I pop my hand over my mouth. Did I say the kissy stuff out loud?
Alec chuckles. “Let’s just say they’ve both been on a rather short fuse these days.”
I exhale. So I did keep the kissy stuff to myself. Whew.
Crimson magic rolls out across the massive room. More of Diamond and Legend’s spell takes hold. Clouds of power surround the cameras. Sparks fly as the video equipment fries out.
I side-speak to Alec once more. “Guess they don’t want any witnesses.”
“Not human ones,” says Alec. “There are still close to fifty magic users in the room. My parents will leave them behind.”
“Are any of them on our side?”
“Absolutely not.”
My skin prickles over with worry. “Glad we cleared that up.”
More red mist surrounds the humans in the room. You can tell they’re not Magicorum because they try to take camera pics of the spell instead of running in terror. Humans are cute that way.
Red light flares across the studio. When the brightness vanishes, so do all the humans.
Wow. They really don’t want any witnesses.
Time to consider a counter plan. I glance over to the Queen of Hearts. Will she help us?
The good news is that the queen is still here. The bad news is that she’s painting her nails. I’ll take that as a no on the help us thing.
Without looking up, the queen calls out. “Cast in my direction and you’re dead.”
Glad she cleared that up.
If only we’d found her Cheshire cat.
A memory appears. Before I walked down those steps to Alec, I’d been chatting up that Gerry guy. For an old dude, Gerry was acting suspiciously cat-like. Licking your palm? Thats’s a total feline giveaway. Was Gerry really Chesh in disguise? If so, we can catch that feline pronto and solve a lot of problems.
And by solve problems, I mean that we’ll get the Queen of Hearts to stop doing her nails and start helping us to kick butt.
Shielding my eyes from the stage lights, I scan the rafters.
No sign of Gerry. Damn.
Which means we’ve got no cat.
No help from the Queen of Hearts.
And a lot of angry casters in the room.
51
Alec
It’s too bad all the cameras are gone, because this is a moment someone should record. Fifty gem casters sit in the audience, all of them in long robes and angry faces. My parents and Marchesa stand behind the judges table. Charles looms nearby. Part of his wig is askew, which is something I’ve never witnessed before.
Finally, there’s the Queen of Hearts. She’s moved on to adding a clear layer onto her red nail polish. So there’s that.
And against everyone? It’s me and Elle. Somehow, that’s enough.
Legend steps forward. He stretches his arms wide. “Heed me, son. No hope. No escape. Obey.”
“Father. It’s time for the game to end. Your mind vise didn’t work.”
Legend’s face falls. “That’s not possible.”
“Let me make it clear.” I take Elle’s hand. “You don’t control me.”
“How clever you are!” Legend laughs, but the sound is brittle.
“Listen to me,” I state. “I’ll make you a bargain. Allow me and Elle to leave, and we won’t hurt any of you.”
It’s only half a lie. Elle has her own magic. I still have my midnight diamond. Who knows what we can do?
Legend snaps his fingers. The fifty gem casters step forward, forming a semicircle behind my parents and Marchesa.
Many times, Wilhelm has materialized out of thin air to stand before me. Now another fifty shadowcoe appear on the show floor.
All of them are trolls.
Even worse, none of them are alone.
Every troll has appeared with a potion master beside them. All wear the black lab coats that mark their specialty.
“There are now more than a hundred and fifty casters against you and Elle. Will you still fight?”
My gaze locks with Elle’s. All the determination in the world shows in her eyes.
“We fight,” she says.
Moving in unison, Elle and I raise our arms. My midnight diamond lies clasped in my right hand. I reach out to the stone.
Ready?
The stone replies.
Name your demand.
Beside me, Elle pulls in her own power. Silver fairy dust whirls about her arms.
“You’ve made me very sad,” says Legend. He raises his arms. Particles of red light and power whirl about his hands. An electric sense of magic fills the room.
ROWL!
Deep snarls fill the air as a massive white wolf barrels onstage. A huge black wolf thunders along beside the white one. I grin.
It’s Bry and Knox in their werewolf forms. Another fifty shifters rush onstage behind them. Their pack. What a sight.
Wolf-Bry looks to Elle. “Told you we’d make it.”
“And we brought friends,” adds Wolf-Knox.
Another fifty dwarves appear, this time on the floor before the stage. Wilhelm and his crew.
And they’re not alone, either.
Every dwarf has brought an animate along with them. I count phoenixes, scarecrows and even a possessed suit of armor. A group of mice scurrying around the floor, along with a single chihuahua. Odd, but that’s how things go for me and Elle.
A warm sense of satisfaction swirls inside me. I was happy enough when Elle showed up to help. But now we’ve an equal number of magical warriors to my parents’ army. And I still have my midnight diamond.
Things are looking up.
Legend frowns. “You’re about to start a war, son.”
Elle and I share another look. When we next speak, it’s in unison. “Works for us.”
“Then give me the signal, son. Say you’ll destroy us, if you have the nerve. If not, pledge your life to Ivy.”
Oh, Ivy. I’d forgotten about her. I scan the studio floor. Ivy now stands beside her mother. As my eyes meet hers, she grins and waves.
