“See you at school, Likely,” Toby called out as he got on his bike and they turned back towards the lighthouse.
“Beth, you are one handy gal to have around; great stuff back there. I didn’t really get any footage on my phone. I somehow didn’t even think of it. I was just so shocked to see you racing into danger. Anyway, we scared them off and with luck they’ll leave him alone next time. Nothing dull about tonight, you see; all this real-life drama was a great distraction from all your imaginary ones.”
CHAPTER 8
Portal
“Mistakes are the portals of discovery”
– JAMES JOYCE
Every seat but one was occupied in the circle of tall-backed chairs. A low murmur of conversation hummed about as the Elders speculated on who they were awaiting to achieve a quorum. Rumors had been circulating that it was perhaps the presentation of the actual Ellucidite and an air of apprehension had begun to build.
Logan came bursting through the center wooden doors. “Sorry I’m late, Llandyr, was a bit of a late gig and I must have overslept.”
Several of the Elders looked around disapprovingly, whispering to each other with furrowed brows and heads shaking in disbelief.
A raven-haired female Elder wearing a deep purple and gold leaf-patterned robe stood up and expressed the group’s sentiments; “You cannot be serious, Llandyr! How in Realm did this rapscallion become involved in the unfolding of the most significant occurrence in eons? He chose that dirt bound path over his responsibilities here and continues to dumbfound us all with his wayward choices.”
“Excuse me Lady Ashling, I am standing right here. You can ask this ‘rapscallion’ directly if you care. You’re all lucky that I happened to be in the right place – on stage of course – at the right time. Otherwise the Broin would have rolled straight back to Fȍe hands and you would not be sitting around here having a go at me then, would you?”
“That is enough all of you. Logan, please take your seat and we will discuss the strategy we have put in place. To lose the Broin after its recent recovery would have been catastrophic. Degarl had put such an intense protection spell over all the DaFȍe premises that it took numerous attempts to infiltrate and escape from, but thanks to Mapellier’s tenacity, it was recovered. Apart from Degarl, I feel the rest of the Föe bureaucracy underestimate the Broin’s power.” Llandyr gestured to one of the elders seated to his right.
Mapellier replied, raking his hand through his long, bushy mane of ginger, white-streaked hair. “That is for sure, I didn’t think I’d ever get past those feral Vollens that were stationed at every point of entry at that DaFȍe place. It took almost every ounce of my 900 lives to get in and out of there alive; repulsive creatures they are. It won’t just be the DaFȍe family utilizing their services either; the whole foe cluster and their dark agents paused their internal bickering to unite over this. They’ll be calling in all kinds of dark energies to assist.”
“Yes, Mapellier, you are right, and we, as Fae, must ensure our bonds of Dochas are kept unified at this tenuous time. We must be both cautious and patient as we are all in a steep learning phase. Trust me though, the Fȍe do not fully appreciate or recognize the powers inherent in a union between Broin and Ellucidite. I did not realize that our Ellucidite would be able to take the Broin back with her to terra firma. I should’ve been alerted by the fact that it absolutely sprang to life in her hands. The Faeble is a forecast, and just as a weather forecast changes, the winds and tides of fate are unavoidable. We know the timing is right but, as in every great event in our history, with both sides of Fae and Fȍe desiring opposite results, unwritten variables are constantly presenting. This I know; we will definitely require as much celestial Fae fortitude and Dochas as we can muster. Come friends…”
Llandyr turned around, beckoning to a group of small Pixies who had appeared in the passageway, all with silver-blue hair, forming fluffy halos around their tiny sweet faces, a circlet of delicate white daisies atop their heads, and dressed in shimmering azure gossamer gowns. They entered the circle, each one holding a bejeweled silver chalice. Steaming vapors rose from each and an occasional rainbow bubble floated out from the rim, hovering about, not popping, looking like colorful glass baubles on an imaginary branch.
“Our Pixie friends have been testing and formulating various tonics to aid our strength and they would like us to try this latest concoction.”
They came in through a gap between Llandyr and Lady Ashling’s chairs, one heading to the left of the circle and the next one to the right, until they met in the middle, each handing their cup to their respective elder.
