by J. M. Stengl
“That’s him.”
“I escorted those boys to Madame’s office,” Jeralee said, and grinned. “They told me the weird guy has a pet catfish in the lake. Seriously?”
Ellie kept her opinion to herself. “I’ll do my best to keep Tor under control,” she said. “The sirens stopped calling, so we can hope he’ll be back in his right mind.”
“Yeah, like that’s ever happened,” Kerry Jo grumbled. Her own magic was weak—she used it mainly to keep her hair neat or hide blemishes—but she never seemed envious or resentful. Many of the staff guys cherished unrequited crushes on her while she blithely played the field, but she was also kind-hearted and worked hard.
Jeralee rode on the back of Kerry Jo’s scooter, and it was agreed that Ellie would circle the island alone in search of Tor. She first escorted her friends to the beach, where they could easily see Tor’s footprints on the slope of sand. “Seems so wrong to set foot on the island,” Jeralee commented, “but what else can we do?” Kerry Jo kept her scooter in idle while Jeralee ran ashore.
“The footprints look as if he headed north, or maybe straight across,” Ellie said. “If I find him, I’ll send him back here, so be on the lookout.”
Jeralee was checking the boat’s propeller when Ellie drove off. There was no sign of the fish rescuer on the rocky cliffs at the island’s north end, so she hurried around to the west shore across the island from the beach.
She saw Tor’s colorful life vest first; he was waist-deep in the lagoon. A mermaid with long blue-black hair hovered in the shallows right in front of him. They seemed to be having a conversation, which was odd. But the siren heard Ellie’s scooter, turned to stare with wide dark eyes, then dived back into the lake and was gone. Only after she disappeared did Ellie think of speaking to her.
“Kammy!” Tor called after the siren, his voice strained. “Don’t forget!”
“Stop, Tor!’ Ellie put power into her command, and not the soothing kind.
He stopped, and the light faded from his expression. Ellie immediately felt guilty, but what else could she do? This situation was unlike anything she’d ever heard of.
“Tor, walk to the ski boat, push it into the water, and ride with the lifeguard to the docks. Once you get there, people will tell you what to do next.”
His chin lowered. For a moment Ellie feared he was fighting her, that she might have to use stronger magic to keep him under control. But then his shoulders drooped, and he walked slowly out of the water and up the beach. Ellie climbed off her scooter, hauled it above the water line, and followed him. She had to be certain her control held long enough to get him off the island. The sirens might start singing again at any moment.
But he made it back to the boat without incident. Never once looking at any of the girls, he pushed the ski boat back into the water.
“Thank you,” Kerry Jo said in her cheery way. “We couldn’t budge the thing without you.”
He slightly ducked his head but still didn’t make eye contact. Maybe the siren spell was still on him? Ellie wondered. Her own spell shouldn’t make him depressed. “Climb aboard,” she ordered. “Kerry Jo will drive the boat now.” Again he obeyed without a word or glance. Once seated in the back of the boat, he leaned forward with his head in his hands, his shoulders slumped.
The three girls exchanged looks. “Will you be all right?” Jeralee asked Kerry Jo, who shook back her hair and grinned.
“We’ll be fine, me and Fish Man. You take good care of my scooter.” She started the boat, backed it with expert skill, and carefully threaded her way between the rocks that dotted the small bay. Jeralee followed in her wake.
Ellie looked at the pristine tropical island around her and paused. Despite its beauty, something about the place sent a chill down her spine, as if hidden eyes watched her and disapproved. She deliberately turned and walked up the slope of sun-warmed white sand. A breeze brushed her face, and the nearest palm trees waved ever so slightly. Her steps sped up, and then she was sprinting back to her scooter. It started at her first try, and she gunned the engine. Once out of the lagoon, she glanced back, half expecting to see something watch her departure. The lagoon was peaceful, idyllic. The small beach was empty. Nevertheless, Ellie shuddered. The sirens’ island wasn’t evil, but neither was it friendly.
