Once Upon Stilettos (Enchanted Inc #2)

by Shanna Swendson

  “We’ve been invited to a party out on Long Island.”

  “Oh. Nice. Who’s having the party?”

  “Some people I’ve been working with.”

  He sounded deliberately vague, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he meant lawyers or if he meant magical people. I wasn’t sure which I’d prefer. “Am I dressed okay?” I’d changed into dressier shoes, but otherwise I was wearing my work clothes—a skirt and blouse.

  “You look fine, very nice. I’ll be the luckiest fellow there.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief when we left the tunnel, but the traffic didn’t ease much. I glanced at my watch. We’d been on the road for an hour. I would have eaten more lunch if I’d known dinner would be this late.

  As if reading my mind, Ethan said, “Do you want to stop and get a snack? This is taking a little longer than I’d planned.”

  “How much farther until we get there?”

  “The directions say it shouldn’t be long now.”

  “Then let’s stay on the road.”

  An hour later, I wondered about the definition of “not long now.” We were on the Long Island Expressway and officially outside New York City, but we were nowhere near what I’d consider the country—at least, I thought we were still firmly entrenched in an urban area. It was pitch black, so it was hard to tell. If I hadn’t been so hungry that my stomach was about to climb my neck to see if my throat had been cut, as my mother would say, it wouldn’t have been a bad drive. Trapped in the car together, Ethan and I had managed to have the kind of small-talk conversation we’d skipped on our previous dates.

  “Ah, here’s our exit,” Ethan said at last.

  I was surprised by how abruptly we went from city to country. Within a few miles, I felt like we were in a deserted area, even though I knew civilization wasn’t that far away, probably just beyond a stand of trees. Ethan squinted at a note by the light of the car’s dashboard. “Okay, it says here we go another two miles, then turn right, and then we should see it.”

  “Great!” I hoped they had good food, and lots of it.

  Ethan made the right turn, then the car came to an abrupt halt.

  “Did you hit something?” I asked.

  “I don’t think so. The car just died.”

  I restrained myself from making a remark about how he should have bought American, and instead looked out the window to see where we were and what was going on. What I saw was unsettling, to say the least.

  “Um, Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore,” I said softly.

  We were surrounded by a menagerie of magical creatures straight out of some of my more colorful nightmares. They weren’t the relatively friendly types who worked at MSI. These were the kind of beasties who teamed up with the wicked witch in Disney cartoons. My old buddy Mr. Bones was there, freed from the NO PARKING sign where Owen had stuck him Monday morning.

  “Whoa,” Ethan said. “Now what? Magic shouldn’t work on us, right?”

  “Magic doesn’t work on us, but they can harm us physically.” I noticed a fireball forming in Mr. Bones’s hand. “And your car isn’t immune to magic. That doesn’t rub off from the driver. If they do something to the car, we’re in trouble.”

  He hit the button to unlock the doors and said, “Jump!”

  Fortunately for Ethan’s insurance company, the skeletal creature with the fireball held back once we were outside the car. It looked like they had us right where they wanted us.

  Or to be more accurate, they had me right where they wanted me—on the passenger side of the car, separated from Ethan, who was still on the driver’s side, away from the scary mob. They were all closing in on me. Ethan could have made a run for it if he’d wanted to. It was nice of him to stick with me, but I wished he’d run for help. There wasn’t a lot two magical immunes could do against that bunch, other than spot them if they tried to make themselves invisible or normal looking.

  I tried for the icy calm Owen usually displayed in a confrontation like this. “What do you want?” I asked.

  Mr. Bones said, “You’re becoming a problem.” I wasn’t sure if it was giving me an evil grin or if it just looked that way because of the way its face was formed.

  I forced a laugh. “If y’all are worried about me, then you’ve got bigger problems than anyone can help you with and you may as well give up.”

  Out of the corner of my eye I saw Ethan edging toward the car’s trunk while ducking behind the car. I hoped he didn’t do anything stupid—unless, of course, it was both stupid and effective and didn’t get him or me hurt or killed.

