by B. J. Smash
After about another ten minutes of wheezing, he calmed. He still gave me a death stare but it wasn’t as bad as the death stare he’d given me when we first met. It was really awkward sitting on a grassy bank with Izadora’s enemy and I still didn’t know what to think of it.
“I suppose I should thank you. Even if you almost drowned me…the Fae probably would have done worse,” he said. He took his coat off to dry, revealing a tight wet shirt and an oversized belly. A mass of white hair escaped over the top.
“Um…you’re welcome.” I watched as he lifted the white shirt and blew his nose into it. I gagged and then asked, “Why were the Fae after you? And what about your deer?”
“Oh Beanie,” his expression softened. “I hope he finds his way back to me. We’ve been together for thirty years. He’s my old pal.”
“A thirty year old deer, huh?” I asked.
“Oh heck no. Beanie…he’s a hundred. Years ago, I made the wish using the djinn bottle that Beanie would live as long as me.”
So, that had been one of his three wishes. I found this to be interesting.
“But then we separated for a time. He got mad at me for something.” He gave me a weird look and I do think he remembered what made Beanie mad, but he wasn’t about to get into it now. “He eventually came back and we’ve been good friends ever since,” he said.
“Oh,” I said.
“Now if we just had a can o’ beans, he’d find us. He loves his beans. That’s why I named him Beanie.” Ish sort of smiled fondly.
“He’ll probably find us. But tell me why the Fae were after you,” I said.
His nose and cheeks flushed red and he growled. “Oh them! They caught me listening to their conversation, you see. That is one thing you must never do, is eaves drop on the Fae. They don’t take kindly to that sort of thing,” he said. He stuck one of his little sausage fingers in his ear and pulled out some wax and flicked it into the bushes. Again, I gagged, tasting this morning’s berries in my throat, but I forced myself to ignore Ish’s gross behavior. How was Izadora ever friends with this fellow?
“You see missy, it is Darvon that kills the people in the forest. Not just the werewolves. Everyone that makes it this far…he finishes off himself. He doesn’t want the queen to be free. He wants her to stay in this time warp.”
“Why?” I asked. This piece of news was extraordinary. No wonder the Fae wanted to be rid of Ish.
“Ah missy…the queen is his sister. I heard him say so himself.” Ish raised a bushy white eyebrow.
I couldn’t believe what he’d just told me. “His sister?” I couldn’t believe she was his sister! And the fact that Darvon didn’t want his sister to be freed from Helsberg was terrible and killing people to keep her here was far worse. “So…Darvon comes to the disappearing town of Helsberg every seven years. He fakes trying to help his sister so that he can actually kill the people off. No one ever gets the bottle because they are dead and his sister stays in the disappearing town for another seven years…” It was ludicrous and I tried to clarify his meaning.
“You just summed it up. He doesn’t want her to be freed. And only an outsider can get to the bottle. The townsfolk and the Fae that reside here can never touch the bottle. Bad things will happen if they do.”
“Wow. What type of bad things?” I asked, but all he did was shrug his shoulders.
“And I bet you thought me and Izadora were bad company!” He chuckled and his belly shook like gelatin. He reached down and took off his left shoe and then pulled off a little white sock. He grabbed his foot and tried like the dickens to get it up to his mouth, but his big fat stomach wouldn’t allow it.
“What are you doing?” I asked, disgusted.
“Trying to bite me big toe nail off. It’s been harassing me for the past week…catching on me sock,” he explained. The overly long, yellowed toenail that he was trying for was curved on the end.
My stomach churned. “Okay, okay. Put your sock back on. I’ve had enough of your grooming habits for the morning.”
“But it’s been botherin’ me!” he scowled.
“I don’t care. Put your sock back on!” I said, smacking the ground three times with my palm.
“Fine. Let me toenail snag on me sock.” He grabbed the little white sock and put it back over his chubby foot and slid his shoe on.
“Tell me what happened to you and Izadora while we walk,” I demanded. “We mustn’t sit here any longer.”
It took him a few tries to stand, and he teetered back and forth when he tried. He had the stubbiest legs I’d ever seen. I wanted to offer him a hand, but after I’d seen him primping this morning, I really didn’t want to touch his fingers. Once he was on his feet, he had a pep to his step and you would never know that he had just struggled to stand. Soon, we were walking and he was talking.