She drove around the south end of the island, near the flat-topped rock where the sirens usually sat to preen and sing. It was empty. Had Tor’s landing on their island frightened them away? She jetted away across the lake, eager to put distance between herself and the island.
As she approached the docks, she caught a flash of iridescent blue tail in the water. The little siren must have followed the boat carrying Tor. Could the strange magical being truly care for a human man?
Ellie didn’t know what might happen if a siren and a human fell in love, and she had no desire to find out. Maybe the Gamekeeper would know what to do. She needed to ask him the next time he came. She was beginning to think he needed to come soon.
The following morning at breakfast, Ellie and her friends received a summons to an emergency staff meeting. Only the human and dwarf staff members were required to attend, the brownies having no interest in such things. As entirely volunteer employees, they were free to come and go as they pleased. They never pleased to go, which worked for everyone. The hobgoblins were freeloaders, allowed to stay because it wasn’t worth the effort to send them away. Besides, Geraldo and his kin had lived at Faraway Castle for as long as anyone could remember, and no doubt much longer.
Staff meetings took place in the large lecture room next to the director’s office. The two entry doors were at the front of the room on either side of the lectern, and the rows of folding theater seats rose toward the back of the room, meaning that no one could arrive late or sneak out without being noticed by every person in the room. Madame Genevieve sat in her usual place in the front row, where she could observe and direct the proceedings.
Ellie was not at all surprised when the meeting turned out to be a discussion of the previous day’s events. Bence, the lake supervisor, gripped the lectern with both hands while he opened the meeting with a rundown of the situation. “We lost a rowboat to sirens last week, and now, not only was our most expensive boat taken out by two young men,” he said, “but safety standards seem to have been ignored. Where was the spotter? Our policy is no fewer than three people in a ski boat, at least two of them being responsible adults, and the driver a female.”
There was shuffling of feet and averted eyes among the staff, but no one spoke. Bence continued, “I understand that this week’s fine weather has greatly increased the number of guests at our lake, but safety must always come first. Our two patrollers were out on the lake, one at each end, but where were the lifeguards on shore?”
Ellie’s old friend Savannah raised her hand. “We must have been setting up for the children’s birthday party when those men took the boat. None of us saw them take it.”
Madame Genevieve suddenly rose and stepped forward, and Bence deferred to her. She took his place behind the lectern and scanned the crowd of summer workers with a grand air. “I first must inform you all that Lord Magnussen has been examined by our magical psychiatrist and found to be in good mental health. He was administered a palliative injection and will be under observation for the next few days. It need hardly be said that he is banned from the lake until further notice.”
It took Ellie a moment or two to realize that this Lord Magnussen person was Tor. What, exactly, was a palliative injection? Was it a placebo or a tranquilizer?
“It is unpardonable to suggest,” continued the director, “that a noble guest of the resort, let alone a royal guest, could be to blame for this catastrophe. If our staff members cannot take responsibility for their own actions and failures, they will not long be employed here. There were twelve people working at the lake yesterday; all of them will be fined a full day’s pay. Perhaps then we may avoid such oversights in future. And for a patroller to allow this guest
to drive a ski boat all the way to the island and run it ashore—this is beyond the pale.”
She leveled her stern gaze at Ellie. “You. Miss Calmer, did you or did you not see the ski boat pass you with a man at its wheel?”
“I did,” Ellie said.
“At what point did you realize that the driver was a man?”
“The boat was approximately three hundred feet from the island.”
“Why did you not pursue it and prevent the driver from running it ashore? You had plenty of time to do so, from all accounts.”
“I was rescuing the skier, who had been knocked down by the lake monster,” Ellie said. “He seemed to be in the most imminent danger. I thought he might be unconscious or wounded.”
“The serpent has never harmed a human,” Madame said, her manicured fingernails tapping the edge of the lectern. “Yet you decided the guest in the water was at greater risk than the male guest driving a boat directly to the island?”
“I did,” Ellie answered firmly.
