by Elle Adams
Huh. It’d been more than a day since the guy in the hospital had shown up in town. Had it not been goblin brew that had caused his hallucinations after all? How, then, had he seen my wings?
“So you definitely didn’t sell any of your brew to a human yesterday?” I pressed on. “An elf told me—”
“Oh, so the elves are spreading malicious lies about us again,” said the goblin. “They sent someone to snoop around earlier and act as though we’re trespassing on their territory just by being here. Woodland elves are so dull.”
“They did?” I said. “The elf also said a human who drinks your brew can gain the ability to see through fairy glamour. Is that true?”
“The elves and fairies call it true sight,” said the first goblin. “Perhaps humans should see the truth more often.” He poured another mug of bright yellow liquid and offered it to Erin.
“No thanks,” she said. “What are you saying, then? It can’t be anything other than goblin brew that caused a normal to end up with the sight?”
“I did not sell any of my brew to a normal.” He turned to me. “Kindly cease with the questions, fairy-human.”
True. But my lie-sensing power came with one limit: if someone believed the words they spoke to be true, my ability wouldn’t react in the same way as it would if they told a known falsehood. If he hadn’t known he was selling to a normal, or someone else had bought the brew and given it to our visitor, my ability wouldn’t react.
“Did you see a man dressed in ragged clothes yesterday, then?” I asked.
The second goblin leaned over the table, looking me up and down. “I do not recall it. Now, if you’re not going to buy anything, would you kindly move out of the way?”
Resigned, I walked away from the stall and texted Alissa with an update. If I took the goblins at their word, perhaps someone else had been responsible for handing the man the goblin brew. Someone like an intoxicated, mischievous elf, for instance. But then, why had the effects not worn off by now?
“I don’t trust them,” Buck caught up to me, speaking in a murmur. “The goblins, I mean. Nor the elves, either, come to that. They all get a kick out of pranking humans.”
He indicated the dancing, swirling crowd in front of the band. In the midst of the elves and goblins, groups of dazed-looking humans danced wildly, not seeming to notice when their drinks spilt out of their hands.
“I’m not sure we have any authority here,” I whispered back. “Does anyone? Like the police in Fox Hollow? Can they intervene if it turns out someone here in the market was responsible for bewitching a human?”
“Technically, the market falls outside local authorities,” he said. “Anyone who works here has to abide by the rules of the region as well as the town who is hosting them, but they’re smart enough to set it up outside of the actual town so they have more leeway. I could threaten to bring in my supervisor, but I can’t exactly follow through on that threat when we’re not on speaking terms with one another.”
“So you did leave the hunters, then?” I asked.
“I’m on their reserve team.” He glanced at Erin. “Until we both find employment in Fairy Falls, anyway. But as I said, my boss and I aren’t on speaking terms since I told him I was leaving. Besides, there’s not much the hunters can do to stop minor misdemeanours without taking overly harsh measures.”
“Like shutting the whole place down,” said Erin. “Which is a really great way to end up cursed fifty times over.”
My phone buzzed with a reply from Alissa, and I glanced down at her message. “Well, unless our normal managed to smuggle some of the goblin brew into the hospital, it can’t be the reason he’s still addled. It’s not supposed to last more than twenty-four hours, and it’s been more than a day since he first showed up in town.”
“Maybe he’s hiding more under his bed.” Erin peered over at the nearest stall, which sold glistening gemstone jewellery. “Hey, I like that necklace, Buck. Hint, hint.”
Buck walked behind her to take a closer look, while I texted Alissa again, telling her to search the hospital for any more hidden bottles of goblin brew.
A light caught my eye, shimmering with a glittering purple sheen from somewhere to the left of the jewellery stall. My gaze snagged on a smaller tent selling handmade costumes, and the source of the glittering light: an elegant dress decorated with sequins.
That glow looked familiar to me. Really familiar.
I inched closer, and then halted, disbelieving. Behind the stall stood two people, taller than average with glowing skin and pointed ears and wings. Like my un-glamoured form.
Fairies. They’re fairies.