“Izadora. Well, now…there is a lass you want to be careful of. She always did have a temper,” he said.
Switching the subject he said, “Beanie! Where are you?” He bent down and picked a blade of grass, put it between his thumbs and blew. A buzzing whistle escaped his thumbs.
“Shhhh! We’re going to have to be quiet…unless you have a death wish,” I warned him. “The Fae aren’t stupid.”
“Fine.”
I realized that Ish was stalling and he didn’t want to discuss Izadora with me. I would be patient for some answers but I wouldn’t wait long.
“Do you intend to go your own way now?” I asked, trying to clarify what he expected from me.
He looked up at me, opened his eyes wide and whistled nervously. I rubbed the bridge of my nose and hoped that the headache that was starting to come – would go away. He could sense my impatience and said, “I was hoping to keep you company, missy, at least till Beanie finds us. I’m no good on me own.”
Something in me knew that this little guy could take care of himself if he wanted to. He was a leprechaun. Leprechauns didn’t need protection. Any human that has been duped by one could tell you that much but I nodded my head, and said, “Alright. We can hang out for a while.” I didn’t know what his game was but everyone here was playing a game. Why would Ish be any different?
“Let’s find our way to the edge of the forest. We’ll wait there tonight for tomorrow’s race,” I suggested. I wanted to be close to the area where we’d be officially racing for the bottle. I didn’t want to get too close because Darvon might be expecting that. And he knew that the elven hid and slept in trees but hopefully he wouldn’t be able to find us. Besides, I suspected that the leprechaun knew more about defending himself than he was leading me to believe.
Ish agreed that we should head to the edge of the woods and that is what we focused on… making our way through this jungle of a forest, and to the waiting point.
Traveling was slower than normal because I had to walk his speed, and although he was jogging most of the time – he wasn’t that fast. I offered to pick him up by the arm but he said his arm would fall out, and I said a piggy back ride was out of the question. The only time he needed help was when we crossed over anything more than a babbling brook. I would lift him up by the arms and swing him across. Again, I knew he was holding back. I had read about leprechauns in one of Izadora’s books. And if I was correct, they could transport themselves short distances. That is how they teased and played with humans. All the same, I played his game.
Oftentimes, I kept a lookout for Ladriant but he was nowhere in sight. I concentrated on heightening my other senses. At one point I could sense someone close by but they went the opposite direction.
Later on we saw Snake Man fishing at one of the brooks and I was glad to see that he was still alive. He didn’t see us but I wanted to warn him about the Fae. I’m not normally the chatty type but there was something about Snake Man…some sort of kindness about him that I couldn’t really place. I told Ish McTish that we should warn him about the Fae and Ish agreed wholeheartedly.
“You’re right. The more allies we have, the bette
r off we’ll be.” He gave me a stiff nod.
Apparently, he viewed us as a team now. Not in a million years would I have seen this coming and I couldn’t wait to find out why his attitude about me had really changed. I mean, just yesterday he was my enemy.
“Helloooo!” Ish called out as he waddled toward Snake Man. Snake Man jumped about a foot, dropped his make-shift fishing pole in the water, and stiffly turned his neck to see who was greeting him. The ball python had been resting his small head on his shoulder and he seemed to be content there. He briefly looked out way and lay it back down with a soft hiss.
“Oh don’t mind Gulliver. He’s just eaten a rat,” Snake Man said, picking up his fish pole.
Upon looking closer, the snake had a big lump half way down its long body. I came close to gagging but instead, I filled my lungs with air and then let it out. “Circle of life,” I mumbled.
We shared small talk for a moment and then I blurted out what I’d came here to say. “The Fae aren’t to be trusted. Watch out for them. They are trying to kill off the rest of the racers.”
Ish McTish, who was now chewing on the end of a weed, nodded his head in agreement. “Stay out of their way.”
“I kind of figured that was the case when I thought I saw them chasing after that red-haired gal that stole my horse.” Snake Man shivered as he seemed to be remembering the other night when Ella had ripped the snake from his shoulders.
Something splashed in the water and he snapped out of his dazed stare. He bent down and lifted his pole from the water. On the end of the line a small fish flailed around. He reached up and ripped it off from the hook.
