A Kind of Magic by Shanna Swendson Page A

I?”
    “You’ve seen too many movies.”
    “Is there something you and I should be doing about it?”
    “As I said, get some green stuff out. That’ll help you. Keep studying. I’ll keep my eyes open.”
    They’d nearly reached a park exit. “Do you need a warm place to stay?” he asked.
    “What makes you think I don’t have one?”
    The fact that she seemed to be carrying around all her worldly goods in a shopping cart was a good sign, but he realized it was an assumption he’d made. For all he knew, she had a Fifth Avenue penthouse and this was just a cover so her society friends wouldn’t notice her work in the park. “Okay then, if you’re set. But I have a sofa if you need it.”
    “I don’t think it would be proper. It would ruin my reputation to spend the night alone with a younger man. Good-bye, Detective. Have a nice day.”
    He still heard her laugh as she wheeled her cart back into the park. Shaking his head, he shoved his hands into his coat pockets and made his way toward a diner where he could get a hot breakfast. An apprentice wise person? That was something to think about. But even if he didn’t take that step, Mrs. Smith was right that when lives were at stake, he couldn’t afford to remain in denial and hide from the truth.

 
Eight
     
    The Antique Shop
    1:00 p.m.
     
    “My, this is a surprise,” Athena said when Emily and Beau entered the shop. Her tone of voice said that it wasn’t a surprise at all. Emily had to admit to being relieved that Amelia didn’t seem to be around. It was so much easier to talk to Athena. Amelia could be intimidating. “I’m afraid Amelia had another errand this morning,” Athena added.
    “That’s okay. I’m sure you can help me.”
    Once he was freed from his leash, Beau headed straight to his bed and went to sleep, and Emily envied him. She managed to hold off spilling her concerns to Athena until the older woman had finished making tea. Finally, after the formal ceremony of tea pouring and pastry offering had been completed, Athena said, “Now, what’s troubling you?”
    “I know what’s happening to the dancers,” Emily said, going on to describe what she’d seen the night before. “I couldn’t tell if Eamon really didn’t know what to do about it or just didn’t want to tell me. He acted kind of like it was their right to take us.”
    “That is one of the disputes we’ve had with their people over the centuries,” Athena said.
    “Well, I can’t imagine Nana going for it. He said he’d talk to her, but maybe we should send Sophie.”
    “I’m not sure this is something the queen can control. It’s the natural way of their people.”
    “So we should just let them do this, when people don’t even know what they’re wishing for?”
    Athena stirred her tea thoughtfully, her lips pursed. “They don’t usually let people come to harm. It may only be dangerous to people who spend their days dancing or if they start living in their dreams and let reality pale.”
    “But dancers are more likely to dream of dancing. Is there anything I can do to protect people I know?”
    “There are herbs that fend off fairies. I think we have some in stock. Just a moment.” She got up and scurried to the back room, returning a moment later with a basket full of dried greenery and some Christmas ribbon. “Here we go. If you make it look like a Christmas decoration, you can call it a gift and that gives you an excuse to give it to them without having to explain it.”
    Leave it to Athena to use arts and crafts as a weapon, Emily thought with a smile. “Brilliant plan. I love it.”
    Together, they shaped bundles into wreaths and sprays, binding them with the ribbon and adding other touches of greenery or berries for color. As they worked, Emily said, “Eamon mentioned something about them being in a dream state while they were dancing, like they weren’t physically in the same place I was. But I saw them, right there. It doesn’t make a lot