Which means its fae magic from a stranger.
My wolf perks up inside me. “Danger is near. We should run.”
I roll my eyes. No matter what happens, my wolf’s first reaction is to demand to run. “Don’t worry,” I tell her in my soul. “We’re safe.” I try to tap into my different powers, but all the kinds of magic—fae, shifter, and witch—feel slippery in my mind. It’s like trying to grab on to a liquid with your fist. Nothing stays put.
Disappointment wraps around me, heavy as a cloak. Most Magicorum spend their lives learning how to control their power. I’ve had weeks. Sometimes, it seems like an impossible task. Then, I picture my bare bum on YouTube.
Not happening. I’ll keep working at it until I get it.
Elle raises her arm toward the wall of scarves. Screwing up her mouth, my bestie jams her hand into the layers of multicolored fabric. The sense of magic turns stronger. My wolf grumbles inside me.
“Our friend is hunting for something. This isn’t safe.”
“One more second.” I work hard to keep up my super-calm inner voice. “Be patient.”
Elle leans into the wall and gropes around for a bit. I’m about to ask if everything is okay when my bestie breaks out in an ear-to-ear grin.
“Got it,” she whispers.
“Got what?”
Whipping her arm back, Elle yanks a small hairy creature halfway out of the wall of scarves. The thing looks about two feet high and is made entirely of hair. “I’ve got It.”
“It? That’s a name.” I tap my chin. “Wait? Didn’t I see this guy in TV reruns from like a million years ago? The Addams Family, maybe?”
The little fae starts chattering away in some nonsense language. “It says that show was a knock-off. He is the original.” More chattering. “And he says his name is Flaxengoober.”
“Really?”
Elle shrugs. “I didn’t name him.”
I give the creature a half-wave. “Hey, Flaxengoober.”
Elle keeps a handful of the creature’s hair firmly grasped in her fist. “So, what’s the price to get in, my friend?”
The thing chatters away in more nonsense-speak.
“That’s fine, only I set the terms first.”
More chattering. I make a mental note to ask Elle how she translates random fae languages so easily. Supposedly, there are thousands out there. Is the power of fairy translation something I can learn? Seems like it would come in handy.
“No,” says Elle. “Terms first.”
Flaxengoober yammers some more, but there’s also a nodding motion from the pile of hair, so I figure that’s a yes.
Elle smacks her lips. That’s her thinking face, and making deals with the fae is very tricky. They can’t lie, but they twist every word to their advantage.
“We want safe passage to go shopping.” Elle looks to me. “And…I’m drawing a blank.”
“We don’t want to be tortured or killed while shopping.”
“Right.” Elle refocuses on Flaxengoober. “You heard her. And we want to be able to purchase something of our choosing for a fair price.” She reaches into her jean pocket and pulls out a small locket. “And we’ll pay with this.”
It’s a silver locket with a Hello Kitty emblem on it. Elle and I have worked this con before. I stifle a grin.
I set my hand on my throat. “You can’t give that away. I know that locket. It’s one of the few things you have from your mother.” And by this I mean Elle’s real mother, not the stepfamily of psychos who raised her.
Elle does have a locket from her mother, but it has a diamond-encrusted star on top of it, not a Hello Kitty. But these fae don’t know about that. When working a con, it’s always best to have a kernel of truth in there.
Sighing, Elle curls the locket against her chest. “I know. It means so much to me.”
I lean in to the lie. “No, Elle. No, no, no.” Maybe it’s too much, but I’m starting to have a good time.
But like always, Elle’s con works. The creature’s hair comes to life, wraps around the locket, and sucks it into…whatever is going on under that pile of hair.
In the air, the silver dust motes sparkle to life again. They whirl into interlocking circles as the sense of magic intensifies. Elle releases her grip on Flaxengoober, who then disappears into the wall.
I grip Elle’s hand. Her skin is clammy, just like mine.
We’ve done a lot of crazy things together. All of a sudden, I wonder if it’s possible to push our schemes too far.
