Cinderella Assassin Page 3

  “Even a hint of suspicion and I’d be led away in magnetized hand-bracelets.” She held out both her arms with her wrists bent. “I’ve learned—all majiks have learned—it’s better to avoid the guards in case their power-hungry tendencies decide to come down on someone innocent.”

  Majiks were scared. I understood. After being arrested, they received a trial presided over by the regent, then they were sent out of the kingdom. No one ever heard from them again.

  “The government’s goal is to even things out between humans and majiks.” I’d learned that in class. Didn’t mean I agreed with the statement, but I kept my opinions to myself. “For example, if fairytale creatures used magic to do better on a test at school they would be cheating.”

  “Which is why majiks can no longer attend human schools.” Her dig struck me.

  Fair to some, is unfair to others.

  Arbor flew beside my ear, trying to take cover in my shoulder-length white-blond hair. “I wish I could be like you Elle, and not have to cower.”

  “Believe me, I’m cowering.” I’d been shaking in my beat-up boots. For years.

  My stepmother and stepsisters knew my secret.

  The glare from the li-fi and laser lighting hit my eyes and I blinked. The glitzy mall shined bright hiding the flaws beneath. Displays in the store windows morphed from one outrageous outfit to the next and rotating lights flashed from the stores luring customers. Using holograms, shoppers tried on the latest fashions without taking off a single garment.

  “You’re going to the royal ball.” The longing in my friend’s voice scaled to notes of anxiety and excitement which echoed inside me. “Like every human in the kingdom. There’ll be exotic food, dancing, and cute guys. Ooh, you could meet Prince Zacharye.”

  Picking up my pace, I scanned the heavily decorated displays. My only goal was to show my classmates I attended the ball. I didn’t care about meeting guys, and certainly not the prince, or so I told myself. What was important was everyone from school would be there. I needed to be there, too. “Not if I can’t find a dress.”

  Last minute shopping was not my thing. Any kind of shopping was not my thing. My stepmother didn’t give me an allowance and didn’t pay for the work I did around the house. Her payment came in silence.

  I never bought new things. That was okay. I cherished old things. Sniffing at the white shirt, I swore I could smell the spicy scent of Dad’s cologne. The blood in my veins slowed and a sharp prick hit my eyes. He’d worn this type of shirt when we’d played in the yard, kicking a ball or tossing a flutter-disc. I sniffed again realizing smelling Dad’s cologne was a ridiculous fantasy because he’s been gone for four years and this shirt had been washed hundreds of times. I should know because I’m the one who did the laundry.

  This shirt was one of the few things I had left of his. My stepmother had kept his things, including our ancestral home, until I was of legal age. Once you’re responsible—she’d repeated a million times, she’d give everything back to me.

  “Why don’t you use your…” Arbor wiggled her tiny fingers. “For a dress.”

  My heart drubbed, and I scanned the area to make sure no one overheard. “Shh! Do you want to get caught?”

  “You’ll never get caught. Look at you.”

  Ignoring the envious tone, I glanced in a gleaming store window. Yeah, I was so glamorous. My hair hadn’t seen a comb all day and there was a black smudge on my freckled nose from cleaning. Even with my family’s title I wasn’t part of the top echelon of society or the cliques at school. Being at the top of the social circle wasn’t important though. My only goal was fitting in, flying under the radar, and living my life as human.

  “Not worth the risk.” I scrubbed hard at my nose with my fingertips until the smudge was erased. I hated looking like a slave. “If I don’t go to the ball the kids from school will notice. I’ll stand out more than I ever did.” They might even think I was a zauber.

  My cheeks burned for thinking the word even if it was what many humans called majiks. Even teachers.

  The true-blue dress in a window caught my attention stopping my thoughts. Stopping everything. The blue color fell between sky and navy. The folds of the skirt billowed out in layers. The tight-shaped bodice glittered with rhinestones.

  My breath snagged. “This is the most amazing dress ev-ah.”

  “This is one of the most expensive stores ev-ah.” Arbor copied my excited tone except sarcasm wove through her words.

