Fairytale Ambrosia (The Knead to Know Series Book 2) (14 page)

“True, but you didn’t know it and you certainly didn’t trust him. Maybe Phoenix is the same way or maybe,” her fingers wound together, “after dating one super secretive man, you’re scared to allow yourself to get close to any other man. Phoenix definitely wants to get close to you.”

She didn’t understand. I knew now why Baker kept his life from me. It was the same reason I had to keep mine from her. Phoenix was different. He wasn’t protecting me. He was testing and using me. I shrugged. “Whatever the reason, it doesn’t change my mind.”

Izzy and I closed up and went home. We ordered dinner and binged watched a TV show. But more importantly we laughed and chatted just like we used to. We didn’t talk about anything important. She didn’t mention Kyle and I didn’t think about Holda or Nicole or the missing kids.

What we did do was make plans for the bakery: brainstorming promotions and whether or not the bakery could feasibly support both of us and if I could handle catering too. The more we talked about her becoming a partner, the more I liked the idea.

Izzy went to bed early, exhausted from her full day. As I cleaned up, I kept thinking about what it would be like to work with her. I had nearly settled on it, when the phone rang, bringing back the reality of my not so perfect life. My stomach sank as I looked at Megan’s name on the screen. I swiped my finger across to answer.

“It’s back,” she said, giving me the address with as much dread in her voice as I felt.

“Did you call Boone?”

“I left him a message. I don’t know if he’ll be there or not.”

He’d be there. I had no doubt about that. “You don’t have to come with me,” I said, though fear clawed at my chest. It was possible her magic wouldn’t even work in another world. All of this might be a horrible plan. Olivia wasn’t exactly known for playing it safe.

“I’ll see you there.” She hung up.

I considered calling Phoenix, just to see if he changed his mind, but dismissed the idea. Instead, I tossed up a quick prayer to Olivia, letting her know where I would be, then grabbed Izzy’s keys and left her a note just in case.

Megan and Stephanie were waiting for me at the entrance to the parking garage, a green glowing crystal in their hands.

“Is she here?” I asked as I climbed out of Izzy’s car, not quite legally parked.

Megan glanced at the crystal. “Not yet. When it turns blue, her spell will be fully realized. That’s how it worked last time.”

“Good, let’s go.”

“Shouldn’t we wait for Boone?” Stephanie asked, as Megan and I turned to the door.

I pressed my lips together. This could be our last chance. There was no guarantee that Holda would keep coming back, especially if she was collecting. I couldn’t miss the opportunity to catch the door. “You guys wait for him. I’m going to head up. What level?”

The girls looked at each other.

“I’ll know it when I see it,” Megan said. “I’ll go with Maggie. You wait for Boone.” We raced off to the stairs.

“What’s your plan?” I asked as we pounded up the first flight.

“I don’t know what floor, but I should be able to feel it in the air. Interdimensional magic is no joke.”

I opened the door on the second level and she stepped out, closing her eyes. “Nope.”

The third floor was the same, but when we opened the door on the fourth, Olivia was waiting, staring at an empty parking space. “What took you so long?” she said. “I was worried you wouldn’t make it in time.”

Megan skidded to a stop. “Who’s this?”

Olivia glanced over at her and smiled. Megan immediately relaxed. “I’m Olivia. It’s nice to meet you, Megan. I’m glad you’re going with Maggie.” She looked back at the parking spot. “The door will break through here. I will do what I can to neutralize her time manipulation, but I don’t want to spook her. If there was a car parked in the space next to it, that would be better, but I guess we can make do.”

“I have a car.” I held up Izzy’s keys. “Be right back.”

I raced down the stairs and through the door to the street, running squarely into Boone. My hand darted out, catching his shirt before he went sprawling to the sidewalk. When I was sure he was steady, I let him go, afraid to meet his eyes and to see the same accusation in them that had been there the night before. Nicole’s disappearance wasn’t at all my fault, but he obviously needed someone to blame. Was it fair? No. But sometimes fair didn’t matter when it came to friends. “We’re on the fourth floor.”

I climbed into the car and drove up the slow circles to the parking spot Olivia was still standing in front of. She was watching Boone and the witches argue about something, and no one looked super happy. I put the car in park and hopped out. “What happened?”

“I mentioned that I don’t think more than two of you should go through the door. The other two should stay behind to be ready to destroy it, just in case. Even if you can’t save the others, we need to make sure it ends here.”

“Trapping the two who go in?” Stephanie said.

Olivia nodded. “Whatever it takes.”

