The Whimsy Witch Who Wasn't (Tales of Xest Book 1) Page 5

  The small nugget of coal finally came out of my shirt, and the laughter from Oscar stopped completely.

  When my mother had been alive, I wore it because she’d made me. When she was taken away, I hadn’t taken it off for some reason or another. When she died, I’d found I didn’t have the heart to take it off. Crazy or not, misguided or not, she’d believed that this coal would protect me. And I was beginning to believe it had. I was starting to realize that a lot of the things she’d done had saved me. She’d been given shock treatments and thrown into a loony bin until she’d died in that institution, and she’d been right all along. If I could only have her back for a day, the questions I would ask…

  Both men stared at the coal dangling from my fingers like humans would’ve stared at the Hope Diamond. I fisted it in my hand, and their gaze switched to me.

  Forcing my fingers to loosen, I let the necklace slide from my fingers and onto the table beside me. A whiz of energy whooshed toward me, like a vacuum sucking up a glitter bomb.

  “Oh shit,” Oscar said. He took a deep breath, leaning forward.

  Hawk said nothing as he continued to watch.

  I lifted the gem from the box. This time it flared to life, a rainbow of light exploded into the room, the gem almost sun-bright and hard to look at.

  “Holy shit! Look at that color! No way she’s a Whimsy witch.”

  “Put it down,” Hawk said.

  I dropped the gem back onto the box. “Did I do something wrong?”

  “Oh, you did something, all right,” Oscar said. “Maybe too right. I’ve never…”

  I looked up to see Hawk staring in his direction.

  “How did you manage to keep all that magic hidden for so long?” Oscar asked. “Even coal isn’t foolproof at blocking it.”

  “I don’t know. I guess I lucked out.” I’d revealed enough tonight. I wasn’t getting into the tattoo or any of the other rituals my mother had made me do.

  “That was a whopper if I ever heard one,” Oscar said.

  Hawk reached down and picked up my necklace. “The only thing that matters at the moment is that you keep this necklace on at all times. You don’t take it off, not even to sleep, and you don’t let anyone see it. If they find out how strong you are, they’ll make getting you out a lot more difficult.” He placed it in my hand, then watched as I put it over my head.

  “So you’ll get me out?” I asked, again, fearing that at any moment he’d go back on the deal.

  “Yes. I’ll be getting you out. For now, go back to the barracks.”

  “Don’t worry. He’s getting you out,” Oscar said with enough attitude that I believed it.

  “Why can’t I just stay here now? Why bother going back?” Was this a setup? Maybe my gut, which told me to believe him, was wrong. People had bad guts all the time. Loris had a gut so bad that I’d often told her to do the opposite of whatever she thought it was saying.

  “You can’t until I negotiate your contract. If you disappear, they’ll be able to track you down and take you back.”

  “What contract? I didn’t sign anything.” I was beginning to hate learning anything new in this place, because it was almost always bad news.

  “You incurred a debt. You didn’t have to sign.”

  I should’ve known it wasn’t going to be easy getting out of here. No wonder there weren’t any guards. I could’ve strolled right out the door and still been screwed. They had me on some invisible house-arrest magical crap.

  “When you see me next time, you act as if you only spoke to me that first time outside the factory, and only if it comes up. You tell no one until I come for you. Now go,” Hawk said, grabbing my shoulders and setting off that little magical tingle as he steered me out the door, gave me vague directions, and then shut it, as I was still standing there hoping I didn’t have to go back.

  6

  I blew on a dandelion, watched it glisten with a dollop of magic, and then disappear in front of me. It was my third or fourth hundredth, if I had to guess. I’d stopped counting after the first fifty, when I’d switched my preoccupation to the clock. Would Hawk come today? Would he come at all? Was I stuck blowing on dandelions for the rest of my life? Or wait, maybe clover? Or eyelashes? Turned out there was a floor for just about all of them.

