by Zoe Arden
We laughed, relieved.
"No, no," Dr. Dunne said, shaking his head. "For patients like Mr. Bison, I prescribe heavy doses of tranquilizers. The nurse has just given him his first dose and it should be kicking in any moment now. Soon, things will be much quieter around here."
I looked at my aunts, who were staring at Dr. Dunne uncertainly, waiting for him to say again that he was joking. When he didn't, I began to suspect that what he'd just told us was no joke.
Mike Bison let out one last wail. "I DEMAND that you... get me... out of here..." he finished, his voice trailing off to a loud whisper. Well, more than a whisper since I could still hear it in my dad's room but certainly less than it had been a moment before.
Dr. Dunne laughed. "There we go. Works every time." He left the room, a smile on his face.
I looked at Eleanor, who shrugged. "I suppose if I were Mike Bison, I'd be angry, too. He has no memory of what happened. All he knows is that he woke up in a hospital and nothing makes any sense."
"Colt talked to Dean Lampton, who talked to Bison's boss," I told them. "Apparently, as soon as Dr. Dunne gives the okay, Bison is leaving the island for good."
"How'd they manage that?" my dad asked.
"Turns out Bison's boss is a quarter wizard. He had no idea that Bison was out here investigating Dave Harley's case, he thought he was on vacation in the Caribbean. Now that he knows, he's concocted some story about Harley's case being solved."
"Who did he say the murderer was?" Sadie asked.
"Another tourist who got drunk and went on a killing spree."
"Won't Bison go looking for them, though?" asked Eleanor.
"Not once his boss tells him the guy was killed in a shootout. That's the plan, at least. They're gonna wait until Bison's well enough, then tell him he's the one who solved Harley's murder. That he tracked the killer down to a warehouse somewhere and had it out with him, that he's lucky to be alive and he's a real hero."
Eleanor and Trixie exchanged a look then burst into giggles. "They couldn't have come up with anything more believable?" Trixie asked.
"You've met Bison, "I said. "He's got something of an ego on him, wouldn't you say? I suspect he'll have no trouble believing he's a world-class detective."
"Why don't they just tell him all that now? Maybe it would calm him down some," my dad said. "I know it's helped me having you all fill in the gaps for the last couple of weeks."
"Can't," I told him with a shake of my head. "Before he showed up at Sadie's, he'd been in Mistmoor questioning Edith Woodruff. Apparently, she gave him a cupcake with willow root in it."
Everyone groaned.
"You're kidding me," Sadie said, her eyes going wide.
"Nope. It warped his memory a little, which turned out to be a good thing since he showed up at Sadie's when he did. At least no one has to wipe his memory of events, it was already wiped. Problem is, they can't stop it from un-wiping." I let out a sigh. "Every time they tell him anything, he forgets it again ten minutes later. Dr. Dunne says he's close to a cure but it might take a few more days."
"Why did he show up at my place anyway?" Sadie asked.
"Edith gave him a lead. Said my dad was the one leaving those cupcake wrappers everywhere." I shook my head. "Too bad for her she's probably gonna get her baking license revoked after this. Everyone knows you can't sell willow root to a human."
My dad sighed, and everyone turned to look at him.
"I'm okay," he said quickly. We'd all been keeping an extra close watch on him these last few days and I suspected that he was getting a little tired of it. "I'm just anxious to get out of here, that's all."
"Lucy said to tell you that when you're well enough to get out of here, she's developed a new signature latte in your honor." My cheeks turned pink. I couldn't believe the drink Lucy had come up with and hoped that my dad wouldn't be offended by it.
I cleared my throat. "It's called... Evil Eli." I shook my head. "It's got a double shot of espresso, dark chocolate syrup, dark chocolate flakes, and a dash of cayenne pepper." I rolled my eyes. I'd have to kill Lucy later for this one.
"I told her to rename it," I said defensively. "But she won't. She thinks it's funny. I bet if you talked to Melbourne or William, though—" I stopped talking when I realized my dad was smiling. So were Eleanor, Trixie, and Sadie.
