Casually Cursed (28 page)

“Tamara, she covered our escape. She was pretty far from the water,” he said grimly.

I chewed on my lip. “I shouldn’t have left her there,” I said. “After he died like that.”

“She’ll be all right. That girl’s tougher than month-old beefsteak,” Zach said, walking to a pair of middle-aged women who offered him a blanket.

“Yeah, she’ll be okay.”
She has to be.
“It’s just that . . .” I shook my head.

“You’re worried about her,” Bryn said.

“Yes. Also, I did something. I’ll tell you later,” I said, glancing at Zach. I didn’t trust him with the truth. “Zach, you should get that wound looked at. One of the nice ladies can take you to a local ER. Do you need money to get back to England?”

“Are we parting company?” Zach asked, putting a hand over the back pocket of his jeans.

“Yes,” I said. “It’s time for us to go our own ways.”

Zach’s eyes never left my face. “If that’s how you want it.” He waited.

I didn’t say anything more.

“I’ve still got my wallet. Don’t know if my card still works, but I’ll manage,” he said.

“Bryn, can you give him some of the cash you have?”

“No,” Zach said, holding out a hand. “Listen, your aunt Edie’s still a priority of mine. I brought her here. Not planning to go back to Texas while she’s stuck in London.”

“We’ll handle that,” Bryn said.

“Got it covered, do you?” Zach asked, narrowing his eyes. “Don’t need help searching Scottish woods? You don’t need a hand defending yourself against wild dogs, huh?”

“Don’t worry about wild dogs or anything else. Just go on back home,” I said.

Bryn held out a handful of money. Zach shook his head.

“No, thanks,” Zach said, then glanced at me. “I’d never do anything to hurt you.”

“You already did. You lied. And your mission was more important than me and my family.” I shrugged. “Never expected that. But things change. I understand.”

“Hey, darlin’, you’re the one who changed first.”

“I know.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I want to go,” I said, looking at Bryn. “Can we?”

“Yes,” Bryn said, taking my hand and holding it tight so our rings touched and magic arced between us. I felt another cramp deep in my belly and then warmth all through me.

“Things are real different. Changing all the time,” I said.

“Definitely,” Oz said, tossing his arms wide. “I made it! Almost didn’t. Nearly drowned! But I’m here now.” Then, as he looked up, his smile faded. “It’s very cloudy here,” he said, glancing at the sky. “Is the sun up there? Probably it is. Hey, where are we?” he asked, turning to the people.

“Kinsale,” a woman said, surprised. “Did your boat sink?”

They’d asked us that several times earlier, but none of us had answered. Finally Zach did, saying, “No, we jumped from a boat on a dare.”

“What? What boat?” the woman asked.

Zach shook his head. “I’m not gonna say.”

I don’t know if they believed him about the dare or not. I didn’t really care.

“Where is Kinsale?” Oz asked.

“Ireland,” Bryn said quickly. “We’re still in Ireland.”

“Ireland,” Oz said with a smile at the locals. “All right. I’m the great and powerful Oz,” he said, thrusting out a hand. “You’ve probably heard tell of me. For my first activity, I’d like to meet Bono from the band U2. Would you be cool and introduce me?”

The people stared at him, speechless.

“He’s joking,” Bryn said, hooking an arm around Oz’s shoulders. “This way, Mr. Great and Powerful. Let me explain a few things.”

“Oh? Okay, dude.”

I stared out at the water, but Kismet didn’t emerge. I finally had to admit she wasn’t going to.

I NEVER THOUGHT
I’d be grateful for Bryn’s being rich, but his wallet full of cash and credit cards had gotten us transportation to Killarney to get our van full of luggage. We arranged via texts to meet Zach in Dublin just to hand off his bags to him.

We also got a hotel room and a cell phone for Oz and plane tickets for Bryn and myself to England.

Oz got seventeen invitations to be people’s houseguest. And that was just in the Dublin airport. He borrowed a musician’s guitar and played a version of Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven” that made people cry and tip him a pile of money while he waited with us for our flight to board.

He also met a girl who knew Bono’s daughter and said she could take him to a party to meet the superstar.

