Glimmers of Garlands Read online

  “It’s sprung a leak,” the faerie said. “Again.”

  I crouched down next to her. Water was pouring out of a crack near the floor. I pulled my wand out of my jacket pocket.

  “Let’s come at this from two angles,” I said. “I’ll seal the crack while you hit it with a drying spell.”

  She nodded, and the mermaids watched as we pointed our wands.

  In a few moments, the water began to disappear. When the puddle on the floor had all turned to steam and floated away, I sat and watched. Nothing else seemed to be coming out. It had worked. Maybe.

  “Keep an eye on it,” I said. I stood up and scanned the rest of the pool. “Anything else not working like it should?”

  One of the mermaids, a pretty girl with dark skin and hair streaked with blue, shook her head. “We fixed the other leaks.”

  “Let me know if you get any more,” I said.

  She nodded, and I ducked back out of the Grotto to solve the next crisis.

  After I’d chased down someone’s missing box of scatter gems and used a spell to catch a tiny firebird that had escaped from its cage, I went to touch bases with the witch who was checking vendors in. Elvira still hadn’t arrived. My stomach sank.

  I’d mirrored them four days ago to let them know that they’d won a booth at the bazaar. Irene had almost started crying when I’d told her; even so, I could practically feel her reminding herself not to get her hopes up too high. They’d been excited about it. There was no reason for them not to be here. And yet, with only an hour and a half left until the doors opened, their booth was the only one that still sat empty. It stood between a cinnamon almond stand and the Portland chapter of Santa’s Workshop, looking like like a blank sheet of paper.

  I pulled out my phone.

  Imogen: They’re not here.

  Almost instantly, my phone buzzed.

  Olivia: What?! I’ll check on them. Brb.

  I didn’t have time to wait. I tucked the phone back in my pocket and ran off to stop a Christmas tree from getting toppled.

  Someone tapped on my shoulder as I was going around enchanting all the trees to stick to the floor. I turned around. My stomach clenched.

  “Oh, hi,” I said.

  “Sorry I’m so late!” Maia said, unbuttoning her coat as she spoke. “Traffic on the Rainbow Road was terrible and I had to stop and grab something a bite. Eating for two, you know! How can I help?”

  I had no idea what needed to be done; the past few hours had consisted of solving problems as they arose, and I doubted Maia had the mental or emotional fortitude for that.

  “Just go around and ask people if they need anything, I guess,” I said.

  She nodded, and, to my surprise, went directly to the booth closest to the door without an argument.

  It was a Christmas miracle.

  The bubbling of conversations in the ballroom died down for a second near the door. I looked up to see Olivia striding toward me. She noticed the sudden awe that came with her presence; I could tell from the way a low-lying irritation bubbled around her.

  “You’re going to have to get used to that,” I said.

  She wrinkled her nose. “I know. But listen, I found Elvira and we have to go,” she said. “They need rescuing.”

  “I can’t leave!” I said. My skin was jittery with the adrenaline of keeping this thing afloat. “We open in barely over an hour.”

  “Which means we’ve got to get Elvira here, now,” Olivia said.

  Maia must have spotted Olivia. I felt her bustling over before I actually saw her. Maia had always ignored my friends. Now that Olivia was the Heir, though, things were different. She looped her arm around my elbow and pulled me close like we were the Best Sisters Ever.

  “Hi, Olivia!” she said. “It’s so nice of you to help Imogen with this bazaar.”

  “It was all her,” Olivia said. “I just got her the space.”

  “Which is so beautiful,” Maia said. “You girls have really done a wonderful job. The room looks so elegant.”

  “You don’t have to sound surprised,” I said. I wrested my arm away from hers.

  Olivia grabbed my hand. “Come on. We have to go or else they’re not going to get here in time.”

  “I can’t,” I said. “What if the Grotto starts leaking again?”

  Maia tilted her head at me. “What’s going on?”

  “One of our drawing winners isn’t here,” Olivia said, before I could jump in and tell Maia to mind her own business. “I need Imogen to come with me so we can get them and help them get all their stuff here before the bazaar opens. Can you keep an eye on things?”

