by JL Bryan
“I still want that back.”
“Oh, oh, I don’t think so,” Grizlemor said, wagging a finger. “Unless you bring me all four of the instruments, so we can put this whole thing to rest.”
“It’s not your necklace,” Jason said.
“Neither are those instruments yours.” Grizlemor kept bouncing on the bed. “This is quite fun, isn’t it?”
“Stop it!” Jason grabbed him and pulled him down to a sitting position. “You’re making too much noise. Look, I’ll give the instruments back when we’re done with them.”
“And when will that be?”
“I’m not sure.”
“I’m sure you’re not,” Grizlemor said. “Because the music of those instruments is addictive to humans. You won’t be able to stop playing them.”
“I’m giving them back!” Jason snapped.
“Don’t go and make this ‘video’ of yours,” Grizlemor said. “Honestly, please. You’ll be endangering yourself and your friends. Including that man-girl you’re so sweet on.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The one with the emerald necklace. I saw her sleeping. She was hideously ugly, by goblin standards, but I suppose if you’re just a human—”
“Shut up!”
“I’m only trying to make things easy for you,” Grizlemor said.
“What happens if I don’t give them back?” Jason asked.
“Oh, don’t consider that. The Queen will unleash terrible monsters to pursue you. The longer you make her wait, the worse it will be. She may even feed you to the beasts of the labyrinth.”
“The what?”
“You don’t understand the power of those instruments,” Grizlemor said. “You know they make people dance and feel happy. There’s much more inside them. They contain the powers of the four elements.”
“Which four elements?”
“There are only four.”
“I’m pretty sure there are more than a hundred,” Jason said, thinking of the periodic table in his chemistry class.
“You only need four for magical purposes,” Grizlemor said, then waved a hand. “Anyway, it’s obviously way beyond your brain-grasp. The point is, you’re endangering me, and you’re endangering yourself, and your man-girl—”
“Stop calling her that.”
“—and the wrath of fairies is not something you want to find yourself crushed underneath,” Grizlemor said.
Jason’s bedroom door opened.
“Jason?” Katie asked. “Who you talking to?” Then she gaped.
Jason looked from Katie back to his bed. A puff of green smoke remained where Grizlemor had been.
“It was the monster!” Katie said. “I’m telling Mom and Dad!”
She turned to run down the hall.
“No, Katie, wait!” Jason chased after her and picked her up. “Shhh! Okay? Shhhh!”
Katie looked at him for a few seconds, then nodded her head.
Jason carried her back to his room, closed the door, and set her down.
“Stay very quiet,” Jason whispered.
“Okay,” she whispered back.
Jason knelt by his bed and lifted the cover. “Come on out, Grizlemor.”
After a moment, Grizlemor crawled out and stood up. Katie gaped at the green-skinned goblin, in his filthy woolen cap and coat.
“Katie, this is Grizlemor,” Jason said.
Grizlemor doffed his cap and bowed. “Young lady,” he said, and Katie giggled.
“Is he a scary fairy?” Katie asked.
“No, he’s a goblin.”
“But he’s a good goblin.”
Grizlemor shrugged. “I’m good at being a goblin,” he said.
“He’s not going to hurt us,” Jason said. “But you can’t trust him. He’s a thief.”
Grizlemor looked at Jason and snorted. Jason felt a little guilty, but he hoped Grizlemor wouldn’t tell Katie that Jason had stolen the instruments from the fairies.
“Just don’t tell Mom and Dad,” Jason said. “It’ll be okay. He was just leaving.” Jason gripped the handle of his guitar case tight. “Right, Grizlemor?”
Grizlemor sighed. “If that’s how it must be. But remember my warning. You’ll wish you had listened to me, Jason. Good evening, young lady.” Grizlemor replaced his cap. He jogged to the window, puffed his way up to the sill, and then vanished in a last puff of green of smoke.
“Oooh,” Katie said.
