by A W Hartoin
I forced my palms not to respond, but I badly wanted to wipe those smiles away. “Iris, what are the guards saying?”
“They’re deciding whether to stop this fight or inform the council.”
“Gerald, is there another grate to go through? One closer to the sideboard?” I asked.
“There should be.”
I looked back at the phalanx. They were losing ground fast. I could’ve helped. Part of me thought I should. They were my allies, but I had a job to do. I was there for Miss Penrose. I couldn’t lose sight of her.
“Lead the way.” I shot sparks down the duct.
Gerald flew through the sparks and Iris and I followed close behind. We made several turns and stopped at a grate a mere foot from the cabinet. There were only two guards by the back claw-foot. They stared straight ahead with dark brown almond eyes set deeply in pale green faces. Their ears grew long and pointed and formed ridges back from their faces between rows of thick black hair.
I looked at Gerald.
“Japanese. Katana, I think. You shouldn’t try to get past them.”
“Are they impervious to fire?”
Gerald’s brow wrinkled. “I doubt it.”
“Excellent,” I said.
“Seriously, you really shouldn’t.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t hurt them.”
“I’m not worried about you hurting them. I’m worried about them hurting you. They’re adult warriors.”
“I only need them to look away for a second, so I can get in to see Soren.” I formed a tiny ball of yellow flame at the tip of my finger.
“She’s going to do it, Gerald,” said Iris, her hands clutched on her cheeks.
“Yes, I am. We need Soren to help us get the root for Miss Penrose.” I snapped my fingers and the ball disappeared. Not extinguished. Disappeared. It would reappear whenever and wherever I chose. It was pretty cool, if I did say so myself.
I climbed onto the grate and got ready to shoot through the slats.
Iris grabbed my wrist. “I’m going to stop you.”
“If you don’t let go, I’ll tell Mom you ate that peach pie she made special for Dad’s birthday.”
“I’ll...I’ll tell Mom you tried to get yourself killed by katana warriors.”
“You’re going to have to do better than that. Let go.”
Iris screwed her face up into a furious pout. “I’ll tell her you snuck out to see Rory Whipplethorn when you were supposed to be studying French.”
“Rory?” Gerald sneered. “He’s an idiot.”
“You think everyone’s an idiot,” I said, shaking my arm.
“Everyone is an idiot, but especially him.”
I didn’t want to do it. I promised myself I never would, but I had to get into that cabinet. Iris wasn’t going to let go. She could tell about Rory, for all I cared. I was going.
I concentrated, which is saying something, because for me fire is easy. Tiny fire, not so much. I closed my eyes and pictured minuscule, almost invisible sparks on Iris’s palms.
Iris screeched and let go. Then I exploded a hundred tiny fireballs under Soren’s bed and slid through the grate’s grey slats.
CHAPTER NINE
THE KATANA TURNED to look at my fire bouncing around them, whirring and squealing. A light show just for them. I darted behind them and flew under the cabinet. What little light was in the antique mall went to nothing underneath the dark wood, but I could make out the main entrance, a wide stair flanked by glowing foxfire fungus and several more katana. Interspersed with the katana were brown-speckled trolls. They lumbered around, bumping into things and looking confused. They probably were, not being the brightest of species. I imagined they were there for muscle.
Those two species were all I could make out. I didn’t dare light my own fire for fear the katana would see it, so I wasn’t sure where the side entrance was. If Iris was with me she could’ve identified the spot where the noise was coming out, but she wasn’t, so I just felt around in the darkness until I bumped into something. I looked up and saw a dim light at the top of a narrow stair, leading up into the sideboard.