“We choose war,” says Elle.
No question what to do next. Taking in a deep breath, I prepare to state the word that will start everything. “Destr—”
Elle squeezes my hand. “Wait,” she breathes.
There’s a fierce look on her face that stops me cold. I tilt my head. The look in my eyes speaks a silent question.
What’s wrong?
52
Elle
I’ve done a number of extreme things. Stealing gold from a dragon horde, for instance. But what I’m doing now? It’s a whole new level of pushing things.
Legend narrows his gaze in my direction. Alec’s father just stated that the war wouldn’t start until we gave the word.
And I asked for a pause.
Alec moves so we stand face to face. It helps. I can forget the rest of the room, as well as our makeshift army.
By the way, how happy am I that the animates are here? Very happy indeed.
Alec cups my face with his hands. His touch is all things warm and reassuring. “What is it, Elle?”
Even though Alec and I are close, I still feel the many gazes staring in our direction. I focus on Alec. Ever since my conversation with Gerry, a thought has been growing in my mind. I don’t think I can face dying without setting that realization loose.
In my soul, the little fortress I’ve built up starts to crack and sway. I plan to tear it down completely.
“I have no illusions,” I state. “We may not make it. So I need you to know one thing.”
“What?”
“You’re not my friend.”
Alec tilts his head. “No?”
My inner walls burst. The pain I’d been hoarding falls out and rolls away, leaving me alone and exposed. And now? This man can shatter me with a word. I could lose everything, yet Alec is worth the risk.
“You’re far more than that,” I reply. “Alec Le Charme, I love you with everything in me. Know this. I ch
oose you as my prince and life partner, no matter what.”
“Elle.” Alec brushes his thumbs against my cheeks. “You already know my heart is yours.”
My soul soars with joy. “In that case, I can face anything.”
Alec brushes the softest of kisses against my mouth. “Yes.”
With that, Alec and I turn to face Legend’s army. Speaking as one, we call out a single word.
“Destroy!”
53
Alec
I look to Elle. “I’ll take the gem casters.”
She nods. “Trolls for me.”
Pulling on my inner energy, I unleash the power of my midnight diamond and issue a single command.
Freeze
Thin lines of black smoke whip up from between my fingertips. Magic. The cords of power whip out across the studio floor to encircle every gem caster in the place. The mist of my spell encircles each witch or wizard before soaking into their skin. A burst of light surrounds them.
When the brightness vanishes, all the gem casters are stone. I grin. There’s nothing like working on a new magical stone and seeing it kick some ass.
Silver fairy dust envelops Elle’s hands. “I’ve been wanting to do this ever since that troll at my parents’ office.”
Elle’s magic spins through the air, reminding me of so many pinwheels. The power encircles each troll in the place. Once the magic vanishes, the trolls all rush off in one direction.
Toward the mice.
I can’t help but chuckle. Elle’s a swarm fae. She mentioned that her best animals are pigeons and mice. Right now, the trolls are scrambling about on all fours while sticking their noses up in the air. Total mouse behavior. After that, the trolls follow a group of real mice who them lead them around in circles. The chihuahua yaps along with the group.
I let out a low whistle. What a spell.
More trolls appear. They must have been hiding for a sneak attack. This time, the animates go to work. The phoenixes burst into flame while the scarecrows and suit of armor take down the trolls in hand to hand combat. The sight makes me want to cheer.
There’s no time to celebrate, however. The many potion masters raise their vials and smash them to the ground. This time, the vials don’t shatter. Instead, each one lets off a stream of sickly green smoke. These are reverse of potion burst spells, where shattering the vial starts the casting. In these potions, called forevers, these mist canisters will go on spouting spells for all eternity. That is, unless the bottles are destroyed. Not an easy thing to do.
Forevers are a smart choice for these potion masters, I’ll give them that. A wall of emerald haze quickly forms around them. It’s an excellent protective barrier.
Yet it won’t stop Wilhelm and his crew.
Axes raised high, the dwarves let out a battle yell and rush straight for the emerald cloud. The smoke seeks them out, surrounding each dwarf. The dwarves fall to their knees, coughing.
I pull in fresh magic from my stone. Elle summons more fairy dust. The process isn’t instant, though. It takes time to gather enough power and then even longer to focus the energy into a specific casting.
Will we get to the dwarves in time?
Turns out, another group is focused on Wilhelm and his crew. Bry, Knox, and their pack rush toward the emerald haze.
The werewolves move in.
The pack pins down the potion masters. Dwarves are tough fighters in any situation, but Wilhelm and his crew see me as their adopted son. They’ll fight to the death and I love them for their loyalty. Still coughing, the dwarves rise and march over to the potion masters.
Then they go after the forevers.
Blow after blow rains down on the metallic canisters. The forevers spark and crackle, but they don’t break.
Even so, the dwarves don’t give up.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
One by one the forevers shatter. As each canister breaks, a dwarf falls over, exhausted. If we live through this, I’m throwing Wilhelm’s crew a roast meat celebration that will last three days, minimum.
The green smoke dies down, revealing the only fighters left standing. Now it’s down to Diamond, Legend, Marchesa and Charles… all against me and Elle. Ivy hides behind her mother, which makes her more of a spectator than warrior.
