“She’s bleeding, Jess,” said Brendan. “The lounge.”
“Here, I’ll spread a blanket over it.”
I heard a rumpling sound, then Jess came into view.
Now I was certain I was delirious. Jess looked very elfin, and she had wings. She flipped a thick blanket up and let it fall onto the lounge, then straightened the corners a little.
“Set her down now, Brendan.
Brendan set me down gently on the wide lounge, being careful with my head. The blanket Jess had covered the lounge with was very soft.
“Her ear is bleeding,” Brendan’s voice rumbled. I looked up at him and saw he had tears in his eyes.
I put my hand out onto his. “Thank you for helping me. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
Brendan smiled and pulled a huge red-and-white polka dot handkerchief from his pocket, and blew his nose noisily.
“There, there, now, little miss. I’ll help thee.” Jess came up to me and delicately brushed my hair aside, trying to see my ear.
I turned my head to expose the side of my face.
“Some guy hit her on the side of the head,” said Chance. “I saw the whole thing. It knocked her to the ground.”
“Oooh, oooh,” purred Jess. She reached for a basket and withdrew a white cloth and a bottle of clear liquid. “Here now, I’m just going to wash the wound a little,” she murmured.
I took the opportunity to examine the girl.
Jess looked not much older than Chance, although there was no way to know how old she really was. She acted like Aunt Clare had when I’d gotten hurt.
The similarities ended there.
Jess was of normal height, but her skin was tinged a pale green. Her pale cream-and-pink dress looked like it had been woven from feathers or leaves. She had platinum hair much the same shade as my own, although mine was far bushier. Jess’s hair was wispy and floating around her face.
She had green eyes, and pointed ears, and wings.
She had wings!
The two transparent wings had a light green tinge to them, and they looked very much like what you’d see on a lacewing. They lay flat and loose against her back.
I looked at her face. It was a human face, for the most part. She had no insect antenna sprouting from her forehead, although I wouldn’t have been surprised if she had.
The wings were ethereal, why not the rest of her?
I felt a cool sting on my ear, and I jumped slightly.
“There, there, coooo, coooo,” she said softly, easing my tension.
Chance pulled a stool over and sat down at the end of the lounge.
“You’re going to be just fine, Holly. Jess is one of the best.” He patted my shoulder gently.
“Anyone want anything to drink?” Brendan hollered from the other side of the tree.
“Shhhhh, you’re going to startle the poor miss,” cautioned Jess.
Jess continued to work on my ear, and a little while later she had me sit up.
“There now. I’ve stopped the bleeding. Your ear was cut by the blow. Thank goodness the blood wasn’t coming from inside.” She smiled at me.
“Why was she dizzy?” Chance asked.
“I expect it was the blow to her head,” said Jess. “You need to get her to the school, Chance. Right away.”
“Term doesn’t start for another week,” Brendan said.
“Yeah, but we like to get the new students there and get them settled in first. Gives them time to get accustomed to everything,” Chance said.
Brendan shrugged.
Chance turned to me. “I think you need to rest until you can walk without falling down, Holly. You need to go with me to get your school supplies, and I can’t have you falling over every few steps.”
“She can sleep the night here, and leave in the morning,” said Jess. “You, too, Chance.”
“Oh, no. Me and Brendan will go home. We’ll come back in the morning.”
Panic filled me at this statement. I tried to sit up. “Chance ...”
Jess turned to me and pushed me back down, smoothing the blanket and patting my hand.
“I promise I’ll be back in the morning, Holly.” He looked at me. “You still have my necklace?”
I put my hand to my neck. It was still there. I nodded.
“Good. I’ll be back for it in the morning. Jess’ll take good care of you. You’re in good hands.” He picked up his backpack and turned to Brendan. “Come on.”
“I can’t stay?” Brendan said in mock horror.
“Come onnnn,” Chance grabbed his friend’s sleeve and yanked him to the door.
“Bye, Holly. See you tomorrow.”
I watched as the door shut.
Jess turned to me. “There now, they’ll be through the gate and gone now. I’ll make a thick stew. And some homemade bread. You stay right there. I’ll bring you everything.”
Chapter Seven
The Market
I slept fitfully and dreamt of Aunt Clare. At one point I half woke, my head throbbing. “Aunt Clare!” I cried out.
Jess was there in an instant, settling me back to sleep.
In the morning, she made a sweet porridge for us; we were just finishing up when we heard a knock at the door, and Chance poked his head in.
“Anyone home?”
“Come in, dear. She’s feeling much better today, aren’t you, Holly?” Jess said.
I sat up on the lounge and swung my feet to the ground. I’d already been up and down several times, and the dizziness was gone.
Chance walked into the room.
I stood up and walked to him, steady as a rock.
He beamed. “Much better, that.”
I nodded and smiled, and slung my bag over my shoulder.
“I’m ready to go.”
Jess came then, and handed me a bag. “Here’s some fresh bread, dear. And a thermos full of stew, enough to share for two.” She patted my arm. “Come visit me again soon?”
“I will,” I smiled.
“It’s lonely here, living on the edge of the forest, right up against the barrier,” Jess said.