I slipped up the stairs, holding the earring tight to my chest, and peeked into the chamber above. It was filled with porcelain dishes. I thought I might’ve heard a sound; someone must’ve been shouting. I came off the stairs and pressed myself against the side of a cup. There was light beyond the cup, probably closer to the middle of the sideboard. I crept around the cup only to find another cup and another. It was practically a forest. I passed through them like a maze, squeezing by salt shakers, and then ran into a silver service. I bypassed the coffee urn, sugar pot, and cream pitcher, but hit a snag when I found the silverware. The antique dealer had stacked bunches of knives, forks of multiple sizes and a ridiculous amount of spoons. I didn’t know how I would get through until I found the oyster forks. They were very small for a human fork and had three curved prongs. I wouldn’t have known what an oyster fork was if it wasn’t for Marie and Iris. We went to visit Marie on a regular basis. Her big dining room held several china cabinets. Iris always insisted on going in. She loved to trace her hands over the delicate patterns of Marie’s multiple collections. Once Iris got Marie to take out a silver service. She explained the whole thing to us. What fork was for what, etc...
Lucky for me, the antique dealer didn’t have so many oyster forks. I scooted underneath, dragging the earring and wishing I’d left it behind. That’s what I got for not thinking.
After the silver service, I found plates and not just a few plates. It was the Rocky Mountain range of plates, in multiple stacks, almost to the top of the cabinet. They started with big platters, went to chargers, dinner plates, dessert plates, and then saucers. Rolled napkins were stuffed in every available crevice, leaving me no place to go around the back. So I headed to the front, and found an opening under the edge of a platter. As I walked under, tension grew in my chest. I couldn’t hear anything, but sensed many creatures and it made my heart thump. The vibrations of their voices resonated in my chest and for the first time I wondered how many fairies would be in the council. I knew Soren would be there and probably the commander since he hadn’t been outside with his troops. The spriggans might be there. I assumed there were quite a few species living in the antique mall, but I’d never thought about how many. I’d encountered seven myself, so there would be representatives of species I knew and at least five or six more. That wasn’t so many. When they were all arguing, I’d get Soren’s attention and tell him about what was happening with the phalanx. Or maybe the commander if I could find the little creature.
I got closer to the front and found a stack of dessert plates. I went between them and yet another stack of huge plates. It got lighter and lighter. I was about to leave the plate overhang when I saw a thick muscular leg covered with greenish-brown scales. Three toes with large hooked claws tapped the wooden floor in a bored rhythm. The scent of overcooked cabbage drifted off the leg and I wrinkled my nose. I didn’t like cabbage under the best of circumstances.
The creature had its back to me, so I sneaked a peek from under the platter. It was just taller than the platter edge. I really should’ve dedicated some time to studying other species like Gerald had, because I had no clue what it was. It resembled a troll, except it had small leathery wings, clearly not meant to actually carry that huge muscular body.
The creature turned its head and sniffed. I recoiled back under the plate. It had large black eyes and an oversized jaw with a terrible underbite and jagged teeth. I’d have to retrace my steps. Instinct said the creature wasn’t on our side, but then again I wouldn’t have thought the golden fairies would’ve been with the spriggans. I just couldn’t take the chance. I had to go with my instincts.
I backtracked and went around the dessert plates. The light was more intense and I blinked furiously as I went around a silver tea strainer, and then into the light. I gasped and withdrew back under the filagreed handle. I looked up through the gaps
, straining my neck at the dozens upon dozens of fairies gathered in the cabinet. There weren’t seven species gathered or fourteen or even twenty. There had to be at least forty and some had more than one representative.
The stacks of the plates were arranged in a half circle and there were fairies on each plate all the way up to the top. I spotted the phalanx easily. Their black against the cream porcelain made them stand out. The commander was there, sucking on his smoking stick, his expression as impassive as the other species were inflamed. On one side of the phalanx were fairies that looked a lot like me except they were blue. They shouted and raised their fists. Above them were trolls, not brown-speckled but yellow and looking just as dumb. I couldn’t stop looking. There were so many. Even Gerald would’ve been amazed. My senses were going crazy. I couldn’t tell who might be on our side or on the spriggans’.
