by A W Hartoin
“They’re really weird,” said Iris. “I can’t tell if they’re boys or girls.”
“I think ours are all boys, but only because they’ve never made any more,” said Jacqueline.
“I asked them about females once,” said Lucien with a grin. “They couldn’t see the point of having any.”
“That will make Dad happy. There won’t be a whole colony of Home Depot fairies taking over,” said Iris.
“Believe me, four is plenty,” said Lucien. “Now, as soon as Thaddeus gets here, we’ll come up with a plan to get you to Paris.”
“What’s he going to do?” I asked.
Lucien took my hand and kissed it. “Everything.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
THADDEUS VAN WINKLE sat on a stool in the Pharmacy display and watched Jacqueline slather my leg with a thick, brown linseed poultice. He’d moved aside the scorpion and centipede jars to see into the sickroom, much to the dismay of the brown-speckled trolls. Lucien explained that they didn’t like being seen and humans made them uncomfortable. Lrag helped move them out of sight behind the tongue depressors, so they could calm down and go back to sleep.
“Why don’t they like being seen?” asked Iris.
“It’s awesome,” said Gerald.
“I have no idea, but they’re not the only ones that prefer to remain invisible,” said Lucien as he touched the poultice and left an indentation. “You’ll have to let it set before bandaging.”
“It’s fine, Father,” she said.
“Five minutes will do.”
Jacqueline sighed and handed me the kaki persimmon root bag. It was twice as heavy and oddly lumpy.
“What did you do to it?” I asked.
“I performed a spell and I added some more herbs to increase the potency. Miss Penrose needs two cups a day without fail. She should be back on her feet in a week, but the longer she takes it, the less effective it is.”
Thaddeus leaned over, his big human voice penetrating even my dull ear. “How long does she have?”
“Three months,” said Jacqueline.
“That’s not very long.”
“Long enough,” said Lucien, staring up at his huge face. “Can you do it?”
“I’ll find a way,” said Thaddeus.
“Do what exactly?” I asked.
“Contact the network of seers,” said Jacqueline.
Thaddeus smiled. “We all know each other and it’s probably the best way to get you to Paris quickly. I could fly you there, but I could only stay for about two weeks.”
Jacqueline shook her head. “That’s not long enough. It needs to be a move. Once Matilda locates the Vermillion family, she’ll have to talk them into doing the spell and then it will have to be done. From what I remember, it’s a long process, weeks or longer.”
“If you know all the seers, then you must know the fairies. Couldn’t we stay with a family while we do everything?” asked Gerald.
“Normally, I would say yes,” replied Thaddeus. “But the situation is unstable. I don’t know which side the Vermillion are on these days. Ending up with the wrong family could ruin Miss Penrose’s chances. You have a human family, right?”
“We have Judd and Tess,” said Gerald.
“Don’t forget Marie and Sarah,” said Iris.
“What about the kids’ parents?” asked Thaddeus.
“I can’t make them see. I’ve tried everything,” I said.
“Maybe it’s not necessary. What do they do?”
“I have no idea. Evan carries a briefcase.”
Gerald rolled his eyes. “Evan is an engineer. He has a PhD. Don’t you listen?”
I rolled my eyes back. “Not so much.”
“Oh, yeah. I forgot.”
“How could you forget I’m mostly deaf?”
“You don’t seem deaf.”
“What does deaf seem like?”
“More disabled, not like you,” said Gerald.
“I’m not really disabled. I’m plenty abled,” I said, feeling a tingly anger form in my chest.
“You certainly are,” said Lucien as he touched my big toe. “A girl worthy of Viola. Are you getting your fire back? Your temperature just went up five degrees.”
I held out my hand and while my palm tingled, nothing happened.
“That would’ve been remarkable,” said Jacqueline. “But you are a fast healer. The punctures are starting to close already.”
“When will it come back for real?” I didn’t like the idea of the horen being out there and me without my fire.
“There’s no telling. You’re my first kindler and I’ve never treated horen venom before.”