Lady Ashling held her chalice warily with an outstretched arm and a look of distaste as if there were a repugnant odor about, asking, “Have you tasted it yet yourself, Llandyr? If not, I suggest you be the first to take a sip. I don’t care how sweet this group looks, I know for a fact that Pixies treasure tomfoolery above all else. You may find they have spiked this potion with all kinds of sinister kismet.”
“I’ll drink mine first, Llandyr. Listening to her makes me need all the Dochas I can get!” Logan exclaimed.
Llandyr sighed and smiled softly, saying, “It’s all right, I have already partaken of a cup before we commenced this gathering and I completely approve of its consumption. I propose we raise our chalices in a toast to Mapellier’s retrieval efforts—you have certainly earned your fur stripes—and to Logan’s swift thinking.”
Llandyr continued, “After Logan’s timely retrieval of the Broin, we managed to secure a teaching position for him, overseeing our young Ellucidite’s music classes.”
“You mean he’s actually got a real job? How novel!” exclaimed Lady Ashling, raising her pointed eyebrow cynically. “But what about the Broin now? Where is it and how do we know it’s safe?”
“It is safe, I can assure you of that. The Fȍe are frantically seeking it, in all the wrong places, aren’t they, Mapellier?” Logan looked to his left for support.
“Yes, we’ve had one Fȍe member perform a panicky search at the lighthouse but of course, nothing was found there.”
“Well, how can we trust that Logan has secured it?” Lady Ashling, ignoring Logan and Mapellier, addressed her question to Llandyr, and several of the other Elders started to nod and murmur in agreement.
Llandyr held up his palm. “Logan has shared with me the Broin’s place of refuge and you have my word there could not be a safer place. Now, we need to call upon the Seers present to discover if they can determine any other Ellucidae portals in the Dail.”
Three of the Elders moved away from the group. They wore long, hooded, jade, crushed-velvet cloaks. Their heavily lined faces were not clearly visible, and their postures were stooped. Moving very slowly, they sat down on low stools that were nestled around the Dail, a shallow pond of iridescent violet liquid. Beautiful bright green spongy moss beds lined the rim. A low murmur of an ancient incantation floated above the group, and one of the Seers placed a long, gnarled stick of willow into the center of the puddle. The color in the center moved in tiny, rippled waves to the outer edges. The core of the liquid formed a clear silver mirrored surface.
“Hmmm, most unusual,” the Seer who held the stick said as he looked over at Llandyr, “there is no clear apparition here, just cloudy pixilated scenes flashing in nonsensical sequence, a terra firma city one second, then the base and peak of the White Mountain, a lighthouse out at sea and what looks to be an underwater cave. There are no Portal vibrations, Ellucidae or otherwise, showing up at all. I am sorry Llandyr; the Dail seems to be veiled with some kind of Fȍe hex.”
“Never mind, Logan and Mapellier will do their best to keep watch. If necessary, we will use higher forces and means to continue our role in providing our Ellucidite with tutelage. All of us here have taken the Realm oath – whether Elder or other, we are all bound to her fate.”
Llandyr made a slow, smooth, wide, circular motion with his arm, his hand clenched in a fist at the completion of the rotat
ion, then it opened and the air around them sparkled with gold and emerald green glitter.
“Take your leave now all of you, and always remember Fȁe Timpealay. Keep the Fȁeth!”
CHAPTER 9
Hiatus
“The pause is as important as the note”
– TRUMAN FISHER
“Darling, I’m home and have I got some incredible works to show you!” The lustrous lift doors opened and out stepped Lilith, her crimson lips ablaze on alabaster skin. Dressed head to toe in black, including an elaborate feather headpiece, both her hands full of designer shopping bags bulging with purchases, she prattled on although nobody was in view. “One piece that will work fabulously in the beach shack foyer and a series of rather fun sculptures that I may consider loaning the Fȍe Bureau as they’re in desperate need of something appealing in that dungeon of a premises. How anyone can hold meetings in such a tedious, gloomy, environment and expect to come up with earth-shattering plans is beyond me. Darling, are you listening?”