  Ogling the dress, my dress, I imagined myself twirling at the ball. The way the folds of the gown would swirl around my feet. The way the bodice would hug my upper body trying to showcase my small breasts. I would shine and for once everyone would stare for a good reason. Not because I’d done something klutzy, like tripping or having another kind of mishap. I could still hear my classmates laughing when I’d accidentally started a small fire at school.

  A teeny, tiny fire in Augmented Reality class when I’d pointed at a trigger picture of a fairy campfire and it had exploded into life. I mean, not the actual campfire. The computer I was working on malfunctioned and caught fire. But my classmates had seen what I’d been researching, and I’d been mortified. I was already an outcast. Can you imagine the uproar when they found out I was interested in fairies?

  The giggles grew louder.

  The laughing wasn’t my memory. Olivia and Jade, the most popular girls in my grade, strolled out of the store carrying designer-shopping bags, the fancy logos projecting from inside the parcels. The store wasn’t too expensive for them.

  I wanted to run around the corner or make myself disappear. There wasn’t time. At least Arbor had the sense to hide behind my back.

  “Ellery, are you thinking of buying the blue dress in the window?” Olivia tossed her curly black hair over her shoulder in a practiced, offhand gesture. Her lips curled in a disbelieving sneer.

  Warmth suffused my cheeks. She must’ve seen my longing. They didn’t need to know I couldn’t afford the outfit. “Possibly. For the ball. I haven’t holographed the dress on yet.”

  Stepping farther away and in front of Arbor, I tried to keep her hidden. I wasn’t trying to protect her. The opposite, really. I was trying to protect myself and the last remnants of my reputation. It was tarnished enough without being caught by the popular girls with a smoke sprite at my side. Humans did not befriend or hang out with smoke sprites—or any magical creature for that matter. It was an us-versus-them world.

  Jade shook her multiple bags emphasizing the amount of shopping she’d done. Her short, brown hair puffed out with the action. “Thinking about what you normally wear to school—” She ran a hand along the edge of her flipped up tube skirt. “—I’m stunned you have the creds to pay for the dress.”

  Olivia smirked, and an evil glint surfaced in her eyes. “Maybe we should alert mall security.”

  “Or the SCUM.” Jade typed something on her ever-present celltab.

  “No.” My cheeks burned hotter scorching my entire face. She knew one of my stepsisters and I was sure they talked about me and the work I did around the house. They saw what I wore to school every day. Hand-me-downs and rags.

  Arbor flew in front of me and raised her fist at the girls. “Hey! Watch what you’re saying, you red-lipsticked wormhole.”

  I grabbed her body and clutched her in my hand trying to stop the outburst. The girls would gossip about a smoke sprite defending me.

  “Are you going to have your friend use her magic to help pay for the dress?” Olivia’s chortle pricked, and any hopes I’d had about flying under the radar went up in smoke similar to how Arbor sometimes did.

  “Oh, the sprite’s not with me. We’re looking in the same window at the same dress.” The falsehood flew out of my mouth before I fully thought the statement through. A lump plopped in my stomach knowing I’d wounded my best friend.

  Arbor’s tiny mouth rounded into an O obviously hurt I’d lied about our relationship. “Yeah, I was thinking I might wear the
dress to the royal ball.”

  I froze. Not only wouldn’t she fit into a single puffy sleeve, she wouldn’t be invited to the palace.

  My classmates’ expressions registered shock, and then disdain. The smirks on both of their faces twisted into a mean pout.

  “Funny.” Except Jade didn’t sound amused. “As if they’d allow a smoke sprite into the royal palace. Or any zauber.”

  The statement was true. In school we learned about the superiority of humans, how the majiks were dark and untrustworthy. Since Regent Theobald began his rule, he’d introduced the Majik Registration and Protection Act, which didn’t protect the majiks at all.

  Arbor went stiff as a twig and steam poured from her body. A jolt went through me and I wanted to defend my friend. Yet, I didn’t.