The wall of scarves opens down the center like the curtains being drawn on an old-time stage. Silver light pours in through the opening, casting everything in an odd glow.
Still hand in hand, Elle and I go inside. As we step into the brightness, I give myself another internal pep talk.
This is just another scheme, like all the others.
And this is me and Elle.
Together we’re ready for anything.
Chapter Eight
I may have been raised by fairies, but I still don’t know much about the fae. Why? My so-called fairy aunties kept me locked in a penthouse with sketchy tutors. Plus, although Elle’s a fairy, she’s can’t say much about the fae, either. It’s all part of the magic that keeps her hidden from her evil stepfamily. Elle shares what she can, when she can, and I totally support that.
Long story short, I’m not sure what to expect when Elle and I walk through the wall that leads into Belle’s Boutique. Turns out, we enter a small anteroom that’s deserted, silent, and painted neon yellow. It reminds me of my aunties—they always wore bright colors. A small red door is painted with silver letters that read:
Belle’s Boutique
Now Under New Management
Welcome to Ba Ba Bargains
Elle hisses in a breath. “Crap.”
“Do you mean crap as in, ‘Ba Ba Bargains will have much worse stuff than Belle’s Boutique’ or crap as in, ‘we’re in trouble?’”
“The second thing.” Elle glances over her shoulder. “And the doorway back just disappeared.” She nibbles on her thumbnail.
I narrow my eyes. Elle’s always pretty calm. Thumb-nibbling only happens when we’re about to get into serious trouble. In fact, the last time I saw this particular move, the Denarii headquarters was about to explode.
“You want to return to Canal Street?” I ask. “We just faked our way in here.”
“Well, it’s like this…” Elle winces. That’s not a good sign. “You’ve heard how there are light and dark courts of fairies.”
I nod. This is one of the few things I do know.
“Well, most fae don’t hang at court; they live out in the wild. Or, at least they did before humans ruined nature and everything. That’s why—”
“Stop right there.” I raise my arms with my palms upright and facing Elle. “I can tell you’re about to say something that’ll make me worry.”
Elle winces once more. “Yes.”
“You know what?” I shrug. “Worrying won’t help anything at this point. There’s no doorway leading back, even if we wanted to go.” I set my fists on my hips in what I hope is a confident pose. “We can do this.”
Elle tilts her head. “So, you really don’t want the details?”
“Is the plan the same? I tap into my fae energy so I seem like I’m one of them.”
“Yup, and also keep your wolf from popping out.”
“Definitely.” I say this with confidence, but in all honesty? I have no idea how to use Knox’s advice and keep my wolf inside me when she wants to come out and play. Oh, well. As Elle likes to say, “No better time to learn than on a con.”
Unless, failing to learn means a bunch of angry fairies will curse you or kill you slowly. But there’s not much I can do about it, so I put my trust in Elle.
Moving on.
“Then, let’s go shopping.” I straighten the neckline of my horrid Christmas sweater, grip the handle of the red door, and pull. As we step inside, I remind myself of
my goals.
Successful shopping trip.
Unshreddable outfit.
No butt memes featuring yours truly.
Once inside, Ba Ba Bargains turns out to be a long and tall space that’s also painted neon yellow. Tons of little fairies flit through the air. There are hundreds of green pixies, blue sprites, and even more multicolored butterfly types. In fact, there are so many fae, they make a great cloud of activity by the ceiling. And on the ground?
What the hey?
I blink hard, not sure what I’m seeing.
But no matter how many times I look, they’re still there.
Sheep.
The store floor is covered with sheep-shaped fae who have pastel-colored wool and tiny wings. All of them drag around small wooden carts piled high with stuff. Small signs sit atop the fabric, reading things like “Boy’s Armor,” “Women’s Wing Cream,” and “Smiting Accessories.”
All of a sudden, I get why Elle wanted to warn me.
My wolf.
Instantly, my inner animal perks up. “Sheep. Me want sheep.” She’s both salivating and talking like Cookie Monster. That’s a major red flag.