"It sounds delicious," my dad said, and everyone burst out laughing.
The tension rolled off my shoulders. "It does sort of sound good," I admitted.
Sadie smiled and took my father's hand. "Seriously though, you'll be out of here any day now. Dr. Dunne promised me. He just needs to make sure you're really okay, first. That nothing's still lurking inside you."
She leaned down and kissed him. My dad blushed slightly but kissed her back anyway.
"I'm just glad you're all right," he told Sadie. "I was worried there for a while."
"We all were," I said.
"Thank heavens that dark spirit was a terrible shot," Trixie said. "Otherwise, we might not be here now."
We all nodded our agreement. Turns out that Sadie hadn't been quite so bad off as she'd at first appeared to us. The dark spirit had indeed shot Colt's wand at her but rather than hitting her square in the chest as he'd intended, he'd merely struck the tips of her fingers. The spell had been so strong that even though it barely scraped her, it had still made her lose consciousness. It had also increased the fever that she'd most likely already had because of her cold, and made her feel nauseous.
It had taken only two days in the room across from my dad's for her to get better and be released. As for everything that had happened before then, we were still trying to sort it out.
It was crystal clear now that Sadie had definitely conjured a dark spirit that day outside the bakery. There was no longer any doubt about it, if there had been any to begin with. She was able to fill us in on a lot of what had happened since then, although my dad seemed to have no memory of the events from the last two weeks. We all decided that was a blessing, though. We filled him in on the important parts but softened some of the harder things like the deaths of Red and Dave Harley.
According to Sadie, what the dark spirit had said when he was still pretending to be my father was true. The day Sadie conjured the spirit, my dad had taken her back to her place, tucked her into bed, and gone to watch TV. Only it wasn't him who found Sadie levitating in the air, it was Sadie who found him.
"He was just floating there," she'd said to us yesterday as we went through everything. Sheriff Knoxx and Colt had been right there with us, questioning her. They both needed answers for their reports.
"I didn't know what to do. It took me an hour to get him down from the ceiling. I figured out pretty quickly what had happened but I was scared to tell anyone. I was afraid..." She looked at me and blushed. "I was afraid of making a bad impression. I've only recently felt like we've begun to really get to know each other, Ava. I didn't want to blow it." She folded her arms across her chest. "I was also afraid Eli would get in trouble, and I didn't want to lose him."
Sadie brushed the hair from her eyes. Her color had returned.
"You haven't blown anything," I told her. "And I understand why you kept quiet. Heck, we did the same thing. Next time, we have to remember not to be afraid to ask each other for help."
We all nodded.
Sadie had gone on to fill in the rest of the gaps. Apparently, she thought the reason her cold had lingered for as long as it had was because of my dad. Being constantly around him seemed to negatively affect her health. I hadn't noticed anything myself but then he'd been spending an inordinate amount of time with Sadie lately. I'd hardly seen him, even at the bakery.
"Then Dr. Dunne gave me some antibiotics and I started feeling better," she said. "You guys brought me those molasses cookies, and after I ate them, it was like a veil had lifted." She hadn't realized they were banishment cookies at that time; she'd thought they were just regular cookies with peppy powder.
El
eanor, Trixie, and I had discussed this statement since then and determined that although Sadie hadn't been possessed by the dark spirit, some evil energy must've been lurking inside of her and the cookies had helped to get rid of it. That was why the electricity had dimmed at her apartment that day after she'd eaten them.
"That same day, your father came over and took a nap at my place. While he was sleeping, I tried a banishment spell on him that I'd found online. When he woke up, he seemed like himself again and I thought it had worked. I didn't know anything was still wrong with him until we were at Coffee Cove and the lights went out. When Red died..." She shook her head and choked up. "I should have known better."
"Don't blame yourself," I told her. "You can't. We all feel like we should have known better but that doesn't change anything. This was all the dark spirit's fault, not ours."
Sadie's watery eyes cleared up and she lifted her head. "Thanks."
