Into the Wildewood by Gillian Summers Read Free Book Online Page A

said plug the cakehole because if you don’t, you’re going to be Princess Whine-a-Lot in the pony-and-kid parade with Plumpkin, here.”
    Two thoughts hit Keelie at once: Elia could be Princess Whine-a-Lot, which suited her; and Keelie was going to be in the pony-and-kid parade. Panic and laughter hit her at the same time. It sounded a little hysterical.
    “Put on the dragon suit,” Finch commanded.
    “Now?”
    “Yes. We can’t wait for Halloween to get here.”
    Keelie started to unbutton her La Jolie Rouge shirt, flashing back to the first day of gym in seventh grade. Laurie had been there for support when she and Keelie had stripped down to their underwear and bras. Keelie hadn’t had much in the way of cleavage then, and Laurie had yelled out at the girls who smirked, “What’ve you got in your bra? Toilet paper? Let’s see.”
    Keelie had grown up and filled out since then. While she still didn’t have as much as Laurie in the boob department, she had more than Elia. And thank goodness she’d had a shower in Sir Davey’s RV this morning.
    As the cold air hit her chest, one spot stayed warm. Keelie looked down at the wooden heart-shaped pendant that lay against her skin, soothing her with its magic.
    Elia gasped.
    Keelie looked up. The girls were gazing at her with wide eyes. One openly pointed at her and whispered to another.
    “What?” Keelie asked, staring them down.
    Elia’s eyes were narrowed. “You don’t deserve that.”
    “You’re nuts.”
    Elia stamped her foot. She almost hissed. “ I should be wearing that pendant, and you know why, Round Ear .”
    “I earned it. It was a gift. Get over it.” Keelie reached up to her throat, feeling suffocated. It was the talisman. She had to take it off, or it would choke her. She was about to unclasp it when she glanced over at Elia, who now wore an expectant grin.
    Sir Davey had taught her to breathe deeply whenever she experienced any type of magical attack. Earth magic helped, too. Keelie knew what she needed—the rose quartz. She walked over to her jeans and grabbed the smooth rock from her pocket. Immediately, the choking feeling was gone.
    Thwarted, Elia stamped her foot again.
    Keelie glared at her. The little witch had tried to manipulate her with magic. Holding the rose quartz up, she wondered what it would do if she aimed it at Goldilocks. Maybe the elf girl would implode.
    Finch walked in front of Keelie and blocked her view of Elia. But the formidable woman held the elf girl’s gaze. “Hey, you two, whatever damn issues you have between you, don’t bring them here, don’t bring it to the Faire, and don’t parade it in front of the mundanes, ’cause if you do, I’m going to kick your butts out of here and into Canada. Understand me?”
    “Yes ma’am.” Keelie knew better than to say what she really thought.
    Elia muttered something.
    Finch held her hand to her ear. “Can’t hear you, Whine-a-Lot!”
    Elia sighed. “Yes.”
    Finch glared directly at Elia. “Yes what?”
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    “Good. Now, let Mona finish up with your dress. Elianard will be here searching for you pretty soon. I’d rather not see him, and he’d rather not see me.”
    Wondering if Finch might have been a pirate in a former life, Keelie put her feet into the Plumpkin suit and nearly hurled as she smelled what had to be eau de dried-up vomit. “Gross. What happened in here?”
    “Nothing. The suit has been cleaned.” Finch leaned over and sniffed, then frowned and spritzed Keelie and the costume from her spray bottle. “Vernerd liked to party, and sometimes he didn’t get out of the suit in time. He was fond of beer and mead, but it didn’t like him. I’d hoped dry cleaning would get rid of the smell.” She sniffed again. “Seems the Febreze doesn’t work, either.”
    “Can I wear the unicorn suit?” Keelie pointed. It was really cute and fluffy, sort of looked like the unicorn puppets Lulu had in her shop, something little girls