Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

P aige drummed her tiny fingers on her miniature leg as a flurry of activity circled around her. The lead on her mother's whereabouts swam through her mind, making concentrating on anything difficult.

Then again, so did being six inches tall. She climbed to her feet and paced around on the top of the desk. "This is so frustrating."

Dewey landed across from her, now dwarfing her. "I know. I'm really sorry, Paige."

He tugged his lips into a frown as he stared down at her.

"It's okay. I mean, at least we're not tumbling through time anymore. But…" She flicked her gaze to the others as they prepared to leave. "This isn't the best time to be pixie-sized."

Dewey splayed his arms out to the side with a partial shrug. "Well, it's better than being a puddle. Or purple."

"Or plastered. Why do you have a knack for doing things to me that allow for alliteration with my name?"

"Just lucky, I guess. Hey, listen, you could ride on my shoulder now." He grinned at her .

"I don't think so, little man. We have no idea the circumstances at this place," Drucinda answered as she dropped a bag of unknown objects on the floor. "You'll go in a carrier."

"We don't have a carrier," Dewey said.

Drucinda shrugged a shoulder, her tone commanding as usual. "We do. Ro got one whilst you were fooling around in the past."

Paige poked a finger at her. "We weren't fooling around. We were cursed."

"Double-cursed actually. Though we really need more information to determine who placed the first curse and why."

"No leads on that?" Paige asked, crossing her tiny arms.

"No. And we're still searching for information on how Higgins pulled off what he did."

Paige let her arms fall to the side with a sigh. "There are more questions than answers."

"We'll find them," Drucinda assured her. "And we'll fix you."

"Until then, I guess someone will have to carry me."

"You can go in the carrier with Dewey."

Paige's eyes went wide as Drucinda retrieved it from a shelf and brought it over. "Hop in, little man."

Dewey fluttered into the air and landed in the carrier, ducking down to fit inside.

"Now you," Drucinda said, waving a finger at Paige.

Paige stuck her hands on her hips. "Are you kidding?"

"I am not. You are a six-inch tall human. You cannot go parading about in public. Plus, it would take you ages to walk around."

Devon approached, tugging on his jacket. "I'll take you, Paige." He offered her an award-winning grin.

"Step aside, creature, if anyone shall carry Paige, I will." Henry shoved himself in front of Devon .

Paige shifted her gaze between the two men before she ambled toward the carrier. "I'll ride with Dewey."

Dewey poked his head from inside. "Excellent choice, Paige. I think you'll enjoy being carried around."

"We'll see." She reached her short arms up toward the top but was unable to reach it.

Drucinda set her hand down, palm up. "Hop on, Pipsqueak."

"Ohhh, Pipsqueak Paige. That's a good one, too. I went with Pint-sized Paige."

"She's not even as big as a pint, I don't think," Drucinda answered as Paige scrambled onto her hand and held onto her finger as she transferred her to the carrier.

"Hop in!" Dewey said with a grin, patting the bottom of the pet carrier.

"Careful. This is quite a distance for a tiny gal like you, and you've no wings to break your fall."

Paige dangled her small legs over the edge of Drucinda's finger before she flung herself into the case. She landed with a thud and climbed to her feet.

Drucinda's large face hovered over the opening. "Okay?"

"I'm fine. Let's go."

Drucinda offered her a nod before she zipped the carrier shut. A moment later, Paige toppled to the side when the carrier rose in the air before banging against the woman's hip. "Oof."

"Yeah, careful. It's bumpy."

"No kidding," Paige said as she struggled not to fall over. She clung to the mesh side in a desperate attempt to steady herself.

A few moments later, the carrier was dumped into the backseat of an SUV and a seat belt smashed the side in.

Paige kicked her feet to propel herself backward. "Yikes. "

"Not exactly ideal, but at least we'll be safe in here," Dewey said as he nestled further down.

Paige drew her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "Do you think we'll find my mom?"

