I left Maguire at the park with the coin to keep an eye on the family while I took the herbs to the druid’s designated dropoff point before they could dry out anymore. Nothing strange happened along the way and I came back after a quick detour to get some iced coffees. I didn’t know about Maguire, but I sure needed the pick-me-up. I got back just as the family was starting the very slow process of packing everything up to load back into their cars and head home.

  “Any problems?” I asked, handing Maguire his iced latte.

  “They’re still looking a little groggy, but it's starting to wear off and as far as I can tell everything is staying put where it's supposed to be,” he replied.

  “Good. Any signs of the fairies staying around to punk us?”

  “Not that I can tell, but that doesn’t mean much.”

  “Yeah, the ones who want revenge are probably going to take their sweet time coming after us. They can be quite persistent and easily entertained.”

  “Sounds like we are in for an interesting month.”

  “That's one way to put it.”

  “Nothing like some low stakes, first hand experience in dealing with bored little ones to spice up your spring,” Maguire said. That got me giggling, and I held up my mocha for a cheers. He tapped his cup against mine, and we both took a drink.

  “We’re even with the druids, by the way,” I commented. “They especially liked our additions.”

  If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  “Wonderful.”

  We fell into a comfortable silence as we watched the family finish packing their things into the car, the dads doing one last sweep while the moms wrangled the kids into the cars. They had no idea what nearly happened to them, though I wouldn’t be surprised if traces of it haunted their dreams for the next few months at the very least. Messing around with fairy magic always leaves a lasting impact of some sort.

  They didn't get caught up in the game, though.

  “You think maybe the rest of the society got caught up in something like a little one’s game?” Maguire asked.

  “It didn't feel like it was the little one’s, but they could’ve been caught up in some sort of game,” I replied. In the weeks following my viewing in the diviner’s glass, I’d been trying my best to put the pieces together of what exactly happened. Sure, I had a lot of details, but there was still a lot missing.

  “Yeah, I doubt the little ones would be involved in something like that. At least not directly. They do mischief, not malice.”

  “That’s true. Seeing them that close makes me think it could be something of their kin if not their kind. Something that has a connection to names and a world from before this one, maybe? I don’t know. I'm starting to get a picture but I dont think Im going to figure it out head-on. Need to start thinking around, thinking under. Try a different angle and start figuring out how to fix whatever happened. Maybe then…”

  Maguire grabbed my hand, giving my fingers a gentle squeeze. “You are amazing, Claudia, and while I have no doubt you could figure this out on your own, you don’t have to. You have friends. You have me. And we can do this.”

  “That we do,” I said, leaving my hand in his.

  We sat like that until everyone else was gone, then we got up to leave. I caught no sign of the fairies following us but I realized why the second Maguire turned on the car.

  Showers of the finest glitter exploded out of the air vents, covering us both.

  “Why did it have to be glitter?”

  “What else would it be?”