My heartbeat quickened, and for a moment, I remained rooted to the spot, unable to believe they were really here. Fairies. Like me.
Calm down, Blair. You wanted this.
Might they know how to get my hands on a Pixie-Glass? It was worth asking. I might as well get something useful out of this trip.
I approached the two fairies, who looked at me with curiosity in their gazes. One had long curly blond hair, while the other was a brunette, though their pointed features were identical enough that they might have been siblings.
“Hey,” I said. “I wondered—does anyone here know where I might find a Pixie-Glass?”
“How rich do you think we are?” The blond one laughed.
“Oh, it’s one of those human-raised fairies.” Her companion giggled. “Trust me, you’re better off turning back and leaving now, while you can.”
“Not happening,” I said firmly. “I need a Pixie-Glass to contact someone. It’s urgent.”
I startled when someone caught my arm and leaned in to speak to me. “I can help you.”
I twisted around to look at the newcomer, a male fairy with fair hair and the same pointed features as the two women. He gave me an encouraging smile, beckoning me away from the two giggling fairies.
“Pixie-Glasses are incredibly rare,” he murmured. “If you really want to buy one, you’d need a small fortune.”
My mouth parted. I might have savings for the first time in my life since I’d moved to Fairy Falls, but I wasn’t rich, not by a long shot. Still, Dad wouldn’t have set me an impossible task, right?
“Do you know of anyone who has a Pixie-Glass I might be able to borrow, then?” I asked. “I live in Fairy Falls, if it helps.”
“You’re from Fairy Falls?” His eyes rounded. “Well… there was one incident, some years ago now, when a very rich woman came to purchase a Pixie-Glass from the market. She claimed to be from Fairy Falls.”
My throat went dry. Was it my mother? “How long ago are we talking about? Can you describe her?”
“Tall brunette,” he said. “Not a fairy. A witch, I’d say. Quite unpleasant. What was her name… Mrs Davey?”
Mrs Dailey.
Blythe’s mother.
My skin chilled. Mrs Dailey was in jail, but she’d moved away from Fairy Falls long before then. If she’d got her hands on a Pixie-Glass, it’d be just my luck if the hunters had seized it from her when they’d hauled her away. And if they had it, I could say goodbye to any chance I might have of contacting my dad.
“Blair!” Buck called from behind me. “C’mon. We have to go.”
“Why…” I spun around to see Erin was edging towards the dancers, and by the way Buck was holding onto her with his other hand, his grip alone was preventing her from running off to join them.
I hurried up to help him restrain her. “She didn’t drink anything, did she?”
“No,” he whispered back, “but I think the music is affecting her.”
The eerie melody from the band had grown in volume without my noticing, and now I paid closer attention, the lilting sound became more and more potent. An urge gripped me, to join the others on the dance floor and let all my troubles melt away.
Erin veered in front of me, fighting against Buck’s grip. “Let me go. C’mon, Blair, let’s dance.”
I gave a fierce head-shake to rem
ove the music’s influence. “Not a good idea, Erin.”
“It’s more potent for humans, but fairies tend to be immune.” Buck caught Erin’s arm again. “Mostly, anyway.”
Not quite. The urge continued, but I resisted. Together, we hauled Erin downhill and back towards Fairy Falls. It wasn’t until the music faded from hearing distance that Erin finally stopped fighting our grip, and the dazed look in her eyes disappeared.
Erin broke away from Buck. “What happened?”
“Fairy music,” said Buck. “Sorry. I didn’t know it would have that strong an effect on you.”
No wonder the market’s folk are the main suspects for what happened to that guy in the hospital. Remembering the two fairies’ laughter made a cold pit open inside me. I might be ignorant of my fairy side, but it wasn’t through lack of trying, and their dismissal left me feeling wrong-footed. At least the other guy had been helpful, even if he’d given me bad news about my chances of finding a Pixie-Glass.
“Do fairies have an issue with people like us?” I asked Buck. “Fairies who were raised by humans, I mean?”
“They don’t acknowledge us as the same as they are,” he said, with a grimace of distaste. “I know I am one, but the fairies who come here from their own realm play by totally different rules to the rest of us. To be accepted by them, you’d have to leave the human world behind entirely.”
