Cinderella Assassin Read online

  I flinched at the insulting slur. One I’d heard plenty of times, had used in my head, and never reacted so strongly. Because it referred to me, too.

  There had to be something I could do. Some excuse or even a bribe. The only creds I had was the one simple plastic card, not enough to make anyone look the other way. I couldn’t use what little magic I knew. So, no magic and no money.

  “Bye Elle.” Arbor sounded so solemn and quiet. Not like my spirited friend.

  My pulse quieted into a sad song.

  The boyfriend’s lips contorted into a sarcastic curl. “The conversation I’ll have with Sybil will be very interesting.”

  My lungs darkened suffocating me from the inside. The guards weren’t going to believe me. I wasn’t going to save her. My friend was doomed.

  And it was my fault.

  Arbor twisted in the cage and gave me a salute “Have a nice human life.”

  The single word tore into me. Even though I denied it, she knew I thought humans were superior. Didn’t mean I thought less of her. And I had no way to prove how much she meant to me.

  The guards marched toward the transport pod with the swirling red and blue lights. Patterson shoved the cage into the back, jostling Arbor. They got in the pod and flew away.

  Arbor was gone. Arrested. Ex-patriated.

  I slouched onto the table unable to support myself. Would I ever see her again?

  The black cloud inside me grew wider, ready to swallow me in its bleak despair. Struggling back to my feet, I slammed the door again. In a daze, I wandered past the vid screen where Arbor had once pretended to be part of a movie playing out characters in their exact voices. I punched a decorative pillow Arbor had used as a bed when no one else was around. Stopping in front of the flameless fireplace, I sank onto the fake brick surrounding the hearth.

  The two of us had loved sitting by the electronic fire talking. Arbor told the funniest stories always making me laugh. She’d been the bright spot in my life. I fought the tears burning in my eyes. Crying would do no good. I didn’t deserve the relief of tears.

  Static electricity shot out from nowhere, shocking my skin. The space in front of me glimmered.

  Gardenia.

  I dropped my head lower. I couldn’t deal with my fairy godmother right now.

  She wore the same dress as earlier today. The silver strands of her hair were swept up into an elegant bun. Her wings fluttered and folded behind her back becoming one with her outfit. My wings hadn’t manifested yet and I didn’t know when, or if, they ever would. I’d have to find a clever way to hide them.

  Fisting my hands, I held in a scream. “What’re you doing here?”

  Gardenia pursed her purple lips. “I heard about your friend’s arrest.”

  My eyebrows flew up into an arch. “How?”

  “We fairies have our own communication system. Something you would know if you trained.” She drew out the last few words and each one was a light jab.

  Standing, I crossed my arms. My fingers pinched my skin trying to control my mad. “I’m not training.”

  “It’s your heritage. Your birthright. Your rightful place.” Her wings whipped stirring the air in the house.

  “My rightful place?” The unshed tears scalded, traveled down my throat, and ignited. If Gardenia had never taunted me this afternoon, I wouldn’t have tried doing magic on the dress. I wouldn’t have gotten caught by my stepmother and I wouldn’t have been reckless when they’d left for the ball. The SCUM wouldn’t have blamed my best friend and arrested her. “Magic is the reason Arbor is gone. I never should’ve used my fairy powers. I was showing off.”

  “Magic is part of who you are, Ellery.”

  “Half of who I am. A half I will never use again.” My fingertips sparked and I fisted my hands and crossed my arms. “I’m done.”

  I’d persuade Sybil to help save Arbor, even if I had to threaten to go on strike.

  Gardenia wagged a long, thin finger. “Quit whining and do something to help.”

  Power thrummed through me in a tidal wave. I couldn’t believe my fairy godmother would take advantage of me at my weakest point. “I won’t train to be a fairy warrior.”

  “I meant,” Gardenia’s tone softened and became more compassionate, “do something to help your friend.”

  Her suggestion connected in my mind. I paused. I wanted to help my friend. But why did Gardenia want to help me when I’d opposed her at every chance? “What?”

  “Go to the ball.”

  My chortle came out harsh. I no longer cared about going to the ball. Not after losing my best friend. “How’s that going to help Arbor?”

