The Tree Shepherd's Daughter

by Gillian Summers

  Keelie quickly covered the growing tree with her skirts and looked around to see if anyone had noticed. Elianard was staring at the tip of her shoe, which was peeping out from her skirt. He looked as if he thought a grizzly bear was about to jump out from her petticoat. Or a Red Cap.

  Her alarm was going off.

  Something poked her in the back. She smelled cedar and groaned, not daring to turn around. She tapped Zeke on the arm.

  "Dad, we have a problem." She moved her skirts. His mouth dropped open as he looked at the cedar branch growing from the floor. "That's not all." She moved her shoulder to show him the branch that had sprouted from the fence.

  "How?"

  Keelie lifted her hands up in an I-don't-know-what-Idid gesture.

  Raven came over to stand beside Keelie. Her friend stared at the tree branch with a perplexed look on her face. "That's new."

  Then she motioned nonchalantly with her hand. "Listen, everyone is going to go on and on about Admin. Been here, done this. Meet me at the herb shop in about an hour. They're having a sale at the Shimmy Shack, and we can snap up the bargains before the mundanes snatch them up this weekend."

  "Cool. That'll give me time to go and check on Ariel."

  Keelie whispered to her dad. "Do you mind if I go and check on Ariel and then go with Raven to a sale at the Shimmy Shack?"

  Dad looked up from the branch, and he nodded absentmindedly. "That sounds like a good idea."

  As the two girls walked away from the deck, they could hear the next speaker's droning voice.

  "You've saved my life, Raven. I think I would have died of boredom."

  "The bodies will be thick in there. As a survivor of previous Faire meetings, let me warn you-run, do not walk, next time one is announced."

  At the mews, Keelie said goodbye to Raven, who headed toward her mother's shop to get her money. Keelie had put hers in her belt pouch that morning. Cameron was walking around with Moon on her shoulder. She'd stayed behind to monitor the repairs in progress.

  "Hey, Cameron."

  "Hi, Keelie."

  "I thought I'd let Ariel fly while I went over to the Shimmy Shack. I think she's got a boyfriend around because there's another hawk flying nearby."

  Cameron stopped and looked up. "That's not good."

  "Why not? I think it's cute."

  "Keelie, Ariel is half-blind. She cannot hunt for herself, let alone defend herself from another hawk if it attacked her."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Mate or kill. If this hawk is territorial, it's not after making friends. It'll want Ariel gone or dead. Keelie, Ariel can never be free."

  Never be free. Keelie looked at the half-blind hawk and thought of her plans to escape to California. She could take Ariel with her. She thought of the hawk living among the palm trees and malls, or her old neighborhood, where flowering shrubs were the tallest vegetation.

  She'd be miserable, just as Keelie was here. But was she? She'd made friends, she had her father, and the trees were counting on her to protect them from the dark magic. Zeke couldn't do it alone.

  When had she stopped being miserable?

  fifteen

  Confused, Keelie hurried to Janice's shop to find Raven. She could talk to Raven, who had one foot in both worlds, too.

  Knot stalked her as she walked. He snuck from tree trunk to tree trunk, then disappeared. Tarl walked down the path, arms full of stained and bedraggled fairy wings. Another Muck and Mire denizen followed with a similar load.

  Tarl grinned. "Good morrow, Keelie."

  "What are you doing with those?" Keelie had heard that the poor girl who ran the fairy wing cart was devastated because all of her stock was ruined in the storm.

  "I bought 'em all for the Muck and Mire Show. Dirt cheap."

  "Dirt cheap. I get it. Ha."

  "We can give you a part in our new show: Midsummer Night's Mud. You can be Slime Mudfairy."

  "Pass, but thanks for the invite."

  "If you ever change your mind, you know where to find us." The two squelched on down the path.

  If you liked mud, this place was heaven. The sky had darkened again, guaranteeing even more puddles and goo.

  Raven was standing in the door of the herb shop, which was partially covered with a blue tarp. She waved at Keelie. "Hey, can you give me a second? I've got to run an errand for Mom."

  "Sure." Keelie welcomed the chance to go into the fragrant shop. She spotted an orange tail dangling from a tree branch by the door, swinging back and forth like a pendulum. The rest of the psycho kitty was concealed in the leaves. She remembered the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland, whose grin was the last thing to disappear.