  I kept talking in hope of distracting them from whatever it was Ethan had planned. “You’re working for Idris, right?” I asked. “That pathetic geek must be getting really desperate if he’s resorting to picking on me. Or is he afraid to go after the big boys?” I desperately wished I were out with Owen, and for a change it wasn’t because of that silly crush I had on him. He’d be able to get rid of this bunch with a careless flick of his wrist. Then again, they’d be able to harm him in ways that wouldn’t work on me.

  Taking a deep breath, I moved forward, away from the security of all that solid German engineering. “Well, you can tell your boss that getting rid of me isn’t going to do him much good. I’m just a glorified secretary, and he should know that. He’s got his spy in our company. Or is that what this is all about? I’m getting too close to the truth?” If I was, I wished they’d let me in on the secret because I had no clue.

  Mr. Bones formed another fireball in his hand and threw it at me. It took every ounce of self-control I had not to duck. I knew intellectually that magic couldn’t hurt me, but my instincts saw a threat coming and wanted me out of the way. The fireball disintegrated harmlessly as it touched me. I felt the tingle of power, but otherwise was unaffected.

  “Nice one,” I said. “But obviously you don’t have a lot of experience with immunes.” I almost felt like that fireball had given me a surge of power. I knew I wasn’t invincible, but I sure felt like I was. I folded my arms across my chest and said, “Got anything better you want to show me, or have you passed on your message? I have somewhere I need to be.”

  This was a really good time for the cavalry to show up, but I didn’t know if any of my magical bodyguards would have followed me all the way out of the city. I should have noticed a fairy or gargoyle tracking us. Or did they have a network that passed us from one to the other as we traveled?

  The monsters closed in again, and I couldn’t help but back up closer to the car. Magic or not, they were big and scary. I tried to get to the trunk where Ethan was. Just when I thought they’d be on me, there was a loud whoosh of air and white foam sprayed everywhere, forcing the monsters to move back. I turned to look at Ethan, who defiantly held a fire extinguisher with its nozzle facing the crowd of monsters.

  “You wouldn’t happen to have a tire iron in there, would you?” I asked.

  He dug in his trunk and came out with a cross-shaped lug wrench. “Will this do?”

  I’d have preferred something with a little longer reach to it, but I took it anyway. It was better than nothing, and it looked like the sort of weapon Wonder Woman might have used. The mob made another charge, and I waved my lug wrench at them while Ethan gave them another blast from the fire extinguisher. The extinguisher ran out of foam, and Ethan threw it into the crowd, scattering them briefly. He handed me a crowbar and said, “Hold them off for a second,” before going back to digging in his trunk.

  I wielded the crowbar like a sword and waved the lug wrench back and forth as if it were an exotic martial arts weapon. The monsters didn’t look too impressed. “What else do you have in there?” I asked Ethan.

  “I’m looking for something that might help. Ah, there it is.” A second later there was a loud sound like a gunshot, then a whistling and a burst of light overhead. Ethan, bless his overprepared heart, must have had a flare gun in the trunk of his car, along with the fire extinguisher, enough tools to take the car apar
t and reassemble it, a spare blanket, a first-aid kit that was better equipped than some ERs, and enough bottled water for a trek across the Sahara. My mother would love him at first sight.

  The creatures all ducked and cringed. They must have been used to that kind of thing being far more dangerous and magical. I wanted to duck myself, but I forced myself to stand upright and stare them down.

  Soon there were several popping sounds, along with the rustle of wings around us. Someone grabbed my elbow. I started to resist, but a voice in my ear said, “It’s me, Ethan.”

  Another voice said, “Get in the car, hurry.”

  I looked around to see that we were surrounded by friendly-looking gargoyles, as well as some humans and fairies. I wasn’t sure where they’d come from, but I was grateful. They formed a shield around Ethan and me. As we made a dash for the car doors, I caught glimpses of fights between two sets of magical people. My hair felt like it was standing on end from the surges of power around us. Ethan opened the driver’s-side door and shoved me inside. I scooted across to the passenger seat so he could climb in and shut and lock the door. The engine roared to life on its own before Ethan had a chance to turn the key. A beaked gargoyle flew ahead of us as Ethan floored the accelerator and tore off down the road, leaving the still-raging battle behind.

