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PART I

VERTIGO

CHAPTER 1

MAGIC GROVE

Witches were well-known for their sharp intellect, steadfast work ethic, and entrepreneurial spirit. Oh, and they were also known for their shoes. They really liked shoes, especially shoes with decorative bows, buckles, and rhinestones. They also liked fancy hats. And fancy clothes in general.

So it was both bizarre and beautiful to watch scores of witches stroll down the street of this rural farming town, decked out in gold and scarlet finery, their aroma of roses and vanilla in stark contrast to the ripe ammonia smell emanating from the barns.

The witches more or less owned Magic Grove, this small city at the far western tip of the South Territory. Magic Grove was a new town. Only three years ago, it had been nothing more than just another blackened patch of earth on the Plains of Monsters, overrun with primordial plants and feral beasts. Today it was home to nearly fifteen thousand inhabitants.

Most people in Magic Grove worked either in the supersized chemical plant, or on the farms that surrounded the town like a lush green halo. The witches’ plant produced magical brewsthat enriched the soil, potions to super-charge crop growth, and poisons to kill the insects resistant to mundane pesticides.

“Interesting,” Jace said, looking at me as we walked side-by-side down the street that cut right through the center of town.

“What’s interesting?” I asked him.

Somehow I didn’t think he was referring to this town.

Jace’s reply was natural and immediate, like he’d already prepared it in advance. “I’m just surprised that you actually read the report I sent you, Leda.”

“Well, given that Lieutenant Ravenfall obviously spent so much effort putting together a lovely dossier on this town, how could I not?”

Jace watched me, not saying a word.

But I knew what he was thinking. “Hey, I always read the reports people send me,” I said.

Yeah, we both knew that wasn’t true. But still he said nothing.

I sighed. “Ok, fine, maybe I only read that boring report because I was desperate for a distraction. I’m trying to stay busy.”

“If that’s your goal, Leda, you’ve come to the wrong place,” he told me. “This town might just take the prize for the most boring one in my entire territory.”

A tractor rumbled past us, puffing out black, noxious fumes. It was a good thing we were immune to most poisons.

“Did you arrange for that tractor to drive by uspreciselynow, just to illustrate your point?” I teased Jace.

“No.”

Another tractor came, driving in the opposite direction. Like the first tractor, a supersized scooper was mounted to the front of it. Working in unison, the two snowplow tractors set out to clear the road. A massive snowstorm had blown across thenorthern plains of Jace’s territory this afternoon, and most of the smaller towns were still buried in the aftermath.

Cute little cars driven by cute little witches were backed up behind the tractors as far as I could see. And they wereallhonking. They were witches, so the honking was very measured and polished, but it was still honking. The drivers had synchronized their horns perfectly.

Honk!

Silence.

Honk!

Silence.

Honk!

“I don’t know,” I said to Jace, looking around. “This place does have its charms.”

Not all of the witches were driving cars. Some rode bicycles or even walked. No one could take the train, though. The tracks didn’t extend all the way out here yet.