Page 58 of Sprite Wedding
She stared at me and then sighed. “Yes. We’ve come all this way.”
I raised my index finger. “Before I do anything, you must promise not to hurt anyone or cause mischief.” I arched my brows. “And you must break Lucas from this curse.”
She stared over at Lucas and then down at the stunned sprite, whose angry expression remained frozen on his face. “We already have a deal there. When Marty and Sarine recover, we’ll undo the spell binding Lucas.”
Hope bloomed inside me, but I didn’t want to get too optimistic only to be crushed. “It looks like we may be waiting here for a while.” I tapped my fingers along my side and adjusted my weight. “What’s your name?”
“Ursula.” She motioned to some nearby sprites who’d taken partial concealment behind trees and bushes. She introduced several more, many whose names I forgot almost immediately. There were too many coming at me at once.
Some of the sprites remained in their concealed positions. Others trekked out and approached with hesitance.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” I said in a gentle voice. “All I want is Lucas back.”
Over the next several minutes, I spoke with several others. They didn’t appear to be menacing but cautious. Maybe this whole thing was a giant misunderstanding.
“One second, I want to play some music for Lucas.” I retrieved the speaker I’d dropped and then connected it to Lucas’s phone. After I found a recent playlist that had plenty of alternative and classic rock that he loved, I pressed play.
Although we all seemed to regard each other with suspicion at first, eventually most of the sprites loosened up. They enjoyed the music. Many joined hands and spun on the grass, reminding me of how happy Lucas had been at the Gogol Bordello show. Others flew in the sky, fluttering in a kind of dance. I turned to Lucas. Could he see this unbelievable spectacle in his garden with sprites flying and dancing? I would have found this hard to believe had I not seen it.
Marty began to stir. I held the stunner in my hand once more, just in case. After a few more minutes, he shook out his arms and then attempted to stand. He wobbled on shaky legs and sat back down.
“What did you do to me, elf?” he spat.
“Stunned you to prevent you from attacking me.” I pointed to Lucas. “Like you did to him.”
“He deserved it for what he did.”
“Real-ly?” I let my sarcasm drag out the word. “You think what he did wassooooodreadful that you took away his free will?”
“Like you did to me?” he accused, pointing a short, stubby finger at me.
“For a short time and to defend myself,” I clarified. “This is the second night Lucas will be out here like this.”
“Maybe he’ll learn a lesson,” Marty grumbled.
“Marty, that’s enough,” Ursula warned. “You made your point.”
The other sprite, Sarine, had woken as well. She stood on wobbly legs.
“It’s time to undo what you’ve done,” Ursula directed Marty.
“Okay, okay.” He gestured with an impatient wave. He beat his wings and then lifted a few inches off the ground. He glanced over his shoulder. “This better wear off completely. I’m not flying at full capacity.”
“You should be fine soon,” I assured him.
“I better be.” He flew up higher, a bit more erratic than the smooth way the other sprites zipped about the garden.
I’d feel bad if he hadn’t attempted to attack me. No way would I apologize for defending myself.
He ascended up to Lucas. His full height wasn’t even that of Lucas’s dragon head. “It looks like my fun is over, dragon breath,” Marty grumbled. He spread his hands in a circular gesture around Lucas’s head. Tiny, iridescent specks spread from his hand and then wrapped around the stone. It began to glow with a white light that brightened. The stone appeared to vibrate.
A heartbeat later, a blinding flash was followed by a boom. I ducked and shielded my eyes. What the hell had just happened?
CHAPTER15
LUCAS
Ididn’t trust Marty one bit. As soon as I felt him manipulating the spell that held me, I forced my energy through it and exploded from the stone.
