by Jaclyn Weist
Ethan nodded. “I get it.” He picked me up and flew across the swamp.
I had to close my eyes as we darted past some scaly dragon-like creatures. One leaped out of the water and snapped at my feet. I yelped and pulled my legs up to my chest.
“Why didn’t you use your luck?” Ethan asked.
“I wasn’t expecting it. I wasn’t holding any of my luck at the time.” Lame excuse. I’d been trained to be ready. Plus, luck was always on my side. Or, well, it was supposed to be. A lot of the time, I was annoyed by it. “Um, can you fly a little higher?
“You have to hold on to it?” Ethan asked, surprised. He soared up before continuing on.
“Um, sometimes.” I mentally told myself to be quiet. This guy could totally be my enemy, and I couldn’t afford to let him know how my luck worked.
“Interesting. Don’t let the fairy queen know that. And always be on your guard. If you have luck to spare, hold on to it. You’re not in your world anymore. Threats are at every corner.”
“Like you?” It came out before I could stop it.
Ethan frowned. “Well, I guess that’s true. Except I’m helping right now. I can’t be that bad, right?”
“Unless you’re planning to eat me later.” My laugh turned into a shriek when he almost dropped me.
“I don’t eat people.” He set me down a little harder on the ground than he needed to, but then, I probably deserved it.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. It was a joke.” I missed Jared’s sense of humor. He totally would’ve laughed.
Ethan walked in silence for a few minutes. “I forgot about jokes. It’s kind of hard to laugh when your job is to destroy people’s lives.”
“I can imagine.” I stopped and looked around. “Where are all the fairies?”
Ethan blushed. “They, um, don’t come around me. They’re afraid of me because of those they protect. Your guardians were doing a wonderful job until I came up to talk to you this morning.”
“Wow. Glad I trusted them to watch over me.” I wiped my forehead. It was hot in this part of the land. I needed to get back under the trees. I would’ve loved some more of the water the fairies had given me the night before.
“Really, they did well. They kept imps and brownies and a few others away.”
“Ugh. Well, I’m glad for that. I already had one imp after me. I don’t need more.” I slapped my arm to smash a bug. The “bug” was actually a fairy, and she huffed and flew away. “Sorry!”
Ethan dropped on the ground, laughing. “What did I tell you? This isn’t your world anymore. Don’t attempt to smash anything, or they’ll be back to shove acorns up your nose or tie your shoes together.”
“Uh, yeah. Thanks for the warning.” I continued on my way. Judging by the tall trees in the distance, we were about a mile from the forest, and I wanted to get there quickly. I broke into a jog, and Ethan followed behind in his shadowy form.
The trees offered cool shade when we finally reached them. I stopped and rested before continuing on. How big was this world, anyway? Ethan moved ahead of me, insisting he was just doing it to keep the bad things away. I had no idea where I was going anyway, so it didn’t bother me. The only thing I didn’t like was that the forest was silent. He seemed to scare the creatures away as we traveled through.
“How much farther do we have to go?” I asked, brushing leaves out of my hair.
“I usually fly where I need to go—or take a carriage.” He grumbled when he said that last part.
My face reddened. “Hey, I wanted out of there. You hadn’t given me any reason to stick around.”
“You really know how to make a guy—” Ethan stopped. He put a finger to his lips and stayed still.
I suddenly heard the same loud rumbling sound. “What is that?”
“It’s better if you never find out. I suggest we run for that cave right there.” He pointed and dashed toward it.
“I swear there wasn’t a cave there before.” I raced after Ethan just as a large creature crashed through the trees. Great. Fairy Land just got real.
JARED
“Get up! Get up!” a small voice cried.
Jared jumped and wiped his face. “What’s going on, Abby?” He rolled over to find Eoin staring at him. He shot straight up in bed. “What are you doing here?”
“Megan’s in trouble!” Eoin’s eyes were wide.
