“It’s okay, boy,” I told him, cooing. “We’ll be fine now. Just hold on.”
He whined and tried to climb me some more, but after a few soothing shhhhhs and pets, he calmed.
I gave Val a pat on the head, between his horns. “Sadie, this is Val, as in Percival. Val, this is Sadie, Damon, and Ora—I mean, Tanmroosh.”
Damn that was close. Offending a pygmy troll was high on my list of things not to do. My friends and I had nicknames for all of them, but that was only because their names were convoluted, hard to remember, and difficult to pronounce.
Okay, that’s not entirely true. We probably would have given them monikers regardless; the sourpusses all but begged for the treatment—behind their backs. Never to their faces.
Sadie, who didn’t bother with pleasantries any more than I usually did, simply offered Val a curt nod of acknowledgment. “And where did Val come from?”
“Long story,” I said.
“Which we’ll have to hear on the move,” Damon said, giving Sadie a meaningful look before leading us up to the rock face that housed the secret entrance to the Magical Creatures Academy, exactly where I’d already tried to pass through the mountain and failed. The gateway was invisible and sealed to everyone but those approved by the Academy Spell, which governed the functioning of the academy. Current students and staff, along with special pre-approved visitors, like the Enforcers, could usually get in without incident.
Since my life had been remarkably unusual lately, I didn’t bother mustering much surprise at the fact that it’d refused me entry—once again. My life had been one big clusterfuck lately; it was a theme.
I bent over to pick up Why and hitched him on my hip as if he were a human toddler. He wrapped his legs around my waist and leaned his head against my shoulder, content, and, knowing him, probably settling in for another nap. In my one-armed hold, he’d grow heavy, but I had Egg to carry too. If I picked up any more strays I’d need to invest in a wagon to lug them all around in.
Val followed us, walking next to me, his clip-clop footfalls timid, waiting for me to tell his story.
“Val was in Happy Land with me,” I started.
Sadie turned from the rock to look at me, her forehead wrinkled. “What the hell is Happy Land?”
“I’ll tell you everything in detail, but before we go anywhere, I should probably tell you that I think I killed the pendant. Its magic is gone. And Val’s on the run from some fairy who made a deal with his mother. He was supposed to go to Happy Land to fulfill the bargain, which he did, and since no one’s supposed to ever leave Happy Land, I think we might be okay, but really I don’t know...”
Sadie positioned herself directly in front of the entrance to the academy, precisely where I’d tried to enter and encountered nothing but solid rock. “We’ll figure it out once you tell us the whole story. For now, Damon’s right. Time to go. Jas, Damon will carry you since you say the entrance still won’t open for you.”
“Yeah, and why’s that?” I asked. “I’m still a student, aren’t I?”
“I don’t know, Jas. Before, when the gateway wouldn’t let you through, I think it was because of the pendant’s magic distorting your own power signature. But now…” She shrugged. “If its magic is no longer active, it might be because of how long you’ve been gone. Albacus and Mordecai have tightened down the Academy Spell so it’s tighter than a dolphin’s ass. No one gets in or out without their permission.”
“Um…” I licked my lips nervously. “How long have I been gone exactly?”
Sadie exchanged a loaded look with Damon. “Let’s just say you’ve been gone longer than that prick Zavid held us in his fae court.”
My stomach sank into the soles of my feet. “We were gone for nearly an entire semester, then…”
“Yep. Shit hasn’t been good since you’ve been gone. I’m telling you, everything’s been royally fucked up.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, getting over my pity party really fast, as concern for my friends ratcheted up my priority list. Besides, it could have been much worse. Time could have ticked by differently in Happy Land. I could have been gone for decades, or even longer.
“I mean, the supe world is all but at war. And the academy is preparing to join the fight.”
I swallowed around my parched throat. “Is everyone okay?”
“Hell no, girl, haven’t you been listening?” Sadie said. “No one’s okay. Until we blow the Voice the hell up, we’re all in shit’s panties. All supes are in the middle of this now. Probably even the dragons, and they really don’t want to join in.” She cast a glance at Egg. “The Voice hasn’t given us a choice. None of us.”
Before I could say another word, Orangesicle approached, arms wide. Why, who understood what was about to happen sooner than I did, immediately started whining, pulling his head back from my shoulder to shoot panicked, puppy eyes at me.
The pygmy troll was gentler than I’d ever seen him, extending his short, stubby arms to my pandacorn cub while he spoke to him in gentle tones. “I need to carry you to get you into the academy so you can be with your person. I’ll keep you right next to her.”
Why glanced from me to him and back again and again.
“It’s okay, boy. Go with him. I’ll be right there with you,” I told him.
With enough droopiness to make sure we all knew he wasn’t pleased with the arrangement, he dragged his paws over to the troll, who took him from me. Why was nearly Orangesicle’s size, but the pygmy trolls were crazy strong. He wouldn’t drop him.
“Hold on to that egg,” Damon said.
“Okay, why?” I said, then squealed in a far too feminine a manner as he scooped me up and tossed me over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. I mean, I should have known it was coming, but somehow I didn’t expect him to throw me around like a sack of potatoes. I snatched Egg from under my arm before I dropped it, and cradled it in both hands, holding it aloft. Then I realized the position placed my hands above Damon’s ass—and it was a very fine, tight ass, a nice view through his worn jeans. I was in the middle of debating the benefits of keeping my hands exactly where they were when Damon hitched me higher on his shoulder, jumbling my thoughts.
Sadie scooped up Val, who squealed in surprise much as I had and then looked at me over her shoulder with wide-eyed shock. What kind of world had I brought him into? My stomach rose back to its rightful place, only to twist itself into a horrible knot. I offered Val a sorry grimace, for all the good it would do. He probably would have been better off in Happy Land, for all its faults—just as I’d told him.
“Let’s go,” Sadie said, and slid a foot through the mountain face. “We’ll call Caroline Jolly the moment Jas is safe in the academy. I can’t wait to shut her the hell up. She’s been driving me nuts!”
“I can imagine,” I told her with genuine empathy. My mom had likely driven everyone with any sort of influence in the supernatural community up the wall.
“You have no idea,” Sadie added.
But of course I, of all people, had a very good idea how bad my mom had been during my unexplained absence.