by E. D. Baker
“Wait!” Tamisin called softly as the figure began to walk away. Jumping off the rocks, she hurried to catch up.
“What are you doing here?” Narlayna growled.
“I want to help you,” said Tamisin. “If you return to your cave now, Colonel Mountain Ash and his fairies will catch you. They want to make an example of you for being out after curfew.”
“How do you know that?” asked the ogress, sounding more worried than angry.
Tamisin glanced back at the rocks. “Because I saw them, just like I saw you and your family earlier. Don’t worry,” she said, reaching for Narlayna’s arm when the ogress began to edge away. “I’m not going to tell anyone. I just want to help you get back to your cave without anyone seeing you.”
“I don’t need your help,” said Narlayna. “I know a path through the trees that will get me there just fine.”
“If you’re sure . . . ,” said Tamisin. She watched as the ogress trudged away, going farther down the beach before turning inland. Tamisin frowned, annoyed with herself for being unable to make up her mind. The ogress might not want her help, but then, she didn’t know exactly what she was facing. Narlayna was still upset and might do something that could get her hurt. At least Tamisin could stand as lookout for her. Silently, Tamisin followed Narlayna and was surprised when the ogress climbed an incline so steep that it was almost a vertical wall.
Tamisin ran to the wall and peered up. There were no hidden handholds or likely looking ledges where she could place her hands or feet. The wall was as sheer and smooth as something sanded by winter storms could be.
“I’m not climbing that!” Tamisin muttered to herself. “But then, I don’t have to.” With a shrug of her shoulders, she freed her wings and looked up. Moments later she was hovering in the air behind Narlayna, who had reached the top of the wall and was standing on a narrow ledge, peering into the forest. When the ogress didn’t move, Tamisin looked past her to the twinkling lights drifting between the trees.
“I can still help you,” she whispered to Narlayna.
The ogress turned her head sharply, then nodded and started back down. When she reached the ground, she set her hands on her hips and looked Tamisin over. “Why do you want to help me? You don’t know me. We aren’t friends. I don’t even like you.”
“I can’t help that,” Tamisin said, shrugging. “I want to help you because I don’t think the fairies are treating you right. People wouldn’t put up with it back where I come from, and I don’t like it here, either. Fairies may have more magic than anyone else, but that doesn’t make them better.”
Narlayna grunted and looked Tamisin in the eyes. “So what exactly do you think you can do for me?”
“The tree where I sleep isn’t far from here. If we can get past the guards, I can hide you in my bed until morning. No one would think of looking for you there.”
Narlayna snorted. “I’d never fit in one of those puny little beds! Even if I could, it would never support my weight. You’re going to have to do better than that!”
“Then I don’t know, unless . . . How do you feel about flying? The fairies are searching the forest, but they never seem to fly very high. If I fly higher, we might be able to get past without any of them spotting us. I doubt very much they would ever think of looking up. I could fly you to your cave and they would never know that you hadn’t been there all along.”
“You’re going to turn into one of those itty-bitty little things and lift me?” said Narlayna. “I don’t think so!”
“Am I itty-bitty now?” asked Tamisin. “Because I’m not going to get any smaller than this.”
“Fairies can’t fly very far when they’re your size. I’m surprised you flew all the way up there,” Narlayna said, glancing at the rock wall. “There’s no way a big fairy could fly all the way to the hedge lugging a dandelion, let alone me!”
“If you haven’t noticed yet, I’m not a normal fairy,” said Tamisin. “I’m bigger than most and so are my wings. I’ve carried a person before without any trouble.”
“I bet that person wasn’t an ogress.”
“Well, no, but that doesn’t mean I can’t. It’s at least worth a try.”
“And if you can’t?”
“Then we’ll think of something else. Why are you complaining? All you have to do is hold on. I’m the one who’s going to do all the work.” Stepping closer to the ogress, Tamisin raised her arms and said, “Wrap your arms around my waist and we’ll see if I can do this.”
Narlayna laughed even as she reached for Tamisin. “You’ll never be able to get off the ground, let alone carry me above the trees!”