Madame looked satisfied, as if she had carried an important point. “You will remain here to fill out all paperwork regarding the accident and your actions. And when you are finished, you will work today at the riding stables, not the lake. This meeting is over.”
Her chin went up a notch, and she left the room.
A troubled buzz started as soon as the door closed behind her. Several of Ellie’s friends gave her commiserating glances as they moved toward the door, and Bence stopped beside her chair to assure her that she had done everything right.
Ellie tipped her head back to meet the supervisor’s gaze. “Why does she blame me for this, Bence? I know she’s never liked me, but really?”
He folded his arms and looked grim. “You know how she does sometimes—takes a particular dislike to a female staff member, especially if a guest pays attention to the girl. It tends to build over the course of a summer and then boom, the girl gets fired. It’s happened more than once during my years here. You’ve been here a long time, so I doubt she would fire you, but I recommend you lay low for a while and let her attention and anger shift to someone else.”
“How can I do that and still get my work done?” Ellie asked.
Bence shook his head and said, “That’s a tough one.” Which answer was no help at all.
Ellie spent the rest of the morning filling out paperwork about the accident and her actions, wondering how any of it could be useful. If the guests were never at fault even when they broke the rules, how could a staff member ever be right? She wasn’t seriously worried, since the Gamekeeper had long ago made clear that Ellie worked directly under his authority.
But Madame could certainly make her life more difficult.
Ellie ate a quick lunch in the staff dining hall with Jeralee and Rosa, who both ranted quietly about her public reprimand. But the situation was too painful and puzzling for her to discuss easily. “You two are the best,” she said sincerely as she rose to carry her tray to the counter. “I really do appreciate your support.”
Rosa nodded. “We understand. When and if you’re ready to talk about it, we’ll be here.”
“She won’t dare fire you, Ellie,” Jeralee repeated for at least the third time. “You work for the Gamekeeper.”
Ellie tried to smile. “Hope you’re right. See you later. I’ve got to report at the stables.”
At least, she thought while taking a shortcut through the garden, she enjoyed working with horses, though she wasn’t much of a rider. The three dwarfs and two brownies who ran the stables were her old friends, so this “punishment” assignment should be enjoyable.
A few hours of shoveling manure and toting carts of muck outside to dump on a compost heap gave Ellie plenty of time to think. Perhaps a few days of stable work involving no contact with Prince Omar would allow Madame’s displeasure to fasten on someone else. One could hope.
She enjoyed listening while Cog the stable manager, Tea, his wife, and their son, Kai, discussed the arrival of new foals. Horses shifted in their box stalls, and through the open barn door she could see others grazing peacefully at pasture. A sense of deep contentment pushed worry from her heart.
Then a message came from the castle: Six hunters were required for a cross-country outing in thirty minutes.
The dwarfs hopped to work, and Ellie scrambled to help groom and saddle the horses. Like most animals, horses responded well to her soothing magic, so she enjoyed renewing her acquaintance with a sweet chestnut mare called Solvig and a handsome bay gelding known as Dustin.
Just as Kai led out the sixth horse, the riding party arrived, four men and two ladies, all dressed in fine riding attire and safety helmets. Ellie scanned them with little interest until a face caught her eye. Prince Omar looked particularly classy in buff breeches, a black polo shirt, and a glossy pair of riding boots. And on either side of him, Raquel and the Honorable Gillian in chic, snug-fitting jackets, jodhpurs, and boots.
Suddenly short of breath, her stomach aching, Ellie ducked behind the horse closest to the stable, hoping to slip inside unnoticed. But just when she reached the doorway, a familiar voice said quietly, “May I have some help over here?”
She slowly turned. The others were all mounting up, but Omar stood beside the tall gray, his expression somewhere between respectful and hopeful. “I seem to have a problem with the bridle.”
“Of course.” She hadn’t tacked up this horse, but she still might be useful. When she approached, Omar handed her the reins, put his hand on the bridle’s cheek strap as if he were showing her something, then leaned close and said, “I hear you’re in trouble about yesterday. Is there any way I can fix it? You were in no way at fault.”
