Page 2 of The King

With her sarcastic comeback cut off by a symphony of squishes and squelches she instantly recognized as rubber-soled shoes hitting a wet tile floor; Ettie listened as intently as possible. Unable to pinpoint the exact location of the annoying opus, she once again instinctively reached for her Magic. Halfway through the reflex motions of opening her preternatural senses as wide as they would go, her efforts were thwarted when Eden snarked, "That’s not gonna work either.”

“Yeah, well, I can't convince my brain of that. It just keeps trying to go through the motions. How about you try?”

“I would, but it would be a complete waste of time and energy.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

"It means that together, you and I, my dear Bridgette Morrigan Featherstone, have precisely zero Magic at our immediate disposal.”

“We what?!?”She roared so loudly that a sharp pain shot from one temple to the other, bounced off and hit the back of her skull, then ricocheted into the center of her forehead with such fury she seriously considered giving up the fight and falling back into the deep, obviously drug-induced sleep she was trying to exit until the world stopped spinning and she could get off.

But that would be too easy.

“Exactly what I said,”Eden haughtily sighed.“We have no access to our Magic. None whatsoever. Something or someone…”

“Drugs?”

“Yes, that’s my guess. Some drug or cocktail of drugs have pulled up the drawbridge, stocked the moat with fresh alligators, locked the door, and thrown away the key. I’ve been trying to get a hold of even a spark of a speck of anything of our blessed Enchantment for the last three days, but….”

“Three days?!”

“Yes, three days,”Eden ground out through her tightly clasped beak.“That’s what I said. That’s how long it’s been since you thought we were following Max, our world went black, and you refused to wake up.”

“I was following Max,”shehuffed.

“If you say so,”Eden grumbled.“But I sure didn’t see…”

“Yeah, whatever. Riddle me this, Birdbrain,am I awake now?”

“No, I….”

“It sure doesn’t feel like I’m awake.”

“That’s what I was….”

"I can't open my eyes, and I would swear some blasted contraption is breathing for me."

“Yes, like I was….”

"What’s the matter? Why aren't you answering? Please answer me. For the love of all things feathery and winged, will you please tell me what the hell is happening and how we're gonna get out of here?”

“Are you finished?”

“Am I what?”

“Are you finished? Can I get a word in edgewise?”

“Well, yes….”

"And if it's not too much trouble, could you please stop with the screeching and shrieking? You're giving me a headache."

“I’m giving you a headache? I’m giving you…?”

And there she was again, screeching and shrieking and doing all the things Neanderthal men accused women of doing when they were upset. It pissed her off almost as much as her current situation. It was annoying – really annoying. Ettie hated to lose her cool and composure. She was known for being the levelheaded one out of all the Daughters of Lugh. The one who kept her shit together no matter what was happening.

But now… there was no calm, no cool, and definitely no collected to be found.

She needed answers, and she needed them sooner rather than later. Helpless and clueless was not something she was used to. It would take all of her hard-fought and concentrated effort to stop freaking out and focus, but she could do it. She had to do it. Hell, she'd taught all her cousins and countless others how to keep their cool in perilous situations. It was time to practice what she preached.

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