by Leah Cutter
With a sigh, Robert opened up his suitcase and pulled out different clothes, as well as a hat. He changed his regular glasses for wire rims. No one would remember him from the crash with just a few changes. People weren’t that observant. He hoped that thing wouldn’t remember him, either, if it was still there.
Chapter Twelve
Adele watched Nora follow a man out of the building and to the lot holding the vehicles, as bespelled by him as Dale was by her. The man didn’t care for the Maker. His intention to use her was written clearly across his face. The girl didn’t see it, however.
Fortunately for Adele, the car they chose was mostly plastic; just the engine contained metal. No iron held together the carriage. While the man held open the door for the Maker, Adele darted in, blowing past them like an invisible wind. She flew into the back of the vehicle, as far away from the engine as she could get.
The blazing electronics of the car, when it turned on, made Adele shudder. She’d entered the vehicle on a whim, curious about the Maker and the man who would use her. She already regretted her decision.
They raced away, faster than Adele could fly. The speed of the passing scenery made her nauseated. She stopped herself from being sick through sheer will. Rolling from one side of the seat to the other, she pushed her hands against the cool glass to test the strength of it, how much force she’d have to use to break it and escape.
Adele’s nerves calmed when the Maker finished her spell and put on her talisman. Cool magic flowed from her, acting as a buffer between Adele and the maddening electronics. Adele didn’t care if the Maker could see her—truly see her, without her glamours and illusions—as long as she had a respite from the incessant noise.
The girl stared at Adele with frightened eyes at first. Then she grew confident. She announced her intent clearly, keeping her gaze steady on Adele. When the man refused, she nodded.
Adele nearly cackled. The Maker would owe her something for this. She loosened her illusions, growing visible, showing the dark side of her nature.
The driver couldn’t control himself or his fear. He swerved into traffic, causing an accident. The jolt threw Adele against the seat, then to the side when a second car hit them. She shook her head, looking out the back window, trying to overcome the disorientation. It took her a moment to realize that the Maker had left the car, sprinting away before it had even come to a full stop.
Adele reached forward and touched the shoulder of the semi-conscious man. “Remember me in your dreams,” she said sweetly before she flew out the open door. The magic wouldn’t last long—not even a week—but he wouldn’t sleep without the aid of strong drink the entire time. Then she raced away after the girl. “Maker,” she called when she finally reached her marching angrily across an expanse of grass.
The girl stopped and turned. “What do you want?”
“It is customary to thank the one who just helped you escape,” Adele chided her.
“Thank you. Now what do you want?”
“You owe me a favor, Maker,” Adele told her as she dropped lightly to the ground. She hoped the girl was as ignorant as her brother, and wouldn’t question what she asked for.
“Okay.”
“I need your word that you won’t harm my kingdom.”
The Maker scoffed. “You haven’t earned that much from me. No one has.” She paused, considering. “How about just for today? Show me your kingdom, and why it deserves saving.”
“Done,” Adele said. “Give me your name.”
The girl’s eyes narrowed. “There’s power in names,” she said, scowling. Then she blinked. “You have my brother’s name, don’t you?”
“Yes,” Adele said, pleased that the human recognized her influence over the Tinker. “You could give me yours in exchange,” she offered.
The Maker looked thoughtful at that. Adele hid her smile. The girl knew a little, not a lot. Adele couldn’t unlearn the boy’s name. “Come.”
“Not yet. You need to promise me that you won’t hurt me while I’m in your kingdom, and that I can leave when I want.”
“I just promised to escort you through my kingdom!” Adele said, horrified. “No one would dare harm you while you’re under my wing.”
“I must be back by sunset,” the Maker insisted as she started walking again. “My mom…”
Adele waited, curious.
“My mom’s sick,” the girl said quietly. “That’s why I was at the hospital.”
Adele nodded, wondering how she could use that, if the promise of her mother’s health would tempt the Maker into giving up her brother. Adele had pledged only not to harm the Maker that day. She hadn’t said anything about making her life easier.
