When we finally reached the squat, red-brick building that housed Mike's magic shop, Luis lay outside, eyes narrowed at the door.
I sighed, wishing he'd come in for once. When he'd figured out where we were going, he'd stopped about a block away, becoming as vocal as the dog he was pretending to be. He'd howled, wooed, and grumbled his frustration with me, clearly agreeing with Aisa that I should go anywhere but to Mike's.
It was only me finally looking heartless to others and leaving him behind that got him moving again, protesting the entire way.
My eternal beef with Luis got me glaring as I walked into the shop. I wanted to see him trust me for one. I'd stayed out of trouble for the most part. Hadn't I?
Okay, yes, I had lost my contacts. But still.
It would have been a nice birthday present for him to trust me.
I didn't understand why he hated both Aisa and Mike when he was the one who got me involved with both of them. He'd told me to stay with Aisa, that she was known to take in stray kids if they would model her sweaters.
Which I felt very stranger-dangerously about, but it turned out okay, if a bit weird.
It wasn't like we had a choice at the time.
But Luis didn't want to be a human around her, which was odd. I never knew why.
And he refused to tell me.
And, Aisa got me the job with Mike, because she didn't want to provide me any money. It was good enough that she'd given me a place to stay, in her opinion, even if it was outside, and a bit drafty sometimes.
But, no matter how much Luis hated Mike, he never stopped me from coming here, despite arguing with me about it.
It was proof enough that we needed Mike's moneyâalong with the tips I earned at Franco's Pizza.
"Mike, I'm here!" I hollered as I opened the door, the bells jingling in response. Behind me, Luis snorted, sulking like a child. He wasn't going to win this one.
The shop was dim and musty, smelling of cheap cigars. The racks of costumes were slightly askew, evidence that customers had been here recently. The dust that coated everything danced in the beams of light that slanted through the windows.
To me, it had always felt like a fairyland, even if it was rundown. Mike had become the closest thing to a father figure after Aisa "adopted" me. He taught me more about my magic, helping me harness my affinity with the dead. Before meeting him, I hadn't dared use my powers.
I passed a faded magician's box meant for sawing a lady in half and a rusty iron maiden prop. Persimmon, the ghost cat haunting the shop, blinked at me lazily from a perch on a stack of top hats.
"Mike?" I called again, squinting at the lazy cat, who yawned at me in response.
"What is it?" a heavy, New York-accented voice grumbled from the back of the shop. A wizened man, no taller than a child, shuffled into the room, scratching his stubbly chin. He held out a cherry cola to me, knowing it was my favorite, even though he despised the stuff himself.
"Thanks, Mike," I grinned, popping the top. The first sip was like Heaven. Sure, people said cherry cola tasted like carbonated cough syrup, but those people were wrong.
Mike sat down in an easy chair custom-made for his size, his feet barely touching the ground. He studied me with a furrowed brow. "Something's bothering you. Spill."
I wasn't aware my face had given me away, but Mike was usually good at reading me. "You're right," I admitted. "Today's my birthday. I just... I miss someone I'm never going to see again."
Mike didn't know the truth behind why today was significant. He didn't know I was supposed to change back into a girl today. Neither did Luis, not really. I hadn't told anyone why my mother had changed me. Even with them, I kept those parts of me hidden.
Mike's sharp gaze lingered on me. "What's with your eyes?"
My heart skipped a beat. I'd hoped my bangs were hiding them, but apparently not. I pointed at my eyes with an awkward smile. "You like them? They're new contacts."
"Sure, sure," Mike muttered, looking away. His usual gruffness faltered, and for a moment, I thought something about his expression was off. He seemed nervous, and edgy today. His right leg jittered up and down.
I fidgeted, wiping dust off a nearby top hat to distract myself from asking questions about his nervousness. He hated questions as much as I did. The movement sent a small cloud of dust into the air, making me sneeze.
"Hey, hey! Quit messing with my collection!" Mike complained, half rising from his chair. "I've been gathering that dust for years."
I laughed, shaking the dust off my hands. "Right, right. Sorry."
Then my curiosity overran my politeness.
"But seriously, Mike... what's wrong? You don't look so good."
He waved me off, but I could see itâthe dark circles under his eyes, the tremor in his hands.
"I'm fine," he grumbled, though his face told a different story. "Besides, I've got something for you. Don't move."
