Chapter 21

Paige lifted her dress and waddled across to the tree.

Dewey pried at a piece of bark with a sharp twig. It popped off and skittered across the ground as the doors to the courtyard burst open.

Dewey tossed the stick down and flitted toward the bark, hovering over it when he reached it.

"Hurry, Paige," Dewey shouted as guards streamed from the castle, heading straight for Paige.

She tottered across the lawn toward him as fast as she could. Dewey's hand floated over the bark, poised to touch it the moment Paige reached him.

One of the guards leapt into the air toward Paige, knocking her down as she loped across the lawn. She hit the ground with a thud, trying to wriggle free from the man. The mounds of fabric made it difficult for him to hold on to her. She slipped from his grasp, crawling forward toward the bark.

"Reach," Dewey yelled.

Paige thrust an arm out, fingers stretched forward.

The man slithered toward Paige, grabbing her ankle so she fell inches short of reaching the bark.

"Get off," she screamed, kicking her legs.

"Reach, Paige!"

Paige struggled to free herself but found herself unable to slip away. She gave up on fighting and focused on the bark. She wrinkled her nose as she stretched her arm to its limit and wiggled her fingers.

Dewey's scaly fingers wrapped around hers and then smashed them against the rough, purple bark.

The crushing weight of the guard shimmied up her torso, and her world went black. She experienced the sensation of falling for a moment before she pressed against something hard. She flailed her arms and legs as she struggled to push herself upright.

She blinked a few times as the room came into focus.

Her jaw dropped, and her lips twisted into a smile. "We're home!"

Dewey pushed himself up from his spot on the floor, shaking his head before he fluttered into the air. "We made it!"

Paige glanced at his hand, still clutching the shimmering blue bark. "And we got the bark!"

Dewey twirled in a circle, pumping his fist in the air. "We did it!"

Paige bounced on her toes as she clapped her hands.

"I got another lead for you t–" Ronnie's voice sounded from the door.

Paige spun to face her, noting her surprised expression.

Her gaze traveled up and down Paige's form before she raised her eyebrows. "Something I should know?"

Paige shook her head. "No, what's the lead?"

Ronnie stared down at the folder in her hand before she glanced up at Paige again. "Can I ask why you're wearing a medieval wedding gown, or don't I want to know?"

Paige glanced down at the princess-style dress before flicking her gaze at Ronnie again. "Oh, right, umm, it's a long story. Suffice it to say, we achieved what we needed to, and now we're back."

Ronnie's jaw hung agape as she processed Paige's meager explanation.

"We got sucked into a fairy tale while searching for Witchlock bark to help cure Paige's beast mark. We just narrowly escaped before Paige was forced to marry the prince in the story."

"Oh," Ronnie said with a slow nod of her head, "right. Did you get the bark?"

Dewey thrust it into the air. "We did. And now, while Paige peruses your new lead, I will be whipping up a concoction to cure her."

He flitted to the kitchen and tugged a tiny apron from a drawer, tossed it around his neck, and secured the strap behind his back.

"You found a cure?"

"More or less," Dewey said, rattling bowls around.

"Dewey created his own formulation after studying a few different sources."

"What's the likelihood this works?" Ronnie questioned as she handed the folder off to Paige.

Dewey let a bowl clatter to the counter and offered Ronnie a glaring look.

She held her hands up, cocking her head. "Just asking if this was foolproof or an experiment."

Dewey resumed his work, tugging a mortar and pestle from a high spot within a cupboard. "It is a foolproof experiment. The wound is infected with parasitic vampire worms. That's the reason it doesn't heal. This concoction should kill them on contact and, when taken orally, eradicate the infection throughout her body."

Ronnie wiggled her eyebrows and grinned at them. "Excellent work, Dewey. Will you write this up?"

"Definitely. I plan to publish it in a few journals."

She pumped a fist close to her chest. "That's what we like to hear. You two are going to put Shadow Harbor Library on the map."

"Move over, Grand Archive," Dewey exclaimed as he tossed the bark into the mortar and began grinding it. "Shadow Harbor is going to be the new go-to."

"Well, I'll leave you to it. If you need anything, let me know. Paige, once you've reviewed this, if you need travel approvals, just shoot me a text."

Paige waved the folder in the air. "I will as soon as I've got a travel plan." She glanced down at her dress, wrinkling her nose. "And change."

Ronnie chuckled, giving them a wave as she headed for the door.

