The Fairyland Murders (21 page)

T
he pea cleared my pharynx on the journey down my esophagus at the same time Damien and his shadowy counterparts started forward. I glanced down at the wooden box in my hand and then threw it as hard as I could at the glass bottle that held Izzy. It smashed into the glass, which vibrated from the attack.

A crack started at the bottom of the bottle, growing larger and larger, and then the bottle shattered into millions of pieces. I turned to avoid the brunt of the flying glass, but sharp edges tore into my flesh. Thankfully, Damien and his friends took the full force of the shrapnel. It mowed them down, stopping their forward assault. Maybe we would survive this after all, I thought until I caught sight of Izzy.

She lay on the ground just behind Damien. At first I thought she was dead, but then I caught a small flutter of her wings. The relief I felt made me dizzy.

Izzy was still alive.

Now I had to keep us both that way.

Easier said than done, I thought, as Damien and his followers gained their feet.

Time for plan B.

The only problem was I didn't have one.

“E
asy, guys,” I said, backing up a step. I needed more time. Just a few more minutes. “Let's talk about this.”

Damien wiped a stream of blood pouring from a wound on his forehead. “That was a stupid thing to do, Mr. Reynolds. I considered letting Isabella live long enough to watch you die, but now I will kill her first as you watch.” He smiled with pure evil. “And you will go to your death knowing her blood is on your hands.”

“Now, now,” I said. “Let's not get all ‘whose blood is on whose hands' just yet. . . .”

The alarm on my cell phone beeped once, telling me it was time to end this charade.

“Or better yet . . . now seems like as good a time as any,” I said, rushing him. Once I was less than a foot away, my right arm swung back, and with every ounce of energy in my body, I slammed my fist into his smiling face.

Blood and shattered teeth exploded from his pulverized lips, showering the dentin-starved fairy just behind us. My satisfaction lasted a few seconds, just enough time for Damien to return the favor, jamming his surprisingly solid fist into my ribs with enough force to knock me off my feet. I stumbled back, catching myself as the pea threated to make a return visit.

I raised my fists, ready to go a few rounds with Damien and his legion of Shadows. But I was too late.

Or rather just on time for once.

Before Damien and his legion of bad guys had time to pulverize me, the library exploded with a cloud of white powder. I swallowed a lungful, nearly hitting the floor as my head swam. A swirl of colors flashed across my vision. I blinked a few times, trying to focus, while my blood sang the fairy-dust “Hallelujah Chorus.”

A loud bang sounded from the doorway and then wooden doors flew inward with the speed of a locomotive. A really short one, as what seemed like thousands of angry fairies with teeth-coated weapons swarmed the room, Penelopee at their helm. Just like we'd planned, only I'd never expected the fairies to actually come through.

Penelopee was merely supposed to find Clayton and Peyton to try to convince them to help save Izzy, not to mention stopping me from handing Damien the key to their ultimate destruction. Which explained why they were here now, armed to the canine teeth.

Damien took one look at the mass of fairies invading his fortress and ran for it. But he was quickly swarmed by the winged warriors. I threw my body over Izzy's to protect her from the tiny feet, tucking her underneath me as chaos in the smallest form swirled around us. Cries and grunts filled the air as Shadow and fairy went head-to-head. By the number of fairies in the library, I assumed all of Fairyland was close at hand, fighting for their freedom.

When the toxic cloud from the fairy-dust grenade cleared, Damien had vanished, leaving behind only a pile of fairies and no bad guy.

He'd somehow managed to escape in the chaos filling the library. But not for long, if the bloodlust in the fairies' eyes was an indication of what was to come. War was on the horizon, and Damien had better watch his shadowy back.

 

I slowly sat up, finally, for once, happy to see Clayton and Peyton. They had saved the day.

My good opinion of the brothers faded when Clayton pointed a very sharp molar in my direction. “You have something that belongs to us?”

“So that's how it's going to be, huh?” I moved off Izzy, shaking my head with affected disgust, not terribly surprised to find myself on the wrong end of a tooth.

Jonas stepped from behind Clayton, holding an equally sharpened tooth. “I did warn you, Blue.”

I grinned, slowly gaining my feet. Both fairies backed up two steps. My smile widened. “Right. I believe you said something to the effect of,” my gaze fell on the pink-winged fairy on the floor at my feet, “fairies will do anything to get the pea.” I paused as the full implications of my words struck me. “Anything.”

Up to and including attempted murder of yours truly. I pictured the first night Izzy and I had met and the hail of bullets, which, at the time, I believed were aimed at Izzy.

Izzy raised her head, bits of Damien's shattered teeth embedded in her wings. She slowly stood, brushing off bits of molar and blood. She stared at me for a long moment, not speaking, and then she hauled off and punched me in the nose.

“What was that for?” I asked, rubbing my already swollen nostrils. Thankfully, the fairy-dust bomb was still rushing through my blood, easing the pain of her attack. But I had a feeling I already knew the answer.

Her face burned with anger. “What were you thinking? I've risked everything to keep you alive, went against my own people to save your hide, and here you are, offering the pea to Damien. . . .” She turned on her heel, nearly slapping me in the face with her wing. “I never should've believed in you.”