  How could I? I was supposed to believe in human superiority. I was trying to blend in and couldn’t make a scene. Only a few months before Continuum, and I’d be free to take back my life. Still not free to speak my mind though. Never would be.

  “Only through the back entrance of the palace.” The back entrance is where the SCUM took the majik prisoners. An entrance without an exit.

  Olivia’s snarky gleeful tone revealed she’d be happy if Arbor was caught.

  Jade waved her hand at the dress in the window. “You do know that dress is a Lavender original. It costs a fortune.”

  I swallowed hard. The limited cred payment in my jeans pocket cut through the worn material. I didn’t have a bank debit chip. I couldn’t afford the dress. I didn’t know if I could afford any dress at this expensive mall. I’d been hoping to find a clearance sale.

  I wasn’t about to admit it. “I haven’t made a decision.”

  “The ball is tonight. Better decide fast.” Olivia’s breezy voice almost blew me over. “And look, the guards are coming this way just in time.”

  Giggling without a care in the world, the two girls moved on.

  I fisted my hand and walked in the other direction. Away from my classmates. Away from the SCUM. “Let’s get out of here. This was a mistake.”

  My mother’s trunk had clothes inside. Maybe I could make one of her old outfits work and ignore the pain that would come with wearing something of hers. I hauled out of the mall and took a breath of fresh air.

  “Uh, Elle.” Arbor’s tone scratched. “Let me go.”

  Stiffening, I realized I still crushed my friend in my hand. Her body, and her spirit when I hadn’t stuck up for her. Feeling even worse, I opened my fist letting her fly out. I slumped against a bench directly outside the mall. Podships flew above stirring up the wind. The dirt from the small garden around the bench wafted by my nose filling it with the musty scent of earth. The hologram in the shop window morphed to the Lavender dress, taunting me.

  The girls would never let this encounter go. They knew about my household situation. They already made fun of me. They’d repeat the story of how a smoke sprite came to my defense.

  My gut churned because I hadn’t done the same for Arbor. I’d been embarrassed about my poverty, my clothes, and my friend. And only one of those things I could deny. If I didn’t attend the ball, the taunts would worsen. And if they ever found out the truth…

  If they found out the truth it wouldn’t matter because I would no longer be allowed to attend school.

  “Don’t listen to those girls.” Arbor’s expression went fierce.

  I hung my head. I should’ve stuck up for her. “I’m sor—”

  “Don’t worry. We’ll find you a dress.” She fluttered her wings.

  “Why don’t you whip up a dress for yourself?” The snide question came from thin air.

  Air that glimmered and shot with static electricity. The glimmering formed into an ellipse and took a more solid form. The shape of my fairy godmother, Gardenia.

  Internally, I groaned. This was all I needed.

  Her majestic wings spread wide with a slight back and forth flutter. The maneuver kept her pointed cloth shoes from touching the ground making her taller than me. I was short for a human and tall for a fairy—guaranteeing I didn’t fit in anywhere.

  The skirt of Gardenia’s glowing silver dress came to several pointy ends. Her long, white hair flowed around her face as if a gentle wind was constantly blowing. She appeared regal and way too magical.

  Glancing around, I searched for the SCUM hoping they didn’t head out of the building. I did not want to get arrested for hanging around with majiks, especially one I didn’t even like. I stood in case I had to run. “What’re you doing here?”

  Gardenia was a fugitive. Wanted by the SCUM and the regent. My stepmother had repeated rumors about my fairy godmother but didn’t tell me the details. Only warned me away.

  Arbor hovered trying to distract the interfering fairy. “If you were a good fairy godmother, you’d make Elle a dress.”

  “I am a good fairy godmother.” Gardenia’s soft expression displayed patience, and yet the glint in her glowing eyes hinted at determination.

  My muscles tensed at her claim. “Some fairy godmother.”

  The woman had been absent from my life until my sixteenth birthday. I hadn’t even known she existed. If she’d been a good fairy godmother, she would’ve saved me from my stepmother long ago, not shown up a couple of months ago trying to recruit me for an underground majik warrior academy.