“Thank you for taking care of her, Jess. I owe you one,” Chance said.
“Oh, posh. I was just happy to be able to meet the king’s ...”Jess stopped abruptly.
I looked. Chance had his finger to his lips. When he saw me looking, he moved his finger to his cheek.
“How does your ear feel today, Holly?”
“Still sore, but the dizziness is gone,” I said slowly, wondering what they were hiding from me.
“Well,” Chance hugged Jess. “Thank you again. I guess we’ll be off.”
“You do that, Chance.” Jess walked us to the door. “Holly, have fun at the school. You’re in for a treat. I think you’ll like it.” She winked at me.
“Thank you,” I hugged Jess, careful not to squish her wings. “I’ll always remember you,” I whispered in her ear.
We turned and left, and Chance touched the lever as we went, closing the gate.
We crouched and walked back out of the bushes into Central Park.
I looked back as I emerged from the hedge.
“That’s not really where her tree home is, is it?” I asked.
“No,” Chance said.
I was accepting every bit of magic that showed up to me, and it felt natural to do so.
I took a deep breath and looked around.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“About a half hour after dawn. Come on, let’s go.”
We walked out of the park and across the same grassy area we’d walked over the day before.
It felt like a lifetime ago.
So much had happened since that guy knocked me down.
I turned as I remember something.
“The bagels! I forgot ...”
Chance lifted a bag he was carrying. “Got ‘em right here.” He smiled.
“Oh good. Okay, Chance, where do we go now?” I asked.
“Over this way,”
he gestured.
We walked to the other side of the grassy area and into the other end of the park, then through the trees and out onto the plaza.
“Through here.” Chance led the way into an indoor mall area made entirely of bricks. “This is a very old market. This gate has been here for over a two-hundred-and-fifty years. The folk have been using it since the days of Benjamin Franklin.”
“Aunt Clare taught me about him.”
“Did she, now? I’ll bet she didn’t tell you he was one of us.” Chance smiled as he turned to open a small wooden door half hidden on the side.
He led me through to a dark passageway, about twenty feet long, which ended at another door. This door was carved with intricate symbols I did not recognize. The door handle was of the lever kind, a round bar that was pushed down to open the door.
“See here?” Chance indicated the different symbols. “These are the various marks of the fae tribes. Most of them are here. The sigil in the middle is actually a spell. No human would even see this door, let alone be able to open it.” He reached for the door latch, which looked like it was carved from bone, and turned it ten degrees down.
The door opened with a soft click, and we stepped through. With the first step, there was a small drop of an inch or two to reach the floor, and the jolt of the drop was startling without being dangerous.
I stood just beyond the doorway and looked out.
It was a huge market, and what a market it was!
The middle walk was paved in old stones, they felt rough through the thin sole of my shoe, but had clearly been worn smooth by tens of thousands of feet walking over them for many, many years.
The walkway was filled with people of all descriptions, exploring various shops on both sides of the center plaza. The buildings that housed them were made of stone with old wooden doors and thick glass storefront windows.
Ribbons of vivid pink, orange, and yellow fluttered above one doorway, beckoning shoppers in. The window alongside it displayed school colors and clothing in every color imaginable for any type of magical being. Among them was the same type of dress Jess had worn, in a brilliant shade of green.
“The ribbon shop was where my mother used to take my little sister. Every birthday and every holiday, she’d come and buy her another ribbon,” said Chance. “She must have dozens by now.”
Another window was filled with brown and green colored shirts and pants. I peered inside, and saw the whole shop was decorated like an enchanted forest, with a tree growing up the outer wall beside the door, from a hole in the paved stone. There were all types of wood boxes and toys in this shops window as well, and I could not stop looking.
I glanced at Chance and then back at the shop. “Did you buy your shirt there?” I asked.
“You bet. They have the best clothes anywhere for blending into the forest,” he said. “You’ll see when we’re on the way, but the Academy is surrounded by a beautiful, dense forest.”
“I can’t wait,” I smiled.
Chance beckoned me on.
A juggler stood in the plaza center, on a raised brick platform, somehow managing to keep a dozen eggs spinning in an arc above his head, all while balanced on stilts several feet high. His pantaloons were brightly striped with metallic greens, blues, oranges, and purples, and his face was painted in yellow and red circles.
I was captivated.
“You know, he’s been doing that here ever since I can remember,” said Chance. “Want to hear something embarrassing?”
I nodded eagerly, grinning.
“When I was nine years old, I was here with my mother and several friends and we were horsing around. …” He stopped.
“Please don’t tell me you tripped the juggler,” I said. “He’s on stilts!”
“I … um … we tripped the juggler,” Chance looked sheepish. “It was an accident!”
I laughed.
There was a shop off to the side, rising several stories high, and in its window was a platform. On this platform crouched a massive lion. An elaborately costumed circus trainer stood next to the great maned beast and held up a large hoop, and the lion jumped through the hoop to another platform, roaring loudly and making the crowd gasp.
“I can’t believe how close we are to a live lion!” I exclaimed.
“It’s very cool,” Chance admitted.