  It would have been a shorter book if the cat had peed in Alice's luggage.

  Keelie ignored him. Why couldn't she have a normal cat? No, wait. It wasn't her cat. He belonged to Dad. If she were to get a pet, it would be a normal animal. Of course, a wildebeest would be normal, compared to Knot.

  The herb shop door was propped open, and Keelie stepped inside. "Janice? It's me, Keelie," she called.

  She rubbed her fingers on her skirt to make them stop tingling. The shop door was made from pine. She sniffed deeply, eager for the scent and healing energy of the herbs. She coughed. The shop smelled like bleach and rotten mushrooms. The storm had destroyed the atmosphere.

  Janice appeared with a large lit candle embedded with herbs. She walked slowly so as not to disturb the flame. "What a mess, huh? We had to throw everything out, and it still smells." She placed the lit candle on a table.

  "Can I do something to help you?" Keelie asked.

  "There are more candles in the back. Bring them up, and we'll light them here."

  The back of the shop still had a roof. Plastic bags full of herbs lined shelves, and a row of china dishes held fat pillar candles. Keelie stacked three on top of each other, grabbed a box of matches that was on the table next to them, and walked back to the front room.

  Lighting the candles reminded her of her mother, who enjoyed eating by candlelight. She remembered her mother's face, glowing across the table in the golden light. She knew that Mom had a stressful day if she served dinner on the little table for two under the windchimes on the patio. The candle flames would flicker and dance, an echo of the fireflies that hovered around the flowers at the back fence.

  She wondered now if those fireflies had really been bugs. Her mother certainly would have wanted her to think so.

  Janice interrupted her thoughts. "It looks like Knot followed you. He's sitting on my back porch washing himself. What did you do to deserve such an escort?"

  Keelie hurried to the front door of the shop and glanced across the lane, but the orange tail had disappeared. "I don't know. I keep telling him he's gross, but he just purrs and purrs."

  A big smile flowed across Janice's face. "That's because you're an animal lover. I heard that you helped save Cameron's birds."

  Keelie's smile faded. "Yes. Have you heard how the guys who went to the hospital are doing?"

  "Their injuries are healing well, but they're under psychiatric observation. They told their doctors that they were chased and bitten by the Red Cap." Janice rolled her eyes.

  Keelie stopped breathing for a moment. "Were they?"

  "They had bite marks on their arms and legs." Janice sighed. "They're seasonal employees, you know. College students. They don't know any better. But I told your father earlier that this is worrisome because the Red Cap allowed itself to be seen. Those boys are so lucky to be alive."

  "You think the Red Cap was going to kill them?" Keelie remembered the evil laughter and the hands pushing her under water. It was going to kill her too, but Knot stopped it.

  "The Red Cap is very dangerous. And no one knows why it's here. Another mystery is why it came into my shop, of all places."

  "It was here?" Of course. The rotten mushrooms that Raven had shoveled out were a sure sign. "Are you guys in danger?"

  Janice bit her lip. "Raven will
be going back to school soon, and I'll be leaving, too. There's no way I can get my herbs back up or the smell out of here in the two weeks left. So I'm leaving in a few days. I have to make sure the shop is repaired and winterized before I go. But we'll see each other again. I'll be in New York, and you and your dad will be there in about three weeks." Janice's smile was maternal. Keelie stepped toward her, sinking into her embrace.

  Janice smelled of herbs and comfort, canceling the bleach and rot. A rush of warmth coursed through Keelie before guilt hit her like a cement truck. What would Janice think of her when she left? There would be no New York.

  "Hey, almost forgot. I've got something for you." She hurried to the back of the shop and returned with a cobalt blue bottle with a dropper lid.

  "Here's a tincture for your chlorophyll poisoning. Three drops in the morning whenever you feel like you've had too much tree loving."

  She had to ask something before her heart grew any bigger and shoved Mom out.

  "Janice, remember when you mentioned that your mother died when you were young? Have you forgotten her over the years?"

