A Faerie's Curse (Creepy Hollow #6) (7 page)

“That's what I said. He still thinks you should have been the one to own up to it instead of waiting to be found out, but … whatever.” Perry moves two open books next to each other and pulls the scroll closer. “Okay. Let's see if we can rustle up a shield charm specifically directed against this detection spell. There's a charm here for a full-body shield—” he leans forward and runs one finger down the page of the first textbook before moving to the one beside it “—and this manual details the exact words for the detection spell. So I think if we take the words from one and insert them into the other spell, we could make this work. I'm just not entirely sure
where
to put them in. And isn't there something else that's supposed to be added when you mix spells?”

I nudge Gemma's shoulder. “You're really good at charms, aren't you? You and Perry should be working on this together.” She looks at me with wide eyes, probably trying to communicate that moving closer to Perry is the last thing she wants to do. I roll my eyes and mouth,
He won't bite.

After sending a glare my way, Gemma shifts across the vines and twigs and picks up the security spell manual. “Okay, you don't need to include this whole spell. Just take this bit here—” she lowers the manual and points to something “—and put it in the shield charm over here, between these two words. And you're right. There's that extra incantation that needs to be woven in when you're blending two spells.” She pulls another textbook closer.

I straighten my legs out and lean back as I pick through my memory of the bazillion spells I studied before the Guild allowed me to register as a fifth-year trainee. “Is this the one you're thinking of?” I ask Gemma before reciting the words that have come to mind.

“Yeah, that's the one,” Gemma says, flipping through pages. “But we should probably check to make sure we—ah, here it is.”

She and Perry finish writing out the words to their new spell within minutes. “Cool, let's test it,” Perry says, quickly packing all his books and papers away.

“Now?” I ask.

“Do you have a better time in mind?” He stands and lifts his heavy bag into the air with a wave of his hand. It floats beside him.

“I guess not. Where do you want to test it?” Gemma and I climb to our feet, brushing leaves and dirt off our clothes.

“My house?” Perry suggests.

“What if it doesn't work? You'll have guardians rushing into your home to look for me.”

“Then you'll just make yourself invisible and leave through the faerie paths.”

“And you'll be in trouble with the Guild.”

“Why? I'll just say I had no idea you were coming to visit me. Actually, no. I'll tell them their silly detection spell is malfunctioning because if you're not there, then who set it off?”

Raising my eyebrows, I say, “You really will wind up in trouble if you tell Guild security guards that their spells are silly.”

“Look, the spell's gonna work, so I don't know why we're discussing this. Gemma and I make a great team, so there's no way this shield charm is wrong.” A flush appears in Gemma's cheeks once more, and Perry hastens to add, “A great
work
team. Obviously.”

“Okay, let's try it.”

“Brilliant. Come over here.” Perry holds the scroll out in front of him and raises one hand just above my head. As he reads the words, I sense something moving in the air above me. I look up and find a cloud of glowing dust swirling around Perry's hand. As he reads the final word, the dust descends quickly upon me, coating every inch of my body. With a final flash, the glowing dust vanishes.

“Is it supposed to do that?” I ask.

“Don't know,” Perry says with a shrug as he folds the paper and pushes it into a pocket. “Let's find out if it worked.” He leans into the alcove and writes a doorway spell onto the cracked marble. “After you, ladies,” he says as a dark space materializes. Gemma takes my hand and walks forward. I follow her, reaching back for Perry's hand. It doesn't escape my notice that Gemma put me between the two of them. I can't help but sigh as I walk into the darkness and try to empty my mind so I don't interfere with the destination Gemma's thinking of.

Light forms up ahead. The nothingness beneath my feet turns into solid ground as I walk into a tidy kitchen. I tense and drop Gemma's hand, looking around as if guardians might appear at any second. “Is an alarm supposed to go off?” I whisper.

“Not here,” Gemma says. “That manual Perry stole said an alarm will go off in the security department at the Guild if the detection spell is breached.”