  Rabbit was sitting next to me. The way she kept glancing over told me she knew something was up. Hawk had said not to tell a soul, and I was going to stick to that, as long as he showed up in the next few days. Or a week. I’d give him a week. I could give him two weeks. Point was, I wasn’t breaking my end of the deal, not when it was the only way I might get out of here.

  “Did you slip out last night?” Rabbit whispered, finally caving to the curiosity that had been driving her attention my way all day.

  I didn’t like to lie to anyone, especially not Rabbit, the only person who’d been kind to me since I got here. That was what living a childhood built on lies did to you. You either became fluent in bullshit or you gagged at even a whiff of it. I had a fast gag reflex, myself.

  “Why do you ask?” That was another thing I’d learned since my aversion to lying grew. If you can’t answer, don’t, in the nicest way possible. Sometimes that did the job for you. She’d assume my answer was whatever she wanted it to be, hopefully.

  “Tippi, I know we’ve just met and all, but I hope you’ll trust me when I tell you that there are places in Xest that you don’t go. People that you don’t want to be around that might live too close to the edge. You have to be careful. There’s a darkness here. No one talks about it, but everyone can feel it. You need to be careful who or what you associate with. There’s much worse things than the factory—” She might’ve kept going, but she launched into a coughing fit.

  She might think there were worse things than the factory, but she didn’t see what it was doing to her. It wasn’t only her, either. I’d paid closer attention today, and there was a reason that the laughs dwindled by the afternoon. This place was taking something out of every person in here, slowly leeching their life away. She could say whatever she wanted about what was out there. At least it was an unknown, as opposed to what I saw happening here. Whatever might come of it, I’d take my chances, because this place was death.

  “I’ll be careful. I promise.”

  She nodded, but she was chewing on her lip, as if she thought her words meant nothing to me.

  “Rabbit, I mean it. I’ll be careful.”

  “It’s just…” She blew on another dandelion, looking away as she chose her words. “Look, it’s hard to make friends here, and I think we could be good friends. I don’t want you to disappear or get hurt.”

  I looked around the rest of the room and could see the cliques, the different groups sitting closer and chatting. She wasn’t only dying. She was dying alone.

  “I won’t do either of those things. If I disappear, you’ll disappear with me.”

  She hummed but didn’t say anything else. It was clear what she was thinking: we’d both probably die here. That was not going to be my end. And if I had any strength in my body after I crawled out of this hell, it wouldn’t be hers either.

  I went back to blowing on dandelions, hoping this would be my last time.

  Rabbit kept watching. “You know, for someone who doesn’t have a lot of magic, you’ve got especially good endurance. By midday, I put out more duds than wishes. Not you, though.”

  “Seriously, she’s right,” someone said from behind me. “You might have low magic, but you’ve sure got endurance.”

  I turned to see one of the girls from the barracks who hadn’t spoken to me yet, which included pretty much everyone but Rabbit.

  “Thanks,” I said, before turning and going back to work.

  “Hey, do you want to come sit at the other table with us? It’s warmer there,” she said directly to me, as if Rabbit weren’t sitting beside me.

  “No, thanks. I like it over here,” I said. I’d rather freeze from the window than get frostbite from th
e company.

  She shrugged and walked away, as if no skin off her nose.

  “Thanks,” Rabbit said.

  “You don’t need to thank me. I do like it better over here. The company is much nicer.”

  She was still smiling at me when “Tippi, to the main office” filled the air around us. Every set of eyes in the room swung to me. It was obvious from the expressions of angst and curiosity that this didn’t happen often. What if they knew I’d snuck out last night? What if Hawk was full of shit and had sold me out?

  “Is this bad?” I whispered.

  Everyone in the room was talking and looking at me. When I finally looked at Rabbit, she looked worse than she had when I’d “escaped” to the bathroom.

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. No one gets called. Mertie usually handles things.”

  “What do I do?”

  She stopped chewing on her lip so her jaw could drop open. “You go. You don’t have any choice. But you’re new. Whatever you did wrong, you’ll probably just get a warning. Tell them you didn’t know any better. That you’re really stupid.”

