Muse Paisley

I'm back, but only for a couple of hours while the supervisor, Apollo, and the retired Muse breathed down my neck. Apollo was still dressed in his morning suit.

The weirdos read over my shoulder because it was obvious that I wasn't to be trusted.

I wrote that both my supervisor and Apollo could use mouthwash.

Muse Silver-Green placed on headsets and fell asleep on the cot. The old creature wasn't budging or leaving.

I walked into the booth's bathroom, washed my face, and went back inside the main recording area.

Mason's life started to be shown again. He played with his magnifying glass and tucked it into his suit pocket.

A meeting, I love meetings. You learn about the rules.

The wrinkled sack has been jotting down the table instead of sitting in the lead Muse's chair.

"You need to watch what they're doing and record it," my supervisor said.

Frank tapped the wall, and it opened, exposing a glistening screen, but a black square covered half of it.

"Frank, turn your camera and microphone on. You're doing it on purpose," Agent Lace yelled.

He typed and stuck his tongue out.

Everyone came into focus, and Lace laughed at Frank's contorted face.

"I'm in my castle and not the office," Rob said.

"Very stylish." Frank fiddled with the screen dials.

"Lace, is this your son? He is so immature for someone pushing forty," Rob said.

"I didn't give birth to a man fourteen years younger than me. That's my buddy, Frank." Agent Lace grinned and checked over the paperwork. "My son's only humor is snark, musical theater, and talking to himself because it's the only way he has an interesting conversation."

Lace, Dina, Rob, and Shanna sat in a conference room around a hardwood table and black velvet chairs. Ivy dripped through the window over the gray stone.

Rob could sweat gold. I was shocked that he was an adult when his mother died because of how immature he seemed. "Wow, even eighteen years later, Rob Salamander appears like a smug, entitled brat," I said out loud.

"I'm not entitled," Rob said.

I realized my external microphone was on and turned it off.

Agent Lace spoke. "The cult is trying to taunt us. Frank prevents any creepers from listening in."

Frank pushed a bunch of buttons, and I was partially blocked, and I worked for ten minutes to override it.

Mason's older brother, Birdie, entered the room. He appeared human except for his fairy wolf tail, which resembled Mason's. The man struggled to walk across the room. Metallic leg braces reached both of his thighs. His feathered wings were bound in a sling. "Mom, why didn't you tell me Mason was going to be involved?"

"You have been trying to get your brother a pass through the force field to visit. Birdie, you should be thankful," Agent Lace said brightly. "Surprise! It's your birthday gift."

Exasperated moans left Mason's lips, but Birdie laughed.

"I should've realized Birdie and Mason had different fathers," Rob said curtly. "I thought they were both pixies and only a little wolf."

"Did you hear that Kay's third husband left for another woman?" Lace asked. "And she really lost her hand because he was drunk and accidentally crushed her wrist. Though I believe she cut it off."

"Mom, that was private information!" Birdie said.

Shanna snorted. "I don't want Lace here. She's a gossip."

"Don't listen to Kay," Dina said. "Lace has been one of the most honorable women I know. And I'm sorry. I thought she was involved with Mother's death, but you tricked me into believing our lies."

"Unlike you, I preferred living at college," Rob said. "But how did Agent Lace's husband die?"

"We're not here to talk about Birdie's dad and the accident." Mason narrowed his eyes.

"My sisters lied. I was involved in August's death. I wasn't there." Rob Salamander spoke again. "Remember, Birdie, you might work for Kay, but your passport has been taken. What will you do, zap me to another dimension?" Rob asked.

"That is too much paperwork. I'm only here because you refused to allow Kay to step foot in your drafty castle, so the king sent me to take notes," Birdie said. "He'll arrest you if you don't comply."

"No, they sent you from her office to threaten me. I didn't pay someone to run you over, and I'll issue your passport in six months. Your grandmother better stop calling me!"

"I told you not to anger her," Agent Lace said.

"Rob, I'm merely a secretary and a magical photographer. Any camera I shoot picks up magic trace evidence." He whipped out a camera from his pocket and photographed Rob. "Now, I'm harassing you because you don't know if I'm lying or not." He kept taking photos.

Rob threw the camera against the table. Birdie removed three cameras from his briefcase.

I dictated notes, copying down the full conversations to record later.

"My son and Holbrook will come to the planet and protect you under the cover of being your new theater owners," Agent Lace said.

