Magic Nights (7 page)

“
Teasing
, not annoying. There’s a big difference,” Cora told them. “Someday, when you’re older and wiser, maybe you’ll understand.”

“Hmm,” said the girls, their eyes drifting up in thought.

“Where is Mom anyway?” Naomi asked them.

“She’s tracking down a missing crate of Silverheart Nectar,” Ivy said, her face the picture of innocence.

Beside her, Ruby coughed.

“I take it you two have nothing to do with that missing crate?”

Ivy smiled. “Of course not.”

“No one is sick of that wretched drink she insists be served every Friday evening.”

“Not this Friday evening,” Ivy muttered under her breath.

One of the side doors swung open, and a golden stream of glistening light poured into the hall, followed by a woman who looked like an older version of Cora. She wore a red headband over dark, shoulder-length hair, and a matching cape over a pale cotton dress. Like Cora, her magic was pure mage. It smelled of sweet, roasted chestnuts and hummed like an aftershock. She was an earth elemental.

“Naomi,” she said as she stopped in front of them. She glanced briefly at Sera before returning her gaze to her daughter. “You’ve brought a guest.”

“My friend Sera. Sera, this is my mother Celeste.”

“You are welcome here.” Celeste’s eyes locked onto Sera’s sword. “Your weapons are not.”

“We don’t intend to use them here,” replied Sera.

Celeste grunted. Clearly, she wasn’t convinced. Sera couldn’t really blame her. The two of them looked ready for war.

“We’re just passing through,” Naomi told her mother.

“Passing through? To where?”

Naomi hesitated.

“To where, Naomi?”

“To Angel Island,” she said softly.

Silence fell over the hall. Even the busy workers setting up for the party froze in their steps.

“Angel Island,” Celeste repeated, speaking the words like they were a curse. “That is an evil place. Corrupted by greedy pirates and angry spirits. What could you possibly want there?”

“The Princes of Twilight have taken kidnapped children to their fortress there.”

“And you’re trying to get them back?”

“Yes.”

“That mercenary guild sent you there, didn’t they?” Celeste said, her words drowning in disapproval.

“The pirates have taken children, Mom. Job or no job, I would have gone anyway. How could I not help?” said Naomi. “And how could
you
not help?”

“That is why you’ve come here.” Celeste pursed her lips, like she’d just bitten down on a lemon. “We cannot intervene.”

“No, you don’t
want
to intervene. You never do,” Naomi spat back. “But we’re not asking you to fight with us. We just need to borrow a boat.”

Celeste shook her head. “When I created this sanctuary, I swore we would not intervene in the conflicts of the external world.”

“
External
? What to you mean external? We all live in the same world.”

“I’m not going to argue semantics with you, Naomi,” her mother replied calmly.

“Those children are like the children here.” Her gaze shifted to her sisters. “Like them. Like me.”

Celeste sighed. “I made the choices to keep the people here safe. Our bodies and our souls.”

“It’s just a boat, Mom. I’m not asking for a flamethrower.”

“No.”

Naomi threw up her hands in frustration. “You created this place so that mages and fairies could live together in peace. So that children of mixed supernatural heritage could grow up free from prejudice. So they could be safe. The pirates have taken hybrid children. They’re collecting them. Hoarding them. Imprisoning them. You must help us.”

“Naomi, I…” Celeste looked down at her hands, her face a battleground between outrage and fear, her magic a storm of a million other emotions. Regret. Horror. Pain. She expelled a resigned sigh. “I can’t.”

“The pirates are after hybrid children. We don’t know why, but I don’t doubt they will strike again. This island is the closest and largest source of hybrid children to their fortress. The children here are at risk. If you won’t intervene to help those children already taken, help us
 
stop them from taking more. Help us protect the children here.”

“The pirates cannot come here. The magical defenses we’ve woven around the island will protect us. And we’ve recently had help reenforcing them.”

“Wake up, Mother,” Naomi growled. “Or the pirates will take over Fairy Island while you’re still sleeping.”

“Naomi, you don’t understand.” She shook her head sadly. “It’s late. The last boat from Fairy Island today has already left, so I will allow you and your friend to stay here for the night. But you will have to leave on the first boat tomorrow morning. This is a sanctuary of peace, not a war tent. Ivy, Ruby.” She waved at Naomi’s sisters. “Show our guests to their room so they can deposit their weapons before joining us for our evening meal.”

