Page 71 of Devils Don’t Deal

The door flew open and in stalked the Grand Sorcerer, who looked particularly cheerful as she studied the woman. “If you don’t know what you want, I’ll make my order first.”

The dark-haired woman in a fancy dark skirt suit glared at the Grand Sorcerer. “I know what I want, she just doesn’t want to give it to me.”

Anna shrugged and smiled at me, her scar reminding me of the fairy king. “Well, you can’t blame her for not wanting to give away stuff she can sell. I’ll take a dozen cake pops and a box of macarons. Half a dozen? One of each color, if you don’t mind.”

I smiled at her and got to work while the other woman sputtered.

“Excuse me! I was here first! I’ve been waiting for days!”

“Then you shouldn’t take so long to order,” Anna said, patting the woman’s shoulder.

The woman’s eyes flickered red and her nostrils flared. All of a sudden, my hair was full of static electricity. Was that from the other woman or Anna? Oh. Definitely the Grand Sorcerer. Apparently, her skills ran to the electrical. Were we about to have some kind of standoff in my shop?

“Hey, can you guys take it outside?” I asked then threw a macaron at Anna.

She caught it in her fingers and gave me a sweet smile. “Take what outside? I’m sure this person was just leaving. Wasn’t she?”

The woman huffed then spun on her heel and left me alone in the shop with the Grand Sorcerer.

“So,” she said, looking me over, eyes lingering on my throat like she could see invisible collars. “Seems there’s been a lot of excitement in Wonderland lately with an enchantress buying out the devil. How are you holding up with all of that?”

“Ah, it’s interesting.”

Her eyes were sharp as she took my boxes and handed me a card. “My husband is concerned. I don’t like my husband being concerned about other women, but it’s so difficult to find an enchantress when you’re looking for her, and of course only an idiot would go into Wonderland without some way to keep from getting eternally lost. Like a white rabbit to lead you home. Or wherever you needed to go. Anyway, thanks for the delights.” She took back the card I’d run and turned, striding out after throwing breadcrumbs at me like I’d miss them if she wasn’t super blatant.

“Thank you,” I called after her.

She raised a hand without looking back.

Another customer came in, and after that, I was busy until two, when I was sold out of everything I wasn’t going to take to my dinner with the fairy king that evening.

After I’d locked up the shop, I took off my apron and went to pick up Divinity from the mushroom puff. I snuggled him close then raised him so I could look into his eyes. “What do you think?”

Did he know what I could think in my lower brain?

He wriggled, kicked his feet, then escaped my arms, landing on the floor and hopping toward the door to the kitchen.

I pushed open the door, and he hopped in, toward the stairs. I followed, heart beating faster and faster until I got to the door at the top. Did I have everything I’d need? I had a box of macarons, a pocket watch, a bottle of my dad’s tincture, and the devil’s soul. What else could an impossibly magical creature like myself need?

Maybe deodorant. I was sweating at the thought of confronting the enchantress. But what else was I supposed to do?

I stared at Divinity, who looked up at me with big, luminous eyes. Everything was going to be okay. I smiled down at him then pushed the door open.

It led into the butterfly garden. I stared at the empty bench before I stepped through, following the rabbit into Wonderland.

The butterflies were leached of color, pale and sickly instead of the vibrant blue, and the mushrooms were the same, barely pulsing with a faint light instead of the bright glow. The glowing waterfall was dark now, the water thick like blood or oil.

The rabbit took off down the path, and I ran after him, branches tearing at my hair and dress, leaving scraps behind as I hurried to keep up with the dim white blur.

It leapt into a hole, and I tumbled after, rolling down a bumpy hill, over and over until I came to a sliding stop in a whoosh at the bottom of another hill, this one seemingly made of ashes. Everything was a dull gray, from the scudding clouds overhead to the gray grass. When I stood up, the grass crackled. Ashes indeed.

The rabbit looked at me, waiting impatiently, so I dusted myself off and started after him. “I’m coming.”

He raced up the hill, forcing me to run after him, fluttering my wings to speed up. I moved faster than usual, speeding through Wonderland like it was helping me make my way.

At the top of the hill was another door. The rabbit waited for me there, looking up at me while I reached for the knob. Frowning in concentration, I pushed it open. The door’s weight pressed against my arm, down to my shoulder, and then to my chest, heart, and soul as I struggled against it.

I sweated and shivered until I finally shoved it open wide enough that the rabbit and I could slip through. The door thudded closed behind me, catching my skirt in its grasp. I ripped the skirt free then turned and held very still as I stared at the clockwork heart in a glass case in the center of the casino, red felt-covered tables surrounded by people who were all staring at me. For a moment, everything was still before, as one, they all went back to their gaming. Before I could step toward the heart, I looked around, and there to my left was an enormous mushroom higher than all the tables formed in the shape of a lounge. The enchantress was draped over it, watching me like a cat about to eat the canary.