  We soon reached a large old mansion blazing with lights and looking like something out of The Great Gatsby. Music poured out of the open doorway. “And here we are,” Ethan said, killing the engine and taking a deep breath.

  “You know what you said about not getting me drunk on our next date?” I asked. “I won’t hold you to it.”

  “I don’t blame you.”

  “Nice work with the flare gun.”

  “Thanks. I’ve had it forever and never had a need for it, but I thought we were close enough to the party that we might be able to get help. You were amazing staring them down.”

  “Thanks.” I took a deep breath to steady myself and tried to get myself back on track for a date now that the danger was past. “I take it this is a magical party?”

  “Yeah. I was helping Corporate Sales with some contract negotiations this week and they invited me. I hope you don’t mind, but I thought it would be interesting.”

  Did I mind? The real question was, after having just faced down an evil magical menagerie, would I be able to relax around more magical people, especially if I knew that one or more of them might be working for the enemy? How else did the bad guys know we were going to be there? Then again, what semi-corporate party with salespeople was ever fun? “It looks like fun,” I lied, not wanting to hurt his feelings, but hoping maybe we could just go to dinner and a movie on our next date.

  I waited for him to come around and open my door for me, not because I was playing Southern belle, but because my legs were still shaking from the close call. The gargoyle came to rest on the ground beside Ethan, and said, “You’ll be safe here. This estate is warded. Invited guests only.”

  “Thanks,” I said shakily. Ethan escorted me inside with a protective hand at the small of my back, the very way I’d wished Owen had escorted me earlier in the week. And there I went again, getting sidetracked.

  A butler took our coats in the entryway and directed us to the ballroom where the party was being held. The room was packed with every kind of magical creature I’d ever seen—except for the scary sorts we’d met outside—and a fair number of humans I assumed were wizards.

  “Look, food!” Ethan said, gesturing toward a loaded buffet table. We restrained ourselves from running at it, but we walked with eager rapidity.

  We’d just started loading our plates when a business-suited woman approached Ethan. “I was wondering if you were going to make it.”

  “You’re not the only one. It was a close call. And I think the directions you gave me were for flying carpet, not car. It took longer than I expected to get here.”

  She laughed. “I keep forgetting about that when I deal with nonmagical folk.”

  He then turned to me. “Katie, have you met Melisande Rogers in Corporate Sales? She’s the one who invited us.”

  I recognized the name as one of my many tipsters, the one who’d been ratting out an apparent rival in Outside Sales. She didn’t look particularly happy to see me, but I put on a smile and held out a hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Katie Chandler.”

  She took my hand in a dry, cool grip. “Yes, I know. The boss’s right hand. I’m glad you could make it.” There was something in her eyes that told me she hadn’t expected Ethan to bring a date when she’d invited him to the party, especially not a date who knew what a backstabber she was.

  Ethan seemed oblivious to the tension between us. His magical immunity may have allowed him to spot spells, but he was apparently blind to the workings of female jealousy. He said, “We’re both starving after that drive—and all the excitement. I’ll have to catch up with you later.”

  Judging from the look she gave us, if it had been up to Melisande, I probably still would have been on the side of the road chatting with Mr. Bones while Ethan was safely ensconced in the mansion, having drinks with her. I was lucky that most of the magical world respected Merlin enough to give me some degree of protection, and I made a mental note to ask around about Melisande on Monday morning.

  A bedraggled group of magical folk came into the room, and a cheer rang out. I recognized a couple of the people who’d come to our rescue. One of the gargoyles flew over to us. “You shouldn’t be having any problems from them for a while,” it said. “Unfortunately, a few of them got away, but they were heading out so fast, I doubt they’ll even look back until they’re safe in their lairs. You should be able to get home without being bothered tonight.”

  “Thank you for your help,” I replied.

  It saluted me with a wing that managed to look leathery and stone-like at the same time. “Just doing our jobs, ma’am. And, um, you wouldn’t mind putting in a good word with the boss?”

