FAIRY
Lucy feels the link connect to her. Like a rope attached to her back, it slowly starts to pull on her.
Oh no! That must be Mara. She can’t go back yet. Not before Ceri takes off this horrible collar. A spell falls from her lips but is changed into scrambled words. Ceri glances back, but she’s distracted as they have just entered Mab’s summer palace. The beauty and elegance of the place is overwhelming. Its walls have an otherworldly glow, a human would still recognize it as a castle as it has towers and different levels. Yet, it is more naturally shaped and has a slight insect-like feel to it. Maybe, also because there are so many creatures, big and small, moving around on three dimensions. Fairies are not only on the ground but also flying in and out of the towers on the little scooter things that Ceri and Lucy tried in the beehive. There doesn’t seem to be a specific plan. Despite that, she never saw an accident. Apparently, there is a method to the madness. Ceri steers Lucy through the crowds up into the palace. The growing feeling of urgency to get this over with propels her forward. Lucy tries quietly to disconnect herself from the spell, pulling it, rubbing, nothing works. For the thousandth time, Ceri practices what she will say to Tara when she’s home. This is all too disturbing. The spell on Lucy is strengthening, and it slows her pace.
‘What are you doing?’ Ceri pulls her arm to keep up.
‘Well, you can’t expect me to rush to see Mab.’
‘Better get it over with; it has taken long enough.’
Inside herself, Lucy smiles. Her little seed of truth is taking hold. If she only had more time to nurture it, she’s sure she can manage to persuade Ceri to take off the collar.
Their journey is coming to an end. They stand in front of the grand doors of the throne room. The vines and trees that form the door are still alive. Chirping little birds fly to and from their nests. It’s a marvel to see. Ceri takes a deep breath and uses a short spell to open the doors to step inside. The room falls quiet. Mab sits on her flower throne. A gigantic red poppy is bending down giving the appearance of a massive crown above her head. Mab herself is dressed in a matching red dress that is flowing in union with her throne. All the other fairies present are wearing brightly colored clothes also, but none of them has a speck of red that amplifies the significance of the Fairy in the center. They all stop and stare at her and Lucy. Lucy twists and turns in the hope of ridding herself of the spell as she feels the bond getting so strong it’s hard to resist it any longer.
‘Queen of Fairy, I’m delivering to you Lucy Lockwood as requested.’ Ceri swings her arm as a reveal toward Lucy and turns to face her. Right then, a rift opens and within a second, Lucy is pulled through and the rupture snaps shut. Mab had jumped up and moved next to Ceri, feeling an intrusion, but even her quick Fairy reflexes weren’t fast enough to hold Lucy. Her eyes burn like hot coals. Ceri takes a step away from her.
‘I…What happened?!’ Ceri is in shock. This can’t be happening.
‘You have let someone take her back to earth!’ Mab’s words sting like angry bees. Ceri rubs her arms. ‘I had nothing to do with this.’
As Mab’s hot anger hits the room in scorching waves, the flowers and leaves wither and crumble. The fairies in the room brace themselves for Mab’s retaliation. Lucky for them, her main focus is on Ceri right now. The place goes from hot and steamy to icy cold in a second. Mab’s long finger trails from Ceri’s temple down to her chin. With her razor-sharp nail, she makes a small nick. ‘You failed me.’ A tiny drop of blood falls from Ceri’s chin, it freezes before it hits the ground and makes a deafening noise when it explodes into a million tiny pieces on the ground.
‘Please, let me go home.’
‘You’re never going home.’ This chills the blood in Ceri’s veins, she falls to her knees.
‘I beg you. Let me see my children.’
Mab is unmoved. Nobody crosses the Fairy Queen and can hope to get away with it. Ceri is crying now, and her tears flow down her face, mixing with the little drops of blood and falling to the ground as little icicles. The steady noise of her frozen tears breaking echoes through the chamber.
‘I need to go home.’
‘Stop whining. It’s time to shed those human shortcomings and become who you really are.’
Mab strides back toward her now frozen solid wilted flower throne. Somehow, this is way more appropriate. There is nothing nice about this fairy. Ceri’s resistance is bubbling up. She needs to go home, see her family, and confront Tara about this nonsense.