Harsh, but I agreed. We couldn’t allow Holda to continue to have free access to our world. I nodded. “I agree. Who stays and who goes?”

Olivia made a face. “I recommend that you and one of the witches goes inside, but it isn’t my decision.”

“I’m going,” Boone said. “It’s not up for debate. The witches can stay behind. It’s my girlfriend who was taken, and I had the visions that brought all of you here.”

“But I have magic,” Megan said. “If I go there’s a better chance we can get everyone back. Let Maggie decide.”

Everyone looked at me.

“Boone,” I said without hesitation. It was the only answer that felt right. I turned to Megan. “You’re right. Magic could be useful in there, if it works, which it might not. But it’s personal to Boone. If Stephanie was in there, would there be anything that would keep you out? It isn’t fair to ask him to stay, plus I need you to help Stephanie destroy the door.”

“It’s time,” Olivia said.

Sparks crackled and the air started to feel thicker. Olivia vanished.

“She’s leaving?” Megan squeaked.

“She’ll be back,” I said. “Boone and I will be behind the car, you guys should be close, but also somewhere you can see the elevator. No matter what, don’t let her take the woman.” They glanced around and went to the middle row while I went behind the car, squatting down between the bumper and the wall.

Boone matched my stance. “Maggie,” he whispered, touching my arm just above the elbow. “I’m sorry for blaming you last night. It was uncalled for and not at all your fault.”

I looked over at him. “It’s okay.”

He shook his head. “It’s a long story, but it isn’t okay. Nic and I had a fight and you were brought up and then…” He sighed.

And then I showed up and Nicole was taken. Guilt was something I understood well. It didn’t keep me from wanting to ask what was said, though I could guess. He had been spending a lot of time with me.

“You didn’t do anything, but try to help. I didn’t have any right to talk to you like that. A lot of what Nicole said wasn’t untrue. Knowing you has not only complicated my life, but also how I feel about certain things including the direction I see my life heading. I lashed out at you when I’m the only one who should feel guilty.”

I blinked. What exactly was he saying? I started to ask and then stopped myself. “Apology accepted. Let’s not talk about it again until Nicole is back and everyone is safe, okay?” I peeked out around the bumper. The door had almost taken form. The elevator door dinged behind us with the gentle whooshing sound as it opened its doors. Within moments, gray wood with cracked and chipped white paint stood in the spot as solid as any real structure. The elevator dinged and quick footsteps echoed across the cement.

The magical door opened and the same heavy feeling I’d experienced at Boone’s house crushed down on me. The woman in white floated out of the door, toward the aisle.

“You don’t belong here, Holda,” Olivia’s voice came out strong. The pressure on me released enough that I could move like I was treading deep water.

Holda stopped, only her skirt still visible to me. “It is of no concern to you,” she said. “I won’t be a moment.”

I nudged Boone and mouthed. “Time to go.”

I was about to step through the doorway when I glanced back. Boone hadn’t even made it inches. We didn’t have time for this. I started back to him, when Phoenix appeared behind him, waving me on. I hesitated only a moment before stepping through.

There was an immediate sense of falling, though my feet were firmly planted on the ground. A too perfect, too green meadow stretched out in front of me. Lilacs danced in a breeze I couldn’t feel. A thatched roof cottage stood at the end of the meadow, just before a dark and ominous forest. Behind the woods, a tall castle loomed, the spires almost reaching to the clouds. I turned around to watch for Boone and Phoenix, but the doorway wasn’t behind me. There was only a dirt road that looked identical in both directions.

“Let go of me. Who are you?” Boone said as both guys appeared, though they looked completely different.

Boone’s dark blond hair was shorter and parted on the side into a perfectly unnatural wave. He was suddenly wearing a red cape and hat with a tan tunic and brown pants that were pretty tight. Phoenix, on the other hand, was wearing a turban, baggy pants, and an open leather vest with no shirt underneath it.

I snickered. “Did you stop for a wardrobe change?”

“Looked in the mirror lately?” Phoenix said, letting go of Boone.

Except for being too pale, Phoenix was pulling off the new look.

He caught me staring and winked, reminding me that I was mad at him. I grabbed his arm and dragged him to the side. “I thought you weren’t coming.”

“And I told you, it’s my job to protect you.”

“Maggie, I think we should hurry,” Boone said, giving me an impatient gesture, but I didn’t miss the tightening of his square jaw as his eye went to Phoenix’s hand on my arm.

“Just so we are clear, this doesn’t change anything,” I said to Phoenix then strode over to Boone, my dress swishing around my legs.

