Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18

P aige's throat went dry and her knees wobbled underneath her as she stared at the beautiful blonde who sashayed her way closer to them, swinging a set of keys on a chain.

Dewey hissed at her before spitting out a tiny burst of flames.

Ivy laughed before she froze, cocking a hip as she studied them. "You two really are idiots."

"Yeah, but we're the best library team. And once we find the Scepter, we'll claim that crown again," Dewey spat at her.

She rolled her eyes. "You really can't be this dense. You're not going to find it. It's not here."

"Well, whatever clue is here, we'll use to find it wherever it is," Paige said, lifting her chin and putting on a brave front despite quaking inside.

"There is no clue here, moron. It was a wild goose chase, and you fell for it."

"So, you're the one who logged the request into the library system." Paige jabbed a finger at her with a frown .

"Guilty, but only just. I didn't do the deed myself, I just…prompted someone else to do it."

"Who?" Paige asked.

"It doesn't matter. They aren't a member of our elite little group. They're just some poor underling who didn't want to see their daughter die a slow, painful death from a Venompire bite." She shrugged a shoulder, batting her eyelashes at them.

"You're sick, lady," Dewey said with a poke of a claw at her.

She smirked at him, crossing her arms. "I know."

"I suppose we won't make it past this room," Paige said, her gaze darting around the room as she searched for any options that could save them from their impending and likely painful deaths.

"Oh, but you will. We could use a few more allies, you see."

"I'd never work with you!" Paige shouted.

Dewey didn't answer. Paige gave him a double-take. "Dewey," she said through clenched teeth, bobbing her head at Ivy.

"What?" he asked. She nodded toward the Venompire again. "Oh, that. I was still considering it. There are a lot of outstanding questions. What are the terms? Will there be peeled grapes involved?"

"I can't believe you. You would go to the dark side for peeled grapes?"

"Well…" Paige offered him a stony glare. "You're right. Principles are principles. Even when they cost you a life with peeled grapes being fed to you by a beautiful blonde goddess." Dewey heaved a sigh before his features turned angry. He thrust a claw in Ivy's direction. "I'll never join you either. You'll have to kill me here and now."

"Thanks, buddy. Way to show solidarity. "

"I'd love to. Nothing would give me more pleasure than to watch you writhing in pain on the floor as the poison creeps through your system and slowly sucks the life out of you."

"Wow, that's harsh. You could have just said the first part and left the rest off," Dewey said.

Ivy wrinkled her lips with disdain. "Unfortunately for me, I will not get that pleasure. The High Table has other plans for you. So, you'll have to come with me."

"The High Table?" Paige arched an eyebrow before a chuckle escaped her.

Ivy's frown deepened as she lowered her chin and glared at Paige.

"I'm sorry," Paige said, covering her lips and trying to sober herself. She sniffed in a breath, pressing her lips together as she tried to focus. "Sorry, it just sounded ridiculous. I mean, the High Table? Are we in a graphic novel?"

Ivy sneered at them. "Laugh all you want. You won't be laughing soon. And I wouldn't talk, Paige Turner."

Paige winced, and Dewey patted her head. "Oh, burn. She got you there, Paige."

"Oh, really? Dewey Decimal."

A puff of smoke escaped Dewey's nostrils. "I've told you a thousand times, that's not how you pronounce it."

"Enough!" Ivy shouted with a slice of her hand through the air. "Stop babbling. You're coming with me. End of the story."

"I don't think so," Paige said, crossing her arms and digging her feet into the ground.

Ivy arched her eyebrow. "I do."

"Make me."

This time, the corners of her lips curled into a wicked smile. "My pleasure."

She withdrew a compact from her pocket and snapped it open. Paige's eyes went wide as she spotted a yellow powder inside. She backed away as Dewey fluttered into the air.

Ivy blew the powder at Paige. Tiny particles smacked her in the face and, despite her best efforts, flew up her nose, making it itch.

She tried to expel them with a hard exhale, but they clung to the mucous membrane. "Go, Dewey! Get help!" she shouted as she fought to stay on her feet.

The powder disoriented her. The room spun, and her limbs felt heavy.

"Good night, Paige," Ivy said with a smirk before turning her attention to the tiny dragon fluttering in the air.

Paige slumped to the ground, hitting the cold floor hard. She struggled to keep her eyes open. After a few seconds, she failed at the task. Her last conscious connection to the world consisted of watching Ivy grab Dewey's back foot as he squawked in frustration and fought to free himself.

Go, little buddy, go , she thought before her world went black.

The sound of water dripping echoed in the distance as Paige's eyes fluttered open. Cool, damp stone pressed against her cheek as she squeezed her eyes closed and groaned.

Had Ivy left her in the bowels of the tomb? She'd probably locked her in to die. Would help come in time or would she die a slow painful death waiting?

She imagined the ways she could go. Starvation. Maybe she'd die of thirst. Could she run out of air?

She had to find a way out. She couldn't wait for someone to rescue her. With determination filling her, she snapped her eyes open and pushed up to sit. The world spun around her, forcing her eyes closed again .

She lay back against the damp stones and pressed her hands over her eyes until colors exploded.

"Paige? Are you okay?" Dewey asked.

She pulled her hands away and glanced around the dimly lit space. "Dewey?"

"Over here." A tiny teal hand stuck from between a set of metal bars and waved in the air.

Paige scrambled to her knees, ignoring the pain throbbing at her temples and the swaying of the room, and scrambled to the bars. "I thought I was stuck in that tomb in Scotland."

"Nope, pretty sure we're not in Scotland anymore."

"Where are we?" She studied the area around them.

"What's it look like? Another dungeon."

Paige sighed, letting her head bang against the bars. "Another day, another dungeon. I wonder where this one is?"

