Sprinkles, Spelled, and Slayed Page 4

  "How mad are you going to be if I use magic to turn your hair silver?" Trixie asked.

  "What?"

  "Well, I don't have time to bleach it and dye it silver. So, magic will have to do."

  "My hair?" I asked and ran my hand through the ends. "You want to turn it silver?"

  "It's fine. It will look beautiful and the advantage of using magic is that there's no damage,” she said.

  "You can change it back?" I asked.

  "Of course. If you want me to change it. You might love it."

  "Fine."

  We ate and then headed upstairs so I could get ready for the meeting. The dress Trixie had picked out was a black maxi dress with spaghetti straps and a long train that had a loop on the end you put over your finger. The little loop went over your ring finger and it kept the train of the dress off the floor. The dress was something I'd purchased to wear to a black tie event, and it was a much fancier choice than I'd expected.

  "Can't I wear something a little more low-key?" I asked as I held the dress in my hands. It had a sheen to it as the fabric was woven with metallic fibers.

  "Absolutely not. That's perfect and you're wearing it. I don't want to hear you griping about the heels I picked either."

  "You didn't,” I said.

  "I did." She picked up my pair of black Louboutin pumps and handed them to me.

  "I've worn those once,” I said. "The heel is really high."

  "Now it will be twice. You'll be fine. I enchanted them. Promise you won't fall."

  "Enchanted Louboutin heels," I muttered. "Should I get dressed?"

  "No, I'm going to do your hair and makeup first. I don't want to get fallout on your dress. Bathroom,” she said. "I've already dragged a desk chair in there."

  "Yes, ma'am,” I said.

  "You're going to thank me for this."

  "Thank you,” I said. "I mean it."

  "Oh, just wait and see. You're going to be far more appreciative when you meet the council."

  I sat in the chair while Trixie curled my hair. She then pulled it up and pinned it at the top of my head while creating a cascade of curls that spilled out from the top.

  Next she moved on to my makeup. She was using a lot of color, and at one point, took a brush and wiped some of it off my eyes.

  "I'm doing a cut crease,” she said when she caught me looking at her in confusion. "You'll see."

  But then she moved on to doing the rest of my face, and I swore she wasn't keeping the colorful pigment on just my eyes.

  "What are you doing?" I asked when she dipped the brush in bright pink eye shadow and then started doing something on my cheek.

  "You'll see."

  About an hour later, she was done. She waved her hands over my hair, and told me to go get dressed. I tried to turn toward the mirror, but Trixie blocked me.

  "I want you to get the dress on first. It will be more fun if your first impression is the whole thing,” she said. "Now go."

  So, I humored Trixie and left the bathroom without looking. She followed me into the bedroom and made sure I didn't look in the mirror in there too. I kept my back turned to it.

  When I had the dress on, Trixie messed with my hair a little more. "Okay, you can turn around now,” she said when she was done.

  I turned, and for a moment, I was taken aback. She’d done far more to me than I expected.

  For one thing, the hair was kind of a shock. It was definitely silver, but it had a luminescence that shifted from pink to blue to lavender in the light. It took me a moment to get used to, but I did love it. Not enough to leave it that way all the time, but for a special occasion, it was magnificent.

  My makeup was something else too. She’d done my eyes in a rainbow of sparkly colors that complemented the shades in my hair completely. The most interesting part was that she’d drawn stars in various places on my face with shimmery pigment, but you could only see them when the light caught them just right.

  “Wow, this is…” I started to say.

  “It’s amazing, isn’t it?” Trixie said and clapped her hands together. “You look wonderful.”

  “I do. Thank you,” I said. “But is all this really necessary?”

  “You’ll see,” she said.

  “What about you?” I asked.

  “You’re the star tonight,” Trixie said. “You do have another little black dress in the closet that caught my eye.”

  “You can borrow it. Of course,” I said.