  “I’ll be sure to let him know.”

  Before anyone else could approach us and delay our dinner, Ethan and I found a relatively quiet corner with a table and two chairs and dug into the food. “Either this is the best food I’ve ever eaten or I was hungrier than I’ve ever been,” Ethan said with a laugh after devouring half a plateful.

  I was just about to respond when I heard a flutter of wings. I looked up to see Ari.

  “Hey, Katie, I didn’t know you were coming to this shindig.”

  “I didn’t know I was coming myself.”

  She made a “tsk-tsk” motion with her fingers in Ethan’s direction. “Now, is that a way to treat a lady? By the way, I’m Ari.”

  I remembered my manners. “Ari, have you met Ethan, our new corporate legal counsel?”

  She fluttered her eyes and wings simultaneously. “We haven’t met in person, but Trix has told me about you.” She glanced at me and added, “And I’ve heard a little from Katie. She hasn’t done you justice.”

  Ari was my friend, but she wasn’t high on my list of people I wanted to run into when I was on a date. She’d been around during my last disastrous blind date, and although she wasn’t directly responsible for the disaster, she hadn’t helped matters. Unfortunately, there was no polite way to tell a friend to get lost. Ari wouldn’t mind, but I didn’t want to look like a jerk in front of Ethan.

  It must have been my lucky night, for before I had to grab her by the wing and beg her to leave us alone, she winked at Ethan and said, “I’d love to stay and chat, but I’m sure I’ll get all the details on Monday morning. Ta-ta!”

  “She’s interesting,” Ethan remarked as she flitted away.

  “You can say that again. Dessert?” I needed a chocolate fix in the worst way.

  “Sure.”

  The moment we stood up, our empty plates vanished. “That’s handy,” I remarked.

  “I wonder how they do that.”

  “I’m not sure I want to know. The less I think about how magic works, the l
ess my head hurts.”

  “Then never ask Owen a question about something magical when he’s got a marker in his hand and is anywhere near a whiteboard. I had to take an aspirin and lie down afterward.”

  I was going to ask him more about Owen’s magical lecture, but I was saved from making the faux pas of talking about one guy while on a date with another by Trix, who stood forlornly at the dessert table, popping one chocolate after another into her mouth. “Trix? I wasn’t expecting to see you here,” I said.

  She sighed deeply. “I wasn’t planning to come. I was going to go over to Pippin’s place and try to talk to him. But Ari made me come. She said it would be good for me to get out.” A single sparkling tear trickled down her cheek.

  “Nice of her to abandon you after dragging you here,” I commented.

  She sniffed. “I told her to go have fun. There’s no point in both of us being miserable.”

  Ethan got that helpless expression men tend to develop when they’re around a weeping woman. He awkwardly squeezed her shoulder, then directed a wide-eyed “what now?” look at me.

  I put an arm around her, carefully avoiding her wings. “Come on, honey, if you keep eating chocolate like that you won’t be able to fly.” She let me lead her to the table where we’d been sitting. It was only after we got there that I realized I hadn’t managed to get any chocolate for myself. Once the initial shakes from our frightening encounter had worn off, I no longer needed or wanted a drink. I had a feeling I’d need to keep my wits about me. I did, however, desperately need chocolate.

  Ethan proved to be the consummate gentleman. With a glance at me, he held his hand out to Trix. “Come on, let’s dance. That’ll make you feel better.” I watched him gently guide her to the floor, then I made a beeline back to the dessert table. I wasn’t a good enough dancer to get on the floor in front of people I might need to respect me later at work.

  Ethan and Trix seemed to be having a good time out there. She was even smiling and laughing, her wings perked up instead of drooping sadly like they had been all week. As I munched on a miniature brownie and watched them, I decided I’d found myself a pretty good man. He was prepared for everything, was good in a crisis, got along with my friends (with the possible exception of Marcia) and was kind to people in need. For the first time since I’d met him, I truly wanted it to work out between us, and not only because I doubted I’d ever have the man I really wanted. I was glad I had Ethan as a boyfriend.