by Jill Nojack
"Hey, little dude, what's up?"
"We've a problem that I'd like to discuss about Bobby Moore."
"Cool, but keep it down. Lizbet is trying to get in a nap up in my room. She's paranoid about Morgan taking her over when she sleeps, so I have to go up and check on her in a while."
"Good. I don't really want to worry her anyway."
Tanji led him to the kitchen table, and Eamon hopped onto one of the chairs across from her, his head just barely visible above the table top. Tanji had to smile. If anyone had told her a year ago that she'd be regularly hanging out with a fifteen hundred year old fairy with a permanent bad hair day, she would have thought they were nuts. Now, it was just an ordinary thing. Amazing how quickly a person can adapt.
"Lassie, we need to put our heads together about this—I've spoken to the gnome chief, and I now think that the gnomes may be dangerous to Bobby and his friends. From what I can gather, they don't like their god bein' free to roam around, leaving them godless at the burrow."
"Yeah, well...maybe they should go back to worshipping ceramic garden gnomes. Problem solved."
Eamon shook his head, "It's not that easy, lass. The gnomes took Bobby as their god when he intervened with Morgan and saved two of their huddle from her violence. Unless someone or something comes along to offer them something of more value, they won't shift their allegiance away from him."
"What can we do, then?"
“I wondered if there were a spell you know of to keep them close to the burrow. Today at the school, they injured one of Bobby's little friends with a prank. I think that they may go farther out of jealousy if they continue to follow him."
"Really? They're picking on little kids now?"
"To be fair, the kids are quite big to the gnomes, but they don't recognize how fragile a human child can be. Their only experience is of their own children, who are tough as a dragon's hide from birth."
"I don't know, Eamon, I'm not channeling anything right off the bat. I'll probably need some help…James maybe?"
"Aye, but if we tell James, Lizbet would know. And then poor Sheila as well. But...I suppose it's better to be honest about the threat."
“Yes, Eamon, I think so. I know Lizbet won't want to get her mom any more worried than she already is, but telling her is the right thing. I mean, I've certainly done my share of putting one over on the parents, but Bobby just isn't old enough to take care of himself."
From the hall, Lizbet said, "Ha! Seriously, you're saying 'let's tell the parents'? Wow. Times have changed."
"How long have you been there, lassie?"
"Long enough, Eamon. We've been through this like fifty times—if you think you need to do things to protect me, you should really be talking to me about them instead of just going out and doing them."
"I know, lassie, but I'm a fae. Tricksiness is in my nature. I can't change with the snap of my fingers. I'm tryin' to improve."
"Yeah, just...try harder. It's not like you come up with all your secret plans for some nefarious reason, so just be honest about them. And Tanj...you're keeping secrets from me, too?"
"If I pointed out that I'm half-fae now and therefore half-tricksy, would I get a pass?"
"Nope."
"Didn't think so. So...sorry, girl. But you know you're a hot mess these days, right?"
"Yep. And my best friends scheming behind my back when my little brother is in trouble doesn't really help me, does it?"
"No," Tanji walked to her friend and hugged her. "Are you feeling more rested?"
"I am, a little."
Tanji heard the van pulling into the garage and announced, "The paternal unit has now arrived home, and James should be with him, so there’s no reason we can’t grab him, pile into the Tanjmobile, get ourselves over to wizard central, and figure this bad boy out."
With five of them gathered in the small living room which doubled as Thomas's bedroom, things were cramped. Lizbet sat down close to James, but he got up and moved away, uncomfortable with the closeness after what had happened with Morgan the night before.
Tanji consulted her spell book, lips pursed, running her finger quickly down the page as she skimmed for anything that could help with the problem. Thomas sat beside her on the arm of the couch, looking over her shoulder.
James suspected Thomas of trying to memorize everything he saw in the book while trying not to be obvious—Thomas was that way, he wanted to know every possible thing there was to know about magic and thought about almost nothing else. James had hoped that getting to know more people who had interests other than magic would help with that, but so far, no luck. He knew Lizbet didn’t want to encourage Tanji’s interest in Thomas, but James was all for anything that could get him away from the potion factory once in a while.