‘I don’t believe you. Seamus is my father. You must have eavesdropped and you are trying to use Lucy’s lies against me.’
Mab turns toward her with the most terrifying smile. ‘I recognized you the moment you set foot in Fairy.’
‘It’s a lie!’ Ceri dried her tears and decided not to go down without a fight.
‘Everyone with Fairy blood is connected to its Queen. There is no hiding.’
‘I don’t believe it.’ She stands up straight.
‘Let me prove it to you.’ Mab raises her hands in front of her, and the other fairies back off as much as they can without leaving the room. Her fingers start twirling as if she plays an imaginary instrument. The power in the room builds; it’s different from before; it is as if Mab calls the powers from the things around her. The essence of Fairy. When it hits Ceri, something inside her unfurls. It connects and grows with the power. Her insides are turned outside as a giant tree sprouts from her. It is her. There is no more Ceri; there is only a sparkling giant tree. Ceri is becoming something different, something ancient, and it hurts, it hurts bad. She’s forced to transform, against her will.
‘Now you see.’ Mab’s voice is all around. ‘Remember who’s Queen.’ With that, she closes her hands and thrusts them outward toward the tree. The tree explodes into a million twinkles and the twinkles twirl and gather and slowly rebuild Ceri in her human form. Slumped on the ground, physically and emotionally wrung out. There is no denying it now. Mab had called out her Fairy side. No words can describe how she feels right now. She doesn’t understand it and yet she understands everything at the same time. She lets her tears flow freely with no idea how to move forward from here. Mab wanders back over to her and can’t hide her contempt.
‘Now it’s time for you to meet your real father.’
PART 3
Ten of Pentacles ‘Home’
‘Home is not a place… It’s a feeling.’
—Unknown
FAIRY
When Ceri wakes up, she’s lying in a meadow. The sun shines on her face, and hesitantly, she opens her eyes, and all she can see is a bright blue sky. For a moment, she thinks she’s back on earth lying in the Madigan’s home garden staring up at the sky, and this has all been a bad dream. Then one of the whale-like creatures swims by and the aches in her body force her back to her new reality. It’s so hard to grasp. She’s part fairy; her whole life has been a lie. Lucy had told the truth. Whatever Mab had done, it makes her body hurt in places she never thought imaginable. It’s probably a good idea to lie here for a little while longer. The sadness inside her wells up and the tears start flowing. They run down the side of her face and fall on the ground beneath her. It is as if she can feel each tear being soaked up by the earth and touching a seed under the ground, which immediately starts to grow. Pretty soon her face is surrounded by white flowers in the form of weeping faces. They start to rub against her face, trying to comfort her. Strangely soothing, it stems the thousand questions running through her head. The implications for her life. The life of her children! Is she immortal? That’s a scary thought. As a witch, she had been at peace with the cycle of life. To live forever is such a terrifying idea. And to outlive her children is unimaginable. Tara had no right to keep this from her.
This meadow communicates with her. It helps her calm down. It reacts to her and she can sense all the living things around her. When she concentrates on it, it quiets her train of thought, just what she needs. It’s all too much to thin
k about now. Better to explore her new fairy-ness. Centering herself, she follows the feeling of the meadow and is shocked when her power caresses another fairy. She snaps upright and looks around; ten feet away from her sits a fairy on the ground. He looks very old and the living things around him seem to have crawled up and around him, making him part of it all.
‘You truly are my daughter.’ A raspy voice comes from the Old Fairy.
Her first instinct is to argue, but she swallows her words. This might be her chance to get some answers. Very carefully, she gets up. Although she will be sore for a while, she can move around okay. A hand, which looks more like the branch of a tree, motions her closer.
‘I won’t bite.’ He gestures for her to sit with him. Slowly, she lowers herself down, opposite him.
‘Who are you?’
‘Felaern, the Keeper of the Land, your father.’
‘What does that mean?’ Ceri decides to ignore the father part for now. ‘You look old. Aren’t fairies supposed to be immortal?’