"I don't know," Dewey answered. "Maybe. Higgins certainly made it seem like she was alive. And with what we learned about your heritage on our strange time-travel trip, it's possible."

The car lurched forward and Paige knitted her brows as she flicked her gaze to the dragon. "What does that mean?"

"If you have magical blood in you, it's possible for your life to be extended in some way."

"I thought you said that didn't happen? When we met the resurrected Higgins."

"People don't resurrect. But they can live extremely long lives. Look at Drucinda. She's a quarter Valkyrie and has been alive for over a century. And Devon. As a daywalking vampire, he's also been alive for a good century. And me. I'm over two hundred years old."

"But I'm just a human."

"We have evidence to the contrary. You may be a witch."

"But…my grandmother died."

"Yeah, maybe she never went through the ritual to extend her life. Witches can live for centuries, too, but they aren't just born that way."

Paige chewed her lower lip as her head started to pound. It was too much to take in. Did she have magical blood?

"Don't forget," Dewey said as the carrier pitched sideways, held only by the seat belt, "one of your ancestors was a seer. Claire. Which suggests witchy origins. And Liam told us as much."

"Yeah, who was the woman he mentioned. Maura?"

"I haven't found her in your family tree, yet, but I'll keep searching. Unless we find your mom, and she happens to know."

Paige set her chin on her knees, her lips tugging downward despite her best effort to stop the emotions coursing through her from swelling up and escaping.

"Paige?" Dewey leaned his head down to catch her eye, but she squeezed them closed.

After a moment, she popped them open and flicked away a tear that had rolled down her cheek. "Sorry."

"It's okay. I wish I could do something to help, but I'm afraid I'll crush you with my paw. Or slice you in half with a claw."

The statement brought a chuckle from her. She smiled through her tears and wiped at her cheeks as a few more spilled down. "It's okay. Thanks for helping me with this."

"Of course. And hey, it looks like I helped you way more than expected."

Paige sniffled and flicked her gaze to him. "Oh, yeah? How did you do that?"

"I shrunk you accidentally."

Paige screwed up her face. "How does that help?"

"Otherwise, you'd be sitting in the backseat crying, and then Devon would be trying to play hero. And then Henry would be fighting with him. This way, you can just sob in solitude without them bickering over you."

Paige rubbed at her nose, letting her head loll against the mesh carrier's side. "Yeah, that's getting really, really old."

"At least they're devoted to you, I guess."

She buried her face in her hands. "I don't want them devoted to me. I just want to do my job. Oh, yeah, and find my mom."

"It's kind of cool that we met your mom when she was a little kid. I wonder if she'll remember us."

Paige wrinkled her nose as the memory pushed into her mind. "She'll probably remember how cool Drucinda was. She probably spent her whole life remembering the super cool leather-clad woman who fought off vampires and saved her mom all while she had a dragon on her shoulder and a little girl on her hip."

"That could be. Hey, maybe that's why they were friends. She probably met Drucinda when she was an adult and was more than happy to be friends with the woman who saved her life and her mother's."

"Yep," Paige said, a note of disdain in her voice.

"But here's the thing. She's not going to like Drucinda better than you."

"Are you sure about that? I'm kind of a walking mess."

"I'm pretty sure," Dewey said with a head bob. "Here's why. When you were a tiny baby, she took you and made sure you were safe. She didn't listen to Drucinda. Her first allegiance was to you."

Paige sucked in a breath as she let the statement sink in. "You're right. Although that somehow makes me feel really bad. Why didn't she trust Drucinda?"

"Maybe we'll have the chance to answer all these questions really soon."

Paige stared ahead at the winding road marking their route on the GPS. Her heart and stomach fluttered. What would she say if they found her mom? Would she give her a hug, or would that be weird?

"Am I a horrible person for being more nervous than excited if we do find my mom?"

"I don't think so."

"Really?" Paige shot him a glance, still finding it awkward that he was larger than her.