That woke Jared up faster than anything else could have. He climbed out of bed and pulled on his shorts, then had to try again when he got them on backward.
Eoin paced back and forth. “Her mom was taken. Megan went after her. There were toadstools.”
Jared finally finished getting dressed and put his hands on Eoin’s shoulder. “Whoa. I need you to slow way down. I don’t understand. Where’d they go, and what do toadstools have to do with it?” He pulled on the boots Megan had given him, even though it was summer. He wanted to be prepared.
Eoin took a deep breath and told Jared everything that had happened since he and Megan had arrived at the airport in Scotland.
By the time he was done, it was Jared who was pacing. He grabbed his phone and texted Beth to get over to Mrs. Lincoln’s immediately, and that he would meet her over there. He just hoped the women had figured out a way to help Megan.
He suddenly stopped. He couldn’t go anywhere with his mom feeling how she did. He’d heard her being sick all night. If she knew he was going to fight again, it would probably stress her out. But it was Megan. He couldn’t just let her face the fairy world on her own.
“Listen, do you know where Mrs—er, Beatrice Lincoln lives?” Jared figured Eoin would know her better by her fairy name and not by her library name.
Eoin thought for a moment before nodding. “Yes. Why?”
“There are a couple of other fairies there right now.” Jared crawled under his bed and pulled his sword from where it hid by his wall. His parents had wanted him to get rid of it, but he wasn’t about give it up. “Can you take this with you?”
Eoin took the sword. “It should be light enough. Anything else?”
Jared looked around his room. “Oh, wait. Yes. Well, no. I can take this. Why don’t you head over there now, and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Okay.” Eoin snapped his fingers and disappeared.
Jared climbed back under the bed and found his chain mail that had been made with leprechaun gold. He slipped it on and put his T-shirt on over it. Okay, he was ready.
He ran down to the kitchen to grab one of his mom’s old picnic baskets from the pantry. He packed a few sandwiches and drinks before grabbing some bandages. Then he grabbed some emergency blankets from the family emergency kit.
“What are you up to, Jared?” his mom asked from the door of the kitchen. There were rings under her eyes, and she pulled her robe around her.
“I’m going on a picnic.”
“You need bandages and blankets for a picnic?” She walked over and sifted through the basket.
“You never know what could happen out there.”
His mom sighed. “I think there’s more you’re not telling me, but I’m not even going to ask. I don’t want to know. Just … be careful, please.” She kissed his cheek and winced as she turned and headed back into her room.
He couldn’t do it. He set the basket down and walked into his mom’s room. “Do you need any help?”
His mom pulled the blankets up. “No, I’m fine. Go have fun. I can call your dad if I need anything, and your grandma will be taking Abby for the day.”
“I’m … not going. I’ll stay.” He sat down in the small chair in her room.
She rubbed her eyes and sighed. “I thought all this adventuring stuff would be over with Megan gone. Obviously, I was wrong.”
Jared sighed. “That’s the problem. Her mom was taken, and Megan followed her. But she has nothing to fight with.”
His mom gasped. “That’s terrible.”
“I know. And I only have one chance to get to
help her out, and it’s tonight. But if you want me to stay—”
“Go.”
Jared stared at her in shock. “What?”
“Go help them. I’ll be fine.” His mom smiled weakly.
Jared stood. “You’re sure? Dad would be ticked if he knew what I was doing.”
“I’ll deal with him. Just come back in one piece.”
“I will. Bye, Mom.” He kissed her on the cheek. “Get feeling better.”
Jared drove to Mrs. Lincoln’s house and left his stuff in the truck. Beth’s old Honda Civic sat in the driveway leaking some kind of fluid. He’d have to remember to tell her about it. But after the abuse it had been through because of Megan, it wouldn’t be long before she’d need a new car anyway.
Eoin stood on the doorstep. “Here’s your sword.”
“Thanks.” Jared ran it out to his truck, then headed back to the house.
