“Maile, you share in the rocking. These uniforms are awesome,” I said.
“Thanks! All the uniforms will be like these, but, you know, with match-appropriate materials. Instead of a swimsuit top, you’ll have a shirt or something, maybe a jacket, and, of course, shoes of some kind. Stuff like that. I’m still designing,” said Maile.
“Whatever you do will be killer. Maile, were Mom and Mr. Gibbs fighting again?” I asked. Maile nodded. “I wish she’d talk to me.”
“I’ll talk to Tree,” said Doctor Tenly, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. I nodded and half-smiled. “Let’s plan on meeting in the study, say, one o’clock? Airianna or Marina, I’ll leave it to one of you to tell Troy about the meeting.”
We all said goodnight and Airianna and I headed home. The walk was nice, soothing even. We thought Troy might be home by the time we got there, but not a single light was on.
“Stay over tonight,” I said, not wanting Airianna to stay alone with her dad’s curse still upon her.
“Yay! I love sleepovers! Actually, I’d never had one until my dad tried to marry me off. How do you like that?”
“Airi, you have a way of making the most heinous things sound innocent,” I said, crawling in my window. “Ooh, it’s dark in here. Where’s Maile when you need her?”
“Guess that means your mom isn’t home yet.”
“Can’t be. She would have every light in the house on if she were,” I said, stumbling to find my lamp.
When I flicked it on, Airianna threw her arm in front of me, stopping me from flopping on my bed.
“Another one,” she said. On my bed was a red envelope with my name on it. “I’ll open it.” I nodded, my stomach sick, my mind furious. She pulled out the queen of hearts. Once again, there was a large, red, underlined ‘D,’ followed by smaller black letters. “All it says is…Dishelm. What do you think that means?”
Swallowing hard, I replied, “The Dealer’s taking off the helmets.” I closed my eyes and dropped my head.
“Marina?”
Looking her in the eye, I said, “The Dealer’s ready to go head-to-head. Game on.”
The hourglass has been turned.
Chapter Thirteen
The Crying Doll Face
Having silver snow tossed in your face, not once, but twice, wasn’t exactly the ideal way to fall asleep, but it certainly helped with the staying-in-a-dreamless-slumber bit. Airianna knew my brain cylinders were puffing smoke over The Dealer’s declaration of war (and the fact that he or she was in my house). After pocketing the card, presumably to take to Doctor Tenly, Airianna doused me with two coats of silver snow.
The sun peeked through my window this Halloween morning. I bathed in those first few moments of the waking up process—the ones where your mind has yet to land on something to dwell on, worry about, or analyze to death.
Stretching and rolling around, I yawned in full ugly face when SNAP, POP, BOOM!
“The dog peed on my shoes!” squeaked Polly. “I’m close to killing it.”
“It. Stole. My. Bag,” growled Meikle. “Dragged it all over the house before dropping it by a large mirror. I want to curse the mangy mutt.”
“Baby girl, I cannot BELIEVE you didn’t look both ways before crossing the swim-way,” cried my mom. Didn’t I tell ya?
Wiping sleep from my eyes, my stomach completely in my throat, I croaked, “What’s with the room invasion?”
“LOOK! LOOK what Gully did to the dog!” screamed Trey, shoving Spritz in my face. The little fella coyly licked my nose. “She gave him TWO topknots…with BOWS! DO something!”
“Yeah, do something!” shouted Polly.
“Fix it,” said Meikle.
“OPHELIA!” I screamed.
“Why do you need her?” said Polly incredulously.
Ophelia poked her head into my room. “Hi, Marina.”
“Ophelia, please freeze everyone in here, except me and Spritz,” I said.
“You cannot be serious! I swear to G—”
Polly froze mid-sentence, her eyes halfway to black; Meikle held her bag like a lasso, which she was probably going to hit me with; Trey tried to transform into wind before being frozen, but all that did was make him partially invisible; and Mom was caught frowning and wagging her finger.
“Done,” said Ophelia.
“Will they stay that way?”
“Until I unfreeze them, yep.”
“Thank you,” I said, scooping up Spritz and climbing out of my bed.
“Gully, Airianna, Troy, and Doctor Tenly are in the living room.”
