Chapter 22

"Dewey," Paige shouted, her face still a mask of fright. "Dewey, get in here right now!"

She leaned forward, staring at her reflection with a grimace and tugging at her hoodie to study her neck and chest.

Dewey's head slid around the doorjamb, a tentative expression on his teal features. "Something wrong, Paige?"

Paige stuck a hand on her hip and offered him an unimpressed stare. "Seriously?"

Dewey gazed back at her with a blank expression.

Paige raised her eyebrows when he didn't respond before she flung a hand toward the mirror. "I'm purple."

"Well, purplish."

Paige cocked her head, her eyes going wide. "Ish? There is no ish about this! I'm purple. Bright purple and getting purpler by the second."

"Is purpler a word?" Dewey inquired as he leaned against the doorjamb and tapped his chin.

Paige shot him an angry glance.

"Sorry," he said with a wince.

"I can't go out like this!" She glanced down at her hands, her muscles tensing as she noticed the purple color slowly creeping into her fingers. "It's getting worse! Now my hands are turning purple."

"I'd guess you'll turn purple overall from head to toe," Dewey said.

"Why? Why am I turning purple?"

Dewey rubbed his chin. "Well, I think it's the medication I created. Likely the Witchlock bark."

"How long will it last?"

"I don't know," Dewey said with a shrug. "I've never done this before. I couldn't say."

Paige shook her head as she stared down at her ever-more-purple hands. "Unbelievable. First, you make me pass out, then you get me high, then you turn me into a puddle, and now this. I'm purple. You've turned me purple."

"We're improving."

"Says who?" Paige barked, stamping a foot on the floor.

"It's not that bad. Probably no one will even notice. And with your red hair, it's kind of nice."

Paige narrowed her eyes at him. "Is it? Is it kind of nice? Really? My bright-purple skin really sets off my red hair, huh?"

"It does. I mean, the contrast is…" Dewey waved a paw in the air as he searched for a word.

"Garish. Garish is the word you're looking for. It's hideous. I cannot go out like this. We'll have to wait until this wears off."

Dewey pulled his lips back into a wince. "The thing is, this may not wear off as quickly as you'd like."

"What's that supposed to mean? How long, Dewey?"

"Well, I looked up properties of Witchlock bark, and there's nothing definitive, but it could range anywhere from a few days to six months."

Paige's eyes widened, and her jaw dropped open. "Six months?"

"Let's hope not. But the point is, this is likely going to last longer than we have to find the wand and all its accessories. So, like it or not, you're going to have to dig deep and just put on a brave, purple face and head out into the world."

Paige's features twisted into an angry mask. After a moment of silent fuming, she flung her hands into the air. "Fine. I guess we'll head to the mines and hope no one else is there."

Dewey bobbed his head up and down. "Think of it this way. You still look way better than any of the Shrieking Pixies we may run into on this trek."

Paige pushed past him into the hall, emerging in the cabin and grabbing her coat. "Right. I'll keep in mind that my cartoonish features still are nicer than that of a Shrieking Pixie."

Dewey nodded as he tossed the RP into her bag. "Exactly. Okay, let's go. Ronnie emailed and said there should be a car waiting for us, and I've got the address here for the mines. They're abandoned now, so we should be in luck."

Dewey wrapped his scarf around his neck before he hopped into the carrier. "Come on, Paige. No time to lose."

Paige slogged across the space, a frown still etched into her violet skin. "I cannot believe I have to go out looking like this."

"Ohhh, you could pretend it's a costume. Like a disguise."

Paige hefted the carrier onto her shoulder with a disgusted sigh. "A disguise? Disguises are meant to hide you, not draw more attention to you."

"It could work to your advantage. People may think you're some kind of hybrid creature with strange and unknown powers."

Paige descended the stairs, pulling her coat tighter around her as she hurried toward the lone car sitting in the parking lot. "What kind of creatures have purple skin?"