“Yeah, ooh,” Jason said. “Try chasing him after he stole something of yours.”
“What was his warning?” Katie asked.
“It’s nothing.”
“It sounded big.”
“He just, um…doesn’t want me telling anybody I saw him. Goblins like to keep themselves secret.”
“It wasn’t about those fairy instruments, was it?” Katie asked. “Do the fairies want them back?”
“No, it’s no big deal, Katie. Don’t even worry about it.”
“Are you in trouble with the fairies?”
“Nobody’s in trouble. Just promise me you won’t go wake up Mom and Dad. Okay?”
“He’s gone, right?”
“He’s all gone.”
“Will you tuck me in?”
“Fine, whatever.” Jason picked her up and carried her to her room. “There. Good night, Katie.”
“And read me a story,” Katie whispered.
“Katie, I have to go.”
“Just a short one.”
Jason shook his head, annoyed. He looked at the bright picture books on Katie’s bookshelf. “What kind of story do you want?”
“One about fairies,” Katie whispered, with a sneaky grin.
Chapter Sixteen
Saturday, Jason woke up worrying over the goblin’s warning. It had been hard to take Grizlemor seriously when Jason had just caught him burglarizing his house again. He’d brushed off Grizlemor’s warnings as the goblin’s attempt to act like he was doing Jason a favor by robbing him.
Now Jason wondered if there might be some truth in what the goblin said. He looked from his guitar case to the heap of napkins with phone numbers on his table. There had to be some kind of price to pay for this, Jason thought. Magic instruments that could draw such a crowd, and turn many more people into fans after hearing just one song—and only half of the song, really, presented in a shaky, poor quality video made on a phone—magic like that couldn’t be just free for the taking.
Jason didn’t know if he believed Grizlemor’s talk about the Fairy Queen, but the fairy musicians themselves would certainly want such amazing instruments back, and could very possibly harbor some fairy fury for the person who stole them.
He remembered the “Queensguard” fairies in their black armor and long swords. Even if they were small, they looked tough and vicious. Jason could probably fight off one or two, but he wouldn’t want to get into a fight with a pack of them.
Then his cell phone rang. Mitch.
“All systems go,” Mitch said.
“Huh?”
“It’s happening tonight,” Mitch said. “Tadd’s coming over to shoot the video tonight. Call up all those new fans and let them know.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I just got off the phone with Tadd.”
“Maybe this isn’t a good idea,” Jason said. “We don’t even know how this magic stuff works.”
“But we know it works. Don’t back out now. Erin’s excited about it, too.”
Jason rubbed his head. He didn’t want to disappoint her.
He opened his case and looked at the enchanted guitar, the strange runes everywhere on the dark, polished wood, the glimmering golden tuning pegs. He brushed his fingertips along the deep engravings on the soundboard, gazing at the sparkling little amethysts that dotted it here and there. The guitar was warm to the touch, like a living thing. It seemed to call to him. He could barely resist the temptation to pick it up and start playing.
His mom knocked on the door. “Jason, t
he lawn isn’t going to mow itself.”
“I’ll be out in a minute,” Jason told her.
“Not yet, my mom’s still here,” Mitch said on the phone.
“I wasn’t talking to you, Mitch.”
“Mick. Just get us an audience and get yourself here tonight. I’m taking care of everything else.” Mitch hung up.
Jason hesitated, then picked up the first napkin and dialed the number.
“Hello?” a girl’s voice asked.
“Hi, um…” He checked the name. “Wendy? This is Jason Becker. You gave me your number last night at Buddy McSlawburger’s—”
A painfully high-pitched squeal pierced his eardrum, and Jason pulled the phone away from his head. His ear was ringing.
“Are you okay?” Jason asked when he put the phone back to his ear.
“Ooh, yah,” she said. “Everything’s great. You?”
“I was just letting you know we’re playing a show tonight, if you want to come—”
She let out another excited squeal, and Jason pulled the phone away faster this time.
