The pixie’s frenzied squeaks stopped her before she could crouch down.
“Okay, okay. No hat.”
The pixie fluttered closer on delicate pearlescent wings. She held both hands out in front of her, and upon her palms sat four silver jelly beans, giant in comparison to her minuscule size. Something about the number four jolted Elle’s memory. “Only four,” she murmured. “Because there are only supposed to be four of us here. The Godmother said we don’t need the two extras.” She looked over her shoulder at her cavorting companions. “Hey, come and look here,” she said. “There’s a pixie with jelly beans.”
“Ooh, I love jellybeans,” Astrid said, hurrying over. The others joined her a moment later.
“Do you have any more of those?” Dex asked the pixie. “There are six of us.”
The pixie shook her head.
Dex faced his friends. “Didn’t the Godmother call you guys extras? I don’t think the pixie brought jelly beans for you.”
Xander crossed his arms and leaned against Olly. “Whatever, man. I don’t even like jelly beans.”
“Kids’ candy,” Olly said, nodding in agreement before bursting out laughing again.
Elle took the four jelly beans and handed one each to Dex, Astrid and Alissa. “Cheers,” Astrid said, bumping her jelly bean against Alissa’s before popping it into her mouth. Elle placed hers between her teeth and bit down. The effect was instant. Though the woods remained misty, a fog she hadn’t been aware of cleared immediately from her mind. The trees stopped moving, and adrenaline pumped through her as she realized just how insane they’d all been acting. She chewed faster, desperate to consume whatever protection this strange silver candy provided.
“Holy stars, that was freaky,” Astrid said as she finished swallowing. “The trees were … I was dancing with them and … and their faces were … I don’t know, I thought they were funny and now they just seem insanely creepy.”
“I know,” Elle whispered, reaching for Dex’s hand. Though his expression hinted he was as disturbed as she was, his grip was sure and solid. With her heart still beating rapidly, Elle looked around. The trees were stiff and gray and spindly. No bending arms, no knots forming noses and eyes. Everything was exactly as it had been when they first entered the woods.
Well, not everything. Unfortunately, Xander and Olly were still goofing around, falling over each other as they laughed, aiming good-natured punches at the nearest tree every few moments, the way guys did when they hung out together.
Dex cursed beneath his breath. “We can’t continue the quest with them in that kind of state. They should never have come with us.”
“Ow, that’s gotta hurt,” Astrid said as Xander grazed his knuckles against the nearest tree trunk once more.
“We have to get them out of here,” Elle said. “This is what we were all warned about as children. The part from the nursery rhyme that talks about losing your mind in the Never Woods. It must be.”
“Yes, and we certainly can’t trust them to find their own way out,” Dex said, walking toward his friends. “We’ll have to help them get back to the—”
He stopped, cutting himself off as Xander and Olly turned semi-transparent before drifting away like dust on a breeze, leaving behind no trace of their presence.
“What the hell?” Dex said.
“Stars,” Elle whispered. “What just happened?”
“They’ll be fine,” a high-pitched voice said from behind them.
Elle whirled around and found the pixie still hovering in the air. “Hey, I can understand you,” she said.
“Yes, it’s the jelly beans,” the pixie answered. “They help to keep your minds from being so slow. Your brains are working fast enough now to understand me.”
“What happened to my two friends?” Dex demanded.
“They shouldn’t have come into the Never Woods,” the pixie said, shaking her head gravely. “The human requires only one fae, one vampire, and one shapeshifter as her companions.”
“But we weren’t sure about that,” Dex argued. “We didn’t know if we were being lied to about this quest, and they just wanted to help keep the rest of us safe.”
“I know,” the pixie said. “And for that reason, I sent them back to the edge of the woods before the trees’ magic could consume them completely. If they’d been stupid enough to wander in here for no good reason, I wouldn’t have bothered. But they came in as part of a quest. Their intention was noble. If they’re sensible now and remain outside the Never Woods, they’ll be fine.”
“Sensible,” Dex repeated. He groaned. “Yeah, okay, I’m doubtful about that. Though I think I can probably count on Olly being sensible enough to try to keep Xander from rushing back in here. As to whether he’s successful …”
The pixie shrugged. “It’s out of my hands now. And it’s out of yours too. You have a quest to complete.”
“So it’s … real?” Astrid asked, her voice still full of doubt.
“Of course.” The pixie turned to Elle. “You must follow the footprints.” She flitted away and stopped beside the base of a tree. As she pointed, the shape of a foot—human, or one of the other High Races—appeared on the tree trunk.
“Freaky,” Astrid murmured.
“Where will the footprints lead us to?” Elle asked.
“To the edge,” the pixie said as she zoomed back to Elle.
“Uh … okay. And then?”
“Then you will have to cross over.”
“To where?”
“To the other side of the edge.”
Alissa smacked her palm to her forehead at the same time Astrid groaned. “Why do people insist on being so cryptic?” Astrid asked. “It’s really not cool.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know what happens on the other side of the edge,” the pixie said. “I’ve never been there. All I know is that the footprints continue.”
“Okay, so after the edge, we look for more footprints,” Dex said.
