by Jill Nojack
Lizbet lingered at the coach's office door after PE class. Since she was feeling confident and strong that day, she might as well say to Mrs. Armstrong what she'd wanted to say to her the first day of school.
"Moore, you waiting for me for a reason?" the teacher said as she passed Lizbet in the hall and continued in to her office. She tossed volleyball into a large wire container as she walked past it on the way to her desk, "If you are, better take a seat."
Lizbet followed her into the office but stood next to the chair instead of sitting. This kept her at eye level with the woman who was eyeballing her back while sitting on the edge of her sturdy metal desk. "I just wanted to tell you that it isn't right I can't run with the team. I didn't grow an extra set of legs or get super strength. I've just got wings—useless ones, too. Mostly, they just get in the way. They are definitely not going to make me a better athlete. There's no reason I shouldn't be allowed on the team."
Lizbet kept eye contact with Mrs. Armstrong. The teacher's tough expression softened a little as she did.
"Moore, I didn't make the rule. I didn't even say I like the rule. I've got a nephew in California who never learned how to swim, but since Fae Day he dives right in at the beach and stays under water for hours at a time. The gills he grows when he hits the water really help. So, I get it. But I also wouldn't let him compete on the swim team. It wouldn't be fair to the other kids."
"That's kind of different, isn't it?"
"Truthfully, I don't know. Can you really say for sure that there's nothing about you that won't affect your running abilities, even things you don't know about yet? According to my sister, Jared keeps finding out new things about himself every day."
"No, I can't say for sure...but I'm really going to miss being on the team."
The teacher looked thoughtful for a moment. "Okay, kid...here’s what I can do. No one said you couldn't work out with us. You can compete with us during practice and be water girl at the meets. Would that help?"
"Mrs. Armstrong, thank you! That would help. I wish I could participate all the way, but being able to compete during practice will be great, if that’s the only way I can be on the team."
"Sure—it'll probably help a couple of your team-mates if they've got somebody else at their level to go up against. Might even give us a stronger team. And if anyone on the school board has a problem with it, I don't think they're going to be able to come up with any good reason you can't participate as a non-competitor."
As Lizbet walked to her next class, she not only felt like she'd won a worthwhile victory, she felt pretty grown-up about it. Two days ago, she'd gone off like a scolded puppy with its tail tucked between its legs when the coach told her she couldn't be on the team. Today, she'd faced down what had been hurting her, and she realized her teacher probably hadn't even meant to make her feel so bad. She thought that if she could get back that level of confidence all the time, things would definitely be a few more steps toward normal. Even the headaches seemed to stay away when she was acting like the old Lizbet, the wingless Lizbet.
"Hey runt," Lizbet called out when she heard Bobby's voice as he entered from the garage with Mom.
"Hi Lizzie-tizzie," her brother called back.
Lizbet walked over to hug him as he entered the kitchen, and he pulled back just the slightest before he stopped himself, smiled, put his arms around her neck, and hugged her tight.
"Dad says I can't go flying with you, so don't try to make me."
"I wasn't thinking of taking off right this minute anyway." Lizbet got him in a gentle headlock and rubbed the top of his head with her knuckles. "How about noogies? Are noogies okay?"
Bobby shouted, "Stop, stop! Mom! Make her stop," but he was laughing, and Lizbet loved hearing it. Maybe things really were going to go back to normal.
She let her brother go, and he bounced over to the sliding glass door to the backyard, then turned back to her, "Hey, the gnomes are all coming back now, too. I'm glad, because Daddy wanted to have Mr. Ross take them away. I wouldn't like it if anybody hurt the gnomes. That just wouldn't be right." Then he was out the door, laughing, as a group of gnomes ran up to him, begging him to play.
As she watched her children roughhouse, Sheila realized that this could be any day like it had been before Fae Day. Inside her, something relaxed that had been full of fear for too long. Lizbet was acting like her old self, and Bobby seemed none the worse for wear after two days listening to his father's anti-fae talk.