  Janice's bracelets jangled as she reached to touch Keelie's shoulder. "Oh, baby. No. I never, ever forgot my mother. I think about her every day. I miss her even though I'm forty-five years old. I will always be her daughter. She will always be my mother. Nobody can replace her. Just like no one can replace your mom. It takes time to heal from the pain of losing someone, but when the pain fades, the good memories stay."

  "What if I change? What if I become so different from the girl that Mom loved that she wouldn't love the new me that I become?"

  Janice brushed a curl from Keelie's forehead. "Your mother would know you if she were to walk in right now. She would love you even if you allow yourself to love your father. Even in your new garb, looking like a fairy tale princess from the Renaissance, she'd love you."

  "Would she love me even if I were to believe that magic is real, and that I can see the stick fairies? Would she love me if I can feel the spirit in a tree? Would she love me if I saw Knot wearing boots and waving a sword?"

  Janice hugged Keelie. "Oh yes, she would. She would love you just because you are her daughter. She loved your father, and you're part of your father. There is nothing you could do to stop that love."

  Those words broke the lock on the box that contained Keelie's pain. The words spilled out fast, as if she were afraid if she stopped she'd never say them. "I yelled at Mom the morning she flew away. She didn't want me to have my belly button pierced. I told her I didn't love her, that she was mean. She was late for her flight, and she said we would talk about it when she came home. She told me she loved me, but I didn't answer her."

  Janice hugged her. "Let it go, baby. Let it go. Your mother knows that you love her. Moms always know that their daughters love them, even when they argue. Understand this: if your life turns out differently from the one your mother envisioned for you, it's still your life, not hers. Don't live her life. Her gift to you, and your father's gift to you, is your own life. She would want you to be happy."

  Rubbing a tear away from her cheek, Keelie wished she was having this talk with her father. Would he understand?

  "How did you know what I'm thinking?"

  "I didn't. I guessed. My mother wanted me to be a doctor because of all of my experience with cancer. I didn't want to do the Western-medical route. I had an intuitive gift for herbs. Therefore, I followed my heart, and I am doing what my mother wanted-but my way."

  "Mom was pretty tough about school and becoming a lawyer."

  "Maybe you can find a way to blend some of what your mom wanted with what you want."

  Raven stuck her head in the door. "Ready for Shimmy shopping? Are you guys having an Oprah moment? What did I miss?"

  Keelie laughed, embarrassed, and wiped her tears away. "Not cool, am I?"

  Raven grinned. "Muck and Mire clothes are uncool. You ditched them."

  "You should see the fairy wings Tarl got for his troupe."

  "No way." Raven laughed. She put a hand to her forehead. "Let's go shopping. I've got to get that image out of my mind."

  "Keelie, you can come talk to me anytime about your mom or about anything." Janice patted her arm.

  "I think I'll be taking you up on that offer."

  Unless she was gone on Sunday.

  Exotic incense filled the air around the Shimmy Shack, and as Raven opened the door a wave of hypnotic drumbeats rolled out. Raven snapped her fingers and circled her hips as she walked into a room filled with the chatter of many voices.

  Keelie froze on the doorstep, struck by the colors that filled the room. It was like being inside a rainbow, like Aladdin's cave, like another world.

  The single open room was heated by a wood stove, making the inside toasty warm and dry. Incense filled the air, drifting up in thin plumes from burners throughout the large room. Rugs and large pillows covered the floor, occupied by girls who leafed through magazines, painted designs on each other's hands, and in general made noise.

  The space behind a richly painted screen in a corner served as a dressing room. A furry orange tail stuck out from underneath it. The pervo cat was watching people undress. She made a note not to dress around him anymore.

  The walls held pegs covered in colorful silk scarves arranged by hue. Mirrored and jeweled skirts, spangled bras, and fringed costumes were on one side of the store, while the other one held the tribal costumes in dark shades. Reds, blues, and greens accented black. A counter was stacked with henna kits for painting faces and hands.

  Keelie examined everything, fascinated.

  A tall woman with wavy, dark hair, wearing a sparkly coin-embellished top and low-slung red skirt, jingled toward them on bare feet. "Raven, your veil came in."