"Okay, I'm going to get out of this dress and take a look at this. My brain feels scrambled after that trip through fairy-tale land. I need to refocus."

"Need scissors?"

Paige winced, sweeping a hand over the fabric. "Or a knife."

Dewey rooted around in his junk drawer before producing a pair of utility scissors. "These babies will cut through anything."

"Thanks," Paige said as she accepted them and disappeared into the bedroom. Dickens crawled from under Dewey's nest.

"I've done it this time, Dicky. I was nearly beheaded for refusing to marry a prince. No time for drama, though, I need to rush off again. Don't worry, I'll have Ronnie feed you."

After hacking away at the dress, she managed to tug it off her body and replace it with leggings and a hoodie.

She stalked back into the living space and flopped into her armchair.

Dewey whisked something purple in a bowl. "Topical's almost ready. Then I'll work on the oral."

"Sounds good," Paige said, flicking open the folder Ronnie provided her and tugging her notes onto her lap.

After a quick refresher on her previous research, she scanned the new printouts from Ronnie. Several references from SupNet discussed crystals. Another handful from the same account posted pictures in Egypt.

Paige glanced back at her notes, tapping a finger on the circle she'd made around that country. Could the wand and the crystal be in the same place?

She crinkled her brow as she stared at her notes. The pixies were also in Bulgaria, another prime location for the wand. Which should she go to first?

"Making any progress?"

Paige sucked in a deep breath, unsure of what to answer.

She shook her head. She had to go with her gut. "I think we need to go to Egypt."

"What happened to Bulgaria?" Dewey asked as he poured a blue powder into his bowl and stirred.

"Mmm, I think we may need to go there, too, but…I had Egypt circled before when I researched the wand. And there are a few references to crystals. I'm thinking the Crystal of Increased Energy may be in Egypt. Now, I've just got to track the Holigramium."

She tossed her notes to the side and climbed to her feet. "I shall return!"

"Don't be too long," Dewey called after her. "This is almost ready!"

"Okay," Paige shouted, waving a hand over her head as she darted out the door and down the stairs.

She hurried toward the BookTron and tapped in Holigramium, generating a list of references mentioning the odd element.

She puckered her lips, scanning the bright-green text on the bulky monitor's dark-green screen.

"There you are," she said, tapping a finger against the screen.

She jotted down the reference called "Sourcing Holigramium" in a book titled Sourcing Supernatural Elements and hurried toward the stacks.

"Gosh, I hope this stuff isn't hidden inside a magic book. I do not need another adventure through a fractured fairy tale." She scanned the shelves of non-magical tomes and found the book she sought near the bottom.

She tugged the slim volume from the shelf and hurried back to Dewey's nest.

"Did you find it?"

She waved the book in the air before tossing it on her gold-cushioned seat. "Got it. I'll check it out after you cure me."

Dewey slid a cup across the counter as Paige sank onto a stool across from him. "Drink that."

Paige stared down at the purplish beverage before sniffing it. "Is this the magic stuff?"

"That's it. Bottoms up!"

Paige eyed it, wrinkling her lips. "Doesn't smell too bad."

"Should taste okay. I made it chocolate-flavored."

"Mmm," Paige said, nodding before she took a sip. "Oh, it's good! I did not expect it to taste this good. It looks awful."

Dewey flitted into his bedroom and then returned with a wad of bandages in hand. "Okay, now for the topical treatment."

Paige choked down another sip before she spun to face Dewey. "Wait just a second. Maybe this is enough."

"I wouldn't trust that," Dewey said, sliding the bowl toward him and preparing a spatula. "Those worms on your back are big boys. We want to nip this in the bud."

Paige winced, shoving the glasses up on her nose again. "The last time you put something on this wound, I passed out. Then you got me high."

"Not going to happen this time, Paige," Dewey assured her. "This may hurt, but it won't get you high."

"That's so reassuring," Paige said with a roll of her eyes. She downed the last of her drink. "Okay, fine. I guess I survived it once. I can do it again."

She peeled her hoodie off and adjusted the strap of her camisole. "Hit me."

Dewey waved a wooden spoon at her. "Bite."

Paige swallowed hard as she grabbed the spoon and shoved it between her teeth.

"Ready?" Dewey questioned.

She offered him a curt nod, wrapping her fingers around the edge of the counter and balling her other hand into a fist as she prepared for the onslaught of pain.

"Here we go," Dewey warned.