“And he’s not even on a chain or behind a fence or anything!” I said. Aunt Clare and I had snuck into the NYC zoo at least once a year, and I loved seeing the lions, but they were always so far away, behind chain link fencing …”
“I think the trainer’s got the lion really well disciplined,” said Chance. “She’s got the lion under control.”
“It’s amazing. I never realized how incredible it was to see such a thing so up close.” I stared, my jaw dropped open.
Everything was just so amazing!
A pyramid of acrobats, all dressed in lilac, stood atop one another, and at the apex of their human tower, there was a small, bright green gnome-like creature, balancing on its head. It chattered down at the crowd and giggled madly as if it were insane.
“Oh my God! Ha ha ha!” I clapped my hands in delight.
Chance leaned close to my ear. “You wouldn’t be that happy if you knew that thing was a gremlin.”
I turned to look at him. “A what?”
“A mischievous imp that loves to cause trouble,” said Chance. “My friends and I once locked one in a classroom, as a prank. It caused so much destruction we were suspended for a month, had to do community service the whole time, and our parents had to pay for the damage. I lost my allowance for a year.”
I stared at him, wide-eyed.
He nodded knowingly. “Stay away from them, if you can.”
“Whoa!”
Around the next corner there was an illusionist who held a long stick with a slick black ribbon on the end. The stick was maybe ten feet long, and the ribbon was three times that length. He twirled the stick so that the ribbon fluttered in a circle, then he threw a handful of gold glitter into the circle.
The air inside the ribbon immediately began to darken, then swirl in a smoky clockwise pattern. As the smoke began to clear, the circle of ribbon became a window onto a meadow as it was at night, even as the sun shone all around us.
The meadow was filled with fireflies and the moon shone brightly down on the meadow. I was mesmerized as I saw a great dance played out on the nighttime meadow within that ribboned circle. It was as if the ribbons had generated a portal through which we could witness a scene from a great celebration playing out.
“Chance? What is that?” I whispered.
He bent low to whisper back. “It’s a spell. Pretty cool, huh?”
“So, it’s not really a portal?” I asked, glancing at him.
He shook his head no.
I shrugged.
Pretty spectacular for an illusion.
We kept walking.
I saw a virtuoso, dressed in a fabulous dress of iridescent purple. Gold threads were woven in a corkscrew pattern, accenting her deep ebony arms and face. Her voice rang out in a tune that had us gasping with its beauty. She handed out small flowers to any who would place a coin in the basket at her feet.
I had never wished for a coin more in my life. I was entranced.
Chance nudged me. I glanced at him. He was handing me a silver coin; it had strange patterns on it, and was about the size of silver dollar.
I looked at him, questioning.
“It’s a faerie penny. Worth about fifty cents in the human world,” said Chance. He nodded to the singer. “Go on. Go put it in her basket.”
I smiled broadly, and walked over shyly, then plunked the large coin in her basket.
She bestowed the most beautiful smile on me, and for a few seconds, sang her aria just for me. She bent down and handed me a small white flower from the bunch in her hand.
I walked back to Chance, smelling the flower and feeling enchanted.
Chanc
e bent to whisper in my ear again. “That’s a snowdrop. Keep it, it’s valuable. It’s got magical properties you’ll learn about in your first-year classes.”
I glanced at him, my mouth open in surprise, then carefully tucked the little flower into a small pocket in my bag. It would be safe there.
There was a wizard in a brilliant midnight-blue robe, wearing a tall pointed hat, half-moon glasses perched on the end of his nose. His long, flowing white beard was tied with trinkets that dripped of stars and moons and glittering tendrils of a plant I could not recognize. I stared into his eyes, and he met mine with a secret wink, then continued to peruse the wares on a table outside a small shop brilliantly painted in blue and gold, where he was shopping.
I beckoned to Chance, and when he brought his head close, I motioned toward the wizard and asked, “Is that one of the fae?”
Chance grinned and answered, “Every person at this market is one of the fae. That old man is an elder; he just likes to dress in an olde fashioned manner.” He grinned at me.
I chuckled.
I saw a shop run by an enchanter, who boasted he could bespell any object, and then proceeded to make a lizard obey his command to run up his sleeve and perch atop his head. Then he took a small cup, balanced it on the palm of his hand, and said some mystical words over it. He blew, and the cup transformed into a giant moth, with a five-inch wingspan. He raised his palm, and the moth took flight and fluttered its wings, rising higher and higher until it disappeared above our heads.
“Chance,” I asked. “Is that something I can learn how to do at the school?”
“You can, as an elective,” said Chance, nodding, “But you should know he’s an illusionist, not a transfigurer. And the class to learn that sort of thing is called ‘Trickery and Sot.’ ” Chance winked.
“Ha ha ha!” I couldn’t help myself.
There was a man dressed all in dark greys and browns sitting in the window of his shop, where all manner of crystal balls and divination tools were displayed. He wore dark brown robes with runes appliqued all over them, and he held an urn, and whispered over it. A mist rose out of the urn and took shape in the form of a ghostly face, which the necromancer proceeded to ask questions of its former life. The mist dutifully answered.
Faerie Misborn Page 5