“I should hide,” I say immediately. “Just in case guardians are on their way here.”

“I didn't
steal
the manual,” Perry mutters. “Someone left it behind and I happened to pick it up. And what's the point in hiding now? They'll still have to bang on the door and wait for me to open it before they flash their permission scroll and barge in here.”

I press my fingers to my temples. “Ugh, your parents are going to be so mad if guardians come trampling through here.

“My parents are often mad at me,” Perry says, waving his floating bag toward the kitchen table. “It's like their default setting whenever I'm around.”

“That's because
your
default setting is to push boundaries, break rules and annoy your mom,” Gemma points out.

In the past, Perry probably would have laughed at a comment like that, but now he mutters something beneath his breath and walks out of the room.

Gemma looks at me with pleading eyes. “Help me!” she whispers. “I suck at this stuff. I just want everything to be normal again between us. I'd even take his constant teasing over this awkwardness.”

“You could go after him right now and talk it out,” I suggest. “I'll stay in here and get ready to vanish at the first sign of guardians.”

Gemma looks terrified at the thought. “Maybe not right now,” she squeaks.

“You guys coming?” Perry calls, as if his exit from the room was entirely normal and we were supposed to follow him. “Bring a snack.”

“See?” Gemma says to me as she opens a cupboard and looks inside. “Now isn't a good time. I'll … talk to him later in the week.”

“Right,” I say, my voice filled with skepticism. Judging by the fact that she's never told Rick the Seer trainee that she has a gigantic crush on him, I don't expect this conversation with Perry to happen any time soon.

Gemma removes a bag of fizzing rainbow candies from the cupboard. I follow her into the next room where Perry is lounging in an armchair while tapping on an amber tablet. “No guardians yet,” he says, placing the tablet on the arm of the chair and catching the rainbow candy Gemma tosses his way. “Told you the spell would work.”

“Of course,” I say as I take a seat on the couch opposite Perry. “Because the two of you are so great at making magic together.”

Gemma looks utterly mortified at my words and Perry chokes on the candy he just put in his mouth. As he leans forward, coughing and smacking his chest, I hide my smile behind my hand and give Gemma a wide-eyed look of innocence. She takes another rainbow candy out of the bag and throws it at me before seating herself in the chair furthest away from Perry.

After another half hour or so of idle conversation and no guardians showing up, Perry says, “Well, I think we can call this a success, Calla. Someone would
definitely
have shown up by now if they thought a dangerous Griffin Gifted murderer was hiding out here.”

“Yeah. Wow, this is amazing,” I say as the new reality of my situation hits me. “I could actually go home now if I wanted to.” It's a strange thought. I've become used to Gaius's mountain home so quickly. “I mean, I probably won't in case it's the kind of charm that wears off quickly, and I wouldn't want to get my dad into any more trouble than he's already in. But at least I can visit my family now.” I look at Gemma, then back at Perry. “Thank you. I'm so grateful to both of you.”

Perry shrugs. “It was nothing.” Despite his indifferent tone, though, he looks pretty pleased with himself.

“I should go before your parents get home,” I say as I stand. “Wouldn't want to freak them out.”

“You could just leave your wig on,” Perry says. “I doubt they'd recognize you. They only know what the Guild told them when they sent guardians to put the spell on our house.”

“I need to go too,” Gemma says. “I'm supposed to be making dinner tonight.”

Perry stands and fishes in his pocket for the folded up scroll. “Here's the spell, Calla. Feel free to visit whenever you'd like to.”

“Thanks.” I take the paper from him. “Will I be able to perform the charm on myself?”

“I think so. There's nothing about this particular shield charm that says someone else has to cast it. Oh, one other thing,” he adds. “I'm pretty sure the Guild is still monitoring our ambers, so I made another plan.” He heads to the sideboard and opens a drawer. “These mirrors are brand new, so they should be safe.” He removes two small circular mirrors, pushes the drawer shut with his hip, and hands one to me.

