Of Introductions and Abductions

by Robert Dahlen

  Beth decided to lighten the mood, and pulled some of her Doctor Who DVDs off the shelf. She gleefully talked about the show to Michiko, who seemed interested, and Gregor, who buried himself in his bedding. They were halfway through “The Next Doctor” when there was a burst of music. “Is that your phone?” Beth asked Michiko.

  “Yep,” Michiko said as she pulled it from her pocket.

  “What's the ringtone? It sounds familiar.”

  “'Last Train to Clarksville'. Could you pause the DVD? Thanks.” As Beth thumbed the remote, Michiko answered her phone with “Hello?”

  She listened for a minute, then sprung from the couch. “Where?” she said. “How long ago?…Got it. We're on our way.”

  Michiko ended the call and looked over at Beth. “What happened?” Beth asked.

  “There's someone missing at the faerie settlement.”

  “Not Puck again?”

  Michiko shook her head, a grim look in her eyes. “It's a baby,” she said. “A faerie girl, four months old.”

  “Oh my God.” Beth jumped up from the couch.

  “They're desperate to find her. Gregor?”

  The guinea pig popped out of his bedding. “We're going out this late?” he said.

  “Sorry, but this job isn't regular business hours.” Michiko glanced around the living room. “Beth?” she asked.

  Beth came out of her bedroom, carrying Gregor's purse. “Had to get my jacket,” she said. “It's going to be cold tonight.” She glanced over at Michiko. “Ummm…you did want me to come, right?”

  Michiko smiled. “Yeah, but I'm glad you volunteered. Bring a flashlight.”

  Michiko led Beth along the dirt trail they had taken that morning to get to Tierra's cottage. They continued past it, further up the trail, their way lit by moonlight poking through the trees. It was a chilly night, as Beth had expected, and she hoped that the fog would stay away a bit longer.

  After a minute, Michiko veered left, into a thick copse of coast redwoods. She pushed her way through a clump of underbrush. As Beth followed, she could sense seemings around them, and she did her best to ignore them and leave them intact.

  They stepped out of the underbrush. Beth's eyes widened.

  They were in the outskirts of a small tent village. The tents were crafted from canvas, and while some were in bland colors, others were gaily painted or decorated with beads and silken trim. They had doors, and flaps that could open up for windows; some had wood frames, and a few flew banners that Beth guessed were from the residents' home Courts back on Faerie.

  None of the residents were in sight, but in the light of the lanterns that lined the paths between the tents, Beth saw a clearing. Michiko led her there; as they went, they could hear a commotion.

  The clearing served as a town square, and it was packed with faeries, some in their traditional clothing, some in outfits from second-hand stores. They were gathered near a gnarled tree stump where a young faerie woman sat, her hands covering her face. Several other faeries were trying to comfort her, including a tall young man with haunted eyes who stood behind her, his hands resting on her shoulders.

  One faerie broke away from the group and walked up to Michiko and Beth. He was bearded and heavy-set, wearing a plain green robe and, incongruously, a white wool hat. “Monkey Queen,” he said. “I'm glad you could come so quickly. Who's your friend?”

  “She's Beth McGill. Beth, this is Linden. He's the Mayor here.”

  “I had heard that you might have picked up a partner,” Linden said as he shook Beth's hand. She bit off the impulse to say that it was still temporary; she knew there were bigger things to worry about.

  Michiko nodded. “What info do you have?”

  “Very little. The parents there, Larkin and Florence, took their eyes off the girl for a moment while she was playing outside. When they looked back, she was gone.”

  “Any witnesses? Any clues?”

  “I'll tell you what I saw!” A tall, young faerie male in a red flannel shirt that matched his hair walked up to Michiko and Linden. “There were big footprints, left by someone wearing boots, leading into the woods!”

  “Jasper—” Linden started to say.

  “Yeah, big ones. Like the ones your friends made, Monkey Queen,” Jasper said, face reddening with anger.

  “That was a misunderstanding,” Michiko said.

  “Oh? How do we know that they're not at it again?”

  “Stand down,” Linden said to Jasper.