  I nodded as I got up, knowing the only plan I had was Rabbit’s “I’m stupid” option. At least she had something, which was more than me.

  Everyone followed my path out the door with their eyes, as they whispered behind their hands.

  Marvin must’ve known I’d snuck out. I would say I was feeling sick and needed air or something. I’d come back, though, and they probably didn’t know where I went. And like Rabbit suggested, I was too stupid to know better.

  What if they tortured me? What if they had some witchy way of knowing lies? What did I do then? Panicking was no good. If I walked in the office with sweat pouring off me, it would be akin to an admission of guilt.

  I made it to the hall, and a few people that I’d seen working on clovers earlier in the day walked past me. They all had curious expressions and were looking at me as they talked. The entire factory must’ve heard me getting called in.

  By the time I got close to the office, my palms were soaked but my forehead was hanging in there.

  Mertie was sitting at the desk outside the door, her hooves crossed on top of the desk as she puffed on a cigar that she lit with her finger. “They’re waiting for you.”

  They’re? There was more than one?

  I didn’t bother asking her who was with Marvin. I swallowed the boulder lodged in my throat and opened the door.

  Einstein was sitting behind his desk and Hawk was leaning on the windowsill with his arms crossed and a harsh look on his face.

  “She’s the new pop-up. She’s only a Whimsy but she should suit your purposes, and she’s fresh, as you requested.” Marvin flipped through a folder that I presumed was about me. “You can buy out her contract for fifty coins.”

  Fifty? He was worse than the dealers Loris dealt with.

  “Fifty is a little steep, don’t you think?” Hawk asked.

  Damn straight it was. He’d only paid Spike and Braid ten. Yes, they might’ve been arguing over my monetary worth, but years of haggling to get Loris a better price was scarred into my brain. I’d take affront to being sold later.

  “I thought my contract was ten coins? Isn’t that what you paid?” I asked as if I were clueless to what I was doing.

  “Ten, huh?” Hawk gave Marvin a stare that said fifty was a joke.

  Marvin sneered at me and then looked at Hawk. “I’ve also had transport and training costs.”

  Training? What training? What a load of bull.

  Hawk looked me up and down as if he’d never seen me before. “Can you light a fire?” With a flick of his wrist, the fireplace went out.

  “I’m not sure,” I said. Hawk hadn’t said anything about auditions. What was this crap? This better be part of the negotiations. If he left me here because I couldn’t light a fire, I’d… Well, I’d probably do nothing.

  “Can you do it or not?” Hawk asked.

  I walked to the fireplace and blew at the logs, the way I did with the dandelions. The only thing that burst into anything was Hawk into laughter.

  “We’ve only just begun her training,” Marvin said.

  “Training? A toddler knows how to light a fire. What kind of sham are you trying to foist on me?”

  Einstein dropped the folder on his desk. “Okay, look, I’ll cut the price to help you out. You can have her for twenty coins.”

  The three no-evil monkeys decided to chime in and giggle.

  “Twelve, and only because I need a maid. I’d take it if I were you. I could walk out of here with her and give you nothing, and there wouldn’t be a damned thing you could do about it.”

  The no-evils’ heads swung to Marvin, nodding in unison. “He’s right,” Speak No Evil said.

  “Fifteen,” Marvin countered.

  “Deal,” Hawk said.

  The monkeys turned and shook each other’s hands.

  “But don’t come looking for a refund if she’s dried up in a month. Not my problem.” Marvin turned to me. “Go. You’re his now.”

  7

  Hawk walked down the hall. I was right behind, not letting light in between where he ended and I started.

  “That’s it? I’m out of—”

  “Not here.”

  Okay. I could wait. Not a problem. There was only one issue with leaving, and it was approaching fast on the door on the left. There was no way I’d disappear on Rabbit. Not only was I saying goodbye, I wouldn’t be saying it for long. I’d figure out what Hawk needed from me and then I’d leverage it to get her out of here, too.

