“He wouldn’t tell me his name. But I remembered him from many years before. He had something wrong with his leg. He walked with a crutch.”
Izzy was having a hard time listening, distracted by Olligan and the crows. The three birds Ollie had spotted landed silently on the courtyard wall beside the others.
Peter also glanced at the birds as he continued talking. “The man told me he found you. You were all alone, with no family. He begged me to take you to Earth and made me promise to give you to a good family there.”
Izzy felt a spike of sadness at this confirmation. She was an orphan for sure then.
“But why would you do it?” she asked.
Peter looked down and ran his finger around the cuff of his jacket. “I told you before that sometimes I make mistakes. I don’t always find the best homes for the children I Exchange. This man told me I owed him the favor.” A pained look flashed in Peter’s eyes. “So I took you to Earth. I could tell you were a Changeling from the start. Since you were only a baby, I worried you’d Change accidentally and give yourself away. So right before I placed you with the Doyle family, I put a light enchantment on you to subdue your Changeling powers.”
“Is that why I have so much trouble Changing?” asked Izzy.
Peter shook his head. “The enchantment was minor. It would have worn off long ago.” He shrugged and continued his story. “I didn’t think much about you at the time, I was so busy. But later, I thought something was strange about the whole affair. I tried to find the man with the crutch when I returned, but I couldn’t. He had vanished. Then I went back to Earth to try to find you, but you were gone too.”
“My family moved,” explained Izzy. At least she knew that part of the mystery.
“I decided to let it go,” said Peter. “It seemed odd but not important. I forgot about you. I forgot about the man with the crutch.” He frowned. “But now I think I should have found out more. The man had been upset when he brought you to me. Frantic almost. It should have been a clue. I suppose I have to add it to the long list of my mistakes.”
On the courtyard wall behind Peter, two more crows flapped down. Izzy looked around. There were now at least twenty birds sitting on the wall.
Olligan caught her eye and held his hands out at his sides. “Can you believe this? So odd!”
Peter looked at the birds and then turned back to Izzy. “I thought hiding you and the other Changelings would be the best way to protect you, but now I’m not sure it’s possible. Rine has grown more powerful than I thought. He’ll find a way to get to you eventually, even on Earth. Something has been on my mind all day today. For some reason, Rine has singled you out, Izzy. Of all the Changelings in the plaza last night, he grabbed you. In the Edgewood, you were the one he was watching. I doubt even he understands why he is drawn to you more than the others. But I think you had better figure it out before he does.” Peter put his hand on Izzy’s shoulder. It reminded her of the day, nine months ago, that he told her she was a Changeling. But this time, he didn’t give any answers, only more questions. “I think the only way to be safe is to find out the truth about yourself. Where did you come from? Who are you, Izzy? Who are you really?”
Peter’s words struck Izzy cold. Those were the very questions she wanted answered more than anything else in the world.
“Then we’ll find the answers,” she said, putting on a smile. “You’ll help me. We’ll figure it out together.”
Peter closed his eyes tight, and when he opened them, they held so much sadness. “I can’t,” he whispered. “I can’t help you anymore.”
“What the heck…” said Olligan. “You guys, take a look at this!”
Izzy and Peter both stood up. A hundred crows now sat perched on the courtyard walls. With the same jerky motion, they each twisted their heads over one shoulder and plucked a long flight feather from their wings.
One by one, they flew down to the center of the courtyard and placed their feathers on the ground, then flew back to their perches on the wall. Olligan backed up until he stood beside Izzy.
“I’ve got to go get Selden,” he said, edging up the steps sideways. “He’s got to see this!”
The crows had created a tall pile of shimmery black feathers. When the last crow had added its feather to the pile, the whole flock of them began to caw loudly.
“What’s going on?” asked Izzy, shouting to be heard over the din.
Peter put his hand on Izzy’s shoulder, and together, they walked out into the courtyard.
