Be Careful What You Wish For Read online

  “Twice,” Rory added, also fighting her way through.

  “This is completely unacceptable!” Jake’s face was like a thundercloud. He was wearing another one of his immaculate suites, Cass noticed. She really hoped she hadn’t called him out of court again.

  “Tell me about it,” she said. “I’m sorry I had to call you but I didn’t know what else to do.”

  “No, no—you did the right thing,” Jake assured her. He scanned the crowd of milling clones and then looked up at the fairy godmother.

  “What is the meaning of this?” he demanded. “Why have you filled the house with naked men?”

  “Who are you and what business is it of yours?” Breena snapped from her secure vantage point near the ceiling.

  “I am the Swann Sisters’ court-appointed elf,” Jake growled. “And I’m here to be certain their magical rights aren’t trampled on. Are you the new fairy godmother that Judge StoneThroat appointed to them? If so, I can’t say I think much of the job you’re doing so far.”

  “I’m new at this!” Breena exclaimed, her pink eyes suddenly filling with tears. “This is my very first job—there’s no need to be so mean about it!”

  Jake was absolutely unmoved—his face like granite.

  “If you’re that inexperienced you shouldn’t have been appointed to such a difficult case. Do you want me to go before the judge and ask for a different fairy godmother?”

  “So I look like a failure on my very first try?” Breena cried. “I’ll have you know I didn’t complain a bit when Judge StoneThroat chose me to help these girls. Even if they are half-breeds and a little slow I agreed to do my duty by them and I’m doing my very best.”

  “Hey!” Rory exclaimed. “We are not slow!”

  “And if this is your very best maybe it’s time to try a different line of work,” Cass pointed out. “Although she was able to reverse the main part of the FG’s wish,” she added grudgingly to Jake. “So at least I can paint again.”

  “Is that so?” He looked pleased. “Very good. Now then…” He looked up at the new FG.

  “Breena—her name is Breena,” Cass supplied under her breath.

  “Now, Breena,” Jake went on. “Good work on reversing Cassandra’s birthday wish—well done, you! But something has got to be done about the overabundance of naked men in this hallway.”

  “I don’t know what to do, all right?” Breena stormed, her wand shooting bright pink sparks. “I need to go consult with one of my professors. Maybe she can give me some answers. Until then, I’m afraid you’ll just have to wait.”

  “But what are we supposed to do with ten naked clones until you come back?” Rory demanded.

  “Anything but feed them!” Breena snapped. “It’s because you fed the first one so much human food that he’s nearly impossible to get rid of! I have to go get some answers—you’re on your own.”

  And with a snap of her fingers and a poof of sparkly pink smoke, she disappeared leaving nothing but a cloud of silver-pink glitter which rained from the ceiling and coated them all—the clones included.

  “Well that was kind of a failure,” Rory remarked gloomily, shaking glitter out of her long red hair. “What are we going to do now? I don’t care what she said about not feeding them—it’s the only way to keep them quiet!”

  Cass could tell her sister was right. Now that the fascinating sight of the pretty pink fairy was gone, the clones were getting restless and calling for cookies in louder and more strident voices than before. What were they going to do? She turned to Jake.

  “Can you help us? I know this is above and beyond your, uh, duties but, well—”

  “Say no more, Cassandra—I am happy to help. Do you have an empty room where we can store them?”

  “Oh yes—the spare room!” Rory fought her way through the clones and down the hallway where she flung open the door leaning into the guest bedroom their grandmother always kept for visitors.

  “Hmm…” Jake pushed his way through the clones as well, with Cass in his wake, and peered inside. “It’s going to be a tight fit but it should do.” He spoke a word of power and suddenly all the clones were packed into the small room like people crammed in an overloaded elevator.

  The clones didn’t like this at all. They stared around in confusion and started pushing and shoving each other, crying for cookies in hoarse, angry voices.

  But before the situation could get truly out of hand, Jake spoke another word and all ten of them froze.

  “Wow…” Cass stared into the crowded spare room in awe. “They look like statues or wax figurines.”

  “They are in a state of suspended animation,” Jake said. “But the stasis spell I placed on them will only hold as long as no one touches them.” He frowned at Rory and Cass. “I highly recommend you shut and lock this door and don’t let anyone enter it for any reason.”

  “You got it,” Rory promised. She shut the door carefully. “Absolutely nobody goes in.”

  “How long will it last?” Cass asked. “The new fairy godmother seems kind of flighty. Who knows when she’ll come back to fix this mess?”

  “Yes, that does seem to be a problem.” Jake frowned. “Do you want me to go before Judge StoneThroat and ask for a replacement?”

  “No, no,” Cass said quickly. “Please, don’t do that! Please just stay away from that awful man, er, troll!” She gripped Jake’s sleeve and lowered her voice. “I don’t want you to get hurt again on my account.”

  His stern expression softened somewhat.

  “I will be fine, Cassandra. Please don’t worry about me—I only want what is best for you and your sisters.”

  “Well…maybe we should give Brenna another chance,” Rory said. “After all, she did reverse the FG’s painting wish on Cass. Maybe she’s right and all the Oreos I fed the first clone are weighing him down—making it hard for her to poof him away.”

  “Do you wish to give your new fairy godmother another chance as well?” Jake asked, raising an eyebrow at Cass.

  She nodded.

  “Yeah, maybe we were a little hard on her. Although her attitude towards humans is almost as hard to take as the original FG’s. She seems to think we’re stupid or ‘disadvantaged’ because we can’t do magic or fly.”

  “Unfortunately, the idea that you are magically disadvantaged is not an uncommon assumption about humans in the Realm of the Fae,” Jake remarked. “But fairies in general are more apt to look down on other species—even other fae. They are at the very top of the social order and they will never let anyone else forget it.”

  The slight bitterness in his voice reminded Cass that he had good reason to know about fairies and their prejudices against others.

  She felt a surge of indignation when she thought of the snotty Glorianna who had broken the big elf’s heart. What a bitch! She hoped she could make the fairy g irl nice and jealous when she went to the Summer’s End ball with Jake—it would serve her right!

  “Well, if you change your mind, I will be happy to go before the judge once more and ask for a different fairy godmother for you,” Jake said. He looked at Cass. “And in the meantime, now that you can paint again without, er, dire consequences, do you wish to come back to the Realm with me?”

  “Oh, uh…” Cass bit her lip. “I’d like to but it’s only been an hour since I saw you—even though it’s been a day for you—and I’m really tired, Jake.” She had to suppress a yawn as she spoke. Between the traumatic courtroom appearance, the trouble with the bikers, the disastrous new fairy godmother and the multiplying clones, it had been a hell of a long day. She really was exhausted.

  “You can sleep at my home,” Jake offered quietly. “Just sleep—nothing else,” he added quickly. “It will take less time than if you slept in your own realm, which will give you more time for painting and getting ready for the ball.”

  “That’s a really good point,” Cass admitted. “Well…if you don’t mind waiting while I get some clothes and supplies together…”