Page 31 of Purrfectly Peculiar Pixie

“Understood. That means we’re at least four hours different than Rutherford Haven. The sun’s probably still up there which means no one knows you’re missing yet. Like I said, I don’t have a way to contact the Magical Usage Council, Vander, or Byx, but I bet when they figure out we’re both gone, they won’t wait the full week to track me down. Fingers crossed on that one, otherwise we’ll need to scrounge up a phone. That might not be too difficult.” I shrugged. “I just don’t have enough intel to say one way or another.” I hated being uninformed. Knowledge wasn’t just power. It often got my pixie ass out of trouble. Brainpower almost always trumped physical strength.

I headed for the door. As far as I’d been able to see, unless you were fairy, brownie, or a juiced-up witch, there was only one way in or out of our underground prison. Maybe a mole shifter could tunnel their way out. Next time I saw Agent Griffon, I’d ask.

“I don’t think it’s locked, but just in case, I’ll probably need you to bust it down since the lock will be on the outside.” I doubted our captors had bothered. The lack of security cameras and the fact neither Oxley nor Sylvie had bothered checking on us spoke to their confidence. It was understandable. Caged pixies didn’t typically escape on their own.

“Understood.” Leon moved in front of me and lifted the door latch. Just as I’d thought, it opened with ease. Leon carefully pulled the door open. Pale light filtered in, matching the atmosphere of our small room.

Leon leaned out, his gaze running along the doorjamb and surrounding walls. “There are sigils in the wall and along the doorframe, but they are not activated. Curious. Or perhaps, overconfident.”

“Or maybe Sylvie used too much magical juice bringing us here and then charming your restraints. She was pretty wiped when she left. I was kind of hoping she’d fall on her face, but that didn’t happen, at least not that I could see.” I was hoping Sylvie’s magical burn out would work to our advantage. If we were lucky, she’d slept the day away while trying to recover.

“Should we run into the witch, we will need to inquire as to the reason,” Leon said, sounding one part indifferent and three parts anticipatory. I wasn’t sure about our chances against a fully charged up witch, especially one powerful enough to use a transportation spell. Again, I could only hope Sylvie’s magical tank was still running on empty.

Leon led the way. The tunnel was poorly lit. Shifting my eyes, I allowed my inner Pallas’s cat visual reign. Nooks and crannies I hadn’t seen before suddenly became clear, including the sigils Leon mentioned. Like him, I couldn’t feel so much as a whisper of magic against my skin.

We came to a fork in the corridor and Leon asked, “Do you know which way?”

“I know how to get back to where we first arrived. I’m not entirely certain that’s the way out or if that’s the way to where we might find more information. I can tell you that room was closed up tight. Not sure if it was completely underground, but there weren’t any windows. Gotta say, I was exceedingly grateful for that fact.” I reached out and touched Leon’s arm. The contact was probably more for my benefit than his. I didn’t want to think back on those terrifying moments when I thought Leon would crumble into a pile of ash before my very eyes.

“That was exceedingly fortunate,” Leon agreed, understating the situation like only a vampire could.

“We can start with the way we came.” I pointed to the right, and Leon and I cautiously started down that path. Although the tilt was minimal, the ground’s upward angle was unmistakable.

The corridor we traveled was eerily silent. I’d shifted my ears along with my eyes. My Pallas’s cat form could also hear a lot better than my pixie half.

Within a matter of minutes, the corridor emptied out into the room we’d arrived inside. I was dismayed to find it still stank of my earlier sick.

“Sorry,” I offered when I saw Leon’s nose twitch. “You were unconscious when we arrived, so I don’t think you felt the full effects. Let me just say, traveling by way of witch translocation isn’t recommended.” I rubbed my empty belly. With my nausea well and truly passed, hunger gnawed at me.

“Looks like Oxley and Sylvie aren’t really into cleanup.” Most likely Sylvie had a magical solution to the mess on the floor. Once she was recovered, she’d probably use her innate abilities to do the dirty work. If we were in Phil’s home, he would have already cleaned it up by now. He viewed it as inconsiderate to the house. As a home-and-hearth pixie, Phil’s bonded home was sacred.

By silent agreement, Leon and I separated and began wandering the room’s perimeter. It didn’t look much different than I remembered. There also wasn’t much there. Another door lay opposite the one through which we’d entered. I already knew what was behind us, which left only one direction to head.

“I can still feel the residual magic,” Leon said, his emotionless tone belittling the heaviness of that observation. It took a lot of magical mojo for a witch to do a transportation spell and the fact he could still feel its remnants was telling.

Nodding toward door number two, I said, “You ready to head out?”

Leon held out a sweeping arm. “After you.”

I inwardly preened. Flying so I could reach his face, I kissed Leon’s smooth cheek. “Thank you for not treating me like a fragile pixie in need of protection. Maybe old vamps really can be taught.” I’d fought all my life for recognition and to be considered capable. As the only pixie agent with the Magical Usage Council, the road hadn’t exactly been difficult, but it hadn’t been easy either.

Leon’s palm cupped my cheek and I leaned into his cool skin. “Do not mistake my belief in your abilities as a willingness not to protect you. I will always do so. To ask me otherwise would mean you seek the impossible.”

I rubbed against his hand, relishing the strength I found. A purr rumbled through my chest and Leon’s eyes widened, expanding their inky black depths as his fingers brushed against the fur lining my shifted ears.

“Interesting,” Leon said while the pad of his fingers tickled my ear. A couple of weeks ago, I would have found his comment irritating. Now I saw it for what it was. Leon cherished the interesting and unique and I happened to be a healthy combination of both.

My heart pounded and my purr deepened. Where this vampire was concerned, I was definitely in over my head. I could only imagine what Auntie Tandra would think of my heart’s latest desire.

Pushing sexy thoughts of Leon away, I focused on the job at hand. “I suppose we better get a move on.”

Leon’s hand dropped to his side, releasing my cheek. I immediately felt the absence.

Spinning midair, I flew to the door. Thankfully, it too was unlocked. While I wasn’t certain where Oxley and Sylvie were or if there were others waiting on the other side, I figured busting a door off its hinges would bring more attention than we wanted.

Stealth was our friend. Thankfully, we didn’t need Leon’s brawn and the door slid open, revealing a much different scene.

Shifting my eyes back to their pixie form, I waited for my eyesight to adjust to the improved lighting. Unlike the previous corridors and rooms Leon and I’d been through, the hall beyond was finished like a proper home. The air was dryer, the musty dankness retreating behind the door we closed behind us.

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