There was no response so she dumped her bags in the doorway and peeled off her black velvet gloves, revealing perfectly manicured hands with sculpted crimson nails.
Synan appeared instantaneously.
“Synan, can you deal with these? Put them away for me and sort out the pieces I have picked up for Daybian.”
“Yes Madame, of course.” He bent and scooped up the numerous bags. “I trust you enjoyed the exhibition and, from the look of things, the shopping as well?”
“Yes, I just love it that Bergdorf ’s have blocked out private selection time for me now. It makes the whole experience far more manageable. Where is that husband of mine?”
“He is on the phone in his study, Madame. He has asked not to be disturbed,” Synan replied, readying to take the purchases to the wardrobe room. “Campaign business it seems.”
“Right, yes, well with only a short time left until the election, that’s to be expected. Well, while he’s playing politics, can you run me a bath? All this travel does exhaust me.”
Lilith kicked off her black crystal-embedded Stuart Weitzman stilettos as if they were flip-flops, leaving them where they fell and continued on, “Oh, and Synan, is there any news regarding that ridiculous break in? Degarl was beside himself when we spoke, carrying on as if it were the end of the world. I’ve told him time and again that those old Faerie tale stories are just there to act as an imaginary shackle, all that concern over a pebble! He needs to concentrate on winning this election and trust the Bureau to deal with any Fae nonsense.”
Synan bent and scooped up the shoes, balancing the bags on his way through to the master bedroom suite. Lilith had headed into the wardrobe room and emerged swathed in a plush, white bathrobe, her hair wrapped in a gold satin turban.
“I’ll be in the sauna while you get my bath ready. Make sure you use that Egyptian oils blend I brought back from my Nile cruise last month; it helps relax my muscles.” Lilith walked towards the heavy cedar double doors, opening the door to the intense dry heat accompanied by the smell of warm wood. “Oh, and Synan, tell Chef I’m in a mood for some seafood this evening, a prawn or an oyster for me and tell her to make up a platter for Degarl. He probably hasn’t even been eating with his schedule. We’ll dine in the Aqua Suite. I know how he loves to use that room.” She closed the doors behind her.
“Ahhhh, silence at last,” Synan muttered as he turned on the quick-fill faucet in the enormous hand-carved Amazonian rock crystal bath. The rim glittered with the inlaid diamond initials of Lilith and Degarl. He opened the doors of the marble bathroom cabinet and found the small ruby vial containing the oils. Pulling the stopper out, he inhaled the exotic fragrance. It smelt blissful, and he would look forward to trying it out personally the next time he had the penthouse to himself.
He used the internal intercom and logged the menu requests and dining instructions with the chef. His holiday was certainly over now that Madame was back in the picture; her incessant demands were exhausting.
Synan finished running the bath and used the intercom into the sauna to let Lilith know it was ready. He had laid out the fluffy bath towels and returned to the wardrobe room to put away the numerous new purchases. He was looking forward to when Madame hired another maid. She had fired the last one over such a trivial matter because she was in one of her foul moods. The poor woman didn’t understand how a pair of shoes not positioned correctly would cost her the job.
As Lilith opened the doors to Aqua Suite, the ocean wall lit up beautifully, alive with brilliant coral and an array of exquisite marine life. The theme continued in the gleaming chrome and glass dining table, featuring a two-hundred-and-fifty-gallon marine aquarium visible through the glass table top. It was the only piece of their furniture that Degarl had insisted upon keeping. He had such strong ties to the ocean—it had to be brought indoors. Lilith found the whole idea a bit kitsch. However, she understood when Degarl had his mind so fixated on an object, it was best to simply say “that’ll be nice, dear”, as an occasional win for him, meant 99% undisputed victories for her the rest of the time.
Lilith entered the suite dressed in a simple black shift, her dark, wavy hair falling softly about her shoulders, beautifully fragrant from the bath.
