“Lots of ogre guards?” said Cory.
“Maybe,” said Blue.
He parked his solar cycle in front of the house. They were just getting off when they heard a sound in the woods between their lawn and Laudine’s. When she turned to look, Cory saw a big, dark figure half hidden in the gloom under the trees. “Macks, is that you?” she called.
At the sound of her voice, the figure lumbered away. “That isn’t Macks,” Blue said under his breath. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
Cory waited nervously in the glow of the fairy light coming from the front porch. Only a few minutes later, Blue was back, shaking his head. “Whoever it was took off before I could catch him.”
“Did you get a good look at him?” asked Cory.
“Just enough to see that something isn’t right. His movements are really jerky and the shape of his head is all wrong.”
“I wonder if that was one of the Big Baddies that Melter warned me about,” said Cory. “It might even be the person that the woodchucks told me about this morning.”
“Melter was here? It seems as if you’ve had a number of conversations that you didn’t tell me about,” said Blue.
“You’re right, I have,” Cory said, taking his hand as they started toward the house. “How about a nice cup of hot chocolate and I’ll tell you all about my day?”
CHAPTER
4
Blue didn’t have to go into the FLEA station the next morning, and Cory was looking forward to spending a leisurely day with him. She went downstairs expecting to see him seated with her grandfather on the terrace, but instead she found Orville waiting for her. “You’ll be eating breakfast in the small dining room today,” he told her, and started down the hall. “Lionel and Blue are already there.”
“Why aren’t we eating on the terrace?” she asked as she walked into the room. “It’s a beautiful day.”
“I wanted to eat in here,” said her grandfather. “Change is nice now and then.”
Both Blue and her grandfather looked at her as if they expected her to protest, but she just shrugged and took her seat. Even when they served themselves from the platters Orville brought to the table, they kept casting sideways glances at Cory. She thought they were both acting oddly, although she couldn’t figure out why.
Cory was eating a muffin when there was a loud bang and a muffled shout outside the window. She started to get up to go look, but Blue said, “It’s nothing. Have I told you about the case involving three vagrant mermaids?”
Cory was distracted until she heard a thud. “What was that? You can’t say it was nothing!”
“Just Macks playing with Shimmer,” her grandfather said, reaching out to pat her hand. “Here, have you tried the fried pickles?”
They had almost finished eating when Cory turned to Blue and said, “This is your first day off since we moved in with Grandfather. Why don’t we go for a walk along the river after breakfast?”
“Actually,” said Lionel, “I was going to ask you to show me the notes about the matches you’ve been making, Cory. Sarilee tells me that you’ve had some interesting cases.”
“I have, but it’s such a beautiful day and—” Cory began.
“I can’t go anyway,” Blue hurried to say. “Macks and I are planning to discuss security for the Battle of the Bands.”
“Oh,” Cory said, disappointed. “In that case I’d be happy to go over my cases with you, Grandfather. Perhaps you can tell me how you would have handled some of the trickier situations I’ve encountered.”
“I’d be delighted!” Lionel said. When they heard voices outside, he set down his napkin and stood. “We should get started. Blue, why don’t you go see if Macks needs help?”
“Playing catch with Shimmer?” asked Cory. “Or going over security?”
“Whatever he needs,” said her grandfather, and ushered her out of the room.
Cory’s new office was down the hallway and around the corner. Even from the other end of the hallway, she could hear a disturbance in the kitchen. “I wonder what that’s all about,” she remarked.
“Creampuff must be in a bad mood,” said Lionel, hustling her into her office and shutting the door behind them.
“You and Blue are acting awfully strangely,” Cory said as she took her seat behind the desk.
“Not at all!” her grandfather declared. “Now, where are those notes?”
Cory didn’t mind digging out all the information she had on her matches, but she thought it was odd that Lionel asked to hear every little detail. When she finished telling him everything she could think of, he started to regale her with stories of the more interesting matches he had made. He told her about matching two mermaids, and the time he had to match a harpy and an ogre.