Diamond shivers. “I can’t be part of this.”
I do a double take. My mother actually showing some heart? It’s unexpected but welcome.
“No!” Legend rounds on her. “Le Charme first.”
“You’re wrong,” whispers Diamond. “There are limits.”
Charles speeds to Diamond. “I’ll escort the lady out of trouble.”
“I’m not leaving,” says Diamond.
“Perhaps we just stand aside then,” offers Charles.
Diamond nods. My mother looks down. Even so, there’s no missing the tears dripping from the top of her nose. Charles walks her over to the far wall. Ivy skitters along behind them.
Am I surprised that Charles turned out to be a coward? Not in particular. For centuries, he’s been hiding behind his bargain with the Queen of Hearts.
Marchesa strolls up to Elle. A large blue vial lies clutched in the potion master’s hand. “How I’ve looked forward to this moment.”
“Same here,” says Elle.
My father moves to stand before me as well. “Le Charme first.”
My next words feel torn from my soul. “I know.”
All this time, Elle and I have been pulling in fresh power for our next spell. There’s trouble, though. Elle may be powerful, but she doesn’t know how to wield her magic very well yet. And quickly recharging magic is a senior-level skill. Standing beside Elle, I can’t help but notice how there’s only a paltry amount of fairy dust encircling her fingertips.
I’m not much better off. In my mind, I reach out the midnight diamond.
Ready?
A rusty voice sounds in my head. The tone is distant and tired.
As I can be.
I’ve been through this before. My midnight diamond is about empty. Not that I’m shocked. It just took down fifty of the most powerful gem casters in the world.
This time, it’s Legend who launches the fight. “Destroy!” he cries.
Elle and I release our spells. Marchesa and Legend do the same. Sickly wisps of silver power wind up from Elle’s hands. My stone glows inside my palm. Then it falls dark. I didn’t even get a single tendril of magic out of the thing.
Meanwhile, Marchesa tosses her vial to the ground. The glass container shatters. A healthy column of blue smoke heads for Elle. The mist congeals into blue bands that tie up Elle’s hands, feet and neck. Elle topples over, gasping for breath.
A flare of white light erupts from Legend’s fist. The brightness vanishes. In its place, Legend now holds a gleaming and spear-like diamond.
My father thrusts the weapon into my chest. Pain erupts from my rib cage. I crumple to my knees. All the while, my focus stays on Elle.
She’s choking. I must save her.
As I crawl over to Elle, I’m barely aware of Marchesa and Legend glaring in my direction. Somewhere in the distance, my mother weeps. The weres and animates try to battle closer, but the potion masters throw magical explosions in their path. Bry and Knox’s wolf howls echo through the air.
Yet I can’t focus on any of that. Elle’s skin is turning a pale shade of blue.
I crawl forward. Blood pools on the floor around around me. Still, I drag myself to Elle’s side. The cords around her neck have turned into a thick sapphire-colored ribbon that perfectly matches the trimming on Elle’s gown.
Such a cruel touch from Marchesa.
With ever fiber of my soul, I wish to tear the blue cords from around Elle’s neck. I wiggle my fingers under the ribbon, but she’s only able to take in the barest of gasps. It won’t be enough.
My voice chokes with a sob as I force out a single word. “Sorry.”
“No,” says Elle through blue lips. “Happy.” Nothing but love sh
ines in her bloodshot eyes.
I collapse onto my side and grasp her hand in mine. Elle’s skin is so cold. If this is my end, at least it’s with Elle.
A voice echoes across the studio.
“Stop!”
Suddenly, the cords falls free from Elle’s throat. The diamond spear vanishes from my torso. I pat my chest, finding no wound.
In shock, I scan the studio. Who stopped this, exactly? I quickly spy the speaker.
It’s the Queen of Hearts.
54
Elle
I pull in gasp after gasp of sweet air. At first, my head feels hazy. As I pull in more breath, my mind clears.
Did that really happen? Did the Queen of Hearts really just yell stop and free both me and Alec?
I reach out and pat Alec’s chest. Sure enough, his wound has completely healed over. The only sign of Legend’s attack is a hole in Alec’s tuxedo jacket.
Speaking of Legend, he turns to the queen. Orbs of red magic and light appear on each of his outstretched palms.
The queen sniffs. “Really?” She snaps her fingers. The spheres of power vanish.
Legend isn’t giving up, though. New and larger orbs materialize. The spheres glow bright red and hover just above his hands.
The queen rolls her eyes. “Enough.” The queen reaches forward and grips at what looks like empty space.
It isn’t.
As the queen pulls her arms back, the veil between this world and the Faerie Lands fade. To my eyes, the Le Center overlaps with a vision of a wide field of white grass. It’s surrounded by a line of white trees with crimson leaves.
And there are warriors. Hundreds and hundreds of them. The queen’s Vampire Guard.
The queen lowers her arm. The transformation completes. All signs of the L Center vanish. Everyone now stands in the clearing. The queen looms before us.
Is it just me, or does she seem taller now?
Slippers and Thieves Special Edition Page 23
