Page 73 of Perfectly Charmed Pixie

The night was frigid, but the weather had nothing on the ice flowing through my veins. I stared up at the ominous house. I wasn’t much for horror movies, but I thought this one would fit right in. Leave it to Letty to choose something like this.

“No imagination,” I muttered, the wind catching my words and carrying them away. This was the perfect example of why Letty wasn’t chosen as the host ofInterspecies Habitat. “Could you get any more cliché?”

When you didn’t have a lot of physical strength, you had to use every advantage you could find. In this case, I chose haughty indignation and wrapped it around my shoulders like a second cloak.

Head held high, shoulders back, and wings rapidly beating, I left my car on the street and flew toward the front door. At least this house still had its front door, unlike the one to its right that was a piece of failing plywood.

My aqua-colored dust was nearly invisible, its brilliant color lost in a sea of darkness. I didn’t bother knocking. I pushed the unlocked door open. It was just as dark inside. I wasn’t sure if the house still had electricity or not. If it did, no one had bothered to leave any welcoming lights on for me.

“Letty,” I yelled.

There was no reason to hide my entrance. I honestly didn’t know how powerful of a witch Letty was. Even the weakest ones should have felt my approach. Besides, I wasn’t exactly trying to sneak in.

Silence met my ears. I flew a little farther into the house, peeking around doorways but not committing to going inside. “Letty!” I raised my voice even higher, more pissed than afraid. Old wood framing creaked, but nothing more happened. I glanced down at my phone, checking to make certain I had the correct address. Everything looked right.

“Goddess damn you, Letty. I’m fucking here, so—”

Laughter echoed through the house, and it was impossible to tell exactly what direction it came from.

I fought down my reflexive shiver, shoring up my bravado. “Is that supposed to frighten me?”

“No.” Letty sounded amused. “I expect the fear will come later.” I didn’t get a chance to ask exactly what she meant. “If you want to see your warlock and brownie again, follow the lights.”

“Follow the lights? Have you looked around? It’s pitch-black and—”

The lights lining the stairwell lit just the faintest hint of a warm glow.

I gritted my teeth. Letty was playing a game, and right now, she held all the cards. I was little more than a ridiculous character led around an uncaring board. I wanted nothing more than to walk back out that front door, but I didn’t. I flew forward, up the stairs. When I got to the top landing, another light lit along the right, leading to a door toward the end of a short hallway. A dim glow barely shone from under the room’s door.

After cautiously going toward it, I grasped the knob. The metal felt warmer than it should. Not hot, but definitely not cold. Inhaling deeply and praying that I’d walk back out that door, whole and with Vander and Byx at my side, I turned the knob.

Blinding, white light instantly consumed me. I slammed my eyelids closed against the searing pain. My body twisted toward the light’s center until a loudpoprattled my eardrums. Pressure filled my chest, pulling my body inward before throwing it back into place. The experience was nauseating, and when the searing white light dimmed, I found myself on my knees, vomiting all over a faded rug.

Sweat beaded across my skin, dampening my hair. The nausea continued swirling, making me queasy and unable to stand. I felt like I’d been placed in a Tilt-A-Whirl and spun at top speed for far too long.

“Pleasant, Parsnip. I should have expected such a graceless entry. Amazing how you never fail to lower my expectations further.”

I knew that voice. Ihatedthat voice. I’d heard it on Letty’s podcasts, on her website, and during the hearing for the restraining order. Anyone that confidently cocky needed to be thrown back down to earth. I just hoped I was strong enough to stomp Letty Fox into the ground.

“L-Letty.” I spat out a disgusting, bile-laced glob of saliva. I couldn’t give two shits about whatever floor I’d just expelled my guts on. Hopefully it was something Letty was fond of. “If you don’t like my manners, then maybe you should stay the fuck away from me.”

Letty’s sigh rang through my ears as I pushed into a standing position. I couldn’t have maintained it if my wings hadn’t helped steady me. I wanted to take in my surroundings but was still too dizzy to let my gaze wander too much. What I could see didn’t exactly make sense. It wasn’t at all what I’d expected when I’d walked into that dilapidated house.

First off, the room was warm. I could feel it now that my stomach had turned itself inside out and my nausea slowly faded. A warm fire crackled in a fireplace to my left. The scent of my vomit wafted up to me, nearly undoing the uneasy calm settling my stomach.

My feet rested on a soft rug. It looked old and haggard but clean except for the addition of my stomach contents. An equally faded sofa sat near the fireplace, with a desk along the wall behind it.

The witchy bane of my existence sat perched on the corner of said desk, one hand braced and holding her weight while the other swirled a glass of umber-looking fluid. I had no idea what Letty was drinking and didn’t want to stick around long enough to find out.

“Where’s Vander and Byx.” It wasn’t so much a question as an order.

Letty grinned, sipping her strange drink. “Now, now. Patience is a virtue, Parsnip. One that I’ve had to endure for far too long. I believe you can muster a little now. You at least owe me that.”

“I don’t owe you a damn thing.” I crossed my arms, wings beating enough to lift me off the carpet.

Letty’s mouth pinched. “You do. And tonight, you’ll pay up.” Letty set her glass down on the desk, but she didn’t stand.

I shouldn’t have felt warm. The house I’d walked into was ice-cold. Windows had been boarded up, and there hadn’t been any evidence of heat. The place had been abandoned. It…Shit… I could only blame my slow uptake on the dizzying trip through whatever portal Letty had set up.

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