  “Your stepmother will never let you go to the ball, Ellery.” Gardenia flicked her fingers in a careless way. Doing magic near a crowded mall didn’t worry her.

  “My stepmother promised.” Even as I spoke, I remembered other broken promises.

  Arbor fluttered her wings catching some of my hair. She was nervous.

  Gardenia held out a slender hand with too long fingers. “I’ll make you a bet.”

  Wasn’t there some saying about bets and majiks? Zaubers used con-artist tactics and deceit to achieve their goals according to my teachers. Fairies couldn’t lie, but they could twist the truth.

  “If your stepmother allows you to go to the ball, I’ll never bother you again.” Gardenia’s expression didn’t change. “If you don’t attend, you will be expected to do me a favor.”

  I couldn’t read her expression, but I knew what she wanted. “I’m not going to your stupid fairy academy.”

  The academy would be worse than human school. Live-in dormitories, classroom work, fairy magic training, and self-defense, battle methods and strategies. Basically, a military camp. I’d be like the SCUM I abhorred.

  “If you were trained, you could make a dress in no time. No bets necessary.” She snapped her fingers and sparks shot from her hands. “You. Are. A. Fairy.”

  Each word spiked through me, a threat and a promise.

  Chapter Three

  “Half-fairy,” I whispered, and checked to see if anyone was near enough to hear.

  Fear spiraled inside pulling my muscles taut. I didn’t want to be acknowledged as a majik. Only my family and Arbor knew.

  Arbor’s smoke changed to a sickly yellow. She understood my stress.

  I paced behind some tall bushes not wanting people going in and out of the mall to see our strange trio. Arbor and Gardenia followed.

  “You will have full fairy magic, Ellery. Fairy heritage takes precedence over human ancestry.” Gardenia’s superior tone ground against my frayed nerves. Her philosophy was the exact opposite of my teachers.

  I’d always known I was half-fairy. My father hadn’t kept the secret from me, and unfortunately, he hadn’t kept the secret from his second wife, either. Since Dad died, the woman had used the knowledge against me. And yet, until recently I’d had no powers to use against her or my mean stepsisters. My magic hadn’t manifested until I’d turned sixteen. My fairy godmother had surprised me on the same day by introducing herself and insisting I leave with her to join the mysterious fairy academy.

  Why would I go with someone I’d just met? Why would I give up my chance at being recognized as a full human with all my rights? Why would I leave my ances
tral home where my father had been born and my parents had been happy? Besides, my magic didn’t work very well. Things happened when I wasn’t trying, and the few times I’d tried to do magic? Everything got screwed up. Because I was half-human, I’d never make a good fairy.

  Gardenia had been shocked when I’d said no to her request. Angry, even. Over the last few months, she’d pestered me to attend. Always appearing at inconvenient moments.

  Like now.

  Sucking in a couple of seething breaths, I refused to be bullied. “I don’t want to be trained.”

  I didn’t want to be a fairy. A zauber. A creature humans feared and ridiculed. A majik with regulations and restrictions placed around their necks resembling a noose.

  “The favor I ask isn’t regarding the academy, I promise.” Gardenia’s tone jeered. She believed I wouldn’t agree. That I didn’t have the guts. “Do we have a bet?”

  Arbor’s expression didn’t give a hint to what she was thinking.

  With no help from my friend, options see-sawed back and forth. I couldn’t let my fairy godmother think she had the upper hand. I’d find a dress on my own and I’d go to the ball. “What do I get when I win?”

  “A wish.”

  Magic was illegal, and I didn’t want to get caught. A wish wasn’t good enough. I started to shake my head.

  “And I will never pester you again about joining the academy.”

  “No more harassment and no more popping in whenever you want?”

  A normal human life with no interference from my fairy godmother. No fear of her suddenly materializing. No fear of being tempted by the magic inside of me. And one wish, I could use to evict my stepmother and sisters when the time was appropriate.

  Her nose twitched. “Correct.”

  One less risk of being caught by the SCUM. I only had a few months left to be extra careful. “Okay.”

  I put my hand in hers and an electrical current passed from her to me. I didn’t want even this simple connection.