by Linsey Hall
My landing shook the stalk, and he nearly tumbled off the edge. I grabbed his arm and held tight, dragging him back onto the soft purple surface. My muscles strained with the effort—he was one seriously heavy dude.
When he was safely situated on the flower, I bent over him, worry tightening my chest. Blood coated his hair. The sparrow had landed a head shot.
Fates. My heart clutched and my skin chilled.
I shook him lightly. “Come on. You gotta wake up. I don’t know how long I can hold these flowers.”
They were pulling at my magic, trying to break free of its spell. I tried to keep part of my mind on the light, forcing it to hold the flowers captive. Control them, somehow. I shook Lachlan again.
He groaned, then blinked his eyes open.
“Thank fates!”
“Don’t shout,” he groaned.
“Sorry. Can you move?”
“I think so. What happened?”
“A giant sparrow hit you over the head with a mallet.”
“A sparrow?” His eyes sharpened. “I fight thousands of demons in my life, and it’s a bloody bird that gets me?”
“It’ll get you if you can’t get your big butt over the side of this flower and down to the ground. I can’t carry you.”
He nodded, brow creased, and raised himself up. He looked around, eyes widening. “Is this your magic?”
“Yep. No idea how, though.”
“Well done. Let’s get out of here.”
The cats had already started to shimmy their way down the stalks, and Lachlan and I followed suit, each of us sliding down a different stem. My legs were shaky as I landed. The cats wobbled up to me.
Let’s shake a tail and get out of here.
“Wiser words never said, Muffin.” It was almost full dark now, and we’d lost the light. I tugged a little compass out of my pocket. The beat-up thing was enchanted to have a few uses, but right now we needed it for its original purpose. It pointed east, and I started off that way.
“Aren’t you prepared,” Lachlan said.
“Plan A, B, and C won’t get you far if you don’t know how to get there.” I tucked the compass away in my pocket and kept my pace matched to Lachlan’s. He was slower now, the head wound clearly doing a number on him.
We departed the forest of flowers and entered a fantastical rock garden. Every shape and size dotted the land, but it was the giant cat-shaped rock that caught my eye. No sooner had I spotted it than it disappeared, leaving only a grin behind. That, too, faded eventually.
“That was quite the show,” a voice to my left said.
I turned, catching sight of a grinning cat. He was yellow and brown, with long whiskers and cunning eyes.
“The Cheshire cat,” I said.
“The one and only.” He inclined his head, but the gesture was somewhat mocking. “And who are you? Someone special, I presume?”
His gaze traced over me as he licked his lips.
Danger. Something in me screamed it. This wasn’t some normal cat, and his interest was unusual.
“Not special,” I said. “Not special at all.”
“Hmmm.” The cat’s figure shimmered, as if he were only partly there. “I don’t think that’s entirely true.”
Muffin looked at me. Don’t tell him what you are.
No kidding.
The Cheshire cat’s gaze moved to Lachlan. “Do you know what she is?”
He glared at the cat.
“I could get you a good price for her.” The cat grinned.
Lachlan frowned at the cat. “You must be joking.”
“Oh no.” The cat’s magic swelled on the air. “I can offer you all the wishes of your heart.”
I blinked. Suddenly, it was a lot easier to take the cat seriously.
It had to be his magic, which swirled around him like a pale purple smoke, twisting through the air toward Lachlan.
Uh-oh. Muffin arched his back and hissed.
The smoke twined around Lachlan, making his eyelids droop. A blissed-out expression crossed his face, and he swayed.
“What’s happening?” I demanded. “Stop.”
Muffin meowed. It’s his magic. He’s famous for it. The bastard is impossible to resist.
The Cheshire cat’s magic pressed in on me, feeling like a cloying hug. The smoke wrapped around Lachlan. “What is it you desire, human? You can have it, if you give me her. Anything at all.”
Funny thing was, I believed the cat. He could make it happen. Whatever Lachlan wanted, it would be done.