“Oh, this is awesome!” she was saying. “I can’t wait! Where?”
Jason gave her Mitch’s address.
“This is so perfect! I can’t wait to tell everybody on Facebook!”
“It’s not going to be huge or anything—”
“It’ll be so huge!” she shouted. “Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”
“Okay,” Jason said. “So, you’re coming?”
“I have to go tell everyone!”
“You don’t have to tell everyone—” Jason said, but she’d already hung up.
He got a similar response from the second number, and the third.
Late in the afternoon, Jason stuffed his McSlawburger’s uniform into his backpack, and told his dad he was going to work. His dad was sitting in his recliner in the living room.
“I thought you were off tonight,” his dad said, looking away from the Golf Channel.
“Yeah, they changed my schedule.”
“A little bit of short notice, isn’t it?”
“Mona hates me. That’s the assistant manager. I guess somebody must have called in sick, or quit.” Jason shrugged.
“You know you’re still grounded,” his dad said. “You’d better not be sneaking off with your friends.”
“I’m not.”
“Stay out of trouble.” His dad turned his attention back to the golf game.
Jason stopped by the garage, where he’d stashed his guitar so his parents wouldn’t see him leaving with it, then rode his bike across town to Buddy McSlawburger’s. He changed into his uniform and stood at the drive-through, letting a sophomore named Lizzy Mueller take a long break. Jason wasn’t scheduled tonight, but Lizzy had been more than happy to let Jason work part of her shift for her.
Jason took and filled the drive-through orders until a familiar voice came over the headset: “One cheeseburger, hold the slaw, one Slawchicken Combo, hold the slaw, and an extra-large fry, hold the chili-cheese. One Kiddo McSlawburger Meal…hold the slaw.”
“Pull around to the window,” Jason said with a grin.
His dad pulled up, and looked both surprised and pleased to see Jason actually at work.
“Hiya, Dad,” Jason said. “I thought you hated the burgers here.”
“Only when they glop all that disgusting slaw on them,” his dad replied. “How’s work tonight?”
“Pretty busy.” Jason handed over the greasy paper bag of food. “Don’t forget to stop for heartburn medicine.”
His dad laughed. “How late are you working?”
“Till closing.”
A car horn beeped somewhere in the drive-through line.
“Okay, Jayce. Have a good night.”
Jason waved as his dad pulled away.
As soon as there was a break in the drive-through customers, Jason found Lizzy reading a bright tabloid at one table in the dining room. CLAUDIA LAFAYETTE: Who is She REALLY Dating Now? asked the headline.
“Your turn,” he said.
“Aw, you sure you don’t want to work all night?” Lizzy asked.
“I’d love to, but I’m busy.” Jason took off his tall, floppy hat and rubbed his sweaty scalp underneath. “Thanks, Lizzy!”
“You can work for me anytime, eh?” Lizzy said with a smile. She walked behind the counter, and Jason went to the bathroom. He changed back into his jeans and black T-shirt, shoved his uniform in his backpack, then went outside and unchained his bike from the rack.
He hurried to Mitch’s neighborhood.
Chapter Seventeen
Jason was running late, but not by much. He was glad his dad had actually come to check on him, or he would have been stuck at the drive-through until nine or ten, when his parents usually went to bed.
Mitch’s mom’s car was gone from the driveway. The garage door was closed, but the front door stood wide open. Jason opened the glass storm door and walked inside.
“Doorbell!” Jason announced as he stepped into the house. “Where are you, Mitch?”
“It’s Mick. Back here in the living room.”
Jason was surprised to walk into the small living room and find Mitch’s silvery keyboards and computer set up near the stairs to the second floor. Portions of Dred’s drum kit had been moved inside, too. Mitch was wiring in amplifiers while Tadd taped microphones to the walls.
“Jayce!” Tadd said, a nickname that annoyed Jason. “Welcome to the soundstage, baby!”
“Hi, Tadd.” Jason looked at Mitch. “Is Erin here?”