She was still chuckling when Tamisin said, “Hold on tight and don’t look down.”
“What are you talking about? I . . . How did you do that?” said the ogress, glancing down past her feet to the tops of the trees below. Suddenly she was squeezing Tamisin so hard that the girl could scarcely breathe.
“Not so . . . tight!” Tamisin gasped.
“Sorry,” Narlayna said, loosening her grip. “Wow!” she added, looking around. “I’ve never been this high. You’re a lot stronger than you look.”
“Can’t talk now!” wheezed Tamisin, who was already regretting her offer to carry the ogress. Not only was Narlayna big but ogres were solid and weighed even more than a human the same size would have weighed.
Tamisin’s heart was racing, and her breath was coming in ragged gasps as she glanced down to make sure she was going the right way. In the light of the nearly full moon she could make out the silver ribbon of the stream and the thick dark line of the hedge just beyond it. The fairies’ side of the forest was filled with twinkling lights, whereas the other side was much darker.
Just a little farther, Tamisin thought, although the hedge looked miles away.
“This is incredible!” said Narlayna. “Why didn’t I do this before?”
Tamisin chuckled, which turned into a gasp of pain. She was straining something in her back, and the pain was only getting worse. Suddenly it felt as if something tore; the pain was so intense that she could barely see straight. “We have to . . . set down,” she said, but she was losing control as one of her wings refused to move the way she wanted it to. Using all her strength, Tamisin beat her wings as hard as she could, carrying them over the briar hedge even as they started to go down. She could see the glint of water, and thought they might be near the pool where she had seen the nymphs washing clothes. Then the ground hit and only Narlayna’s strong arms kept Tamisin from tumbling over and over, a move that would have crushed her outstretched wings.
When Narlayna let go of her, Tamisin fell to her knees, her body shaking with pain. The ogress took one look at her and picked her up like she would a small child. The pain was so intense that Tamisin couldn’t think of anything else. Squeezing her eyes shut, she gritted her teeth as the ogress ran with a lumbering gait. Tamisin didn’t open her eyes again until they entered Narlayna’s cave and the ogress laid her on a bed so soft that the down mattress seemed to swallow her.
Tamisin sat up once when the ogress made her swallow something sweet and thick. Her entire body became numb a few minutes later, and she drifted off to sleep even as Narlayna spoke to someone in a half whisper. When she woke again, it was still dark, but a candle lit the cave enough that Tamisin could see Irinia bending over her. The two-faced woman gave her another drink, but this one was bitter and made Tamisin’s tongue feel like it was too big for her mouth. Irinia was spreading something cold and sticky on Tamisin’s back when she fell asleep again. A short time later she dreamed of demanding voices and Narlayna speaking in a quiet, reasonable tone while Irinia sat beside her, holding her hand and warning her to be quiet.
Why wouldn’t I be? Tamisin thought, and drifted into an even deeper sleep.
Chapter 14
Jak was thinking about Tamisin when he started across the plain. Doreen’s information about the fairy king had disturbed Jak more than he would have admitted. Although
he had been worried about Tamisin before, he was worried in a different way now. What did Oberon want with her? And what did Doreen mean when she said that the fairy king changed how people looked at the world? It was true that Jak wasn’t happy about the way Tamisin had turned away from him, but that had been her choice and she’d been free to make it. Jak hated the idea that Oberon might have changed her in any way. He was sure that Tamisin would have fought it, if she’d known what was going on. He’d have to start looking for the pink dust right away.
Jak glanced back and noticed that he’d already walked a good distance. He could no longer see the opening to the canyon where he’d left the two sphinxes. The land he was crossing now was covered with lush grass, more like a lawn in the human world than the tall grass in the Sograssy Sea.
Jak looked up; the forest didn’t seem that far away now. He wondered when he’d start forgetting things. Maybe he wouldn’t if he kept the important things fresh in his mind. His name was Jak, he was half human, half cat goblin, he was in love with a beautiful half fairy named Tamisin, and he was going to the forest to get her. For a moment he was worried when he couldn’t remember why she was in the forest, but then he decided that it really didn’t matter, as long as he knew that he had to go there because . . .