Steve had tried to convince her that Bobby shouldn't be exposed to Lizbet until Lizbet gave up magic. Sheila wasn't having it. She'd bundled up Bobby's things and then sent him to the car, telling him she'd be out in just a minute. She watched him all the way there, making sure that he was safe as he crossed the small parking lot, and then she let Steve have it.
"Don't ever, and I mean ever talk about our daughter that way around our son. Lizbet didn't choose to be half-fae, and although I don't like that she lied to us to help the fae, I think what she did to save them was brave and honorable. She has more guts and strength of conviction than anyone I know. And don't try to convince the little boy who worships her that she is anything less than a fantastic big sister, do you understand me?"
"Sheila, magic is dangerous. You've seen it yourself."
"I haven't seen anything of the kind. The gnomes aren't any more dangerous to have in the garden than the deer or the rabbits or the neighbor's cats. They're just not as appealing visually as the wildlife. But Bobby has fun with them, and I have never once seen them be too rough with him. If anything, they seem to be keeping an eye on him to protect him."
"Yeah? What about pixies? And ghouls? And dragons? What about them?"
"You could also say a lot of negative things about coyotes, bears, and rats, but I don't hear you telling your son to stay away from your daughter because she's a mammal."
"Sheila..."
"No, Steve. I have just one last thing to say....I know you love your son. I also know you love your daughter. If you want to lose both of them, then keep going the way you're going. But if you want to keep them, then you need to take a very close look at the way you've been behaving. I would never tell your children to avoid you, you know that, but your kids...they're smart. They'll pay attention to what you do and say and make up their own minds about you. You better make sure you're not telling them you can't accept them for who they are."
"Again this week, lass? I'm quite the popular laddie," Eamon said as Tanji made her way toward him up the hill where he stood watch over the herd.
"Maybe you could try coming into town once in a while."
"Perhaps. Perhaps. But I'm retired, remember? Does no one remember what that means? It's about time people started asking my opinion as a wise elder instead of tellin' me what to do like I’m still a lackey. No, I don't mind a bit staying out here in the wild and having you come to me...anyway, I've saved a nice seat." Eamon waved a hand toward a flat rock a few feet away. "Make yourself at home."
"Eamon, I don’t think of you as a lackey. I think of you the way Lizbet thinks of you—as a friend. I told Lizbet she should come by to see you, by the way. Did she?”
"As it happens, we did run into each other. Didn't she mention it?"
"No, she was upset about her father when I saw her. He said he doesn't want her near Bobby anymore."
"I know about that. I was watchin' her at her father's. I kept myself hidden because her father isn't all that fond of me."
"He's not fond of anything magical, I guess. He hired my father to get rid of the Moore's gnomes. Did you know that one of them followed Bobby to school and attacked a boy? They also built a burrow out of cardboard at Mr. Moore's apartment. Bobby was staying there for a few days, and a bunch of them followed him. They're acting weird."
"I do have to say, that concerns me. I noted they were present on the walkway—it’s not a smell I could miss—but I didn’t know they’d gone to ground there, so to speak. Gnomes follow gods, not little boys.
Has there been any other unusual behavior where Bobby is concerned?"
"No, they're just following him. Oh...they did throw away all the ceramic gnomes from the Moore's garden one day. And they broke the ones my father tried to use to lure them into his truck. Does that mean anything?"
"Och, the gnomes aren't ones for breaking up gods. I need to think on this, maybe do a little observin'. To speak plainly, the real problem with the gnomes is that they're stupid. And to my way of thinkin', magic and stupid is quite a bad combination."
"Well, I really just stopped by to ask you if you wanted to come to the airport with me and Lizzie to pick up James and Thomas."
"Is James home tonight, then? Och, and Thomas...I still don't trust that one. A nasty piece of work he was...in that case, magic and smart were also quite a bad combination. But no...I've work to do in the Moore’s garden now. But thank you for lettin' me know. I'll want to be keeping a sharp eye out on that Thomas as well. I think James is far too innocent to understand what that one is about."
