“Don’t worry,” Dee remarked. “It’ll be eerie inside, but not gruesome.”
I twisted to face her. “Excuse me? Why do we need to go inside? I thought you said this was a memorial.”
On the other side of me, Dum picked up a lock of my hair and tugged lightly. “Before you enter more populated areas, we need to cover your hair. It’s too much like your mother’s. People will be on the lookout for it.”
I cocked my head. I supposed that made a little sense. I rarely saw others with hair as white as mine, and if my mother was a rebel leader . . .
“It doesn’t take dye well,” I warned them, recalling the time I’d tried to dye it purple once to piss Xavier off and get out of a mission. “Never has.”
“We’re not looking for dye,” Dee said, and pointed to the front door.
I sighed and followed their directions. The door creaked when I pressed it open wide, and I shuddered as we stepped into a dank smelling entryway. Old homes weren’t my thing. Even less so if they had history like this one did. Ghosts definitely lived here, and while there wasn’t much that scared me, ghosts gave me the creeps.
Neither daggers nor my magic could harm them.
“It’s just like I remember,” Dum sighed.
“Let’s hope Ernie kept a few of his creations around,” Dee said cryptically. “Go up the stairs, Alice.”
I climbed the bowed steps, keeping a sharp eye out for rotting floorboards. Shockingly, everything held up, and when I reached the top, Dee directed me to the second room on the right.
“What is this place?” I asked as I opened the door and came face to face with hundreds of hats in every style imaginable.
“A workshop.” Dum leapt off my shoulder and began flitting around the room. Dust flew from some of the hats in her wake, filling the air.
“So this is how we’ll cover up my hair?” I asked, wrinkling my nose to keep from sneezing.
A lot of the hats were crazy flamboyant and not my style, but I guessed I’d wear them—if it was the only way to get close to my family.
“What about this one?” Dee held up a bright green top hat adorned with flowers.
“Too flashy.” I gestured to my all black ensemble. “I prefer black.”
“Boring!” Dee said, but placed the top hat back on its hook.
I nixed a few more options, all too colorful or large for my taste, before I found the perfect one.
It was a black boater cap with a simple gold ribbon wrapped around it. There was enough room in the top of the hat for me to tuck my blonde braid out of sight. Only the wisps near my ears would be visible, and there was nothing I could do about them except pull the hat down low.
“I didn’t think it would work, but it kind of does,” Dum said, tilting her head to take in my new accessory.
“I don’t know.” Dee shot a longing glance at the green top hat. “Seems a shame, considering Ernie was known for his color and flair, but I guess it is best to be unassuming during our travels.”
“Yes, and on that note, we should go,” Dum said.
Finally,I thought, and followed the pixies from the room.
Once we hit the road again, we walked for miles and miles, until after cresting a hill, a town appeared.
I woke up the pixies, who’d been napping on my shoulders. These two were pint-sized freeloaders.
“Where—oh! We’re almost to Heartstown!” A bright smile lit up Dum’s face.
“Is that here?”
“No, this is just a village before we cut through another bit of forest.” Dum waved at the trees behind the quaint settlement. “Heartstown is another hour through the woods.”
An hour?
