CHAPTER 61
I mumbled through the black electrical tape Jonas had stuck over my mouth, but Penelopee wasn’t paying me any attention. Rather she was arranging her murderous dental tools along my desk.
She picked up each pick, pliers, and roll of floss, stroking it like a lover, and then set it down, making sure no two pieces touched. Jonas sat in my desk chair, his eyes blank. I wasn’t sure his empty gaze was pea related. Fairies weren’t what anyone would call really deep thinkers.
I noticed a cell phone on the desk next to a tan-colored case, a case that looked an awful lot like the kind used for dentures. Sister Francis used to use the exact same type. The phone buzzed, indicating an incoming text, in a very familiar tone. I frowned under the electrical tape over my mouth.
Murderous bitch had stolen my phone. In itself, taking my phone seemed like a small invasion, except the phone in question had been buried deep in my pocket, very near my manly parts. I didn’t want Penelopee anywhere near my genitals, especially with her golden pair of pliers.
Penelopee glanced up from her tool alignment, checking the incoming message on my phone. She smiled, setting the phone back down and whistling under her breath. “Won’t be long now.” She turned to me, tapping her finger against my taped lips. “Now, if I take this off, do you promise to be very quiet? You wouldn’t want to ruin my surprise, right?”
I shook my head.
“Good.” She smiled, ripping the tape from my mouth, as well as the first four layers of skin. I yelped but quickly quieted when she shot me a warning glare.
Licking the blood welling from my top lip, I considered my next move. Since my hands were bound my options for escape were limited. Jonas wouldn’t be of any help either. Not as long as he was under whatever spell the pea had cast.
At least Jonas had an excuse for his behavior. How could I have been so stupid? I’d walked right through the door, knowing Penelopee was waiting inside. I’d figured I’d get the drop on her and save Izzy.
Except Izzy wasn’t inside.
Jonas was.
And Penelopee had been hiding behind the fucking door.
“Why?” I asked, though I was fairly sure I knew the answer.
It all came down to teeth, or lack thereof.
Penelopee flashed me another of her perfectly creepy smiles. “Did you know that you can’t eat kiwi fruit if you wear dentures?”
“I didn’t.” Nor did I really fucking care.
“Or almonds.” Her face fell. “I love almonds.”
Figured. Nuts usually had a thing for nuts.
“I haven’t eaten any in twenty years.” She grabbed my chin in her hand, receiving a pretty good shock, but she never flinched. “Do you know why, Blue?”
I slowly shook my head, making a tsking sound through my teeth. “Poor princess, you never did get that pony, did you?”