Wait. Dress? I glanced down. I was wearing a blue dress with a white apron. “What the holy hell?” I reached up and touched my hair, feeling a velvety headband. I had to look a lot like…I looked at the guys again. We were all dressed in costumes. I pictured the kids. I’d noticed they were dressed oddly, but as
what
hadn’t struck me.

“We’re in a fairy tale,” I said. “That’s the collection. The kids are Hansel and Gretel.” If Boone was a prince, Nicole must be a princess. “Nicole was asleep when she was taken, and Holda pricked her finger with a pin. She never opened her eyes. Maybe she’s Sleeping Beauty? The hotel maid would be Cinderella—”

Phoenix’s cheek twitched. “That’s one explanation for this. The other is that we’re in hell.”

Boone smiled. “I don’t know why I didn’t see it. Of course. That’s why her appearance changed too. She was going with the stories. So if that’s the case then Nicole’s in the castle.”

“And the kids will be in the witch’s candy house,” I said.

“We can do this faster if we split up,” Phoenix said. “Maggie and I can get the boy and girl. You get Nicole. We can meet back here.” Obviously he was used to being in charge.

Boone raised a doubtful eyebrow. “I think we should stay together. Besides, I don’t think Maggie wants to go with you—whoever you are.”

Phoenix stepped forward, sizing him up. “I don’t think Maggie quite knows what she wants, but don’t worry, I’ll help her figure it out.”

Boone folded his arms. “She’s perfectly capable of making her own decisions.”

“She’s also standing right here,” I said, waving my hand. “And I think we should stay together. Let’s go.”

“At least I don’t lead her on and then blame her for my problems,” Phoenix fired back. “She knows exactly what she’s getting with me.”

Boone’s jaw tightened.

I jumped between them. “Both of you shut up. This isn’t helping. We’re not splitting up. The only way we’re going to get anyone back is by working together. Phoenix, give me your lamp.”

One of his eyebrows arched. “My what?”

“Lamp. Come on. Genies are supposed to grant three wishes to the person who possesses the lamp. Give it to me, I will wish for everyone back, then we can get out of here.”

He patted the legs of his baggy pants. “I don’t have it.”

Of course he didn’t. “Then I guess we’re doing this the hard way.”

“Which way do we go?” Phoenix asked.

I pointed toward the woods and we started off. If I remembered my fairy tales, the witch’s cottage was deep in the woods—not the one on the edge of the tree line. But the forest was large and the cottage could be anywhere. And another, more disturbing, thought was taking hold in my mind. What if the three people we knew about weren’t the only ones? What if everything in this world was something she had stolen, like her own personal dollhouse?

“This place is messed up,” Phoenix said.

“Besides for the obvious, how so?” I asked, curious about what he was picking up.

“From where we stood, the forest was at least two hundred yards away, but we made it here in less than twenty steps and the cottage at the edge disappeared.”

I looked around. He was absolutely right. I didn’t even notice. “I don’t think we’ve scratched the surface of the weird that we are about to discover.” I started into the twisted, dark forest, and the ground gave out around me. I grabbed at a tree limb, snapping it off in my hand as I fell. My entire body jerked, as Phoenix caught the back of my gown and yanked me back up. We all looked down. The hole was so deep that the bottom wasn’t visible.

“I think you almost went down a rabbit hole,” Boone said. He reached down and took my hand gently in his. “You’re bleeding.”

“It will hea—” It should have healed by now, but blood still welled from the scratch across my palm. I wrapped the corner of my apron around it. If I couldn’t heal, what else had changed? “I’m not healing.” I gave Boone a light push that back home would make him stumble back, but he didn’t move an inch. My strength was gone too. I glanced at Phoenix and shook my head, knowing he’d understand.

He nodded once. “Stay behind me and watch where you step.” Phoenix trudged into the forest and Boone and I scrambled to keep up.

After what felt like miles in silence, Phoenix finally stopped. “Are we headed to the castle or looking for a candy house?”

“The castle,” Boone said at the same time I said, “The cottage.”

“But we can see where the castle is.” A wolf’s howl punctuated Boone’s sentence. “If we get Nicole, we can get the kids on the way back.”

“Did you look at that castle? It’s enormous. We could spend just as long trying to make it through there. Plus, the children have been missing longer and are in more danger, if she’s being true to the fairy tales. The witch is going to try to eat them. Nicole will just be—um, Phoenix?” I pointed at his leg. A long vine had wrapped itself around his ankle and was starting its way up.

He reached down and tore it off, but it started back toward him immediately, twice as thick as it had been before. He sidestepped the vine as it darted toward him. A second one shot out of the ground behind him.