Some Like it Hexed, page 6
Shade shook his head, looking over at Willa and me and then back at Alabaster. Willa narrowed her eyes as if she knew what Shade was thinking, but I had no idea what was going on. He said he wasn't a fae, yet he could use magic. I didn't know the rules or the ins and outs of different beings. I didn't know how many magical people there were out there. But one thing was evident, Alabaster wasn't joking about being part of the fae community.
Shade put up his hand. "You’re… You're a finder." His face was riddled with confusion. "But finder haven't been seen in over two thousand years."
Alabaster perked up and slowly nodded, bringing himself back to his feet. "That's right. I'm the last finder, and I'm the only one who can help you find your father and your brother."
10
Callie
* * *
I stood beside Willa, and we both watched as Shade ambled in circles around Alabaster.
His hands moved up and down, his eyes closed, and everything was silent. He stayed that way, using his magic to detect any manipulation Alabaster may be using.
"Finders are powerful, but they don't have strong enough magic to manipulate someone. That's not usually magic that's allowed, but those who do practice are usually witches or fae, or even warlocks."
I lifted my brow at Willa as she watched, her eyes not leaving Alabaster for even a second. She was right not to trust, and neither did I, but I was definitely curious. When Shade was finally done, he stepped back from the finder and joined Willa and me.
Alabaster smiled and put out his hands. "What do you say? Did I pass the test?"
Shade looked at him suspiciously and then turned to Willa and me. "He's actually a finder. There's no manipulation from him, and he's not hiding anything. Beyond his annoyingly happy personality and yet another addition of sarcasm to our team, he seems to be telling the truth."
I closed my eyes for a second and shook my head. "Okay, putting the whole he's my uncle thing to the side, what the hell is a finder?"
Willa bit the inside of her cheek, taking a moment to think about her response. "Finders haven't really been around for a very long time, but from what I know of them, they do just that, they watch. They can see anything, in any realm, at any time, past, present, or future. They can look through their crystal ball of sorts, but they can't directly give someone the answer to what they're looking for."
I puffed out my cheeks, looking from Willa to Shade and back again. "So, what's the point if they can't give you the answer?"
"They have to pose the answer in the form of clues or riddles." Willa rolled her eyes. "They were used as the main force behind the guard for centuries. But, since they can't really protect themselves with magic, they were easily killed off. They became the most hunted form of magical being in all the realms."
The three of us looked over at him as he stood there, brushing his bodyguard off and doing the same to the front of his suit. He looked so strange, and the whole idea of him was weird. "So he could technically help us find the two kings and the stone."
Shade opened his mouth, but he closed it quickly again. He stood there contemplative for a moment before dramatically shaking his head. He seemed curious, but he quickly turned from the idea. From the moment he realized that Alabaster was a finder, he became skeptical and nervous. But if finders hadn't been around for two thousand years, then I wasn't sure how Shade would've had the opportunity to meet one, much less be incredibly suspicious of them. For all intents and purposes, the one standing before us didn't really seem that intimidating.
Shaking his head, Shade crossed his arms over his chest. "Sure, they may be able to post the answers in the form of riddles and questions, but half the time, they'll send you on a wild goose chase. It's only after you've gone on this chase that you realize it wasn't the answer you needed to narrow down the field. Finders were notorious for having people search for the rest of their lives and never find the answers they're looking for. Finders have turned people crazy. They've used magical beings, mixing their watching abilities with the magical one's intuition and detective skills. But as soon as they figure out where the treasure, or the person, or the secret is, they throw in a confusing question or riddle to send the person off the trail so they can reap the benefits of finding."
Willa looked at her watch. "The problem is, we don't have time to figure out what this guy's reasoning for getting back to the fae world is. At the same time, he showed me my father, which means that he can help us find them."
"But we don't know that for sure," Shade replied. "What he showed you was a limit of what he's allowed to show you as a finder. There are rules to it, though. Whatever he showed you could've been from a month ago. Hell, it could've been from ten years ago. You just don't realize it."
"But if you leave me here, you'll never know at all," the finder said, smiling in our direction. "With the current state of affairs of the magical community, my cover has been blown. It's time for me to go back under the protection of the fae. If you leave me here, I will die, and there won't be another finder to help you find your father and your brother." His eyes shifted to mine. "And you'll be leaving behind your only living relative."
I shook my head. "Whether that's the truth or not remains to be seen, but I'm not the one who makes this decision. That's Willa, your future queen."
"Queen regent," Willa whispered, rolling her eyes. "I do not want the job for the rest of my time. But, the finder’s right. If he really can help us find my father and your brother, he's the best we've come up with so far, and we won't have a chance to come back and get him if we leave him here."
I could see on Shade's face that he wasn't happy with that decision, but I could also see that he knew it wasn't his choice. It wasn't his world, and he wasn't the one who would be making the decisions. Willa walked toward Alabaster, her shoulders back, a different air to her. She was more confident, graceful. She was starting to look more and more like the queen every day. "I'll let you come with us. But, you have to stay at the castle, and you have to attempt to help find what we're looking for. If you do those things, I'll let you stay in the fae world."