Jak scraped his fingers through his hair and frowned. There was something on the edge of his mind that he knew was important, but he couldn’t remember what. Oh well, he remembered that he was going to get his girlfriend, who . . . It bothered Jak that he could no longer remember her name, but that wasn’t the important part. As long as he remembered that he had to go to . . .
Jak stopped in midstep and looked around. He knew he had come here to do something, but he couldn’t remember what. Tired and thirsty, he decided to sit down for a minute. He chose a spot beside a narrow stream where the water looked fresh and inviting. Bending down beside the water, he set his hand on something hidden in the grass. It was smoother than a rock, and rounded. Curious, he brushed the grass aside. It wasn’t a rock at all, but a skull. Jak scrambled to his feet, his thirst forgotten.
Movement caught his eye, and he turned his head in time to see a large creature with the head of a man and a catlike body the size of a pony slinking belly-to-ground, its golden eyes fastened on him. He thought it might be a sphinx until he saw the fur-covered ball of bone on the end of its tail. Jak knew that manticores were common in certain parts of the land of the fey, but he’d always avoided such places. Because he’d never had firsthand experience with the beasts before, he wasn’t sure what to do, so he did the only thing he could think of: he ran.
The moment Jak started running, the manticore rose from its crouch and took off after him. Jak could hear it bounding across the ground behind him, its paws making a muffled thud-thud, thud-thud in the grass. He glanced back to see how close it was and with the next step tumbled into a creek whose flowing water had eroded the ground a few feet below the land around it. Startled, a pair of ducks erupted from the water and flew away with a whir of wings.
Lying sprawled on his stomach in the shallow water, Jak squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the manticore to pounce. After a time, when nothing happened, he drank from the stream, quenching the thirst he’d momentarily forgotten. When he sat up, he noticed a lionlike beast chasing two ducks deeper into the Land of Forgetfulness.
Setting his hands on the raised ground in front of him, Jak started to stand when he noticed the writing. HEAD FOR THE FOREST, read the back of one hand. GET TAMISIN, read the other. Beneath it was written, RUN!
Oh, right, thought Jak. He looked around. There was a forest in that direction. Although he couldn’t remember why he needed to go there, he knew it must be important if he’d written it down. As for Tamisin, he had no idea who or what Tamisin might be, but if he came across one, he’d be sure to get it.
Jak began to run, but soon slowed his pace to a walk. He hadn’t gone far when the sound of laughter made him turn his head. Only a dozen yards away a little raccoon goblin was doing cartwheels across the grass, chortling to himself. Turning one time too many, he landed in a stream with a splash, but instead of getting upset, the goblin only laughed louder.
Curious, Jak started toward the goblin. When he reached the side of the stream, he found the goblin crouched in the water, trying to scoop up the tiny silver fish that darted around his ankles. Suddenly the goblin’s hands shot forward and came up with a dozen squirming silver bodies. Popping them all into his mouth at once, he sat down in the stream, chewing, with a contented expression on his face.
Jak’s stomach was rumbling, so he waded into the stream to catch his own fish. There were so many in the water that Jak was soon nibbling some, too.
“What are you doing?” asked the raccoon goblin.
Jak swallowed his last bite. “Eating,” he replied. For a moment he thought the little goblin looked familiar, but the thought melted away when he spotted more fish.
A fish nipped the raccoon goblin’s leg. When the goblin glanced down, his eyes lit up. “Look! Fish!” He rolled over onto his knees and lunged, catching some in each hand.
Jak was bending down to try for another fish when a meandering butterfly flew past. Following the butterfly with his eyes, he spotted a patch of wildflowers. A moment later he had splashed his way out of the water and was on his knees, picking wildflowers to give to . . . someone. Once again he noticed the writing on his hands. Once again he stood and ran toward the forest.
