Witchy Sour(33)
“And I love ’em.” Glinda gave a wide, cheesy smile. “In this crystal ball, I have a spell that I created with the help of fairy magic. It gives me the ability to speak to any specific fairy on my roster. They may be annoying creatures, but they can cover the circumference of the island in under a minute, and usually it takes less than ten seconds for my little army to locate a person.”
“Wow,” I said. “That’s impressive.”
“That’s why they pay me the big bucks,” Glinda chortled. “Right, X? Isn’t it about time for a raise?”
“Just find Gus,” Ranger X said. “Now.”
Glinda squeezed her eyes shut and turned back to the ball. Underneath her fingers, a picture started to appear as if a movie screen had popped up in the middle of the ball and begun to play. “That’s called fairy magic.”
I leaned in closer and watched the picture unfold. Gus, dressed in a nice suit, walked toward The Twist. As the image sharpened, it became clear that I was seeing him from the view of a fairy. Almost as if I were watching a home video recorded from a camera attached to the fairy’s head like a Go-Pro.
“Message,” a robotic voice said, filtering through the crystal ball. “Message from Glinda.”
Gus’s head jerked up onscreen, surprise scrawled across his face. He narrowed his eyes at the fairy. “Is that you, Glinda? What do you want? I’m busy!”
Glinda laughed and leaned into the ball. “Hi there, Gussie. Out on a date?”
Gus reached out and swatted the space in front of him. He was probably swatting at the fairy, but it looked like he’d aimed at us. “Leave me alone, Glinda. I’m busy tonight.”
“I’m with Lily.”
“Lily?” Gus’s eyes swiveled back toward the fairy, and I had the eerie sensation he was staring directly into my eyes. “Is she okay?”
Glinda nodded at me. “Go ahead, dear.”
“Gus, it’s me,” I said, still getting used to the setup. “You’ve got to be careful tonight. Where are you going?”
“I told you where I’m going,” he growled. “And I’m always careful.”
“You didn’t tell me where you were going,” I said. “I assumed you were meeting Mimsey, but you never confirmed it.”
“Well, you figured right.”
“It’s nothing to be so secretive about!”
“Did you call to ask about my dating life?”
“No, I’m at Ranger HQ—”
“How’d you get inside?”
“Visiting Poppy,” I said. “Anyway, Ranger X and I were talking.”
“Is that all you were doin’?” Gus asked. “I don’t interrupt you during your private time.”
I made a disgruntled noise in my throat.
“You bother me about my dating life, I’ll bother you about yours,” Gus said. “Not that I care about it or anything. But if you start slacking in your work because you’re a lovestruck were-pup, I’ll start caring a whole lot more.”
“You’re the only person who knows the contents of The Magic of Mixology,” I said, ignoring the whole bit about my dating life. X was not part of my dating life. He never had been, and he never could be. Plus, I really didn’t want to get into things in front of Glinda. “Ranger X was telling me the case will likely stay open a long time, so I’ll continue to need your help.”
“It’s already been open a long time.”
“Well, it might be a lot longer time,” I said. “Without you, I’d be lost. The Isle would be in trouble.”
“Then don’t get rid of me,” Gus said. “What’s the problem?”
“We need you to be safe,” I said. “We can’t risk anything happening to you.”
Ranger X waved a hand. “May I?”
I nodded and stepped back, giving him control.
“Gus, it’s X. I want to be clear. You can handle yourself, we don’t doubt it. Let me give you a Companion for a few days.”
“A Companion?” I asked, at the same time Gus said, “No!”
“A Companion is a shape-shifter,” Glinda whispered to me. “They don’t use any other forms of magic, so they’re virtually undetectable. A dog, a grasshopper, you name it. We have a small fleet of Companions that serve as security detail to high-risk targets.”
“I refuse,” Gus said. “I can refuse a Companion at any time. It’s my right. This conversation is over.”
With that, the video went blank.
“Can we get him back?” I asked. “Maybe I can try to talk some sense into him.”