  “Stand down?” Jasper clenched a fist. “One of our own is missing, and the best you can do is run to the humans to get help? Cry to them while the nien—”

  “That's enough!” Linden locked eyes with Jasper.

  “Fine.” Jasper turned and stormed off, shouting, “So we'll let this Monkey Queen help? Like she did with finding Puck? We should have asked Duke Wrexham for help instead!”

  “Why you—” Beth started to say. Michiko quietly shushed her.

  Linden grimaced. “I apologize, Monkey Queen,” he said. “He was out of line.”

  “Don't worry about it,” Michiko said. “He's just blowing off steam. Did you follow up on the footprints?”

  “We tried. The trail went cold after a few hundred yards. I've got twenty people searching the woods for her now.”

  Michiko nodded. “Jasper may have a point.”

  “About the nien?”

  “It's as good a place to start as any. Let's go, Beth.” Michiko turned and started towards the woods.

  “Monkey Queen?”

  She stopped and looked over to where Larkin and Florence were sitting. “We just looked away for a few seconds,” Florence said in a trembling voice, “and she was gone. Please help us. Please find our baby.” She lowered her head. Larkin, standing behind her, squeezed her shoulders gently.

  “What's her name?” Michiko asked.

  “Brooke,” Larkin said.

  Michiko nodded. “We'll find her. I promise.”

  As they headed deeper into the woods, Beth realized that Michiko had been quiet for several minutes. “You okay?” she asked.

  “Yeah. Just thinking.”

  “About that jerk Jasper?” Beth felt her face redden with anger.

  Michiko sighed. “I can't blame him for feeling the way he does. But I'm more concerned about the nien.”

  “Who?”

  “The nien are an old, long-lived race. There's only a handful of them left, and a married couple live just a short walk from here. They're good people, but they can be shy around Emigres, and they get lonely. That led to them doing something…awkward a while back. They found a faerie toddler who had wandered off into the woods. They thought the kid had been abandoned, and brought her home to raise her.”

  “How did that get straightened out?” Beth asked.

  “Um…” Michiko blushed. “I helped, actually. It was a mess, but I finally persuaded the nien to give the baby back to her parents. And calmed down the lynch mob.”

  “Lynch mob?”

  “The nien had a bad reputation in the past. Many of them fought against the Monkey King during the last True Millennium. The faeries were ready to string them up first and ask questions later, and I'm worried they may react that way again. Anyway, we're here.”

  They had reached a good-sized cabin just off the trail. “Beth, try not to be too spooked by how they look,” Michiko said. “They may seem frightening, but they're actually quite nice.”

  “Got it. Anything else?”

  Michiko whistled, and her street clothes seeming appeared. “Red clothing scares them quite a bit,” she told Beth. “You're not wearing anything red, are you?”

  Beth double-checked her t-shirt; it was the same white print on black Pirate Festival shirt as it had been that morning. “Nope,” she said.

  “Not even…under there?” Michiko grinned.

  “Pervert,” Beth said, trying not to giggle as Michiko knocked on the door with her staff. There were muffled voices from inside, then heavy fo
otsteps.

  The door opened. Beth tried not to scream.

  The nien was about seven feet tall and three feet wide. He had yellow hair and gray skin, and his face looked like a children's book illustration of a Chinese monster, all big ears and eyes and nose and lips. His fur-tipped tail poked out of his blue robe, swishing nervously. “Monkey Queen?” he asked in a voice that sounded like water rushing over gravel.

  “Good evening, Terrible Tang,” Michiko said with a courteous bow. “It's a pleasure to see you.”

  “The pleasure is mine.” Tang returned the bow. “Who are your companions?”

  “The furry one is Gregor, and the human is Beth McGill.” The guinea pig grunted. Beth nodded and smiled, covering up that she was about to faint.

  Terrible Tang nodded back at Beth. “Is this for business or pleasure?” he asked Michiko.

  “Business, I'm afraid. May we come in?”

  The nien nodded again and led the visitors in. The cabin was large, and all the furniture was oversized to fit the nien's proportions. There was another nien on the couch; Beth assumed it was female from the makeup and hairbows she wore. “Good evening, Monkey Queen,” she said.