The girls pushed away from the table, leading the way toward a hallway. Sera and Naomi followed.

“One more thing,” Celeste called out.

They all stopped and turned toward her.

“Next time you two want to hide the Silverheart Nectar, try a better hiding place.” She held up a crate of bottles filled with sparkly liquid. “It took me all of two minutes to find these.”

Ivy and Ruby groaned in defeat, then turned back toward the hallway. They remained silent until they’d left the main hall.

“How did she find it?” Ruby asked.

“She
always
finds it.”

“We need a better hiding spot.”

“But where? We’ve tried everywhere,” Ivy lamented.

“Can your mother sense magic?” Sera asked them.

“I don’t know.” Ivy looked at Ruby.

Her sister shrugged. “Maybe.”

“I bet she can,” Sera said. “And that she’s following your magic trail to where you hid the crate. You need to have someone else hide it. Or cover your magic with something more potent.”

“Fairy Lily?” Ivy asked.

Sera reached out, getting a feel for their magic. It had a distinctive flavor, but it wasn’t that potent. Not as potent as Naomi’s, at least. She nodded at them. “The Fairy Lily should do it.”

They shot her dual grins, then turned to open the door they’d stopped in front of. Sera and Naomi followed the girls into the small room, which held a tiny desk, an armchair, and a bunkbed.

“Cozy,” commented Sera.

Naomi stripped off her knives. “I call the top bunk.”

Ruby and Ivy snickered.

“What?” Naomi asked her sisters.

“Maybe you won’t be sleeping here tonight,” said Ivy coyly.

Ruby snorted.

“Why do I get the feeling that there’s something you two aren’t telling me?”

Ivy winked at her. “Your boyfriend is coming to dinner.”

“Huh? Which one?”

Ruby giggled.“Cloud.”

Naomi collapsed into the armchair. It was a good thing she’d already relieved herself of all her sharp and pointy weapons. “How does Mom work so quickly? How did she know I’d be here?”

“She didn’t. But Cloud often comes to dinner on Fridays,” Ivy said. “To collect the plants he needs for his magic shop in the city. And he’s been helping out with other things on the island too.” She sighed. “He’s very popular here.”

Ruby nodded vigorously. “Yummy.”

“You two can have him,” Naomi told them.

“Mom already told us off for flirting with him.” Ruby’s lips puckered out into a solid pout. “She says he’s too old for us. Everything fun is too old for us.”

“But we have a plan.”

“We’re going to run off to the city one Friday night when everyone’s busy. I hear that place called Liquid is the place to be. Lots of boys there. And no moms allowed.”

“No,” Naomi told them.

“No, it’s not cool?” Ivy asked.

“No, I don’t want you two going anywhere near that club. It’s full of horny mages with too much self-entitlement and not enough sense. And the city is full of monsters.” Naomi nudged Sera in the shoulder. “Right, Sera?”

“Yep. Why do you think I carry a sword? I must have killed at least a hundred jumbo caterpillars this week, but they just keep coming back.”

“Hmm.” Ruby’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “Naomi said you were on a break from work.”

“Did she? Uh, yeah, I am. Well, as she said, the city is dangerous. I kill at least three times as many caterpillars when I’m on the job. And vampires. And centaurs. I even once knocked out a mage who looked an awful lot like Santa Claus.”

“Really?” Ruby’s eyes grew as wide as saucers. “What did he do?”

Sera shrugged. “Started a bar fight with a bunch of elves.”

Ivy let out a delighted gasp. “You’re making this up.”

Sera shook her head.

“No?” Ruby asked.

“It’s all true?”

Sera nodded.

“Wow,” said both girls.

Naomi gave them all an irritated look. “Thanks, Sera.”

“I’m just telling it how it is. It’s not my fault your sisters find monsters and bar fights interesting.”

“They’re teenagers. They find chewed gum interesting.”

“Humph!” Ruby puffed out her chest in indignation. “So untrue.”

“It depends entirely on who chewed it,” added Ivy.

“Maybe if it was your honey Cloud…”

“Enough!”

The girls snickered.

“She’s as easy as Mom,” Ruby told Ivy as they stepped out of the room.

“Yep.”

The girls skipped down the hall, saw a teenage boy about their age, then dragged him into a room. Sera snickered. Fairies.

