The scents made Hilario’s stomach growl with thoughts of cinnamon rolls and pumpkin pie.
The normal world people were truly magical with food.
Was cooking a magical power?
Images sprang to his mind of Larry Sparrow whirling in a cloud of pizza ingredients in the Stung Sparrow.
What else could it be?
He sure could have gone for a pizza right then. It might have (temporarily) calmed his flailing nerves.
“This fucking place looks like girly foo foo heaven,” Marco said. The detective craned his head back, scanning the intricate lattice work.
“The realm of the Gem Witches is a matriarchy, as I understand it,” Hilario said, “And you might restrain your language.” He eyed the narrow, leather clad back of the Sapphire Witch. If she was taking offense at Detective Marco’s language, she was either hiding it, or noting each instance for future retribution.
Which was the way things normally worked in the unseen world. Grudges were forever.
“Bite me, clown boy,” Marco said.
As was stupidity.
The Sapphire Witch led them to a softly glowing white circle at the opposite side of the cavernous room. She stepped on to it and motioned Hilario and Marco to do the same. Hilario made haste to comply. Marco gave the thing a glowering look, but, after a moment moved his bulky self to it.
The two hulking armored soldiers stepped on behind them.
Detective Marco promptly launched into a stream of ear blistering profanity as the circle lifted from the floor. He crouched down, his hand going to his gun.
The two armored guards took a step closer. Marco glared, but took his hand off the gun. Used the hand instead to help steady himself.
The platform zoomed upward, zig-zagging through the crystal lattices at a stomach churning speed.
Hilario stood very still and let his body move with the motion of the platform. It was actually a fairly smooth ride. He’d been on much worse lift circles.
Detective Marco turned several shades of green, though. Muscles bunched along his jaw like he was keeping his mouth clenched shut.
Maybe Hilario should have warned him about the lift platform.
Then again, maybe the good detective should have been more polite and less profane.
Hilario’s face warmed under his already hot greasepaint. There he went again, holding petty grudges.
Being good was so difficult. And not doing bad things was even more difficult. It seemed like his list of atonements would never get shorter.
The platform swerved around an extra thick forest of lattice, then slowed. The lattice overhead cleared, revealing a dome spiked with pure white crystals that glowed from within.
The flying platform flew over a balcony and came to rest on a smooth, white floor.
“Holy shit,” Marco said, “I fucking hate flying.”
Hilario made a note of that for future reference. The implications of it could go either way.
The Sapphire Witch stepped off the platform. Walked away toward what could only be the keep of a Very Important Person. Well, a Very Important Gem Witch.
Hilario hurried to follow, beckoning Detective Marco to do the same. The armored guards stayed on the platform. The balcony led to a huge open area, surrounded on two sides by walls of faceted black crystal. The spiked white crystals overhead provided a soft glow to the cavernous room. The third wall of the space was a huge, curving, perfectly clear crystal window.
The sweet scent was stronger now. Hilario’s stomach growled and rumbled.
Cotton Candy. That was the smell.
Up here?
As Hilario approached the ginormous window, he got a view of the heckscape outside. Spiked black mountains under a blood red sky. The river of molten rock, Phlegethon, threaded through them. It wasn’t the most pleasant thing to look at. Though it didn’t lack for drama, either.
At the center of the window, facing it, sat a black crystal throne.
Folk in the unseen world definitely had a thing for overdone black thrones.
He racked his brain, trying to remember the hierarchy of the Gem Witches. Were diamonds at the top? No, actually diamonds were common. There was another gem…something that started with an A…
“Mother Alexandrite,” the Sapphire Witch said, “I have brought the clown.”
That was it. Alexandrite.
Oh, poop rockets.
Alexandrite was the top of the Gem Witches. This couldn’t be good. This couldn’t be good at all.
Slowly, the black crystal throne turned.
The six-tailed rat demon jumped from the Sapphire Witch’s arms. It hopped up on the lap of…
Hilario blinked. Blinked again.
“What the fuck?” Marco said.
Those would have been Hilario’s sentiments, too. Though stated differently.
“Queezleyan, you little scamp,” Alexandrite said, “What have you been doing?”
“Momma Alexa,” the six-tailed rat demon–whose name was apparently Queezleyan–said, “That bad clown broke Sapphire’s puppet.”
Hilario’s insides squeezed in on themselves in a desperate attempt to be somewhere else. They failed utterly in that attempt.
Alexandrite looked up at Hilario.
And smiled.
His knees went weak. His insides turned to jelly. His heart went pitter patter.
The enormous black throne was black only on the backside. The front of it was covered large, pastel polka dots. The edges of it were gilded in gold filigree.
And seated cross legged at the center of it, almost lost in the polka dots was…the Alexandrite Witch.
She was short and pleasantly plump. Dressed in a puffy white coverall, dotted with petite, bright colored polka dots. Over that was a worn and faded black coat. A comical straw hat sat above her round face. A drooping daisy was stuck in the rainbow band that circled the crown. Beneath the hat, bright yellow hair stuck out in a fuzzy, spiky halo.
Alexandrite’s face changed from iridescent purples and green colors as she shifted her head. But on her cheeks were two bright red painted spots. White half moons were painted over her
