Of Introductions and Abductions

by Robert Dahlen

  “Even though he is safe and sound,” the Duke said, “there is still the matter of dealing with those who committed this heinous crime. Puck has told us that it was done by the hobgoblins.” Beth glanced around the crowd and saw Vrech clenching his fists.

  “Too long have they defied and denied us! Too long have we allowed this to continue! Well, no longer!” Wrexham thundered. “We will have our vengeance! I am pleased to announce that as of now, the House of Wrexham declares war upon the Hoblands!”

  The crowd applauded, with more enthusiasm than before. As Wrexham continued his speech, Michiko said to Beth, “There's one piece in place. This is all a set-up for Wrexham to get what he wants. But where does Puck—”

  “Michiko?” Beth said. “We've got a more immediate problem.” She pointed back to the stage.

  “Two of the hobgoblins who were behind this,” Wrexham was saying, “are in this hall tonight! We shall make them pay for their crime!” He stepped off the stage to another round of applause.

  “That's no way to treat invited guests!” Michiko said.

  “I know,” Beth said, glancing at a nearby trio of faerie guards. “But how do we stop him?”

  “Monkey Queen?”

  Michiko turned and saw the four faeries who she had given the cookies to earlier. They were staring at her, expressionless and glassy-eyed. “My liege,” said one in a hollow voice, “we are in your service. What would you have us do?”

  “I have just the thing,” Michiko said, grinning.

  Vrech glared at Duke Wrexham as the faerie approached him and Amitya. “This is an outrage!” the hobgoblin shouted. “We had nothing to do with Puck's abduction! You know it!”

  “But you can't prove that.” The Duke smiled cruelly. “I believe you were in on the plot all along. The ringleader, in fact.”

  “What?” Vrech said, visibly shocked.

  “How dare you!” Amitya said.

  “This is my realm,” Wrexham said, “and my word is law. Guards?” He gestured. Three faerie guards on the far side of the room drew their swords and started towards Vrech and Amitya.

  “Conga line!” someone shouted.

  Heads throughout the room turned. Four young faeries wearing Wrexham's colors had formed a line and were dancing through the crowd. They marched between the hobgoblins and Wrexham, who had to dodge their poorly-synchronized kicks. “Celebrate our glorious declaration of war by joining in the conga line and dancing, as my liege commands!” the lead faerie loudly declared.

  With squeals of delight, other faeries jumped into the line. The conductor shrugged and led the orchestra in a vamp that managed to sound nothing like conga music. The quickly-growing line cut off the guards, keeping them away from the hobgoblins. “What is this?” Vrech asked. “What is going on?”

  “It's called a distraction,” Beth said as she popped up next to him. “The Monkey Queen says it's a good time to get out.” Vrech nodded, took Amitya's arm and headed towards the stairs, Beth trailing behind.

  “Stop them!” Wrexham shouted, trying to be heard above the orchestra and the call to conga. Two guards near the stairs started to move, but the hobgoblins were already past the greeter, and into the porth.

  The line grew longer, snaking around the room. The orchestra did its best to keep up. Wrexham glanced around, befuddled. “Who—?” he started to ask.

  “Not in the mood for conga, Duke?”

  He turned towards Michiko as she pushed something into his hands. “You can have it back,” she said. “It doesn't match my tea caddy.”

  Wrexham looked down at his dessert tray and saw the few crumbs remaining there. He looked at the conga line and saw the glazed expressions of its four leaders. He saw the Monkey Queen somersaulting over the dancers. “Great party!” she shouted over her shoulder as she landed and headed for the stairs.

  “I'll get you!” the Duke screamed. He started to push through the crowd, but as he did, a large figure blocked his way.

  “Duke Wrexham!” Olig said with a smile, spreading his arms wide. “Wonderful party as always! The pickled sea slug was excellent…I'm sorry, is this a bad time?”

  Wrexham pushed past him without a word, but Michiko and Beth were already on the stairs. He snarled and turned away, handing the dessert tray to the faerie leading the conga line. Behind him, Olig waved at Beth, who smiled and gave a thumbs-up in return. Michiko grabbed Beth's shoulder and slipped a hand into Gregor's purse. They hurried into the porth.