When my dad had gone over to her apartment three days ago with the new batch of banishment cookies, she'd realized what they were and tried to make my dad eat them. They'd argued for a bit and that was when he'd pulled Colt's wand on her.
"I was so foolish," she said.
"No, you were in love," I told her. "You wanted to believe he'd be okay. In a way, you were right; he's going to be fine." I'd smiled at her and later that day, Dr. Dunne had said she was free to go.
Now, standing around my dad, everything seemed like it going to work out after all. Sadie and my dad seemed even more in love than before, and I finally had my answer for Colt. I'd texted him earlier and told him to call me when he had the chance.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, I looked down at the number. "It's Colt," I said. "He's texting me."
"Tell him to come and visit," my dad said.
"He has," I told him. "You were still out of it the first day; you just don't remember."
"Well, tell him to come again. Now that my head's cleared up, I'd like to see him. I've got a new fishing story I've been saving for him. I think he'll enjoy it."
"I'll tell him," I said. "That reminds me. Tootsie, Rocky, and Snowball are planning to sneak in her and pay a visit, too. They're not supposed to be, so if they show up, make sure to keep them hidden."
"I will, and make sure you give Snowball an extra can of tuna for me."
"I'll tell her you said that. It'll make her day." I stepped away from the group for a moment then to read the text that had just come in.
Can't talk now. In a meeting with Dean.
U sure? I texted back. I have news.
Everyone okay?
Yes. I just wanted to tell you something.
?
My finger hovered over the send button. I pushed it. Yes.
A second later, Colt's text came in. Yes, what?
My answer to your question. Yes.
I waited for his reply, a smile on my face. A second later, my phone rang.
* * *
Epilogue
.
The Goblin Ball was not like anything I'd pictured in my mind. It was big and flashy. The "palace" the goblins had mentioned to me during some of their meetings was, in fact, an actual palace. It looked like something out of a fairy tale.
Set in the middle of Beggars Forest—or at least, I thought it was the middle; I wasn't really sure, the goblins kept it well hidden and had insisted on blindfolding us before leading us here—it was about five stories high and made of stone. There were pillars and towers and a huge stone wall that went all the way around it, like they were trying to keep something out, or maybe something in.
"It's magnificent," I told Zulubar when we arrived, and our blindfolds had been removed.
He'd bowed deeply to me. "Thank you."
He was with Kyrab, who no longer walked behind him but beside him. Together, they showed me, Eleanor, Trixie, and my dad to an enormous ballroom where we were to begin setting things up. Lucy would be along a little later to help us. Snowball, Tootsie, and Rocky were at home resting with their favorite treats. Colt and Sheriff Knoxx were joining us in the evening, once the ball had officially begun. Colt had gotten a slight extension from Dean so that he could stay an extra two weeks before starting his new assignment.
Only a handful of witches and wizards besides us would be attending the ball. It wasn't that goblins didn't care for witches and wizards—they didn't really care for anyone outside of their own social circle. The only witches and wizards who'd garnered invitations were those with some sort of special connection to the goblins—such as Sheriff Knoxx, who was part goblin—and those who had a high social status within the witching community.
Sweetland's mayor, Otis Winken, had been invited, as had the mayor of Mistmoor Point, Tazzie Singer. For some reason that I couldn't understand, Natalie Vargas had garnered an invitation, a feat which she had enjoyed dangling over Lottie Mudget's head. Lottie had not received an invitation and when she'd asked us if we might be able to finagle her one, we'd told her the only way she'd get to the Goblin Ball was if she came with us as an assistant and helped to serve pastries and cut cakes.
To our surprise, she'd agreed, and should be arriving at the ball around the same time as Lucy. We'd needed extra help for tonight anyway, so having Lottie on hand would actually be a good thing. So long as she and Natalie didn't cause a scene. Apparently, Lottie hadn't told Natalie the good news. She was saving it as a surprise. When Natalie arrived, Lottie planned to pop out of nowhere and scare her.