  “The ball is in the palace and your friend is being held—”

  “In the palace,” I screeched. If I could get inside, and sneak into the dungeon, and find her, and get her out, I could save her. Each thought spurred me higher. How? Everything plummeted into a pit in my stomach. “I can’t go to the ball.” I tugged at the floral disaster draping my body. “I have no dress. No transportation. No invitation. And no way to get past the majik sensors.”

  “I can help.” Gardenia snapped her fingers.

  “You can?” I could save my friend.

  Her eyes glinted, and her lips lifted in an all-knowing smile. “What are fairy godmothers for?”

  She was right. This is what fairy godmothers were for. To help out. To grant wishes. Lightness filled my chest like puffy dandelion seeds “Let’s do it.”

  Gardenia’s wings fluttered, and she stroked her chin with those unusually long fingers. “There’s only one thing. You need to do something for me.”

  Chapter Six

  A trick. Just like a fairy.

  Gardenia wanted me to do something for her. I could totally guess what that was. And here my hopes had gotten so high.

  “I’m not enrolling in your stupid fairy school. I should’ve known you’d have conditions.” I hunched my shoulders.

  “And I should’ve known you’d be ungrateful.” Her voice thundered, and I took a step back. “Similar to how you are ungrateful for your friend’s sacrifice.”

  Her comeback was a dagger to the heart. Guilt seeped around the internal wound.

  “I’m not ungrateful.” I heaved a shaky sigh. “I tried to convince the SCUM I was the one who’d done the magic. I tried to take Arbor’s place.”

  Gardenia’s gaze bored into me for minutes, or so it seemed. Her wings fluttered, and she sniffed. “My condition has nothing to do with fairy academy.”

  “It doesn’t?”

  “No, it doesn’t.” She managed to sound insulted and superior at the same time. “Besides, since you didn’t go to the ball you already owe me a favor. We had a bet. More than a bet.”

  I remembered the sizzle of our handshake. “What do you want then?” I couldn’t think of anything she’d need from me.

  “It doesn’t matter. You probably couldn’t pull it off.” She twirled away, leaving.

  My nerves stretched tight. “Pull off what?”

  “Never mind,” she sang the dismissal.

  “You were going to help me go to the ball. The dress. The transport. The invitation.” The way past the magical sensors. How else was I going to save my friend?

  “If I did, I’d lose the bet we made this afternoon.”

  “Forget the bet from this afternoon. You won, and I owe you.” Losing didn’t matter and having my friends see me at the ball didn’t matter. “Saving Arbor is more important.”

  Gardenia tapped her long finger against her chin. Her gaze narrowed, and she studied me as if deciding whether I was worthy. “I might be able to help. In exchange for an additional favor. And not fairy academy.” She emphasized the last point, knowing it would be a deal breaker.

  I stomped across the pink carpet toward her. “Is that how fairy godmothers work? I have to pay for a wish?”

  Fairy godmothers were similar to mobster godfathers.

  “What you’re asking is quite risky and will only save
one majik.” Her superior-knowing tone chafed. “My goals are loftier. I can’t risk getting caught.”

  “Because you’re a wanted fairy.” I taunted using my stepmother’s words.

  Gardenia’s laugh trickled like a stream. “The things they don’t teach you at the human school.”

  I didn’t want a lecture about how fairy academy was superior.

  “I’d be taking a risk by going to the ball against my stepmother’s wishes, being half-majik, and trying to rescue Arbor.” What danger would my fairy godmother be in by using a little magic to get me in the palace?

  “No. No.” Gardenia’s forehead wrinkled. “I will take my magic and leave. And you can go on with your human life.”

  Human.

  The word pummeled. Arbor had said the exact same thing. I missed her already and she’d only been gone minutes. I didn’t want her to suffer. Or be deported. Or die. I had to take this chance to save my friend.

  “I’ll do it!” I screamed the words trying to counteract the tension inside of me. “I’ll do whatever you want if you help me.”

  Gardenia whipped out a wand and pointed it at my heart. “Do you promise, Ellery?”