I try to tap into the power inside me, hoping to calm my wolf. Now, I don’t have Alpha energy like Knox, but that’s fine. I have tons of other magic to choose from. In my mind’s eye, I picture the silvery threads of fae power that nest inside my soul. They’re too slippery to get a good grip on, but I reach for them all the same.
Meanwhile, my inner wolf licks her chops and keeps right on talking like Cookie Monster. “Me want sheep!”
Not sure the inner power thing is working. I decide to go to my fallback position: logic.
“These are not sheep,” I say. “They’re fairies. Very powerful fairies.”
“Like Colonel Mallory the Magnificent?” asks my wolf.
“Could be.”
In all honesty, fairies with the power level of Colonel Mallory are extremely rare, so the chances are slim that one is bargain shopping at this very moment. Even so, I’m not telling my wolf that. She needs to stay calm.
“I don’t like Colonel Mallory,” grumbles my wolf. “He placed that curse on me. Locked me up.” She’s not happy, but she isn’t trying to pop out of my skin, either. This is good.
All the while, Elle and I stand by the far wall. We haven’t been noticed yet, and I’m figuring that’s a good thing, considering we’ve got a good five feet on even the biggest fae here. Fairies will kill you for almost anything, and I have to imagine being larger than them is definitely on the list.
“How’s your…” Elle makes a scratching motion with her hand.
“My wolf is okay.”
“You sure? There’s no door behind us, but there’s still an exit. Let me know if you want to run for it.” She gestures across the room to another small red door. Hard to miss.
I eye the door and consider my options. It’s scary to stay here, but Elle and I have gotten this far, haven’t we? I can’t leave unless we at least try to get me some unshreddable stuff to wear.
“Nope, we’re staying.”
Elle exhales. “Good. Let’s find you some clothes.”
A sheep-fae lumbers past us, dragging along a green wooden cart with the words “Mortal Repellent Spray” written on the side in large orange letters. Up close, the sheep-fae looks so strange—human eyes in a pink wooly face—that a bubble of worry expands in my chest. “Wait a moment. You know how I said I didn’t want information?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Well, I changed my mind. What’s with all the four legged—” My thoughts spin through what Elle said before about fairies and nature. My eyes widen as the truth appears. “Oh, wait. I’ve got it. The fae who created this shop, they used to live in the countryside, just like you were saying.”
Elle nods. “Right.”
“And where they used to live, there were lots of sheep.”
“Right again. Over the years, they started to look like their surroundings, if you know what I mean. Humans got rid of their grazing lands back in the 1960’s, so these fae came to live in New York.”
I bob my head from side to side, thinking. “Okay. This isn’t so weird really. The fae came to the city and got into retail. A lot of immigrants do that. What’s there to worry about?”
Without waiting for Elle to comment, I take a cautious step toward another sheep-fae. This one’s dragging a cart that reads “Closeout Sale.” Sounds promising. Like all the rest of the sheep-fae, this one wears a little tiara with her name on it. Balinda.
I straighten my back and move closer. My wolf’s not happy about it, but she spent years locked under a fairy spell, so my inner animal is doing her best to stay calm.
I can do this.
One step.
Two.
I’m almost to the cart when Balinda huffs, flaps her ridiculously tiny wings, and steps away. The scent of magic and mutton hits my nostrils.
My wolf—who has been keeping pretty sane up until now—starts to lose her mind.
“Sheep!” she screams inside my soul. “Me want sheep!”
“Look,” I reply in my head. “You need to stay calm.”
“SHEEP!”
Without meaning to, a low growl of frustration escapes my lips. And it’s most definitely not human. A few yards away, Balinda pauses.
“How did you get in here?” asks Balinda. Needless to say, it’s crazy-strange to have a pink sheep with human eyes start talking to you. “You’re not fae.”
I pull on my fairy power with everything I have inside me. It feels more slippery than ever. “I sure am fae.”
In a smooth motion, Elle moves to stand between me and Balinda. “Hello, I’m Elle, and I am definitely fae.” She grins and works her irresistible charm, complimenting Balinda’s pretty wool and her tiara. Balinda smiles, sighs, and walks away, her little cart creaking behind her as she goes.
