The next day, Cory was in her office, thumbing through yearbooks, when Macks barged in. “I was in the front yard with Shimmer, and a bunch of witches showed up. One of them knocked on Laudine’s door. When she came out, they put some sort of spell on her so she couldn’t move and stuck her in a car. I heard them talking. They’re taking her to WU headquarters for an inquisition.”
“I don’t know what a witches’ inquisition is, but it sounds really bad,” Cory said as she pushed her chair back.
Lionel stepped into the room behind the ogre. “Is something wrong?” he asked Macks. “I heard you running down the hall.”
“Some witches just took Laudine to the WU headquarters for an inquisition,” Cory told him. “A witch named Hagatha was accusing her of all sorts of things yesterday, and she kept bringing up my name. I think that helping me is what got Laudine in trouble. I need to go see if I can help her.”
“I’ve heard about those inquisitions, and they can be quite nasty,” Lionel told them. “I’ll go with you. Blue took the day off to study, but I think he’ll want to go as well. Witches holding an inquisition can be capable of anything. It wouldn’t hurt to have a FLEA officer along.”
“If we’re going to face a bunch of riled-up witches, I think Cran and Andrue should go, too. I’ll tell them what’s going on and get the car started,” Macks said, and hurried from the room.
“I hope Laudine is all right,” said Cory. “I’ll feel awful if anything happens to her. I made her vow that she wouldn’t tell anyone about me. I don’t think she’ll even be able to say my name when they question her.”
“If they do anything to Laudine because she helped a Cupid, they’ll have to deal with me,” said Lionel.
“And me!” Cory said, her fingers curling into fists.
Blue and the three ogres were already waiting outside when Cory and her grandfather left the house. They all piled into the car, leaving Shimmer whimpering as she peered out a downstairs window. Macks drove while Lionel and Blue gave him directions. They sped through town, avoiding the busier streets, and arrived in front of the headquarters with screeching brakes.
It was a lovely stone building with large windows set well back from the street. Trees and flowers edged the walk that led to the front door, making it look very inviting. As Cory and her grandfather started up the walk, Blue and the ogres hurried to flank them as if they were expecting trouble. They didn’t see anyone, however, until they entered the front lobby. It was a large, bright room with a stone floor and a high, vaulted ceiling decorated with shining stars. The only furniture in it were a big desk and a few uncomfortable-looking chairs. A young woman seated at the desk looked up and said, “May I help you?”
“We’re here for the inquisition,” Lionel told her.
“May I see your identification?” the witch asked.
Blue reached into his pocket and pulled out his FLEA badge. “Where is the inquisition being held?”
“I meant your witch ID,” said the young woman.
“We’re not witches,” Cory told her.
The witch picked up a wand that was lying on her desk. “Then I’m afraid I can’t let you in. You all have to leave or I’ll be forced to call security.”
Lionel held up his hand. “Do not push me, little girl,” he said as his hand started to glow.
The witch pressed a button on the desk and a panel slid back in the ceiling. With a loud squawk, two gargoyles dropped through the opening. The girl pointed the wand at the group and said, “Get them out of here.”
The gargoyles were swooping down with their claws out and their wings tucked back when Lionel’s hand became so bright that everyone had to look away. “Leave us alone and go back where you came from,” he said in a voice that had its own echo.
The gargoyles screeched and pulled up short. When they started to circle above him, Lionel raised his hand and the glow pulsed like a steady heartbeat. The pulse slammed into the gargoyles as if it were a tangible thing, hurling them back. They hit the ceiling, cracking it. Most of the stars went out. The air knocked out of them, the gargoyles fell, spreading their wings again just before they hit the floor. Shrieking, they flew back to the open panel in the ceiling and clawed their way inside.
Macks roared and slammed his fist on the desk, breaking it in two. “I’ll wreck this place if I have to,” he growled. “Stop wasting our time. Where is the inquisition?”
The young woman sat frozen, staring at Lionel.
“Don’t bother,” said Blue. “She looked in this direction when I asked where it was being held. It’s through this door.”