Mike disappeared into the back room, leaving me alone with Persimmon. After a few minutes, he returned with a handful of items, which he dumped into my lap, along with a blue backpack filled with gag gifts and magic store pranks. "Happy birthday, kid."
I blinked, glancing down at the odd collection of things he'd set aside from the jumble in the pack: an old-fashioned red flip phone, a silver hand mirror engraved with tulips, and a small silk box the color of sunshine.
"Uh, Mike? What's all this?"
"Thought you'd never ask," he said, smirking. "That flip phone? It gets a signal anywhere. Even on the moon."
I stared at him, half-expecting a punchline. But Mike had once confessed that he was a Nirumbee, a fae creature powerful enough to do things I couldn't fully comprehend.
Just like Luis, he knew right after meeting me that I was a Sidhe.
If he said he tested the phone on the moon, I believed him.
"And the mirror?" I asked, holding up the delicate, tulip-engraved frame. "It's kind of girly, don't you think?"
"Trust me, you'll need it. That mirror shows you the location of the one deepest in your heart."
I raised an eyebrow, my mind briefly wandering to Luis. "Deepest in my heart, huh?"
Mike coughed, avoiding my gaze. "You need friends, Matt. Can't have you wandering around all alone."
His words surprised me. I hadn't realized he was worried about me being isolated, but the mirror didn't exactly answer my questions. I glanced at the yellow silk box. "And this?"
Mike hesitated, his voice softer. "That's a wish. My last one."
I froze, staring at him. A wish from a Nirumbee was no small thing. "Mike... why would you give me something like that?"
He shrugged, though the tension in his face didn't fade. "Just take it. You'll need it."
"Mike, what's going on? Are you dying or something?"
Before he could answer, a hacking cough overtook him. He doubled over, and for a moment, I thought he wouldn't recover. But he waved me off again, forcing a grin. "Nah, kid. I'm just old."
"Mike..."
"Go see Franco. He needs you to make a delivery," Mike cut me off, his voice suddenly sharper.
I stood, more confused than ever. "What's going on? What have you done?"
He didn't answer, just shuffled toward the back again. "Go. We'll talk later."
As I stood by the door, Luis padded over, eyeing the bag of gifts. "Mike's hiding something," I muttered to him. "And I think I need to find out what."
Luis whined, snapping his teeth in frustration. He had always been suspicious of Mike.
"Come on," I sighed, straddling my bike. "Let's go see Franco and figure out just how much trouble I'm in."
Luis barked, his tail swishing as he trotted alongside me.
Before we got to Franco's, I spied the dress shop that held the most beautiful dress in the worldâat least, in my world.
The gauzy skirt glittered with tiny sparkles, and I imagined how it would feel against my legs, swirling around me as I spun in front of the mirror. The thought sent a small thrill through me, one I tried to stifle. If today went as promised, I'd finally buy that dress with the little nest egg I'd been saving.
I would finally be a girl again.
It was my secret gift to myself, something no one else would understand.
But there was a nagging voice in the back of my mind. What if nothing changes? What if today's just like every other birthday, and I'm left waiting again? The fear was always there, lurking beneath my hopes.
Luis barked at me, breaking me out of my thoughts. He cocked his head, watching me with that knowing look he always seemed to have.
"I want to get that for my birthday," I admitted, smiling at him despite the tension in my chest. I wasn't sure how he'd take that confession. Part of me wondered if he would think it was silly. But the truth was, the dress represented the life I could reclaim.
The life I'd lost.
Luis stood on his hind legs, pressing his paws against the glass as if inspecting the dress himself. Even though he'd been annoyed with me earlier, he gave me a doggy grin.
I wondered what he'd think of me in that dress. Would he see the person beneath the boyish disguise? Would something shift between us?
The thought made my chest tighten with longing and sadness. I'd always hoped that something would shift -- but Luis always kept me at arm's length.
In the end, it wouldn't matter.
I wouldn't be there long enough for him to see me in it.
Luis nudged me forward, his eyes on the sidewalk, and I tore my gaze from the dress. The birthday gifts from Mike weighed heavy in my bag, each one an unanswered question. But if today was my chance to start over, I wasn't going to let anything stand in my way.
Not Mike.
And not even Luis.
"Come on," I murmured. "Let's see what kind of mess we're in this time."