  I shot Olivia a death glare, which she coolly ignored.

  “Of course!” Maia said. “Just leave everything to me.”

  Behind us, someone shouted. We all jumped and turned to see the side of one of the tents catch fire. Flames licked up the white fabric. Maia’s eyes got huge and she reached for her wand.

  So did I, but Olivia grabbed my arm.

  “Maia will take care of it,” she said.

  Maia looked at me and nodded. I opened my mouth, because were they crazy?

  “Imogen,” Maia said, in a firm voice I’d only heard her use once or twice. “Go. I will handle it.”

  “There is a fire—”

  “I will handle it.”

  She was halfway to the tent before I could reply, a cooling spell shooting out of the tip of her wand in a thick spray.

  Olivia marched me out of the ballroom. I glanced back in time to see the top of the tent go up in flames, right before the giant wooden doors thudded shut behind us.

  I was so angry at Olivia I didn’t even dare speak for fear sparks would shoot out of my mouth. Who did she think she was, to drag me out of my event right after a tent had freaking caught on fire? She might be the Heir, but that did not give her an excuse—

  The fountain we stood in spun to a stop. Olivia put a hand on my arm.

  “There,” she said, and all the ranting voices in my head died to silence.

  Just up the quiet residential street, Elvira stood in a depressed cluster, staring at their car. A stream of smoke rose from the engine, and though the hood was propped open, I had a feeling none of them had any idea what to do to fix it.

  The car was loaded. Boxes and bags smashed up against the windows, filling the car so tightly that it seemed impossible that all four of them could have fit in it. I tugged my ear to hear what they were saying.

  “I knew we should have left earlier,” Irene said.

  “We know,” Violet said irritably. “You’ve mentioned it fifteen times.”

  Elliot pulled his jacket closer around himself, but no one else spoke. They just stared at the car, and the air grew thick and sad around them.

  Olivia didn’t have to say anything. I could feel her aura going See?

  I stepped out of the fountain. The sprite running it bit her lip and whispered, “Good luck with… whatever that is.”

  “Thanks,” I whispered back.

  We walked quietly toward them, our feet barely making a sound on the damp, leaf-covered pavement. Above us, tree branches stood bare and cold underneath a heavily clouded sky. Light from the city reflected against the clouds, giving them a sickly—but strangely beautiful—yellow tint.

  “We should probably call a tow truck,” Anastasia said.

  “We can’t afford a tow truck,” Violet muttered. “I’ve got a wizard friend who’s got a pickup. I’ll see if he can help. Won’t be able to get our stuff to the bazaar in time, but at least we can get this clunker off the road.” She pulled out her cell phone. The light cast a too-bright sheen onto her face.

  We were close enough that they might notice us. Almost too late, I realized that I was walking toward them with the Heir. I jabbed her arm with my wand.

  “Ow!” she hissed, suddenly looking like a redheaded thirty-four-year-old mom in yoga pants.

  I jabbed myself, too, and watched my hair turn mousy brown in the co
rner of my eye.

  “Glamours,” I whispered, and Olivia’s eyes widened. She nodded and gave me a thumbs up.

  We let our footsteps get louder as we approached. Anastasia looked up first, then sighed and put her attention back on the smoking engine.

  My heartbeat sped up.

  A glamour, a group of people in trouble, a magic wand in my pocket to make everything right if they turned out to not be jerks—I was Proctoring again. A spring entered my step and I didn’t try to cover the brightness in my tone when I spoke.

  “Hey, there!” I said, letting my voice sound a little lower and slower than it usually was. “Are you folks okay?”

  Irene shoved her hands in her pockets.

  “Car trouble,” she said. “We’ve got a friend coming to pick us up.”

  “What happened?” Olivia asked.

  Anastasia shrugged. “Heck if we know. Something started clunking and then the engine started doing, well, this.” She waved a gloved hand toward the car.

  “Mind if we take a look?” I said. “Stephanie here is really good with cars.”

  Their eyes registered some skepticism, but no one was rude enough to voice it aloud.

  Four points to Elvira from the Proctor.

  Olivia moved toward the engine. Elliot and Irene leaned over it with her.