“Is it dangerous?” Elle asked. “This whole journey.”
“It’s possible you might die,” the pixie replied.
“Wonderful,” Elle muttered.
“But if you help each other, everything should work out fine. We do want you to succeed, human. We just want to ensure you are worthy.”
“Right,” Elle said. “Because that’s totally fair. And don’t worry,” she added, holding her hand up as the pixie opened her tiny mouth to say something else. “I’m well aware that life isn’t fair.”
The pixie emitted a high-pitched tinkle of a laugh. “Exactly. Good fortune be with you, human.” Then she shot away through the air and disappeared.
“You’re worrying about them, aren’t you,” Elle said to Dex as they followed the footprint marks on the trees. Astrid and Alissa walked together a few paces ahead, and Elle could hear them discussing a TV show they were both addicted to. “Olly and Xander,” Elle clarified. “You guys seem close.”
“Yeah, I just know how stubborn they are,” Dex said with a sigh. “Well, Xander in particular. He’d probably come barreling straight back into the Never Woods, determined that nothing could make him lose his mind. Then again, he isn’t stupid, so hopefully that weird incident with the trees’ magic is enough to make him second-guess coming back in here.”
“And he’s not alone,” Elle pointed out. “Olly will remind him that it makes no sense for them to come after us.”
“Yeah. I hope so.”
“I take it you guys have been friends for a long time?”
Dex nodded. “My mother chose them as my companions from among the children of the noble fae families who have connections to court. They’ve been living at the palace since they were boys. I suppose we could have all hated each other—nobody wants a parent choosing their friends for them—but the three of us formed a fast friendship early on, and we’ve remained close ever since.”
“It must have been hard for them to be away from their families.”
“Not t
oo bad, actually,” Dex said. “I mean, you saw where Xander’s home was. Not too far from the palace. And Olly’s family is only a little further away. They got to see their families fairly regularly while growing up.”
“Hey, does anyone have any idea how long we’ve been in here?” Astrid asked, stopping and looking back. “I must have left my phone in my car.”
Dex slipped his hand into his jeans pocket and pulled out his phone. “It’s … Oh, never mind. Either the battery’s dead, or something in these woods is keeping it from working. I can’t switch it on.”
Astrid sighed. “My vote is for weird Never Woods magic. Wouldn’t be surprised if it messes with technology.”
“Yeah, probably,” Dex grumbled, returning his phone to his pocket.
“Can you guys see the ‘edge’ of anything yet?” Elle asked.
“Nope,” Alissa answered. “Just more trees with weird little footprints.”
“Well, we still have the whole of season three and four to discuss,” Astrid said to her as they continued forward, “so it really doesn’t bother me if we don’t reach this ‘edge’ any time soon.”
Elle rolled her eyes at that, but if she was honest with herself, she wasn’t in the greatest rush either. She was happy to walk beside Dex with her fingers laced between his and his thumb brushing absently up and down her skin. Sure, her poor heart was getting more of a workout than usual—leaping about from his mere touch—but she figured it was worth it.
“There’s so much information my brain should be processing right now,” he commented. “So many things that have happened recently. But you know what my mind keeps going back to over and over?”
“The fact that you’re no longer dying?”
He paused, then let out a brief laugh. “Well, yes, there is that. I mean, that’s huge. It’s so huge that … I don’t know, I don’t think my mind has accepted it yet. It’s been hanging over me for so long, the knowledge that I’ve been slowly dying for years and that I probably don’t have much time left, that it seems a little impossible to imagine my life without that burden.”
“Kinda like me and my freedom,” Elle said. “I’ve wanted it for so long, and it’s always been out of reach, and now that I have it, it doesn’t quite feel real yet.”
“Yes, exactly.”
“So if that’s not what you keep thinking about, then what is?”
He squeezed her hand—skip, skitter, stutter went her heart—and said, “The fact that you and I knew each other as children. It’s so weird, isn’t it? Weird in a cool way, of course, but still such a weird coincidence.”
Elle smiled and nodded. She’d told Dex everything the Godmother had explained about his nanny and her mother. “I wish I could remember it.”
“I think I was about seven, so you were probably only … three?”
“Yeah, probably. Way too young for you to have any fun playing with as a mature seven year old,” she added in a teasing tone. “You were probably far too cool to pay any attention to me.”
“No way.” Dex nudged her playfully with his elbow. “I was never too cool for you. I thought you were cute.”
She laughed. “You’re just saying that now.”
“Well, obviously I don’t mean it in the same way as I do now when I say you’re cute.” He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
Her skin warmed, but her smile soon slipped away. “I wonder what you would have thought if you knew the little girl you were hanging out with was going to end up a slave.” She peeked up at him and saw his brow furrow into a frown.
“I don’t know. I can’t remember what I knew of slavery at age seven. I know there was never a time when I thought it was okay. My first reaction when I finally understood exactly what being a slave meant was that it wasn’t right. It sounded awful, and I didn’t understand how anyone could treat another person that way.”
“Did you ever ask your father how he could treat other people that way?” Elle asked carefully.