“Cool, thank you.”

“Hey, how have you been staying in contact with your family? The Guild must be keeping an extra close watch on all their devices.”

“We've been careful. You know those really old ambers? The ones that come in pairs and can only communicate with each other?”

“The ones that don't belong anywhere outside a museum?”

“Yes. My brother and I have been using those.”

Perry nods. “Retro. Whatever works, hey.”

“Yeah. Anyway, thanks for this.” I slip the mirror and the spell into my jacket pocket. With a sigh, I add, “It's ridiculous how badly the Guild still wants to find me.”

“Well, you know, you're supposedly a murderer and all that.”

I shake my head. “I'll figure out a way for them to uncover the truth one day.” One day when I'm not focused on rescuing Chase and stopping that veil-splitting vision from coming true.

“We can make that our next mission,” Perry says. “Or,” he corrects when he sees I'm about to protest, “you can wait until we graduate at the end of the year and get jobs as real guardians, and then I'll obtain official permission to re-open this case. Then you can't complain that I'll wind up in trouble for poking my nose where it doesn't belong.”

I smile. “Sounds like a plan.”

C
HAPTER

S
EVEN

I'm confused to see Ana in the kitchen when I get back to the mountain. “What?” she asks when I stop in the doorway with a puzzled expression.

“Nothing.” I pull the blue wig off and watch her stirring something in a pot on the stove. “Weren't you telling us this morning how much you like your own space?”

“Yeah, so? I do like my own space. Doesn't mean I can't have dinner here when Gaius extends the invitation.”

“Does he do that often?” I ask as I walk into the kitchen and lean against the long table.

Ana shrugs, keeping her back turned to me. “I guess.”

“I suppose you guys are kind of like his family.”

“Yeah. Kind of. Or we were until a stranger pushed her way in,” she adds under her breath, just loud enough for me to hear.

I decide that this animosity thing has gone far enough. I grip the back of a chair and ask, “Why don't you like me, Ana?”

She looks over her shoulder at me with a scowl. “What?”

“It's painfully clear that you don't like me. I'm just wondering why.”

She does nothing but turn back to the pot and continue stirring.

“Is it something I did? Is it about Chase?” Crap, maybe she has feelings for him and she sees me as the one who butted in and ruined everything for her. Except … she's been unpleasant since the moment I first walked into Chase's tattoo shop.

“No, it's not about Chase,” she mutters without looking around.

“Then what? Please just tell me what the problem is so I can do something about it. I'm not going anywhere, so you and I may as well sort this out.”

“Fine.” She bangs the lid of the pot down and swings around. “This team is all I've got, okay? They're not just Gaius's family, they're
my
family. I'm very protective of them, and I don't like outsiders. It's just been us for years now, and I thought it was going to be like that until … I don't know. Forever, I guess. And then you just barged in like you belonged here, and Chase didn't make a big deal of it at all, like he had no clue that maybe the rest of us might want a say in the matter. So … yeah. I didn't exactly feel warmly toward you.”

“Okaaay,” I say slowly. I guess I can see how that might upset her. “But that doesn't explain why you didn't like me the first time we met. You didn't know me at all when I first walked into Wickedly Inked. I could have been a potential client, and you were downright rude.”

She places her hands on her hips. “Yeah, well, I've never liked pretty girls.”

That's the last thing I was expecting. “What?”

“The prettiest girls are usually the meanest.” She runs her fingers delicately through her spiked hair. “I've been picked on by more than my fair share of beautiful girls, and these days I just don't have time for them.”

I find myself slowly shaking my head. “I … don't … even know how to respond to that logic.”

“It's fine,” she says with a dismissive wave of her hand, moving further along the counter to where a pile of chopped vegetables sits beside an empty dish. “I've decided you're not that pretty after all. It was just the gold hair and eyes. Kinda dazzling and overwhelming at first.”

