“It is,” Flynn agreed, clutching the diamond to his chest. “It will be reborn, though. I will see it reborn.”
Landon lifted his hand in the air to get Flynn’s attention, but it was already too late. The flamboyant man was opening a door set in the papier maché rock, stopping only to cast a dramatic look at the room of panicking people. “I wish I could’ve saved you from this. Your undoing is on you.”
And, with that, he disappeared through the door.
“Great,” Landon spat. “Now we have to chase the freak with the diamond. I just know the next stop will be worse than this one … if that’s even possible.”
Teddy, who was doing a good impersonation of a bad actor himself, clutched at his neck as he fell near Landon’s feet. He clawed at his neck as if he was struggling for his very last breath. “Avenge us.”
“The door is right there!” Landon barked. “You’re not suffocating. It’s all in your head.”
“Come on.” I grabbed Landon’s arm and dragged him toward the stage. “You can’t fix this. It’s part of the story.”
“But he’s acting as if he’s a fish out of water or something. It’s ridiculous.”
“This whole thing is ridiculous,” Thistle said, leaving her father behind without a backward glance. “You might as well get used to it. We’ve got a long way to go before things get better. Aunt Tillie is barely getting started with us.”
THE DOOR OPENED ON the docks.
I expected a dark hallway, maybe something resembling the planet Hoth – without the snow, of course – but instead we found ourselves in a dimly lit harbor setting that made me want to check my shoes to make sure there wasn’t a sea slug trying to climb my leg.
Landon was befuddled. “What the heck is this?”
“Docks,” Clove answered. “See … that’s water and that’s a boat.”
The look Landon shot her was right out of the book Irritation 101. “Thank you, Clove. I never would’ve figured that out myself.”
Clove merely shrugged. “You asked.”
“Whatever,” he mumbled under his breath before turning his attention to me. “What do you think?”
“I think we’re here for a reason,” I replied. “Aunt Tillie clearly wants us to see a lot of sets. At least we don’t have to arrange for our own transportation. I wondered when we didn’t see any cars on the road. You very rarely see vehicles on soaps … unless it’s for a scene in which someone is going to run someone else down.”
“I guess we have that going for us.” Landon tugged a restless hand through his hair. “What are we supposed to do here?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I think the bigger question is: Where did Flynn go?”
“Yeah, that guy needs some Prozac,” Thistle said.
“I think that’s what happens when you’re kept in a locked room for years,” Marcus supplied. “You should think long and hard before trying to do that with Aunt Tillie. Do you want her ending up nuttier than she already is?”
Thistle’s expression was appraising. “You usually stick up for Aunt Tillie no matter what. Things must be bad if you’re turning on her.”
“I’m not turning on her.”
“She can’t hear you. There’s no reason to deny what you’re feeling.”
“I’m not turning on her.” Marcus repeated the words, but the way he lifted his eyes to the sky made me think he believed Aunt Tillie was spying on us. I couldn’t help but wonder about that, too. “I’m simply … tired. We’ve been here only an hour, but it somehow feels longer.”
“So much longer,” Sam intoned. “I think this world is better than the fairy tale one, though. At least here I don’t have to climb anyone’s hair to save my beloved … oh, and I don’t have that pesky growing nose problem.”
“Oh, I like when you call me that,” Clove cooed, leaning closer to Sam and resting her cheek against his chest. “You’re my beloved, too.”
“Don’t make me throw you in the water,” Thistle snapped. “I can take only so much.”
Clove scowled. “I wasn’t talking to you.”
“As long as I can hear you, you’re talking to me.”
“Knock it off, guys,” I warned. “Now is not the time for a fight.”
“When is the time for a fight?” Thistle challenged. “I would like to schedule it and set a warning on my phone so I don’t forget.”
Phone? Hmm. I dug in my pocket and came up empty. “Do you have your phone?”
Thistle balked. “Well … no. It was a figure of speech.”
“I’m not attacking you. I was simply asking.”
“What does the phone have to do with anything?” Landon asked. “It’s not as if we can call for help.”
“I know. I think we know the way Aunt Tillie’s mind works well enough to realize that we’re all sleeping in our beds and not really here. I was simply curious.”
“I have a phone,” Sam announced, drawing out what looked to be an old Nokia from his pocket. “I haven’t seen something like this in years.”
Landon peered over his shoulder. “That’s because they don’t make them anymore.”
“Why would Sam have a phone, but the rest of us don’t?” Thistle asked. “He’s Aunt Tillie’s least favorite – which is saying something because we have Landon with us – and yet he gets a phone. I don’t understand.”
“Does it work?” Landon snagged the phone from Sam’s hand, pressed some buttons and frowned. “It looks dead.”
“I wouldn’t count on that,” Marcus said. “If she thought to include it, there’s a reason.”
“Yeah, I guess we’ll find out eventually.” Landon handed the phone back to Sam. “We need to find that Flynn guy. He’s clearly our focus until something else pops up. He has the diamond we need … or at least we think we need … so we have to figure out where he would go next.”
“I think I can help you with that.”
The sultry voice from the shadows caught me off guard. I thought we were alone, just the six of us on ridiculously fake docks, but it seemed I was wrong. “Who’s there?”
Landon instinctively stepped in front of me, pushing his arm out to keep Thistle and me behind him. He cast a pointed look at Sam to make sure he did the same with Clove. It was a fake world, so the odds of us really being hurt were slim, but that didn’t mean Landon was taking any chances.
“Can I help you?”
The woman who stepped from the murk into the light was breathtaking. She was taller than me by a good three inches and she had long blond hair to her waist. Speaking of her waist, it was ridiculously small, even though her boobs could’ve claimed their own ZIP code.
“Hello, lover,” she purred as she sauntered closer to Landon.
I knew it wasn’t the time, yet I couldn’t stop myself from growing territorial. “Hey!”
“Oh, finally I get a reaction out of you,” Landon drawled, casting a quick look over his shoulder, his eyes gleaming when they locked with mine. “Now you care.”
“If she pinches your butt I’m throwing her into the water,” I warned.
“Duly noted.” Landon lowered his arm, although he made sure to stand in front of the pack. The woman didn’t look dangerous – unbelievably slutty, but not dangerous – so he clearly didn’t feel the need to go all Terminator when it came to protection mode. “Do I know you?”
The woman’s laugh was light and silky. “Is that supposed to be a joke?”
“Of course not. Um … .” Landon looked to me for help.
“I’m Bay Winchester,” I announced, extending my hand as I stepped forward.
“I’m Eden Rose.” The woman’s gaze was keen as she looked me up and down. “You look familiar, although I don’t believe I’ve ever heard that name before.”
“I think you’re supposed to use your other name,” Clove suggested.
“That name is ridiculous. I’m not using that name.”
“Yes, because Eden Rose isn’t a ridiculous name,” Thistle muttered. “She does look really familiar. Do we know her from somewhere?”
“Are you talking about me?” Eden arched an eyebrow as she stared down Thistle. “I’m a lieutenant with the Camelot Falls Police Department.”
“Oh, I must know her from work,” Landon mused.
“If you worked with someone who looked like that in real life I’d cuff you to me and never let you leave the house again,” I supplied.