Pain crosses his face. ‘That’s the price for having you. Mab took away my immortality. I’m over 2000 years old, and age is catching up fast.’
‘She can do that?!’ She’s shocked.
‘We don’t have much time. I’m dying. You were supposed to grow up here and you would have grown into this. We would have had centuries.’
‘What are you talking about?!’ An ominous feeling starts to grow inside her.
‘Mab is not the only powerful Fairy, but being Queen does give you additional powers. Our family is one of the oldest families in the Fairy court. We’ve been the Keeper of the Land since the dawn of time.’
‘What does that have to do with me?’
‘You’re my only child; when I die it will be your responsibility to continue our duties.’
Ceri wants to jump up, but a boney hand holds her down. Still very strong for a dying man.
‘Let me go. I don’t want this.’
‘I’m truly sorry.’ He says while he unfurls his other hand, which holds a ring with an unknown stone in it. It’s huge and it seems to be alive. Colors are swirling around inside, briefly taking the form of a tree, a creature, and a meadow; it constantly morphs from one into the next. It’s mesmerizing and frightening at the same time. Ceri starts to pull on her hand, but the Fairy is too strong for her. The moment paralyzes her; no spell comes to mind. Before she can think of anything else, Felaern slides the ring on her middle finger. Miniscule tentacles flow from the ring and intertwine with her essence. The ring becomes part of her hand. Ceri screams! For lack of a better word, she feels herself becoming part of the land of Fairy. If she thought Mab had ripped her apart, she was mistaken. Every particle of her body explodes and knits back together. When at last she is whole again, she turns to Felaern and finds him gone. He has passed away and is returning to the earth. Gently, it is enveloping him and welcoming him back. Again, Ceri screams at the top of her lungs. This is too much. Finally, she could get some answers, and all she has now is more questions and a terrifying ring that is now part of her hand.
‘Calm down, woman.’ Mab puts a calming hand on Ceri’s shoulder. ‘He’s gone. Welcome home, Ceridwen Madigan, from the House of Finvarra, Keeper of the Land.’ Ceri shakes off her hand and tries to lash out at Mab. With one little twirl of her finger, Mab stops her. ‘You might have more powers now, but I’m still your Queen.’ Ceri’s eyes shoot daggers.
‘Very soon, you’ll realize that I can no longer keep you here. So, I free you of your obligations, I’ve got what I wanted.’
‘I will never come back!’ replies Ceri, defiant.
Mab throws her head back and laughs. ‘Oh, my dear girl. You can leave and travel all you want, but you will not be able to stay away long, you are part of the Land of Fairy now.’
With a mocking bow, Mab disappears.
NEW ORLEANS
Tara startles awake. Something has happened, something significant enough to wake her up and it is not good. The sun is already high in the sky. She must have been exhausted to have slept so late. While throwing back the sheets and swinging her legs out of bed, she throws out her witch sense, to see if she can get an idea what is giving her this horrible feeling.
‘Did you feel anything?’ She asks Seamus, who only looks puzzled. ‘I guess not. Do you still have your witch sense on the other side? Can you do magic?’ Tara shakes her head. ‘I know. I know you can’t answer me.’ Seamus reaches for her and she walks over, so his canvas hand can caress her face. Even though it’s not the real thing, she needs any form of comfort she can get right now. Her witch instinct is in overdrive. Better get dressed and see if there’s any news downstairs. While she walks past her altar, she grabs the ten of swords. It’s time to get rid of this depressing card. Quickly, she shuffles the cards and lets her left-hand wander above them before she picks a new one. The ten of pentacles, another ending of a cycle. Two doves make a nest on a wedding cake. Home. Generally, a nice card, happy family time together except for the emotions that have woken her. It indicates the opposite. Is her home threatened? Her family? For a moment, she’s tempted to put it back and try a new card. But she knows better. There is no fooling the cards. Resigned, she puts it on her altar and gets dressed.