"Keys should be under the front driver's side wheel well," Dewey said. "As far as creatures with purple skin, all kinds. Banshees often appear with a purplish glow. Purple elves. Some forms of ghosts. Some Valkyries, water mariliths, horned liches, some forms of–"

"Okay, okay, I get it. Great," Paige said, jabbing at the button of the key fob she'd retrieved. "I look like a banshee."

She slid behind the wheel and dumped Dewey's carrier onto the passenger seat, flinging her tote into the back seat.

"Actually, I'd say more like a tight-winged Valkyrie. Which is a compliment. They're known for their beauty, you know. You're just missing the wings. But in your hoodie, you could make the argument that they're hidden."

Paige slid her eyes closed for a moment, letting her head bang against the headrest before she snapped them open with a sigh and pressed the ignition button. "Whatever. Just give me the address."

"It's in your tote."

"Of course it is," Paige groaned, kneeling on the seat and reaching for her tote bag in the back.

After a quick riffle, she retrieved the scrap of paper with the address and punched it into the car's navigation.

With the route set, Paige shifted into drive and eased off the brake, letting the car roll forward toward the road.

"How far is it?"

"About a two-hour drive."

Silence filled the car for a few moments before the sound of the zipper opening broke it. Dewey stuck his head out and stared at Paige.

"Yes, I'm still purple. Stop staring at me."

"Are you mad?" Dewey asked.

Paige blew out a sigh, tugging the hair tie from her hair and tossing it into the cupholder. She ran her hands through her locks before she let her head rest in her palm, her elbow propped on the door. "No."

"Really? You sound mad."

"I'm not mad, okay? I'm just… I don't even know what I am. Disappointed? I'm purple. It's not something I ever thought I'd have to acclimate to."

Dewey crawled farther out of his carrier and hopped onto the console, tossing the carrier to the floor before settling onto the passenger's seat. "But you're likely cured."

"Yeah, at least I'll live. Even if I'm purple."

"I really think it's temporary."

Paige shot him a glance, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "I'm not mad, really."

Dewey raised his eyebrows. "Really? You promise?"

"I promise. I mean…you're teal, and you're doing just fine."

"I love being teal. Did you know teal is one of the least common colors for dragons?"

"I did not know that," Paige admitted as she trained her eyes on the road.

"Yep. So, in addition to my size, I'm also unique because of my color."

"But you hate your size," Paige said, turning onto another road.

"I do, but I love my color."

"You should love both."

Dewey wrinkled his nose. "My size makes me a freak."

"It doesn't, really. And plus, it makes you extremely portable. I mean, think about this. None of your relatives could ever save the world like this. I'd never fit them in the car with me."

A smile spread across Dewey's face, and he nodded. "You know, Paige, you're right. Only I can save the world."

"Well, both of us."

"Well, more me than you," Dewey said.

Paige shot him a narrow-eyed sideways glance. "I'd say fifty-fifty."

"Maybe seventy-thirty. You are a newbie."

Paige rocked the car's wheel, sending Dewey rolling side to side like a rag doll.

"Okay, sixty-forty," Dewey responded as he righted himself.

"I'll give you that," Paige said, "since I'm not that good at research."

"That's my extra ten percent."

"Really, though, you should have a percentage subtracted, because as good as you are at research, you're terrible at fieldwork."

"What do you expect? I haven't been out of the library in over a decade," Dewey replied. "And plus, I'm improving. This time, you're just purple, not melted."

Paige reached for the dash and turned the heater up. "It's getting colder by the second."

"Yeah," Dewey said, climbing onto the console and digging in Paige's tote. "Hope you don't mind I stored my sweater in your bag."

He tugged it over his head and fought to shimmy it down around his torso. His wings flapped in the air as they tried to poke through the wing holes cut into the fabric.

"Will you stop that? You're going to make me wreck," Paige said, her features pinching as she leaned away from him.

"I can't help it. The stupid fabric is caught on my wing." Dewey flicked his wing again, his arm trying to stretch behind him to free it.

