Bright Blaze of Magic
Page 30
But I pushed my anger aside and scanned the room again, looking for the two most important things.
“Oscar?” I called out. “It’s Lila. Are you in here?”
No answer, and nothing moved or stirred in the debris. I went over to the patio doors, which had had the glass busted out of them, stepped outside onto the stone balcony, and tried again.
“Oscar?” I called out again. “If you can hear me, please come out.”
Still, no answer.
My heart dropped, my stomach clenched, and more tears gathered in my eyes, but I blinked them away and trudged back into my room. Given their small size, pixies were very good at hiding, and I had no easy way of finding Oscar. All I could do now was hope that he and Tiny were somewhere safe.
Devon and Felix looked at me, asking me the same silent question, but I shook my head. Their faces tightened and sympathy flashed in their eyes. They knew how much I cared about the pixie and his tortoise, how much I valued Oscar’s friendship and Tiny’s too, even if the tortoise couldn’t actually talk.
I wandered around the room, kicking my way through my trampled clothes and causing the mattress stuffing to fly up into the air like snowflakes before slowly drifting down again. Devon and Felix stared out over the destruction, their faces still sad, but Deah looked much more thoughtful as she glanced from one side of the room to the other.
“Okay,” she said. “So where did you stash your sword and all your other important stuff?”
I arched my eyebrows at her. “And what makes you think I would do something like that?”
She snorted. “Because you’re not running from one side of the room to the other, ranting and raving about how the guards either destroyed or took all your stuff. That means the things you really care about are probably still here, hidden away somewhere. Once a thief, always a thief, right?”
“Funny you should say that. I might have tucked a few things away here and there before we left the mansion tonight. Just in case things didn’t go so well at the dinner.”
Deah winced at my careless words. Yeah, me too. The images of all the blood, bodies, and destruction at the White Orchid and here in the mansion flashed through my mind, making me even more heartsick.
I jerked my head. “Here. I’ll show you.”
I passed my stolen sword over to Devon, then went over to the corner of the bedroom, where a small plastic Karma Girl trash can was sitting upright and in its usual place against the wall. It was just about the only thing in here that hadn’t been torn apart, knocked over, or stomped to pieces. I tossed out the crumpled tissues, empty candy bar wrappers, and other actual trash inside, reached down into the bottom of the can, and drew out a clear plastic bag. My black, chopstick lock picks were nestled inside, along with my ironmesh gloves, and I held them up where my friends could see them.
“Nobody ever thinks to look in the trash for anything good,” I said.
The faintest hint of a smile flashed across Devon’s face. “A thief would.”
I nodded back at him. “This thief definitely would.”
I left the gloves in the bag, although I fished the chopsticks out of the plastic and stuck them through my ponytail like usual. Then I stepped into the adjoining bathroom, which was just as messy as the bedroom. Bottles of shampoo, conditioner, lotion, shower gel, and more had been opened up and poured all over the floor, creating a gloppy, sticky mess. The towels and washcloths had been pulled out of the bathroom closet and thrown down onto the floor as well, so that the goop there would soak into them. Someone had even ripped my bathrobe off the hanger on the back of the bathroom door, tossed it down, and stomped all over it, leaving dirty black footprints behind all over the fluffy white fabric.
I stepped on a couple of towels, trying not to get any more slime on my sneakers than necessary, and grabbed the robe off the floor. Then I reached down into a hidden pocket on the inside of the robe and pulled out a piece of sapphire-blue fabric about the size of my palm.
“And no one usually thinks to look in pockets either,” I said, dropping the ruined robe back down onto the floor.
I carefully unfolded the sapphire fabric layer by layer, then gently shook it out. Despite how tightly the fabric had been packed down, it quickly sprang back into its original shape—a long trench coat.
“Spidersilk,” Deah said in an approving voice. “I forgot that it always retains its shape, no matter how you wad it up or how small you fold it.”
“Yep.” I shrugged into the coat and smoothed some more of the wrinkles out of it before sticking the plastic bag with the ironmesh gloves into one of the pockets. “And now for the most important thing.”
“Your mom’s sword,” Devon said.
I nodded and climbed up onto the bathroom counter. A metal vent was located above the mirror, high on the wall. I reached for one of the screws, which was so loose that it was about to fall right out of the vent frame. I frowned. I thought I’d tightened that back up before I’d left for the dinner—
The vent burst open, making me shriek in surprise and almost lose my balance on the counter. But before I could stagger away from the vent, something silver flashed, and a sword no bigger than a needle zoomed out of the darkness and pressed into my nose. I froze.
“Stop right there, or I’ll stick you full of copper crusher venom,” a low, angry voice growled.
I squinted, staring past the tip of my nose, and realized that two pairs of eyes were glaring at me from the dark depths of the vent—one pair an intense violet and the other a midnight black.
“Oscar! Tiny!” I sighed with relief. “You guys are okay!”
Oscar squinted back at me. “Lila? Is that really you?”
“Of course it’s me. I showed you where I was putting my sword before I left. Remember?”
The pixie let out a tense breath and lowered his sword. Then he zipped out of the vent, flew over, and hugged my neck as tight as he could.
“It was . . . it was awful,” Oscar whispered in a ragged tone, his voice even twangier than normal. “Just about everyone was in the dining hall eating dinner, but I decided to feed Tiny before I went down to eat myself. The Draconis must have snuck up on the perimeter guards and taken them out first because there was no warning. The Draconis just busted into the mansion and started killing people. I heard the shouts and screams, but by the time I grabbed my sword and flew downstairs, it was already too late. Most of the guards were already dead, and the Draconis were rounding up the survivors, forcing them outside, and making them get into trucks and vans. But they didn’t see me, so I came up here to get Tiny and hide while they searched the rest of the mansion.”