“I hope you get your fire back before Paris. You’ll need it,” said Thaddeus.
“Can you really get us there?” asked Iris.
“One way or another. So the father’s an engineer. What does the mother do?”
We all looked at Gerald, who smirked and said, “She’s working on her doctorate in art history.”
“That might be useful. The engineering, too. I believe the French are experiencing a shortage of engineers.”
“What are you thinking?” asked Lucien.
Thaddeus smiled and a dimple appeared for a moment in his right cheek and then disappeared like it had never been there. “I propose we move the whole family, humans and all. I’ll find them a situation in the City of Light, that only a fool would refuse.”
“It had better be fast,” said Jacqueline.
“I agree, so we better be on our way. Marie should arrive any minute.” Thaddeus held out his hand. Lrag scooped me up and walked on his palm.
Lucien followed and began slowly wrapping my leg in soft linen. “Come back to me when it’s all over and tell me your tale. Make sure it’s a good one.” He kissed me and I felt the warmth of a tear on his cheek.
Gerald hovered beside me. “Don’t worry. We’re never dull.”
“Remember everything I told you and don’t trust either side.” Lucien looked at each of us in turn. First me, then Gerald, Iris, Bentha, and Lrag.
“They’re not going,” I said.
Lucien raised an eyebrow.
Lrag wrinkled his brow. “How close is Germany to France?”
“It’s right next door,” said Gerald.
“Then with Soren’s permission I will go with you.”
“It’s better to swat a fly then to ask him to go away nicely,” said Lucien.
“Father, don’t tell them that. You’re a bad influence,” said Jacqueline.
“It’s okay,” I said. “I don’t even know what he means.”
“It means that it is better to act than to ask,” said Lucien with pointy eyebrows and a wicked grin.
“It’s that philosophy that nearly got you killed three dozen times,” said Jacqueline.
“And yet I am not dead, but I sure did have a life.”
“Marie will love you,” said Iris.
Thaddeus turned to Bentha, who’d stood nearby uncharacteristically silent. “What about you?”
Bentha unsheathed his sword. “I will not be asking permission. They’d never let me go. I’m too valuable by far.”
Lrag groaned. “You’re not the only sword master.”
“I am the sword master. The standard by which all others are judged.”
“And humble, too.”
“Humble has no place in war.”
“Crazy does, apparently.” Lrag and I shared a smile.
Thaddeus bent over and said to Iris, “What have you got there?”
Iris flew backward. “Nothing.”
“Something moved in your pocket.”
“That’s just Iris’s fire lizard,” I said.
“Yeah, let’s get going.” Iris turned beet red and started rubbing her hands together.
Gerald flew in close. “What’s going on? Let me see.”
“We need to go. Don’t we, Matilda? Let’s go.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “Show us your lizard.�
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“He’s sleeping.”
“No, he isn’t,” said Gerald. “I can hear him purring.”
Iris fluttered around, looking panicked.
“Iris! Show us that lizard,” I said.
“I’m not supposed to.”
“Says who?”
She hovered and balled up her fists. “Krust.”
“Krust Nuget, Horc’s brother?” I felt the blood run out of my face.
“Aren’t the Nugets spriggans?” asked Jacqueline.
“Yes, they are,” answered Lucien. “You better show us that lizard, Iris.”
Iris landed on Thaddeus’s palm and put both her hands in her pocket. She struggled, biting her lip and then said, “He won’t come out. Too bad.”
“Bentha,” I said, “can you help her?”
Bentha sheathed his sword and jumped on Thaddeus’s arm. Iris’s shoulders slumped. “Never mind.” She pulled out Rufus, but not only Rufus. The little fire lizard was wrapped around a shiny black sphere. Everyone backed up a step, except for Lucien, who climbed onto Thaddeus’s palm, his long hair coming to life and flowing around his head like snakes.
“The spriggan gave you that?”
Iris blushed harder. “He said I couldn’t tell you until we got home.”