  “Good evening, Frightful Fu. I apologize for intruding, but I need to discuss something with both of you.”

  “Go ahead,” Tang said.

  “Thank you.” Michiko paused. “There's been a missing person report at the faerie encampment tonight.”

  “Puck?”

  “This is different. It's a four month old faerie, a girl.”

  Tang's eyebrows jumped. He glanced over at Fu, who seemed shocked. “They think we did it, don't they?” he said.

  “Some of them do,” Michiko said.

  “We didn't!” Tang shouted. “I swear we didn't! We've been here all night!”

  “We made a big mistake once,” Fu said, “but we know it was wrong.”

  “Okay. So…” Michiko pointed around the room. “Why is there a stuffed rabbit toy there? And a small blanket?”

  The nien looked guiltily at each other. Then, Tang whistled.

  A small white poodle trotted into the living room. He spotted Gregor and barked playfully. “Close the purse!” the guinea pig stage-whispered to Beth as he ducked back inside.

  “Aw, what a cutie!” Beth said as the dog walked up to her. “What's his name?”

  “Doggie,” Fu said, smiling proudly.

  “It's very…descriptive.” Beth patted the dog as he sniffed the purse.

  Michiko gave Tang a quizzical look. “He was abandoned in the woods,” the nien said. “A human tied his leash to a tree and drove off. We couldn't just leave him there.”

  “Don't take him from us, Monkey Queen,” Fu pleaded. “Please.”

  “I won't,” Michiko said as Doggie sniffed her leg curiously. “Just take good care of him. Make sure he gets his checkups.”

  “We will,” Tang said. He and Fu smiled with relief.

  “Where did you find Doggie anyway?” Michiko bent down to pet the poodle.

  “Right by the bridge,” Tang said.

  “Bridge?” Michiko snapped up straight.

  “Yes, the footbridge over the creek. It's just up the trail.”

  Michiko nodded. “Beth? Gregor? Time to go.”

  “About time,” Gregor muttered as Doggie barked again at his purse.

  As soon as they had left the cabin, Michiko had snapped her fingers to remove her seeming, taken out her smartphone and made a call. “Linden?” she said. “I've got a lead. It's a hunch, but I think it's solid. Keep your people away from the nien, but if you don't hear from me in 15 minutes, start searching by the footbridge over the creek.”

  She hung up and picked up her pace. “What's so important about a footbridge?” Beth asked as she tried to keep up.

  “Where there's a bridge,” Michiko said, “there might be a troll.”

  “Troll?” Beth glanced nervously around the dark woods.

  “They don't call themselves cannibals,” Michiko said, “but that's because they don't eat each other. Anything else is fair game for them.”

  “Even faeries?”

  “Unfortunately. And babies are like candy for them.”

  Beth swallowed. “Where would a troll have come from?”

  “Faerie, through the auldgate. Trolls there are trying to clean up their image, like hobgoblins, but some have backslid. But we're here.” Michiko pointed with her staff at a small bridge over a creek. “I'll search in the woods. Take Gregor and look around by the bridge. And if you see a troll, don't be a hero. Scream to get my attention and run away.”

  “Like you need to tell me to do that,” Beth said. She took out her flashlight and started away from the trail, down the hill towards the creek.

  After a few minutes and lots of careful steps, Beth reached the creek bank, a short distance from the bridge. “Gregor?” she said, opening the purse.

  Gregor stuck his head out. “You're not going to put the baby in this ugly thing if you find her, are you?” he grumbled.

  “That would be child abuse,” Beth said as she switched her flashlight on. “Do you have any troll detection spells?”

  “I prefer 'keep the troll from eating me' spells.”

  “That actually makes sense…wait.” Beth squinted. “Do you see something over there?”

  “I do. It may be a fire.”

  Beth nodded and moved as quickly and quietly as she could. In a minute, she and Gregor reached what appeared to be a crude campsite. There was a small fire that had almost burnt itself out, a primitive tent, and a pile of trash that Beth tried not to look at. “He must have gone to get more wood,” Beth said.