“There were a few times I wasn’t able to make the match. Once, I saw a vision of two trolls,” Lionel told her. “I don’t know anything about trolls or how to locate a particular pair, so I—”
There was a knock on the door and Orville peeked into the room. When he nodded, Lionel stood abruptly and turned to Cory. “Why don’t we go for a walk now, my dear?” he asked, offering her his arm.
Cory frowned. There was something up, but she couldn’t imagine what it might be. Taking his arm, she let him guide her down the hallway and out onto the terrace facing the river. It was almost as if she had stepped into a painting. Tables and chairs dotted the lawn and in between them stood most of her friends, silently waiting for her. And then they all shouted, “Happy birthday!” and the illusion was broken.
“You’re throwing a party for me?” Cory said, turning to her grandfather. “I forgot it was my birthday. My mother never paid much attention to them. I’ve never had a birthday party before.”
“You live here now and I consider birthdays to be a real reason to celebrate!” Lionel explained. “Why don’t you go down there and greet some of your friends? You’ll be surprised by how many people want to wish you well.”
As Cory descended the steps and started across the lawn, the first person to approach her was her friend the witch Wanita, who was one of Micah’s neighbors. Wanita had brought her pet boar, Theo, with her.
“Happy birthday!” Wanita cried, throwing her arms around Cory. “I haven’t seen you in ages!”
“It hasn’t been that long,” said Cory as Wanita continued to hug her.
“Well, it seems like it,” Wanita said, letting her go. “Theo and I have missed you.”
The boar grunted and started to gnaw on one of Wanita’s already-chewed boots.
“The old neighborhood hasn’t been the same without you,” said Wanita. “It’s much quieter now. No ogre motorcycle gangs showing up, or members of the Itinerant Troublemakers Guild lurking around, or fairies planting graffiti in yards.”
“It sounds nice and quiet,” Cory told her.
Wanita snorted. “Too quiet if you ask me. I liked it a lot better when you were there. Say, I’ve been hearing rumors that some of the guild members are still mad and haven’t stopped coming after you. Is it true?”
“Yes, unfortunately,” said Cory. “But it isn’t anything we can’t handle.”
Wanita leaned over to peer behind Cory. “Is that the three little pigs? I didn’t know they were coming. And it looks as if Alphonse has brought his girlfriend, what’s her name. Theo’s been getting a weird rash. I want to ask the brothers if it’s common among pigs.”
As Wanita scurried off, dragging Theo behind her, Salazar the genie walked up. Although he hadn’t brought his pet iguana, he wasn’t alone. He had a girl with him who looked as if she was only a few years younger than Cory. With her slightly tilted, deep purple eyes and long, silky black hair, she was exotic and very beautiful.
“Happy birthday, Cory,” Salazar said, handing her a bouquet of roses.
“Thank you, Salazar,” said Cory. “These are lovely!”
“I thought I owed you flowers, considering how many of yours my iguana, Boris, ate. I’d like to introduce you
to my niece, Zara. She’s about to start genie training.”
“I’ve heard so much about you!” Zara told Cory. “I think you were very brave to stand up to the guilds the way you did!”
“I just did what I needed to do,” Cory said with a shrug.
“Uncle Salazar says I might want to rethink going into genie training, but it’s what I’ve always wanted. Both of my parents were genies and they loved it.”
“Then it really is your family business,” Blue said as he walked up and slipped his arm around Cory’s waist. “It’s great if it’s a job you really want.”
“I never really wanted to be a tooth fairy,” Cory told her. “It just wasn’t the job for me.”
“Cory!” called Felice. She and her twin, Selene, were shape-shifters who could turn into leopards. They loved to confuse people by changing. Fortunately, Cory was used to them.
“We’ll talk again later,” Salazar said, and led his niece away as the two girls approached Cory and Blue.
“This is a great party! The food is fantastic!” said Selene.