  “I need to make a quick stop.”

  He paused, glancing over his shoulder. “Fine. You’ve got five minutes to meet me in front.” Hawk left, without even a glance over his shoulder.

  I dipped into the dandelion room. Rabbit’s face lit up like it was Christmas and I was Santa. She waited until I got close, past all the listening ears who were watching me as if surprised I was in one piece. The bounce in my step flattened out before I took the seat next to her again. This was going to suck on an epic scale.

  “What happened?” she asked.

  I’d known Rabbit for barely a day and part of me already wanted to stay so she wouldn’t be alone. That wouldn’t do either of us any good, though. If I didn’t get out, I’d never get her out either. Now to deliver the news.

  The longer I remained silent, the more the lines around her eyes crinkled up with worry. I had to get it out, no matter how hard.

  “Something very good happened. That guy Hawk, the broker? He bought out my contract. I’m leaving.”

  “You’re leaving. That’s good.” She forced a smile, even as her skin looked pale with a greyish hue.

  I leaned closer, knowing the room was trying to listen to every word I said. “I’ll come back for you. I’ll figure out a way, okay? I’ll make him buy out your contract too, so you need to hang in there.”

  “It’s all right if you can’t.” She nodded, but her eyes kept dropping to the floor and the smile trembled. I was one of many pop-ups that had passed through here. How many people had she lost?

  “I will. Just give me a little time. I’ll figure something out.” I took her in a hug, wishing I could drag her out of there with me right now.

  “You better get going. I don’t want you to lose this chance.”

  She didn’t believe me. There was absolutely no reason for her to think I’d be able to help her. I didn’t know how I was going to pull this off either. I did know I would, though.

  “I’m coming back for you. I’m making you that promise.” I put as much force as possible behind my words, without raising my voice, in an effort to convince her.

  “I know.”

  She kept nodding but clearly didn’t believe me. With a last smile, she turned back to her dandelions. It wasn’t to be hurtful. She was trying to keep it together. I’d been there.

  I left, wishing I could’ve brought her with me right then and there. And why couldn’t I? H
ow hard would it be to buy her contract as well?

  Hawk was standing in front of the factory, his back to me as I walked over and stopped beside him.

  “I need you to get someone else out before—”

  “Not here.” He began walking.

  “But—”

  “Not. Here.”

  Okay, fine. Not. Here, I repeated in a mocking voice as we walked away from the factory. Of course, he couldn’t hear it because I said it in my head. I couldn’t afford to piss him off too much, not yet. I needed him to get me back to Salem and Rabbit out of that factory.

  Once we were a good block or so away, Hawk said, “Now you can talk.”

  “There’s another person I was working with who I need to get out.” I’d planned on working up to this slowly, after I had more details of what he needed. That plan had crashed and burned with Rabbit’s expression when I said goodbye. She didn’t have time. She needed out, and the sooner the better. That place was killing her on every level.

  “I suggest you worry about fulfilling your obligations to me before you ask for anything else.” He didn’t slow his step.

  It was a fair request, and if it was for anything else, I’d hold my tongue. I’d wait until I got some leverage. But I couldn’t.

  “We have to work out something in the meantime. That’s a bad place, and I need to—”

  He stopped walking. “It’s not possible. Not right now. It would draw too much suspicion. After you’re done, I can try to do something about this friend, but there are too many obstacles right now.” Without waiting for a reply, he started walking again.

  I knew a hard no when I heard one. This was going to take a little work, but I’d never shied away from digging in. I’d figure it out. In the meantime, I needed to get my bearings. If I was going to help her, I had to help myself first.

  As we made our way to his place, I took Xest in for the first time in the daylight, up close. We walked past lines of shops and stores, and nothing looked how I’d imagine. Even the butcher, or what I guessed was the butcher, had strange purple meats hanging from hooks in silhouettes I’d never seen before. It could’ve been a carved-up dragon for all I knew.