"Yeah. I mean, you don't know this lady from Eve. You have no idea what she's like. Will she be really nice? Will she be horrible? It seems like she really cared about you when you were a baby, but whatever happened to her in the thirty-plus years she's been missing may have changed her. You don't know, Paige. We have no idea what we're about to face."

The words stung. But he was right. What if her mother was a shell of herself? What if she never recovered from thirty-four years in captivity?

"I guess we'll just take it one step at a time."

"And I'll be right there with you for each step, partner." Dewey grinned at her and gave her a thumbs up.

"Thanks, Dewey." She reached out a tiny hand and patted his paw.

"Of course. I mean, for all we know, your mom may have seen what a hot mess you are on the SmartMart People Video and–"

"Okay, that's enough, thanks. Let's just leave it at the warm, fuzzy moment we had where you were being supportive."

"Right," Dewey answered. "How much longer, I wonder?"

Paige searched the glowing screen in the dashboard. She moaned and let her head thunk against the back of the carrier. "Too long."

"Hey, Drucinda?" Dewey called.

The woman flicked her eyes into the rearview mirror as she urged more speed from the engine. "What is it, little man?"

"Where'd you say this place was?"

"Loire Valley."

Dewey's fleshy eyebrows raised. "Oh, nice."

"What's Loire Valley?" Paige asked.

"Lovely countryside and beautiful chateaus. Maybe your mom never came back because she was living in the lap of luxury."

Paige wrinkled her nose at the statement.

"Sorry, bad joke. "

They rode the rest of the two-hour drive in tense silence. Paige licked her lips until they felt raw and dug her fingernails into her palms until they left red indentations.

The GPS system finally announced that their destination would be ahead on the right. Paige rose from her seat and stood in the carrier, trying to peer through the mess and out the darkened windows of the backseat.

The tops of trees flew past the window, but she could make out nothing else.

"I can't see a thing."

"I can," Dewey answered.

She whipped around to face him. "You can? What do you see?"

"Trees," he reported.

Paige clicked her tongue at him. "I thought you could see meaningful things. Like the house or my mom."

"Nope. Just trees whizzing past." The car slowed and bounced around as they pulled off the road. "Must be going into the driveway."

Paige pressed her face against the mesh as she tried to spy anything through the windshield. She caught a brief view of turrets poking toward the sky.

A shiver shot down her spine. What kind of place had her mother been kept in for all these years?

Drucinda eased the car to a stop and ducked her head to study the house.

"What do you think?" Devon asked.

She wrinkled her nose as she reached for the glove compartment. "I don't like it."

"Seems quiet."

"Too quiet." She withdrew a weapon before slamming the cubby shut.

"You think there's trouble?"

"I don't know. But I plan to be prepared." She spent another minute casing the rambling structure before she kicked her door open. A soft dinging filled the space as the lights overhead glowed to life. "You wait here. I'm going to do a sweep."

"Hey!" Paige cried from the back. "I want to go. This is my mom."

"Yes, but you're tiny and I don't want you getting hurt. It would have been questionable at best even if you were normal-sized."

Devon slid from his seat, a weapon in hand he had pulled from his waistband.

Drucinda slid her eyes to Henry. "Wait here, make sure nothing happens to them."

"I will ensure Kitten is perfectly safe."

"Keys are in the cupholder. If there's trouble, bail. Do not wait for either of us. Understand?"

Henry nodded. "Of course. I place Paige's life higher than yours and most certainly higher than that thing's."

Devon slammed the door at the statement and stalked toward the behemoth of a house. "Let's go, Dru. We're wasting time."

Drucinda disappeared from Paige's sight and slammed the door closed.

Paige slapped a palm against her forehead. "I can't believe this. I could be feet from my mom, and she's got me stuck in a carrier and locked in a car."

"The place looks empty," Dewey said as he shifted to stare between the seats through the windshield.

"I think that's what she's worried about. Looks can be very deceiving. You know all about that though, don't you, Kitten?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Paige shot back with a crinkled nose.