Tanji looked up from the book, "Truthfully, it seems like the thing that would help us the most here would to actually be gnomes. A gnome could easily whip up a barrier that lets everything pass through from either direction except a gnome. But other than that...I got nothin'."
Thomas walked to the kitchen as the tea pot started to whistle. He took it off the burner and then turned back to the group, "What if we could use gnome magic?"
"Sure. You got a gnome in your pocket ready to do us a favor?" James asked. His mouth turned up at the corners a little when he heard the girls giggle. Thomas's expression remained as sober as ever.
"No. But I think we could trick a gnome into casting that spell with the right kind of encouragement. Because there is a spell in Tanji's book for 'gnome-enthralling', and another one that we could use to erase the memory of doing it once the spell was cast. If the gnome didn't remember doing the spell, there would be no one to undo it."
Eamon nodded his head in agreement. "Aye...that plan might work, lad. And you're not even a full half-fae, then? I'd say that plan's worthy of the tricksiest amongst us. What does the enthralling involve?"
Tanji skimmed back through the book and then read quickly through a page, "Not much—basically get the gnome to drink a simple potion. and you throw in a couple of Gaelic charm words. Unfortunately, I haven't got any ideas about how we'd get one of them to drink it."
"Och, I see no problem with that part of the plan. Who wants to help me capture a gnome?"
James said, "I do it for a living, but these gnomes don't respond to the lures."
"Nothin' that complicated, lad. Have you got a bag of sugar? Gnomes go crazy for it. We'll just lay out a line of it from one of the burrows, and when one of them follows it into the woods, I'll grab him, and you can pour that potion right down his gullet."
"Eamon, you're not going to hurt the gnome, are you?" asked Lizbet, rubbing her eyes and yawning. "I know you don't like gnomes, but I also don't want to see any of them get hurt during this. I just want them under control so that Bobby is safe."
"No fear, lassie. A gnome is no problem for me. Plus, they've got quite tough skins. We could tussle all day and the gnome would walk away without a scratch."
"Okay then, I'll help out with that part of it," said James, "Thomas, have you got the potions under control?"
"Yes. But there are additional things I need. A toad, for one, for the amnesia spell. Actually, just one particular gland. I'll need to find a living one if we want this to work."
"Okay, ewwww," Lizbet said, "...wait, I know this spell from Morgan...doesn't it also need a pixie feather?"
Tanji replied, "Not a pixie feather specifically, just a faerie feather. So...do you mind?"
"Really? You’re plucking me?"
"Yeah, really. So, turn around, and I'll make it quick."
Lizbet turned around and Tanji tugged a small feather out from the end of one of Lizbet's wings. Lizbet winced just a little and then turned around again.
"Thanks," Tanji said.
"No prob. It's for Bobby, so take 'em all if you need 'em."
Tanji headed into the kitchenette with the feather. Thomas was already setting out supplies. Together, they inventoried what the
y had, and then Thomas announced he would be going out to the local pond while Tanji mixed up a slurry from some of the ingredients they already had.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
I Talk To The Trees
Sheila tried not to stare at the complex headdress of leaves the visitor at the front door wore, but it was so exotic and stunning it was nearly impossible not to. Other than the green leaves and willow twigs entwined throughout the woman's very black, straight hair, she was ordinary; a pretty oriental woman whom Sheila judged to be in her early thirties, wearing no makeup, loose jeans, tennis shoes, and a baggy sweatshirt.
"Hi. My name is Mona. I hope I'm not disturbing you, but I wondered if I could talk to Lizbet Moore? It's taken me a long time to get here, and I really need to see her."
"I'm afraid my daughter's not here. Does she know you?"
