Chapter 6
On the drive home from the park, Paxton and Tinkerbell got acquainted.
Paxton leans forward from the back seat, her eyes wide and shimmering. “You’re really her, aren’t you? The real Tinkerbell?”
Tinkerbell, lounging on the passenger headrest like a queen on a throne, gives a lazy, sideways smile. “Last I checked. Unless there’s another glitter-winged fairy with zero patience for nonsense flying around.”
Paxton squeaks. “You’re even cooler than I imagined.”
Tink twirls midair, a trail of faint light dusting behind her like sparks from a sparkler. “Tell that to the cartoons. They made me mute for decades.”
Paxton laughs, hugging her knees. “I always knew you had attitude.”
Tink floats over and hovers inches from her face, wings whirring softly. “In a small way, you helped rescue my sister tonight. Sweet Root means everything to me. So does Maple and so does loyalty. That means you mean something to me now, Pink Girl.”
Paxton’s eyes go glassy. “Really?”
Tinkerbell reaches into a tiny pouch at her waist and pulls out something so small and bright it’s hard to see while I drive. But it appears to be a single dust mote, glowing softly like a living ember. It hovers above her palm.
“This one’s special,” Tink says, her voice gentler now.
“Most of my dust fades. This one won’t. Not for you, Pink Girl.
So keep it safe. This will give you Faerie Sight.
Most humans only see what’s in front of them.
Now, this will help you see the shimmer behind the world.
The lies. The magic hiding in plain sight.
You will soon start seeing weird colors around people or things, so don’t freak out. That’s just the truth showing through.”
Paxton swallows. “I always wanted magic like Allison or Tammy. Even Mom has a little. I have nothing.”
Tink settles on her shoulder. “Not true. You’re an empath. You feel the world around you differently. That’s rare and really cool. But this,” she points to the glowing ember, “will give your empath abilities an upgrade.”
I glance back at them in the rearview mirror, the glow from Paxton’s palms reflecting in her wide eyes.
“Best night ever,” she says to me, catching my eye.
***
By the time we get home, it’s close to midnight.
The house is still, and my Prius hums a little too loudly in the driveway. I tell Paxton to head inside and not to ask questions. She obeys, wide-eyed and silent.
I called ahead and warned everyone to ignore any weird noises coming from my bedroom tonight. That included wind gusts, sudden thumps, and screams... even if my own.
When I step inside our house, I find Paxton already inside her room, under covers, hugging her favorite unicorn pillow.
I lead the trio of fairy sisters through the living and down the hall. Two sisters are cradled carefully in my palms like rare birds, with Queen Maple fluttering just behind me. We pass my mom’s closed door, where she’s snoring lightly behind it.
In my bedroom, Queen Maple floats to the ceiling, trailing soft golden light behind her.
Tinkerbell lands on my desk, knocking over a pen with a flick of her hip.
Sweet Root, the Tooth Fairy herself, hovers near my closet door, face pale, eyes shadowed but determined.
With each passing minute, she regains her strength.
Soon, my room smells of cinnamon and moonlight. And a little like shampoo, too.
Meanwhile, Sweet Root holds out a small object.
“The decoy,” she says, voice gentle.
It’s a perfect little tooth—gleaming like polished quartz, but cool to the touch. I swear it hums. “Made from condensed dream-sugar and unbridled power,” she adds. “Should be irresistible to him.”
Queen Maple nods. “You must pretend you’ve lost this naturally, child. A girl in the vulnerable state between childhood and adulthood. The ideal prey.”
“Creepy,” I mutter, but I understand.
Maple lifts her hands. “Now hold still.”
A tingle rushes through me as she casts the glamour magic.
I feel it settle onto and under my skin, tugging me just slightly shorter, softening my angles, loosening my curls into younger, sleep-mussed waves.
When I blink, my lashes feel heavier, like they belong to someone just on the edge of sleep and hypnosis.
I glance in the mirror.