“Seriously?” His words struck a sharp chord within me. “That’s what they want? And you chose not to?”
“The hunters recruited me before I could face the choice.” He shrugged. “I think I’m better for it, personally. The market isn’t really my scene.”
“And—” I hesitated. “Have you met many other fairies, since joining the hunters?”
Erin cast a curious look in my direction, but she didn’t speak.
“A few,” he said. “Why?”
“I just—” I broke off. It seemed to me that Buck didn’t know the Inquisitor was a fairy at all, and, moreover, he didn’t find it suspicious in the slightest that he’d been personally recruited to the force. After all, why would he? The hunters had shaped his view of the magical world. “I just thought it odd that they’d recruit you before you knew of your fairy nature. I’ve never heard of it happening to witches.”
“Most witches join a coven,” he said.
Yeah… but the Inquisitor picked you out. Like he did me. He must be recruiting other fairies to join the hunters. The question was, why?
“It’s not that odd,” said Erin. “I mean, it doesn’t sound like fairies care much for picking up their half-human offspring. Um, I don’t mean you, Blair. I know your dad’s in jail and it’s not really his fault he can’t visit.”
I averted my gaze, far from in the mood to talk about my dad after the turmoil of emotions the market had already kicked off inside me. “I guess they have to put strong glamours on their half-human kids, or they’d be flying around the human world terrifying everyone.”
“You, terrifying?” Erin snorted. “Even Buck’s like a cuddly bunny rabbit compared to the Inquisitor.”
Ice slid down my spine. My throat tightened, and while I wanted to admit what I knew, I didn’t dare. Even telling Alissa had been risky, and in the end, knowing the man who led the hunters was a fairy hadn’t changed anything.
If he had the Pixie-Glass, my last hope of contacting my dad had just gone up in a shower of pixie dust.
“Any luck?” Nathan asked, when I met him at the pub later.
I sat down at our usual table, but even the comforting warmth and cheery atmosphere didn’t raise my spirits. “I asked about the Pixie-Glass, and apparently Blythe’s mother of all people was the last person known to be looking for one at the market. Years ago.”
His eyes went wide. “Seriously?”
“Yep.” I listlessly tapped on the menu to order my food, not really having much of an appetite. “So, not only am I without a way to contact my dad, it wouldn’t surprise me if the hunters seized the Pixie-Glass when they arrested Mrs Dailey last year. I don’t know who got all her possessions.”
I doubted she’d have given them to either of her children, but who did that leave? Maybe I should ask Rebecca during our next lesson. As for Blythe, she didn’t even live in Fairy Falls anymore. She’d lost her job at Ditch & Co after she’d tried to bully me into leaving town, and while we weren’t exactly mortal enemies anymore, she and I hadn’t parted on pleasant terms either. Mostly, I’d been in shock when she’d told me the hunters’ leader wasn’t human. But she couldn’t have moved too far away from town, since she kept in contact with her sister.
“What about the guy in the hospital?” Nathan asked. “Any luck finding out how he got here?”
“Not really.” I exhaled in a sigh. “If it was goblin brew he drank, it ought to have worn off after twenty-four hours. Either someone’s smuggling him more of the stuff under the table or it’s not that at all, but the goblins weren’t exactly keen to talk to me about it. They thought the elf was flinging the blame at them on purpose. Elves and goblins don’t get along.”
“Yes, I can see how they might have that impression,” Nathan said. “Do you think the goblins were innocent, Blair?”
“Not a word I’d use.” I looked down at the table, thinking of those dancing, bewitched humans. “But I don’t think they did it, no. The market seems to exist outside of the usual paranormal rules, though, so it’d be hard to convict them if it turned out one of them did it.”
His mouth pressed into a line. “Yes, I know. Steve wouldn’t touch a case like that no matter what you offered him.”
“So I take it he’s thrilled the market’s coming here next week?”