Elle turns to me. “How are we doing?” She makes that scratchy motion again.
“We’ve got time,” I reply. “Just not a lot of it.”
Inside, my wolf growls and snaps at the air. “Me want sheep.”
“I got that,” I say in my head. “But you also don’t want to be stuck under a spell again, right?” This is a little mean of me, considering my wolf’s past, but I’m getting desperate.
“Grrrr.” My wolf isn’t screaming to eat sheep, so I figure I have another minute or two at best.
Elle goes up on tiptoe and scans the store. “Bingo.” She points at red exit door. “See what I see?”
By the door, there’s a sheep with a cart marked “Indestructible Muumuus.” Now a muumuu isn’t my favorite kind of outfit, but at this point I’ll take anything.
I give Elle a thumbs-up. “Let’s do this.”
Together, my best friend and I cautiously cross the sales floor. We’re the only bipedal shoppers working the floor. The rest of the fae are still clustered around the ceiling. Thankfully, they’re too concerned with fighting each other over good bargains to notice me and Elle. Even so, it would only take one wrong move and we’d have a thousand angry fairies after us. My throat constricts with worry.
Calm down, Bry. You and Elle have made it through sketchy places before. The key is to look harmless. Elle and I keep up our lazy pace.
Nothing to see here, just a few human-size fae out for a stroll. La-di-dah.
It seems to take forever, but eventually Elle and I make it halfway across the floor. Along the way, I get a pixie stuck in my hair, but I’m able to shake it off easily enough. The drone of fae above our heads turns deafening. It seems that there’s a sale on fairy dust enhancer spray, whatever that is. High-pitched voices echo in my ears. It’s like being trapped in a roomful of angry people inhaling helium.
“Grab it.”
“That’s mine.”
“Back off.”
At last, we make it across the room to the cart with indestructible muumuus. I step closer. The tiara on this sheep reads “Barnicus.”
“Hello, uh. Barnicus.”
Barnicus looks me over. Again, those human eyes in a sheep’s face are downright weird. He doesn’t reply.
This is working. Barnicus isn’t running. I eye the cart greedily. It’s shopping time.
With cautious steps, I move closer and reach toward the pile of neon-colored muumuus in the back of Barnicus’s wagon. My hand is inches away from a bright yellow number when Barnicus stiffens. He looks over his shoulder at me and inhales. Deeply.
Oh, no. I forgot to keep trying to tap into my fairy power. My werewolf side must have leaked out. Who knew this multi-power stuff was so tricky?
Barnicus shivers so violently, his little wings shake. “Wolf,” he whispers. “You’re a wolf.” This time, the sheep doesn’t just lope away, he runs off like a shot.
This is bad. Prey should never run from a predator.
“SHEEPSHEEPSHEEP!” My wolf is clawing inside me. Fur ripples under my skin. I’m about to shift in a room full of sheep-fae. How exactly do I get myself into these situations again?
Elle saunters to my side and wraps her arm around my shoulder. “Bry, are you okay?”
All the blood in my body seems to drop to my toes. My bones start to snap and twist. Bolts of panic shoot through my nervous system.
“You can do this,” says Elle in a soft voice. “You’re fae. Remember that.”
That’s right. I’m part fairy, too.
Closing my eyes, I try to tap into my fae power. It stays slippery as ever. Frustration tightens down my limbs. Without meaning to, I let out another growl. This one is incredibly loud.
This time, the entire room falls silent. All eyes focus on me and Elle. Hundreds of fairies raise their arms. The sparkle of silver dust fills the air by their hands. Magic. The patrons here are going to cast a spell.
Barnicus shivers a short distance away. “I scented her,” he cries. “Wolf.”
In response, the fairy shoppers go berserk.
“Kill the beast!”
“Flay it!”
A bipedal sheep steps out onto the sales floor. She has baby-blue wool and a look that could freeze magma. Must be the store manager. This is getting worse by the second.
Moonlight and Midtown Page 6
