by Elle Adams
The two fairies turned their backs on me and vanished in a shower of glitter. I took a step after them, but another shout prompted me to turn back to the market. I snapped my fingers to turn invisible, taking to the skies again. The other fairies had disappeared from sight, and if they were the culprits, I could say goodbye to any chance I might have had of quietly handing them over to the police.
Not to mention I’d lost my shot at getting my hands on the Pixie-Glass. How was I supposed to contact my dad with the very people who’d jailed him back in town?
I skidded to a halt in mid-air. Below me, Nathan’s security team continued to argue with the hunters, but another person had joined them. Blythe.
Silent and invisible, I flew overhead to listen to them.
“Look, it was a mistake,” Blythe was saying to one of the hunters. “I don’t know who broke into my house, but that’s no reason for you people to be here. Who called you?”
Hang on. Blythe hadn’t been the one who’d called the hunters?
“We had orders,” said one of the hunters. “We were told to come here if anyone broke into your mother’s house.”
Mrs Dailey must have had people watching the place. But they couldn’t have seen me go in there, surely, because I’d been invisible almost the entire time. Except when I’d confronted the fairies… who’d claimed not to know Mrs Dailey had been involved with the hunters.
The question was, what had happened to Dill, the third fairy in their group, and the one who’d sent them to steal the Pixie-Glass?
“I didn’t call you,” said Blythe. “Technically, the house is mine, and I’m telling you to leave town.”
“No, it isn’t,” said the hunter. “It belongs to your mother, and she requested that we let her know if anyone trespasses on her property during her absence.”
What? She must have given the orders before she’d been hauled off to jail, surely… but that didn’t stop me from looking wildly around in case Mrs Dailey was hiding among the market stalls all the same.
“Nobody stole anything,” Blythe said. “I checked. Maybe my sister went in to get some stuff from in her old room.”
Had she not noticed the picture from the attic was missing? Or was she covering for me, knowing the picture was of my mother? I had no idea anymore. All I knew was that by going to her house, I’d drawn the hunters here. And now the Inquisitor was one step closer to guessing that I was on the lookout for the Pixie-Glass. Once he figured that out, he’d know I was trying to contact my dad.
The rest of the hunters all but ignored Nathan and the security team as they prowled through the market, peering into each tent and behind each stall as though looking for wrongdoers. All of them looked to be human rather than fairies, but that didn’t put me at ease. They weren’t supposed to be in town. And really, if anyone needed to lighten up and join in the fairies’ party, it was the hunters. Maybe I could invisibly drop some goblin brew on their heads, but I somehow doubted that’d improve the situation.
A sudden gust of wind caught my wings, sending me flipping over in mid-air. I raised my head to see several dark shapes in the sky, drawing closer. A moment later, Steve and two of his fellow gargoyles landed in front of the hunters.
“What are you doing here?” he demanded. “Get out of our town.”
“We had a tip-off that someone was stirring up trouble at the market,” said one of the hunters. “It sounds like your security team took on more than they could handle.”
“Nonsense,” Steve snapped. “We have more than enough people to police our town, and we were doing a fine job of it before you barged in. Go away.”
Since when did Steve praise Nathan? Since the two of them were set against the hunters, I’d guess. It made a welcome change from his usual attitude, but the hunters didn’t budge an inch.
“Your town is still on our list as a known haunt for troublemakers,” said the hunter, “which requires us to step in whenever you make decisions that put the secrecy of the magical community at risk.”
“We already passed your inspection,” Steve insisted. “You were supposed to leave us alone. That was part of the deal.”
“Not all of you,” he said. “Not as long as you still harbour the offspring of a criminal.”
A criminal?
They must mean me.
The hunters—and the Inspector—were still watching me. They’d been watching me all along, waiting for me to slip up and give them an excuse to come back.
13
I flew over the fields and back into Fairy Falls. Shame trailed after me, urging me to turn back, but showing my face would only make the situation worse. The hunters had confirmed my fear: they’d been watching the whole town because of me. Because of my dad.