“You’re the best,” he said, giving the girl a hug. He’d mastered hugging in about five seconds. “But we’re going to England. So I guess I’ll concentrate on meeting Keith Richards and the Rolling Stones. Keith Richards hasn’t died, has he, wizard?” he asked Bryn.

“No, he’s alive,” I said. “But listen, you’re not coming to England, remember? On account of you don’t have a passport?”

“Oh, I’m going. I’ve wanted to see England for a long time. The Beatles are from there, you know?”

“Are they really?” Bryn quipped.

I smiled. “Cut it out, Bryn. We’ll call you on the cell phone, Oz. Take a taxi back to the hotel. Your room is paid for for the week. We’ll figure something out after we take care of our wizard business.”

“Go ahead, Halfling. I’m the great and powerful Oz. I will prevail.”

Bryn laughed and was still shaking his head when we boarded. But five minutes after we sat down, Oz got on the plane and both our jaws dropped.

The flight attendant had apparently decided to overlook his lack of passport.

“She can’t do that. He could be a terrorist,” I whispered.

“I don’t know what to tell you. He’s the great and powerful Oz.”

I spent the flight eyeing him suspiciously. Had he borrowed the queen’s magic lip gloss? He didn’t appear to have anything on his lips. But there was no doubt that humans doted on him.

When we arrived in London, Oz bought black sunglasses and a charcoal-gray scarf with his tip money. He sold Bryn an uncut Colombian emerald for seven hundred dollars and promptly bought a guitar from a man who looked homeless. Then he bought a leather jacket from a guy with a half-shaved head.

“Here are your family’s earrings,” Oz said, hooking Aunt Mel’s emerald earrings into my lobes.

“Hey!”

“I said I’d give those back. The rest of the emeralds I’ll keep for bartering. Thanks for getting me to England. And as promised, the other part of my debt is repaid. Finished work on it. You’ll see. Hey, I recognize that car’s ornamental. That’s a Lamborghini. I’m going to ride with that guy. He’ll be able to introduce me to Keith Richards.” He waved and strode off.

“Oz, wait a minute! What do you mean, your debt’s repaid?”

But he didn’t turn around. He jogged over to introduce himself to the sixtyish-year-old man who seemed to speak only Italian. Oz made a few gestures and the man opened the passenger door and waved for him to get in.

“Do you think he’ll be okay?”

“I think he’ll be a rock star by Thursday,” Bryn said.

“Unless WAM spots him.”

“Right. Then he’ll be a jailbird. But until then, he’s the great and powerful Oz.”

*   *   *

WE CHECKED INTO
the Savoy Hotel, which is Aunt Mel’s favorite. Bryn thought we were going to regroup and make a plan. He didn’t know I already had one that I hadn’t told him about.

I waited for him to fall asleep, gave him a kiss, and then took a taxi driven by a man named Colin to the World Association of Magic headquarters. He told me about World Cup soccer, which he called football. I confided in him that I’d had to steal from my sister to pay my aunt and my fiancé’s best friend’s bail, and that I didn’t know if my sister would forgive me or whether I’d even get the chance to explain, since she’d left the country and I wasn’t welcome in her home.

He said she’d forgive me. Family didn’t have a choice about that. I hoped he was right. Kismet was new to families. I wasn’t sure how far family loyalty would go with her.

I thought about the rift between my grandma and Momma, Aunt Mel and Edie. “Some families are real good at grudges.” I handed him a handful of money and waited for him to sort out the fare and his tip. “I like your money over here. It’s pretty,” I said. “Ours is plainer. Of course, it’s good, too,” I said, not wanting to seem unpatriotic.

He gave me back a bundle of bills. “Be careful, Tammy Jo. Not everyone will be honest when it comes to money.”

“I know,” I said. “But I like to give people a chance to be honest and good. Humanity is attractive. Just ask the faeries,” I whispered with a wink that left his eyebrows around his hairline.

The outdoor lights of WAM headquarters lit the front entry and the hulking gargoyles. They were just statues after all.

Conclave members acting as security opened the front door, and the president was with them.

“Hey, there,” I said, walking right up to him. “Thanks for meeting me so late.”