Mrs. Lincoln opened the door before Jared had time to knock. “Come on in. We were just discussing plans.” She led him to the kitchen table, where Biddy, Tenanye, Rhoslyn, and Megan’s grandma sat studying a map.
“What’s this?” He leaned forward to read the map, but none of the locations were in English.
Tenyanye patted the map. “This is the map of the fairy world. It’s massive. We’re trying to figure out how to get you and Megan back together to stop Queen Oona. We worry that Megan will be unable to defend herself.”
Jared laughed. “Have you met Megan? She’s got her own skills, and she’s pretty awesome with her power and her blade.”
Mrs. Crenshaw frowned. “She’s very powerful, and that’s exactly why we need to preserve her life. Oona wants her luck.”
“Doesn’t everyone?” Jared muttered. “So where’s the portal from Phantom Falls?”
Biddy pointed to a spot to the southwest. “This is where you’ll come out.” She pointed to a spot they’d marked farther into the center. “This is where the queen is right now. She’s heading this way. From what Eoin was saying, Megan is over here.” She pointed to the far side of the map.
“Oh, great. So how do we find her?” Beth asked. “And what’s this water? Is that a lake?”
“No, that’s a marsh. She’ll have to find her way around that if she wants to get to the queen. Now, I’m guessing her mom is with the queen. If not, she’s with the leprechauns the queen has kidnapped. We just have to find out why the queen is doing this.”
“Because she’s evil?” Jared asked. His blood boiled just sitting there. He wanted to help.
“Well, that, but there’s some other reason.”
“Eoin, are you sure you can find her?” Mrs. Lincoln asked.
Eoin nodded. “Should I go now?”
“Yes, please tell her to be careful. Figure out what’s going on and see if she needs anything. Did you find her sword?” Tenanye asked.
Eoin shook his head. “No. I couldn’t get into her house without permission first. Maddie and Adam are the only ones who can see me, and they haven’t been around. I think Adam took the twins to a movie to give his dad a break.”
“Wait, you’re sending the sword with Eoin? Isn’t that a long jump?” Jared asked. Megan’s luggage had already ended up on the bottom of the ocean. They didn’t need her sword to end up there as well.
Eoin shook his head. “I can travel as far as I want through the fairy world.”
“Why didn’t you do that with Megan before?” Beth asked.
“Hey, I’m five months old. Give me a break. I just discovered the fairy world thing this morning.”
“Good point.” Beth stood and grabbed her backpack. “I’m ready to go. So, Jared and I are heading to Phantom Falls, and we’ll meet you all there.”
The women looked at each other. Rhoslyn turned back to Beth. “We can’t go. We haven’t been there for years, and it’s very difficult to get back in. We’ll be here directing the celebrations. You can use your mirror to contact us.”
“Great. We can totally do this. Ready, Jared?” Beth acted tough, but Jared could tell she was panicking. He could potentially lose a girlfriend, but Beth and Megan had been friends since they were little.
“Does it need to be dark?” he asked.
“Yes. Well, not totally dark. Sunset is when the portal will start to open, but only a few creatures come out then. Midnight is when the real party begins. You will have until the sun starts to rise in the morning to come back out. Do you understand? If you don’t get out this way, you’ll have to find another way out, and no one knows when those portals will open again.”
“Got it.” Jared walked outside with Beth and Eoin. It was still barely noon by that time. They had until sunset to figure something out. “Beth, why don’t we take your car home and we’ll take my truck? There’s no way yours will make it to the parking lot at the falls anyway.”
Beth shook her head. “I can’t just disappear or Mom and Dad will panic. I’m not supposed to be going on any more adventures. I promised that the night of graduation. Here it is, three weeks later, and I’m already breaking that promise.”
“That makes it even more fun.” Jared climbed in his truck. “Let’s do this.”
They stopped by the grocery store to grab some more herbs for Beth’s weapons, and then headed toward Oakley. They’d reach the falls early, but this way, they could be ready to go in as soon as the portal opened.