The ballroom itself had been done up in lots of gold and silver. Apparently, goblins liked sparkly, shiny items, because they'd placed glitter all over the ballroom. It covered the floors, the ceiling, and the walls. On top of the gold and silver, it almost hurt the eyes to look at it was so shiny. They'd used some sort of adhesive spray, as well, to keep the glitter in place. It added yet another layer of shine to the room. It was like looking into a sun.
In the center of it all stood a giant statue—a grintza—that looked exactly like Zulubar. He was smiling and holding what appeared to be a tomato. Zulubar told us that he couldn't be happier with it.
It took several minutes for my eyes to adjust to the brightness, and when they did I realized that in contrast to the brightness of the room, the tablecloths and dance floor were all dark. Not black but a purple so deep it was almost blue. There were live plants and trees all over the room, and on every table sat a large vase with assorted flowers, which, although they'd been allowed to retain their natural color, had been covered with spray glitter. Zulubar and Kyrab were dressed in matching t-shirts but I didn't think that was what they'd be wearing to the ball.
The goblins left us alone to set things up. We began laying out the cakes, muffins, cookies, brownies, blondies, and assorted pastries that had been created especially for this ball. Never before had we worked so hard to create the perfect menu. The looner extract had been featured in several of our treats, not just one, and Zulubar had seemed happy with everything before he left us to prepare.
An hour later, Lucy appeared. Lottie was with her.
"That was weird," Lucy said.
"What?"
"They blindfolded me."
"Oh, they do that to everyone who isn't a goblin, I think. Afraid we'll come hunt them down or something if we know where to look."
Lucy chuckled but Lottie shook her head sadly. "I wouldn't joke about that. There's rumors that's exactly what they're afraid of."
"What do you mean?" I asked her.
"Don't you ever watch Entertainment Witch or read Paranormal People?"
"Those are both tabloids," Lucy said. "They make stuff up."
"Oh, no, not Paranormal People. They have that reputation because they tell the truth that no one wants to hear."
"What truth is that?" asked Lucy, rolling her eyes as she set a three-tiered cupcake tray down.
"That the goblins are in trouble. That's one of the reasons Zulubar wanted to go all out this year. He's afraid they might not be here next year."
Lucy s
topped what she was doing and looked at Lottie. "You mean, he might move out of Beggars Forest?"
"No, I mean that Beggars Forest might become the new goblin hunting ground."
"Goblins are hunted?" I asked.
"They're not supposed to be," Lottie said. "It's considered archaic and barbarous but that doesn't stop some people from doing it."
I wondered if it was possible this had anything to do with the undercover assignment Colt was getting sent on. Were the goblins the race that was in jeopardy?
Lottie set a tray of peanut butter white chocolate chip bars down near the end of the table. The tray wobbled then fell. The cookies went everywhere.
"Lottie!" Eleanor cried from across the room. "Be careful!"
"Oops, sorry," she said.
Trixie and my father hurried to replace the cookies, and Eleanor put my dad in charge of keeping an eye on Lottie.
After a while, things began to take shape. Each dining table had an assortment of goodies on it for those who didn't want to get up and walk around too much, and each buffet table had a lavish spread. The tablecloths the goblins had supplied us with glittered as much as the rest of the ballroom, and soon a band entered and began setting up on stage.
Sheriff Knoxx and Colt both came in together. Sadie just a moment after them.
"I don't think it's fair you weren't blindfolded," Colt said.
The sheriff looked at him. "I'm part goblin. I'm one of them."
Colt fought hard not to roll his eyes. Sadie went in search of my dad. Since we were allowed to stay to make sure things went smoothly in the bakery department, we were also allowed to bring dates. My dad had, of course, invited her.
Colt spotted me and came over. He was wearing a dark gray pinstriped suit that looked marvelous on him. I had changed out of my apron and jeans and slipped into a light pink dress that stopped at my ankles.
"Have you told anyone?" he whispered after giving me a kiss.
I shook my head. "Not yet. You said we should wait until we were together."