“That thing you did with your hand was amazing,” Cory told her grandfather as they followed Blue. “Can I do that?”
He smiled and nodded. “You can. You’ve only just begun to learn everything that you can do.”
“Then I want to learn that hand thing next,” Cory said. “Can you teach it to me tomorrow?”
Lionel laughed. “I’ll teach you whatever you want to know, but a lot of it will just come to you when you need it.”
Blue opened the door and peered inside. “Would you look at this!” he said.
The room beyond was much bigger than the foyer. It had a low ceiling and was poorly lit and gloomy. The stone floor felt damp underfoot, and the air was cold and musty as if they were entering a long-abandoned basement. Chains hung from the walls and there were grooves in the floor. Cory didn’t want to think about what they might be for.
“Is this a dungeon or what?” Cran muttered. “It looks like a room my grandfather had in his house. We used to play there when we were kids. My mother hated that room. She didn’t like anything that was so old-fashioned.”
“Shh!” Andrue whispered. “Listen!”
Cory could hear it then, a soft sound as if hundreds of voices were chanting. She turned her head, trying to locate the origin of the sound, but it seemed to be coming from everywhere.
Her grandfather touched her arm and pointed. “Over there,” he said.
One end of the room seemed to be filled with shadows. Cory and Lionel started walking in that direction, moving as quietly as they could. Once again Blue and the ogres split up to walk on either side. As they drew closer, Cory could see that the shadows were actually people wearing long robes with cowls covering their heads, standing in a circle. Cory thought they were chanting in some arcane language, but when she listened carefully she realized that they were just holding whispered conversations.
“Did you see Morticia’s hair lately? It looks as if she’s going bald.”
“I need to go grocery shopping. I hope the store is still open when we get out of here.”
“I think I’m catching a cold. I’ve had the sniffles all day.”
“How long do we have to wait for her? I have a date tonight.”
When Cory was close enough, she could see that the only person wearing ordinary clothes was a woman standing in the middle with her head hanging. It looked as if something invisible was holding her up. Suddenly, she stirred and raised her head. It was Laudine.
“She woke up,” one of the robed people said.
“It’s about time,” someone else declared. “This robe itches. When was the last time these things were washed?”
“Hagatha, you called for this inquisition,” said a high-pitched, nasal voice. “Step forward and state your case for all to hear.”
“Excuse me. Pardon me. Coming through,” Hagatha said as she made her way to the front. Laudine glared when the other witch came to stand in the circle. Ignoring her, Hagatha pushed her cowl off her head and looked around at the others. “As you all know, I was appointed to investigate Laudine Kundry’s fitness to continue on as our president. After a thorough examination of the facts, I deem her unfit and unworthy.”
“That’s no surprise!” someone standing near Cory whispered to the person beside her. “She got all her friends to ‘appoint’ her. Most of them didn’t even know what they were appointing her for.”
“What evidence do you have?” asked the nasal voice. Cory’s eyes were adjusting to the dim light, and she could finally make out the little woman who was talking.
“One of the president’s duties is to look into the unauthorized or unlicensed use of magic. I maintain that Laudine Kundry has been remiss in her duties, specifically with regard to one Corialis Feathering. This young woman is known to have made money by offering her services as a matchmaker. I studied the records and found that she is not a witch and that she never, at any time, applied for or received permission to use love potions or any other magic related to love. Although none of her old clients were available to testify against her, I have found a new client who was able to record such a transaction.”
“That isn’t possible,” Cory whispered to her grandfather. “I haven’t taken on any new clients lately.”
“Poppy Thistlethwaite, please step forward,” said Hagatha.
A figure slipped through the crowd and went to stand beside Hagatha. “Cory Feathering is a phony. I paid her good money and she promised she would make a match for me. But she didn’t. I still haven’t met my true love.”
Cory leaned toward her grandfather and whispered in his ear. “It’s all a lie. I can’t let her get away with this.”
“Let her finish first,” he whispered back.
“Do you have proof that you hired her?” asked Hagatha.