Felice nodded. “We really loved the grilled trout, but we’re saving space in case you’ll let us go fishing off your riverbank.”
“Would you mind?” asked Selene. “We haven’t gone fishing in ages and we adore catching our own.”
“I don’t mind as long as you don’t scare any of the guests,” said Cory.
“We wouldn’t dream of scaring anyone!” Selene said with a toothy grin.
Cory watched the girls run off toward the riverbank, passing the two long tables covered with platters and tureens. One table had been set up for vegetarians, the other for people who liked meat. A large group of ogres were already filling their plates from the meat-eaters table. Cory spotted Melter, the Bigfoot, talking to Macks, who didn’t look very happy.
“I saw Olot and Chancy on the other side of the lawn,” Blue told Cory. “All the band members are here.”
“Good!” said Cory. “I’m glad they could come.”
They started walking arm in arm, but they hadn’t gone far before they ran into Laudine. “Did the list help?” she asked Cory.
“It did,” Cory told her. “At least for one of the names. The other name wasn’t on it.”
“Who was it? Maybe I’ve heard of the person,” said Laudine.
“Darkin Flay,” said Cory. “Does the name sound familiar?”
Laudine shook her head. “No, but I can ask around.”
“Thank you,” said Cory. “That would help a lot. And thank you for sharing the list with me. I know you didn’t have to.”
“Are you joking? Everyone should help out when it comes to true love!” Laudine told her. “I’ll come see you if I learn anything about this ‘Darkin Flay.’ ”
As Laudine walked away, Blue bent down to whisper to Cory. “Is Laudine Kundry, the head of WU, helping you find your matches?”
Cory nodded. “She is if they’re witches. Laudine is a true romantic at heart.”
As Cory and Blue drifted through the crowd, they greeted Micah and Quince. “I have everything arranged for the wedding,” Quince told Cory. “At least I hope I do. What if I’ve forgotten something?”
“Then we’ll take care of it together,” said Micah. “Don’t worry, our wedding is going to be perfect!”
“Cory!” Olot boomed. “Happy birthday!”
Cory turned and found most of Zephyr grinning at her. “Happy birthday!” echoed Perky and Cheeble. Skippy and his two girlfriends waved.
“Did you hear that we’re in the Battle of the Bands the day after tomorrow?” Cheeble asked her. The brownie’s cheeks were pink with excitement, and his grin was so big that she could see all of his teeth. “I’ve already made three bets on us winning and I just learned this morning. I’ll make even more bets today.”
“I hadn’t heard,” said Cory.
“That’s because I haven’t had a chance to tell you yet,” said Olot. “We’re going to get together to rehearse first thing tomorrow morning and we’ll be at it all day. Don’t worry about bringing a lunch. Chancy and I have it all planned.”
“Free food tomorrow, too!” cried Cheeble. “This gets better and better!”
His glee was so obvious that Cory had to smile. “I’ll be there,” she said, but her smile faded when she saw the look on Perky’s face. “Is everything all right?” she asked him.
“Everything is fine,” he told her. “It’s just that I got a message from Santa Claus right before I came here. He’s headed back to the North Pole soon and wants me to go, too.”
“Is that a problem?” said Cory.
“Not at all!’ Perky replied. “I expected to go with him and would have been disappointed if he hadn’t asked me. But I’ve gotten used to living here and I really enjoy playing with the band. I’m going to miss it a lot.”
“Are you quitting the band now?” Cory asked.
“Not until right before we leave,” Perky said. “I’m not sure when that’ll be yet.”
“You’ll come back and visit us again though, won’t you?” asked Cory.
“Sure! I’ll be back next off-season,” said Perky. “We’re going to stay at the new beach house and I’ll make a couple of trips to New Town to see all of you. And if you’re ever visiting the North Pole you’ll have to look me up!”
“The North Pole?” Blue said with a laugh. “I’ll put it on my list!”
CHAPTER
5
“Marjorie and Jack are headed this way,” said Blue. “They have Stella with them.”