“Where are the boys?” Poppy asked, stepping into view.

“They’re safe,” I said. “And hi.” I didn’t shake Anderson’s hand. Instead I slapped the amber into it. “There you go. Give me my friends.”

Everyone in the lobby seemed to have been struck dumb. They huddled around him.

“It’s amber from an ancient tree, certainly.” Anderson put on small spectacles and brought the amber practically to his nose. “There’s definitely something within it. Wake Basil and Mrs. Hurley. Ms. Trask, you can wait here or go back to your hotel. If this proves authentic, your friends will be dropped off at your hotel by morning.”

“I’m not leaving,” I said, sitting in a lobby chair.

“Where did you get it? And how?” Poppy demanded.

I folded my arms across my chest and tipped my head back to look at the painted ceiling. “Nobody said I had to give an explanation. All I had to do was deliver it,” I said, swirling my hand in a ta-da gesture.

“Answering questions about where it was unearthed should be part of the authentication process. Like provenance for a painting,” an operative said.

“That wasn’t part of the deal I made.” My stomach growled. “I’m hungry, though. For a chocolate croissant, I’ll let you in on a little secret.”

There were murmurs, and after about fifteen minutes a warm chocolate croissant and a mug of tea with milk were delivered to the lobby.

I ate the entire croissant in four bites and drank my tea. “The truth is, I did something underhanded to get it. And I’m still not sure it was the right thing to do, so I’d rather be boiled in oil than tell you the details. I don’t expect Conclave spies to understand my troubled conscience, since you guys don’t seem to have consciences at all, let alone troubled ones. Let’s just say I’m the great and powerful Tammy Jo and leave it at that.”

There was a little bit of an uproar, but I just shrugged. I’d been through too much over the past few weeks to get riled over arguments.

Sure, I’d tricked them into giving me a croissant. Not great manners. But how bad was I supposed to feel? They were the worst bunch of liars I’d ever met. Besides, it had been an emergency. I really needed that pastry. I frowned. Okay, you could take a Halfling out of the Never. But it was going to take more than a day to get the Never out of the Halfling.

*   *   *

I WOKE CURLED
in the lobby chair and was informed that the verification of an ancient relic was going to take more than a day. What did I expect, they wanted to know, when I couldn’t explain how I’d miraculously found their treasure in a few days after a group of highly trained operatives hadn’t been able to find it in two years?

I was trying to decide what to do when Edie emerged from the elevator. She wore a sage-green sweater with a black pencil skirt and green suede knee-high boots. She strode across the lobby followed closely by a man and woman who were dressed like undertakers.

“Hi,” I said, standing to hug her.

She smelled like Chanel perfume.

“How come, if you’re a prisoner, you’ve got fresh clothes on and smell real nice? And I’m not one, but I’ve got crumbs on my shirt and haven’t combed my hair?”

She smirked. “I’ve had lots of practice getting ready after sleeping somewhere other than my own bed,” she said with a wink.

I gasped.

“An all-nighter is never an excuse for looking rumpled. Now, I’ve heard that you brought them what they want. Well-done!” She clutched my hands. “Naturally, they haven’t released Andre and me. They’re not to be taken at their word. Ever. But we already knew that, didn’t we?”

I nodded, frowning.

“So,” she said, sneakily pressing a piece of paper into my palm, “we’ll soldier on. I need a few more sundries that I forgot to pack. You’ll be a darling and run out for me, won’t you?”

“Um, I was going to wait for you and then we could all take a cab back to the hotel and leave England,” I whispered. My stomach rumbled. “I’m hungry again.”

“Shocking,” she said dryly. “Take a few minutes to get breakfast. And to run a brush through your hair,” she said, finger-combing the strands closest to my face. “Then go on my errand.”

I tucked my hair behind my ears with a sigh. “Okay.” I stood and shoved the paper in my pocket. I accepted a quick kiss on my cheek.

When I got to the door, the operatives hesitated to step aside. I gave them a hard look. Finally the guy moved and opened the door for me.

I took a cab back to the Savoy. I ate a basket of pastries and fruit and drank two glasses of milk before I brushed my hair and teeth. I confessed to Bryn about stealing an amber and giving it to WAM. He said nothing.