“I do,” said Poppy. She tried to stick her hand in her pocket, but the robe she was wearing got in the way. After fumbling around for a minute, she finally pulled the robe off over her head and dropped it on the floor.
“I’m taking mine off, too,” said the witch standing near Cory. “This robe is making me sweat! I don’t know why we have to wear these things.”
Cory moved out of the way as the witch pulled off her robe and bunched it into a ball, dropping it on the floor beside her purse. Now Cory could see that the witch was an older woman who was probably close to Laudine’s age. Taking their cue from her, a number of other witches removed their robes as well.
With her robe off, Poppy was able to reach into her pocket and take out a shiny black cube. Setting it on the floor, she pushed the top and stepped back. An image appeared, only slightly brighter than the room, and it wasn’t very good. Cory squinted and was able to make out the image of someone who resembled her, talking to someone who looked like Poppy.
“I’ve heard rumors that you’re a matchmaker,” said the image of Poppy. “Is it true?”
“Yes, it is,” said the image that looked something like Cory.
“If I paid you, would you make a match for me?” asked Poppy’s image.
The image that looked like Cory nodded. “Yes, as long as you pay me enough money.”
“Here,” said Poppy’s image. “Here is the money you require.”
“Then I will find you your one true love,” the Cory-like image said as it took the money.
“That so never happened!” Cory whispered to Lionel. “And you know I don’t talk like that!”
“Then you need to tell them that it’s a lie,” said her grandfather.
“Excuse me,” Cory said, slipping between the witches in front of her. “I have something to say!”
“You see!” Hagatha declared as Poppy turned off the black device. “Cory Feathering did engage in an unlawful and unsanctioned transaction.”
“I did not!” Cory announced, reaching the middle of the circle. “I’m Cory Feathering. Everything Poppy just told you and everything on that recording is a lie!”
“I am not a liar!” Poppy declared. “All of that actually happened!”
“Maybe people actually said those things, but I was not the person who looked like me! I bet you got one of your friends to do it. Or maybe you hired someone, but I never said any of that. When exactly was this supposed to have happened?”
“I don’t remember,” said Poppy.
One of the witches raised her hand in the air. “I have one of those recorders. The date you make the recording shows up on the top when you play it.”
“I’ll look,” said the witch with the high-pitched voice. “I see the date. It was seven days ago.”
“Seven days ago I was in a goblin warren getting ready for my mother’s wedding,” Cory told them. “You can ask any of the goblins who were there with me.”
The witches stirred as they looked from Cory to Poppy to Hagatha.
“I can settle this,” said the older witch who had been standing near Cory. She bent down to pick up something, then marched to the middle of the circle. Muttering to herself, she reached into her purse and took out a crystal ball. She was holding it with one hand when she took out a small white object and plugged it into the side of the ball. “Let’s see if this amplifier actually works. It had better. I paid enough for it.”
The witches near her stepped back as the older witch murmured something. A moment later a fuzzy image appeared in the ball, while a larger, projected image appeared on the ceiling.
As the image came into focus, Cory could see herself holding Shimmer. Poppy was there, eyeing the little dragon. “Tell me something,” said Poppy. “I’ve heard rumors that you’re a matchmaker. Is it true?”
“I have helped some of my friends make matches in the past,” Cory told her.
“If I paid you, would you make a match for me?” asked Poppy.
Cory shook her head. “I’m not doing that anymore.”
The image faded, then came back a moment later. This time, they were wearing different clothes and Cory wasn’t holding Shimmer.
“Word is going around that someone calling herself the ‘Little Match Girl’ is making matches between couples and the matches really work,” said Poppy. “She does it with one date and they fall in love every time. If I were looking for a match, should I go to her or you?”
“I don’t know this person, so I have no idea what her abilities might be, but I’m not taking on clients for money anymore,” said Cory. “I really can’t help you.”
“I can pay you whatever you’re asking,” Poppy told her.
“Sorry, but it isn’t a matter of payment,” Cory said.
“Uh-huh,” said Poppy. “I get it. You only help your friends!”