Maeve stands in front of her father’s cheerful pink shotgun house in the Bywater. The unhappy task of filling her dad in befalls her. Her brother Fin always manages to evade these responsibilities, and Bridget can’t handle her father ever since she learned he had left their mother for a younger woman, a woman their age. Disturbing as that is, Maeve believes her dad is actually a lot happier with Lillian. If it wasn’t for her loyalty to her mom, she reluctantly admits, she actually likes the woman. Her hand goes up to knock on the door when it’s pulled open and Jax is staring up at her. He’s three years old. His raven black hair and piercing eyes gives you the feeling you’re staring into an old soul. Not something you would expect from such a young child. When he sees Maeve, his face transforms from serious to delight, and he jumps forward and hugs her tight. They’re very fond of each other.
‘Hi, Handsome. Is your dad home?’
Without a word, he grabs her hand and pulls her toward the kitchen. His mother has a full-time job at a law firm, and their Dad, as a professor, has cut his hours and takes care of Jax most days. Steve is delighted to see Maeve and jumps up to hug her as well.
‘What a pleasant surprise. Please. Sit. Do you want coffee? Something to eat? Did you have breakfast?’
Maeve slides onto one of the bar stools and looks at her dad while he rummages around the kitchen. Her love for cooking is definitely from his side of the family. There is always something to eat in his house.
‘Do I smell your famous breakfast burrito?’ inquires Maeve.
‘I have two left.’ He pulls a plate from the fridge and offers one.
Maeve gladly grabs it and starts to nibble on it while she tries to find the words to tell her dad about the Tarot Deck. ‘Steve, Dad, I’m here to warn you actually. Something has happened in the family that also touches you.’
‘What has Luna done now?!’ The irritation unmistakable in his voice.
‘It has actually nothing to do with Mom, but with Gran, and Granddad.’
Steve throws his arms in the air in a fatalistic gesture.
‘Why don’t you sit down,’ urges Maeve.
Steve plops down in a chair and pulls Jax onto his lap.
‘Seamus had created a Magical Tarot Deck before he died. It depicts the whole family. Twenty-two cards, of which one is yours. However, he died before he and Gran got a chance to try it out, and for several years, it has been tucked away in Tara’s room. Now…to make a long story short, Tara has a twin that has resurfaced and she’s not very nice. Her grandson has stolen the Deck and started to use it—the cards, when used, come to life.’
‘Wow, slow down. Come to life?! What do you mean?’ Steve raises a skeptical brow.
‘The person disappears from the here and no
w and resurfaces as the card image. I know it sounds crazy, but I’ve seen it happen. It’s freaky and dangerous. So, you can’t go out alone and—’
‘Wait a minute. This is madness. One reason I left your mother was to get away from that witch business, and now you tell me it still affects me?’ He’s pulling Jax even tighter to him, as if to protect him from this nonsense.
UTAH
Lucy is disheveled and looks furious about being rescued. Mara is taken aback. She thought her grandmother would be so proud of her having managed to grab her from Fairy. The moment she pulled Lucy through the portal, a stream of jumbled words fell from her lips. Had her Grandma gone crazy? Lucy pulls and pulls on the collar around her neck, but nothing happens.
‘Grandma?! What’s wrong?’ Mara tries to touch her to calm her down. With an angry shake, Lucy backs up and goes hunting for a knife. The Athame from her altar should do the job. She rushes to the mirror in her adjacent bathroom. Very carefully, she slides the Athame between her neck and the collar. When she tries to cut it, nothing happens. Impatiently, she tries again and cuts into her throat.
‘Stop it!’ Mara grabs the knife. ‘Tell me what’s going on?!’
Lucy turns on Mara letting the blood soak into her clothes.
‘You want to know what’s wrong?’ Lucy pulls on the collar. The room seems to suffocate her, or maybe it’s her anxiety, not being able to take the collar off. ‘This is what’s wrong with me. It’s a magical collar.’
‘What does it do?’
For a moment Lucy pauses, weighing the implications of telling her granddaughter her magic is blocked. Whether she likes it or not, she’s going to need an ally. ‘This collar prevents me from using magic. When I cast a spell, it jumbles the words and renders it useless. And as it turns out, it also works here. Not just in Fairy.’
‘Oh my God!’ Mara inspects the collar around her neck. ‘There must be something we can do.’
The Magical Tarot Deck Page 8