Page 57 of Mending Mayhem
Miles held up his hands. “What kind of boots did he pick?”
“Ostrich. Does anyone have a spare grand lying around?”
“Oh, those are expensive. Leather would be cheaper,” Miles said. “But ‘Boyd’ wouldn’t wear cheap.”
“Even if he would, we can’t get leather.” I glanced over my shoulder and found George enticing Mayhem with a case of gold watches. “Just the clothes, Boyd. I’ll get you a watch for Christmas.”
Ash scrunched her face. “Why can’t you get leather?”
I lowered my voice. “Because George is something, and he insists Mayhem needs ostrich boots and a whole outfit to match. And I would like to throttle him for telling me to shoo.”
She opened the van door. “We’ll come inside. I might have room on my credit card, and if not, I say this is a for the greater good moment.”
“You’re right. It is for the greater good. Screw George—if that’s really even his name. Come inside and do your mind thing so we can get this shitshow on the road.” I ended the call and returned to the counter, taking Mayhem’s hand to stop him from trying on a silver bracelet shaped like the ouroboros.
“You didn’t tell me your lovely wife’s name.” George drummed his fingertips together, and I could have sworn faint sparks of magic danced between them.
“You can call me Elenore,” I said before Mayhem could tell him my real name.
According to lore, the fae could gain control of a person if they knew their real name. Obviously, that was bogus or the scouts and soldiers would’ve been demanding our names every chance they got. But the phrase a named thing is a tamed thing existed for a reason. Some kind of being had that power, and I didn’t care to find out if our shopkeeper was that kind.
“Hmm.” George narrowed his eyes at me before opening the bracelet and holding it toward Mayhem. “Try it on. It’s yours, free of charge.”
“No.” I grabbed Mayhem’s arm, yanking him away from the counter. “Change into your normal clothes. We’ll buy the boots elsewhere.”
He reached for the bag, but it disappeared from the counter before he could grab it. George slapped the bracelet on his wrist. The snake writhed, slithering in a circle and chomping on its own tail.
“Ha! I’ve got you!” George bounced on his toes, clapping like an imbecile. “Two witches for the price of one.”
Mayhem blinked and shook his head as if coming out of a daze. He pulled on the bracelet, trying to unlatch it, but the snake bit its tail harder. His eyes widened as he turned to me. “Run.”
I bolted for the door.
“Stop,” George said, and I froze, unable to move forward.
I strained against the magic, but an invisible force field stopped me from reaching the exit. I could move backward, deeper into the store, but it would take one hell of an unraveling spell to break through this kind of magic.
The bell above the door chimed as Ash and Chaos stepped through. Her brow furrowed, and she looked from left to right, standing on her toes to see over the racks.
I stood right in front of her, but she couldn’t see me.
“Ember?” she called, and my heart plopped into my stomach.
“Emberrrr…” My name dripped from George’s tongue as a blanket of magic wrapped around me.
A named thing is a tamed thing…
19
MAYHEM
The ouroboros encircling my wrist was a trap. I could see that now, too little, too late. The being who called himself George had tricked me from the moment I stepped into the store. He had fooled Ember at first, as well, but she’d begun seeing through his charade…also too late.
I gripped the bracelet and pulled with all my might, but the harder I tried to remove it, the tighter it became. “What is this?”
A maniacal laugh emanated from George’s throat. “Witch leash. I don’t need your real name. You’ll come when I call and do what I say. Such is the way for those who can’t pay.”
He waved his arm, inviting my brother and his witch into our plane. Ash gasped, pressing a hand to her chest.