“Ecstatic.” He picked up his fork when our food appeared on the table. “He spent half our meeting ranting about how the guy in our hospital is none of our business whatsoever and we should kick him out of town. I had to give him a lecture on basic paranormal laws.”
I rolled my eyes, feeling a little better now I had the mental image of Steve getting a major schooling. “Anyone would think he hadn’t been the head of the town’s police force for the last few years. Did he even read the handbook?”
He grinned. “Do you really want me to answer that question?”
“Hey, I’ve just had a dismal failure of a day. Please tell me all the stories you have of Steve acting the fool.”
“I can do one better,” he said. “Would it improve your mood if I said I’m not on the night shift, and you’re welcome to stay over at mine?”
“You bet.” My family life might be a disaster, but at least my romantic life was going well. Better than I’d ever hoped it would.
My phone buzzed in my bag. I pulled it out to find a message from my foster mum, wanting to know if Nathan and I were definitely free at the weekend.
“Something up?” Nathan gave me a questioning look.
“I was supposed to call my foster parents and confirm our plans for the weekend, but I haven’t had a moment to spare all day.” My finger hesitated over the touch screen. “Once I confirm this, there’s no going back.”
Nathan laughed. “Blair, I’m pretty sure it isn’t going to be that bad.”
He was right. My foster parents were a harmless retired couple with no ties to the hunters and no reason to react to Nathan the way his own family had reacted to me. What could possibly go wrong?
Famous last words, Blair.
5
I woke the following morning to the sound of someone tapping on the window. It took me a confused moment to remember I was at Nathan’s house, so nobody should be able to reach the window from the ground.
“Miaow,” said Sky, in disgruntled tones.
Next to him, Nathan didn’t stir, and I didn’t have the heart to wake him up. Another tapping noise sounded, and I padded over to the window. I’d expected to see the pixie hovering outside, but instead, a small pointed-eared man wearing brown-green clothes stood in the bushes below. An elf. Bramble lifted another sto
ne and threw it at the window, where it bounced off with a ringing noise.
All right, I’m coming.
I grabbed my slippers and dressing gown and made my way downstairs to the hall. It was freezing at this hour, but the elf wore his usual threadbare clothing and didn’t seem bothered by the frost dusting the grass on Nathan’s front lawn.
“Oh, hello, Bramble.” I leaned on the door frame to speak to him. “Is something wrong?”
“I heard about the human,” he said.
My heart missed a beat. “You mean Riff, the normal? How’d you know?”
“People talk, Blair Wilkes,” he said. “They know you went to the market. You must tread with caution.”
“What’s the issue?” I screwed my forehead up, too tired to deal with cryptic elf rambling this early in the morning. “I’ve never had the chance to meet any other fairies before, and besides, we had to find out what happened to the normal—"
“It is not safe to speak of such things here,” he interrupted. “You must come to the king’s domain.”
I glanced behind me, but it didn’t sound like Nathan was awake yet. The elf king had an annoying habit of presenting more questions than answers, but he’d eventually given me enough hints to be able to piece together what’d happened to my father before his arrest.
“Okay, I’ll come to see the king,” I said. “Once I get some proper clothes on and tell Nathan where I’m going.”
It wasn’t my first morning excursion into the woods, but when Nathan didn’t wake even when I went back into his room to get dressed. Sky had already happily fallen asleep in my spot on the bed, so I scribbled a note telling Nathan where I was in case he woke up, and texted Alissa telling her the same.
After closing the door behind me, I followed the elf through the quiet streets until we reached the entrance to the forest.
Inside, a thick layer of fog hung over the trees, and my breath clouded the air as I walked. The forest covered the north side of town, extending around the edges of the lake, but it felt endless when I reached the part where no signs of human habitation were visible through the thick trees. The elf walked in silence along paths which wove through ancient oaks and around tangled undergrowth. Even after several visits, I would have got lost if I’d been alone, and it didn’t help that the forest looked different in winter. While bright flowers had once filled the surrounding area, they remained dead and withered, the carpet of leaves covered in frost. The sound of birdsong came from the gnarled trees bordering the paths, and to my surprise, I found myself missing the pixie who’d sometimes accompanied me here.