The pile of feathers shifted. With each caw from the crows, it pulsed, growing taller and taller. In one surge, the feathers swirled upward in a whorl of purple and black. When they settled, they formed a robe that covered the broad shoulders of a tall woman. Her long hair, iridescent like crow feathers, fell in straight sheets around her face. She gazed at Peter with her wide-set eyes. They were black, just like his, just like the birds.
“Hello again, Piper,” she said. “It’s been a long time.”
Peter bowed to her. “It has, Your Honor.”
“Do you know why I’m here?”
Izzy looked up at Peter. His face was calm as he nodded, but she could feel his hand tremble where it rested on her shoulder.
“Long ago, you were given a flute of great power.” The woman had a deep, scratching voice, and she made strange clicking sounds between the words. “As a check on that power, you swore an oath never to use it to harm a human. You have broken your promise.”
Izzy took a step forward. “But he had to! He did it to save my life!”
“Shh,” whispered Peter. “It’s all right.”
Izzy pressed one hand to her heart. She tried to make her voice calm, even though she was afraid. “Please,” she said to the woman. “If Peter did something wrong, it was for a good reason. He won’t do it again.”
The woman stared down at Izzy. She tilted her head one way, then the other. The crows held still and watchful. Izzy held her breath. Without answering Izzy, the woman turned back to Peter and held out her hand. “You must relinquish your gift,” she said. “You have lost the right to use it.”
“I don’t have the flute,” said Peter. “It is gone.”
Izzy looked up at him, wondering if he was lying. She’d never seen the flute out of arm’s reach of him.
The woman tilted her head again, like she was listening for something. After a moment, she nodded. “You tell the truth.”
Izzy took a shaky breath. This was devastating. How could Peter protect them without his flute?
The woman kept her hand outstretched toward Peter. “It’s time,” she said softly.
Peter slipped his hand off Izzy’s shoulder and started walking toward the woman.
Izzy’s stomach dropped. “Wait!” She ran beside him and grabbed his sleeve. “Where are you going? Peter, what’s going on?”
Peter patted her hand and gently removed it from his arm. “It’s all right. Just remember what I told you.” He glanced back at the castle. “Tell Selden he’s in charge now. Tell him I’m proud of him, and I trust him to take care of everyone.”
Tears filled Izzy’s eyes. “Peter, stop it! Where are you going?”
She followed after him, but when she got close to the black-haired lady, she stopped. The air surrounding the woman was as cold as a winter night. It made Izzy afraid. She backed up until she could feel the warm, safe summer air again.
Peter stood in front of the woman, and she took his hand in hers. Peter was a tall man, but even he had to tilt his face up to meet her eyes.
“I’m ready,” he said.
The woman picked up the edges of her feather robe and wrapped it around his shoulders. The crows took off from the wall and flew in circles around them. The air filled with the snap of flapping wings and the blue-black sheen of feathers.
“Peter!” Izzy screamed.
>
The birds whirled faster and faster, whipping dust into her face. Shielding her eyes with one hand, she stumbled forward. She grasped for the woman’s cloak, but it slipped through her fingers.
The other Changelings burst out from the castle and ran down the courtyard steps. When they saw the swirling black, they stopped, confused and frightened.
“Selden!” Izzy cried. “Help me!”
Selden Changed into a wolf and charged across the courtyard. By the time he reached Izzy, the crows were flying so fast that they were a solid blur of black. Izzy grabbed at the place where Peter had stood. Feathers sliced her fingers, and she pulled them back.
The crows swirled higher. They were no longer birds but a vortex of black air that rose into the sky, higher than the castle towers. It tapered like a spindle, left the ground, and disappeared into the clouds.
Izzy lowered her hand from her face. She and Selden sat alone on the dirt in the courtyard.
One single black feather floated down and landed gently in her lap.
15
Appearances and Vanishings
The next day, Lufkin held a showy memorial service for Peter that none of the Changelings could stand to attend. Izzy and Dree watched the spectacle from the open window in Selden and Lug’s room, which looked directly over the plaza.