"I don't know. The Delacroixs have a couple of homes. France, Switzerland, Norway, Italy, just to name a few."

"Well, I guess it doesn't matter which one we're in, we just have to get out of here."

Dewey wrapped against his bars with a knuckle. "That's not happening. This place is a fortress."

"How do you know?" Paige tugged her bars before she pushed against them, searching for a weak spot.

"Do you think Ivy Delacroix brought us here to just let us escape? Uh-uh," Dewey said with a shake of his head. "She brought us here to kill us."

"That doesn't make any sense." Paige forced herself to her feet, sliding her eyes closed as the room dipped and swirled around her.

"Why not?"

"Why didn't she just kill us in Scotland and leave us in that tomb. Why drag us all the way to wherever she took us and kill us here? It seems like a ton of effort for nothing. "

"She probably has some kind of torture devices here to use."

"No, wait," Paige said, shaking her head and stumbling sideways as she did it. "Wait, she said something right before she blew that powdery stuff all over us. She said…the High Table has other plans for us."

Paige paused, shifting her eyes from side to side. "Or did I dream that? That sounds…wrong."

"No, she said that," Dewey confirmed. "You laughed."

"Why?"

"I don't know, but you thought the High Table was hilarious."

"I did. Because isn't it the High Table in the John Wick series?"

"It is. The rip-offs. They stole that idea, plain and simple. The real High Table has been around for centuries. Long before they decided to create John Wick."

Paige rubbed at her forehead, desperately trying to get her brain to fire on all cylinders. "Okay, fine. John Wick is a rip-off. But that's why I found it funny. Either way, she's not going to kill us. The High Table has other plans for us."

"Yeah, to kill us in a creative way. Or do experiments on us. Or feed us to their pets. And let me tell you, Paige, you're no Keanu Reeves."

Paige jimmied the bars again. "That's not fair. I feel like I have a cool, loner vibe like he does."

"Take away the cool part, and you've got it."

Paige shot him a glare through the bars. "There has to be a way out. I broke out of plenty of dungeons before. I can do it again."

"Uh, you broke out of one dungeon in the werewolf mansion. The others were pure luck."

Paige kicked at the door, but it didn't budge .

"Face it, Paige. We're doomed. Done. Finished. There's nothing we can do but sit and wait to die."

Paige stuck her face through the opening between two bars, her fingers curling around the metal as she pulled herself closer. "Are you sure you can't fit through the bars?"

"Nope."

"Did you try? You have a terrible habit of not trying and just assuming you can't fit."

"I can't fit. Just my arm. They've got chicken wire stopping me. This cell has been retrofitted to make sure I can't escape." Dewey blew out a sigh. "Nope, face it, Paige. We're done for."

Paige heaved a sigh as she considered options. No keys, no weak spots in the bars, and Dewey couldn't slip through. She scanned the room again. This time it looked different to her.

With narrowed eyes, she tried to figure out what had changed. Were they inside some sort of magical chamber that constantly moved?

Her hands smacked into the crossbar. What was happening? Heat washed over her as realization dawned. A grin turned up the corners of her lips.

"They retrofitted your cell, but not mine."

"Huh?" Dewey asked.

"They retrofitted your cell, but not mine!" she repeated, excitement speeding her voice. "I have no chicken wire."

"Okay, great. Who cares?"

"I'm shrinking!" She stared down at her slightly less green skin. "The growth spaghetti is wearing off. If we wait a few more minutes, I should be able to slide right through these bars and escape."

Dewey shoved his nose through the bars and stared at her. "Really?"

"Yep," Paige said as her arms stretched to keep her hands above the crossbar. "Look, I'm already like three-quarters of my size."

"You are kind of shrimpy."

Paige grinned and nodded. "Yep. Shouldn't be long, and I can slip right out of this cell, buddy."

"That's great, then you can–" Dewey stopped short, the grin slipping from his teal features.

"What? Rescue you? Be your knight-in-shining-armor? Yep, that's me…super cool Paige Turner. Keanu Reeves has nothing on me."

"Doubt it," Dewey said, crossing his arms with a frown. "How do you plan on getting the keys, and reaching the lock?"

"I'll just…" A shiver turned her flesh to goosebumps. "Ohhhh."

"Yeah, ohhhh," Dewey mocked. "You'll be a half-pint. You won't even be able to climb out of the dungeon. It'll take you half a day to get out of here."

"I wonder if I can find our stuff. I still have some growth spaghetti left."

"I'm sure they left that lying around for you to find. Probably on a desk that you can't climb."

"Or in a closet with a doorknob I can't reach. But we'll worry about that later. First things first, I need to get out of here."

"Shouldn't be long now, you're about half your normal size."

"I can't wait to be small again. I can't believe those words just came out of my mouth." Paige crossed her now-smaller arms and drummed her fingers against her forearm.

Each passing second tortured her a little more. Would she be able to slip from the cell before someone came for them?

When she stood at a quarter of her height, she tried to wiggle through the bars .

"You can't fit, Paige, you're still too big. You've got to get smaller."

With her shoulders wedged, she tried to shift angles and squeeze through, but she couldn't quite fit. "I'm worried we're running out of time," she grunted.

"It can't take that much longer for you to shrink another few inches."

"Seconds mean lives, buddy," she said with a deep grimace that contorted her face as she desperately tried to fit her hips between the bars.

A shuffle echoed off the walls, and she froze with her top half hanging out of the cell. "What was that?"

Dewey turned an ear toward the stairs winding up toward the exit. The unmistakable sound of footsteps thudded closer and closer to them.

With wide eyes, Dewey shot Paige a glance. "Better hurry, someone's coming!"