“Just tie her up and leave her here,” the cat purred, his eyes glinting with an evil light. “Then your greatest wish is yours.”
Don’t! I wanted to cry out, but I couldn’t. It seemed like a pretty good deal, actually. Lachlan should really take him up on it. Anything his heart wanted.
Anything.
Lachlan stood firm, a grimace twisting his features.
“Do it.” The words were dragged out of me, though I wasn’t very surprised. Why wouldn’t I advise him to do something that would give him his heart’s desire? I wasn’t a totally shit friend. “Do it.”
“Listen to her,” hissed the cat. “She wants you to.”
Lachlan shook his head, but it looked like a monumental effort. Desire flashed on his face, pure and bright. For a second, I wondered what it was that he wanted above all else.
“No,” he bit out.
And I believed him.
Muffin screeched and lunged for the Cheshire cat, white claws flashing in the moonlight. He tried to swipe the other cat across the face, but the Cheshire cat disappeared.
The purple smoke that filled the air vanished, its magic fading too. It released me, and I sagged, gasping. The sudden desire to support Lachlan in giving me to the Cheshire cat vanished.
But the cat didn’t. He reappeared on another rock.
Muffin launched for him, his own magic filling the air. The Cheshire cat hissed, back arched, then sat down and tried to look unaffected.
“All right, all right, Cat Sìth. I won’t make bargains with your humans.”
Muffin hissed. See that you don’t, or you’ll regret it.
The Cheshire cat shrugged. “You are seeking something in this forest, I presume?”
“We are,” Lachlan said.
The cat turned to stone again, but still spoke. “I am certain you are not seeking what you should be seeking.”
“What should we be seeking?” I asked, though I definitely didn’t trust him.
“Shelter for the night. You are not from this forest, and the devil rabbits know. They will come for you soon.”
“Those rabbits with fangs?” The memory made me shiver. If there were enough of them, we were screwed. This sounded like a warning I could trust.
“The very same. But I can direct you toward shelter that will protect you for the night. For a price.”
“Not me,” I said.
“No, your friend the Cat Sìth has made that quite clear.” The cat’s gaze flicked to Lachlan. “And it doesn’t seem like your human friend will accommodate me, either. Very unusual.”
Muffin hissed for good measure, and Bojangles joined him, arching his back and hopping backward. The effect wasn’t quite as terrifying as the little orange cat probably thought it was, but I appreciated the effort. Princess Snowflake III cleaned her claws, her eyes glued to the Cheshire cat. That threat was clear.
“What do you want, then?” Lachlan asked.
His gaze moved from me to Muffin. “Nothing you have, human woman.”
Muffin’s green eyes glinted. I’ll handle this.
He sauntered up to the Cheshire cat and meowed.
The Cheshire cat listened intently to Muffin, then nodded. They were bargaining, though I couldn’t tell over what. As I listened, I began to pick up the sound of rustling in the forest. I turned, searching the darkness beyond. The sun had fully set now, and the forest was much less cheerful. Considering that the cheerful version of this place had near
ly killed us, I didn’t want to meet the creepy version.
Magic sparkled around my sphynx friend, then the stone at his ear disappeared. It appeared a moment later in the Cheshire cat’s ear.
The now-bejeweled cat grinned his trademark smile, then pointed behind him. “That way. Five hundred yards. You’ll find a cottage for the night. Don’t leave until dawn. And I suggest you hurry.”
“Thanks.” I eyed him suspiciously, then departed the clearing with my friends.
“Do you believe him?” I asked Muffin.
He shrugged a bony shoulder. It will be a cottage. But it may be utter shite.
“We’ll just have to find out.” Lachlan pointed to the glowing eyes that were starting to appear through gaps in the bushes. More appeared every second. As soon as they had the numbers, they’d charge.
The five of us raced through the forest, as fast as we could stumble along. Given our injuries and our aches, it wasn’t an impressive speed, but the sound of rustling forest leaves and the sight of glowing eyes kept us going.