“What’s going on?” I asked. “I thought we were meeting at one o’clock.”
“The doctor thought we should convene sooner,” said Ophelia. “Since we were all up early to get to the dress shop when it opened, he figured we’d all meet here on our way back to the manor.”
“Ugh, I forgot about the ball gowns and masks thing.”
“You didn’t miss anything. Neva kept finding ways to ignore us and served whoever got there after us. It was a complete waste. Maile’s back at the manor, making our outfits and masks.”
“By tonight?”
“Yep. Meikle will be helping again. Think you’re going to be shocked,” she said, grinning.
“Marina! Get in here, please!” It was Doctor Tenly.
Walking with Ophelia into the living room, the first face I saw Airianna’s.
“I’m so sorry,” she said. “I had no idea Doctor Tenly would alter the schedule.”
“It’s okay, Airi.”
From the kitchen, Troy said, “Any idea how The Dealer got in your house?”
“Breaking, then entered, I reckon,” I said.
“But, Jex did a blessing the night Tharnossa’s creeps tried to get me,” said Airianna. “The only way someone could get in here without leaving aura traces would be if that person lives here or is exempt by the blessing, like me or Troy.”
Troy brought me some milk and a doughnut.
“Thanks,” I said, sipping the milk. “So, wait, does that mean The Dealer is someone we know?”
“Not necessarily,” said Doctor Tenly. “Jex—who is sleeping today and refuses to be bothered—did drop in long enough to tell me about some very specific exceptions to the blessing.”
“And? Did he tell you what they were?” I asked, taking a bite of the doughnut. God, it was good—warm, iced goodness. Ooh, focus.
Doctor Tenly swallowed hard. “The intruder won’t leave traces if it’s a monster or…soulless.”
“Maybe it’s the Zale’s, then,” said Troy. “What if they hired whatever or whoever?”
I shook my head. “It doesn’t seem like their M.O. I mean, the Zale’s want me gone, hell, Katrina’s already put the smite on me, so why go after someone I love? It doesn’t add up.”
“No, it doesn’t. That’s why I fear this is much more complicated than we think.” Doctor Tenly studied Troy for a few long moments. The look in his eyes bothered me. Did he suspect him? And does wondering that mean I, too, suspect Troy? “Now, Gully has already deciphered the new card,” said Doctor Tenly, nodding at Gully.
“Well, again, it’s obvious The Dealer has started the game clock,” said Gully. “The Dealer’s potential victim pool is currently being narrowed.”
“We have got to find The Dealer before anyone gets hurt, or worse,” I said. “When is your next night run? I want in.”
“Not an option for you,” said Doctor Tenly. “We’ve talked about this, remember? The more we get on this Dealer, the better the investigating will become. Airianna, Troy, and the others will handle the nightly investigations. Don’t worry. You’ll be kept informed.”
“Fine. Hey, I have a question. At the end of the first match, the undines sang that creepy lullaby-like song. I was wondering if it’s supposed to help us with the next match or something.”
“Marina, the undines never sang a song,” said Airianna.
“They were just there to block or fi
ght us. They never sang,” Troy added. “Undines rarely speak.”
Spotting the concerned look on Doctor Tenly’s face, I took my last big bite of doughnut and shrugged my shoulders. “Guess they did different stuff for everyone. But, seriously, why’d they leave the spooky song trick for me? I hate crap like that.”
“What was the song?” asked Troy.
“I’m not singing it. The chills and shivers will start, followed by images of their possessed faces singing…and it’s Halloween. Don’t need to make it any spookier, or ignite some impromptu curse.”
“Should I unfreeze the others now?” I hadn’t even noticed Ophelia re-organizing the kitchen. Mom will freak.
“Yeah, go ahead,” I said. After a quick ‘whoosh’ sound, the living room flooded with angry, annoyed voices. “OH! Stop the racket! Gully, cute as Spritz looks, you’re gonna have to remove the topknots. Trey, stop trying to make him a man-dog—he’s not. Accept it and move on. Polls, he’s a dog, he pees. Meeks, maybe Spritz was trying to get you to play with him and figured the only way to achieve that was by taking the one thing you show all your attention to—cut him some slack. And Mom, I forgot to look both ways. I was wrong. I’m sorry. Oh, and, Mom, we need to adopt Spritz. Have I missed anything?” They all stared at me with open mouths and blank eyes. “Good. Now, I’m guessing Gully and Doctor Tenly filled you in about The Dealer?” Once again, I witnessed a group of bobbing heads. “Fabulous. So, let’s focus on what’s important—the Halloween ball…because I have a feeling The Dealer is going to be there, waiting for us. What do you say we wait for him…or her?”