I’d made things even worse by breaking into Mrs Dailey’s house, but then again, even if I hadn’t followed the pixie, those two fairies would still have tried to break in and drawn the hunters’ attention. Except they’d been there because my own words had tipped them off to Mrs Dailey buying the Pixie-Glass. No matter how I looked at it, I’d screwed up. And now my two major suspects had flown out of town, leaving the rest of the market to take the fall for their crimes.
As for the third suspect? No sign of him. I kept an eye out for any signs of wayward fairies in town, and spotted Erin and Buck walking away from the market.
Turning visible again, I landed beside them. Erin jumped at the sight of me, but Buck didn’t. He’d turned back into his human form, without so much as a wing in sight.
“You left?” I asked.
“Well, yeah.” Buck shuffled his feet, looking embarrassed. “I forgot how to turn into my human form, and I wasn’t gonna show my face in front of the hunters with the wings out.”
“You’re forgetting some of your fellow hunters also have wings,” I reminded him. “Not the ones they sent today, though.” It didn’t really matter in the end. Fairies or human, they were still hunters, after all.
“How’d they know to come here to begin with?” asked Erin. “My brother said they weren’t watching the town any longer. I’m glad they didn’t send my older brothers, at least. Or my dad.”
“No, they shouldn’t be here,” I said. “It’s… kind of my fault they came. Long story short, I went looking around someone’s house I shouldn’t have been at, and they raised the alarm.”
“Whose house?” Erin said.
“Mrs Dailey, Blythe’s mother.” My face heated. “I found out at the market that she might have something I need pretty badly, and since she’s in jail, I wondered if she’d left it behind. I’d have asked her daughter, but she was out of town…”
“So you broke into her house.” Erin cracked a grin. “You’re more of a rebel than I gave you credit for.”
“I wouldn’t have done it if it hadn’t been urgent.” I shook my head. “I need it to contact my dad, but I didn’t count on those two fairies getting the same idea. They—the two fairies from the market—I’m sure they’re the ones who bewitched those two humans as well as breaking into Mrs Dailey’s house and raising the alarm.”
“Did you say contact your dad?” said Buck. “Isn’t he in jail?”
“There’s no other way.” From the disbelieving expression on his face, I’d made a mistake in mentioning it in front of him. “I’m ninety percent sure he was set up anyway and shouldn’t be there, but I’ve never met him in person and I just wanted to talk to him.”
Buck’s expression turned frosty. “Okay, whatever you’re planning, I want nothing to do with it. I’m not going to get on the hunters’ bad side, not now I’m finally shot of them.”
He walked away. Erin shot me an apologetic look and hurried after him.
Tears of frustration stung my eyes. Why had I decided to open my big mouth? I should have flown after those two fairies myself, but without knowing where they’d gone, I’d be doing nothing but painting a target on my own head. Still, why had I thought confiding in someone who’d only just left the hunters would do anyt
hing other than backfire on me?
Going home was out of the question, so I found myself wandering down the high street instead. I went inside the hospital, out of any other ideas, and waited in the lobby until Alissa came out of a nearby ward.
“What’s wrong, Blair?” asked Alissa.
“Everything,” I said. “The hunters found out about the two humans and now they’re marching around the market, terrorising everyone.”
“Seriously?” Her brows shot up. “Why’d someone call them?”
“I may have broken into Blythe’s house.”
She listened to my account of the day’s misadventures. When I’d finished, she said, “It’s not your fault the hunters showed up. They were looking for an excuse to.”
“And I gave them one.” I winced. “Why didn’t I guess Mrs Dailey would have had someone watching her house? She must have figured I’d come snooping around eventually. As for the hunters… I’m the reason they’re still watching the town. Now the whole market is in trouble and probably Fairy Falls, too.”