Paige jumped, her skin puckering into goose bumps and her muscles stiffening as Dewey swiped the first dose across her back.

Her features pinched as she waited for the intense, burning pain to sear through her shoulder.

Dewey smeared on another spatula full of goo. "Doing okay?"

Paige opened her mouth, letting the spoon fall to her lap. "Yeah. It actually feels…good."

Dewey scraped more of the ointment from his bowl. "That's surprising."

"It's got a nice cooling effect. Almost soothing."

"Your little parasitic friends aren't nearly as comfortable."

Paige pounded a fist against the counter. "Should have set up the mirror."

"Yeah, well, we couldn't know that you wouldn't pass out this time. Then there would be glass all over the floor, and I'd have to clean it up after dragging your limp body to the air mattress."

"Get one now."

"Really?" Dewey asked as he emptied the bowl, slathered the last bit of the ointment onto the wound, and dumped the bowl into the sink.

"I want to see the little leeches suffer."

"Ohhh, vicious, Paige."

"Well, they've been feeding off me. No more, you jerks."

Dewey grabbed the mirrors from the air mattress and handed one off to Paige, positioning the other to face her back.

Paige peered through the glass, her lips curling into a smile. "Hahaha, die, suckers!"

"Oh, they will." Dewey sighed as he lowered the mirror. "It's really a shame I won't be able to accept a Snobel Peace Prize in person."

"Don't you mean Nobel?"

"No, Snobel," Dewey answered, plopping onto his chaise. "Supernatural Nobel."

Paige narrowed her eyes at him as she grabbed the book from her seat and eased back into the armchair. She wrinkled her nose as she stared down at the book's title. She swiped a finger over the raised gold letters of Sourcing Supernatural Elements.

"Well, are you going to open it or stare at it?"

Paige shot Dewey a glance before she returned her gaze to the book in her lap. "I'm a little nervous after the last incident with a book."

"It's not a magic tome, is it?"

Paige shook her head. "Still…"

"Just open it so we can get a game plan together. The world is counting on us, Paige."

Paige offered an unimpressed stare through her eyelashes. "Thank you, Mr. Dramatic."

"Really, I just want to beat those jerks at the Grand."

With a nod, Paige pulled the book open and searched the table of contents for Holigramium before thumbing to the appropriate page. She tugged her notes over as she read the page.

"What's it say?"

"Uh…let's see." She scanned the page in search of a location. "So far, it just tells me about Holigramium." She flipped the page, holding a finger in the air. "Here we go. Holigramium is available in limited quantities only. Most Holigramium has already been sourced from underground mines in the Ural Mountains. The remaining amounts can be found in these same mines."

Dewey wrinkled his nose. "Russia. I hate the cold."

Paige snapped the book shut and stared at her notes. "Looks like we need to do some traveling."

She tapped her pen against the paper after circling Russia, Egypt, and Bulgaria. "I think the best order is to go after the Holigramium first since its splitting power is higher than the Crystal. Then the CIE, then the wand."

"Why not the wand first?"

"We have the slimmest lead on the wand, and the pixies seem to have a leg up on us. But it's fairly innocuous without its add-ons. We have to stop them from getting those, because if we lose the wand to them, we're really done."

"Makes sense."

"So, that means Russia, Egypt, Bulgaria."

"Well, at least we'll get the coldest place out of the way first," Dewey said, rising into the air. "I'll pack a bag."

"I'll send this off to Ronnie and grab a few things."

"Oh, wait, let me just check that wound real quick."

Paige set the papers aside and spun her back to him. He peeled the bandage away and studied the wound for a few moments before smoothing the tape onto her skin.

"Well?" she prompted.

He flitted away, disappearing into his bedroom. "Looks good."

"Really?" Paige called as she tapped an email to Ronnie with their travel itinerary.

"Yep."

"Why did you hesitate?" she yelled, her thumbs frantically listing their locations in order.

"I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

"Just being cautious."

"Cautious?"

Dewey reappeared with a scarf slung around his neck and a small duffel bag in hand. "Yeah, just really scrutinizing it."

Paige flicked her gaze up from her phone. "And it looks good?"

"The little jerks are withering and dying. I wouldn't be surprised if they aren't dead before we hit Russia."

Paige hit the send button and rose from her chair. "That sounds promising."

"I'll take a few extra bandages along in case something happens," Dewey said, stuffing the box into his duffel, "but I'm willing to bet you'll be cured before we retrieve the wand."

