Page 9 of Purrfectly Peculiar Pixie: Phlox's Story (Perfect Pixie Series Book 5)

Phlox

I keeled over and vomited all over the floor. My stomach cramped and I did it again, emptying everything and then some. I think I might have whimpered but couldn’t be sure. The scent of my own sick made my stomach role again.

“Nasty,” I heard someone lament. “That must be a really shitty way to travel.”

“Shut it. You have no idea the level of magic a transportation spell requires.” The person speaking did sound kind of drained. Not that I really gave a shit right now. “It worked. We got the pixie.”

“Yeah, and we got somethin’ else too.”

Something else?My brain screamed. Leon! I’d been holding Leon’s wrist when…when whatever the hell happened happened. Had he been taken with me?

Unfolding my body, I managed to get up on my knees. Leon lay beside me, body stiff and unmoving. Thankfully, I hadn’t lost my guts all over him.

I lunged, falling on him and shaking his body like mad. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I was the only one that was supposed to be taken, not Leon. I had no idea where we were, if the sun was out, if Leon was in danger, if he was even still alive.

“Leon,” I rasped, my throat sore from my previous vomiting. “Leon,” I repeated, a little more impatient when he didn’t so much as twitch.

“Leon? What have you done?” All exhaustion fled that voice, a shrill quality taking over. “Do you even know who that is? Gaia, you’re a moron. That’s Lucroy Moony’s second. He wouldn’t have batted an eyelash about the pixie, but Leon’s another matter.”

My head snapped up. “What did you do to him?” I demanded. Thankfully, we were in an enclosed room. The only light was artificial. The room was crowded by a troll. A smaller woman with ash-blond frizzy hair and more bangles, necklaces, and rings than I’d seen outside a market stall stood to his side. Hands on hips, her pleated skirt floated midcalf.

I’d only seen two species wear that much jewelry, most of it charmed. Witches and warlocks. This one looked female so witch was the first thought that came to mind.

My wings fluttered as they channeled my anxiety. Dust scattered. The witch sneezed first, quickly followed by the troll.

“Keep those things under wraps.” The witch waved a hand in front of her face before covering her nose with the scarf draped around her neck. I wanted to keep them moving, but the pointed look she threw Leon’s way made me snap my wings closed.

“Better,” she cooed. “Good to know you can take instruction. It might make this whole thing easier.”

I bristled but tried keeping my cool. Losing my shit wouldn’t do Leon or me any favors. I repeated, “What did you do to him?”

“Me?” The witch gave a false look of innocence. “Oh no, honey. That’s all the sun’s doing. Thank Gaia, it’s high in the sky. Leon’s out for the count.” She laughed like she’d made a funny joke.

I didn’t find her humorous. At all.

“What do you want?” I thought I knew. That bit about “getting the pixie” was sufficient tip-off.

The witch grinned. She’d either had braces as a child or more likely, charmed her teeth to brilliant white perfection. Hands on hips, she leaned forward. Her multitude of necklaces and bracelets jingled.

“Oh, honey. What we want is you. Or more precisely, the money we’ll get for you.” The witch rubbed her thumb and forefinger together.

I fought my transformation. It was too early to show all my cards. Leon’s capture hadn’t been figured into the plan. Get caught, get taken, learn all I could, escape if I could when the time was right. If I wasn’t back within a week, a rescue party would be sent. Glancing down at Leon’s still body, I wasn’t at all certain we had the luxury of one week.

Vampires were tough to kill, but only when the sun was down. They were intolerably vulnerable when the sun was on this side of the horizon. That’s why they protected their sleeping dens so fiercely.

Running my fingers over Leon’s face, I pushed some of his ginger hair to the side, revealing blistered skin. I winced while remembering his earlier painful hiss. He’d stayed outside too long. He’d stayed out trying to protect me. And now here he was, temporarily dead to the world and easy pickings.

Leon was still mobile when I touched Dusk’s doorknob. Knowing that was the case meant wherever we’d been transported had to be east of Virginia—somewhere the sun was high in the sky. We’d traveled time zones. That wasn’t a good sign.

Staring down at Leon’s vulnerable body, I swallowed my continued nausea. I didn’t think this gut churning was from being yanked through a witch-created portal.