Anger raced through me. I grabbed her arm and spun her back toward me. “Don't you walk away from me, Izzy. You owe me some answers.”

“I owe you?” She laughed without humor. “You're kidding, right? I'm the only reason you're still alive.”

“Only because your friends there,” I motioned to Jonas and his toothy crew, “decided killing me was a better idea than the possibility I would find the pea and betray the fairies.” I frowned as the implications of the last week hit me. Izzy never was in danger from some green-winged fairy, at least not until she stupidly became the Tooth Fairy. I was. “The Council put a hit out on me, didn't they?” Which explained the drive-by. So why had Izzy protected me? I asked her as much.

She shook her head. “It doesn't matter anymore. It's over. You can go back to sleeping with your clients,” she nodded to Penelopee, “with my blessing.”

I took a step toward Izzy, my body burning with anger and electrical current at her words. Some might've considered it a menacing step. Clayton and Jonas apparently did, for both of them smacked me in the back of the knees with their molar wands. I fell forward, catching myself before face-planting. The fairies moved in for the kill.

“Stop,” Izzy yelled, her tone brooking no argument.

The fairies froze, holding their tooth-sharp weapons over their heads. They glanced from Izzy to me and then back again, as if begging to smack me just one more time. She shook her head. They lowered their molars.

“Good dogs,” I said with a chuckle.

“Blue,” Izzy snapped, “please don't make Jonas want to kill you anymore than he does already.”

I arched an eyebrow. “Just Jonas? You don't want me dead too, Clayton?”

“I'm thinking Jonas might have a point.” Clayton tucked his small arms over his chest.

“I can't believe that you used me,” I said to Izzy, “that you acted like you were in danger so you could keep tabs on me. To see if I would find Mervin's magic pea.”

Clayton grinned. “The bug in your cell phone helped.”

Not to be outdone, Peyton stepped forward. “The tracking device we placed in your boot worked too.”

“Is that so?” I flicked a bolt of electricity straight at the twins. They jumped back just in time, leaving a nice-sized hole in Damien's hardwood floor. I turned my attention to Izzy.

My eyes blazed, growing bug-zapper blue. Unable to stop her wings, Izzy stepped toward me, caught in my electric gaze, much like I'd been trapped in her lies. A part of me wanted to zap her, to cause her as much pain as she'd inflicted on me.

But I wasn't that kind of guy, so instead, I clamped down on the voltage, swallowing the electricity until my internal organs quivered.

Every word she'd ever said was a lie, a way to get me to do her bidding. And I'd fallen for every single one. I held her gaze for a moment, then I reached into the pocket of my jeans and pulled out the necklace I'd mistakenly received at the jail, the necklace her father had given her. She reached for the gold chain, which I dropped into her open palm. “Have a nice life, Isabella.”

“We aren't done, Blue.” She fingered the gold chain, her eyes going from it to me. “Not yet.”

“I know,” I whispered, heading for the door. Izzy's betrayal would haunt me for a very long time.

The fairies filling the room parted like the Red Sea as I stormed past, the bitter taste of lies as well as the hundred-year-old pea I'd swallowed in the back of my throat.

I
yawned and then winced as every bone in my body screamed in protest. I was now truly Blue, as bruises in an array of bluish colors covered my ribs. Damien had gotten in a nice punch. Not good enough, since I was still alive and he didn't have his magic pea. I was fairly sure it was only a matter of time until our paths crossed again.

The thought of him walking around a free man set my teeth on edge. How the hell had the fairies let him escape? In all fairness, vanishing in a puff of smoke was a pretty good excuse.

My anger at Damien soon transferred to the pink-winged fairy responsible for the entire mess. She'd lied to me from the moment we'd met, claiming Jack the Tooth Ripper was after her, when, in truth, she was after the pea.

Since I'd swallowed said pea, I needed to watch my back or else I might find a sharpened toothbrush through my spine.

 

An hour later, as I settled onto a fluffy, feather hotel bed that cost more than I'd made in the last ten years, I let out a loud sigh.

Penelopee, who had insisted we spend the night at the upscale hotel rather than return to my apartment, sat on the bed a few feet away, smiling.

“Penelopee,” I said, reaching out but dropping my hands before I accidentally fried her and subsequently burned down the entire hotel. “You sure saved the day. Thank you.”

She blinked at me. “Once I got over the smell of cabbage radiating from Clayton, it was a pretty easy favor. And both the twins were happy to help.”

I bet. After all, if the pea got into Damien's hands, all was lost for the winged devils. Damn Izzy. Why did she have to lie to me? But I knew the answer. I wouldn't have stopped searching for the pea, no matter what. Just like I wouldn't have given up my quest to catch Jack the Tooth Ripper. Blue Reynolds solved the case, against all odds.

Penelopee slowly stood, heading for the well-stocked minibar. Glass clinked and she soon returned with two highball glasses filled with ice and amber liquor. The liquor was appreciated; the ice not so much. I took a glass from her hand.

“I can't believe how Isabella lied to you, used you, and nearly got you killed tonight,” the princess was saying, “and for what?”