***
Nora didn’t trust the queen. However, she had no choice. They walked together to the edge of the park, then up the sidewalk. Nora marveled at the surreal quality of walking up the street with a fairy queen bouncing beside her, sometimes walking, sometimes flying, sometimes moving in a combination of the two. The sun had burned the clouds away, making the sheets moving through the air more pale, looking like transparent doorways. Nora didn’t have time to step through one, though she wanted to.
Only a few things changed their appearance to Nora: cars appeared darker, trees appeared lighter, and more than one path marked the sidewalk.
The queen, also, could no longer hide her true nature. She looked like the fighters Nora had seen that first day. Nora finally had to ask, “Are you a warrior?” She hoped it wasn’t an impolite question, but she didn’t know fairy etiquette.
Queen Adele preened. “Yes. I am from the warrior caste. Generally, kings and queens come from the royals. However, when King Obed died, his son, my husband Thaddeus, became king.”
“And you became queen?” Nora asked, directing them toward the main highway that led to her house. The sidewalk grew old and cracked and Nora had to pay more attention so she didn’t trip and fall.
“I became queen when I married him,” Queen Adele said. A semi-truck blew past them. Queen Adele pressed her lips together and shook her head. “I despise those things.”
Nora pushed the hair out of her face. “Same here.”
“There was initially some resistance to my becoming queen,” Adele admitted as they started walking again.
“What happened?”
“They died,” Adele said in a matter-of-fact tone as she brushed a speck of dust from her long skirt.
Chills ran down Nora’s spine in spite of the bright sunshine beating down on them.
“Normally, warriors don’t kill royals. It upsets the balance, the proper order of things. However, those two upset my balance, my plans.”
Nora watched, fascinated, as Adele flexed her wings. The queen wasn’t conscious of the movement—it was more like a nervous twitch. She looked more threatening with her wings spread: jagged teeth; bony, broken nose; and mad, whirling eyes.
“The royals have been quite pleased with my rule ever since,” Queen Adele continued, her wings folding against her back, her eyes calming. “I have maintained life and order.”
Nora nodded. Order was important to Dale as well. Breaking him free seemed more impossible. “Are you American?” Nora asked. “From your accent—”
The queen laughed merrily. “We are not natives to this place, no. We came to the New World a long time ago. I think your year was 1881.”
Nora gulped. More than a century old. She looked at the queen. Her skin was smooth, and she moved easily, not as if she were ancient.
“We don’t show our age, my dear,” the queen said with a sly smile. “Fairies are almost impossible to kill.”
“I see,” Nora said. Unfortunately, she knew the queen told the truth. “What about—”
“Nora!” A man called from an approaching vehicle. Mr. Patterson, in his old, red pickup truck, crossed traffic and pulled up next to the sidewalk so he could talk with Nora out the driver-side window.
Nora glanced at where the fairy had been, but she�
��d vanished.
“Mr. Patterson. Hi,” Nora said, walking over to his truck.
“I heard about your mom. I was on my way to the hospital,” he said, examining Nora’s face. “Is she okay? Are you?”
“She’s still in surgery,” Nora said guiltily. “But my dad came, and, well, never mind.”
“Were you walking back to your house?” Mr. Patterson asked gently.
Nora nodded. The kindness in his voice put a lump in her throat.
“Where’s your brother?”
“I need to go get him.”
“I’ll give you a ride, and then I’ll take both of you back to the hospital.”
“It’s okay. Really—”
“No. I insist.”
Nora looked over her shoulder. The fairy was nowhere in sight. “Thank you,” she said, acquiescing. She walked around the truck, letting herself in the passenger door. It closed with a solid thunk. Nora realized the truck was not only old, but solid metal, the kind fairies couldn’t stand.
“How bad is it?” Mr. Patterson asked as he pulled back into traffic.
“They think the battery of her pacemaker went out.”
“Your mom has a pacemaker?”
