The wizard coughed into his hand, drawing my attention. “My workshop is just up the stairs on the fifth floor, past the room with the spinning wheels. I’ll be right behind you. Just have a quick snippet of business to take care of.” The wizard click-clacked into the side room Nikko had come out of.
Rexi and I climbed the stairs. There were a lot of them. Somewhere around the third floor, Rexi snapped her fingers. “I’ve got it!”
“Got what?”
She looked at me and rolled her eyes, exasperated that I wasn’t following her random topic change. “I figured out where I’ve seen him before.”
“At the palace during the party?”
“I was too busy being a frog to notice.” She nodded knowingly. “He was on the cover of one of Verte’s magazines. Ummm…Sorcery Illustrated, I think.”
My jaw dropped. I was shocked Verte would have that kind of magazine. And that Rexi would look at them—and probably add them to her souvenirs.
“What?” Rexi responded to my look with a sheepish one of her own. “You’re not the only one I had to stock snacks for. They were under her bed, which made them fair game.” I was still staring, and Rexi shifted uncomfortably. “It’s not like they were my magazines,” she muttered.
“I’m sure she only read them for the potion recipes,” I grumbled, trudging up the stairs again.
When we reached the fifth floor, the wizard was already waiting for us on the landing. Creepy.
He held his arm out to the side, indicating a door on the right. “Your place is through there. Please have a seat.”
I walked in, but the wizard stopped Rexi at the door. “Just the princess and the book, if you don’t mind. I have some news she should hear alone.”
Rexi stepped back awkwardly from the wizard’s palm facing her chest. “Um, sure, here,” she said and reluctantly parted with the book. “I’ll just wait—”
“Right there is fine. Nikko will fetch you momentarily.” He shut the door in her face.
My earlier relief was turning into worry. He was snooty and treated everyone around him as inferior. Except me. He treated me with deference because I reminded him of that girl he used to love. Or because he knew about my power. I caught him eyeing my hair.
“Please take a seat in the chair.” He plucked a brass tray off the desk and offered it to me. “Refreshment?”
I sat in the plush chair next to a giant bouquet of poppies. I politely refused the tea and crumpets. “So what did you want to tell me that Rexi shouldn’t hear?”
The wizard gave a little frown, like he was disappointed that I was cutting to the chase. “I thought you should know that I’ve found the Emerald Sorceress.”
“Alive?” I moved to the edge of my seat.
“Yes, actually, that’s what my business was downstairs, contacting her to let her know you are all right.” The wizard walked closer to me. “Don’t these flowers have just the loveliest fragrance?” He pushed the bouquet in my face so that the pollen went up my nose. The smell actually made me sick, like the wizard’s cologne, but one hundred times stronger.
“Achoo!” The second sneeze turned into a yawn. “Fabulous, now what were you saying?”
“About your friend coming to meet you here and what she wants you to do.”
“Really?” I yawned loudly and completely inappropriately. “Excuse me.” I was mortified, but I couldn’t seem to help it. I was just so tired. Verte was okay. I should be jumping for joy.
“Yes, she should be here in the morning. Any other questions, dear?” He looked at his watch.
“Yeah.” I bit back another yawn. “Why’re you called the Wizard of Is? Why not the Ivory Wizard, or Gold…yawn…Guy.”
“It’s an appropriate title for one who can master all that Is in the world. You look a little wilty, Princess. Is everything all right?” His face didn’t match his words.
No, it wasn’t. But my head wouldn’t shake like I wanted it to. “I don’t know what’s wrong.”
He turned his lips in and nodded sympathetically. “Well, it has been an emotional and difficult few days. You can rest now. I just wanted you to know about your friend. Tomorrow, she and I can work together to craft a spell of reverse ozmosis.”
My eyes were closing without my consent. “And then my parents will be back?”
“Everything will be exactly the way it should.”
“When picking wildflowers, avoid the red poppy like the pox—unless you want a thousand-year nap.”
—Alice’s Fairy-Tale Field Guide to Wildflowers and Mushrooms
25
Ain’t Never Had a Friend Like Me
My eyes felt glued shut. I needed my hands just to pry them open. I got one open. Then the other. I was in a bed with red poppies everywhere. Took a deep breath. Smelled sweet.
Sleepy now.
I wanted to wake up. But it was too dark. Must still be bedtime. I rolled over to go back to sleep.
Thud. Splash. Sizzle.
My eyes popped open. Why was my face wet? Why was my hair popping like firecrackers? So confused. One piece at a time. I was on my back on the floor. There was a vase with wilted flowers tipped over next to me. I had probably knocked them off when I rolled out of bed.