  A minute later, as Wrexham's men tried to restore order, a blonde faerie guard in green slipped through the crowd and up the stairs. She looked about, laid a hand on her sword, and with a nod to the greeter, stepped into the porth.

  Chapter Ten

  “There we are!” Michiko said as she pointed to the lightpath at their feet. “Follow this, and we'll be home.”

  They started down the lightpath, but Beth found herself shivering. “Something's wrong,” she said.

  “Don't tell me you tried the pickled sea slug!” Michiko said.

  “I think the girl's right,” Gregor said. “There's a different…feel to the air.”

  Michiko nodded. “Let's play it safe and—”

  She was cut short by a loud shriek. In the glow of the lightpath, they could see a large, hideous black bird flying towards them. Its eyes glowed red, and it seemed to trail shadow behind it. Beth realized that it could be a twin of the bird that had been at her window two nights before, and tried not to shudder.

  Michiko shook her arm, and her miniaturized staff slid out of her sleeve. In an instant, it was its normal size and in her hand. She swung it at the bird as it approached her.

  It reared up, then swooped down. Michiko lashed out, striking the bird hard with the staff's tip. The bird seemed to evaporate, fading into the shadows. “We're being attacked,” she said. “Gregor, stay down; that bird looked hungry.” The guinea pig grumbled but dropped down inside his purse.

  “Wrexham?” Beth asked.

  “This isn't his style,” Michiko said. “But who—”

  “Monkey Queen!”

  A faerie woman with long blonde hair was running down the lightpath towards them, sword drawn. Isn't she the woman who—? Beth thought. Michiko raised her staff.

  “Behind you!” the faerie shouted. Michiko turned as the faerie's sword swung past her. The black bird she hit dissipated. “Shadow rooks,” she said. “I think more are coming.”

  “Let's not wait for them,” Michiko said. “We don't have too far to go.”

  “Protect your friend.” The faerie moved next to Beth, her back to Michiko. “Move down the lightpath, but not too fast or slow.”

  Michiko nodded and stepped warily along the path. Beth stayed close to her. The faerie kept right behind Beth; a quick swing of her sword, and another bird vanished.

  Then, the air filled with shrieks as a half-dozen more shadow rooks dove from the darkness. Michiko and the faerie both swung, but the birds swooped away and then dove again, talons extended. Michiko pushed Beth aside as two rooks just missed them both. “We're outnumbered,” the faerie said as she drove the birds back.

  “Cover Beth,” Michiko said. She crouched down, then jumped twelve feet in the air.

  The shadow rooks converged on the Monkey Queen. She held her staff in one hand and swung widely. Three birds vanished into smoke. She then tossed the staff at two birds attacking the faerie. It hit them both, dissipating them, and clattered to the floor.

  As it did, Michiko rebounded off the passageway's wall. As she tumbled back and down, two swift hard kicks and an elbow jab took out three more rooks. She landed on her feet and held out her hand. Her staff flew into it, and she spun and struck two last birds. “I've cleared the path,” she said, catching her breath. “Run for it.”

  Michiko and Beth ran as fast they could in their heels. The faerie followed close behind, swinging her sword as more birds flew after them. “How can she fight like that while wearing that outfit?” she muttered.

 
They reached the porth and Beth, legs and feet aching, dove through first, tumbling onto the floor of her living room. Michiko was next, spinning back to face the porth as soon as she was through.

  The faerie was last, and as she entered the room, she turned and stabbed into the porth, dispatching one last rook. Then, one more slash; the porth vanished, and the two pieces of Aloysius's invitation fluttered to the floor. “Are you all right?” she asked.

  “You bet!” Michiko said. “What a party!”

  “Yeah, my favorite parties always end up with me running for my life,” Beth said as Michiko helped her up. She looked at the faerie, who was sheathing her sword. “You're the one who helped me up when I was tripped, aren't you?” she asked.

  The faerie nodded. “I'm sorry I came across so curt before,” she said. “I had important business I needed to get to. My name is Robyn. I'm with the Faerie Forest Guard.”