Alabaster took off his hat and crossed his arm over his stomach, bowing deeply to her. "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."
I pressed my lips together, trying not to laugh at the sound of that. Willa already knew and had snapped her head back, looking at me, a smirk across her lips. "Don't you do it. You're going to hear that a lot when we cross realms."
I stood up straight, bent one leg back, and pretended to lift a skirt as I curtsied to her. "Your Grace."
Alabaster laughed, and Willa rolled her eyes, walking back over toward us. "Great, another sarcastic person. You guys are going to be the death of me."
The alarm on Willa's watch started to beep, and she looked down, her eyes growing wide. "Shit, we've got to go. We're like five miles from the pier. There's no way we can make it there on foot."
Shade walked forward and put out his hand. "It's a short transport. It won't be too bad."
My stomach was already turning from the thought of it, but I knew we had no other choice. There was no way that we could make it five miles in the next ten minutes. We all gathered around together, including Alabaster and his bodyguard. One by one, we touched hands until we were all connected. Shade glanced over at me and then did his thing, transporting us from the warehouses to the pier. My body felt like it was being tossed back and forth, my stomach flip-flopping, everything spinning in circles around me until finally, my feet found the old creaky boards of the pier.
As soon as we released hands, a wild burst of energy began to race up and down my arm, from my bracelet to my shoulder. Rays of magic, golden in color, spiraled around me and the four others stepped back, watching me with wide eyes.
I looked over at Willa, slightly frightened. "What's going on?"
"My aunt, she used the bracelet as a key to the portal. All you can do is stand there at this point."
That was easier said than done. As the golden rays began to shoot from the bracelet, my arm lifted into the air. The scene in front of us began to crack, a portal ripping in midair. It was hard for my brain to comprehend what I was seeing. The energy pumped from me over and over again, spiking at the portal until it grew large enough for all of us to step through. Willa went first, then Alabaster and his bodyguard. Running down the pier, Harry and Esmerelda had bags packed and smiles on their faces. They grinned at me as they passed, jumping headfirst through the portal.
"I want you to go ahead of me," Shade said. "I just want to make sure you get through okay."
I looked back at my world, the beautiful ocean, the houses with all the lights on, and the beaches that stretched for miles and miles. I took a deep breath and hoped that it wasn't the last time I would see it. Either way, I had to move forward because there was no going back at that point. The fae realm beckoned, and like it or not, I had to answer the call.
11
Callie
* * *
"Umph," I grunted, tripping over my own feet and falling face-first through the portal.
The walk through the portal was nothing like when Shade transported us places. There was no nausea, dizziness, or the incessant need to vomit everywhere. It was, however, incredibly disorienting to be the one who skidded across the grass at warp speed like someone had shot me out of a canon on the other side. I had never been more thankful that we didn't come out on a cement parking lot or a briar patch.
Groaning, I turned over and stared up at the sky. At first, I just glanced up nonchalantly, but then, the crystal clean air and vibrant teal above me caught me completely off guard. I'd never seen the sky so beautiful before. Shade walked up and leaned over, grinning at me. "You okay?"
I nodded and took his hand, letting him hoist me to my feet. I couldn't even get the words out of my mouth. All I could do was stare in all directions, taking in the wonder around me. We were in a lush green field with large stemmed purple flowers reaching up over our heads. Small creatures with tiny wings fluttered past us, and everything smelled sweet, like a candy store back home. The colors were so vibrant and beautiful I could barely look around with my dull human eyes. My brain was struggling to connect what I saw and the magnitude of it all.
Willa walked over and put her arm around my shoulders. "It's pretty, isn't it? I almost forgot how pretty it was here."
Shade looked around him curiously. "I've only been here a couple times, and I don't have a clue where we are."
Esmeralda took the pin out of her wild hair and shook it out. As she did, her appearance changed. Magic fluttered all around her, her clothing changing, the wrinkles disappearing, and the look of old age faded away. Her skin was a beautiful porcelain white, and her hair, long and silky. "Why would you choose to look older back home?"
Esmeralda shrugged. "I just wanted people to leave me alone. Earth was interesting for like five seconds, but I needed to blend in."
I looked around her at Harry, who appeared pretty much the same, only his hair was longer, and he had somehow changed his clothes with magic. He was wearing clothes similar to what the fae guards had worn.
I turned to Willa. "You're not gonna magically change into someone else, too, are you? I'm gonna start getting really confused."
Willa giggled and shook her head. "Nah, I stayed the same. You and Shade, on the other hand…."
Shade let out an exhaustive sigh. He put out both arms and nodded. "Go ahead. I don't need any kind of attention drawn to me while I'm trying to figure this out."
Willa looked at her hands and scrunched her nose. "I think maybe we should wait until we get to the castle. I haven't used magic in a very long time, and I don't want to accidentally turn you into a tree or something.
Shade pursed his lips. "Probably a good call. Will we be okay until we get there?"