“And so as the old wisdom of Faerie states,” boomed Lufkin, his voice quivering with fake emotion, “all those born beneath the sun perish beneath the sun. Of course, the Piper was a Neverborn, so I suppose the saying doesn’t really apply to him, but the spirit does.” He blew his nose into a lace handkerchief with a loud honk.
“Peter would have ridiculed this nonsense up and down,” said Dree. “And look at that horrid necktie the constable is wearing. He could have at least shown a little class. I’m tempted to fly down and snatch off his wig.”
“But is it so wrong to pay tribute to Peter?” Lug sobbed, his real tears a stark contrast to the ones the constable was squeezing out. Lufkin had probably stuck pepper grains in the corners of his eyes to get them to water. “Shouldn’t we be down there to honor him? For—for everything he did for us?”
“I just can’t believe it,” whispered Selden. “I can’t believe he’s really gone.”
None of them could. At first, they’d all stood in the empty courtyard waiting for him to show back up. But, of course, he didn’t come back, and as the hours passed, Izzy became more and more sure he was never coming back again. Just like the black-haired woman had been able to feel that his flute wasn’t in Faerie, Izzy could feel that the Piper wasn’t there anymore either. She’d never realized how safe she’d felt just knowing Peter was out there somewhere. Even on Earth when she’d felt alone and miserable, she always had the sense that someone was keeping one eye on her. And now that someone was gone. They could all fall off a cliff, into the abyss, and no one would catch them.
“Who was that woman supposed to be anyway?” asked Selden, his sadness giving way to anger. “Some sort of judge? She wouldn’t even listen to you, Izzy, when you tried to explain what happened. Where’s the justice in that?”
“It’s true,” said Lug, wiping his eyes on his forearms. “Peter’s been around for so long. He’s done so many good things. Surely, that would count in his favor. Surely, the judge could let him have one tiny mistake in all those years.”
“That tiny mistake was the only one he couldn’t make,” said Dree. “He knew it too.”
“So did Rine,” said Izzy. She thought about his quiet, satisfied laugh. “He set that whole thing up: tricking Peter into killing that other witch. He wanted to get Peter out of the way.”
“Oh, but at least we’ve still got the Watch,” said Selden with a grim smirk. “With Lufkin and his fairies protecting us, we’ve got nothing to worry about.”
Dree snorted. “Lufkin keeps asking Tom, ‘You’re sure the witches only want Changelings? No one else?’ I’m surprised he hasn’t kicked us out of the city with a big sign around our necks. Come and get ’em, Rine. Just leave the rest of us alone.”
Lufkin had shifted the Watch from guarding the castle to just guarding the city gates, which they were all too happy to do. The servants had left them as well, stuffing their pockets with silverware on their way out the door. Tom Diffley was the only fairy still sticking by them.
But even though Tom was a brilliant inventor, he couldn’t wrap his mind around how to deal with all the Changelings. They were too heavy to carry away in the Muscadine at once. Some would have to walk. And it was too dangerous to try a trek to the Edgewood along the open road. Someone might spot them, and word could get to Rine where they were going.
Tom did what he could, keeping an eye out on the surrounding areas from the Muscadine. They had less than two days before Rine would regain his strength. After that, they were certain he’d come after them.
They were like planets spinning off their orbits. No one had liked Peter’s plan for the massive Exchange, but at least he had a plan. And now that they’d seen Rine face-to-face, they understood why Peter had wanted to get them out of Faerie so badly. The catch was that now they couldn’t do it without him. They could probably find their way to Earth on their own, but without Peter’s flute, an Exchange was out of the question.
What would a mob of unruly fairy children do on Earth all by themselves? Where would they go? And what would stop Rine from sending Unglers after them anyway?
Dree leaned forward and craned her neck out the window. “What’s going on down there?”
The crowd gathered at the memorial had turned to see one of the Watch running up the street into the plaza. He spoke to Lufkin, making panicky motions in the direction of the Liadan River.