The market was a convenient scapegoat, but for all I knew, they wanted Fairy Falls as a whole to take the blame for whoever was bewitching humans. If they got to take over the town, too, all the better.
Alissa shook her head. “I think the hunters would have come to town again no matter what. We couldn’t keep this case quiet forever, not as long as normals are still being affected.”
“What’s going on with Spud, then?” I asked.
“He’s almost fully recovered,” she said. “Stopped babbling about wings, too. I think the hallucinations have worn off.”
“Oh, good.” At least someone’s day was looking up, because things looked pretty bleak for the rest of us. “I’m sure Thistle wasn’t involved after all, given that goblin fruit is deadly poison to elves like him. I reckon he’s probably safe from taking the blame, but the hunters have planted themselves in the market and are refusing to leave.”
“What are they doing, looking for the culprit?” she asked.
“They were arguing with Steve last I checked,” I said. “And Blythe. She didn’t call them, it turns out, and she wasn’t happy about them being here.”
“I wonder who did.” Her forehead scrunched up. “I guess Mrs Dailey might have had a security spell somewhere in her house that went off when you flew in. I’m surprised that pixie didn’t consider the possibility.”
“Unless it was those two fairies who tripped the alarm.” I thought back. “They were completely inept at stealth and nearly got us all caught, but they bolted for it as soon as the hunters showed up at the market. If they hadn’t, I’d have hauled them over to the police.”
Alissa’s breath caught. “Oh, Spud—you’re not supposed to be out here.”
The second victim of the goblin brew stood in the doorway, barefoot and dishevelled. I didn’t know how much of our conversation he’d heard, but he didn’t look as freaked out as he had last time we’d seen one another. He gave me a wary look. “I remember you, but you’re different this time. No wings.”
So it was true—his sight had faded, and he couldn’t see through my glamour any longer. “Hey,” I said. “See, we’re not monsters. Do you remember anything more about where it started?”
“Everyone keeps asking me that,” he said. “I remember my car broke down in a field, and I was walking along looking for help. The next thing I remember is running around surrounded by… like, winged monsters.”
“So someone gave you the drug in the field?” Alissa gave me a nudge, which I gathered to mean meant that was the cover story they’d gone with.
“I guess they did,” he said. “What kind of hospital is this, by the way? When do I leave?”
“Soon,” Alissa said. “We just need to fill out some more paperwork first. Go back to your ward, and I’ll be with you in a minute.”
I watched him leave. “He seems a lot better.”
“Told you,” said Alissa. “I reckon that idiot elf gave the first guy one of his cocktails and lied about it. That’s why it took Riff so much longer to recover.”
I dragged my gaze from the door. “It sounds like Spud was wandering around the fields alone when he ended up falling under the spell. Like Riff, someone gave him the goblin fruit out there. It didn’t happen in the normal world. It happened in the field, somewhere between here and Sloan.”
The sound of someone clearing their throat came from behind a potted plant. A head popped out, wearing a purple wig with a wand tucked behind her ear. Old Ava, the seer… and she’d definitely heard every word of our conversation.
“Hello, Briar,” she said.
“It’s Blair,” I said. “Hey, Ava. Were you eavesdropping on us?”
“You shouldn’t be out of your room,” said Alissa.
“I need to talk to Briar,” she insisted. “I need to tell you that if you intend to walk in the hills, watch out for the winged one.”
“The winged one?” I said blankly. “Was that one of your seer’s visions? Who do you mean? One of the fairies?”
Alissa moved towards her, but the old seer was already sauntering away, back towards her room. “Don’t give up, Briar. Your mother will be proud of you.”
Her words would have had more impact if she’d got my name right. “I think the goblin fruit is rubbing off on all of us.”
“Nah, that’s just Ava.” Alissa rolled her eyes. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say that elf put the spirit of rebellion into all the other patients.”