CHAPTER TEN
Battle of Wills
The feel of magic was extraordinarily strong whenever James was next to him, but, as Thomas walked through the terminal, he began to feel another powerful presence and an only slightly weaker one beside it.
Langoureth's magic was a diffuse, swirling aura around and through Tanji. The magic in Lizbet had a much different feel—encapsulated, guarded, and concentrated into a hard essence that had very little interaction with the girl except for a hot flow into the girl’s back where a set of wings lifted away from her shoulders. No—this fae had not integrated with her human half. Morgan contained herself within, not sharing or investing her human vessel with any of her power. Interesting.
Thomas felt the magic that was hidden from the girl flare up like a lighthouse beacon warning of the rocks below as he saw Lizbet’s eyes alight on James.
Lizbet said, "There they are!", as she pointed toward James and Thomas coming through the security gates toward the baggage claims area.
"Wow, girl, that's your grandson? Mmm…girl, he's fine."
"Tanji! Look, I told you about him. Really—not a good idea."
"A girl can look. Just sayin'."
Lizbet didn't respond because James had rushed to her and swept her up in a giant hug. Her feet were off the ground and she hugged him back fiercely. She didn't think about anything else until he finally let go and set her down, snagging her hand in his as he released her.
"I don't think you and Tanji have ever met officially, but..."
James looked closely at Tanji then, and let go of Lizbet's hand to reach out and take both of Tanji's hands in his. "Langoureth..."
"Myrrdin...it's been so very long a time."
Lizbet felt a little left out then, as the memories of brother and sister connected through her friends. After a while, James broke the moment and said, "Tanji, this is Thomas, your great-nephew, I suppose. It’s nuts how we can be strangers and yet be family at the same time, right?"
Tanji and Thomas exchanged greetings. Thomas's greeting was dutiful; Tanji's was enthusiastic and flirtatious. Lizbet really didn't like how obviously interested in Thomas Tanji seemed to be. She also hadn't been as prepared to see him as she'd hoped. His gaze kept returning to her in an expectant way, a friendly way, but she still wasn't sure she could ever feel anything about him other than mistrust and anger.
Eamon concentrated on the glamour and then walked into the Moore's backyard from the woods. He hoped the gnomes weren't feeling overly ambitious so that they’d try to go after a large deer instead of their usual smaller dinner fare. Of course, if they did, he wasn't likely to fall for their trap. Gnomes are small: their magic is limited. Like all fae, it’s adapted to the needs of their bodies and their culture. Gnome magic is almost entirely utilized for trapping food and protecting themselves from enemies.
Eamon, like most people, found the final outcome of gnome magic sickening. They can create an invisible barrier that allows some materials to pass through but stops other materials cold. When they hunt, half of the huddle runs after the unfortunate animal, shouting and waving sticks to chase them in the desired direction. The other half waits, hands joined, chanting their spell. The barrier stops the hide, the bones, the teeth, the brain, and the guts on one side but allows the meat to travel through. If the animal stops moving, the gnomes behind provide a push to get them through. Their prey is dead and skinned before it knows what hits it. Effective but less than tidy.
Eamon manipulated the appearance of the glamour to give an impression of grazing but kept his eyes and ears active as he watched Bobby and the gnomes playing in the dusk. Sheila Moore appeared at the back window to look in Bobby's direction every so often and would then disappear from view again. He assumed she'd satisfied herself that Bobby was in no danger.
Eamon, on the other hand, was confused by the absence of ceramic garden gnomes around the burrow. He looked the area over carefully and didn't see anything else that could have taken their place as the gnome's object of worship.
When Sheila called Bobby into the house with "Bobby, time to come in. It's too dark now," Bobby started for the door and the entire huddle followed after him. What Eamon heard them calling the boy as they babbled along behind him alarmed him. The wee laddie appeared to be safe for now, but there was every chance that, with time, he’d find himself in danger.