“To save the fairies, I suppose.”

She scoffed. “Tonight wasn't just about the pea. Not entirely.”

“Then what else?”

Her tongue darted from her lips, wetting the soft flesh. “Isabella was looking for payback too.”

“Payback? From whom?” As I asked the question, I knew the answer. Damien. He'd lied tonight. Izzy hadn't broken their engagement. He had. She'd told me as much our first night together. Damien had dumped her because of her wings.

Penelopee took a long drink from her glass. “I've been in her glass slippers. I know what it feels like to want revenge on the person responsible for hurting you.” She paused, her eyes searching my face. “I never got it, and to this day his betrayal is like a scab that won't heal.”

“Penelopee . . .”

“I'm sorry. You don't want to hear about my past.” She bit her lip.

My gaze fell on her, and for a brief moment I wished things were different. Don't get me wrong; I liked her well enough, especially as a client, since she'd paid her bill.

But the spark
was
there.

We could never truly connect as long as the possibility of total electrocution hovered around us.

Somewhere out there was a woman perfect for a blue-haired guy with electrical issues. I thought of Izzy and shook my head. I'd been such a fool. There was nothing real between us.

Only lies and fairy dust.

Penelopee took a step closer to me and smiled, a come-hither one that most men feared. While losing myself in what she offered was tempting, it would be a mistake, leaving both of us with regrets. I had enough of them already. “Penelopee, we should talk,” I said, taking a deep breath.

Her eyebrow rose. “About?”

“Us,” I said, with more of a question in my voice than I'd intended. Suck it up, Blue boy, I ordered. I'd had plenty of experience with ending relationships; mostly women ending them with me but the process still held true.

I leaned back farther into the mattress. It molded to my body as if meant just for me. And maybe it was, if the tag on the side that read 100
PERCENT FLAME RESISTANT
was any indication. My body relaxed even more.

“Another drink?” Penelopee held up the amber liquor, swirling it around the bottle.

I nodded, willing the alcohol to numb the aches and pains of the evening. “Thanks,” I said, holding out the crystal glass. A man could really get used to this, I thought as she poured my drink. Beautiful woman, the best booze this side of the New Fairsey Turnpike, and no one plotting my murder.

At the moment.

At least I hoped so.

One could never tell with a couple thousand fairies on the loose in Fairyland.

Penelopee took a sip from her drink and then set it down on the glass and gold—actual 24-carat stuff—coffee table. “I'm glad you're bringing the topic up. I also wanted to talk about you and me, Blue. About what the future holds.”

Uh-oh. This didn't sound like the same conversation I planned on having. I held up my hand to ward off any awkward tears and recriminations. “Listen, Penelopee, you're great. I really enjoy your company. . .”

“Glad to hear it.” She smiled over her glass, flashing perfectly formed teeth, each as smooth and shiny as the next. Her daddy must've paid a fortune for chompers that perfect. “I feel the same.”

“Right. But the thing is . . .” Oh, hell, what was the thing? My brain seemed to suddenly lose all track of the conversation, let alone function as my stomach roiled.

She tilted her head. “Blue? Are you all right?”

I swallowed back a tide of rising bile. “Excuse me.” I jumped to my feet, holding a hand over my mouth as I ran full tilt to the bathroom. I barely made it in time before I threw up a day's worth of drinks, Happily Ever After Meals, and one blackened pea, dating from over a hundred years ago.

My cheeks burned with embarrassment. I hadn't tossed my cookies after a few drinks since I was a blue-haired schoolboy.

Fucking magic pea.

Apparently, fairies aside, it really would be the death of me. I laid my head on the cold tile of the bathroom floor and wished for death as my stomach continued to have its revenge on my body for eating a very rotten pea.

“Blue?” Penelopee asked, knocking on the bathroom door. “Are you all right?”

“Just peachy,” I groaned.

“Can I do anything for you?”

“Let me die in peace” came to mind, but I swallowed the retort. None of this was her fault. “I'll be okay. Go to sleep,” I said as another round of vomit charged up my throat.

Ten minutes later, my body completely devoid of any gastric fluid, I pulled the puke-coated pea from the toilet, washed it off, and set in on the bathroom sink. Then, weak as a kitten, I crawled from the bathroom across the floor to the bedroom, almost making it to the bed. But it wasn't to be. Instead, I dropped face-first onto the soft, shag carpet, and fell into a deep, near-comatose sleep.

I dreamed a pack of giant dentures were after me.

I ran and ran, but they were always there.

One step ahead.

I only had one shot at saving myself.

If only I could figure out the puzzle swirling inside my head. Images of Izzy, her pink wings shining like beacons, flew through my head, morphing into the hazy shape of Damien.

In the distance a voice sounding much like Penelopee's screamed. I tried to reach for her, but I was too late. She was trapped in rolls and rolls of dental floss, her perfect smile gone, leaving rows of broken teeth and bloody gums.

I tried to scream, but my own mouth was sealed shut. Lips sewn together with thick strings of dental floss. A roll of floss and a bloody needle held in tiny, stubby hands.