"Stop," Paige groaned, shoving his wing aside as she struggled to keep an eye on the road.

Large white flakes fell from the sky, sticking to her windshield before melting into a drop of liquid.

"Just tug the fabric down around it, huh?"

The snow intensified, gusting across the windshield as an icy wind whipped around them.

"I can't. I'm trying to drive. And it's starting to snow. I can barely see anything."

Dewey continued to struggle with his sweater as Paige slowed down, flicking on the windshield wipers and peering into the ever-darkening sky.

"This is just great. I hope this car can make it."

"Should have gotten an SUV." Dewey grunted as he spun in a circle, trying to reach the fabric.

Paige glanced over at him. "Oh my gosh, you are so distracting."

She took one hand off the wheel and reached over, trying to tug the fabric from his wing. She wrinkled her nose as she wrangled with the sweater, grunting with effort as she pulled.

"Ow! Careful!"

"Sorry," she said in a less-than-apologetic tone. "The stupid thing is stuck."

"I told you it was stuck. There's a string or something…" Dewey twisted his neck to stare down at his back. "It's pulling."

Paige flicked her gaze at the sweater. "Yeah, I see it. It's caught on your spike."

She returned her eyes to the road as her fingers blindly tried to free the string wrapped around the horn.

"Ow," Dewey cried again.

Paige snapped her gaze at him. "Sorry. I'm going to have to pull over. I can't–"

"Paige, look out," Dewey shouted, jabbing a finger forward at the windshield.

Paige's eyes cut back to the road, widening as she spotted a deer. She slammed on the brakes, twisting the wheel to try to avoid smashing into the wide-eyed creature.

The snow made the road slick. The car fishtailed as Paige fought to keep it on the pavement. She lost the battle moments later when the back end failed to stabilize, sending them into a wide spin.

Paige stared in horror as they swung past the deer in a wide arc before the car slid over an embankment and smashed into a pine tree.

Smoke poured from the crinkled hood as Paige pried her white knuckles from the death grip on the steering wheel.

Her hands shook as she ran them through her hair before glancing over at Dewey. "You okay?"

The little dragon climbed to his feet and stared down at this body. "I think so." He shot a look over his shoulder. "My sweater came loose."

"Oh good," Paige said in a shaky voice. "Glad to know that problem's solved."

"Are you okay?"

Paige stared at the still-smoking hood of the car before slowly nodding. "I think so."

"That doesn't look good," Dewey said, following her line of vision.

"Nope," Paige said.

She stepped on the brake and hit the ignition button, but nothing happened. Lights flashed across the dashboard in a colorful display.

"Well, that's just great," Paige said.

"Now what?"

Paige glanced around as she slid her seat belt off and reached into the back for her tote. She dug for her phone, freeing it from the tote's deep pocket and swiping it open.

Her shoulders slumped as she tossed it back inside the bag. "No service."

"We're on our own."

"We're going to have to walk somewhere to get help."

"Walk? It's snowing!"

"Yes, I know that," Paige said, removing a beanie from her bag and stretching it over her head. She wrapped a scarf around her neck before stuffing it into her heavy coat and zipping it up to her chin, then she pulled on her gloves. "Maybe you should wait here."

"Wait here?" Dewey said with a wrinkled nose. "Are you joking? I'll freeze to death in the car. Or be killed by an animal or something."

Paige pulled her fur-trimmed hood over her cap and tugged it tightly to her head before she pulled a fuzzy pet blanket from her tote. "Okay, fine. Probably best to get into your carrier, though. I'll throw this blanket over it so you stay warm."

Dewey hauled the carrier onto the seat and hopped inside. Paige zipped it shut and kicked the door open. The wind whipped inside the car, blowing snow across her.

She grabbed the door handle and slammed it shut. "Okay, it's way too windy. The blanket is going to blow right off."

She unzipped the carrier and shoved the blanket inside. "Wrap up in it."