It was dusk when Jak approached the edge of the Land of Forgetfulness. The trees of the forest looked especially forbidding as the sun set behind them, and he felt a sudden reluctance to leave the grassland. Instead, he found a dry spot where moss made a comfortable bed beside a gurgling stream, and sat down, turning his back to the forest. He didn’t notice the tiny lights that twinkled at regular intervals under the last of the trees, nor did he see that more gathered there as the night grew darker.
Jak couldn’t remember when he’d eaten last, but then, he couldn’t remember much of anything. His stomach was a little upset, so he lay back, pillowing his head on his arms. Something was wrong, he just didn’t know what, but he was sure that he’d figure it all out tomorrow.
Chapter 15
Tamisin sat up and groaned, then realized that though she felt stiff all over and had an awful taste in her mouth, the terrible pain in her back was gone, leaving an ache no worse than when she’d pulled a muscle back home. Even before she opened her eyes, she remembered where she was and how she’d gotten there, although she was a bit fuzzy about what had happened after she and Narlayna reached the cave.
When she looked around, the light and airy space confused her because it wasn’t at all cavelike. The room itself wasn’t very big, but it was filled with sunlight angled in with mirrors near the opening at the front of the cave. Other mirrors fastened to the walls reflected the light, bouncing it back and forth so that it was nearly as bright inside as out. Fresh flowers filled bowls, vases, and jars on every available surface. Baskets overflowing with flower petals lined the back wall. With so many flowers, the cave smelled like a garden in springtime, and Tamisin half expected to see butterflies searching for nectar. The one thing that Tamisin didn’t see was another person.
“Narlayna?” she called as she climbed off the down mattress that filled one corner of the room. When there was no reply, she tiptoed to a curtain hung on the back wall, thinking the ogress might be sleeping inside, but the storage space was empty save for a few boxes and trunks.
So much had happened the day before that it seemed as if everything should have changed, but she doubted that anything would be different on the other side of the briar hedge. At least she knew what she had to do now; she’d ask Oberon to have someone escort her back to the human world.
Tamisin still wanted to thank Narlayna for taking care of her, so she looked for her outside the cave entrance. When the ogress wasn’t there either, Tamisin took the path back to the opening in the briar hedge. She was pass
ing through the deep shadows of tall pine trees when she smelled a pungent odor that cut through the fresh scent of pine and made her eyes water. She recognized the stench of troll, having smelled it the last time she was in the land of the fey, so she stopped and began to back away. Before she’d taken more than a few steps, a troll lurched out from behind a tree and grabbed her arm with one of his meaty hands.
“I . . . ,” he cried.
“. . . got her!” shouted a different voice as a second hand clamped down on her other arm.
Tamisin twisted around and saw that the two-headed troll was nasty looking and, though shorter than she was, much broader across the shoulders and back. It was obvious he hadn’t bathed in a long time, if ever, and his long, greasy hair was crawling with bugs. One head had an equally filthy beard dangling past his knees, and the other had crusty nose hairs so long that they covered his upper lip, mouth, and chin.
“Let go of me!” Tamisin screamed, and kicked out behind her with all her strength. Her foot connected and she yelped. It felt as if she’d kicked a solid tree trunk.
One of the heads grunted as the troll dragged her off the path and deeper into the pine trees. Tamisin struggled, throwing herself against his tightening grip until it felt as though his fingers were digging into her bone. Knowing that she wasn’t defenseless, Tamisin was more disgusted than afraid; she could imagine the bugs crawling off the troll and into her hair.
She let herself get angry, and was pleased when the sky darkened. The troll hustled her down a short slope past a mound of trailing vines that had been ripped up, roots and all, to the shadowed entrance of a cave. Thunder boomed as he shoved her through the narrow opening and flung her on the floor where she lay, sprawled, for a fraction of a second before scrambling to her feet.
It hadn’t occurred to Tamisin that he might be able to get her inside so quickly, and without enough weather to help her, she no longer felt quite so brave. Get a weapon, she thought, studying the floor of the darkened cave as best she could while trying to keep her distance from the troll. Other than a filthy blanket, the ashes of a cold fire, and some broken and gnawed animal bones, there was little in the cave to show that anyone lived there.