  “I think the problem might be with the battery,” Elliot said. He clearly knew nothing about cars; the smoke was coming from below the battery, and was rising up a little on the other side.

  However, figuring that out exhausted my car knowledge, too, and there was no way pretend-Humdrum Olivia was going to be able to enchant that thing into shape with a bunch of elves hovering over her.

  “Oh, wow!” I said loudly. “Looks like you’re moving!”

  “Not yet,” Violet said. She put her phone in her coat pocket. “We were supposed to be going to a holiday bazaar.”

  “Aw, bad luck,” I said.

  “That’s kind of our thing lately,” she said. Anastasia put an arm around her and squeezed, but it was the kind of hug shared between people who were trapped in the same rotten event.

  “I’m Amy, by the way,” I said, holding out a hand. They each shook it. “Are these two your friends?” I asked, pointedly. Ever-polite, Anastasia grabbed Irene and Elliot to make introductions.

  That was all it took. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Olivia touch the wand buried in her hair. Her glamour made it looked like a hair clip, but I’d know that quick gesture anywhere.

  “I think it was your… carburetor,” Olivia said. Judging from the way everyone glanced around at each other, I concluded that they had no more idea of what that meant than Olivia or I did.

  “Why don’t you try to turn it back on?” I said.

  Irene nodded and hopped back in the driver’s seat. She turned the key and the engine roared to life—sounding, I thought, better than it probably had in a while.

  Irene’s mouth fell open. “You’re amazing,” she said, looking up at Olivia. “Thank you so much.”

  “No problem,” Olivia said. “Glad to help.”

  “Can we pay you something?” Anastasia offered. I saw Irene take in a sharp breath, but no one contradicted her.

  Olivia waved a hand. “It was nothing. You’d better get going. Looks like it might snow.”

  Excitement fizzed through the cold air. Elliot shook her hand, squeezing tight enough that her eyebrows shot up, and then grabbed mine, too. Within minutes, they had all somehow crammed themselves into the car.

  “Before we go,” Irene said. She twisted around in her seat and gestured at something. There was a flurry of activity in the back seat, and Violet’s hand thrust something colorful in front of Irene’s face. Irene took the things and held them out to us. “Scarves,” she said. “For you. Happy holidays.”

  They were the same kind they’d been making for the foster kids.

  “We couldn’t,” Olivia said, but Irene wouldn’t take them back. I wrapped mine around my neck. Instantly, a sense of warmth and contentment settled over me.

  “They’re beautiful,” I said. “Thank you.”

  We watched as the car hummed down the road, the bags and boxes still shoved up against the windows.

  Olivia checked her phone and then shoved it back in her pocket.

  “We’ve got to go,” she said. “We’ve got to get back, and we’ve got to get dressed.”

  The fountain glimmered just down the street, and we ran for it.

  Queen Amani stood at the doors, dazzling in a shimmering gold pantsuit. Next to her, Olivia stood in a slimming little black dress, squeezing her hands together in excitement.

  “As many of you know, a portion of the proceeds from this event will go to support The Little Match Girl Children’s Fund,” Queen Amani was saying. She looked over the crowd like she was trying to find someone, then said, “I’d like to take a moment to recognize the hard work of Imogen Dann, who put this Bazaar together under direction of Heir Olivia.” She scanned again. “Is Imogen here?”

  Olivia looked back to where I stood, and suddenly, all eyes were on me. My face flushed, and I was suddenly extra glad I’d changed into something nice.

  I quickly threw up a glamour to conceal the embarrassing redness and stepped forward, tugging at the edges of my short, sequined emerald dress. The crowd parted to let me through, and I walked toward Olivia and the queen while the effervescent energy of so many people turning their focus in my direction made my skin tingle.

  “Anything you’d like to say?” Amani said softly to me when I reached them. I swallowed and nodded, then turned to the crowd.

  “Thanks for coming out,” I said. I looked over all their faces—faeries and witches and wizards and, to my surprise and joy, a few water sprites who’d once served in the Oracle’s fountains. They somehow felt comfortable enough to come to the Waterfall Palace. After the last year, that wasn’t insignificant. And they were here because of me and this thing I’d created.

