I just stared at him.
“That’s a no,” he said with a heavy sigh. “Well, that was my only idea.” He clapped his hands together. “Who’s hungry?”
Leoni shoved him.
“Fine, let’s keep brainstorming.”
“Too bad the pixies can’t help with their magic,” Leoni said. “Their dust is powerful.”
Driscoll gasped. “That’s it. Bloody earth, how did we not think of this before?” He looked at Leoni, who was frowning at him. “Pixie dust. Penn used pixie dust to break the curse keeping Liliath’s father stuck in that mirror. Pixie dust can undo dark magic.”
I didn’t understand half of what Driscoll had just said, but I heard one part loud and clear: pixie dust had powerful properties.
“So we get the pixies to sprinkle some of their dust over Bellamy’s brothers and poof, they’re back.”
That sounded wonderful.
Leoni’s frown had grown deeper, and my heart sank. “But Bellamy had a specific vision of knitting these sweaters to free her brothers. Plus, every time the pixies use their dust, some of their life gets drained away. Once they’ve used all their dust, they die. Asking a pixie for dust is a huge request.” Driscoll opened his mouth to speak, and Leoni held up a hand. “Also, we don’t even know where Bellamy’s brothers are. They’re scattered all over this island, and we’d have to find them, which we can’t do because we don’t have our shadows. We have to stay here unless we want to die.”
It was well-known that you were bound to the place your shadow was taken. If you left, your life slowly drained away until you either returned or got reunited with your shadow.
“You’re a real buzzkill,” Driscoll said.
Leoni was right. I’d seen what I needed to do. The pixie dust might work, but it wasn’t the path I was meant to take. I focused my attention back on the horizon.
“Forget the pixies. The shadows are always there.”I pointed to the tree line in the distance, red eyes peeking out from the dark.
“And they’ll keep you from escaping if you go near them,” Driscoll murmured. “Might even hurt you. Or deliver you to their master...”
So far, all Driscoll had done was restate my problems without giving me any solutions.
“So what am I supposed to do?”I asked, a pit of despair opening up inside of me.
“Okay, I have a crazy idea,” Leoni said slowly. “Once the stars are out, you’ll have your powers, right?”
I nodded, unsure where he was going with this.“But Kairoth—Spirit Shadow will be awake by then.”
“She’s right,” Driscoll said. “He’ll know if she’s sneaking out and using her magic against his shadows.”
Leoni held up a finger. “Unless we distract him and give her a chance to escape.”
“Who is we?” Driscoll planted his hands on his hips and faced Leoni. “Am I included in that ‘we’?”
“What do you think?” Leoni asked.
“How are you going to distract him?”I asked.
“Am I included in that ‘you’?” Driscoll asked. “Because I have not agreed to anything yet.” He glared at Leoni. “Are you crazy? He is a spirit. He might have a soft spot for Bellamy, probably because she’s almost as scary as him. But he’s not going to give us the same treatment, especially if we trick him in his own castle.”
Leoni rolled her eyes. “We’re Bellamy’s friends. He’s clearly taken an interest in her, so I highly doubt he’ll hurt us.”
“And how are we supposed to distract him, exactly?” Driscoll asked.
Leoni turned toward me. “You know him the best. So what do you think? What would distract him?”
Me,I thought, but I didn’t say that out loud.
“Maybe if he thought I was in danger... or doing something else I’m not supposed to be doing.”My gaze trailed to the tall towers of the east wing behind them.
