Page 26 of Purrfectly Peculiar Pixie

“Not until you promise me you’re not going to hurt him.” If I didn’t get that guarantee, Oxley was going to have to carry both of us because I planned on plastering my body to Leon. If they planned on putting him in the sun, I’d do my damnedest to shield his body with my own.

Oxley grimaced, pulling his lips back and revealing yellowed, peg-like teeth. “I said get outta the way, runt.”

“Not a chance, asswipe.”

Oxley looked as if he was about to rip my wings off, but the witch intervened. “Oh for love of Gaia. The vampire is safe. For now. He might be worth something. Whether that’s dead or alive remains to be seen. Until I find out for certain, we’ll keep him out of the sun.”

My brain quickly processed her words and found a modicum of comfort in them. These assholes were all about the money. If there was one thing I could trust, it was their greed.

Slowly, I pushed off Leon, standing on shaky legs. That transportation spell really did a number on me.

“Careful, he got burned earlier,” I chastised when Oxley picked Leon up and threw him over his shoulder like a bag of produce.

“Sylvie said he’d live. She didn’t say nothin’ about bein’ gentle. He’s a vamp. A little blood will fix him up.” Oxley didn’t even sound winded with Leon slung over his shoulder.

“Trolls can be terribly literal,” Sylvie chuckled before becoming deathly serious. “Now, are you going to come along peacefully or do I have to drug you?” Sylvie pulled out a little bag filled with magenta dust. She held it in the palm of her hand, lips poised to blow the stuff in my direction. Between being drugged unconscious and keeping my wits about me, I knew which one I’d chose.

“I’m coming,” I said, rolling my shoulders inward and appearing as nonthreatening as possible. There’d be time for teeth and claws later.

I followed Oxley. I didn’t want to take my eyes off Leon, but I needed to look around. Knowing where we were and how we got to our next location might be important. Head down, I did my best to look absolutely dejected. In a way, it wasn’t that difficult. My brain tumbled through scenarios, each one just as bleak as the previous. I was used to doing things on the fly. Plans were great and all that, but a fabulous plan was meaningless when things went to shit. It was time to work the problem. I just wished each calculation didn’t end in the same disastrous outcomes.

Traveling down corridor after corridor, the air became increasingly damp and cool. We were headed deeper underground. At least we had that going for us. Unless there was a tunnel leading up to the sky, Leon should be safe enough. At least for now. The future was another matter.

One problem at a time, I reminded myself. Get through this and move on to the next step. That was the only way to get through and get out.

I pretended to shiver. I was a pixie, and they’d expect it as the temperature dropped. The cool air felt like heaven on my heated skin. Sylvie and Oxley didn’t need to know that.

Leon swayed as Oxley turned a corner. I wasn’t sure if blood could rush to a vampire’s head or not. If so, it was a good thing Leon was dead asleep. I could only hope Sylvie was correct and that when the sun went down, Leon would wake. I squashed the fear that his state had more to do with the transportation spell.

We finally emptied into a room. Calling it large would be kind, but it was big enough to contain three pixie-sized cages. Phil would have had trouble fitting inside. Given my smaller size, it wouldn’t be so bad.

“Go on.” Sylvie pointed toward the closest empty cage.

My instinctual hesitation wasn’t an act. No one wanted to willingly walk into a cage they may never come out of again.

“Walk in or get tossed in. It makes no difference to me. As long as your wings work and you can produce dust, that’s all I care about,” Sylvie warned.

Clenching my fists, I stepped inside. The sound of metal clanging closed behind me was deafening. My heart raced and my inner shifter paced. That part of me liked being caged even less than my pixie half.

“What do you want me to do with him? Those cages are made for pixies, not vamps. This one will be able to bust out as soon as the sun sets,” Oxley said.

“Over there, against that wall,” Sylvie ordered. “I’ve got enough juice to charm the shackles.”

I watched as Oxley tossed Leon off his shoulder, none too gently sitting him on the cold, stone floor. Sylvie grabbed one manacle and Oxley the other. The metal snapped closed before Sylvie reached for a third, clasping it around Leon’s neck. With her back to me, I couldn’t see what she did, and I didn’t understand the words she used to cast her spell. I did feel the initiation of magic as it settled into the iron.

“Th-there,” Sylvie panted, bent over and hands on her knees. “That should hold him until we figure out what to do.”

“You okay?” Oxley didn’t sound overly concerned, more curious than anything. “You need me to carry you too?”

He reached out and Sylvie batted Oxley’s clumsy hand away. “I’m fine,” she insisted. “Just tired. Doing that spell was a little too soon after the transportation one, especially since there were two of them and not just one.” Straightening, Sylvie said, “Check his pockets. Grab his phone.”

Oxley fumbled through Leon’s coat pocket, pulling out his phone and crushing it in his palm. Sylvie hadn’t told him to do that but since she didn’t lose her shit over it, I assumed she was fine with Oxley’s self-motivation.

“What about tracking chips?” Oxley asked, making my spine stiffen. “A lot of pixies have them nowadays. You know that last one did, and we had to cut it out of her.” He nodded in my direction. “You want me to get the scanner?”

“No need.” Sylvie waved him off. “The last pixie we got didn’t go through a transportation spell like this one.” She hooked a thumb my direction. “That kind of magic scrambles the chips. If he’s got one, it’s worthless now.”

Byx’s hair clips rustled, my supposed meerkat protectors finally stirring from their slumber.

---