“Bentha, take that thing and get rid of it,” said Lrag.
Bentha came forward, but Iris held up her hands. “No. No. Krust said it was precious and I have to take care of it.”
“You can’t trust a spriggan,” said Lrag. “It must be destroyed before it can do any damage.”
I reached in my pocket and touched Krust’s note to Horc. “Krust wouldn’t hurt us.”
“He tortured you,” said Bentha.
“No, he didn’t. That was his cover for giving me the root. He just gave it to me,” I said.
“There’s no way. Spriggans never give anything away. They always get paid,” said Lrag.
“He got paid, but it wasn’t a bad thing.”
“What did you give him?” asked Gerald. “We still have the earring.”
“That’s between me and him. Trust me. He wouldn’t hurt us, but we have to find out what that is before we take it home.”
Bentha fingered his sword hilt. “Maybe I can crack it open.”
Lucien finished my bandage and asked, “That would be a bad idea? May I see it, Iris?”
Iris handed over Rufus and the sphere. Lucien held it up high and turned it over, examining it on all sides. He put his ear to it and smiled at me. “I won’t say it isn’t dangerous, but it’s definitely precious.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“A phalanx egg.”
Bentha inhaled. “A precious thing, indeed.”
“If the spriggan gave it to you, it must be the commander’s egg. The spriggans stole it,” said Lrag. “But why’d he give it to you? What did he say?”
Iris ran a finger over the sphere. “He just said what I told you.”
“He didn’t say anything else? Think, Iris,” I said.
“Well, he gave it to me when Gerald was out going to the bathroom. Right when Gerald opened the door, he said to remember that there was honor among some thieves. I didn’t get a chance to ask what he meant.”
“He meant that it’s wrong to steal a child,” said Lrag. “I never expected a spriggan to say that. Children are their stock and trade.”
Gerald landed next to Iris. “Wait. Are you saying the commander laid this egg? The commander’s a girl?”
Bentha laughed. “The commander is most certainly not a girl.”
“Phalanx females lay the eggs, but the males incubate them in pockets on their torsos. This is the first egg for the commander. He was carrying it when the spriggans attacked during the counsel meeting. When he was knocked unconscious, the spriggans stole it,” said Lrag.
“Soren won’t be happy that you have the egg,” said Bentha.
“It’ll be fine,” I said. “We’ll just take it back to the commander.”
Bentha and Lrag exchanged a look.
“What?”
“It was meant to be,” said Bentha. “Soren will bow to fate.”
Lrag looked down, his eyes dark and penetrating. “The egg will stay with you, if you will have it.”
“I can’t keep the commander’s egg. It’s his baby. He’s going to want it back,” I said.
“Do you remember the messages Soren intercepted?”
“Of course.”
“They were about that egg. The commander knew the spriggans would try to get it and use it against him. He wanted it out of the mall and away from the fighting. He wanted his egg with you.”
“What am I supposed to do? Please don’t say I have to sit on it.”
Lrag chuckled. “It just has to be kept warm and safe. No sitting required. The fire lizard will do just fine.”
“What if it hatches?”
“Phalanx stay in the egg for a long time.”
“We’re going to Paris. You said the revolution is getting worse. I can’t take the commander’s egg into that.”
Lucien placed Rufus and the egg in my lap. It looked heavy, but I barely felt it. It could’ve been filled with air. “He wanted you to have it. The mall is more unstable than Paris with three horen in residence. No one in Paris will know what you carry and you’re not there to fight. You’ll get the cure for Miss Penrose and keep your head down.”
“Can I do it?” asked Iris. “I’ll take good care of it, and I never fight.”
“Well, if we’re keeping it, I can’t think of a better caretaker,” I said.
Iris plucked the egg and Rufus off my lap. “I’ll take such good care of you. You’ll be warm and polished because you’re the best phalanx ever. The smartest and prettiest and most bestest.” She fluttered up, murmuring her love. That egg would probably be the best kept egg in the history of phalanx.
“Are you sure it won’t hatch?” I asked.
