No Quest For The Wicked

“Just Plan B, I think. We made two attempts with plan A, unless you count the one Thor interrupted. I won’t be able to make another go, though, since they already know I’m after it.”

“I don’t know if I’ve got the skills,” I said. “Maybe we could get Rod to change your illusion.”

“Oh, come on, don’t tell me you didn’t learn to slip stuff into or out of your brothers’ pockets,” he teased.

“No, not really. I just got to be pretty good at knowing when they were trying to slip something into mine. It helped that most of the things they tried to slip into my pockets tended to slither.”

“All you have to do is wait for her to take her hand out of her pocket, then when she’s distracted, bump or brush up against her. Grab the real brooch, drop in the fake one, then get away quickly. There will still be something in her pocket, so she won’t immediately assume she’s been robbed.”

“That is, until she doesn’t get whatever power surge that thing’s giving her.”

“She doesn’t know where the power’s coming from. She’ll feel a loss, certainly, but she wouldn’t know it’s the brooch, since she doesn’t know about magic—that is, unless she’s learned something since you quit working for her.”

“You’ll take care of the diversion?”

“Trust me. Now go look busy. Do something that takes you back and forth by Mimi a few times before you move in, so they’ll be used to you being in that area.” He handed me the duplicate brooch, then pulled me close for a quick kiss on my temple before sending me off with a playful swat on my behind that I was glad my grandmother wasn’t there to see. Where was she, anyway?

I kept an eye out for her while I looked for a job to do that would help me blend in. The new linens had arrived, so I joined the group picking up stacks of tablecloths and napkins to distribute to the tables. I had to agree with the people who’d been talking earlier—there was no discernable difference between these and the ones we’d removed. It was typical Mimi, only magically amplified.

Taking the linens to the tables gave me the opportunity to walk past Mimi several times. She didn’t seem to notice my existence, which was also typical Mimi. I was more concerned about her minions. They’d recovered from the elfsong, and the one reeking of expensive cologne had gone on full alert. Even if whatever illusion the elves used to mask their true natures worked on the puritan, he still had to know that something magical was afoot. I couldn’t tell if the other minion was part of the scheme. He mostly focused on his clipboard, jotting down every request Mimi made. If he was smart, he’d be recording everything she said because when she changed her mind, she thought the new thing was what she’d always wanted, and written evidence wasn’t good enough proof for her.

I definitely didn’t miss that job, even if my current job was boring most of the time and dangerous the rest of the time.

I’d made several trips past Mimi and her minions—which would also make a great band name—and I figured it was almost game time. I’d noticed both Rod and Owen on their phones, so I supposed they were concocting something. I just wished I knew where Granny was. I didn’t like wild cards—like, say, Thor and his battleaxe. Granny was an even bigger wild card than Thor, both literally and figuratively.

I spotted her on the far side of the room, where pastry chefs were putting the finishing touches on a giant cake shaped like a wheelchair. I wasn’t sure that was in good taste for a charity focusing on helping people with spinal cord injuries, but it was certainly visual and memorable. Granny was supervising the placement of flowers around the cake wheelchair’s spokes. That meant we might be safe from interference for a while. Granny didn’t need a gem to make her bossy, and this opportunity to be bossy held even more allure for her than any magical brooch.

I gave Owen a nod to signal that I was ready to move in for my mission, then headed to get one last armload of linens to carry to the table nearest where Mimi currently stood. Then, as though she was picking up on my brainwaves and doing exactly what I least wanted her to do, Mimi headed over to inspect the cake, bringing her within range of Granny.

My initial plan thwarted, I changed course to go to the table nearest the cake. I thought it would be best if I were in position to intervene in case Granny did something strange. Well, stranger than normal. Even before she’d been open with me about her magic, I’d thought she was extremely eccentric.

“What is this supposed to be?” Mimi demanded when she reached the cake.