“Oh my goodness,” I whisper. “I look twelve!”
Paxton peeks into the room and gasps. “Wow! It’s baby Tammy.”
I shoo her gently away, locking the door behind her. “Stay out unless the house catches fire.”
“Got it,” she chirps from behind the door. I hear her skip off.
Tinkerbell twirls mid-air and rubs her hands together. A cascade of sparks shower down. “He won’t be able to resist. The tooth. The aura. The pretend innocence. It’s all bait.”
“He won’t recognize me?” I ask.
Queen Maple shakes her head. “Your magical signature has been hidden. You’ll appear as a normal human child to him… and especially delicious.”
Eew!
I climb into bed and place the enchanted tooth under my pillow. Then lay down and rest my head. The room dims. The fairy sisters hide themselves—Maple literally inside my lava lamp, Sweet Root behind a stack of books, and Tink perched in my vent like some kind of glittery gargoyle.
The silence stretches; the darkness deepens.
I close my eyes, slow my breath; my heart drums steadily.
And then, I feel a... shift in energy. From bright to grim.
The room grows colder. The air thickens. Shadows lengthen. The walls creak. There’s a tap, tap, tap at my window, like something is asking for permission to enter my bedroom, yet doesn’t wait for an answer.
From nowhere, I hear a whisper: “Mine…”
My fingers twitch under the blanket.
The closet door creaks open on its own.
Something slinks forward from the area of my window, a living shadow cloaked in smoke and amorphous edges.
Then, it coalesces and rises up: tall and angular, with wings like splintered storm shutters, and a grin too wide for its face.
Its eyes glow faintly red, just like in the drawing.
I see a mouthful of white, sharp teeth, glowing in the darkness. It is the stuff of nightmares.
It steps up beside my bed, looming over me, and sniffs the air.
“Loose a tooth, did we, child?” it purrs.
I hold my breath.
The creature reaches beneath my pillow with long, twisted fingers. And just as they close around the decoy tooth...
BOOM!
Light explodes from every corner of the room. The lava lamp bursts with molten gold, the vent blasts fairy dust, and the bookshelf erupts in brilliant white fire. The creature stumbles back, shrieking.
The fairy sisters emerge... glowing, furious.
Tinkerbell hurls a bolt of nuclear dust into the shadow’s chest. Sweet Root chants in a language I barely understand, binding the creature’s arms in floss-like tendrils. Queen Maple lifts her staff and summons a beam of moonlight so bright it cuts the room in half.
The dark cousin screams.
“You moths!” it howls.
“You desecrated her throne,” Queen Maple snaps. “You stole her post, corrupted her work.”
“You turned dreams to rot,” hisses Sweet Root.
“And worst of all,” Tink says, striking him again with her glittering power, “you messed with our little girls.”
“Well, I’m not so little,” I mutter, flinging the blanket aside and blasting the creature with a pulse of kinetic energy. He smashes into my closet door, breaking through it.
“Time to go!” Queen Maple cries out.
She raises her staff one last time, and all three sisters, and me, combine our light and magic into a single point. It pierces the dark fairy’s chest, shattering the illusion of power.
The shadow writhes.
Then disappears... sucked into a black spiral that folds in on itself and vanishes like a popped soap bubble.
Silence.
My room, of course, is wrecked. Scorch marks on the ceiling. My comforter half-melted.
Tinkerbell, panting, flops onto my pillow like she’s had a long night out.
Sweet Root drops gently to my desk and exhales, fanning her face with her little hand.
Queen Maple lands on my shoulder, her voice soft now. “It’s done.”
I sag with relief.
Then glance at the broken lava lamp that’s still oozing... something. Heck, from what I can tell, real lava is hissing and burning through my dresser drawers all the way down to the floor. Okay, wow. Do not mess with the royal fairy sisters!
“Mom’s gonna kill me,” I moan, and lay down on my pillow next to Tinkerbell.