Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus Identity by Lydia Sherrer

Author:Lydia Sherrer [Sherrer, Lydia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-950267-03-3
Publisher: Chenoweth Press

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Lily woke up on her own bed, surrounded by sunlight. It seemed late in the day, but she still felt unusually tired, despite having slept in. She sat up and stretched, then pulled the covers back and put her feet on the floor. Glancing down, she was surprised to see her knee-high boots on her feet. Now that she was paying attention, she realized she wore the rest of her adventure outfit as well. Had she passed out fully dressed last night? Her clothes didn’t look wrinkled, but then they wouldn’t, being magically enchanted to resist wrinkles, stains, and odors.

Putting aside the mystery of her clothes, Lily rose and looked around. Her eyes were drawn to her bare closet door and her brow furrowed. Something was missing. Speaking of missing things...Lily turned in a circle but saw no sign of Sir Kipling. He was normally difficult to peel off her, preferring to use her as a glorified napping surface any time she was prone on her bed. Troubled by his absence, she headed to the kitchen to look for him.

“Hello, Lily.”

Lily screamed and tried to whirl to face the intruder, but stumbled over her own feet in the process and ended up spilling toward the floor instead. Strong hands caught her before she could get far, and they gripped her tightly as she struggled to get free.

“Hey! Calm down, Lily, it’s just me. Sebastian. It’s okay, you’re safe.”

Lily almost cried in relief, but quickly recovered and gave Sebastian a firm smack on the shoulder, her momentary fear fueling a healthy dose of anger. “Don’t do that to me, Sebastian! I almost had a heart attack.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Sebastian said, and he wrapped his arms around her in a warm embrace.

Caught off guard, Lily froze, and her awareness was suddenly overwhelmed by a disturbing feeling of déjà vu. Had this happened to her before? Before her brain could decide how to react, Sebastian released her and pulled back.

“How are you feeling?”

“I—I’m not sure,” Lily said faintly, staring up into Sebastian’s eyes. Something about his eyes wasn’t right, and the longer she stared at them, the more brittle Sebastian’s expression became.

“Lily, are you alright? You’re looking at me weird.” Sebastian chuckled as if he’d just made a joke, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes...

And then it hit her. The attack on the museum. Roger and his demon. Sebastian and the fae.

Sebastian.

The memory of the imposter’s inhuman screech of rage at Sir Kipling’s attack ripped into her like a serrated knife. She stumbled back as terror and adrenaline shot through her limbs.

“Lily, what’s wrong?” The thing that looked like Sebastian stepped forward, concern written all over its face.

“Stay back! You’re not Sebastian. I know you’re not. Take off that face. Take it off!” She screamed the last words, furious and brokenhearted that she should ever feel fear at the sight of someone she loved.

The imposter took another step toward her, gentle words of concern still coming out of its mouth, even as its eyes glittered darkly.

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