“Do you mean Ella? Did they…kill her?” I asked.
“No,” Snake Man replied.
“They won’t be killing off Ella, missy. She’s on their side,” Ish McTish said.
“What?” I said.
“That’s what I was going to say. At least, I think she’s in cahoots with that Darvon fella. It all happened yesterday. I was taking a nap behind a rock wall and had a pile of leaves cloaking me. All of a sudden I hear a commotion. When I sat up, it was like I was watching a Shakespearean play. Two Fae woman on horses chased after the red-haired gal…er…Ella, and she hid behind a tree and chanted up a wind that chased them off. Only minutes later, I saw that Fae man, Darvon, walk right up to Ella and she welcomed him with open arms. She took to kissing him.”
“Oh gosh.” I swatted my own head. This was turning into some big soap opera.
Snake Man laughed at my discomfort. He took his newly caught fish, clonked it’s head on a rock and put it in his satchel.
“That sounds about right. She isn’t much of a lady. Not like you, Ivy,” Ish said. He leaned on a tree with his pudgy hand, appearing thoughtful.
I desperately wanted to change the subject. I didn’t want to know who Ella was locking lips with and I certainly didn’t want to discuss it with these two. What caught my attention was that Ish knew anything about Ella. Anything at all! How did he know she’s not much of a lady? I hadn’t even known they’d met before. For now, I would let his comment slide.
“Alrighty then. The point is they are working together,” I said.
“Yes. And I saw these two together as well,” Snake Man said, pointing at Ish McTish.
I would have never guessed that Ish’s face could get any redder. But when Snake Man pointed at him with his thumb, Ish’s cheeks turned the color of a beet.
“What? You mean Ella and Ish?” I asked. Heat rose to my chest. The little guy was somehow tricking me and he was going to regret it.
“It’s true. They were arguing,” Snake Man said. He wasn’t afraid to tell things as he’d seen them.
“Oh shut up you poor excuse of a wizard.” Ish shook his fist at him.
“Just warning the lady of who she’s in the company of,” Snake Man winked at me.
Before anymore could be said, we heard chattering in the woods. Not wanting to take any chances, Ish and I agreed we should part ways with Snake Man. I was not about to let Ish go on alone at this point. No way. He was going to answer some questions.
Snake Man turned to go and while he was walking away, he grabbed some type of dust from his satchel. To me, it resembled salt. He tossed it in the air and the salt turned into bright sparks like fireworks and as they fell to the ground, he stepped into the falling sparks of light. A bright blue flame appeared and then disappeared just as fast. Snake Man was gone. Of all the cloaking spells that was the most intriguing one I’d ever witnessed.
I picked up a reluctant Ish by the arm and tore off toward the edge of the forest. We did not stop till we reached a corn field. For as far as the eye could see were thousands of corn stalks. A sea of them. The stalks were taller than me and I figured it would be a great place to walk for now.
We continued on, letting the silky leaves of the stalks touch our faces as we walked by. I kept an eye on Ish in case he decided to make a run for it. Although he wouldn’t get very far. I told him to walk ahead of me and he didn’t object.
Part of me was angry with him. I knew he was up to something. And part of me was just plain confused about why he had asked for my help. I had just opened my mouth to speak when he interrupted me.
“Do you want me to show you how to make a crop circle?” His face beamed with pride.
“Huh? Here? In the corn field? I would think that would be quite a task.”
“Nah. Not for a leprechaun. Although we aren’t as crafty as the Fae are. They can make elaborate circles that span from one end of the field to the next.”
“So, that’s who is responsible for crop circles.” I should have known.
“Not all of them. Some humans have picked up on it as a hobby. But the originals, and the most complicated ones are still done by the Fae. They get a kick out of watching people’s faces when they discover them.”
“I don’t doubt it,” I grumbled.
“Here…let me show you.” He lifted a hand, and hopped on one foot while he chanted something totally bizarre.
“Wait! Don’t make a circle right now! The Fae will see it and know that we’ve been this way.” I knew the little guy had more power than he was letting me know about.
“Oh just a small one!” he grumped. Then he hopped along on one foot and then switched feet. He hopped forward five more times and then skipped in a circle while snapping his fingers. While he did this the stalks before him bent over and lay on the ground.
