There’s a brief pause, and then, very quietly, the voice argues,I don’t do that.
I almost laugh.Yes, you do.
Whatever,it snaps.Use the magic! Let the destruction begin! Oh, it will feel so good to be used at max power. It’s been so long.
You’ve never used your max power,I remind it.
Thanks to you.
I exhale a sigh.Fine. Just another day of nightmares and chaos.
Yes! That’s more like it. What shall we do? A dream so scary she dies by a heart attack? Make her fall into a pit so dark and scary it kills her?
No,I say, rubbing my hands together.We’ll do a truth nightmare.
Oh, that is so good.
I know. Even I can appreciate the elegance. Now, let’s get to work.
A thrill runs through me. All the time searching and planning are about to be over. Finally, justice will be served.
And my father’s death will be vindicated.
The nightmare inside me shifts, and the surge of power is a release, a pure pulse of energy that makes my body thrum all the way to my toes.
The magic rushes from me—a wave of distortion that warps the air like heat rising off pavement. Everything it touches looks wrong, edges blurring. It races toward the house?—
A woman steps directly into its path.
No!I scream inside my head.
I step forward and yank the magic back. Everything moves in slow motion. The distortion sharpens, aimed straight at me, and the nightmare snaps back, sending a wave of cold air straight through my chest. It slaps me with so much force I fall on the bushes behind me.
My head hits the ground and I groan. Oh, that’s going to hurt tomorrow.
Through blurred vision I see the woman stop and peer in my direction.
And that’s when the voice says,Who isthat?
How should I know?
She’s…oh, she’s pretty. Really pretty. And are those cookies I smell? She smells like vanilla. With a hint of ginger.
Then the voice does something I’ve never heard it do.
It purrs.
I instantly understand why he’s speechless. Her hair, blonde and wild, frames her face like a halo. And her face—deep blue eyes, high cheeks. Great breasts.
Can’t help but notice.
And that’s when she reaches into the bush, grabs hold of me and yanks me out.
Chelsea
10 minutes earlier
The gingerbread men are supposed to be perfect. But when I baked them, my magic went sideways—like it has been lately—and warped them into something else.
