The Big Day Brew-HaHa Read online

  But as horrific as his face was, it was the Sistine Chapel compared to his tail.

  Think, Samm, think. Despite the urge to projectile vomit, I knew I wasn’t completely helpless. But I was clueless. How did I interact with a creature I hadn’t even known existed until an hour ago?

  “You a witch? Start acting like one.” Mrs. Stein’s grunted-out wisdom rumbled through my head. She’d helped me more than she could ever realize. That grumpy, grouchy troll was pure goodness inside. But if I ever told her that, she’d toss me into her stew pot.

  The snap of a twig turned Aquillon’s inhuman gaze away from mine. Whew.

  A second later, it was back.

  “Leave.”

  “Do you not know who I am?” I said with aplomb. Or at least a modicum of it.

  On a whim, I unsnapped my hair clip and loosened the braid, letting the purple strands I’d spent so long concealing tumble down. Along with the herb. I watched as it blew away, figuring I was either brilliant or insane.

  “I’m more than worthy to speak to your queen, and I must respectfully insist that you tell her I’m here.” He continued to stare, but at least he didn’t tell me to leave. Or worse. “Have you never heard of the purple hair prophecy? I’m meant to save—”

  Creeeak.

  “Aqi, dear. Is this your bar of soap? It’s the darnedest thing. I found it—eek!”

  “Down!” he shouted.

  Whether he was speaking to me or Trixie I wasn’t sure, but I wasn’t going to wait to find out. I ducked down over Violet, whose eyelids were starting to flutter.

  A flash later, someone with a cape darted past. Maybe it was our friendly neighborhood crusader coming to save the day.

  ZAP!

  Goosebumps sprang up all over as the air filled with a tactile hum. What the heck was that? The soft noise seemed to zing through my veins. I rubbed my arms briskly, checking to make sure Violet was still doing okay when…

  A man was convulsing wildly on the ground. I shot up. Oh no. Scorpion Man was standing over him. The villain had won.

  Although… I scrunched up my face. That was no good guy on the ground. It wasn’t even a man. It was…

  “Kieran,” Aquillon said, peeling off the kelpie’s cape. “How I’ve longed to meet again.”

  Wait, that wasn’t a cape. Holy mother of Hydra. Was he skinning him alive?

  “Stop!” I managed to get out before covering my mouth. I’d live in a toadstool any day over what I was witnessing here. I wiped off the cold sweat and huddled Violet closer to me. Wait a minute… Where was Amelia?

  I did a quick scan and noticed that Kieran had finally stopped shaking. And that his skin was still intact. So, what… It was Amelia’s pelt! It had to be. My chest clenched. Was she also lying somewhere, hurt? As terrified as he’d been, Kieran had come here anyway and gotten it back for her, and look how he’d paid the price. I couldn’t let it all be for nothing.

  “That’s not yours,” I said, feeling like I was going to be frightened out of my skin. “It belongs—”

  “Amelia?” Aquillon said. “You’re safe now, love. Let me know where you are.”

  Love?!

  The mewling reminded me of a baby kitten, and Aquillon moved toward the sound. I remained speechless until I saw Violet’s eyes pop open. “Violet! You’re okay?”

  She nodded. “What were you going to say about the prophecy? You never got to finish.”

  I blinked. That really caught me off guard. “You… were awake for that?”

  “Yeah. I just didn’t feel like opening my eyes yet.”

  “Oh. Well, I guess I had no clue what I was going to say. I was kinda winging it.” I didn’t even know what this so-called purple hair prophecy exactly meant anyway, only that it was supposed to be about me.

  She grinned. “So much for having a plan.”

  “Um, Violet?”

  “Yeah?”

  I pointed toward the huge walnut tree. “Is that…?” No freaking way.

  “Amelia,” Violet breathed out.

  Aquillon stayed by her side as she glided over to us and bowed. “Thank you for all your kindness and assistance. I owe you a lifetime of gratitude.”