  Trixie threw on the understated black cocktail dress she’d found in my closet. She put her hair up in a neat bun at the back of her head and wore just a bit of makeup. She looked polished and professional, but she’d done nothing for herself like the look she’d given me.

  “All right, It’s just about sunset,” she said as she swiped on a bit of mascara. “We should go.”

  “What about Voodoo?” I asked.

  “We can bring him as well.”

  She walked over to Voodoo and ran her hand over his collar. When I looked again, it was studded with Swarovski crystals.

  “All right, let’s roll,” Trixie said. “I need your keys. I know where we’re going, so I’ll drive.”

  “You’re going to drive my car?” I said.

  “Yes. You can’t drive in those heels anyway. Don’t worry. I’m a great driver. I haven’t had a ticket in months… err, weeks. Whatever, just give me your keys. It’s time to go.”

  Trixie was not a great driver, but she did get us there in one piece. That was about all I could say about it.

  The place where the meeting was being held was a very old estate at the edge of town. “I didn’t even know this was here,” I said.

  “That’s the point,” Trixie said as she got out of the driver’s seat.

  We’d driven under an iron archway to get onto the estate grounds. The gates had been open when we arrived, but Trixie walked over and shut them.

  I looked up at the giant stone building and a shudder ran down my spine. Suddenly, I wasn’t sure I wanted to meet with the elders, but I also knew deep down inside that I didn’t really have a choice.

  The gray stone walls were half covered in ivy, and a soft glow emanated from the windows on the first floor. The windows of the second and third floors were completely dark, and some part of me told me not to look too closely. The giant house was obviously haunted, and whatever ghosts lurked in the upper floors of the elder mansion did not want to be seen.

  Trixie breezed past me. “Come on. Let’s go. We’re almost late.”

  I hurried behind her. My heels clicked loudly against the concrete driveway, and the sound reverberated off the trees surrounding the estate. There was no way I could sneak up on anyone in those things.

  As we walked up the massive stone steps to the front door, I was thankful that Trixie had enchanted the shoes for balance. If I’d fallen, not only would it have been embarrassing, but I probably would have killed myself too.

  There was a giant bronze lion on the front door with a ring in its mouth. Trixie used it to knock on the door.

  “I guess there’s no doorbell,” I mused.

  “Shh,” she said. “From here on out, just stay quiet unless someone asks you a question. Okay?”

  “Yes,” I said and nodded my head.

  I felt the kernel of fear in my belly become a rock. It will all be worth it. I told myself. If the elders could help me find Alex, then everything would be worth it.

  A few moments later, a man dressed in a black tuxedo answered the door. He looked us both over and grimaced a little.

  “They’re expecting you,” he said. “Come in, please.”

  The man stepped back and allowed Trixie and me to enter. I didn’t suppress my gasp as we stepped into the giant stone and wood entryway. The whole thing was lit with hundreds of candles, and I started to wonder if the estate even had electricity. Or, they were just doing it for effect, but it worked.

  “Right this way,” the man who answered the door said. “The dog s
tays here. I will watch him.”

  “No,” I said. “I’m not going to leave him.”

  “He’ll be fine,” Trixie said. “No one brings their familiars into the council meetings. The elders won’t have theirs either.”

  “I’ll be fine,” Voodoo said. “I’ve done this before.”

  “And you’ll watch out for him?” I asked the man.

  He nodded his head at me.

  I felt a little silly. Voodoo wasn’t an ordinary dog. He didn’t need the man to look after him, but still, I felt that I should ensure his safety. Which was funny because his job was to protect me. I still had some things to get used to.

  The man led us down a dark hallway. There were only a few small candles lit in the alcoves of the hall. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dimmer light, but just as they did, he opened the door to a ballroom that was lit with hundreds more candles.

  In the center of the room were seven chairs. The one in the center was the largest, and there were three smaller throne-type seats off to each side.

  There was a witch in each chair. The most notable was the old woman in the center. Her long, white hair cascaded down over her shimmery silver dress, and she had the same subtle stars painted on her face as I did. You could see them as the candlelight caught her cheekbones while she appraised me.

