Once Bitten (Shadow Guild: The Rebel #1)(29)

“Come on.” Mary hopped back in the water.

I looked at Mac.

“Good luck,” she said. “If you can avoid drinking the potions, I would. If not…well, good luck.”

“I’m going to grow a beak, aren’t I?”

“You’ll wish.” She shook her head. “I think this will be a little tougher. Just try to keep your wits about you.”

“Got it.”

I strode toward the pool, watching as Mary and Coraline set up the potion pong table.

Coraline looked me up and down, studying me intensely from behind her pink mask. “I’ve hooked you up with some of my potions to make this fair.”

“Thank you.” I climbed into the water. It sparkled and bubbled against my skin. Colors swirled through it, and every time I walked through a cloud of pink or purple, the water seemed to tingle strangely.

The crowd cheered as I stepped up to the potion pong table.

A brief image of my lonely, lame flat flashed in my mind, along with the memory of how everyone in the London police force thought I was loony.

How the hell had my life changed so much?

Whatever, I was going to enjoy it.

As much as I could, at least. Mary’s smile was making me uneasy. She looked like a cat who was about to play with a mouse…in a way that punctured a few of the mouse’s vital organs.

I looked down at the red plastic cups full of potions. There were fifteen in front of me, all lined up to form a triangle. A ping-pong ball sat nestled against one of the cups, about to roll off the rocking table and into the water. I picked it up.

“I’ll let you go first,” Mary said.

“Get ready to have your ass kicked.”

Mary laughed, sounding slightly crazed.

Oh, she was definitely getting her ass kicked. I aimed my ball and threw it, holding my breath as it sailed through the air and landed in one of her cups.

She groaned and tilted her head back, then picked up the potion and drank it.

Immediately, her head shrank to half its size, and she screeched, the noise much higher pitched than it would normally be. “Coraline, you bitch!”

I laughed, and the sound drew Mary’s attention. Despite her tiny head, I could see the murder in her eyes, and it was enough to shut me up. She squinted her little eyes and tossed the ball. It sailed through the air, landing in a cup full of gleaming black liquid.

Shit.

“Drink up!” Mary shouted.

I picked up the cup and fished out the ball, then slugged the potion back. It slithered down my throat, and I nearly gagged. The taste was a combo of old shoes and gummy bears, and I was damned certain I’d never eat another gummy bear ever again.

I set the cup down and gasped, trying to get control of my gag reflex. I wanted to puke.

I began to float instead, rising slowly out of the water.

“You still have to play your turn,” Mary shouted. “If you fail, you lose!”

“Crap.” I raised the little white ball and aimed. I was up to my knees now, way too aware that my crotch was at eye level with every person in the place.

Quickly, I chucked the ball.

It bounced off the table and landed in the water.

Mary laughed like a maniac and threw her ball. It landed in one of my cups, but I was floating too far above the water to reach the cup.

“You’ve got to drink it or you’re out,” Mary called.

I tried to swim through the air, but all I managed to do was point my ass to the sky. All around, people cheered.

At least it sounded friendly.

“Don’t worry!” Mac shouted. “I’ve got you!”

She stood on the edge of the pool, holding the long handle of a pool net. I grabbed the rim of the net and used it to drag myself within reach of the cup Mary’s ball had landed in. I raised the cup to my lips and chugged it, grimacing at the sour taste.

Immediately, gravity grabbed me again, and I plunged into the water with a splash. I shot upward, kicking as hard as I could. The pool water glittered blue and bright as I swam toward the air above. It took ages to reach the surface. Finally, my head broke through, and I gasped.

All around, people stared at me.

I blinked, looking up at them.

Why was I so short? And why had it taken so long to swim through a pool that was only waist deep?

I looked down at myself, seeing only a curved chest covered in feathers.

I squawked.

Holy crap, I’d turned into a duck!

“Play your turn, new girl,” Mary shouted.

Oh, how I wanted to shit on her head. If I had to be a duck, that was the only pro I could think of to this whole situation. Instead, I honked angrily at her and awkwardly flapped my way out of the water.

It took all my concentration to fish my ball out of the cup with my beak. Flapping my wings awkwardly, I flew over and dropped the ball in Mary’s cup.

She shrieked her rage, but Coraline shouted from the sidelines. “I call it good!”

Mary groaned, then reached for the potion.

Hell, yeah. Apparently, Coraline was the referee, and she was still annoyed with Mary. I flew back to my side and watched the blonde witch drink her potion. Steam poured out of her ears, and she shrieked like a teakettle.

A few moments later, I turned back into a human, and we kept playing. The game went fast, and fortunately, I didn’t turn into any more birds. Finally, we were down to two cups. Whoever landed her ball first was going to win.