“So … does that mean you've decided I'm not that
mean
after all?”

She flicks her hand and the vegetables jump into the dish. “Yeah.”

“But you still don't like me.”

She shrugs, performs another twirl in the air with her hand, and watches the dish of vegetables put itself into the oven. “I'm getting over that part.”

“Really?” I sit down at the table and cross my arms. “It does
not
feel like it, I can tell you that.”

“Jeez, just give me a bit of time, okay?”

“Fine. But for now, it would be great if you could keep your snide comments to yourself. I don't want to be the only one making an effort to be friendly.”

She turns around, leans against the counter, and considers me. “I guess I could try that.”

“Thanks,” I say, eyeing her warily. I didn't expect her to agree to that. She continues watching me. After several uncomfortable moments, I ask, “Now what? Are you holding back all the comments you'd really like to fire my way?”

She tilts her head. “You completed your first mission last night, right?”

“Yeah,” I say uncertainly. “The baron's daughter and the invitation.”

She nods slowly. “Did anyone tell you about the tattoo tradition?”

“Tattoo tradition?”

“We each got a tattoo to commemorate our first completed mission after joining the team.”

“Gaius has a tattoo? And Lumethon?”

The corner of her mouth curls up into what could almost pass for a smile. “Theirs are in more discreet locations. So, what do you say?” She walks to the table and wraps her inked fingers around the back of a chair. “Ready for that first tattoo? You're not properly one of the team until you do it.”

“So … you're offering to tattoo me?”

“Uh huh,” she says, nodding slowly as if I'm stupid.

I had thought my first tattoo would come from Chase. The phoenix he drew. But if this is a team tradition, I don't want to turn my nose up at it, and I can save the phoenix for Chase. Unless … unless this is a trick and Ana's planning to tattoo some horrible, permanent image onto my body, like an ogre's skull. “Um …” I would ask Chase, but I don't have the ring on at the moment, and Ana will know exactly what I'm doing if I put it on right now. She'll know I don't trust her, and I can kiss goodbye to this fragile first step toward friendship she's offering me—if that's what this is.

“Well?” she asks. “I don't have all evening. Dinner will be ready in forty minutes.”

“Okay,” I say to her, deciding on a part of my body I can keep an eye on while she works.

“Awesome. What do you want?”

* * *

Later that night, with the lingering pain of my newly inked tattoos distracting me from sleep, I try to forget the worries plaguing my mind and instead calm myself with relaxation breathing techniques and the image of my peaceful lake.

It doesn't work. When I drift eventually into unconsciousness, my dreams are filled with smoke and black eyes and pointed teeth dripping blood over eerie, grinning lips. I'm locked in a cage again. A hand reaches through the bars and sharp fingernails scrape across my skin as I try to get away. The bars vanish. I'm on my back, my body incapacitated as smoke drifts closer. I use every ounce of strength trying to get my arms and legs to move, but an invisible force pins me down. The witch leans over me, her blonde hair falling in her black eyes and her ancient, blood-chilling laugh shattering the dream into a thousand pieces of glass that pierce my chest with sudden, sharp—

I gasp and cough as I wake and roll onto my side, pressing my hand against the pain in my chest. As the ache subsides and my heart approaches a normal pace, I push myself up.
Chase?
I call silently inside my head, because that's generally the first thing I do when I wake up, no matter what time it is. He doesn't answer.

I look across the room toward my enchanted windows. After unpacking most of my belongings and moving in here properly, I asked Gaius if I could paint my bedroom walls. It may be fun to live inside a mountain, but I missed not being able to see outside. In between training and trying to figure out how to rescue Chase, I spent hours reading parts of my art textbooks, teaching myself how to paint windows with landscapes that would reflect the time of day and the weather outside. Eventually, I succeeded. Now, as I look at the windows and wish I could open them to allow a refreshing breeze inside, I see stars twinkling like jewels in a dark blue sky. Morning has yet to arrive.