  “Beth McGill. Thanks for the help back there.” They shook hands. “And that's the Monkey Queen.”

  “My friends call me Michiko,” she said as she shook Robyn's hand. Then, her eyes widened. “Wait…I think I've heard of you. Aren't you Puck's goddaughter?”

  “That's the human term, yes,” the faerie said.

  “Oh my gosh!” Michiko smiled. “I'm so glad to meet you! Puck talks about you all the time!”

  “I hope he hasn't bored you.” Robyn returned Michiko's smile.

  There was a muffled, cranky voice from Beth's purse. “This is Gregor,” she said, lifting the guinea pig out.

  “You use that as a pet carrier?” Robyn said.

  “I know!” Gregor grumbled. “It's cruelty to animals.”

  Robyn raised an eyebrow. “Ventriloquism?”

  “Reincarnation,” Beth said as she put Gregor in his cage.

  “Ah.”

  “So why are you here?”

  “Did they run out of sausages?” Michiko asked.

  Robyn blinked. “Actually, I came to ask you for your help.”

  “With those birds?”

  “I think I may have an idea about who's behind that,” Beth said. “I spoke to a woman at the party who seemed to be a sorceress. She was doing tricks with shadows. She tried to convince me that Michiko was bad news, then she vanished.”

  “How did she get in without an invitation?” Robyn asked.

  “She mentioned something about going where there were shadows, including faerie porths.”

  “So we have another crisis?” Gregor asked.

  “Tell her to take a number,” Michiko said. “We still have to stop a war and find out what happened to Puck.”

  “Which brings me to why I'm here,” Robyn said. “I heard what Wrexham's plans are.”

  “Conquer the hobgoblins and seize their land?” Michiko said.

  “More than that. Right outside the Hoblands, there's an auldgate to Earth that's been closed for centuries.”

  “Right. It happened during the last True Millennium.”

  “And we know where the other end is,” Beth said. “It's nearby.”

  “Wrexham is going to reopen that auldgate,” Robyn said. “He plans on doing it this morning, and he has 300 soldiers ready, hiding here on Earth.”

  Beth scowled. “Is reopening it possible?”

  “With the True Millennium coming again,” Michiko said, “any auldgate that was shut down last time is fair game.”

  “With it reopened,” Robyn said, “he can march in to the Hoblands and catch the hobgoblins by surprise. It will be a slaughter.”

  “But that's not the only reason you're here, is it, girl?” Gregor said. “You had business with Wrexham and Puck, didn't you?”

  The faerie blinked. “How—how did—?”

  “When you're small, you can go places you're not supposed to be.”

  Robyn nodded. “I came because of Puck. He's told me about Earth, and he's mentioned you, Michiko. I thought you might know what happened to him, why he had changed after his kidnapping.”

  “He's not himself,” Beth said. “It's like he's been a different person since he was rescued.”

  “It's all connected, isn't it?” Michiko said.

  “What is?” Robyn asked.

  “The kidnapping and Wrexham's declaration of war. I can't figure out how, but they are, and not in the obvious way.”

  “And the hobgoblins?”

  “I'm convinced that Wrexham set them up. But again, I don't know how.” Michiko started to pace around the living room.

  “That reminds me of something,” Beth said. “Michiko, both times that you fought the hobgoblins, there was something odd about them.”

  “How so?”

  “When I blinked, and disrupted their seemings, the hobgoblins still seemed…fuzzy to me. Blurry.”

  “She has second sight,” Michiko said to Robyn. The faerie raised an eyebrow and nodded. “I didn't notice anything, Beth.”

  “Robyn?” Beth asked. “Do you have a seeming?”

  “I have a human one,” she said, “but I don't use it much.” She gestured, and suddenly she was a blonde human female in green workout clothes and running shoes.

  “Gregor?” Beth said. “Can you cast seemings? Temporary ones?”

  “Can I cast temporary seemings?” The guinea pig snorted. “Child's play.”

  “Would you cast one on Robyn?” Beth asked. “On top of her other seeming?” Gregor nodded and spoke quickly under his breath. Robyn became a brunette in a green floor-length dress.

