informational plaque.”
I nodded. That seemed easy enough to find.
Elle shoved a final pancake in her mouth and then gestured behind Mara, into her house. “Can I stock up on weapons? I used all my throwing knifes.”
Mara nodded and stood to the side.
Bashur barked and Mara shushed him. “I’ll let you out later.”
I grinned. “Does he want to go for a walk?”
The second I said the word “walk,” the giant dog began to spin in circles, yipping and panting heavily.
Mara chuckled. “Well, now you have to take him!”
“We’d love to.”
“Sure you don’t mind? He’ll drag you halfway across the city.”
I nodded. “I’m sure.”
“I’ll grab his leash.” She ventured into the house, leaving me to rub behind Bashur’s ear.
Ten minutes later, Elle was armed to the teeth and Bashur was on his leash, raring to go.
“Alright, see you in…” She checked her watch. “An hour.” Then she waved to us before shutting the door.
I looked at Elle, opening the door again, and gasped when I saw the long hallway of an apartment building and not Mara’s apartment.
“Okay, that’s seriously cool,” I told Elle and Bashur. She nodded her agreement as Bashur yanked on the leash and started to run for the elevator. I had found a key for the apartment in a dish on the entry table, so after locking up, we took the elevator down to the bottom floor.
“Hang on. Let me do an illusion to make Bashur look like a chihuahua. Some buildings don’t allow giant dogs.” Elle threw some magic over Bashur and I nodded.
“Good thinking.”
She’d been listening in our Earth Studies classes.
With Bashur fully illusioned, we strutted out into the lobby, passing a doorman. He was slouched in a chair staring at his phone. He looked about twenty-five years old, with short cropped black hair and dark skin. As we passed, he did a double take when he saw me and set-down his phone. “Are you Violet’s daughter in 3B?”
My heart pinched at the sound of my mom’s name and I nodded. The guy grinned, pulling out one headphone. “You look just like your mom. You girls living here now?” He was clearly feeling chatty and I didn’t want to be rude.
I bobbed my head, but was unsure how to explain our current living situation.
“Off and on between here and Milan. We’re models.” Elle put a hand on her hip, tilting her chin up.
The dude gave a slow grin. “I can see that. Yeah. Cool.”
Bashur barked, tugging at the leash and the dude reeled back. “Damn, little homeboy has some lungs on him.” He looked down at Bashur’s feet. “Don’t you, cutie pie?”
Elle and I grinned. Chihuahua illusion worked. “Yep, he’s excited for his walk. Hey, it was nice to meet you…?”
“Derek, I’m from Brooklyn, but anything you need, just ask.”
“Cool. Thanks!” I yelled as Bashur yanked me towards the door and we all headed out into the bustling city. We took a right and I peered up at the street. Madison and 79th. I’d memorized the map of Central Park my mom had on the counter. Our apartment was right at the entrance of Central Park, and maps were something my photographic memory took well to.
Elle looked back at our apartment. “This place probably costs five grand a month.”
I frowned. “I wonder where my mom got the normie money from.”
Elle shrugged, that’s obvious. “It’s gotta be illusioned.”
That felt wrong, but then again, if they never knew it was counterfeit … it was still in circulation and wouldn’t really matter, right?
There were so many people around, all walking head down and fast paced. I’d never seen so many people in one place in my life. The entirety of Faerie’s population was probably in one city block. It was loud and overwhelming. I’d been out to Earth as part of our training, but I’d never been to New York City. We pumped our legs, letting Bashur weave us in and out of the people. It was just a short walk to the entrance of the park, and then we went through an archway. One second we were in a concrete jungle and the next I was surrounded by rolling green hills and thick trees. My little Fae soul relaxed a little among the nature and I got my bearings, comparing it to the map in my head. We continued on 79th past Turtle pond, keeping our eyes peeled for the garden Mara spoke about.
“Should you try connecting with the Earth?” Elle whispered.
I could take off my boots and put