"No. But, I think you can probably tell this, right? I'm half-fae, and I'm going crazy trying to understand all of this. My fae side keeps insisting that the queen can help me. And your daughter, she's Morgan, the Queen of the Fae. I need her help."
Sheila had turned away other half-fae who had come looking for Lizbet, but this woman looked so tired, so distressed. “My daughter is a junior in high school who can't even play on her own track team. She isn't queen of anything."
The young woman stood there, looking disappointed and very tired.
Sheila softened. "Look, I don’t think she can help you, but she'll be home in an hour or so. You can come back then, if you want to talk to her."
"Thank you! I've come all the way from New Mexico, and I...it's just been very hard. It's not like I can hide what I am."
Sheila felt her heart go out to the younger woman. "Look, why don't you come in and wait? Coffee?"
"Coffee? Are you sure? Because that would be amazing."
Sheila moved back, holding the door wide so that Mona could enter. "My name is Sheila, by the way."
Lizbet walked home from next door in a haze, her tired eyes ready to close and her brain completely fogged in. She was too exhausted to even notice that her mother had company as she plodded past the kitchen on her way to the stairs.
"Lizbet?" her mother called, "Could you come into the kitchen? You have a visitor."
Lizbet turned back to the kitchen nook and lifted her feet with effort as she shuffled back the way she came.
"Sweetie, this is Mona Collins, she's come from New Mexico to meet you."
"Hey," said Lizbet.
Mona went to one knee and bowed her head.
Lizbet just looked down at her, too tired to make a remark or to ask why she did what she did. Her mother stepped in, "Mona came to consult with you as Queen of the Fae. I told her that you probably can’t help her."
"Oh...that," Lizbet said, "Mona, please get up. Morgan was definitely queen, but I don't have her memories. I'm sorry."
"But, please...don't turn me away. I've come to serve within your court as my fae half did in the shadow realm. No one wants me anymore. No one wants a half-fae. I can't disguise what I am like some of the others can do. It's not like I can prune myself like a tree. I've tried. It's terribly, terribly painful to even remove one twig. I'll never trim another hedge as long as I live."
"Look, I'm really sorry about what's happened, but..."
"Please, please help me understand this...you certainly must know something about it, don't you? What it's like not to be normal anymore? To not have the choice? I hear voices in my head whenever I’m outside walking on the grass, or when I touch a tree. I don’t understand it. It’s so horrible."
Lizbet nodded her head and tried to push out the fogginess. "Give me just a minute, okay? I need to use the bathroom."
Lizbet took her backpack into the bathroom with her and took out the bottle of viscous, chunky liquid Tanji had given her. She closed her eyes tight and then threw back her head, put it to her lips, and took a big swig of the foul-smelling stuff. Within seconds, she began to wake up as the powerful, warm brightness of it coursed through her veins.
When Lizbet returned from the bathroom, she was much, much perkier.
"Okay, so...you said that you came here because you needed your queen—why?"
"I served you in the Fae realm—well, my fae did. Her name was Euphemia—do you remember her?"
Lizbet shook her head. "No—no memories of that. My fae half...let's just say that the Queen doesn't play nice with others. I don’t know why you’d be hearing voices. As much as I want to, I really can't help you."
Lizbet's mother freshened Mona’s coffee and asked her, "What arrangements have you made for tonight?"
"I haven't made any yet. I have a little money, but it won't last me more than a month or two. I planned to stay, if only to be in a town where there's someone else like me. Where I lived for all my life, they pretty much told me I'm not wanted there anymore."
Mom nodded her head, wearing her sympathetic face. "Yes, I understand that. Lizbet and I have had a few run-ins ourselves with people who can't really understand. Her father included."
Lizbet tapped her fingers on the table, jittery. She was beginning to feel extremely revved up, and her thoughts moved quickly. She wanted to help, and then she realized that she could, if only in a non-magical way.
"Mona, if you could get a job working with other people who either have magic or are accepting of magic, would that be something you'd want to do?"