Taking her place at one end of the table, she asked the maid to bring a couple of dry martinis, then tapped her nails on the glass table and watched the fish scattering about beneath. The door opened and Degarl stepped into the room. Even after all this time, he had such a devastatingly handsome presence that it could leave her breathless. Lilith remained seated and, as he approached, she proffered her cheek for a kiss, saying, “Darling, so lovely to see you. I’ve had a most divine time in New York and I’ve acquired some absolutely gorgeous pieces. I have pics on my iPad and I’ll—”
“Did Synan inform you that our robbery remains unsolved? I need to get that issue sorted before I can even think of looking at your art works or anything else for that matter,” Degarl replied. His lips set in a grim line, he reached for a martini from the tray.
Lilith pushed back her chair, standing up as the maid handed her the other martini.
“Enough! I have heard enough about that stupid bauble! You’re supposed to be keeping your head in the political game to win this election. Here’s the thing, Degarl, your obsession with all this folklore and that Faerie tale fable is beyond old news – after 300 odd years—it’s positively ancient. The Bureau will handle that side of things. You promised me on the phone the other night that you had called a meeting and would hand over all that voodoo rubbish. If you want me to continue playing nicely and being the political sweetener to your game, then you are best to listen up and act accordingly. Everything else goes on hold until you have secured this seat. Understand?”
Degarl bit hard on his lip. Lilith would never understand the complexity of the situation. She was so preoccupied with the physical and material world, that any links to the Faeble and the role it played in the Fȍe future was irrelevant to her. He decided to take a pause, a non-reactive role, and he would raise his concerns with the Bureau at the gathering this week. The old saying bounced around in his head; ‘Happy Wife, Happy Life.’ With Lilith this definitely rang true, so, raising his glass to her, he responded, “Yes, I understand you’re right; the election is the most pressing issue. Now, tell me about the exhibition and your new pieces.”
The maid arrived with the serving trays. She put down the silver-domed tray in front of Lilith and lifted the cloche to reveal a single oyster, a slice of lemon, three pieces of lettuce and four cherry tomatoes, two yellow and two red.
“Perfect, that looks delicious. Bring some white wine to accompany it, that nice Italian Pinot Grigio we picked up a couple of weekends ago on the Amalfi Coast will do.” The maid often wondered how Madame survived on the meagre rations she allowed herself to ingest. She made her way to Degarl’s end of the table. His dish revealed a hearty lobster mornay with an assortment of scallops, calamari and oysters.
“Yes, I’ll have that wine too,” he said.
Lilith resumed her conversation about New York and Degarl interjected intermittently with a nod and an occasional, “really? Is that so?” He had learned over the years that when he just gave those tiny utterances, he was saved from having to hear a repeat performance or being quizzed on the details he had taken in, or not.
Lilith didn’t mind; so long as she held conversation court and everything revolved around her, she was satisfied.
CHAPTER 10
Composition
“Nothing goes by luck in composition. It allows of no tricks. The best you can write will be the best you are”
– HENRY DAVID THOREAU
“Beth, Toby’s here, love. Have you got your homework from last night packed? There was a pile of books on the table this morning, did you need those?” Maggie called up the stairs.
Beth gathered her books and stuffed them in her backpack. “Coming, Maggie, I already grabbed them.” She turned to check her bed was neat. Maple had already curled up ready for his long day’s siesta. He opened his eyes to look at her and let out a meow.
“And you keep a good eye on things for me, won’t you? No imposters in the house please.” She stroked him and hurried down the stairs.
The ride to school was difficult today as there was a strong crosswind coming off the water, making the usual pace a little harder to meet. After securing their bikes, they made their way to their respective lockers and arranged where they would meet up at recess. Arriving at her locker, Beth opened it and put her backpack inside. She had taped her timetable to the inside of the door and scanned to see which class was first. Environmental Science; that meant an earful from Shelby, who as soon as she had spotted Beth entering the class for the first lesson had leapt out of her chair, saying the seat next to her was spare. Shelby loved to jabber away about all the cheerleaders and who was hot for which player. She also provided more information about each girl than Beth considered newsworthy, from what went on in the change rooms to sleepover antics to more sordid details of their nocturnal activities. She had tried to talk Beth into coming down for pre-season try-outs to no avail and often asked her to sit with her Sailor Gal Pals at lunch.
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