  Seated at the end on the left was a male witch. He had shocking blue hair, but his eyebrows were black. I figured the color, like mine, was just for the meeting.

  He was studying me far more intensely than I was comfortable with, but I found myself glancing back at him over and over.

  Trixie gave me a little shove into the room, and I realized I was still standing in the doorway. The man who'd answered the door was standing in the middle of the room, and he waved his hand in front of him, palm up, to indicate where I should stand.

  I walked over and took my place, and I heard Trixie come up behind me. She stayed behind me to my left. I couldn't see her, but I could feel her there. Something about being in that manor seemed to heighten my senses.

  My eyes stayed cast down. I wasn't sure what the etiquette was for looking at the elders, but since Trixie had told me not to speak unless someone asked me a question, I figured I probably shouldn't stand there gaping at them either.

  Everyone except the man with the blue hair. My eyes kept flicking up to catch another glance of him despite my brain ordering them not to. He was hard not to look at. Even more gorgeous than Rowan had been, but in a darkly seductive way that made my pulse pound in my ears.

  It occurred to me as I stood there fighting the urge to look at him again that perhaps he was using some sort of magic to have the effect on me. That was sort of confirmed the next time I snuck a peek at him and a small smile crept across his full lips. He bit his bottom lip, and I felt a blush burn up from my neck to my cheeks. I prayed to the Goddess silently that the meeting would get underway. I needed a distraction, and I then needed to get away.

  "We are ready to begin," the old witch with white hair announced, and I breathed a sigh of relief. "I am tired, though, and I find that I do much care about this witch and her problems. I'm going to turn this meeting over to Athan. Elder Thornheart, would you please proceed?"

  Good feeling gone.

  There was only one male witch seated there among the female witches dressed in their brightly colored dresses. He, Athan, stood up and took a step forward.

  "As you wish, Eldress Morningstar."

  "Thank you," she replied.

  "Welcome,” he said to me. "My name, as you might have heard, is Elder Athan Thornheart. Would you please introduce yourself to the council?"

  I had to wonder how he could be considered an elder. Athan looked to be in his late twenties. He could have possibly been a very well-kept thirty, but there was no way he was an elder. Some sort of magic was afoot, or he was also a vampire.

  "I'm Allegra Darling,” I said and then shut up. I had to fight the urge to say more. To ask questions. But Trixie had said to only answer questions. I answered it and stopped there.

  "Thank you,” Athan said and took another step toward me. "First of all, we'd like to welcome you to Knox Hills. I know you've been here for a while, but I hope you can understand that for us, these things take time. We hope that once you've met with us, the other witches in town will be more welcoming to you as well, but they may not. It is up to them. We do not control such things."

  He stepped toward me again. I felt an overwhelming anticipation that grew stronger the closer he got to me. I wanted to reach out to him, and I hated myself for it. He was intoxicatingly and devastatingly attractive to me, and I started to hate him for it too. Then, he continued.

  "On the matter of your friend, Alex Shore... The council has made a decision. He is a hunter from an order that used to hunt witches. We will not help you find him. We won't kill him either. He is welcome back in Knox Hills should you find him, but the council does not wish to be a part of the matter. Thank you. You may go,” he said and flicked his hand dismissively toward the door.

  I knew I wasn't supposed to say anything unless I was asked a question, and I hadn't been asked a question, but I felt an unbridled fury rise up from my gut. "That's it!" I shrieked. "You dragged me all the way here, made me get dressed up, put me through whatever it is you're doing," I said and pointed at Athan, "and you're just going to dismiss me like that? What even was this? How dare you!"

  I'm not sure why I lost my cool that way other than that whatever magic Athan was using, it heightened my emotions considerably. Not to mention that I'd been waiting for their help to find Alex, and they just blew me off. I felt like I'd been called there just so they could look down their noses at me for their own amusement. I was being toyed with by a bunch of bored old witches locked away in some creepy old manor in freaking Knox Hills. Knox freaking Hills. We were in Illinois, for cripes’ sake, and these jerks were acting like they were some sort of fabulous coven locked away in the Paris Catacombs or whatever.