All the fairies stared down at the center of the half circle of plates at two over-turned tea strainers. A spriggan was on one, sitting on an ebony throne and picking his teeth with a fly leg. I recognized him as Horc’s uncle. Soren stood on the other, looking just the way I remembered: tall, thin, and painted to look exactly like his wood, bird’s-eye maple. The branches decorating the top of his head gave him even more height and made him look like a tree from a distance. He held my old earring, the one I’d used against the spriggans. A lump formed in my throat. He had my earring. He’d kept it.
A katana stood on one of the lower plates. “These terms are not acceptable. The spriggans must withdraw into their assigned territory.”
Horc’s uncle threw back his head and laughed. Nearly a third of the council joined him, and I got the picture. Soren was in big trouble.
The largest of the golden fairies entered through the main staircase. He stood next to a salt shaker, his cold eyes roaming over the council, and I realized what was odd about him. He had cat eyes. They were dark gold with narrow black slits. I’d never seen anything quite so creepy. There were no others of his species on any of the plates, and several of the fairies pointed and moved uneasily at the sight of him. I waited for him to look my way, but he never did. His eyes settled on Soren, and Soren matched his stare.
A small fairy raised his hand to speak and then patted himself with a cloth. He glanced nervously between Soren and the golden fairy. He was so pale he was nearly translucent. I squinted and thought for a second that I could see through his chest. Water ran down his white suit from the cloth and dripped down off his foot onto a foul-looking troll with red skin and horns. The troll was not pleased and banged on the underside of the small fairy’s plate. The pale fairy jolted sideways and ran into another of his species before addressing the council.
“In the name of the ashrays, I move to accept the spriggan alliance’s terms, provided they agree not to encroach on anymore territory.”
The whole council jumped to their feet and yelled so loud even I could make it out. Soren tapped my earring on the tea strainer until they settled down.
“Council members, this is a time for restraint and reflection. While I agree with the ashrays that further bloodshed is undesirable, what assurances can the spriggans give us that they will keep their promise?”
The council jumped back up, several species coming to blows. If Soren hadn’t been in full view of everyone I would’ve run out to him. Instead, I stayed under my filigreed umbrella and hoped they’d call a recess. It didn’t look like it would be happening anytime soon. Everybody was yelling, except for Soren, Horc’s uncle, and the golden fairy. They stayed quiet and still. Then in front of the plates a creature emerged. It looked like the one I’d crept up on earlier and I realized it was a sluagh, a spriggan ally the commander had told me about.
It lumbered across the area to a group of spriggans gathered by a silver thimble on the opposite side of the council chamber. The sluagh spoke to them and they tipped their noses up, their slimy tongues tasting the air. I clutched my earring tighter.
One spriggan came out to Horc’s uncle’s strainer, climbed the wire mesh, and spoke in his ear. The spriggan withdrew and Horc’s uncle stood. The council quieted down and waited for him to speak. He hopped around the strainer in his strange gait, his moist brown eyes darting everywhere. I stepped back further into the shadows.
“Council members,” he said. “There has been much talk about what we spriggans will concede. It is time that Soren’s contingency concede something as an act of good faith.”
The council looked around at each other, shrugging.
“I ask that Soren Maple hand over the wood fairy, Matilda Whipplethorn.”
A fairy, with luminescent wings much like my own, jumped to his feet. “We are not in the business of handing over children as part of a deal.”
My cheeks burned. I didn’t expect any better from a spriggan, disgusting slave traders, but that luminescent fairy was another matter. Who was he calling a child? When was the last time he forced a surrender from a spriggan like I had? That was the act of no child. My palms itched. I wanted to throw a fireball, but I wasn’t sure at who.
Soren tapped his earring. “The request is denied. On the grounds that it is unconscionable and impossible. We are not in possession of Matilda Whipplethorn.”
“We believe that you are,” said the spriggan with a twisted smile.
“You have my word that we do not have her,” said Soren.
“You have Matilda, and I want her.”
“I do not.”