Willa narrowed her eyes and pushed two of the flowers blocking her view out of the way. She nodded ahead of her. "Yep. It looks like my aunt sent the guard to pick us up. They'll make sure that we get in safely, and then the staff can change you."
Esmeralda and Harry hurried ahead, with Willa behind them, me trailing, and Shade bringing up the rear. I adjusted myself, pulling down on my shirt and brushing the twigs and dirt from my pants as we went. I wasn't really sure what to expect. In my head, I fully expected to walk through the field and have horses waiting for us to ride. Or maybe a pumpkin carriage… But that was just my silly fantasy books and stories from when I was a kid. Instead, sitting on the roadway at the edge of the field were two large black SUVs with guards standing next to them like secret service.
As soon as they saw us, they ushered us into the vehicles and shut the doors. I looked around, trying to find anything magic, but to be honest, it looked like a normal SUV.
Willa poked me in the side. "Why do you look disappointed?"
I shrugged. "It's really amazingly beautiful here, but I definitely wasn't expecting to be picked up in cars. It honestly kind of looks like Earth in Technicolor."
Willa chuckled. "It kind of is. I mean, the Pegasi were terribly expensive to take care of and hard to find. Once they got loose, there was no tracking device in them to find them. They raced off, never to be seen again."
I bit the inside of my cheek, wanting to ask about Pegasi but knowing that I needed to pace myself. I had a feeling there would be all kinds of things in the fae world that would throw me off-kilter. Instead, I looked out the window, watching as we drove along a beautiful scenic road and up a hill. As we crested, Esmeralda gasped and grinned. I followed her eyes up toward the horizon where an enormous castle, much like the one at Disney, sat glistening against the beautiful fae sky. I forcefully kept my mouth from gaping, knowing that I couldn't walk around like that for the rest of my time there. But it was just so beautiful.
I glanced over at Willa. "You're like freaking Cinderella."
She gave me an awkward smile, but her eyes stayed glued to the castle in the distance. "Yeah, except I broke my glass slippers a long time ago, and my fairy godmother… She turned out to be pretty lame."
It was at that moment, I realized that being back wasn't exactly thrilling to Willa. She had left for a reason, and with as quickly as she came when her aunt called, I could only imagine that it was a reason more than compelling. I reached out and put my hand over hers, giving her a kind smile when she glanced over at me. She squeezed my hand back, and we rode like that, looking out the window as I imagined what it would be like on the inside… and she remembered.
We sat back when we pulled into the large sparkling gates, letting the guards talk before pulling through. For some reason, I had it in my mind that there would be some huge welcoming party. An excited group of fae waiting to welcome back their princess. But that wasn't how it went. Instead, the SUVs pulled across the front and around the side of the castle, parking in a garage-like room. They quickly closed the doors behind them.
When we stopped, I looked over at Willa, confused. "There isn't some welcome-back party for you? You know, where people practice curtsying to the ground and children run up with flowers?"
Willa shook her head. "Not this time. We have to get you in before any of the staff sees you. Remember, your humanness has to stay quiet. Besides, my aunt will want to introduce me in another way. It has to be genteel and celebratory."
As the guard opened my door, I shook my head. "There are politics even in the fae world."
Willa rolled her eyes. "Unfortunately, there are politics in every world. It's part of the reason why I left."
I looked all around me in amazement as we walked through a long corridor and into the castle. Almost instantly, the scene changed from a plain white cement garage into a lavish and beautiful palace that I could've only imagined in a fairy tale. The floors were white marble and sparkled with every step that we took. Tapestries hung from the ceiling, and large pictures, taller than three of me standing one on top of the other, were anchored to the walls. Esmeralda and Harry seemed to know exactly where they were going, but Willa stayed by my side, with Shade just a few feet behind me. I couldn't see his face, but I could only imagine the suspicious caution he had.
We twisted and turned down multiple hallways and finally came to a stop at the first room, where Esmeralda happily hurried inside. Harry was put in the room across from her. We traveled down a little bit farther, and the guard stopped, motioning to Shade. He looked to Willa and back to me, obviously not wanting to leave my side just yet, but Willa gave him a comforting nod, and in he went. Behind him, two guards and what looked to be an older fae gentleman followed after them.
"What are they going to do to him?"
Willa giggled. "Nothing he's going to be happy about, but by the time they're done, he'll look like a member of the fae royal court."
At the end of the hallway, with five or six rooms between Shade and us, the guard stopped. Across the hall from each other were two sets of large wooden doors with beautiful carvings in them. One guard opened the door to my left and nodded to me, while another opened Willa's and bowed as she walked through. I stood, looking at her from across the hall, and before the door shut, she gave me a warm, comforting smile. Unfortunately, that smile was quickly interrupted when an older woman, maybe fae, but wild and frazzled like Esmeralda was before she got to the fae realm.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. They did say this would be a challenge. Come on, dear, we've got to be done before dinner."
I raised a brow. "Is it going to hurt?"
The woman glanced at me for a second and then smiled. "Normally, I'd say no, but you're definitely all human."