Mr. Patterson didn’t swear, but the way he tightened his jaw made Nora think he wanted to. “Since she was a teenager. Congenital heart defect.”
“I wish I’d known. I never would have rented her that place. I would have insisted she live closer to town,” Mr. Patterson said. “Nora, I’m sorry. It’s my fault your mom’s sick.”
“No, I don’t think so,” Nora said. She glanced at Mr. Patterson. Sunlight shone through the front window, striking his hands as they gripped the steering wheel. The flesh turned pale and translucent.
“Nora, are you all right?” Mr. Patterson asked, sounding worried.
Nora looked from Mr. Patterson’s hands to his face. The world wavered for a moment, as if it had just been submerged under water, before it snapped back into place. Mr. Patterson’s face and hands looked normal again. “It’s just been a lot, you know?” Nora lied, turning and looking out the passenger-side window.
Nora didn’t know what had just happened. Maybe it had been some strange trick of the light, or maybe Queen Adele was nearby and had cast some magic.
However, it could also be that Mr. Patterson was something other than he seemed. Nora couldn’t trust him, couldn’t tell him about Dale or ask for his help, even though he knew about fairies. And maybe the reason he knew so much was because he wasn’t as he seemed.
Mom was in the hospital. Dad was somewhere—loose and dangerous, looking to kidnap Dale and break Nora’s family further apart. Dale was enslaved to the fairy queen. Nora had no friends to call on, no one who could help.
It just made Nora more determined to get them all to safety.
***
Robert drove slowly back to the scene of the accident, along the main highway. Trucks lumbered past him and the wind rocked his car. Only businesses lined the road, no trees, grass, or houses. Robert ogled everyone walking the opposite way along the cracked and broken sidewalk. It was the main route back to the house. If Nora had gotten away, she’d go this way.
An old, beat-up red truck in front of Robert slowed down at the same time Robert saw Nora. The truck crossed traffic to pull up next to the girl. Robert drove past them, then pulled off onto the side of the road himself. He watched them through his rearview mirror. When Nora got into the truck, he breathed a relieved sigh. The girl was safe.
But for how long? Chris still wanted her brother.
Robert didn’t want to go to the police with what he had. It wasn’t enough, not on its own, to convict Chris. Not unless Denise had applied for a divorce as well as the restraining order. Still, Robert had to do something.
Robert approached the accident obliquely, parking his car in the hospital lot and then walking the two blocks to the accident site. All three cars now littered the side of the road. Broken glass and shattered plastic still spilled across the ground. Police directed cars past, one at a time. Chris, the bouncers, and the other driver were no longer there.
Putting on Chris’ slight southern drawl again, Robert approached an older woman with tight white curls, wearing a quilted vest over a plain T-shirt and mom jeans. “Golly, that looks bad,” he said.
The woman sized Robert up in a glance, then looked away, stepping to the side. The younger man next to her, dressed in a bright blue shirt with a white sweatshirt tied artfully around his neck, pale blue jeans, and white boating shoes, told him, “Oh, don’t you worry. They were all walking when the police took them away.”
Robert felt flattered by the obvious flirtatious tone from the cute guy. “Did you see what happened?” he asked shyly, playing demure.
“No, but I heard it way over there.” The man waved in the direction of the park. “You should have heard the one guy cussing. I think I learned some new vocabulary.”
Now the woman chimed in. “The two in the beat-up sedan, I think they were wanted for something. Police didn’t even want to hear their story. Just put the cuffs on them.”
“The tall one—I think he would have walked. But cussing like that at the cops is just stupid,” the guy added.
Robert sighed and shook his head. “He’s just not very bright sometimes.”
“Do you know him?” They both pulled closer to him.
“Afraid so,” Robert admitted. “Can you tell me which police officer is in charge?”
“Officer Palace,” the woman said, pointing out a classically handsome officer. He had a square jaw and blue eyes that matched his uniform.
“Thank you very much,” Robert said, slipping forward. He watched the officer joke with his fellow policemen, laughing with a booming voice. “Officer Palace!”