“With all due respect, you are lying.”
The council erupted. Swords drawn. Spears pointed. The group of spriggan hopped out and surrounded Soren’s tea strainer. The commander and his two companions hurled themselves off their plate and landed at the ready. They popped off their shells, sharp side out.
I stepped out of the shadows and banged my earring. “I am here.”
CHAPTER TEN
THE SPRIGGANS SAW me first and charged. I waved my hand and a fire ring erupted around me. They skidded to a halt and my flames snapped at their knees.
“Cross it,” I said. “I dare you.”
The largest of the spriggans hissed. “You have to come out of there sometime.”
“No, I really don’t.” My flames got bigger. “You’ll have to come and get me.”
Behind them, the golden fairy strode toward us. He raised his hand and a golden ball appeared in it. Not fire. It appeared solid and floated above his palm. “If you insist.”
He threw the ball. It arced through the air and landed within my ring and then he was there, standing in front of me. He backhanded me, knocking me to the floor. Through my flames I saw Soren, still on the strainer, screaming. The commander rushed past him and threw his shell. It sliced through the air, fast and low. The golden fairy dodged, but it curved in the air and took him out at the knees. He howled and fell next to me. I struggled to get up, but I kept slipping and falling in something clear and sticky. My flames went out. I couldn’t reignite them.
The golden fairy grabbed for me. At the end of each of his fingers was a clear claw instead of a fingernail. I pulled back and he only grazed me, leaving four slits in my sleeve. One of the phalanx cracked the golden fairy with his shell and I slid around, trying to get away. I finally got out of the clear ooze and stood. Everyone was on the move. The whole council was either trying to run out or were fighting on their plates. Soren was gone. A group of katana rushed up the main stair and came at me with their long, thin swords held low. I readied my earring to swing at them but they rushed past me and went after a group of scaled fairies with long tails and no wings.
The commander was among the katana, slashing with his shell. He shouted orders so fast I couldn’t make out his words. Two of the katana turned and ran at me. One sheathed his sword. He snatched me up and tucked me and my earring tight to his chest. I screamed and struggled until I saw the commander motion me to stop.
The katana ran with me down the main stair, knocking fairies out of the way and stepping on those who didn’t move fast e
nough. Then we were out of the cabinet and surrounded by spriggans and phalanx going at each other. Iris and Gerald were on the edge of the fray, pressed up against the leg of the bed. Around them were three small fairies dressed in heavy brown cowls. One was a young girl, another a woman about Mom’s age and the last was an old lady. All three were in a protective stance with their hands out and their mouths moving in an incantation. I caught something about innocence.
Out from under the bed came a group of dryads. I assumed they were dryads, similar to Soren. They were tall, very thin, and looked like they were made of crusty brown bark. Their heads were covered with green needles. One plucked a couple off his head and handed them to Gerald and Iris. They stared at the needles and then the dryad grabbed another needle and made some slashing motions.
Some spriggans broke through the lines of phalanx and rushed toward us. The katana dropped me and drew his sword while shifting me gently behind him. My palms tingled and l lit a feisty yellow flame.
I tugged on the katana’s sleeve and said, “My fire’s back.”
He looked down at me. “Good.”
The spriggans ran at us, their mouths open in a war cry, loud enough for me to hear. The katana met them, blocking with his swords. I shot out a small flame that arced around the katana, stuck the spriggans in the chest, and set their hideous brown paper bag suits on fire. They screamed and tried to pat out the flames while the katana continued their assault.
At the bed leg, Gerald, the bark dryads, and the little brown fairies’ engaged a group of the sluagh. They were huge, but slow. The little brown fairies lips were moving and translucent shields appeared, keeping the sluagh away from Gerald and Iris. Gerald surprised me by stepping out in front and slashing at a sluagh, opening a good-sized cut in his leg. The sluagh howled and grabbed Gerald around the waist. He lifted him high above his head and shook him. Gerald went limp.