“Oh no. What now?” said Lug.
“We’d better go find out,” said Selden.
With no one left to protest their leaving the castle, they followed Lufkin’s entourage through the winding streets to the eastern end of the city. The tall gates that opened onto the Liadan Bridge were barred shut. Members of the Watch stood on the ramparts high above, looking nervously over the other side.
“What is all the commotion?” demanded Lufkin, sweaty and puffing from the downhill hike.
“We don’t like the look of this, sir!” shouted one of the Watch. “This lady out here, she just appeared out of nowhere!”
The fairies murmured worriedly. Some of the crowd went running back to the safety of their homes.
Lufkin twisted his wig back and forth. “Is it—is it another witch?”
“Don’t think so,” called the Watch. He gripped the tops of his ears. “She looks like a fairy. Pretty old.”
“You open that gate this minute,” called a gruff voice on the other side. “Or I’ll get a switch and tan your britches!”
Izzy’s heart lifted to hear the familiar voice.
“It’s all right, Mister Lufkin. You can open the gate!” said Izzy. “We know her. She’s not a witch.”
Not technically anyway, Izzy thought, squeezing through the gates as they opened. She ran across the bridge to the old woman in question, threw her arms around her, and burst into tears.
“There, child, it’s all right,” whispered Marian as she smoothed down Izzy’s hair. “Now let me get a good look at you.”
She held Izzy out by the shoulders. Dozens of tiny wrinkles appeared at the corners of her eyes and lips when she smiled. Marian had lost the splotchy tan Izzy remembered. But she still smelled the same—like herbs just clipped from a kitchen garden.
“Oh, Marian, so many terrible things have happened,” said Izzy, wiping her cheeks. “I don’t even know where to start.”
Marian’s smile gave way to sadness. “I know, child. I’m sorry about Peter. I came as fast as I could, but I just couldn’t get here in time. I would’ve liked to tell him goodbye.”
“But how did you know?”
&nb
sp; Behind Izzy, the city gates creaked as Lug rolled them open on their heavy hinges. Lufkin and all the rest of his entourage stayed behind him, still wary of the strange lady.
Marian put one finger to her lips. “He sent a message,” she whispered. “Not to me, but I still got it.”
She walked midway down the bridge. Izzy followed behind, then stopped, confused.
“What in the…” Izzy whispered, leaning forward.
A round brown eye the size of a lemon floated in the air above her. It blinked. Izzy smelled the sharp sweetness of hay and heard a fluttering whinny.
Marian made a soft shushing noise. Then she reached up and swiped her hands through the air, like she was pushing aside curtains. She stood so her body blocked any view of what she was doing from the fairies back at the gate. A tangle of golden curls appeared out of the air, followed by a tie-dyed T-shirt and a pair of legs covered in bandages and chigger bites.
Izzy rushed forward. “Hen!”
Her little sister wore a triumphant smile as she put her hands on her hips. “I knew you weren’t in a sidekick institute!”
• • •
Hen’s arrival brought a burst of much-needed happy energy to the castle. The younger Changelings were thrilled to see her, and any sadness they felt about Peter was temporarily eased by the bubble gum Hen brought in her backpack.
“Check this out,” Hen explained to Phlox, spreading out the gum wrapper. “There are jokes on the inside. And tattoos. Just lick and stick.”
Phlox licked the thin paper and slapped it onto her forehead.
“Perfect,” said Hen.
Izzy was dying to know how her sister had gotten to Faerie all by herself, but she let Hen reunite with all the others first. After Lug picked her up and swung her around and after Park and Rusk had shown off their wooden fortress and after Hen had given out the friendship bracelets she’d woven at camp, Marian shooed everyone else away and pulled both sisters into the kitchen.
While Marian heated the kettle for tea, Izzy explained as clearly as she could what had happened since Peter took her from Camp Kitterpines.
In a Dark Land Page 11