My eyes went wide.
A delicate creature lay on the ground behind her. She was dressed in a brown tunic and cream-colored tights, with brown shoes on her tiny feet. A pretty crown of flowers rested in her shiny brown hair and a plain, brown leather tool belt encircled her waist, the handles of a variety of household tools sticking up from the pockets. Twin arcs of thick mahogany lashes lay on her pink cheeks and her lips were slightly open as if something had startled her before she’d fallen.
A memory of a playful, dancing gaze and gleeful laughter assailed me. I realized I was looking at my intruder from downstairs.
Suddenly all the unexplained repairs made sense.
“She is lovely, isn’t she?” Desiree said in a cold voice. “It’s no wonder your little hobgoblin is dying from a broken heart over her.” The demon’s smile widened, showing perfect white teeth. “It’ll be a shame when she’s gone. He’ll be beyond saving then.”
“What are you talking about, demon?” Sebille barked out. Her bony frame was rigid with anger. But that wasn’t all. I knew the sprite well enough to recognize stark terror when I saw it. Terror for Hobs. “He’s already sick. Why would this brownie’s fate affect him at all?”
Desiree looked smug. She patted the place on her chest where the tiny vial had been. “It’s really too bad about that serum you stole from me. The poison is called Obsession.” She gave a short laugh. “It works very well. So well, in fact that I carry that antidote with me when I’m working with it.” She shook her head.
All the color fled from my face and I had to grab the railing to keep from falling.
Her smile widened. “What? You thought you were creating an antidote? What you did was create an antidote for the antidote.” Her laughter trilled through the room, cold and malevolent. “Such a shame. You might have saved him. Now, the poor thing doesn’t have a chance. I’m afraid he’ll die of a broken heart without the object of his love.” She glanced down at the sleeping brownie. Despite her words, her expression was filled with delight at the prospect of Hobs’ despair and death.
Sebille growled, wild energy spitting around her and her eyes glowing feral green.
I grabbed her wrist to keep her from attacking. Desiree could be gone in a blip and we’d have no way to save Hobs. “What do you want?” I asked the demon princess, my tone throbbing with anger.
She widened her eyes. “Want? Why, what everyone wants, my dear Keeper. Love.”
Her features pinching into an evil glower, she reached down and slid a deceptively delicate arm around the brownie’s waist, pulling her off the floor. “I would have taken the serum. But since you’ve proven yourself unfit to the task of finding it, you have until Midnight to bring me the shifter’s child. If you fail, the brownie and the hobgoblin will both die.”
“Yowl, hsssss!” Wicked flew past me, claws extended.
Desiree smiled wickedly and popped away, brownie and all.
My cat landed in the empty spot where she’d been, every hair on his body sticking straight up and his tail whipping the air. He hissed again, clawing the air as if he thought he could still reach her. “She’s gone, buddy. But hold that thought in case she comes back.”
Wicked ran back up the stairs ahead and dove back through the apartment door. I followed, my footsteps heavy. If Desiree had been telling us the truth, I’d as good as killed Hobs myself. Tears burned my eyes. “I thought it was love serum,” I mumbled, my heart breaking.
Sebille didn’t speak. She was stiff with rage. But she reached out and touched my arm. “We’ll fix this, Naida.”
I nodded because I had to believe it was true. Unfortunately, I was terrified it wasn’t.
Whom stood in the doorway blinking slowly. “Whooo?” he asked.
I sniffed, scrubbing my wet face with my sleeve. “A very evil princess.” My gaze lifted to his. “Is she right? Is Hobs going to die?”
The doctor’s beakish face pinched until it looked even more pointed. “I’m afraid she was. Your little friend is in real danger of dying.” He returned to the bed and peered down at Hobs, a ripple running through the feathery cloak.
“How do we stop it?” Sebille asked, moving to stand protectively over the little hobgoblin.
“We need an antidote,” Whom said as if it were the simplest thing in the world.
A thought occurred and I grabbed his arm. “We gave you the serum. Can’t you use what’s left of that?”
He shrugged narrow, sloped shoulders, making the cloak he wore shift like ruffling feathers. “I performed the ritual to create an antidote for love serum, believing that was what you gave me. Unfortunately, the contents of the vial have been compromised by that ritual.” He frowned, dense feathery brows lowering over his enormous eyes. “Obsession is a highly invasive poison. The sooner you get a sample of the poison to me, the sooner I can make the antidote, and the better it will be for him.”
We all looked down at the pale, shuddering creature that used to be my fun-loving hobgoblin. Tears burned my eyes. “What are his chances, doc?” I hadn’t meant to ask the question because I really didn’t want the answer. But it spilled out before I could stop it.
Whom sighed. “If you can get me the serum within a few hours, he’ll have a sixty percent chance of surviving.”
My heart tightened painfully. Only sixty percent. I swallowed a lump in my throat, struck mute and immobile with guilt and grief.
“What are we looking for?” Sebille asked Whom.
“Obsession is a byproduct of love. But unlike true love, it’s a twisted strand, providing more harm than good. You must look