He wasn’t making much noise and all you could hear was the swishing of the corn stalks as they spread out and moved to the ground. Soon, he had created a pretty big circle.
“Stop it,” I kept saying, fearing the Fae would see us.
“Almost done!” Ish jumped three times and bent at the knees. He blew and a big gush of air escaped his lungs. Then he stood, folded his arms out before him and did some sort of jig. He shimmed once and was done.
Before me, lay a perfect circle about twenty feet across, and on the outer edges were little circles in a detailed pattern. In the very center lay a picture of an elongated head with big eyes and a narrow mouth.
“See missy, now the townsfolk with think an alien was here!”
I had to admit, his crop circle was rather crafty but he was putting us at risk.
“It’s awesome. If I had a camera I’d take a picture. Let’s go!” I shouted the last part and scowled at him. “Unless you know something that I don’t. If you can pull off a trick such as this, then who knows what else you can do?”
He ignored me and said, “Now, sometimes aliens do come to earth but they don’t normally bother with crop circles.”
Although I was interested in what he had just said, I ignored him completely.
“What ails you?” he asked.
“Look…any other day I would find this fascinating but we are being searched out by the Fae, and you’re here jumping around snapping your fingers, and dancing on corns stalks.”
“Oh. I guess I see your point,” Ish said.
Right as we were to leave, he snapped his fingers three times and the corn stalks flew back up and into place.
“Holy cow, Ish. What else can you do?”
He didn’t answer me. Instead he walked on through the tall stalks and I followed. I knew he was trying to avoid questions about Ella, but what I didn’t know is why he wanted my company. I reached down and grabbed him by the collar. He stumbled back and looked me in the eye.
“Enough of the games. What do you want from me?”
He briefly whistled a tune, all the while my temper flared. “Well, protection. What I want is protection.”
“From who?” I squealed, but I already knew the answer.
“Ella! Ivy, she’s crazier that a hoot owl,” Ish said swatting at my hand.
I released my grip from his collar and said, “How do you know this?”
His nose twitched and he scratched it. Finally he spoke, “She was supposed to be working for me! The plan was that she’d tell the Fae she was here for Magella. Just to throw people off. And it did! But I learned soon enough that I wasn’t the one in charge and she told me straight up that she was working for the Fae.”
“How did you meet?”
“In the forest. I’ve been to your grandmother’s house. I climbed up the tree to her room. We had an elaborate plan to get the bottle,” Ish said, rubbing his palms together.
“So, that’s who she was talking to.” I recalled the evening that I’d gotten up for toothpaste and heard her giggling in the bedroom. She’d been talking to Ish? “But she wants to harm my sister. You were in on it?”
“No. No way, missy. I never planned on her actually getting ahold of the bottle,” Ish said.
I was silent for a few minutes. I still didn’t trust him.
“Just recently she had me hanging upside down in mid-air! She was going to shoot me into the fire!” He shook his head and took a deep breath. “I escaped by disappearing into thin air. Leprechauns can do that three times a day.”
“I knew it! I knew they could disappear and reappear.”
“Yes, well, when I reappeared…there she was. Towering above me, glowering like a hideous ol’ beast. Her eyes were red and her teeth stained black as if she’d drank oil. She was a sight to see. And so I disappeared again, only to reappear and there she was again! This time, I disappeared and appeared underground. It was a hard trick to pull off but I managed. I could hear her footsteps above me for two to three hours. She yelled and cursed me. But she couldn’t find me and I couldn’t move. I had to sleep just as I was for twelve hours in the deep, dark earth. Then I was able to disappear and reappear aboveground. She was finally gone and so was Beanie. He showed up later, and oh was I ever so happy. That is, until I met up with the Fae. That was when I overheard them talking about the queen. Darvon said, “We must not let anyone find the bottle. She cannot be freed.” And then later on, he said, “My sister will remain queen here in Helsberg for another seven years!” He was right furious, he was. That was when they spotted me. I was in awe—I couldn’t move me legs—and they took Beanie away from me, and whacked me with a stick. They were trying to be rid of me, you see. But I used my disappearing skills one more time and ended up on the other side of the river. They didn’t cross the river to come for me…not right away. They cannot cross rivers without a bridge! They either have to conjure one—which takes a while—or they have to find a dry place to cross. So, I had me freedom long enough to find you!”