  Her solemn tone told me this moment was important. No sarcasm or persuasion. A straight question needing a straight answer.

  “Yes.” There was no other answer I could give. She’d said it didn’t involve the academy and fairies couldn’t lie. Any other task I’d do if she would help me save Arbor.

  “Wonderful.” Gardenia’s shoulders relaxed and she smiled. “Let’s start with what you’re wearing.”

  I really didn’t care about a dress anymore. To think hours ago it was my only goal. “Whatever works.”

  She tapped her chin with her long fingers. “How about the dress designed by Lavender you admired in the store window?”

  Waving her wand, Gardenia looped the small stick up and down. Silvery glimmers shot out from the wand and fell around me. The floral bag disappeared, and I was clothed in the elegant blue dress.

  I glanced at myself and couldn’t stop my big smile. It was beautiful. How did she conjure it?

  “The SCUM sprayed Magic Blocking Fixatif when they arrested Arbor.” I patted the fluffy folds of the dress. “How does your magic still work?”

  “I’m too powerful for those pathetic humans to contain my magic.” The boast was followed by a superior snicker. “You could be, too.”

  I didn’t want to hear more fairy propaganda. The government and school gave me enough bull.

  Shuffling to the large decorative mirror, I surveyed myself through the gilt frame. Sybil had dug the mirror from out of the attic, my bedroom now, and hung it on the wall right after her marriage to my father. I should’ve known by her taking careless possession of my mother’s valuable things and discarding the rest we’d never get along.

  “What do you think of the dress?” Gardenia floated behind me.

  Just as I’d imagined at the mall, the dress hugged my slight curves showing them in the best light. The waist cinched in tight and the skirt flowed like a fountain. It was wonderful and made me feel beautiful. Imagining Olivia and Jade’s expressions if I wore this to the ball brought a smile to my face.

  I shook my head. At one time this gown had been my dream. “I don’t want to stand out if I’m going to be sneaking around the palace.”

  A Lavender original would stand out.

  “Smart.” Gardenia nodded approvingly and looped her wand again.

  The blue dress disappeared to be replaced with a mermaid-style dress in pink. This would be similar to trying clothing on by hologram. I’d never had that experience because I only received hand-me-downs from my stepsisters.

  I twirled around in front of the mirror. The color of the material matched the ugly carpet. Stretching out my knees, I couldn’t move much. “This dress is too tight. If I need to run, I won’t be able to.”

  She looped her wand again. The pink dress was gone to be replaced by a black pantsuit.

  Ducking down to check out the stretch-ability, I studied my backside in the mirror. Definitely could move with the loose-fitting pants with wide bells. Though the ruffled blouse was too foo-foo and the jacket glittered.

  She beamed. “Elegant enough to go unnoticed, and yet serviceable.”

  “Ug and lee.” Not only did I resemble a matron, I’d be noticed for being hideous.

  “If you need to run…” Her hint I might need to make a quick getaway resembled my earlier comment.

  I sucked in a nervous breath. I had to remember I wasn’t a normal girl from the kingdom going to the ball. This wasn’t about finding the perfect color to complement my skin or a dress highlighting my feminine attributes. The dress was a costume to get me inside the palace. I needed to blend and roam freely. I was on a mission to save my majik friend.

  “I’ve got an idea.” I told Gardenia what I had in mind.

  She waved her wand and the pantsuit was transformed. “Voila!”

  The forest green dress brought out the color of my eyes. That wasn’t important. The bodice fit and wasn’t constricting. The long folds of the skirt had slits. If I needed to make a dangerous escape I wouldn’t be encumbered. I poked my leg out revealing built-in shorts. “And the skirt can be detached and put back on?”

  “Like this.” She pulled back the skirt revealing the magno-electric attachments. Then, she wrapped the skirt back around my waist. “And like this.”

  “Perfect.” I studied myself in the mirror. I didn’t look half bad. Not as beautiful as Olivia and Jade. Yet, so much better than wearing the floral concoction I’d created. “What about my hair? It’s a bird’s nest.”

  Between my stepsister attacking me to take her ribbon and my upset about Arbor being arrested, the strands now stuck up in a mess. I grimaced. My hair was never stylish.