"I think you know. We can only hope that whatever lurks in those dark halls has the capability to destroy that horrid creature we have been forced to travel about with."

"Will you let that go? Devon's not that horrible."

"She thinks he's hot," Dewey added.

"I didn't say that. But regardless of my feelings, I don't want him destroyed."

"I do. He's an unhelpful twit. I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him. And believe me, my throwing arm is awful. I had a run-in with a Stormshifter, and it's never been the same."

Paige shook her head. "You're such a wimp."

"Really," Dewey agreed, "Stormshifters are hardly tough. My mom could beat one of them with one wing tied behind her back before her morning coffee."

Paige studied the tips of the turrets again as her brain rambled through the possibilities before becoming distracted by the conversation at hand. "What is a Stormshifter?"

"A dragon that takes the form of stormy clouds. Hardly frightening." Dewey scoffed.

"Oh, really? Let's see you fight one. They are masters of camouflage, you know."

Dewey rolled his eyes. "Yeah, they're really toughies. All that puffiness and thunder."

"Can we stop talking about dragons made of clouds and discuss the situation at hand?" Paige asked.

"They aren't made of clouds, Paige. They're just–"

"Okay, okay, I get it. You know what I meant."

"You probably think they hoard gold, too, don't you?"

"I hoard gold. What's wrong with hoarding gold? I like gold. It's very…comforting," Henry answered.

Paige slid her eyes closed as frustration settled in the form of a knot between her shoulder blades. "Can you please take us out of here so we can go look at the house? "

"Me?" Henry asked. "Why? They haven't finished their sweep. We're much safer here."

"I don't care about being safe, I care about finding out what's going on. I'm stuck in here, and I'm going to go crazy. Take me out of here, I want to see what's going on!"

"Calm down, Paige. You're going to blow a tiny gasket," Dewey said.

"Thank you. The dragon is right."

"Although," Dewey said, "I'm kind of going crazy, too. A little fresh air can't hurt us. Just don't wander too far."

"I am not leaving the confines of this car. I will not be responsible for something happening to you, Kitten."

"Nothing is going to happen to me. I'm inside a pet carrier."

Henry flicked his gaze out the window, refusing to discuss it further.

Paige smashed her lips together before she reached toward the zipper closing the front flap. "Help me."

"With what?"

"Let's wiggle this open and break out."

"Paige! Are you serious?" Dewey asked.

"Very." She tucked her finger between the teeth of the zipper and wiggled, trying to pry it open. "Come on, use your claw."

"Stand aside." Dewey shoved at her with his paw before he stuck his claw between the zipper teeth and pried them open. The hole ballooned.

Paige clapped as she hopped up and down. "You did it."

She shoved his paw aside and wiggled out of the opening.

"What are you doing?" Henry asked, leaning forward to peer at them. "Get back in there."

He poked at Paige to shove her back inside. "Hey!"

She opened her mouth as wide as she could and clamped down on the finger stuck in the hole .

"Ouch!" he cried, pulling his hand back and shaking it. "You bit me with those tiny teeth."

"I'll bite you again, too. Let us out of here!"

Dewey shoved her aside and poked his head out of the carrier. "Listen, pal, unless you want me to bite you with my bigger teeth, I'd suggest you take us out of here. We deserve to have a look around."

Henry stared down at the tiny bite marks on his finger before he nodded. "Fine. Fine. I'll take you out to look around. Just get back inside there."

Dewey pulled his head in, and Henry zipped the carrier closed. He lifted the strap onto his shoulder and shoved the door open. Cool air whistled through the mesh as he slid to the ground from the SUV.

Paige flattened her nose against the mesh to stare up at the beige building with its dark roof and its foreboding form. She grimaced as she stared at the haunting silhouette. Its gothic spires poked at the darkening sky like accusing fingers while the windows peered at them like vacant eyes.

Paige swallowed hard as she studied the creepy ivy clinging to the side of the worn stones. What secrets did the weathered stones conceal inside the shadow chambers? Was her mother one of them?