When the house appeared in the distance, we all skidded to a stop.
“Bloody hell,” Lachlan muttered.
I stared at the candy and gingerbread confection. “You have got to be kidding me.”
I wouldn’t be complaining if I saw a house made of tuna.
I glanced down at Muffin. “Do you know who is in there?”
Santa?
“This is not the North Pole.”
Muffin shrugged.
“The witch who lives here tries to eat children, is that it?” Lachlan asked.
“You don’t know your fairy tales very well, do you?”
“Once upon a time, I did.”
I grinned. “Once upon a time?”
“Seemed appropriate. But I started training early, so it’s been a while since I heard a fairy tale.”
Training in his magic, I had to assume. “Yes, the witch eats children. Hansel and Gretel are the most famous.”
He eyed the cottage. “Let’s go rescue them, then.”
7
He was right. Every muscle I had felt like jello, but I was going to have to find some strength. Because we had to save those kids, if they were in there. We were doing a lot of saving here in the fairy tale forest, it seemed. Maybe the Cheshire cat had sent us here to save them. More likely, he’d sent us here to become dinner.
Quietly, we crept toward the house. My skin chilled as we neared, thinking of the old witch who would actually eat children. It had been a cute fairy tale when I was a kid. Now that I was actually going to face her? It was like meeting freaking Hannibal Lecter.
We crouched beneath the windowsill, then popped up and peered through the cloudy glass. It was sugar, if I remembered the tale correctly.
There was no one inside.
Dang.
A rustling sound from behind caught my ear. Witch!
I turned around to find her, but caught sight of dozens of fanged rabbits hopping toward us. They wore all different sorts of hats, and their eyes gleamed with evil light.
Oh crap!
“Inside!” I hissed. “Gotta get inside! Deal with the witch in there!”
We rushed in through the door, Lachlan leading the way. The cats scampered in, fur sticking out in all directions. Except Muffin, who just looked a bit shaky.
I stopped dead in the middle of the room, spotting two children with bags over their shoulders. One was skinny and one was plump, and both looked happy and tired at the same time.
“We’re here to save you,” I said.
“Too late, lady,” Hansel said, flicking his blond hair back. “My sister took care of the witch.”
“Burned her up real good.” Gretel pointed to the oven behind her. The iron door was shut.
I swayed a bit on my feet at the idea of a body in there. “Well done.”
“We’ll be off, then,” Hansel said. “Take care not to leave the cottage at night.”
“What about you?” Lachlan asked. “There are hundreds of devil rabbits out there.”
“They’re called Fangbunnies.” Gretel stressed the word like Lachlan was a moron. “And we’re from here, so they’ll leave us alone. They only eat visitors. So stay inside.”
“With the witch?” I asked.
“She’s dead.” Hansel’s tone was no-nonsense. A real get-over-yourself, fairy-tale style.
“Right. Of course.” I nodded, pretending to be as tough as these kids. They were hardened little cherubs. “The rabbits are worse.”
“You have no idea, lady.” Gretel grinned. “Have a good night.”
With that, they turned and walked out into the night.
I went to the window and watched them stride off into the dark, the rabbits clearing a path for them, then I turned back to Lachlan. “Well, that was something.”
“Those kids didn’t need saving.”
“No, they didn’t.” I pointed to the open and empty chests in the corner of the cottage. “And they cleaned the old witch out. Took every pearl and piece of gold she had.”
“At least we don’t have to worry about them.” He went to the makeshift kitchen, which was made up of a table and chairs, along with some bowls and a pitcher. An ice box sat on the floor, and he opened it. “How do you feel about cheese and bread for dinner?”
“Better than I feel about eating her creepy house made of cake.” And I was grateful that the options were vegetarian, given what she’d intended to do with the children.
The Cats of Catastrophe began to gnaw on the walls of the house, seeming to enjoy the gingerbread. Bojangles got all the way into the rafters and started chewing.