  Athan's eyes flared with what appeared at first to be fury, but it was something else. Something I couldn't quite place.

  He lunged forward and grabbed me by the arm. Before I really knew what he was doing, I felt him dragging me off to the side of the room. There was a dark doorway there, and it appeared that's where we were going.

  "I will handle this,” Athan said over his shoulder to Eldress Morningstar.

  "Indeed,” she said. "Ladies, I think we're done here. Athan will take out the trash."

  "Where are you taking me?" I looked back and saw Trixie following.

  Athan whirled around when I looked at her. "You, stay right there,” he said and pointed his finger at her. "Don't you move from that spot or you know what will happen."

  "Please," Trixie pleaded.

  "Don't move and don't you dare speak again."

  "Where are you taking me?" I asked again, more desperate than before.

  "Hush,” he said and tightened his grip on my arm slightly. "Now."

  Athan dragged me through the dark doorway and slammed the door. I heard him clap his hands, and suddenly that room was lit by dozens of candles. It was just a small annex chamber with bars on the windows. Athan was blocking the way out.

  "Have you lost your mind?" he growled at me.

  I was taken aback at first because the expression on his face was one of concern and frustration instead of the murderous rage I’d expected. He was standing there looking like he was trying to figure out what to do with me when I’d thought he was bringing me into the annex room to kill me.

  “Probably,” I said.

  It was the truth. I’d lost my head out there. Trixie had warned me not to speak unless someone asked me a question, and I’d yelled at the elders.

  Before Athan could say anything, there was a frantic scratching at the door. At first, I couldn’t figure out what it could be, but it hit me.

  Voodoo.

  He’d heard the commotion and come running. Trixie had pr
obably tried to keep him back, but Voodoo wouldn’t have that.

  “I think that’s my familiar,” I said.

  “Tell him to wait with Trixie,” Athan said.

  “I don’t think he’s going to want to do that.”

  “Make him wait with Trixie. He is your familiar. He does your bidding. And right now, you do mine, so make him wait with Trixie.”

  I walked over and opened the door a crack. Voodoo skittered back a little, but he kept his eyes on the door.

  “You have to go wait with Trixie,” I said. “Please.”

  “Are you okay?” Voodoo asked. “I heard you yelling.”

  “I’m okay,” I said. “He hasn’t done anything to me… yet. Please, go wait with Trixie.”

  “I won’t leave you,” he said.

  “Voodoo, go. You have to. Wait with Trixie. It’s going to be okay.”

  “Come on, Voodoo. Come over here,” I heard Trixie call out to him.

  He looked at me again and then reluctantly turned and walked in her direction. I closed the door and turned to face Athan again.

  “Have you lost your mind?” he asked. “I asked you that and you didn’t give me a real answer.”

  “Probably is a real answer,” I said. “What did you expect?”

  “I ask the questions,” Athan said, but there was no venom in his voice.

  “I think I’ve pretty well blown protocol here,” I said. “So, either take care of me like you told the other elders you would do, or… I don’t know… What are we doing here? You seem… reluctant.”

  “You asked what I expected. You are not what I expected at all, Allegra Darling.”

  “This isn’t what I expected either. I had no idea Trixie was getting me ready to be paraded in front of you like a sideshow attraction. I also thought you’d decided to help me find Alex. So, yeah, this didn’t go the way I planned.”

  “You should have brought the book,” Athan said.

  “The book? Oh, the grimoire Alex found. Trixie didn’t say to bring it, so we didn’t bring it. Besides, you guys would have just taken it and still not helped me find Alex. Then I’d have nothing to go on.”

  “Maybe he doesn’t need to be found,” Athan said. “Did you ever think that’s why we decided not to help?”