“You’ve got me.” I tried playing innocent. “I don’t know what you want, but from what you said earlier, you don’t want Leon. You’re right. King Moony will hunt you down to get Leon back.” I raised my chin, attempting to look fierce. It was a hard look for a pixie to pull off.

Neither the witch nor her troll companion appeared impressed.

“It’s a complication,” she said, scrunching her face and twisting her lips. “But it’s a complication we might be able to work to our advantage.” Her perplexed features eased into another sickening grin. “Yes, I think this might work out very well. I’ve got a feeling our buyer might be interested in this little vampire morsel. Pick him up, Oxley.”

“Just ’cause I’m big don’t always mean I gotta do the grunt work,” Oxley complained while moving to do exactly as the witch said.

“Yes, yes. I know. But if you hadn’t noticed, my magic’s a little tapped out after that transportation. I could drag him, but it’ll take longer.”

“Outta the way, pixie.” Oxley tried shooing me away from Leon. I didn’t budge.

“Not until you promise me you’re not going to hurt him.” If I didn’t get that guarantee, Oxley was going to have to carry both of us because I planned on plastering my body to Leon. If they planned on putting him in the sun, I’d do my damnedest to shield his body with my own.

Oxley grimaced, pulling his lips back and revealing yellowed, peg-like teeth. “I said get outta the way, runt.”

“Not a chance, asswipe.”

Oxley looked as if he was about to rip my wings off, but the witch intervened. “Oh for love of Gaia. The vampire is safe. For now. He might be worth something. Whether that’s dead or alive remains to be seen. Until I find out for certain, we’ll keep him out of the sun.”

My brain quickly processed her words and found a modicum of comfort in them. These assholes were all about the money. If there was one thing I could trust, it was their greed.

Slowly, I pushed off Leon, standing on shaky legs. That transportation spell really did a number on me.

“Careful, he got burned earlier,” I chastised when Oxley picked Leon up and threw him over his shoulder like a bag of produce.

“Sylvie said he’d live. She didn’t say nothin’ about bein’ gentle. He’s a vamp. A little blood will fix him up.” Oxley didn’t even sound winded with Leon slung over his shoulder.

“Trolls can be terribly literal,” Sylvie chuckled before becoming deathly serious. “Now, are you going to come along peacefully or do I have to drug you?” Sylvie pulled out a little bag filled with magenta dust. She held it in the palm of her hand, lips poised to blow the stuff in my direction. Between being drugged unconscious and keeping my wits about me, I knew which one I’d chose.

“I’m coming,” I said, rolling my shoulders inward and appearing as nonthreatening as possible. There’d be time for teeth and claws later.

I followed Oxley. I didn’t want to take my eyes off Leon, but I needed to look around. Knowing where we were and how we got to our next location might be important. Head down, I did my best to look absolutely dejected. In a way, it wasn’t that difficult. My brain tumbled through scenarios, each one just as bleak as the previous. I was used to doing things on the fly. Plans were great and all that, but a fabulous plan was meaningless when things went to shit. It was time to work the problem. I just wished each calculation didn’t end in the same disastrous outcomes.

Traveling down corridor after corridor, the air became increasingly damp and cool. We were headed deeper underground. At least we had that going for us. Unless there was a tunnel leading up to the sky, Leon should be safe enough. At least for now. The future was another matter.

One problem at a time, I reminded myself. Get through this and move on to the next step. That was the only way to get through and get out.

I pretended to shiver. I was a pixie, and they’d expect it as the temperature dropped. The cool air felt like heaven on my heated skin. Sylvie and Oxley didn’t need to know that.

Leon swayed as Oxley turned a corner. I wasn’t sure if blood could rush to a vampire’s head or not. If so, it was a good thing Leon was dead asleep. I could only hope Sylvie was correct and that when the sun went down, Leon would wake. I squashed the fear that his state had more to do with the transportation spell.

We finally emptied into a room. Calling it large would be kind, but it was big enough to contain three pixie-sized cages. Phil would have had trouble fitting inside. Given my smaller size, it wouldn’t be so bad.

“Go on.” Sylvie pointed toward the closest empty cage.

My instinctual hesitation wasn’t an act. No one wanted to willingly walk into a cage they may never come out of again.

“Walk in or get tossed in. It makes no difference to me. As long as your wings work and you can produce dust, that’s all I care about,” Sylvie warned.

