Page 75 of Perfectly Charmed Pixie

“You’re a selfish witch,” I accused. “And that’s the kindest thing I can say about you.” I pointed at the charm in Letty’s hand. “You’d condemn a young brownie, just coming into the prime of her life, to satisfy your own selfish goals. What the goddess blessed you with is more than enough.”

“It wasn’t enough for you,” Letty spat. “You weren’t satisfied with the colors she gave you. You’ve lied to everyone for vanity’s sake alone.”

“Like hell!” My wings beat faster than ever, lifting me off the floor and showering the room in aqua pixie dust. “This is the color the goddess made me. All I wanted was to be what I was before I faded. I’m not trying to be something I’m not. I’m trying to be who I was. That is not what you’re trying to do. Do not compare the two of us.”

“Always so damn superior.” Letty sneered, Byx’s charm still held tightly in her hand. At this rate, I didn’t think she’d ever let it go. I wasn’t sure what she thought it could do for her. If she’d been able to access the power, she would have done so already.

“If we’re comparing me to you, then you’re damn right.” I crossed my arms over my chest, feet dangling. Only now did I realize I’d lost my pixie boots. I wasn’t sure why they hadn’t crossed the portal with me and didn’t know if they were still at that abandoned house or lost in the magical ether that brought me to this hellhole. If things went as badly as I suspected they might, I’d probably never need them again. For some reason, that didn’t matter. My mind became fixated on their loss.

With her lips pulled back, Letty looked damn near feral. For a minute, I thought she might literally pounce on me. I would have dealt with that better. Tense, I was prepared for a physical attack. What I wasn’t prepared for was the wicked grin that lit up Letty’s face.

“I wonder just how superior you’ll feel when you see what’s through that door and down the stairs. Shall we head in that direction and find out?”

Dread filled me. There was far too much satisfaction in Letty’s tone, her words too laced with anticipation.

“Vander and Byx are waiting for you,” Letty teased when I hesitated. “Don’t tell me you came all this way, did all that posturing just to chicken out now.”

I didn’t fly toward that door because Letty baited me. I turned that doorknob because there was no other choice. If there was one thing Letty was right about, it was that I’d come for Vander and Byx. I wasn’t foolish enough to think leaving was a true option, and even if it had been, I wouldn’t have taken it. There was no way Letty was letting me leave her finely crafted web without satisfying her cruel need for retribution. It didn’t matter that her reasons didn’t make sense, that they were completely unfounded. When you’re insane, reason doesn’t apply. A thousand others could be in the room and all tell you the same thing, but you wouldn’t believe them. That voice in your head, the one convincing you you’re right, won’t let you believe. That’s the crux of mental illness.

Unlike the last doorknob I touched, this one was frigid. My fingers shook as I wrapped them around the metal. It squeaked and moaned, but the latch gave way. A decently lit stairway went down, digging into the depths of the earth.

“A basement. How original,” I said with more bravado than I felt.

“A fitting place for filth.”

I bristled at that. Letty could think all the foul thoughts she wanted about me, but Vander and Byx didn’t deserve that level of disdain.

“Go on.” Letty didn’t magically or physically nudge me. She could have if she’d wanted. I was a helpless child against her magical casting. There were laws against using magic in that way, but I doubted Letty gave a shit about something as mundane as the law. The fact she’d kidnapped a warlock and brownie shouted that loud and clear.

Hovering just above the steps, I cautiously flew down, afraid of what I’d find. The images she’d already sent me of Vander and Byx were seared into my brain. I didn’t know what I’d do if I got to the bottom of those stairs and found them…Goddess, I couldn’t even finish that thought. They had to be okay. Nothing in me was willing to accept anything less.

The basement wasn’t as well-lit as the stairway, and it took my eyes a few seconds to adjust. Blinking, I could finally see well enough to get a decent view. My breath caught. Vander was on his knees, head bent and shoulders hunched. His wrists were shackled in front of him, and a huge, swollen knot was on the side of his head. Dried blood trickled down from a cut that ran the length of the knot.

“Vander,” I gasped, the word barely able to get through my clogged throat.

Vander groaned something I couldn’t understand.

Without thought, I took off toward him, pixie dust scattering behind me.

I didn’t even get halfway there.

My body froze, wings instantly slamming closed and body dropping to the floor. I landed harder than I should have, yet I barely registered the pain that lanced through my feet and legs. Eyes wide, I stared, unable to accept what was before me.

Fear slammed into me. My mouth opened wide, a scream ready and willing but unable to form, lost in the abject terror racing through me. Blackness crept through the edges of my vision, and darkness was all I saw, all I knew. Before that light completely flickered away, I heard the ogre’s frustrated growl.

And then I fell through a deep pit of horror.

ChapterTwenty-Seven

Vander

No!

My brain shouted, but my mouth was cotton dry, that singular word stuck in my throat. I had no idea how long I’d been unconscious. Franny’s fist was like a battering ram my head hadn’t been able to stand against. I wasn’t certain, but I thought it only took one good punch and she’d knocked me out cold. Waking up to this nightmare, I wouldn’t have minded staying oblivious.

“Parsnip,” Byx whined, proving she was awake and experiencing the same bad dream as me. Voice small, Byx whispered Parsnip’s name again.

“It’s not right!” Franny screamed, pulling at her hair. Three strides took her across the room, only to repeat the motion again and again. “It didn’t do anything.” She sounded desperate. “You promised me a pixie, Letty. You promised!”

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