“Oscar?” I called out. “It’s Lila. Are you in here?”
No answer, and nothing moved or stirred in the debris. I went over to the patio doors, which had had the glass busted out of them, stepped outside onto the stone balcony, and tried again.
“Oscar?” I called out again. “If you can hear me, please come out.”
Still, no answer.
My heart dropped, my stomach clenched, and more tears gathered in my eyes, but I blinked them away and trudged back into my room. Given their small size, pixies were very good at hiding, and I had no easy way of finding Oscar. All I could do now was hope that he and Tiny were somewhere safe.
Devon and Felix looked at me, asking me the same silent question, but I shook my head. Their faces tightened and sympathy flashed in their eyes. They knew how much I cared about the pixie and his tortoise, how much I valued Oscar’s friendship and Tiny’s too, even if the tortoise couldn’t actually talk.
I wandered around the room, kicking my way through my trampled clothes and causing the mattress stuffing to fly up into the air like snowflakes before slowly drifting down again. Devon and Felix stared out over the destruction, their faces still sad, but Deah looked much more thoughtful as she glanced from one side of the room to the other.
“Okay,” she said. “So where did you stash your sword and all your other important stuff?”
I arched my eyebrows at her. “And what makes you think I would do something like that?”
She snorted. “Because you’re not running from one side of the room to the other, ranting and raving about how the guards either destroyed or took all your stuff. That means the things you really care about are probably still here, hidden away somewhere. Once a thief, always a thief, right?”
“Funny you should say that. I might have tucked a few things away here and there before we left the mansion tonight. Just in case things didn’t go so well at the dinner.”
Deah winced at my careless words. Yeah, me too. The images of all the blood, bodies, and destruction at the White Orchid and here in the mansion flashed through my mind, making me even more heartsick.
I jerked my head. “Here. I’ll show you.”
I passed my stolen sword over to Devon, then went over to the corner of the bedroom, where a small plastic Karma Girl trash can was sitting upright and in its usual place against the wall. It was just about the only thing in here that hadn’t been torn apart, knocked over, or stomped to pieces. I tossed out the crumpled tissues, empty candy bar wrappers, and other actual trash inside, reached down into the bottom of the can, and drew out a clear plastic bag. My black, chopstick lock picks were nestled inside, along with my ironmesh gloves, and I held them up where my friends could see them.
“Nobody ever thinks to look in the trash for anything good,” I said.
The faintest hint of a smile flashed across Devon’s face. “A thief would.”
I nodded back at him. “This thief definitely would.”
I left the gloves in the bag, although I fished the chopsticks out of the plastic and stuck them through my ponytail like usual. Then I stepped into the adjoining bathroom, which was just as messy as the bedroom. Bottles of shampoo, conditioner, lotion, shower gel, and more had been opened up and poured all over the floor, creating a gloppy, sticky mess. The towels and washcloths had been pulled out of the bathroom closet and thrown down onto the floor as well, so that the goop there would soak into them. Someone had even ripped my bathrobe off the hanger on the back of the bathroom door, tossed it down, and stomped all over it, leaving dirty black footprints behind all over the fluffy white fabric.
I stepped on a couple of towels, trying not to get any more slime on my sneakers than necessary, and grabbed the robe off the floor. Then I reached down into a hidden pocket on the inside of the robe and pulled out a piece of sapphire-blue fabric about the size of my palm.
“And no one usually thinks to look in pockets either,” I said, dropping the ruined robe back down onto the floor.
I carefully unfolded the sapphire fabric layer by layer, then gently shook it out. Despite how tightly the fabric had been packed down, it quickly sprang back into its original shape—a long trench coat.
“Spidersilk,” Deah said in an approving voice. “I forgot that it always retains its shape, no matter how you wad it up or how small you fold it.”
“Yep.” I shrugged into the coat and smoothed some more of the wrinkles out of it before sticking the plastic bag with the ironmesh gloves into one of the pockets. “And now for the most important thing.”
“Your mom’s sword,” Devon said.
I nodded and climbed up onto the bathroom counter. A metal vent was located above the mirror, high on the wall. I reached for one of the screws, which was so loose that it was about to fall right out of the vent frame. I frowned. I thought I’d tightened that back up before I’d left for the dinner—
The vent burst open, making me shriek in surprise and almost lose my balance on the counter. But before I could stagger away from the vent, something silver flashed, and a sword no bigger than a needle zoomed out of the darkness and pressed into my nose. I froze.
“Stop right there, or I’ll stick you full of copper crusher venom,” a low, angry voice growled.
I squinted, staring past the tip of my nose, and realized that two pairs of eyes were glaring at me from the dark depths of the vent—one pair an intense violet and the other a midnight black.
“Oscar! Tiny!” I sighed with relief. “You guys are okay!”
Oscar squinted back at me. “Lila? Is that really you?”
“Of course it’s me. I showed you where I was putting my sword before I left. Remember?”
The pixie let out a tense breath and lowered his sword. Then he zipped out of the vent, flew over, and hugged my neck as tight as he could.
“It was . . . it was awful,” Oscar whispered in a ragged tone, his voice even twangier than normal. “Just about everyone was in the dining hall eating dinner, but I decided to feed Tiny before I went down to eat myself. The Draconis must have snuck up on the perimeter guards and taken them out first because there was no warning. The Draconis just busted into the mansion and started killing people. I heard the shouts and screams, but by the time I grabbed my sword and flew downstairs, it was already too late. Most of the guards were already dead, and the Draconis were rounding up the survivors, forcing them outside, and making them get into trucks and vans. But they didn’t see me, so I came up here to get Tiny and hide while they searched the rest of the mansion.”