“No,” said Lucien. “But even if it does, it won’t be hard to care for. Phalanx hatch walking and talking. We’ll send word to the commander through our people. If he decides he wants it back, he’ll have time before you go to Paris.”
“It’s time you leave. Miss Penrose is in need,” said Jacqueline.
“Goodbye. Thank you for everything,” I said.
Thaddeus wound a scarf around his neck with his free hand. “It’d only take a half hour to get there and then you can get rid of that Lucrece.”
“Lucrece?” Lucien perked up.
I explained about the mysterious so-called healer and Lucien called for his traveling bag.
“Father, you’re not getting any ideas are you?” asked Jacqueline. “You’re too old for adventures.”
“I disagree and this adventure is necessary. I’ll take care of this Lucrece and I’ll have a good time doing it. How dare she override Matilda and, by association, Viola?” His hair started vibrating. Yves ran up with a linen tote and placed it at Lucien’s feet.
“On, Thaddeus!” called out Lucien. “Take me to that interloper.”
Thaddeus pulled a face at Jacqueline and turned to leave. I think Jacqueline might’ve been yelling. I saw her waving arms.
“I hope Jacqueline’s speaking to me when I get back.” Thaddeus went out the glass door and carried us out a different door into a furniture section, passing a collection of weird metal chairs shaped like tulips. Thaddeus weaved into and out of rooms so fast I couldn’t blink for fear I’d miss something. We went through an early American collection of furniture, American Indian, French colonial and an African exhibit that included textiles and weaponry. The last room was labeled Expressions in Beidermeier. The exhibit was set up like a home and we passed through parlors, bedrooms, and dining rooms.
“We have to bring my dad here,” I said.
“He’s a fan of Biedermeier?” asked Thaddeus.
“He will be. It’s so simple, but so elegant.” What I didn’t say was that Biedermeier was just what Dad needed to g
et off of metal-working and back where he belonged in woodworking. My life would get a lot less boring. No more cauldrons to fill for Dad to mutilate pins.
Iris and Gerald swooped down. “Did you see them?”
I followed their pointing fingers. Wood fairies stood on the top of a desk made of five different kinds of wood. They waved and I waved back. After that it seemed like every piece had fairies.
“Beidermeier is very popular. Fairies that are displaced out of their original wood end up here,” said Thaddeus.
“I can see why,” said Lrag.
Thaddeus took us out an exit door and into a chilly parking lot. The sun was going down and casting shadows, making my stomach clench. I missed the warmth of the museum and its friendliness. Home wouldn’t be so nice. Mom and Dad were guaranteed to be furious. I couldn’t imagine what the other Whipplethorn fairies would have to say. If it wasn’t for Miss Penrose, I might’ve said Thaddeus could leave me with the galen. They seemed to have no problems with my being a kindler. I’d be happy to live in a nice Biedermeier chair where nobody yelled at me for being me.
Lucien took my hand and kissed it. “You wouldn’t like it. The museum is perfect and wonderful, but also boring.”
“How’d you know what I was thinking?”
“It was written all over your face. You’re like Viola. You need excitement.”
I held my tongue. I was pretty much over excitement. Even with the willow tea my leg was aching and my skin was still yellow. Excitement was overrated.
But I didn’t think Marie would ever agree with me on excitement. She drove into the parking lot at top speed and came to a screeching halt in front of us, leaving a trail of black tire marks on the pavement and the smell of burning rubber in the air. She waved at us through the open window, her arm weighed down with six jeweled rings and a dozen bracelets. If disaster was my middle name, excitement was Marie’s.
“Wow,” said Thaddeus. “The rumors about Marie have not been exaggerated.”
Thaddeus carried us to Marie’s Super Snake, and Gerald fluttered in front of him with a hint of green in his cheeks. “Maybe you can take us home. I don’t think Matilda can take Marie’s driving.”
“Me?” I asked. “You’re worried about me?”
“I could drive you,” said Thaddeus.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Marie is here.”