  Well, shoot. And after I’d lost my patience with her several times too. But somehow, I sensed she understood. Amelia smiled, and I could not stop gawking at her. She was positively… regal. Her skin was all silver and shimmery, and there was no hint of the hysterical woman we’d seen before. It was like that girl had ceased to exist.

  “You’re most welcome,” Violet said, and I nodded in agreement.

  “May I escort you to the lake?” Aquillon asked.

  “I’d be honored.”

  They turned to leave. “Wait! What about Queen Beatrix? You’re just leaving her unguarded?”

  Violet cast me a ‘seriously?’ look, and I gave her a sheepish one back. I supposed I hadn’t thought that over. Especially because I knew exactly which room was Trixie’s now, and it’d be easy to get her attention if there wasn’t anyone around breathing down our necks.

  “She is not my queen,” he said.

  “She’s not?”

  “I have no need for a queen.”

  “Then why were you guarding her?”

  “I was not guarding her. I was guarding Amelia’s skin.”

  Isn’t that just peachy? The whole queen thing had been a lie too?

  “Aquillon had so gallantly kept it safe for me until I could return to it.”

  “But if it was with Trixie the whole time…” I didn’t recall seeing her with it at the criminally insane hospital, but I guessed I could’ve mistaken it for a blanket. How crazy was this conversation?

  “Aquillon has been searching tirelessly ever since Kieran discarded it. The kelpie deceived me with his false beauty, masquerading as Aquillon.” She placed a hand lovingly on his face. “Otherwise, I would have never given him my skin willingly. Once I discovered the truth, it was too late.”

  Whoa. Aquillon was the beautiful one? That’d teach me to judge something with the body’s eyes.

  “My love,” he said.

  Talk about star-crossed lovers. How would something like this even work? Amelia was meant to live in water, and as far as I knew, scorpions weren’t even good swimmers.

  “Why did Trixie have the skin?” Violet asked.

  “I cannot answer that, but as soon as I located it with Miss Beatrix, I knew no harm would come to it. Since then, I hadn’t left its side.”

  “Why not search for Amelia instead?”

  “If I cannot be with my skin, I do not wish to be. Aquillon made the correct choice.”

  What I understood so far was that at some point long ago, Kieran had tricked Amelia into handing it over, then they turned to stone before anything further happened. That was when Trixie had probably stumbled upon the pelt and adopted it as her pet rug or something. But I agreed—if anyone would treat it well, it was Trixie. Although, Sage was still convinced she was a pumpkin abuser.

  “Kieran was never planning on giving you back your skin, was he?”

  “No,” Aquillon answered. “He intended to steal it, leaving Amelia to wither and die.” He faced her. “We really must go now.”

  “No, wait. Please. What did Kieran want with it?” I flicked a glance at his prone form, sprawled lifelessly on the grass. “I need to know why he used my sister and me to help him find it under the bogus claim of returning it to Amelia.”

  “He’s banned from the lake for his heinous crimes. Much like Amelia, if he does not have the water, he will also eventually wither and die. He intended to use the skin as concealment, which would allow him to remain in the lake undetected. He did not succeed.”

  “I see that.”

  “How did you release Kieran long enough for him to try and steal it?” Violet asked Amelia.

  “He misled me into believing the skin was within my grasp. That’s all I can recall until Aquillon called for me.”

  “But how did Kieran even know
it was here, with Trixie? He was adamant about not coming anywhere near this place. He wanted to turn back many times.”

  “I do not know, but an opportunist always discovers a way.”

  Maybe he’d just put two and two together—the soap had disappeared, so he’d figured there was a good chance it was with Trixie. After all, he’d last remembered it being around her house.

  “He then used the distraction of our conversation to fulfill his aim,” Aquillon told me. “He did not succeed.”

  “No, you made sure of that. No wonder why he was so afraid of you.”

  He nodded once. “He knew I was aware of what he did to Amelia, and he knew when we met again, he’d pay dearly.”

  “Well, no one can ever accuse you of making idle threats.”

  “Have we now satisfied your curiosity sufficiently?”

  “Almost.” I gestured to Kieran. “Is he… dead?”

  “No.”

  “Did you sting him?”