  Beth stared at Robyn, looked past the surface but not too far, and blinked. Gregor's seeming vanished, leaving Robyn in her blonde human seeming. “Okay,” Beth said. “None of you can see this, but right now, Robyn's seeming is fuzzy.”

  “So that means…” Michiko said.

  “That the kidnappers and the fake cops at the alley weren't hobgoblins,” Beth said as Robyn dispelled her seeming. “They had a second seeming that I didn't catch.”

  “But who were they?”

  Beth's eyes widened. “Michiko! At the party! Remember Cantwick? Wrexham's right-hand faerie? He had a black eye!”

  “I didn't see anything,” Michiko said as she paced.

  “He was covering his face with a seeming,” Beth said

  “Faeries do that all the time.”

  “But when you fought the hobgoblins, didn't you hit one—”

  “But that means—” Michiko started to say as she stopped next to Beth.

  “And he was behind it—” Beth said.

  “And Puck hasn't been himself—”

  “Because he wasn't—”

  “And his breakfast!”

  “And you told me—”

  “And that's why he didn't—”

  “Michiko!” Beth said with an excited smile. “Are you pondering what I'm pondering!”

  “Yes, I am!” Michiko yelled. They fell into each other's arms, laughing loud and long.

  Michiko pulled back. “I need to change,” she said. “It's too early to be so dressed up!”

  “Same here,” Beth said. “These heels are killing me.”

  “I need to use your kitchen, too.”

  “Go right ahead.”

  “But do you have—”

  “Lots. The roommate before last had to leave in a hurry.”

  “Yay!” Michiko bounded into the empty bedroom.

  “Don't worry,” Beth said, grabbing Robyn's shoulders. “We know what Wrexham is up to. We're going to stop him. And Puck is going to be fine. Count on it.”

  She ran into her bedroom and shut the door. Robyn stared after her for a long moment. “They're both completely and utterly mad, aren't they?” the faerie finally said.

  Gregor snorted. “I could have told you that the moment I saw the bunny slippers.”

  Michiko had changed into her yellow, black and red outfit and was finishing up in the kitchen. Beth was back in her faded jeans and her green army jacket, under which she was wearing, she hoped ironically, a Les Miserables t-shirt. “All set?�
� she asked the others as she grabbed Gregor's purse. She pulled Olig's card from it and stuck it on a shelf, not expecting to use it but not wanting to lose it.

  “Yep!” Michiko slipped something into her pocket and grabbed her staff.

  Robyn stood up and loosened her sword in its scabbard. “Aye,” she said.

  “Have fun out there,” Gregor said as he burrowed into his bedding. “Good night.”

  “Not so fast.” Beth scooped the guinea pig from his cage and into his gaudy purse.

  As they left Beth's apartment, Michiko pulled out her smartphone and made a call. “Good morning!” she said. “I know it's early, but we need your help. Oh, you can catch up on your beauty sleep later. Listen, you need to call some of the regulars. Tell them to get over to Paulsen Plaza ASAP. That means you, too. You can go back to bed after we prevent a war.”

  Paulsen Plaza was a small square in the center of town, with trees, bushes, benches, a statue of a forgotten politician, and too many pigeons. It was a dark, chilly, foggy early morning, and several faerie soldiers near the statue were shivering and trying to keep warm. Duke Wrexham was not; he walked briskly up to them. “How is the ritual proceeding, Cantwick?” he asked his right-hand man.

  “Slowly but steadily,” he said. “The wizards have asked not to be disturbed; any interruption at this point would force them to start over.”

  “Make sure they are left alone, then. The seemings are holding?”

  “Aye. The wizards reassure me that humans will not interfere with us.”

  “Are the men in place?”

  Cantwick nodded. “At your command, as always.”

  “And Puck?”

  “Right here, my liege.” Puck walked up to Wrexham and clasped his hand. “A grand day dawns for Faerie, eh?”

  “Absolutely.” Wrexham smiled. “Cantwick, gather the—”

  “Good morning!” Michiko strolled into the plaza, Beth close behind.

  “The Monkey Queen.” Wrexham sighed. “Of course.”

  “And good morning, Puck!” Beth said. He ignored her.