*****
My ball gown arrived the same way my uniform for the water match did—with a snap and a pale blue garment bag. Before everyone left this morning, we agreed to spread out at the ball and observe the crowd. Unlike last year, every creature in town would be attending the Zale’s annual Halloween bash, which means it was a prime setting for The Dealer to try and make a move…unless The Dealer was someone we know.
Carefully removing the steam curlers from my hair, I stared in the mirror and wondered about all the possibilities. Could it be Troy’s demon side? What if he can’t bring himself to tell me? Or, worse still, what if he doesn’t realize what’s happening? Perhaps the Zale’s really did order a hit on someone I love, but why? They want me dead, not weakened or inconsolable (those would be mere consolation prizes, and Queen Bitch doesn’t do first runner up). Of course, The Dealer could very well be someone entirely unknown to us—someone who can’t leave aura traces, someone who was really a beast or soulless. I flipped my head over and fluffed my curls, hoping some of the wondering would stop.
“Marina! The car’s here,” said Mom, dressed in a slinky black number.
“Holy freak, Mom! You look hot!”
Shaking her bum, she said, “Little sumthin’ sumthin’ for Fletcher. I’ve been giving him hell lately. Thought he deserved a little treat, sans trick. Now, you better get your gown on or we’re going to be late.”
“Be there now,” I said, slipping on my long red gown. Grabbing my black beaded purse and mask, I hurried into the living room. “Well?”
“Good Lord, you look incredible,” said Mom. “What are those on the dress?”
“Ah, yeah, well, Maile thought we shouldn’t be in simple red or black gowns. So, she added appliqués. I have the black cats. Groovy, uh?”
“Very groovy,” said Mom. “Now, let’s see the mask.”
I lifted the black and white cat mask to my face. “Meow.”
“Maile’s so gifted. I love the one she made me.” Mom searched the couch for her mask. “Where’s my mask? I’ve lost my mask! The Dealer snuck in and took my mask! Asshole wants to frame me! My mask is…on the counter.” With a little difficulty, she raised herself from the couch, grabbed her black and blue peacock mask, and covered her face.
“It’s so you.”
“This is true. Let’s go!” she said.
Waiting outside of our house was a purple limousine. When we saw the chauffeur, Mom screamed.
“Happens all the time,” said the skeleton driver.
Mom grabbed my hand, ogling the bony driver, and yanked me into the car.
“Oh My Christ. I didn’t expect that,” she said.
Before the driver got in the car, I said, “Well, I guess we know one man who always has a boner.”
“Marina, honestly…you can do better than that.” Meet my mom, folks.
The drive to Zale’s mansion was one Mom hadn’t made before. From the burly guards at the gate to the freaky statues, Mom was pointing and gawking at everything.
“Dark place, isn’t it? Oh, there are your friends!”
As we waited in the long succession of purple limousines, I saw my friends, looking utterly fabulous, all decked out in black: Airianna looked stunning in a short, ruffled dress with real candy corn decorating the middle; Meikle’s leather number featured cackling skulls; Polly, her pink hair twisted high on her head, seemed unusually happy in a semi-sheer dress with a string of bright orange pumpkins dangling along the bottom; Gully was adorable in her paw print-covered, flowing gown; the blood drops drawn on Ophelia’s cheek matched those dripping along the neckline of her outfit; Maile, our brilliant dressmaker, wore an asymmetrical dress with flashing green goblins. Though the boys wore simple tuxedos, Maile added little hints of Halloween, including blood drops to the lapel and werewolf tears across a sleeve. Maile even designed each of our masks to match the extra Halloween touch on our outfits.
Once it was our turn to hop out of the car, poor Mom yelped again, only this time it was due to a seriously sexy Fairhair opening her door.