I kick the bedcovers away from me and climb out of bed. It isn't enough right now to simply see outside. I need to breathe in fresh air. After pulling a blanket off the bed and wrapping it around myself, I step into my boots and open my bedroom door. My boots lace themselves up as I head downstairs. An odd outfit, I'm sure, but I don't plan for anyone to see me at this early hour. I unlock the faerie door in the entrance hall and walk through it to the lake house. I'm confused for a moment by the light that greets me when I step into the living room, but of course; it's already morning here. The pattering of rain greets me as I move further into the house. I locate the front door key and walk outside onto the porch. I breathe in a long gulp of air, savoring the smell of wet earth and damp leaves. I sit with my back against the door, pull the blanket tighter around my shoulders, and run through every thought that was so determined to keep me awake.

Amon's still locked up at Velazar Prison. Angelica's on the loose and her whereabouts are unknown. Same for Zed, who disappeared after attempting to kill Victoria. I don't know if we should still be concerned about him and his group of guardian haters. Will Ryn's team manage to bring them down before they try something else against the Guild? And then there's the veil-tearing prophecy. That horrible vision my mother Saw so many years ago of witches spilling blood over a trident monument beneath a full moon and using a great bolt of lightning to tear the veil. The full moon is close—only two days after the Seelie Palace party—but the Monument to the First Mer King is still safe, and if we can rescue Chase during the party, then no one can force him to produce that lightning bolt of power. We'll be safe for another month while we try to find Angelica.

I lift my hands and look at the black patterns that now mark the tops of my fingers. They finished healing while I was sleeping. Only one is permanent—the flower I chose for the fourth finger on my right hand; a symbol of my first assignment—while the rest of the marks are temporary. I quite like them, though. Simple patterns formed from lines and dots. Perhaps I'll have them done permanently one—

Miss Goldilocks?

I smile to myself as Chase's voice fills me with warmth.
Hey.

Still don't have much sense of time down here in this dark cell. Is it morning there?

I tilt my head back against the door.
Yes and no. It's not morning yet at the mountain, but it is at the lake house. Bad dreams woke me up. I'm sitting on the porch watching the rain now.

What were you dreaming about?

Witches. Smoke. Blood.

The usual pleasant stuff, huh?

I laugh quietly.
Yeah.
I watch the heavy grey sky and the thousands of raindrops smacking the surface of the lake, and I begin to imagine a different scene. I start up high where the clouds are, using an imaginary brush to paint streaks of blue across the sky. Letting go of the fortress around my mind, I see the paint taking form, overlaying the real-world scene in front of my eyes. I finish the sky with varying shades of blue. I paint the lake with sparkling silver. I fill the ground with dabs of emerald green for the grass and magenta and saffron for the flowers. As my creation comes together, I remember when life was as simple as making art instead of worrying about villains and the possible end of our world. While I don't wish to have that life again, I miss the simplicity.

The Seelie Queen came to me tonight
, Chase says, interrupting my work of art. In a blink, it's gone.

What?

The Seelie Queen. My grandmother. I've never seen her before. She was gone by the time I took over this court when I was Draven. You know, I've lived in the magical world for over ten years now, but I still find it strange to associate the word ‘grandmother' with someone who doesn't look any older than I am.

Did she speak to you? Did she … hurt you?

She didn't come close. She watched me for a long time. Eventually she said, ‘Look at how powerless you are now.' Then she left.

How does she know you aren't some random halfling Angelica decided to bargain with? If she never met Draven face to face, then she doesn't know what he looked like.

There are others who've confirmed it for her. Some of her guards who were captured and marked during my reign. They were there when we were ambushed beside the mer monument. The night they took me. I suppose the queen wanted to confirm she was really getting the one and only Lord Draven before agreeing to free her traitorous daughter.