After stopping at the front of the house briefly to let his landlord know he was home, James led Thomas up the steps to his over-the-garage apartment. It was exactly as he’d left it when he’d made an unexpected detour to Scotland a little over a month before. He did a quick zoom around to pick up articles of clothing he’d dropped here and there and hadn’t picked up after, quickly disposing of them in the bedroom hamper.
Thomas was still standing outside on the landing with the suitcases, waiting for instructions, when James walked back into the main room.
“Sheesh, Thomas, come in! Mi casa es su casa!” James said, walking to pick up a suitcase and haul it into the apartment. “It’s small, but it’s home. I’ve got a nice air mattress I use when I’m camping, and it should be comfortable for you to sleep on. We can store it in my room during the day so that we aren’t constantly falling over it.”
Thomas walked to the back of the room where the refrigerator, stove and sink served as a kitchenette. He opened some of the cabinet doors and looked inside. “It’s good to see you have a decent amount of storage space in the kitchen.” He walked to the door and then walked back with one of his bags. He opened it and began taking out jars and boxes.
“Thomas, seriously, we don’t need to get everything unpacked tonight. I thought we could just chill, get a pizza, watch some TV, and have a little housewarming celebration.”
“I’d feel more comfortable if I can make sure nothing was broken or spilled on the plane, and you know I feel more at ease when I’m organized.”
“Yeah, yeah…let me help.” James walked to the narrow closet that was crammed in between the fridge and the wall. Inside, it had four shelves, mostly empty. “I can probably give up this whole cabinet, since the only thing I keep in here is my SCA gear, and I doubt I’ll need it anymore, so it can go in the top of my bedroom closet. Who’s going to let Merlin play at being a knight in a Renaissance Faire? No, I think they’d want to put me on show in a whole different way.”
James pulled his rattan sword, his shield, maille shirt, and armor out of the cabinet and reached far into the back to grab for his helmet. As he snagged it and turned around to place it in the pile of gear, Thomas almost smirked and asked him, “So, you were a medieval knight before you were a sorcerer?”
“It’s a group I’m in. We re-enact medieval times. It’s kind of a geeky thing to do, so maybe don’t mention it to Lizbet? I think Eamon knows about it, but she doesn’t need to know that I was fantasizing about being her knight in shining armor the whole time we were traveling across Scotland. Like she needed one!”
“Y
our secret’s safe with me, chum. Although it could be worse—you could have turned out to have been playing at being a monk for several lifetimes.” Thomas smiled at his own joke.
James held out his hand for a high-five and Thomas returned it, “You’re really starting to get the hang of this just-be-a-guy thing, Tom. Wait until I introduce you to a little thing called the TV remote—you’ll never be the same again.”
The girl was fighting her again, strengthened by the time she'd spent with Myrddin's arm around her in the back seat of Tanji's car, caught up in each other for the hour's ride from the airport. Morgan had attempted to insert herself in their goodnight kiss, but Lizbet hadn't yielded even a moment of her experience for Morgan to share.
It was a small victory for the girl, and Morgan let her have it without causing her pain. There wouldn't be many more victories for her. Morgan’s plans were already in place.
Except for the day when the gnomes had pulled her out of hiding with their constant shrill voices, Morgan had stayed well hidden during the day and taken her freedom only at night. Even that served to weaken the girl's resolve. Humans are so dependent on things like sleep, food, friends, and family.
Morgan had lived as a full fae for fifteen hundred years now. Among the fae who have near immortal life-spans, many things lose their importance over time. She could live without sleep, without food. She had long forgotten her mortal father, the closeness of the tie she had once forged with Langoureth, and her love for her fae mother who had yielded herself to the aether eight hundred years ago rather than to continue to live her life in the shadow realm.
What she’d not forgotten was the feel of Myrddin's skin against hers, the joy she felt in his arms, the power of his touch to soothe her. She was a nymph: she loved with great passion, and she could not forget the only man who had ever made her feel that love. It was the most important thing for any nymph to be forever with her one soul-mate once she found him. Now here he was, returned, and she would have him.