The Truest Heart

by E. D. Baker

  “We’ve already met,” Cory said, and smiled at Itchy Butt.

  His wide mouth split into an enormous grin. “We sure did!” he said. “I wasn’t sure a famous person like you would remember.” Reaching out with one of his enormous hands, he slapped Cory on the back. What might have been considered a friendly tap to another ogre sent Cory flying. Blue caught her before she hit the ground, and he was frowning when he turned back to Itchy Butt.

  “I’m so sorry!” the ogre declared, his face turning red. “I didn’t mean to do that! Are you okay?”

  The air had been knocked out of Cory, so it took a moment before she could speak. She nodded and squeezed Blue’s arm, not wanting him to do something he’d later regret. “I’m fine,” she finally gasped.

  “Itchy Butt wants us to start playing as soon as we can,” Olot hurried to say. “Are you ready, Cory?”

  Cory knew he really meant, “Are you all right?” so she nodded and started toward her drums. Blue went with her; Macks, Skweely, and Twark were close behind.

  “It looks like we might have to protect you from more than just the guilds,” Blue said before Cory could climb onto the stage.

  “It was an accident,” she told him. “I’m sure Itchy Butt didn’t mean it.”

  “Then we’ll have to watch out for accidents, too,” said Blue, and the three ogres nodded. “We’ll stay right here, just in case.”

  While the other members of Zephyr started to warm up, Cory climbed onto the stage and picked up her drumsticks. Her back was sore where the ogre had slapped her, but that wouldn’t stop her from playing.

  When the band members had finished warming up, Olot started them with “Heat Lightning,” which the ogres really enjoyed. They played “Shooting Stars” next, following it with “June Bug Jamboree.” The song started out with an even tempo, but soon became as lively as if people really were swatting june bugs. Cory was whaling on her drums when an ogress started screaming. People often got so drawn into the music that they shouted and stomped their feet, so Cory didn’t pay it much attention. She barely noticed as more party guests began to scream. Even when a shadow loomed over her, she kept playing. It wasn’t until the other band members stopped playing and fled the stage that Cory noticed the water dripping on her drums. She faltered and looked up. Cold black eyes in a long narrow head looked down on her. The head itself was as big as she was tall, and she gasped when it started to draw nearer as the monster’s long, sinuous neck rose farther from the water. Cory barely heard the shouts of Blue and his ogre friends as the monster’s mouth opened so wide that she could see down its gullet. The odor of decaying fish was strong enough to make her gag. And then the mouth was almost on her and Blue was knocking her to the stage, covering her with his own body.

  The creature was only feet away when it jerked and turned aside. Cory peered out from under Blue. Macks seemed to be fighting the band’s new assistant, Dillert, while Skweely and Twark threw rocks at the monster. And then the other ogres at the party joined in, hurling rocks, sticks, empty bottles, and partly chewed cooked squirrel.

  The monster roared a deep, throaty sound that reminded Cory of the water rushing over the cliff at Misty Falls. Blue was helping her up when the monster swung its head back toward them. “When I say ‘go,’ I want you to run as fast as you can away from the lake,” said Blue.

  “What about you?” asked Cory.

  “Don’t worry about me,” said Blue. “I’ll be fine as long as you’re safe. Ready? Go!!”

  Cory jumped from the stage and took off running, glancing over her shoulder every few yards. When the monster saw her, it roared again, its breath knocking over the drums that had remained upright on the stage. It was stretching its neck, trying to reach Cory, when Blue and Macks jumped onto it. A moment later, Twark, Skweely, and some of the party guests joined them, clinging to the monster’s neck like limpets as it tried to shake them off.

  Cory had stopped halfway to the parking lot to see what was happening. When she saw the monster raise its head high, then turn and plunge into the water, she shouted, “Blue!” and ran back to the lake’s edge.

  Bubbles rose to the surface as the monster dove deep. Everyone gathered at the shore, watching the water and waiting for the monster to return. When nothing happened, Cory feared that Blue might have drowned. And then he erupted from the lake with the ogres close behind, cheering and slapping the water in sheer joy.

  Cory waited while they began the swim to shore. “What happened?” she asked as they trudged out of the water.

  “When the monster couldn’t get rid of us, it gave up and went home,” said Macks.

  “Does it live on the bottom of the lake?” Cory asked Blue.

  “I don’t think so,” said Blue, “but it definitely went somewhere. It was there one minute and gone the next. It disappeared right out from under us.”

  “What was that thing?” asked Cory.

  “If it’s what I think it is, it’s got a lot of names. In the human world it’s called Chessie or the Loch Ness Monster,” Blue told her. “Here it’s called Old Gnarly. My bet is it’s one of the ITG’s Big Baddies.”