  “Yes.”

  Yikes.

  “Is he going to be okay?”

  “No.”

  I wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that.

  “Never fear,” Amelia said. “I will ensure all the guests are released and returned to the celebration in time.”

  “You will?” My eyes widened. “Bettina too?”

  “Of course.”

  “That’s fantastic, thank you! But how will you accomplish that?”

  “I will simply state that the queen wishes it.”

  And with a bow, they were gone.

  Wow.

  “So, who’s the queen, then?” I pondered out loud. “Maybe it’s Trixie, after all. Or possibly Amelia? She sure could fit the part.”

  “Or maybe it’s you.”

  I gave her a look. “Yeah, okay.”

  She shrugged. “What do you think we should do with him?”

  I eyed over the not-dead-but-stung-into-oblivion kelpie and was at a total loss. Now that our main concern regarding the ceremony was taken care of, we were free to leave—and soon—but how could we just leave a dangerous magical lying around?

  “I really don’t know, Violet. Maybe Aquillon is coming back for him?”

  “That would sure make things a lot easier.”

  “And you? You’re positive you’re feeling fine?”

  “Yep, not even a scratch.”

  I grabbed her hand. “You had me so worried for a moment there. I can’t even imagine…”

  She smiled. “I’m fine.”

  “I know, but”—I nodded toward Kieran—“look what could’ve happened.”

  “If Aquillon wanted to hurt me, he would have. He was only looking out for Amelia’s well-being. I’m not even sure if his tail hit me intentionally.”

  “What if he would’ve suspected us of trying to steal the pelt?” Talk about a close call.

  “Then we’d probably be lying right beside Kieran right now.”

  “Or suspected us of working with him? For all Aquillon knew, we could’ve been distracting him on purpose so Kieran could sneak in and—”

  “Stop, Samm. It’s over. Everything turned out fine. Better than fine.”

  “Yeah. But we still have to figure out—”

  “Oh, goodie!”

  Violet and I both jerked, twisting around. “Trixie. What are you doing out here?”

  The tiny woman was holding a doll barely smaller than her. Daisy Stardust Rainbow Sprinkles the third, the doll Emily had given her.

  “Hello, girls. Lovely night, isn’t it?”

  “Um, it sure is. Is there anything we can do for you?” From my understanding, she never left her room. The fact that she had… was that good or bad? “Mrs. Zweifler… er, Trixie?”

  She paid no attention to us; her focus was solely on Kieran. “Oh, goodie,” she said again. “A new pet.”

  “A new what?” Violet said.

  “All my beloved kappas have flown the coop. I could use another loyal companion.” She walked right up to Kieran.

  “Trixie, I don’t think you should get too—”

  Poof!

  “Close,” I finished in a whisper.

  She hugged her doll close. “We’re going to have so much fun! Do you like pumpkin butter? I make the most delightful pumpkin butter.”

  Violet and I stared at each other, open-mouthed. It was better than looking at the empty spot where Kieran used to be. I think we both needed a few more minutes to process.

  Trixie came over to us, happy as a selkie with her skin. “I do hope you girls can make it over soon for an honest-to-goodness tea party. That’d be delightful, just delightful. I can’t wait to start baking scones again.”

  I slapped my mouth closed. “Does that mean you’re going home?”

  “Oh yes. First thing in the morning. I do believe it’s time. I have friends there to take care of. They miss me.”

  Had she blocked out the entire doll massacre? Or maybe she was referring to the stone statues—what remained of them. Or… something else?

  She giggled, squeezing Daisy/Kieran so tightly, she nearly popped off her/his head. I didn’t get it; I didn’t get her. Trixie Zweifler was one of those enigmas I doubted I’d ever figure out. And considering that Bigfoot Bay served up enigmas for breakfast, that was saying something.

  “How does she do that, trap things into dolls?” I asked after she’d skipped off. She wasn’t a witch, and she didn’t use the Chimera plant, which, fortunately, no one could use anymore, since it was now safely residing at the bottom of the lake.

  “I haven’t quite figured that out either, but at least our kelpie problem is solved.”