“Careful, or you’ll bring the roof down,” I said.
He just kept chomping away.
I joined Lachlan in the kitchen and got to work tearing a piece of bread into smaller, bite-sized pieces. We sat down with our feast—including an old bottle of wine we found under the table—and stared at each other.
“Well, this is weird,” I said.
He glanced over his shoulder at the oven, which was still warm. “Easily the creepiest meal I’ve ever eaten.”
We ate in silence for a short while, satisfying the worst of our hunger.
“If those devil bunnies weren’t waiting for us, I’d be out of here so fast it’d be like I disappeared into thin air.” I took a bite of the bread and cheese, grateful that it tasted normal. “But since there are devil bunnies out there, I’m going to enjoy this stolen cheese and thank Hansel and Gretel for taking care of the witch. After today, I need a break.”
“Aye.” He touched his head, wincing. “I agree.”
“How are you?” Worry tugged at me.
“Fine. Brains feel a bit rattled, but fine. I didn’t even see the sparrow coming.”
“He was a quick one. Why don’t you take some healing potion? You brought some, right?”
“Aye.” He nodded. “But we should save it. I’m not that bad off.”
“If you’re sure.” I thought he was nuts, but he had a point. Who knew what was coming at us?
Lachlan finished the bread and cheese on his plate and sat back with his glass of wine. I avoided looked at his lips as he drank. Well, at least I tried to.
“Your magic,” he said. “Tell me about the problems you’re having.”
I hesitated, wanting his help, but not really wanting to share the nitty-gritty of my issues. But how was he supposed to help me if I couldn’t tell him what was wrong with me?
“I’ll keep your secrets.” Lachlan’s voice was serious.
Trust. My instincts screamed it. I could trust him. He hadn’t sold me to the Cheshire cat, despite the strong pull of magic that had made me suggest he do it. Hell, I’d almost sold me to the Cheshire cat.
I chewed on my lip, debating. “Fine. I have new magic that is starting to appear, and I can’t control it. I can feel it inside myself, and it sometimes appears when I need it. But other times it lays dormant.”
“New magic
is appearing?” Interest flared in his gaze.
“Yeah.” That was the unusual part—one of the parts I’d been afraid to tell him. That almost never happened to supernaturals.
“And you’re only having trouble with the new magic?” he asked. “What about the gift you were born with?”
“That has been acting up too.”
He leaned back in his chair and nodded. “All right. I think maybe I can help. I was born with different magic gifts, but not all were developed yet. They lay dormant within me.”
“How’d you get them to, uh…blossom?” The word sounded dumb, but it fit.
“A lot of trial and error, but what I found worked the best was focusing on why I wanted to use that magic. Desire could often jump-start it.”
I nodded, thinking back. “Oooh, I think I get it. Back when we were being tossed around by the flowers, my magic burst out of me when the sparrow went for Muffin. His mallet would have killed him.”
“Desire equals action.”
“You didn’t act on your desire and give me to the Cheshire cat.”
“I’m not a monster.”
“No, I don’t think you are. But I almost sold me away. How did you resist?”
“It wasn’t hard.”
“But what did you want when the cat said he could give you anything?”
Shutters closed over his eyes. “Another time, maybe.”
I nodded, feeling my cheeks heat. That question had been the emotional equivalent of laying a kiss smack on his lips, and we’d already decided that was no-go territory.
“But you can’t always rely on feeling a burst of strong desire to jump-start your magic,” Lachlan said.
“No kidding. What do you do?”
“Now, I don’t need any help. But when I was a child, my parents sent me to apprentice with a great wizard. He used his own magic to help me access mine. Like a battery that could jump-start my own ability. I can try to do that for you.”
“What would it involve?”
He stood and pushed his chair back under the table, then gestured me to follow him to the middle of the room.
I did as he asked, standing in front of him. The Cats of Catastrophe were culled up in front of the still warm oven, basking in the warmth of baking witch. Princess had a smile on her face.