JARED
The drive up to Phantom Falls was a lot different in the summer than it had been in the winter. They didn’t have to worry about icy roads, and in the daytime, they were able to see the reservoir as they drove past. They stopped to get a picture of the hieroglyphs on the way up, and still had several hours to spare by the time they reached the parking lot.
Jared grabbed the basket from the back of his truck. “I hope we have everything we need. I had to pack fast.”
Beth laughed. “You brought a picnic basket? That’s going to be hard to fight with.”
“Fighting happens later. For now, I just want a sandwich. Besides, we don’t know when Megan ate last.”
“Fair enough.” Beth grabbed her bag and her bow. “Mom would’ve flipped if she’d seen me take this out of the shed. She wanted to sell it.”
“It’s like they don’t think teenagers should have weapons or something.” Jared laughed. He pulled his sword out and buckled it around his waist, surprised at how much he’d missed carrying it. He’d had to fight hard to earn it.
They headed up the path. They took it slow and enjoyed the views of the green hillside around them. Watercress covered large areas of the stream that flowed along the trail.
When they came to the spot where the dragon had landed the last time they were there, they stopped. The hill was covered in grass and had a great view of the area, so they sat down to eat their lunch. There was no evidence of the battle that had taken place a few months before.
Jared shuddered at the memory of Megan wrestling with the grey man before they were able to throw him through the portal. He looked over at Beth, who was starting toward the falls.
“That night was crazy, wasn’t it?”
Beth nodded. “Yeah. I can’t believe I’m walking back into that whole mess.” She paused. “But oddly enough, I missed it. Not being tied up by mermaids, but the fighting was exhilarating.”
Jared smiled. “Yeah, I’ve missed it too. Did Megan tell you she fought a mermaid?”
“Seriously? She has all the fun.” Beth shivered. “Okay, maybe not fun. But still more exciting than sitting at home.”
“I have to agree.” He laughed, and then they both went silent. Jared ran over the plans in his head. One thing was bugging him, though.
“Hey, Eoin?” Jared called out. He hoped the small leprechaun would hear him, but it was no use. “August?”
The fairy appeared. “Yes?”
“Do we know if Eoin has found Adam yet?”
The fairy nodded. “Adam took the twins home to his dad, and grabbed weapons. He’ll be heading to where
Megan is as soon as Eoin gets back. His dad wanted to come, but Adam convinced him to stay home.”
Jared could’ve hugged the fairy. “That’s great. But how will they know where Megan is? And how is Adam getting there?”
“We are keeping watch on her. We are close enough now that Eoin should be able to take Adam straight to Megan.”
“Wait—should?” Beth’s eyes widened.
“Well, he’s young. But he wants to try.” The look of disgust on August’s face told Jared what he thought about the idea.
“Why not us? I could help—”
August cut him off. “No, we need you here. If there’s a way to intercept the fairy queen, we need to find it. Look, April has not been found, and I don’t like it. Stay safe. We’ll get back to you as soon as we can.”
“Thank you.” Jared looked up at the sky. It was still plenty light. “If you see July or April, can you send them here?”
“Of course.” August bowed slightly and disappeared.
Jared turned to Beth. “I’m going to keep going. I want to see what we’re up against when we get to the waterfall. It was a little dark when we were here last.”
“That’s probably a good idea.” Beth gathered up her stuff and followed Jared the rest of the way.
They walked around the bend to hear the low roar of the falls. There was still a frozen glacier below the falls, but it was much smaller than the one Beth had been tied to by the mermaids. There was a chill to the air because the sun didn’t shine into the archway behind the falls.
“I don’t get why they even hold the celebration here. It’s too small to have many people, and it’s cold.” Jared scanned the area.
“You can party anywhere, I think. I’m going back to where we ate. I’m cold. You can explore, or whatever, but I’m going to try to get a nap before we have to leave.” Beth left, leaving Jared alone with the falls.