him we hope he's feeling better and that we'll see him once he's allowed visitors."
"Thank you for understanding. I'll tell him." Sadie watched us walked to the elevator and get in.
"What are you doing?" I asked Trixie. "I don't want to get Sadie in trouble either, but we can't just leave without talking to him."
"Of course, we're not leaving," she said. "We just need to find another way in. Preferably, without going by the nurse's station. That way if we get caught, then Sadie can say she knew nothing about it and it would be the truth."
"You're brilliant, you know that?"
"Of course, I know that. If I'm brilliant, I know everything." She laughed lightly, and we stepped off the elevator as the doors opened.
"Where to?" I asked.
"The stairwell. Dr. Dunne is only on the fifth floor, it's not that bad a walk."
"I can do it if you can."
We entered the stairwell and began climbing the stairs, huffing and puffing the whole way. By the third floor, we were ready to stop.
"Did you know you were this out of shape?" Trixie asked, taking deep breaths.
"No, did you?" I was taking my own deep breaths.
"Not a clue. Guess I'm not that brilliant after all."
We finally made it to the fifth floor and gently pushed the door open onto a hallway. It opened a crack and I peeked out. "Looks like the coast is clear," I said.
I felt her hand push into my back and propel me forward. We knew the hallway he was in, but we didn't know the room number. She took the left side and I took the right, and we started peeking into hospital rooms as discreetly as possible.
"Someone's coming," Trixie hissed. She pushed open the closet door, and we ducked inside. We heard footsteps pass us in the hallway and held our breath.
"Okay," I said. "Let's go."
Trixie pushed the door, but it didn't open.
"What's wrong?" I asked, feeling something heavy sink into the pit of my stomach.
"The door won't open," Trixie said.
"So, open it," I told her.
"I'm trying."
"Use magic if you have to."
She muttered an incantation under her breath and the door popped open with a loud bang.
"Oh, crud," I said. "Someone must've heard that." We looked at each other.
"Run," she whispered.
We ran down the hall, footsteps pounding behind us.
"Quick, in here," I said, pushing open a door. She followed me into the room and when we turned around, we saw Dr. Dunne lying on a hospital bed. His eyes were open, and he was looking at us.
"Ava," he said, delighted. "Trixie." He smiled at us both. "They told me I couldn't have visitors."
"Um..." I said. Voices sounded outside his hospital room.
"Check in here," someone said.
I looked at Trixie. There was only one place for us to go, the bathroom. We ducked inside and shut the door behind us, praying that no one looked in here. We heard the door to Dr. Dunne's room open and two sets of footsteps entered.
"Dr. Dunne, you're awake," said the voice of a male nurse.
"Yes," Dr. Dunne said. "I've been awake for hours. I'm rather bored."
"Sorry to hear that, sir," said a second voice. This one was a woman's, but it wasn't Sadie's. "Did you see anyone come in here?"
"Can’t say that I have."
There was a brief pause and then the male nurse said, "They must've gone into another room. Come on." Then they were off.
Trixie and I exited the bathroom. "Thanks for not ratting us out," I said to Dr. Dunne.
"Yeah," said Trixie. "Thanks."
"My pleasure. Lying to them was the most excitement I've had all day. Why are they after you two, anyway?"
"We snuck in
here to see you."
"To see me?" He smiled. "I'm honored. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Do you remember anything that happened to you?" I asked, not wanting to upset him but needing to know. If he'd seen his attacker, all our problems might be solved right now.
His smile turned into a frown. "I'm afraid not. One minute I was standing in my office thinking about the rounds I still had to make for the day, the next I felt a terrible pain in my back and the world around me went black."
Disappointment washed over me. "You never saw the person who shot you?"
"I didn't even know that I'd been shot with an arrow until I woke up in this room and my staff told me."
We walked to the edge of his bed and I leaned over. "Dr. Dunne, I know that doctor-patient confidentiality is important to you, but I need to know what was wrong with Kyrab. Was she hurt during the attack on her and Zulubar? Is that why Melbourne brought her here?"
Dr. Dunne pressed his lips together. "I'll tell you, but only because I'm worried for her life. If whoever tried to kill me is after her and Zulubar..." He shook his head and his voice trailed off. "It is of the utmost importance that she lives."
"Of course, it is," I said.
"No, you don't understand. Kyrab has to live." His eyes were digging into me. He actually gripped my wrist, pressing lightly against it to stress the importance of what he was saying.
I exchanged a look with Trixie.
"What do you mean?" Trixie asked.
Dr. Dunne licked his lips. "Kyrab wasn't ill. She was pregnant."
* * *
CHAPTER
THIRTY-ONE
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Trixie and I barely made it out of the hospital without getting caught. I saw Sadie out of the corner of my eye as we slipped out the front doors. I was pretty sure she saw me, too, but if she did, she turned her head away and said nothing.