Dewey tightened his scarf and pulled the blanket around him, nestling down into the carrier as Paige tugged the scarf up to her nose.

"Ready?" she asked with a muffled voice.

"Ready," Dewey answered, only his snout poking from the fabric.

"Okay," Paige said.

She tugged her tote onto one shoulder and Dewey's carrier onto the other before she flung the door open again. Wind battered her as she stood from the car, her boots slipping on the fresh snow.

She climbed the small hill to the road above, glancing back and forth as the snow smacked into her face, clinging to her eyelashes and eyebrows.

"I haven't seen a town for a while," she shouted over the wind. "I'll keep going forward."

"Okay," Dewey called from her hip, muffled by his blanket.

Paige leaned into the wind and began her trek down the road. Snowflakes buffeted her face, sticking to her hair and turning her mane white. Even breathing through her scarf failed to warm the air enough not to make her lungs hurt.

She fought the wind as she continued past the many trees that lined the road in search of help from any source. As the skies darkened from both storm clouds and the sun sliding toward the horizon, the temperature fell even farther.

Paige stopped for a moment, glancing behind her as snow continued to swirl. The road remained deserted. Paige searched the growing darkness for lights from a house, a town, a gas station, or anything that could provide them some shelter or help.

After another mile, Paige began to lose hope of finding anyone to haul their vehicle out of the ditch.

"Paige," Dewey's trembling voice called. "Hey, Paige!"

"Yeah?" Paige called as she continued to push through the wintry weather.

"I'm really c-c-cold."

"Wrap the blanket tighter."

"I c-c-can't. I'm getting r-r-really c-c-cold."

Paige glanced down at the carrier before she stepped off the road and into the trees. Hidden somewhat from the whipping wind and falling snow, she dropped the carrier to the snow-covered ground and unzipped it.

The dragon lay on his side shivering.

"Dewey!" she shouted, placing a hand on his paw. Cold to the touch, it trembled as he struggled to stay warm. "Oh no."

Paige glanced around for something to help.

Her features pinched with worry as she stared down at her frozen little friend. "Hang on, Dewey. I'm going to get you out of this weather."

She ripped the scarf out of her coat, unraveling it from around her neck and face. She wrapped it around her tiny travel companion before she bundled him tightly in the blanket again.

She heaved the bag up onto her shoulder, lowered her chin into her coat as far as she could, and hurried forward. Walking got harder as the snow continued to pile up. She tried to snake through the thick trees but found it too difficult to navigate.

Following the edge of the road, now snow-covered, too, she continued until she came to another road branching off.

"Mines," Paige read from a half-snow-covered sign. "I think these are the mines we're looking for, Dewey. I'm heading that way. At the very least, we can get out of the weather there."

"Okay," a weak voice said.

"How are you doing down there, little buddy?"

"I'm a little better. Thanks for your scarf."

"You're welcome. Hang in there, buddy." Paige patted the carrier as she followed the side road through the trees.

"How are you? You must be freezing."

"My nose is cold. It's probably not red, though. Maybe just darker purple. Or blue."

A weak laugh sounded from within the carrier. "I'm sorry, Paige. I'm just too small to keep my body heat in."

"It's fine. As long as you're okay."

"I'll be okay," he promised her. "Let's just get out of this weather for a little bit."

"Sounds good. I see the mine entrance ahead. Almost there."

Paige quickened her pace and hurried toward the dark opening. She stopped a moment later, freezing in her tracks as she stared ahead wide-eyed.

"Oh no."

"What is it? I can't see anything with this blanket wrapped around me."

"U-uhhh," Paige stammered as she trembled at what stood in front of her. "We may need a new plan."

She swallowed hard as her heart thudded in her chest. In front of her, the biggest brown bear she'd ever seen rose onto its hind legs, sniffing the air.

When it caught her scent on the wind, it opened its mouth, baring its large yellow teeth as it roared.