“What is it?”

“Nothing,” she told Naomi, setting her sword on the desk. “Ready to have dinner with your family?”

“No.” She rose from the chair anyway. “Let’s go.”

In the short time they’d been inside the room, someone had turned on the stereo system in the great hall. Loud, heavy thumps pounded down the hallway, shaking the walls. Naomi’s stride shifted, her feet marching in time to the beat. She just couldn’t help herself. Neither could Sera. The music pulsed through her body, willing her to dance. There was magic in that music.

People were flooding into the great hall through the main entrance and also the smaller doors on the sides. Some carried food, some flowers, others children. Everyone carried a big smile. Naomi sat down at the table loaded with desserts. Cookies, brownies, cheesecake, angel cake, cherry pie, apple pie, ice cream… Sera’s eyes widened at the treasure trove of sweet delights. She didn’t need any convincing. She sat down next to Naomi and promptly grabbed two chocolate chip cookies—one for each of them.

“This place is great,” Sera said during a break in the music. The pounding beat softened, flowing into a slow, smooth ballad.

“Naomi.”

They turned to look at the man who had just sat down beside them. He had spiked blond hair and eyes like a tropical ocean. Magic oozed from him, a sweet tang of lemon and spiced vanilla. He was wearing a pair of surfer shorts—and nothing else. No shoes, no shirt. If this weren’t Fairy Island, he might actually have looked out of place.

“Cloud,” Naomi replied with a curt nod.

“I’m glad to see you again so soon. You ran off so abruptly last weekend.”

“Uh, yeah, I had to work.”

“Then I am fortunate your schedule allowed you to return so quickly.” He looked at her, his smile teetering on doting. Someone sure was enamored.

Naomi realized that too. She pushed an empty cup into his hand. “Say, Cloud, do you think you could get me a drink?”

“Of course.” He rose smoothly. “What would you like?”

“Anything but the Silverheart Nectar. That stuff tastes like motor oil.”

He dipped his chin, then glided toward the bar like an ice skater. As soon as he’d been swallowed by the crowd of dancers, Sera turned to Naomi.

“He likes you.” She grinned. “And he’s cute.”

“Sure, if you like spiky hair and the smell of Fairy Lily.” Naomi stared across the room at him anyway, her gaze lingering on his sculpted chest. He was built like a swimmer. “And he’s always forgetting his shirt.”

“Maybe he just wants to get your attention,” Sera suggested.

“Hmm.” She continued to watch him, and when he returned with her drink, she set it down on the table and stood up. She grabbed his hand. “Come on, Cloud. Let’s dance.”

With bewildered delight, Cloud followed Naomi onto the dance floor. Sera watched them—and all the other couples too. They swayed slowly to the music, their arms wrapped around each other. A fairy woman rose to her tiptoes and leaned in to kiss her partner. Others were kissing too, including… Sera gaped. Wow, Naomi sure moved fast. She was making out with Cloud smack dab in the middle of the dance floor. No one seemed to notice. Well, almost no one.

“A cute couple, aren’t they?” Naomi’s aunt Cora said as she sat down beside Sera.

Sera nodded and took a bite of her cookie. It took the edge off being alone at a party of kissing couples.

“But I don’t think he’s the one,” Cora continued. “No matter what my sister wants.”

“Probably not,” Sera agreed.

“That Cloud is certainly nice to look at, but he’s not good enough for her. She is special.”

“She sure is.”

Cora smiled. “When two supernaturals of different species mate, you never know what kind of offspring you’ll get. Naomi has more power than she knows. She’s just waiting for it to be unlocked.”

“Yes, I’ve felt that. Her magic is different, even than other hybrids.”

Cora nodded. “Naomi’s father was one of the most powerful fairies of his time. Celeste was once a top-rated elemental. She could wield all the elements. Fire was her favorite.”

Sera looked at Cora in surprise. “She feels like earth magic.”

“A Sniffer, are you? You’re the one who uncovered the Grim Reaper?”

“How—”

“How could I know about that when I’m all the way out here, so far separated from the rest of the world?”

“The Council is keeping the details of that encounter under wraps.”

“Secrets have a way of getting out, Sera.”

No shit. And that’s what she was afraid of. No point in bringing that up, though. Instead, she opted for a noncommittal, “Oh?”
 

“And I used to date someone on the Council. We still see each other from time to time.”