“She’ll be here, man,” Mitch said. “It’s Dred we have to worry about.”
“Dred?”
“Yeah, you call her,” Mitch said. “She says she doesn’t want to come. I’m moving her drums in here, anyway.”
“Why are we in the living room?”
“Better atmosphere,” Tadd said. “Ambient lighting, more windows…it looks like a real house.”
“It is a real house,” Jason said.
“I think it’s going to really symbolize breaking out of the boring routine of suburban life and really going wild,” Tadd said. “It’s a perfect environment for that visual message. I mean, look at the tchotchke shelf. The perfect representation of the dull and mundane.”
“When did you become Steven Spielberg?” Jason asked.
“Spielberg?” Tadd snorted. “The true art of film died with Federico Fellini.”
“Are you calling Dred or not?” Mitch asked Jason.
“Why doesn’t she want to come?” Jason took out his phone.
“She’ll have to explain it to you. I sure don’t understand.”
Jason dialed Dred’s number.
“Yeah,” Dred answered.
“How’s it going?” Jason asked.
“Did Mitch put you up to calling me?” she asked.
“Oh, no. I’m just wondering when you’re coming. Everyone’s supposed to be here by nine, so we should be ready to play by then.”
“I’m not coming,” Dred said.
“You’re not?”
“Like Mitch didn’t already tell you.”
“Why wouldn’t you come?” Jason asked. “That crummy video Mitch’s neighbor shot is already super-popular. There’s a bunch of people who want to hear more of our music. This is our chance.”
“It’s not our music,” Dred said.
“What do you mean?”
“You were too busy playing to notice,” Dred said. “It didn’t sound like our normal music at all. They aren’t coming to hear us, Jason. They’re coming to hear those creepy instruments.”
“Who cares? They want to see our band.”
“I care. There’s something supernatural about those things.”
“Yeah, I told you, I got them from fairies,” Jason said. “And everybody loves them.”
“Don’t you know any stories about fairies?” Dred asked.
“Um…Peter Pan?”
“I mean real stories,” Dred said. “I
’ve been reading about them all night. You can’t trust them. They’re dangerous and tricky, according to all the old stories. If that’s where the instruments came from—and after Thursday, I kind of believe you—then we could be in a lot of danger.”
Her words reminded him of Grizlemor’s warning. Jason shook his head to clear the thought.
“It’s just one show, Dred,” Jason said. “Just a small party. You can come for one night. Just play your regular drums, if you don’t want to use the one I gave you. But we really need you.”
“I’m busy.”
“With what?”
“I’m packing. I’m moving to St. Paul in a few days. Already have a roommate and everything.”
“Really?”
“Did you think I was kidding about moving away?” Dred asked.
“Then just play this one show with us,” Jason said. “Please? I’ve got so many people coming. It’s going to be humiliating if the band’s not here. Please, Dred? As a favor?”
Dred was quiet for a minute, then she sighed.
“Just this one time,” Dred said. “And I’m playing my own drums, not that haunted one.”
“Great! Thanks!”
“Don’t let Mitch touch my drum kit.”
“Right…” Jason watched Mitch carry one of Dred’s toms into the room and set it into place. “So when will you get here?”
“Give me half an hour. I can’t believe I’m doing this.” Dred hung up.
The doorbell rang, and Mitch told Jason to get it.
Three girls at the front door shrieked when they saw him. Jason recognized one as Wendy, the first girl who’d given Jason her number the previous night.
“Hi,” Jason said, opening the storm door. “The party doesn’t start for like an hour…”
“Then why are all these people here?” Wendy asked.
“What people?”
Wendy pointed, and Jason leaned out to look. Cars were parking all along Mitch’s street, with excited kids climbing out of them. A gang of ten or twelve freshman were walking up the street, arriving on foot. It might have been thirty people in all.
“Oh, wow,” Jason said. “Come on in.”
He led the three girls into the living room, and they shrieked again when they saw Mitch.