“You mad at me?”

“No,” he said. “I’m just not sure about the repercussions of your actions. What if the gates to the Never disappear altogether?”

“That’s not possible.”

He rested his hands on the table, leaning forward. “We don’t really know what’s possible, do we?”

“I’d like to know how Kismet is doing. If I could trick the queen into coming out, maybe the Conclave would lock her up and the Seelie world could get a new leader.” I glanced through the list Edie had given me. I’d expected to see dental floss or more designer perfume or normal traveling supplies to be on the list. Instead it was a list of witch’s herbs. “What in the world?”

Bryn looked over my shoulder. “Valerian, chamomile blossoms, linden blossoms, poppies . . .”

“Those are for sleep. She must be planning to make a potion to knock the guards out, but the ingredients on the bottom of the list aren’t for a sleeping spell. Elecampane, dew from a lady’s mantle, ginseng, and yerba santa.” I narrowed my eyes. “I don’t know which spells use these.” I shook my head. “I know she wants to have a backup plan ready and I don’t blame her. But she’s not supposed to need one. We made a deal with the WAM president. God, I hope he’s not as big of a liar as the Conclave operatives. An authentic fae amber was supposed to be Edie and Andre’s ‘get out of jail free’ card.”

I opened the pouch in my suitcase to put away my hairbrush and found a small leather bag with a dandelion embossed on the front. “What’s this?” I asked.

I reached in with my thumb and forefinger and felt a piece of cloth. I pulled out a square of crushed brown velvet. When I unfolded it, I looked down at a piece of amber. My jaw dropped and I lifted it to examine it. It was exactly the same as the amber I’d given to WAM. I stiffened with shock.

“Oh, my God,” I said.

“What?” Bryn said, walking over. “Wait, what is that? I thought you gave them the amber.”

I raised it and stared, my heart thudding. There were things inside the amber just like in the one I’d given to WAM, a strand of hair and a tiny winged pixie fossilized within it.

“Oh, my God,” I murmured again, letting Bryn take it from me. “It’s a Fozzel. Oz is the tree keeper’s son. Amber comes from the tree’s—what’s it called? Sap? Resin? He was making art pieces for Kismet to trade. She was supposed to bring him emeralds for making a special piece for her.” I clutched my head. “Remember when he gave me back my aunt Mel’s earrings? Those were what Kismet paid him for a second special piece, but he didn’t want more emeralds. He wanted to come out with us. He told me at the airport that he’d finished his work and his debt was repaid. This is the payment. He made her a replica of the amber she lost. And when she returned to the Never this time, she told him to make her another copy. He must have slipped it into my bag.”

“Why did Kismet need copies made of the amber? Do you think she was planning to exchange the replicas for the real ambers? And if so, where are they?”

“I don’t know, Bryn. Maybe she actually did lose the original amber.” The room was spinning around me in slow motion. “What if, when I picked Kismet’s pocket, I didn’t get an actual ancient amber? What if the one I gave to WAM is only a copy Oz made for her. A fake like this one?” I sank down to sit on the edge of the bed, feeling so nauseous I thought I might throw up all over the beautiful carpet. I bent forward and rested my head against my thighs, taking some deep breaths.

“It’ll be all right,” Bryn said, resting a hand on my back and kneeling next to me.

“Do we have any candy left?” I mumbled.

“Here,” Bryn said a moment later. I unwrapped a piece of Cadbury Flake. It’s a kind of chocolate bar we don’t have in America, but should. I chewed and immediately felt better. The sick feeling passed and I nodded.

“Okay, so Edie was right: We need a plan B, because if that amber’s a fake, when WAM figures it out we’ll be in more trouble than we’ve ever been in.” I rubbed the back of my neck, which was damp with sweat. “Take me to that witches’ shop where you were going to get the reference books when we first arrived in England.”

“Magic Calling,” Bryn said. “Are you all right? Do you need sleep?”

“Nope, I need to get the herbs for Edie. And for us, weapons.”

*   *   *

“PLANNING TO ROB
a bank?” the girl with the pierced nose and eyebrows asked.