The image was fading when Hagatha started talking again. “The only thing those images prove is that Poppy Thistlethwaite was not a client of Cory Feathering. However, Cory herself admits that she made matches in the past for money.”
“That’s true,” said Cory.
“And do you currently make matches for people?” Hagatha asked her.
“I do,” Cory replied. “But not for money.”
“There you have it! Perhaps she didn’t help Poppy, but she is a self-proclaimed matchmaker! I maintain that her neighbor Laudine Kundry knew about this. When I questioned her weeks ago, asking if she had looked into Cory Feathering, she said that she had and that Cory was not breaking any rules. Now that we know Cory was indeed breaking the rules, we also know that Laudine was either inept, a poor judge of the situation, or that Cory Feathering bought her off. Laudine even took Miss Feathering to the witches’ trade show, which she knows full well only witches may attend. Whatever the reason, I say that Laudine Kundry should be stripped of her rights as president of Witches United. According to our rule book, she should be impeached as president, suspended from witchhood, lose her WU Today subscription, be expelled from the witches’ country club, and be subject to eternal torture, the type to be determined at some future date.”
Laudine tried to speak, but when her lips moved, nothing came out.
Cory glanced at her grandfather and mouthed the words, “I’m sorry. I have to do this.”
Lionel nodded and mouthed, “I know. It’s all right.”
Cory took a step forward and said, “Laudine Kundry is not guilty of any of the things you’ve accused her of doing. She did investigate me, but when she learned the truth, I made her take a vow that she would never reveal my secret.”
“Why would she agree to that?” demanded Hagatha.
“Because of what I am,” said Cory. Closing her eyes, she thought, Wings! They were there an instant later, glowing and iridescent. Every witch in the room gasped.
Cory thought about love then. She thought about Blue and how happy she felt when he was around. She thought about the pride that had shown on his face when she played “Lily Rose” at the Battle of the Bands. She remembered how much fun it had been to run the obstacle course together. And she remembered the joy on Quince’s and Micah’s faces when the judge pronounced them man and wife, and the way Wilburton Deeds looked whenever he was near Delphinium.
Even before Cory opened her eyes, the rosy glow behind her eyelids told her that she had banished the dark. When she looked around, she saw that her glow had reached to every corner of the room, even erasing the shadows. It was only when she looked down that she realized she was suspended six feet above the floor, and that she was holding her bow in one hand and her quiver in the other. The witches were silent as they gazed up at her with their mouths open. She almost laughed when she saw the awed expressions on the ogres’ faces. Although Lionel looked both pleased and proud, the only thing she saw on Blue’s face was love. It was more than enough.
“I am Corialis Feathering and I am Cupid!” she said in a voice that didn’t sound quite like her own. “Your rules and regulations about love do not apply to me!”
“She’s a demigod!” one of the witches cried; the words were taken up all around the room.
Cory turned to Laudine and their eyes met. “I release you from your solemn promise,” she told her friend.
The glow that surrounded Cory suddenly grew brighter. Laudine staggered and her hair blew back from her face as if wind had touched her for an instant. As Cory settled to the floor, the rosy glow faded, but the room still didn’t seem nearly as dark as before.
“I declare that Laudine Kundry is innocent of all charges,” the older witch announced. “She is still our president and I hope will continue to be for a very long time!”
“I love your wings and your bow!” a young witch gushed.
Cory glanced behind her. “Oh, I forgot,” she said, and thought, Wings! Bow!
Her wings, bow, and quiver all disappeared in an instant, making the witches around her gasp.
“Thank you so much, Cory!” said Laudine. “I couldn’t refute anything because I couldn’t tell them about you.”
“I know, and I’m sorry that I put you in that position,” Cory told her.
“And I’m sorry you had to tell them your secret,” said Laudine. “I hope it doesn’t make things harder for you.”
“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Cory confessed, but even as she said it, a vision started to form. To her surprise, she saw Daisy and a slightly older man in a strange uniform. Perhaps she did know what was going to happen after all.