Chapter 29.5
Children of the Night (Continued)
Norman watched the little girl fade away before his very eyes until she was completely gone.
It won't be long before this false dream world disappeared too, he thought while staring at the unoccupied bench.
And then, without turning around, the fancily dressed lion said, "I was wondering whether you'd show up or not."
Standing behind him was a lightly blue-skinned vampire with red light shining from his eyes. The vampire, a man with Asian features and dressed in a black three-piece suit, walked over to the lion who finally turned around. To many people, he was the Owner of a coffee shop. To Peggy, he was Boss. But to a select few, the lion included, he was -
"Losing your touch, don't you think, Trickster?"
The vampire shrugged his shoulders.
"I did the best I could with what I had," he said. "I didn't think Peggy would slip through the defenses I set up to protect her, herself, and then fall into that trap."
"Ah, right," said Norman, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "We talked about that when we met at the Featherkeep Grand Prix. What was it called again? Untethering?"
"That's what my mom called it," said the coffee shop Owner. "Thanks for looking out for Peggy, by the way."
"I only acted because I sensed something amiss around George, so no thanks are needed," said Norman. "But still, that new employee of yours has got a lot of troublesome eyes on her."
"A lot more than I thought," the vampire grumbled. "I've no idea why."
"Maybe it's because the last few youngsters who fell under your wing grew to become famous for one reason or another?"
"They got to where they are on their own merits," said the former Trickster. "All I did was give a few basic pointers."
"Sure that's all it was," Norman said. His voice dripped with sarcasm, making the vampire's scowl deepen. "Anyway, I don't think you lot should stay in the Royal Capital any longer. There's no telling who else might try something again."
"Don't have to tell me twice," said the coffee shop Owner. "We're leaving first thing in the morning, which is not soon enough. I'd have us all out of here as soon as I was done with my business at the Grand Library if I could have."
"You're really not fond of the Royal Capital, are you?"
"Of course not." The coffee shop Owner sat on the bench Peggy had used a minute earlier and leaned back. As he did so, the bench transformed into a big, red velvet armchair. He folded one leg over the other and put his hands together on his lap. "The city always feels like the Shadow Civil War is still going on. Little wonder when there are still people around pulling stunts like at the Grand Library and this dream world. Speaking of dream worlds, do you know who made this one?"
Norman snapped his fingers and colorful sparks flew out of them. The sparks spiraled over his head before flying behind him and transformed into another armchair. After making himself comfortable in it, he replied, "I never got a name outside of Becky. But I suspect it's someone named Lady Playwright, a famous spy-for-hire. Based on the stories, this dream of Peggy's sounds exactly like what she'd do. Rumors have it that she likes to trick people into acting the way she wants like actors in a play she wrote."
"A spy-for-hire, huh?" said the coffee shop Owner. He wagged his finger next to his head and a silver platter appeared floating in the air. The coffee shop Owner took a cup of sweetened coffee from it and took a sip. "Want?"
"No thanks," said Norman, holding up a refusing hand.
"Honestly!" The coffee shop Owner let out an exasperated sigh. "Too many people are too overly curious about me."
"You got only yourself to blame for that," said Norman.
The coffee shop Owner scowled and shot back, "You are the last person I want to hear that from, Mr. Villain Leader."
"We're out of the evil villain business now, remember? George's mom, my sister, saw to that. She even married a hero!
"Anyway, shall I have Lady Playwright dealt with?"
The coffee shop Owner shook his head.
"Don't bother," he said. "Other than the Untethering, Peggy's got nothing special going on. Whatever information Lady Playwright got won't do any harm if it got out. In fact, it might even get those annoying shadows looming over us to leave Peggy alone. Besides, if Lady Playwright meant to harm Peggy, my curses would have activated. Since she's not out to hurt us, I think we can leave her alone. But a certain gentleman who liked to pass around cursed books, on the other hand, is not getting away with just a slap on the wrist."
As the vampire spoke, there was a shadow cast over his eyes which had a menacing glint to them. And then he added:
"He needs to learn there's a difference between overblown mischief and outright harmful attacks."
Coming from a Trickster who survived the Shadow Civil War, Norman knew with certainty that gentleman from the Grand Library was going to have miserable times ahead.
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