  “Or a main course,” Gregor said.

  “That's a scary thought—hang on.” Beth headed for the tent.

  “Are you mad, girl?”

  “I thought I heard something in here.” Beth pulled the flap aside and shone her flashlight into the tent.

  There was a dirty, disgusting blanket on top of a stained mattress. Lying on the blanket was a baby, obviously faerie from the ears. Her crying was muffled by the cloth tied around her mouth. “What kind of loser puts a gag on a baby?” Beth said as she picked up the little girl.

  “The kind who doesn't want it to be heard,” Gregor said.

  “Well, not tonight,” Beth said as she carried the baby from the tent. “You must be Brooke,” she said as she slipped the gag off. “It's okay now, sweetie. We've got you.”

  Brooke kept crying. “Check the diaper,” Gregor said.

  “I don't think that's it,” Beth said as she gently rocked the baby. “She's probably hungry, poor thing.”

  “Or she just saw something that frightened her,” Gregor said, suddenly trembling.

  Beth turned pale. “Please tell me that was meant as a joke.”

  An angry bellow drowned out Gregor's reply. Beth spun around and gasped.

  The troll was eight feet of muscle and blood-red hair, with a big bulbous nose and ears and a mouthful of sharp teeth, wearing only a crude loincloth and boots. He lifted a club and, with an angry roar, charged at Beth and the baby. Beth had her back to the tent and was boxed in; she took a deep breath and screamed, “Michiko! Help!”

  The troll swung his club, but it stopped and bounced back. “Barrier spell,” Gregor shouted; with her second sight, Beth could see the faint outline in front of them. “I'll try to hold it, but—” The troll swung again, with the same result. “—he's strong. Keep screaming!”

  “Help!” Beth yelled as the troll kept hammering at the barrier. “Michiko! Troll! Michiko, help!” Brooke cried and wriggled in her arms.

  “Try to move sideways,” Gregor said as he panted. “Maybe we can run away if we can get past the tent.” Beth nodded and edged along the tent, the barrier spell following her. She kept shouting, but she could feel her voice going.

  The troll snarled, raised his club and swung with all his might. It hit the barrier, and there was a flash of white light. “Gregor!”
Beth said.

  “I couldn't hold him,” he said. “Too strong. Out of practice.” He shook his head. “I'm sorry, girl.”

  “Run!” Beth tossed Gregor's purse aside to give him a chance to escape and crouched down, shielding Brooke as best as she could. She looked up and screamed as the troll smiled cruelly and raised his club.

  Then, he stopped and roared in pain as a staff hit him on the side of the head. He turned.

  “Now that I have your attention…” The Monkey Queen spun her staff around. “I'll give you one chance.” She pointed her staff at the troll. “Back away from these people, swear off eating intelligent beings, and return to Faerie. If you do that, I'll let you leave with all your teeth. Deal?”

  The troll smiled and started to drool. “Tasty human girl!” he said. “Eat you first! Save baby for dessert!”

  Michiko made a face. “Oh, I am so not buying your diet book,” she said as the troll charged. He swung his club at her; she leaped high in the air to avoid the blow. As she came down, she hit the troll again on the side of the head with her staff.

  He growled and swung again. Michiko blocked the club with her staff, but the troll pushed harder, and his pressure bent her down. She glanced back at Beth and jerked her head to the side. “Get Brooke out of here,” she mouthed. Beth nodded and stood up, carefully holding Brooke. She then grabbed Gregor's purse and started to back away, towards the hillside.

  The troll saw her moving away and stood up straight, pulling his club back. With his pressure gone, Michiko stumbled to her knees. The troll then threw his club at Beth.

  Michiko quickly spun her staff in her hand over her head, then flung it at the club. The spinning staff caught the club just before it reached Beth and knocked it aside, both weapons skidding to a stop near Beth's feet.

  Michiko tried to stand, but the troll grabbed her and lifted her off the ground, high enough so that they were face-to-face. He then wrapped his arms around her and tightened them, crushing her against his chest. “Smush you!” he said as she tried to break free. “Eat you! Eat baby!” He laughed cruelly.