"Yes, if I could. I’d give anything to be around others who understand. I was a reporter for my small-town paper until no one was willing to talk to me anymore, but I'm not proud—I’ll do just about anything at this point to keep body and soul together."
"Okay, hang on, let me make a call." Lizbet hit speed dial for Tanji's number.
"Tanj...is your dad still looking for workers?"
Tanji replied, "Yeah, I think so. With the shop opening up soon and more business every day from farther away, he was talking about trying to find more people."
"Okay, 'cause I've got someone who would be really happy to have the job."
"Let me ask..." Lizbet could hear Tanji talking to her father and then Tanji returned to the phone, "Yeah, he says have him at the house Monday morning at 8 AM, because he's got plenty of work. He'll give him a trial."
"Actually, it'll be a she, her name is Mona..." Lizbet directed her next question to Mona, "Can you be ready to work at 8 AM next Monday?"
"Uh, sure. I can do that."
"Cool!" Lizbet put the phone back up to her mouth, "Mona will meet your dad then. I'll fill her in on the deets."
As Lizbet wrote down Tanji’s address for Mona, she felt good about what she'd accomplished without even being a queen.
Mona stayed for dinner and arranged a hotel room for the rest of the week while she looked for somewhere more permanent if the job with the Gnome Removal service worked out. She'd stayed to watch TV when invited, but she and Sheila had spent more time talking than watching. Sheila thought she was an interesting, intelligent woman.
Sheila noticed her daughter beginning to yawn again around nine o'clock and within minutes, Lizbet was fast asleep on the couch. Sheila walked Mona to the door. "Please feel free to stop by again. I enjoyed talking tonight. I don't really know any adults who understand about all of this."
Mona smiled then, her first unstressed smile of the evening. "I enjoyed meeting you, too. Maybe we could get together for coffee or something once I'm settled in. That's assuming you know someplace where people won't gawk at me."
"I think people will probably gawk anywhere, but I'd be happy to be there for moral support if they do. Lizbet still gets that whenever she goes someplace new, but she seems to just be learning to deal with it, I think. Well, I hope, really. Maybe you can, too."
"I'm trying. But it's not that easy. I put so much hope in the queen knowing what all my weird experiences are about."
"I’m really sorry that Lizbet can’t help with that, but I do wish you wouldn't call her ‘Queen’—she's just my daughter, that's all. A little
different to look at than before, but she's still just my Lizbet," Sheila said. As Mona turned to walk to her car she added, "Lizbet gave you our number, right? Don't hesitate to call. And let’s make sure we meet for that coffee soon."
Sheila realized as Mona left how glad she was to have spent time talking with another adult without having to duck around the issues of fae-ness. It had been a while since the elephant in the room wasn't always present when she was talking to people at work or in the neighborhood. Most of them were polite, but she could sense they were often holding back, maybe trying to get away as quickly as possible. She tried to remain upbeat, but it was difficult. She hoped she'd made a new friend who could understand.
Sheila went back to the living room and covered her sleeping daughter with a light blanket before going off to sleep herself. She didn't have the heart to wake her up and make her go to bed.
Mona was startled when Lizbet dropped into existence in the hotel room as she walked through the door with her suitcases in tow. She stood there, stunned, until Lizbet spoke.
"The girl didn't require that you bend your knee, but I require more from those who serve me, Euphemia."
"Morgan, I didn't know you, I'm sorry..." Mona dropped to one knee, her head bowed deeply, "...please forgive me."
"You are forgiven. It’s been a long time since anyone but my gruagach has bent the knee to me. I like that there are still those who recognize the need of it. I may look different than I did, but I’m still your queen, and you, Euphemia, have a skill that I need to allow me to communicate quickly across the continents."
"I'm not sure what you mean, mistress."
"Come with me, and you’ll understand soon enough."
Mona lifted up and followed Morgan as she led out into the park beyond the hotel. When they were well hidden in the darkness among the trees, Morgan told her to stand still, take off her shoes, and reach with her roots for the soil.