Palace looked up. “Let’s see what my adoring public wants,” he told the officer standing next to him before coming over. “How can I help you?”
“Did you take the man driving the black sedan into custody?”
“Maybe. Why?” Palace maintained his jovial tone, but a hard edge lay just underneath.
Robert leaned in, beckoning Palace closer. “You’ve just foiled a child kidnapping,” he said urgently.
Palace leaned back, considering Robert for a moment. “What do you mean?”
Robert looked from side to side. “Not here. Not now. Meet me at Kitty’s Diner. 2 PM. Come alone. And I’ll bring you proof.” Robert turned on his heel and quickly walked away before Palace could ask him anything else.
Another officer said something. Robert heard Palace’s booming laugh behind him. He also felt the officer’s watchful eye on him the entire time.
***
Nora didn’t have a plan for getting away from Mr. Patterson. She couldn’t drive, couldn’t say she’d walk back into town. When they pulled up to the house, she told him, “You don’t have to come into the house. I won’t be long. I just have to get some things.”
“Like an overnight bag for your mom. I understand,” Mr. Patterson said, nodding, then looking away.
“Exactly!” Nora said. “And for me and Dale.” Once she pulled him out of the fairy kingdom they were all staying at the hospital, at Mom’s side. Nora would fight all the doctors. Her family wasn’t going to be separated.
“Okay,” Mr. Patterson said easily. “I’ll just go look at the tree line, make some more measurements.”
“Thanks, Mr. Patterson,” Nora told him. “Thank you for everything.”
“Done little enough, but you’re welcome.”
Nora ran into the house before she broke down and told Mr. Patterson more than she should. The couch in the living room was still pushed to the side from when the paramedics had moved it for the emergency gurney. The sour smell of medicine clung to the air.
Chaos reigned in Mom’s room. The sheets lay heaped on the floor, along with wrappers and gloves from the medical workers. Nora shuddered and turned away. Her own room wasn’t much better. In her haste to gather
supplies, she’d thrown what she hadn’t wanted across the room. Normally, there was some order to her mess. Now, it was the sty her brother had always accused it of being.
A knock on the window startled Nora. She lifted the shade, expecting Mr. Patterson.
The ugliness of the creature standing there made Nora take a step back. Like the fairies, it had a bony ridge for a nose. Unlike Adele, though, the rest of its skin was pocked and marked, with rivers of wrinkles running around its eyes, crossing its cheeks. A mole grew high on its right cheek and two long hairs, like whiskers, sprouted out of it. Infected sores dotted its jaw.
Nora gasped when she recognized the golden eyes that stared at her: Kostya. “You said your people couldn’t do illusions,” she hissed, drawing closer to the window.
The dwarf shrugged. “No. I said the fairies were good at them, and that we were good at seeing through them. I didn’t say we couldn’t do them, just not as well.” He peered at her. “You figured out the knots, then.”
“No thanks to you.”
Kostya raised one crooked eyebrow. “Everything is thanks to me, my dear. You wouldn’t have started without my first lesson.”
“What do you want?” Nora asked, stubbornly refusing to acknowledge his contribution.
“I wanted to see how you were doing, my protégé.”
“Liar.”
The dwarf grinned at her with crooked yellow teeth. “True. I wanted to steal the fairy machine your brother had.”
“He took it with him this morning,” Nora admitted.
“Ah,” Kostya said, nodding. “He won’t come back.”
“I’m going to go get him,” Nora told him. “I’m going to drag him out of there.”
“Does Queen Adele already have his name?”
“Yes,” Nora said bitterly.
The dwarf looked thoughtful for a moment. “Remind him of yours,” he said. “That might break the spell. However, he has to want to come back. That’s always the problem when humans enter the fairy kingdom.”
Nora nodded. “Thank you.”
Kostya beamed at her. “You’re welcome. Now why don’t I distract old Eli so you can sneak away?”
“Why would you help me?” Nora asked, puzzled.