“I … I don’t think I ever did. I think I was too scared. I knew what his views were based on the way he spoke about humans, and he wasn’t someone to be argued with, so it wasn’t a topic we discussed when I was young. But when I was older, I told him I didn’t agree with him. I was still scared—as I’ve admitted to you already—”
“—because of the blood oath,” Elle said. “I’m still really sorry about that. I thought we were joking around, and I did not mean to force the truth out of you.”
“I know, it’s fine.” He let out a long sigh. “Anyway, once this is over and you have magic, we’ll go to my father and show him. He’ll finally see that humans have just as much right as the other High Races to be free.”
Elle nodded. “Yes, definitely. Even though …”
“Even though what?”
“I don’t know. It’s just … why do humans have to have magic in order to prove they shouldn’t be slaves? Even without magic, we’re just as worthy of freedom. I wish the world could see that.”
“I know. Believe me, I agree with you completely. But if this is what it takes for my father to see that humans are equal to other High Races—so we can change things in our own country, which would hopefully lead to worldwide change—then does it matter?”
“No. I suppose it doesn’t. I guess at this point, all that matters is that humans end up free.”
“Right. And they will after this quest.” Dex gave her hand another firm squeeze. “Our country’s constitution says that all magic-blooded High Races have a right to freedom. If the Godmother’s telling the truth about this quest, then that includes humans. You all have the potential to be magic-blooded. And not just the potential. What was she saying about stardust? We’re all made up of it in some way, so we’re all magical.”
Elle nodded. “So … you think this will really make a difference? Me ending up with magic?”
“Yes, of course. My father will have to get rid of the slave charm. It will become pointless because anyone using it will be violating one of the basic rights that now also pertains to humans. He can’t let his personal feelings get in the way.”
“Those personal feelings …” Elle said carefully.
“Yes?”
“Is that what the Godmother was referring to? She hinted there was some kind of incident. Something specific that intensified his hatred of humans. Was that … I mean, you don’t have to tell me about it if you don’t want to, but … was she making that up? Or did something happen?”
Dex was quiet for a moment before answering. “Something did happen. Before that, my father actually had conflicting views on humans. I remember overhearing him talking to my mother about it. He said he wanted to agree with my grandfather, who started changing the slave laws in this country. He wanted to believe my grandfather was right. But he could never understand why humans didn’t have magic like the other High Races. It just seemed they were naturally inferior beings, so why should they have the same rights as the rest of us?”
“And then?” Elle asked, trying her best not to feel personally offended by the things Dex’s father had once said. “What pushed him over the edge?”
“My grandmother was killed. And it was humans who did it.”
“What?”
“Yeah. I don’t know if you remember that she was still alive when my father ascended the throne? She could have continued ruling after my grandfather died, but she stepped down. So she was still around when I was young.”
“Oh.” Elle frowned. “I’m not sure if I knew that.”
“She didn’t often make public appearances. Anyway, she was in one of our secure vehicles, and she had several security personnel with her, but the car was hijacked by a group of humans—quite a few of them—and she was killed.”
“Oh my goodness. I’m so sorry.”
“I think a switch flipped in my father that day. The way he’s spoken about humans ever since …” Dex shook his head. “I don’t know, it’s like he thinks they’re all heartless, wort
hless beings. He believes if he gives them an inch of freedom, they’ll swarm the palace and try to kill us all.”
“I’m sure that protest at the Moonlight Masquerade didn’t help.”
“No. Not at all.”
“And you really think that showing him humans are magic-blooded beings as well will make a difference?”
“It’ll have to. The law is the law. Now that we know what we know, it means humans already have the right to be free. Everyone else will see that, even if my father is still blinded by his personal feelings. Maybe he’ll go crazy and try to re-word the Bill of Rights, but the National Council can’t possibly side with him on something like this. They won’t. This will work, Elle. This is going to change the world.”
“Change the world,” she repeated with a smile. “I like that. I think you’re—Oh, sorry.” She stopped abruptly before almost walking into Astrid. “Everything okay?” she asked.
“Stars above,” Astrid murmured, her gaze focused upward.
“What?” Dex asked.
“I just realized something. There are things—tiny creatures—inside those orbs. Please tell me you see that too and I’m not going crazy again.”
Elle turned to the nearest orb as it floated by. It appeared there was something inside. She stood on tiptoe to get a closer look. It was a tiny person, one of the High Races—impossible to tell which one, since the being was so small—on his knees inside the orb. He gripped his hair with his tiny hands, his eyes squeezed closed and his face contorted into what looked like an expression of anguish.
“That is the creepiest thing I’ve ever seen,” Alissa whispered. “And I’ve seen a lot.”
Elle looked around, her eyes focusing on another orb. It was eerie to know that they weren’t alone after all. That dozens of miniature people were floating above them. She wondered if they’d been listening. Had they heard all the things she and Dex had spoken about? And how did they all get here? A thought occurred to her as another tiny, weeping person floated by. “I wonder if these are all the people who’ve wandered into the Never Woods, lost their minds, and never left.”
CITY OF WISHES: 5: The Starlight Quest Page 4