She shook her head. “Bence says I need to keep my head down for a while. Which means not socializing with guests. I thought you would be at the lake today.”
His expression made her knees melt. “I was, but you weren’t there,” he said. “So now I’m here, and today is no longer a total loss.”
“Omar!” Raquel’s sharp voice called, startling Ellie so that she jumped and had to stop herself from looking around. “Hurry up! We’re ready to ride out.”
He held Ellie’s gaze one moment longer, touched her fingers when he took back the reins, then leaped up on his horse, swung his leg over, and settled into the saddle in one continuous motion. “Sorry,” he said to the group. “Something needed fixing.”
And the entire group rode off, hoofbeats thundering nearly as erratically as Ellie’s heart. Did she welcome further attention from Omar despite the director’s warnings? Yes. Emphatically, yes.
Cog started assigning work. “Kai,” he said, “you and Ellie clean the nursery barn.”
Oh joy. More manure.
Kai was a sweet young dwarf near Ellie’s age, but he always clammed up around her. Shy, no doubt. Today she wished he were more of a talker, for shoveling out stalls occupied her body but not her mind, and her thoughts tended to run in dizzying circles. What could she do to prove her competence to Madame Genevieve? Did Omar truly care for her, or was he merely flirting? He had always seemed more studious than flirtatious, but maybe he had changed during the past year.
Within the hour, they heard a shout from outside. “Are they back already?” Ellie asked.
Kai looked puzzled. “We didn’t expect them for another hour at least.”
They laid aside their rakes and hurried outside to see the entire group enter the stable yard, several of their horses lathered and wild-eyed. The mare Solvig was riderless, while another carried two people: Gillian perched behind Omar on his horse, her arms around his waist. As Ellie hurried forward with the others to take reins and calm the agitated horses, she saw Omar jump down from his horse and reach up to help Gillian down.
Ellie felt slightly sick. Why had Gillian been sharing his horse?
The members of the riding party all seemed to talk at once. With some difficulty Ellie discerned that they had encountered something frightening. She was too busy
calming poor Solvig to hear what that something had been.
“You’re all right,” she told the mare, slowly drawing closer as the terror faded from the horse’s eyes. “You’re safe here, sweet girl, and whatever frightened you is far away now. You have a clean stall and a snack of fresh hay waiting for you in the rack.” Cautiously she reached up to stroke the mare’s sweating neck then scratched between her jawbones. When Solvig stretched her neck forward to enjoy the scratching, Ellie knew all was well. She straightened a flaxen forelock over Solvig’s pretty white blaze and let the horse bump her shoulder with a soft pink nose.
Tea spoke just behind her. “That girl was cruel to her. Look at the blood around her mouth.” She took Solvig’s reins. “Thank you for calming her. Some of the others need your help too.” The dwarfs were short, yet the horses responded better to them than to most humans, Ellie noticed. Kai had a particular connection with the great beasts.
Both Omar’s mount and Dustin seemed tired but calm enough, so she moved on to the other three horses, soothing and encouraging until all were placid and cooperative. Omar and the blond young man who’d ridden Dustin worked alongside the dwarfs to care for the horses while the other four riders stood across the stable yard. The two men conversed quietly, but the girls had no filters.
Gillian’s voice was at least an octave higher than usual as she described her ordeal. “I shan’t sleep a wink tonight, I know! The monster leaped out at us, and that horrid beast I was riding dumped me into a clump of little pine trees, and my new jodhpurs are covered in sap. Look at them! Quite ruined! Then the beast refused to let me mount again, and everyone kept shouting at me.”
“Because you were a complete idiot about handling that horse,” Raquel remarked with a wry smile, snapping her boot with her riding crop.
“I was not! It was a terrifying experience. I could have been killed! All of the horses were frantic, and I was nearly paralyzed with fright.”
“Paralyzed people don’t wail like banshees,” Raquel put in.