“At least she didn’t try to leave.” It was beyond me to tell what she’d been warning me about, but maybe… maybe she’d had a point about my mother. Tanith Wildflower had gone so far as to steal the Head Witch’s sceptre and risk arrest in order to keep me safe. I’d always thought of her as far braver than I was, but I’d do the same for the people I cared about.
If I didn’t confront the hunters head-on, if I didn’t get rid of them before the Inquisitor came back to join them here in Fairy Falls, then they’d do the same to the people at the market as they’d done to my dad. They didn’t care if the person they caught was innocent or not.
There was one thing for it: I needed to find the place where the two normals had been ensnared. The place, no doubt, where those fairies had fled to.
And there was one person remaining in town who might know where it was.
14
I left the hospital, a fresh wave of resolve guiding my steps as I veered towards the Laughing Pixie.
As I’d suspected, I found Thistle the elf sitting at a table in the corner of the pub, a neon blue cocktail on the table in front of him. No other customers were present. Everyone must be at the market.
Pix stood behind the bar, and when she saw me, she gave me a nod of acknowledgement. “Want a drink?”
“Why do you play along with him?” I asked.
“He gives great tips,” she admitted. “I need the money. Anyway, he’s happy enough here.”
I approached the elf and gave him a prod in the shoulder. “Hey,” I said. “I need to ask you a question.”
He slid off the stool into a heap on the floor, then scrambled to his feet and tried to run out of the pub.
Before he could move an inch, I snagged the elf’s arm. “Tell me,” I said. “Did you give the goblin brew to anyone else? Who paid you off?”
“I didn’t!” he said. “I gave it to the first human, yes, but I was not the person who caused him to fall under the spell to begin with, not at all.”
“And it’s a coincidence that you were walking around drunkenly on the same high street where the second victim showed up a day later?” I said. “Don’t deny it—you know where the goblin fruit is. Don’t you?”
“Goblin fruit?” said Pix.
“Those two humans were under the influence of more than just goblin brew,” I explained. “Now the hunters are rampaging through the market and ready to take over the town as they planned to, and innocent people will end up getting caught in the aftermath
unless I find the real culprit. The whole town will.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” she said. “I don’t want the hunters coming here either.”
“They’re already here.” I turned to Thistle. “I just want to know where the fruit is. The goblin fruit. I know you went wandering in the hills, and you found it, even if you didn’t eat it yourself. Right?”
“I may have gone for a wander in the hills,” he said. “And I happened upon a wondrous grove of seven oak trees in a circle. In the centre, a tree grew, like a small miracle. Pity the fruit is poison to my kind… but it would have been easy for any human lost in the hills to stumble across it.”
Especially if a fairy had led them astray.
“Thanks.” I got to my feet. “That’s all I wanted to know.”
Now all I had to do was find the tree and then lead the hunters to it. The slight issue, of course, was that I was short on a few allies. Nathan had taken it upon himself to stall the hunters single-handedly, and Erin and Buck were gone. Which left…
“Sky,” I said aloud. “I need you.”
A moment passed. A long moment. I kept walking, then launched into flight towards the lake. Had Sky stayed at the market and got caught up with the hunters—or was he still with the other fairy cats? He hadn’t ditched me at a time like this, had he?
“Miaow.” I flew uphill towards the sound of a chorus of meowing, relief flooding me. Sky stood waiting on the path, the other fairy cats gathering around him. Of course he didn’t ditch me.
I landed in front of him. “Sky, can you do me a favour? I’m going to find the source of the goblin fruit the two normals ate, but the hunters won’t take my word for it. I need someone to bring them to the source. With any luck, that’s where the fairies are hiding, too.”
“Miaow,” he said. I took that to mean, leave that to me.
“Thanks, Sky.” I dropped down to give him a stroke, and he padded off, leading his troop of new friends.
Snapping my fingers to turn invisible, I took flight once more over the hillside. The hunters had gathered in a cluster outside the market, arguing with the town’s security team. From the looks of things, they had no intention of leaving now they’d found another excuse to drag Fairy Falls’s name through the mud.