  "I was hoping it had." Raven followed the woman, who ducked behind a wooden counter and pulled out a folded square. Keelie watched as Raven unfurled the cloth with a flick of her wrist, then held it in the fingertips of both hands and swirled it gracefully around her body.

  "Wow." Keelie wondered how much practice it took to move so perfectly.

  "Keelie, this is Aviva. She owns this fabulous place."

  Keelie smiled, thinking a handshake somehow didn't fit the tone of this store.

  Aviva grinned at her. "So you're Heartwood's heir. I've heard good things about you, Keliel."

  "Thanks." Did everyone know her weird name? Aviva. This was the person Raven said had lost the ring. Keelie fished the silver circle from the leather pouch slung around her waist. "Is this yours?"

  Raven stared it at, eyes wide. "That's your ring."

  "It sure is." Aviva held her hand out for it. Keelie dropped it onto her palm.

  "I found it in the woods yesterday."

  "I never go into the woods." Aviva eyed her suspiciously. "You wouldn't happen to know where Zak's MP3 player is, would you?"

  "Aviva, shut up. You lost the ring in the Shire. Keelie's only been there once, the first night she was here. Whoever found it-"

  11 -stole it."

  11 -or could have dropped it in the woods."

  Aviva dropped her gaze from Raven's furious eyes. "You're right. I'm sorry, Keelie. Thanks for finding my ring.

  "Yeah, any time."

  "Hey, stop!"

  Heads turned at the yell from behind the screen. Knot had squeezed out from under it, a gold tassel in his mouth. He looked around, wild-eyed, then ran for the door, ducking through it just as it banged shut behind the newcomer, a startled woman who dropped the bundle she was carrying.

  "Knot, come back." Keelie ran to the doorway, leaping over the bundle and pushing aside the woman in her haste to catch up with the cat. She saw his orange tail above the tall grass on the other side of the path, like a flag.

  "Stop, you moron cat. That's not yours." She ran through the grass and back onto the path on the other side of the little meadow. She passed the destroyed fairy-wing cart, empty of its ruined and now-reincarnated merchandise, the archery
stand, a couple of food stands that were busy with the sounds of electric saws and the smell of cut wood, then up past the kiddie area and the smell of sheep at the petting zoo. Knot bounded ahead, the tassel flying behind him as he raced up the path.

  What was he planning to do with it? He just wanted her to chase him, stupid furball. Sir Davey stared, astonished, as they shot past, and then they went beyond the herb shop and the bookseller, and up Wood Row to the clearing.

  She knew where he was headed now. And she waved at Scott as she ran through Heartwood, trying to cut Knot off at the stairs. But he was too fast for her, and he was at the top of the outside staircase and through the kitty door before she set a foot on the second step.

  That tassel had better be in good shape, because she sure wasn't paying for it. She banged the door shut behind her and yelled for the cat.

  "You'd better give it up, klepto kitty. You've embarrassed me for the last time." She looked under her bed and behind the sofa. Not in the bathroom, nor the kitchen. A wet spot on the floor drew her eye. A pawprint. And then she saw others, headed to her dad's room. The wet ground had given him away.

  She pulled the curtain aside softly, and then screamed, "No!"

  Knot was squatting in the opened bottom drawer of her father's nightstand, about to do his worst.

  sixteen

  "Get out of there, Knot." Keelie spoke sternly, using her mother's lawyer voice. "You are so dead if you pee in Dad's drawer. And I won't be doing the killing, either."

  He blinked at her, green eyes half-closed, tassel dangling from the side of his mouth like a drooping gold cigar.

  She reached for him, and he leaped past her, dropping the tassel. She picked it up with her fingertips to avoid the drool he'd left on it.

  It seemed to be okay. She turned to close the drawer in case Knot decided to return, and stopped. A book of photographs lay on top of a white folded blanket. It looked old, but smelled familiar. So familiar that tears came to her eyes. It smelled like Mom.

  Keelie sat on the floor, resting her back against the side of her father's bed. She put the photograph book on her lap and reached for the white blanket, except that it wasn't a blanket, it was a finely crotcheted shawl. She wrapped herself in it, pulling it up around her shoulders and to her cheeks, as if Mom was hugging her again. She closed her eyes and let herself go-let herself cry for the face she'd never see again.