“Ooh…hehe…I didn’t expect, phew, I’m just…hoo, ha,” she stuttered, fanning herself with her mask. “My hormones are like a teenager’s tonight. Speaking of, are you a teenager or…”
“MOM!” I said, crawling out of the car behind her.
“Oh, God, Marina, I’m so sorry,” she said, wiping her sweaty brow. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” Turning back to face the flexing Fairhair, she pulled out ten dollars. “Where do we leave the tip?”
“Good Lord, Mom!” Apologizing to the parking attendant, I shoved the ten dollars in his hand and led Mom up the steps where my friends were waiting. “What the freak, Mom?”
“I didn’t just do what I think I did, did I?” I nodded with my best are you out of your fricking mind face. “Oh, shi—hello, kids! How are you? Good? Excellent. Snug—I mean Mr. Gibbs inside? Oh, wonderful. Need him…I mean, I can’t wait to see his mask.”
“Mom, I’d just count this one as a wash, go inside, and find your man.”
“Alrighty, then.” I saw Mr. Gibbs approach Mom as she face-palmed and probably recounted her serious lapse in parental judgment with him.
Who would have thought I’d be the one in control of the hormones?
“May I?” Oh, Christ. Troy in a tux…and that werewolf rip Maile made ain’t nuthin’ compared to what I’d do. Can we say Succubus? “You okay?”
Biting my lip, I tried to nod. I think it came out part-nod, part-drunk head bob. I needed to distract my desires. “Um…everyone looks amazing! But, uh, Maile, why am I the only one in red?”
“You’re the Savior and our captain. You should stand out. Besides, Trey told me Queen Zale was really addressing you with the doll face thing. I figured you’d want to do the exact opposite of what she wanted.”
Smiling, I said, “You know me way too well already.”
“I love the red with your hair,” whispered Airianna as we entered Zale’s mansion. “You’re like human fire. It’s so fierce!”
“Let’s hope that ferocity is more than dress-deep and leads us to The Dealer.”
“If you’re worried about the ferocity being dress-deep, I’d recommend stripping down and letting me have a look, just for good measure,” said Troy, smirking.
God, help me. Rip it off, lay me down, and go to town.
“And I can promise a
reaction you won’t prefer,” said Trey, glaring at Troy.
“Aw, that’s cute,” I said. “Troy word-bashes Trey when it comes to Airi, then Trey turns around and does the same for me. Airi, we have the best parts of boyfriends and big brothers.”
“We’re special,” said Airianna.
“No, you’re lucky,” Meikle groaned. “Some of us don’t have either.”
“Meikle! Meikle!” Bobby ran over, wheezing slightly. “I tried to catch you outside, but I was a bit late due to my mother.”
Meikle ran an eye over his body. “What was it this time? She find a gray hair?”
“Worse. Cellu-ripple. She’s refusing to show her fin in public now.” Meikle actually smiled without effort. “I would very much like to escort you into the ballroom.”
“You see the skulls, right,” said Meikle, pointing to her dress. “Afraid?”
“Yes, very much so, but I find you and your skulls luminous,” said Bobby.
Meikle, wearing a skeptical grin, linked arms with Bobby as we moved into the ballroom.
This year, the main attraction wasn’t the ornate ballroom, but the various demons swinging and dancing along silky red ribbons hanging from the ceiling.
“Are we ready to spread out?” I asked.
“Those of us without an escort are especially ready,” said Polly, peeved.
“Polly, you’re not alone. Gully, Maile, and Ophelia are in the same boat,” said Airianna.
“Yes, well, Gully is dancing with herself in the center of the dance floor, Maile headed for the wallflower wall the second Marina mentioned spreading out, and Ophelia…yeah, she’s paired up.”
“She is? Who with?” I asked.
“Prepare to worry...Irving Michaels, the Ravenflame competitor in the Overfalls,” said Polly, sulking. “The least she could do is pick a Fairhair.”
I spotted Ophelia smiling, laughing, and flirting with Irving. Was she insane? “Troy.”
“I know. I’ll talk to her later. For now, the rest of us need to stick to the plan. Maile is already in place. Gully is…in her own world. Meeks, Bobby, head to the leftmost side of the room. Airi and Trey…”
OVERFALLS (The Merworld Water Wars, Book 2) Page 24
