Page 25 of Purrfectly Peculiar Pixie

“Nasty,” I heard someone lament. “That must be a really shitty way to travel.”

“Shut it. You have no idea the level of magic a transportation spell requires.” The person speaking did sound kind of drained. Not that I really gave a shit right now. “It worked. We got the pixie.”

“Yeah, and we got somethin’ else too.”

Something else?My brain screamed. Leon! I’d been holding Leon’s wrist when…when whatever the hell happened happened. Had he been taken with me?

Unfolding my body, I managed to get up on my knees. Leon lay beside me, body stiff and unmoving. Thankfully, I hadn’t lost my guts all over him.

I lunged, falling on him and shaking his body like mad. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I was the only one that was supposed to be taken, not Leon. I had no idea where we were, if the sun was out, if Leon was in danger, if he was even still alive.

“Leon,” I rasped, my throat sore from my previous vomiting. “Leon,” I repeated, a little more impatient when he didn’t so much as twitch.

“Leon?What have you done?” All exhaustion fled that voice, a shrill quality taking over. “Do you even know who that is? Gaia, you’re a moron. That’s Lucroy Moony’s second. He wouldn’t have batted an eyelash about the pixie, but Leon’s another matter.”

My head snapped up. “What did you do to him?” I demanded. Thankfully, we were in an enclosed room. The only light was artificial. The room was crowded by a troll. A smaller woman with ash-blond frizzy hair and more bangles, necklaces, and rings than I’d seen outside a market stall stood to his side. Hands on hips, her pleated skirt floated midcalf.

I’d only seen two species wear that much jewelry, most of it charmed. Witches and warlocks. This one looked female so witch was the first thought that came to mind.

My wings fluttered as they channeled my anxiety. Dust scattered. The witch sneezed first, quickly followed by the troll.

“Keep those things under wraps.” The witch waved a hand in front of her face before covering her nose with the scarf draped around her neck. I wanted to keep them moving, but the pointed look she threw Leon’s way made me snap my wings closed.

“Better,” she cooed. “Good to know you can take instruction. It might make this whole thing easier.”

I bristled but tried keeping my cool. Losing my shit wouldn’t do Leon or me any favors. I repeated, “What did you do to him?”

“Me?” The witch gave a false look of innocence. “Oh no, honey. That’s all the sun’s doing. Thank Gaia, it’s high in the sky. Leon’s out for the count.” She laughed like she’d made a funny joke.

I didn’t find her humorous. At all.

“What do you want?” I thought I knew. That bit about “getting the pixie” was sufficient tip-off.

The witch grinned. She’d either had braces as a child or more likely, charmed her teeth to brilliant white perfection. Hands on hips, she leaned forward. Her multitude of necklaces and bracelets jingled.

“Oh, honey. What we want is you. Or more precisely, the money we’ll get for you.” The witch rubbed her thumb and forefinger together.

I fought my transformation. It was too early to show all my cards. Leon’s capture hadn’t been figured into the plan. Get caught, get taken, learn all I could, escape if I could when the time was right. If I wasn’t back within a week, a rescue party would be sent. Glancing down at Leon’s still body, I wasn’t at all certain we had the luxury of one week.

Vampires were tough to kill, but only when the sun was down. They were intolerably vulnerable when the sun was on this side of the horizon. That’s why they protected their sleeping dens so fiercely.

Running my fingers over Leon’s face, I pushed some of his ginger hair to the side, revealing blistered skin. I winced while remembering his earlier painful hiss. He’d stayed outside too long. He’d stayed out trying to protect me. And now here he was, temporarily dead to the world and easy pickings.

Leon was still mobile when I touched Dusk’s doorknob. Knowing that was the case meant wherever we’d been transported had to be east of Virginia—somewhere the sun was high in the sky. We’d traveled time zones. That wasn’t a good sign.

Staring down at Leon’s vulnerable body, I swallowed my continued nausea. I didn’t think this gut churning was from being yanked through a witch-created portal.

“You’ve got me.” I tried playing innocent. “I don’t know what you want, but from what you said earlier, you don’t want Leon. You’re right. King Moony will hunt you down to get Leon back.” I raised my chin, attempting to look fierce. It was a hard look for a pixie to pull off.

Neither the witch nor her troll companion appeared impressed.

“It’s a complication,” she said, scrunching her face and twisting her lips. “But it’s a complication we might be able to work to our advantage.” Her perplexed features eased into another sickening grin. “Yes, I think this might work out very well. I’ve got a feeling our buyer might be interested in this little vampire morsel. Pick him up, Oxley.”

“Just ’cause I’m big don’t always mean I gotta do the grunt work,” Oxley complained while moving to do exactly as the witch said.

“Yes, yes. I know. But if you hadn’t noticed, my magic’s a little tapped out after that transportation. I could drag him, but it’ll take longer.”

“Outta the way, pixie.” Oxley tried shooing me away from Leon. I didn’t budge.

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