Cory turned around. “Oh, good! We haven’t seen any of them since we had dinner at Jack’s house.”
“How are you?” Stella cried as she took Cory’s hand in hers. They had met when Cory was doing odd jobs for people, and had helped Stella can beans. After spending most of a day together they had become friends. One of Cory’s first matches had been between Stella’s son, Jack B. Nimble, and another friend, Marjorie Muffet.
“I’m well, thank you,” Cory replied.
“I was so worried when I heard that the fairies were still pestering you,” said Stella. “I’ve moved in with Jack, and his security is excellent. Even fairies don’t trespass there.”
“I installed a no-fly zone over my house,” said Jack. “Actually,” he added in a quieter voice, “I’ve hired goblins armed with peashooters to go after anyone who tries to fly over my walls. It’s a lot more effective than you might think.”
“We have ogre security,” Blue replied. “It’s very effective, too.”
“I can imagine it would be!” said Marjorie.
“Did you see that Prince Rupert is here with his new bride?” Stella asked Cory. “I didn’t know you knew them.”
“Zephyr was playing at the castle the weekend they met,” Cory told her. “I know the princess fairly well.”
“Really?” Stella said, looking impressed.
“I didn’t know that Rupert and Goldilocks were here,” Cory said to Blue. “We should go greet them.”
“They’re in the middle of that group of people,” Stella said, pointing.
“If you’ll excuse us …?” Cory said to her friends.
They all nodded and waved good-bye as Cory and Blue turned away. On their way to speak to the royal couple, Cory greeted Mary Lambkin and her new husband, Jasper, and waved to Gladys and six of her children. Reaching the edge of the group surrounding Rupert and Goldilocks, they found that they could do little more than catch a glimpse of the couple through the crowd of well-wishers and gawkers. Cory waved to Goldilocks, who waved back before turning away.
“Are you hungry?” Blue asked, steering Cory toward the tables of food.
“I am,” Cory began. “I just don’t—”
“There you are!” cried Cory’s grandmother, Deidre. “Your grandfather and I have been looking all over for you. This is quite a crowd! And all the ogres! Did you see how hairy that one is? I thought it was an invasion when we first walked in. You do know how
rowdy they can be? It never would have occurred to me to invite ogres to my house.”
“Actually, they visit all the time,” Cory told her grandmother. “Most of those ogres are friends of mine.”
Deidre shook her head. “In my day, a young lady would never consort with people like that,” she said, glancing from the ogres to Blue.
“Now Deidre,” said Cory’s grandfather.
“Is your mother coming?” Cory’s grandmother interrupted. “I don’t see her yet.”
Cory turned to Blue. “No, she’s not,” he said. “She wasn’t invited.”
“Good!” declared Deidre. “My daughter is a real party pooper. And can you believe she’s marrying a goblin? When she told me, I thought she was just being outrageous to make me mad, but she really is serious about it. I always thought your mother was crazy, but now she’s certifiable. Who in their right mind marries a goblin?”
“Another goblin?” said Cory.
Blue nudged Cory toward the line of people at the food tables. “Excuse us, please,” he said. “We were just about to get something to eat.”
“Oh, you should!” said Cory’s grandfather. “Everything is delicious! I especially liked the asparagus salad.”
“But I was still talking to them!” Deidre complained.
“You can talk to them later,” said her husband. “Let the birthday girl get something to eat!”
Mouthing the words “thank you” to her grandfather, Cory let Blue hustle her to the vegetarian table before anyone else could stop them. “Go get in the other line,” Cory told him. “I know how much you like meat. I’ll see you after you get your food.”
While Cory slowly advanced through the line, Blue headed to the other serving table. A few minutes later, Cory saw that Blue was talking to Macks, but there was no sign of Estel. When Cory looked around, she finally spotted the ogress deep in conversation with another ogre. After serving herself, Cory joined Blue on the hunt for seats at one of the many tables.