  “Do you think there might be something about it in the journal?” I’d gone through the thing several times, but there was still a lot I couldn’t decipher.

  “Maybe.” She tossed me my shoe. “But we can worry about that later. Right now we have a wedding to attend.”

  Chapter Seven

  “What took you so long?”

  Bettina?

  As we neared closer to the chapel, she waved us in. “Hurry up. We’re all waiting for you. The wedding’s starting.”

  How’d she beat us here?

  “Oh, I’m sorry. That was really rude,” Bettina said. “Too bossy. I’m sorry.”

  “No, it’s fine, really. I’m just glad you’re…” Dozens of heads turned toward us. Everyone was fixed in their pews, ready to go. I leaned into Violet. “How long were we talking to Trixie?”

  “I didn’t think that long.”

  I waved to Griffin, who was sitting up front with Damon and Mike. Was I relieved to see them, looking no worse for the wear. I did a quick scan; unfortunately, no Sal.

  “Samm! Violet!” Niall yelled from the altar, voice echoing throughout the chapel. “Top o’ the mornin’ to ya!” Never mind that it was evening and he was standing at the end of the aisle waiting to get married and… Was that a horseshoe he was holding?

  “In here,” Bettina said, ushering us into a little side room.

  Sage ran up and hugged us. “It’s about time.”

  “What?”

  She winked. “I knew you could do it.”

  “Finally!” Clare said from across the room. “Sage said you were just outside somewhere, but when it was taking so long, I thought you guys had bailed on me.”

  “Never.”

  She gave us a once-over. “Were you jumping in leaf piles—in June?” She turned to me. “Did your head get stuck in a wind tunnel?”

  My hand went to my disheveled hair, and I tried smoothing it down. Did I have time to put it back up? Doubtful. But I could take a minute to fix my—

  “It’s perfect!” Clare said, clapping. “I love it. Very woodsy-authentic. Don’t change a thing, either of you.”

  “Oh. Okay, then.”

  “I’m so happy you’re here. Not just here, here as in right now in this room, but here in Bigfoot Bay. Both of you. You’re finally back where you belong. Together. And for my wedding t
oo—squee!”

  “I know.” I laughed, taking her hands. Clare never failed to let us know, usually on a daily basis, how excited she was that I’d moved back permanently and Violet was home safe and sound. “You look absolutely beautiful.” She outshined the large ruby ring she wore on a chain around her neck.

  “Ohhh.” Her eyes teared up, and she started flapping her hands in front of her face. Bettina rushed over and dabbed at her makeup.

  “What’d you do that for?” Violet asked.

  “What, tell her she looks beautiful? She does.”

  “Of course, she does. But you never tell a bride that right before she’s supposed to walk down the aisle or you’ll make her cry.”

  “Okay, I’ll be sure to remember that on your big day.” I smirked.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You know exactly what it means.” I was surprised Damon hadn’t proposed the second she’d returned from her two-month “vacation,” blowing into the station like that and rendering him sappy as a maple.

  “Hmm. Don’t you mean I should be remembering not to tell you how beautiful you look right before you walk down the aisle? Which will probably be tomorrow at the rate you guys are going.”

  “What?”

  “How about you both agree to a double wedding and be done with it?”

  We glared at Sage. Then Clare started clapping again. “It’s so exciting to have you both back!”

  “Wait a minute,” I said. “I thought you couldn’t see anyone before the ceremony. Why are we here?”

  “The ceremony already started, silly. Can’t you hear the music?”

  I could just make out a harp playing, but… “Started? Without you? The bride’s pretty much the main attraction—don’t we need to be out there?”

  But then again, who knew where we were supposed to be or what we were supposed to do? Certainly, not me. We never had a rehearsal. Apparently, those were a jinx.

  “We’ll go soon. But first”—she went over to a small cabinet, Bettina hovering over her every step of the way like Clare’s dress was soused in nectar and she was a hummingbird—“we have a present for you, Samm.”

  “For me? It’s not Halloween.” Aka my birthday. Violet grinned. “Do you know about this?”