Clenching my fists, I stepped inside. The sound of metal clanging closed behind me was deafening. My heart raced and my inner shifter paced. That part of me liked being caged even less than my pixie half.

“What do you want me to do with him? Those cages are made for pixies, not vamps. This one will be able to bust out as soon as the sun sets,” Oxley said.

“Over there, against that wall,” Sylvie ordered. “I’ve got enough juice to charm the shackles.”

I watched as Oxley tossed Leon off his shoulder, none too gently sitting him on the cold, stone floor. Sylvie grabbed one manacle and Oxley the other. The metal snapped closed before Sylvie reached for a third, clasping it around Leon’s neck. With her back to me, I couldn’t see what she did, and I didn’t understand the words she used to cast her spell. I did feel the initiation of magic as it settled into the iron.

“Th-there,” Sylvie panted, bent over and hands on her knees. “That should hold him until we figure out what to do.”

“You okay?” Oxley didn’t sound overly concerned, more curious than anything. “You need me to carry you too?”

He reached out and Sylvie batted Oxley’s clumsy hand away. “I’m fine,” she insisted. “Just tired. Doing that spell was a little too soon after the transportation one, especially since there were two of them and not just one.” Straightening, Sylvie said, “Check his pockets. Grab his phone.”

Oxley fumbled through Leon’s coat pocket, pulling out his phone and crushing it in his palm. Sylvie hadn’t told him to do that but since she didn’t lose her shit over it, I assumed she was fine with Oxley’s self-motivation.

“What about tracking chips?” Oxley asked, making my spine stiffen. “A lot of pixies have them nowadays. You know that last one did, and we had to cut it out of her.” He nodded in my direction. “You want me to get the scanner?”

“No need.” Sylvie waved him off. “The last pixie we got didn’t go through a transportation spell like this one.” She hooked a thumb my direction. “That kind of magic scrambles the chips. If he’s got one, it’s worthless now.”

Byx’s hair clips rustled, my supposed meerkat protectors finally stirring from their slumber.

“Hush,” I whispered, attempting to get them to settle and stay quiet. While I was relieved Byx’s magic survived Sylvie’s spell, I didn’t want them revealing just how special they were.

Thankfully, they stilled.

“You don’t look so good,” Oxley said while leaning down and scrutinizing Sylvie’s complexation. “You’re kind of gray around the edges.”

“I need rest,” Sylvie snapped. “And food.” She shivered. “Somewhere warm would be helpful also. Come on. Let’s get topside and get in touch with our contact. I want to see if this vamp is as juicy a piece of meat as I think he is.” Sylvie kicked Leon’s leg. It wasn’t a hard insult, but it was enough to make me growl. Thankfully, it was too low for either of them to hear.

Finally turning from Leon, Oxley followed Sylvie as she made her way back toward me and the exit. Oxley’s eyes remained fixed on Sylvie, watching her as if she might keel over any second.

“Rest up, little pixie.” Sylvie grinned. That malicious movement was tempered by her waxen complexion. Oxley was right, Sylvie didn’t look good. She’d magically overextended herself. Good for her. I couldn’t think of a better witch to feel like shit.

I shifted to the back of the cage, shaking with false fear. Only, it wasn’t as false as I wished it were. While I wasn’t afraid for myself, I was very afraid for Leon. What happened if her contact didn’t think Leon was worth keeping around? If he was more trouble than he was financially worth?

When I thought of that, my fear was all too real.

“Not as pretty as some, but that’s not what’s important to our client. You can make dust, that’s what counts. You’ll be worth a pretty penny to a desperate, drug-addicted ogre.”

I threw my hands over my face, feigning shock. I could have said something, begged for release. I didn’t. I just couldn’t lower myself to useless groveling. Nothing I said would make a bit of difference to this greedy pair. Even if I were independently wealthy and offered them what they coveted most, they wouldn’t release me.

I knew who they were. They’d made no effort to hide their identities. Only those who didn’t expect their prey to live did that.

But they were as wrong as wrong could be. This little pixie wasn’t about to roll over, flap my wings, and produce dust for some addicted ogre until I faded. Oxley and Sylvie were in for a painful wake-up call. And as far as I was concerned, the more painful, the better.