I would have admitted as much to myself, but I was offended at being called out by this crazy stranger. “Wait a minute—”
“And it’s not as if you have anywhere else to be right now. Please, please, please? For this spell to work, I need your permission.”
“My permission to what? Go play make-believe at a Ren Faire?I don’t know you.”
“Okay, okay.” Sorrel looked quite contrite with her hands up. “We got off on the wrong foot, and that’s my fault. I’ll let you go, but I have just one question: don’t you wish life could be more like books?” She stared at me emphatically with the biggest eyes I’d ever seen.
I would give this woman one last moment. Say something polite so we could part on neutral terms (even though her question was so obvious it wasn’t even worth answering).
“Of course, I wish real life was more like books,” I said.
“Yee!” she squealed. “That counts! That counts as permission. Get ready for an adventure, Dottie!”
“No, Sorrel, don’t!” I had no idea what she was going to do—throw glitter on me or pop out with a camera—but I didn’t want it.
“Havefunnnn, honey!” Her smile was the widest yet, nearly manic with glee. I threw my hands up, but it was too late.
Petals exploded around me and everything wentfoom!
Chapter Three: A Spell of Disbelief
My head was throbbingwhen I woke. That couldn’t be good. Did I faint? A panic attack...at where? Tempo? No, I’d been at the library. Oh hell, that whole mess.
Intending to take it slow, I blinked open my eyes—
Above me was a cloudy gray sky, crisscrossed by branches. The crisp air smelled of pine and earthy soil. I bolted upright.
That nut Sorrel had drugged me, dragged me off to a forest, and—I looked myself over—dressed me in a Ren Faire outfit? My hands moved across the fabric on their own. My thick sweater and crude cargo pants were gone. Instead, the dark magenta gown was soft as butter, a clear contrast with the leather bodice fitted firmly over the top. I could tell how firm—the top of the corset cut into my breasts, making them lift at the edge of the neckline. I wouldneverhave picked this out on my own—indeed would have nowhere to wear it.
I threw a hand over my chest and straightened off the ground. “Sorrel?” I called weakly. “What’s going on?”
She appeared in a poof of yellow smoke.
I screamed. It was the crazy lady from the library but half of her was missing. Only her head and torso floated in front of me, like Casper the Friendly Ghost.
“Oh, drat, you can only call me three times.” Sorrel bobbled her head as if I should have known better. Her hair was braided this time—a long, thick rope built of many intricate strands hanging over her shoulder. It was certainly fancy. I didn’t even have a name for the hairstyle. Her clothing had also changed—the gown was gone, replaced with a sleek jacket with statement shoulders the same light color as her hair. I tried not to look down at her smoky, missing bottom half.