"Why would you work with... her?" Shanna asked. "Agent Lace despised our mother."

"Not as much as I did," Dina said.

"I didn't ask for this assignment; the boy king tasked me after Kay briefly disappeared. She won't tell him where she's been," Lace said.

Rob's lips trembled. "He probably wants to frame Shanna for our mother's death and frame Dina for being Deb-Dagger. That loser wants out of our contract. That is why the stupid king boy hired his mother to be my competition. I'll win the no-compete clause, and Kay's ex-husband will arrest the pretend king and place himself on the throne."

"Her ex married into the family, and I don't see how that could work. I'm the only full royal," Dina said.

"He purchased a title before his marriage." Rob Salamander straightened his tie. "Your ear is not as bad as I thought. You'd be hotter if you wore tighter clothes."

"Don't be rude," Mason said.

"Leave them alone." Dina slammed the door.

Birdie Even-Core took more notes and said nothing. His eyes shifted to one side, and I realized he was listening to something his Muse was saying.

"My youngest son would turn me in if they thought I murdered your mother or was Deb," Agent Lace said.

Shanna folded her arms. "Your team let members of Deb's Light in before."

"No, that was Kay and Dina," Rob snapped.

Mason scrunched his nose. "Do you think that Deb is Kay, or is she a family member of the girl who was injured at your former college? Is that why you were kicked out? The dean accused you of using cheat codes in the shuttle simulation room and injuring your top competitor. You also were fired over injuries and August's death."

"What?" Rob's face contorted. "The injuries were out of my control. It's up to the workers to provide their own safety equipment. I wasn't in charge when August had his survivable accident."

Mason glanced through his notes. "I know you had nothing to do with August's accident. Your mother was in charge. Kay was close friends with the dean of your school. She also accused Quin of stealing the company from her. The merger was legal."

"Oh, yes, Kay framed me," Rob said blankly. "She attacked my mother once."

Shanna wiped tears off her cheeks. "Stop telling me how everyone hated my mom."

Rob rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on. She didn't even raise you, and you hated her, too."

"Please, stop," Shanna said.

"Don't mind, my baby sister." Rob shuffled papers. "I won't take part in Shanna's silliness. Mom liked the idea of having children more than raising them. Dina raised her and loved the brat because no one in the corporate orphanages wanted her."

Shanna ran out of the room.

Rob didn't go after her. "Don't mind her. Shanna despised our mom. I accused her dragon prop master of being the last cultist on the planet. Your job is to check him out."

"Are all the cultists gone?" Holbrook asked.

"Except for the lone dragon, yes. There have only been a handful of dragons ever to join Deb's Light, but he has adopted family members who turned."

Holbrook glanced at the wall clock. "We have another appointment."

The screen went dark.

Frank guided Holbrook and Mason to a building titled Enchanted Fairy Gardens Resort's Learning Center.

"Holbrook, it's your show." Frank left.

Rob called again. "You better not make me look bad. I heard you are an item with Holbrook. When you come to the planet, I expect you to entertain me as well. But I am angry she is not with the men I pick."

"I'm in the room, and I date who I want," Holbrook said.

Mason glanced at the wall clock. "Okay, but we need to rescue Kay's teens from Deb-Dagger first."

"Stop telling lies. She'd never hurt those teens because we all know Kay and Deb-Dagger work together."

"Kay keeps secrets, and I'll find out what they are." Mason hung up.

The building's main lobby was filled with costumed characters from literature, including Winnie the Pooh and Sleeping Beauty.

"Let's take a selfie." The photos were evidence, but they looked like a loving couple to outsiders. They walked past classroom doors until they reached the theater class and entered.

The teenage targets were identified. Deb-Dagger strutted inside the room, but her body seemed almost translucent and shimmery. Her fairy wings fluttered with every step. She pushed her pointed glasses on her face. The siren was dressed in a scarlet-colored gown.

"Everyone, attack the impure royals with tainted blood." Deb-Dagger stood up.

The boy and girl's guards surrounded them with laser daggers drawn, firing at them.

Holbrook and Mason set their weapons on stun and fired on the attackers until they were unconscious.

Deb-Dagger lunged at Holbrook. "You hadn't learned your lesson when I forced your father to nick your ear with my dagger."

Holbrook didn't blink. "You're not a siren, just like Tolbert Allen isn't a man."