Page 32 of Magical Moonbeam
“They’re friends. Maybe fans. Maybe a coven. I don’t ask questions.”
“Skonk…”
“I heard Moonbeam preparations were happening,” he interrupted, plucking a pebble from his hand and tossing it up before catching it. “Thought I’d pop in. Offer myexpertise.”
My eyes narrowed. “What kind of expertise involves flinging pebbles at people and impersonating your cousin?”
“Oh, I impersonated himbeautifully,thank you. Honestly, your garden needed rearranging anyway.”
I groaned. “What makes you think I want to invite you in when you were so rude at the cottage?”
Skonk smiled wider. “You’ve got a real ‘tense headmistress trying to hold the threads of fate together’ vibe going, by the way. Very dramatic. I approve.”
“You arenotcoming inside.”
He sniffed. “Fine. Be that way. But it’s very rude to reject visitors before they’ve hexed anything.”
“I’m not interested in games today, Skonk.”
He yawned, exaggeratedly. “Well, that’s disappointing. Games are my specialty. You should try one sometime. Might loosen that charmingly stiff spine of yours.”
I exhaled slowly, the burn of last night’s dream still lingering behind my eyes. The contrast between Gideon’s ice-cold menace and Skonk’s irritating chaos was almost enough to short-circuit my brain.
Skonk clicked his heels together, sending a glittery puff of something unpleasant-smelling into the air. “Anyway, just thought I’d swing by. Scope things out. Tell myactualcousin you should consider letting him get a new vest, by the way. That thing’s one enchanted sneeze away from disintegrating.”
“Skonk.”
“I’m leaving, I’m leaving.” He held up both hands. “Honestly, so touchy.”
His group began to slink after him like a collection of highly flammable parade participants.
But just before he stepped off the final stair, he turned and grinned again.
“Tell Twobble I missed him, too.”
Then he vanished with a snap of his fingers and averyrude noise.
I stood in the doorway for a long moment, letting the breeze blow the glitter away.
No darkness. No threats.
Just… Skonk.
But, he didn’t go far I spotted him toward the Butterfly Ward with his groupies.
Annoying, exhausting, unpredictable Skonk.
But still.
Something about his visit itched at me. Hehadtimed it perfectly. Right after the Moonbeam conversation. Right after the dream.
And that grin…that flicker of too-much-knowledge in his eyes.
Maybe he wasn’t dangerous the way Gideon was, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t a warning.
And I had a feeling Twobble wouldn’t be happy to hear about this unannounced family reunion.
I stood there longer than I should have, the door still half open, the morning breeze curling around my ankles like a whisper.