"Hooray," Paige cheered as she picked up a suitcase. "Well, at least I'm already packed."

Her phone beeped, indicating a return message from Ronnie. Approved and being sent to the pilot now. They should be ready by the time you arrive.

"Perfect," Paige said as she clicked off her display and shoved the phone into the pocket of the hoodie she'd donned. "Let's blow this joint."

Dewey swung the refrigerator door shut, shoved two cans of Energy Dragon into his bag, and zipped across the room with a fist raised in the air. "Let's go!"

Paige unzipped Dewey's pet carrier, and he dove inside, nestling down as she closed it.

"Did you call a cab?" he asked, peering through the mesh top.

"No, I'll take my car."

"Oh, I didn't know you had a car."

Paige hefted the carrier onto her shoulder, set Dewey's duffel on her suitcase, and wheeled it to the door, letting it bounce down the stairs behind her as she circled around the tower. "I kept that one I stole from the werewolf."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah," Paige answered with a shrug. "Ronnie said it was okay. The hood's a little crinkled from when I blew through the gate to escape the creepy werewolf mansion, but it runs fine."

"Nice."

They made the short trip to the private airstrip. Paige eased the car to a stop outside Hangar Thirteen and tugged the luggage from the back seat before she pulled Dewey from the front.

"I can't wait to get out of this carrier," he huffed.

Paige rolled her eyes as she dragged the luggage behind her toward the plane. "You've barely been in there thirty minutes."

"Hey, Paige," the pilot called as she crossed the large concrete floor.

She offered him a wave, heading straight for the stairs. His forehead crinkled as he stared after her for a moment.

"He's weird," Paige noted as she hauled everything aboard and unzipped Dewey's carrier.

Dewey flew out and sprawled on the couch, eyeing Paige. "Yeah."

Paige furrowed her brow at the simple response as Dewey rooted in his bag for his RP device.

"May as well do some research before I take a nap. Got a long flight ahead."

Paige plopped onto the couch catty-corner to Dewey's and kicked her feet up. "Right. I think I'll just stretch out here. I could use the rest after that ridiculous adventure in that stupid book."

A grin crossed Dewey's features as he tapped around on the portable research device. "Yeah, I bet. At least it's all over now, and you're cured."

"Yep," Paige said as she pulled a blanket over her and adjusted the pillow behind her head before closing her eyes.

The roar of the engines sounded, and the plane lurched forward. The humming noise sent her straight to sleep.

* * *

Paige's eyelids fluttered open as the plane's wheels jerked against the ground, and the brakes squealed. She reached her hands overhead and stretched her legs out, pointing her toes.

With a giant yawn, she said, "Oh, are we here?"

Dewey avoided looking at her as he sat staring at his research device. "Yep."

Paige sat up, pulling the scrunchie from her hair and running her hands through it. "I can't believe I slept that whole time."

"You were out. Probably needed it," Dewey said, his eyes fixed on the screen.

Paige bobbed her head up and down. "Did you want to check the progress on my wound?"

"U-umm," Dewey stammered, "I could."

Paige tugged her hair to the side and pulled her hoodie up.

Dewey fluttered over and peeled the bandage back before quickly replacing it. "Looks good."

"Really? That's it?"

"The worms look like they're almost gone."

"Oh, great! That's good." Paige climbed to her feet and stretched again. "I'm just going to head into the bathroom and pull my hair up before we head into the mines."

"You could do that here," Dewey suggested.

Paige furrowed her brow, offering a soft chuckle. "Umm."

"I've seen you do it a hundred times. You don't need a mirror."

Paige narrowed her eyes as she grabbed her bag. "I'm also going to brush my teeth, thanks."

"Breath smells fine to me. I wouldn't worry about it."

Paige rolled her eyes at Dewey as she wandered toward the door leading to the bedroom and bathroom.

Dewey snaked in front of her and snatched the toiletry bag from her hand. "We should really get going."

"Dewey! I think I can take two minutes to brush my teeth." Paige grabbed the bag back from him and pushed past him as he winced.

She shuffled into the bathroom and flicked on the light, yawning again as she set the bag on the edge of the pedestal sink and dug into it for her toothbrush and toothpaste. She smeared a bit of the blue paste on the bristles and stuck the brush in her mouth.

After tossing the toothpaste back inside her bag, she flicked her gaze up to the mirror. Her eyes went wide, and she screamed, transfixed by the horrid sight in the mirror.