  “I’m so glad to see so many people here,” I said. “Olivia and I started the Holiday Bazaar because we saw an opportunity for our community to gather together, and, well, here you are. Enjoy, and happy holidays!”

  Queen Amani smiled at me, and her smile was like the sunshine breaking through a cloud. After everything we’d been through the last year and everything I’d done to almost ruin her life, she had opened her home to me and to all of us, and we were welcome. I smiled in return.

  Queen Amani and I stepped back, and Olivia threw open the doors. The crowd streamed in.

  I was at the front of the stream, and my eyes went straight to the tent that had gone up in flames. The rest of the tents had not caught fire, and the one that had was mostly recovered. Someone had either enchanted or glamoured the tent to look more or less as it had before. Where I suspected the burns had been too bad to quickly fix, someone had draped thick evergreen garlands woven with red ribbons and baubles. I breathed a sigh of relief.

  And it wasn’t just because of the tent. Garlands were everywhere. Evergreen garlands twined down tent poles; strings of glittery paper stars looped across tent openings; chains of poinsettias ringed the outsides of tents. A booth selling quirky collages even had a small Christmas tree sitting at the front of the booth, decorated with ornaments in the shape of Judy Garland’s face. Each vendor had taken the theme of Glimmering Garlands and made the idea their own.

  The effect was beautiful.

  And everyone knew it. I heard more than a few gasps as people came into the ballroom behind me.

  “You’re a madwoman,” Olivia said. She wrapped an arm around me and rested her head on my shoulder. “I don’t even know how you put this all together. It’s perfect.”

  “Right?” I said. Most of the time, I was a little chaotic or stressed or just plain not good enough. But sometimes—sometimes—I was amazing.

  We were amazing.

  Maia came toward us through the crowd, a packet of cinnamon almonds in her hand.


  “What do you think?” she said. “We healed up the tent, covered the bad spots, put another layer of fireproofing spells on it, rearranged their merchandise, and fixed about a million other problems. And I’ll bet no one can even tell.”

  Before I could talk sense into myself, I gave her a hug. “Thank you,” I said.

  She looked surprised. A little too surprised, maybe, in a way that reflected my general lack of sisterliness.

  I glanced toward Elvira’s tent. Irene and Anastasia stood outside, grinning wildly as they talked to customers. I could do better. I would do better.

  I’d try, anyway.

  “Seriously,” I said. “It looks beautiful.”

  She shrugged. “I just helped with the last little bit. You did a great job. Anyway, I’m going to go find Andrew. There are some baby things here that are just too cute.”

  I smiled at her as she walked away. We might not get along, but she was my sister, and she had my back, and that meant something.

  We walked between the white tents and the Christmas trees, stopping to admire merchandise at almost every tent. I found a beautiful eternal ice sculpture for my mom, a Humdrum Holidays novelty cookbook for my dad, and something for almost all of my sisters by the time we were halfway through the room. Around us, people laughed and chattered and exclaimed. Everyone seemed as thrilled with this thing as I was, and it felt amazing.

  Finally, we found ourselves at Elvira’s tent. Garlands of red, green, and gold scrap fabric were draped down the sides of the entrance, each one dotted with tiny bells that jingled whenever someone bumped the front of the tent.

  As soon as Anastasia saw me, her face lit up. She waved me over, her hand flapping like an excited bird.

  “You’re the one who had us sign up for the drawing, aren’t you?” she said. “Thank you so much! This has been such a great opportunity and we’re all so grateful.”

  “Sounds like your luck’s just good,” I said, and winked at her before Olivia elbowed me and muttered to stop being so obvious. Anastasia’s attention was quickly taken by a customer, and I turned my attention to their wares. In addition to the patchwork scarves, the tent was full of skirts like the one I’d already bought Olivia for Christmas, elegant felt shoes and hats charmed for comfort, and jewelry that gave off pleasant scents of jasmine and gardenia. On the wall, small baby blankets hung, made of soft pastel felt and charmed for comfort. I ran my finger along one and enjoyed the feeling of peace sinking into my skin wherever the fabric touched it.