  “Simple enough.” Gardenia waved her wand in an interlocking pattern.

  My hair was pulled tight, twisted and knotted. The flyaway strands tucked in a braid resembling a crown on my head. The length in the back was curled into an upward flip. She waved the wand in front of my face. Lip cover, extendo eyelashes, and blush caressed my cheeks.

  Nodding, I assessed myself. Definitely passable.

  She opened her hand and presented me with a perfect replication of the royal ball invitation. I’d caught a glimpse of the Milford family invitation Sybil had tucked into one of her drawers. The invitation hadn’t come across the vid screen or people’s personal celltabs. It had copied the elegant paper from the seventeenth century with basically unreadable calligraphy. A more modern translation had been attached.

  “What about transportation?” I’d appear odd if I walked or took the skyway. “I’ll already be arriving late.”

  “Fashionably late.” She roamed around the front living space. She wouldn’t find a transport pod here. Only needing-to-be-updated electronics and hideous furniture.

  Gardenia stopped in front of the pumpkin chair. The arms rose high rounding the edges like a ball. The chair was too big to sit in and be comfortable. I always believed the green around the edges would sprout into leaves and strangle me.

  Waving her wand, the chair’s legs rounded, turning into wheels and rolling the chair toward the front door. With a wave from Gardenia, the front door opened, and the chair propelled outside. She floated after the chair.

  My mouth dropped open. If my magic worked that well, I’d be more tempted to claim my fairy heritage.

  I followed out the door. “Sybil is going to kill me for ruining her new chair.”

  Of course, I’d be blamed. It would be worse for me though if I told her my fairy godmother had magically transformed the piece of furniture.

  Stepping outside, I checked to see if anyone was watching. I’d already gotten caught once tonight. The high front garden walls hid us from prying neighbors. The clear night sky showcased the stars through the invisible arched dome.

  Using her wand, Gardenia tapped the hunchback chair three times. />
  The chair grew larger, expanding from inside as if a gigantic kernel of corn had popped. The arms and winged back stretched in several places. The orange material shaped and grew into a small, sleek transport pod. Dark windows materialized, and lines formed a door. The material morphed to metal with a snap of Gardenia’s fingers.

  “The transport pod will only stay in its current form until midnight.” She waved her wand and the door lifted with a whoosh.

  I peeked inside to find a bench seat and data center. “Why?”

  “You’d know why if you’d been trained.” Her frustration curdled in her voice and her sudden irritation jerked me out of the fascination with the chair-turned-transport.

  I thought we were past lecturing about what she thinks I should be doing. Arching a brow, I waited.

  “Several reasons.” She sighed. “My magic is strong, but the palace employs magic blocking misters. I won’t be close enough to maintain the illusion. And I can only give you so much of my energy.”

  I swirled the bottom of my dress. “What about my gown? Will it disappear at midnight too?” I didn’t want to end up naked at the ball. Talk about being conspicuous.

  Her joyful laughter made me think if we’d met earlier. we might’ve gotten along. “The dress is real. As is your hair. And this clutch purse.”

  The bag was the size of about two of my hands decorated with colorful beads shaped into flowers and leaves. The thickness only an inch.

  My fingers itched to hold it. “I’m not going to worry about freshening my face or hair.”

  “This isn’t a personal clutch, Ellery.” Gardenia snapped it open, reached inside, and withdrew a glass-cut perfume bottle similar to my mother’s. The one I’d traded for the creds card. “This bag is a fairy carryall. And I mean, all. It’s bottomless.”

  “It has a bottom.”

  She handed me the perfume bottle and I held it to my nose to take a sniff.

  “Don’t!” She grabbed my wrist and pulled the bottle away. “It’s a potent sleeping potion.”

  My gaze narrowed. Is that why the fairy was willing to trade for my mom’s bottle? Had it also contained a magic potion? I wanted to smack my forehead. If I’d been trained, I’d have known, Gardenia spoke in my head and I tried to shake it out. I didn’t want to be drawn to fairy ways. This was a one-night stand to help my friend. Then, I’d return to my regularly scheduled human life.