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“Hades forbid!”
“She will join us for cake tomorrow!”
“Circe loves birthday cake!”
“You’re turning sixteen!”
“Sixteen!”
“We will all eat cake if the stars are not right!”
Nanny changed the subject. “Darling, there’s something else you should know. Not all the stand-in charges are real. Some of them are merely projections, like ghosts. They are trickier than the stand-in charges, because they are based on real people from history. Sometimes they are from the future and sometimes they’re from the past.…”
But Maleficent wasn’t listening.
“What is it, dear? What has you so distracted?” Nanny asked.
“Diablo—he never came back after I sent him out earlier today.…” Maleficent said. She had been enjoying the company of Nanny and the odd sisters so much she had almost forgotten about Diablo.
“To spy on us, you mean?” the odd sisters asked. “Oh, we saw him. He’s a good pet, my dear, but he needs to practice his spying skills a bit more before you send him off on such errands.” The sisters laughed some more.
“I’m sure he’s fine, little one. Just taking the opportunity to fly about,” Ruby said, cackling.
“Our cat, Pflanze, does the same,” Martha said, laughing even harder. “Oh, she doesn’t fly, mind you! She slinks, she slinks and slinks and slinks away! She’s beastly, sometimes staying out for days at a time, never bothering to tell us where she’s going or where she’s been!”
Lucinda agreed with her sisters. “I wouldn’t worry about it, dear. I’m sure your little devil is fine.”
Nanny put her hand on Maleficent’s and smiled. “I know you’re enjoying our company, dear one, but you’d better get to bed. Your exam is rather early tomorrow morning.”
“Can I sleep in my tree house, in case Diablo comes back?”
Nanny nodded. “Yes, just do not to stay up all night waiting for him.”
Everyone stood to hug Maleficent.
“Good night, Maleficent!”
“Good night!”
“We love you, Maleficent! Happy birthday.”
Maleficent couldn’t remember ever being happier. She had a wonderful mother in Nanny, and now three amazing witches in her life who loved her. Her sixteenth birthday was bound to be better than she had hoped.
If only she weren’t so worried about Diablo, everything would be perfect. Everything would be all right.
As Circe and Nanny walked back to Morningstar Castle together, Nanny’s mind was still occupied by memories of Maleficent. Nanny wondered if Maleficent knew she was at Morningstar. Nanny knew Maleficent could feel the vibrations of power moving in the world. She could sense where to find a witch, but she could not discern exactly who the witch was. Still, Nanny had to wonder why Maleficent was coming to Morningstar at all. W
as she coming to see the odd sisters? Or was she coming to confront her?
“She’ll arrive soon,” Nanny told Circe as they reached the castle. They each gave a little nod to Hudson, Morningstar Castle’s head butler, as they made their way through the vestibule and into the morning room. “Why do you think she’s making the trip here?”
“I think Maleficent has come because of what happened to Ursula,” Circe said.
“Maleficent had no love for Ursula,” Nanny reminded her.
“True, but she had to have felt the great surge of power in the realms. She probably wants to know what caused it,” Circe pointed out.
Nanny thought about it. “She did warn your sisters not to trust Ursula. She’s probably here to lord it over them.”