  “Yeah,” said Macks. “And so is that guy who works for Zephyr. A bad one, I mean, not a big one. He tried to stop us from helping you.”

  “I saw him throw something in the water right before the monster showed up,” Twark said.

  Blue frowned. “It was probably a signal for Old Gnarly to attack you. We need to tell Olot.”

  “You can tell him, but I wouldn’t bother looking for that guy around here,” said Skweely. “The last I saw of him, he was running for the parking lot.”

  “That was great!” Itchy Butt said as he joined them. “How did you arrange that monster thing?”

  “We didn’t arrange that,” said Blue. “The attack was real.”

  “That’s even better!” Itchy Butt exclaimed. “I can’t wait to tell my friends. This is the best party ever! Say, are you going to finish your concert? You didn’t even play the whole third song, and we’re paying you for at least eight.”

  Cory glanced at Blue, then at her friends who were on the stage, inspecting their instruments. “We’ll let you know,” she said, and left Blue with his friends.

  After checking her drums, and finding that they were only a little damp, Cory agreed with the other members of Zephyr that they could keep playing. This time they skipped “June Bug Jamboree” and went straight to their new song, “Summer Heat.” Cory noticed that Blue and his ogre friends stayed even closer than before.

  When they had played more than eight songs and responded to three standing ovations, Zephyr finally finished playing. Cory and her friends packed up their instruments while Blue told Olot about Dillert and the monster. By the time Cory finished getting her drums ready for Olot to move, the ogres had set up the games. She joined Blue at the sidelines to watch as Itchy Butt and his guests played a wild game of pin-the-tail-on-the-ogre tag. It was getting dark when the ogres brought out a big tub and filled it with water. When they started taking turns bobbing for rats’ heads, Cory turned to Blue. “Do you mind if we leave now?” she asked.

  “I thought you’d never ask,” he replied.

  The three ogres who had come with them wanted to stay at the party, so Cory and Blue said good-bye to Chancy, Olot, and the other members of Zephyr. They were heading to the parking lot when a firefly works display began at the other end of the lake.

  “How beautiful!” Cory said, watching the night sky where thousands of fireflies were synchronizing their flashes, creating pictures and designs in light. “Would you mind if we go watch it? I’d love to see the show.”

  “Sure,” said Blue. “I’ve always liked firefly works.”

  They rode the solar cycle around the lake, parking at the end of a long row of cycles. The ground by the lake was covered with people reclining on blankets, staring up at the sky. They were so caught up in the show that Cory wasn’t worried someone might recognize her.

&nbs
p; Cory had no idea how the fireflies did it, but they were able to change their color as well as the duration of their flashes. When they created pictures of flowers, the flower fairies cried out in admiration. Frost fairies applauded when giant snowflakes appeared in the night sky. There were images of unicorns and dragons, butterflies and songbirds. Each one seemed better than the last.

  The show was approaching its grand finale when Blue said, “We should leave now or we’ll get stuck in traffic.”

  Smiling, Cory nodded and took his hand, her eyes shining with all the wonderful things she’d seen. Her smile faded when she heard a woman’s voice call out, “Look who’s here! If it isn’t my wayward daughter! Out for a wild night on the town, Cory?”

  Blue’s grip tightened on Cory’s hand as she turned around. “Hello, Mother,” she said.

  Delphinium was there with three other women who were all looking at Cory with open curiosity. “I didn’t expect to see you here,” said Cory’s mother. “I would have thought you’d be hiding in your uncle’s house.”

  “I would have thought you’d be at work, collecting children’s teeth,” Cory replied.

  “I’m no longer working in the field,” said Delphinium. “Mary Mary appointed me to the Tooth Fairy Guild Advisory Board.”

  “It sounds as if things are going well for you,” Cory said.

  “They are. You would know all about it if you ever stopped by.”

  Cory thought her mother looked wistful for a moment, but the moment passed and Delphinium’s expression turned bitter. “You might have been able to hold a position of authority someday, too, if you hadn’t squandered your valuable training.”

  The grand finale started, lighting the sky with a gorgeous bouquet of firefly flowers. Blue squeezed Cory’s hand. “Excuse us, but we should be going,” he told Delphinium.

  “Good night, Mother,” Cory told her before walking away.

  “That wasn’t too terrible,” Blue told Cory as they hurried to the cycle. “I got the impression that she really does miss you. I bet she’s been dying to tell you about her appointment to the board.”

  Cory shrugged. “Maybe.” And maybe someday, when this mess with the guilds is over, I might actually go see her, Cory thought.

  They had almost reached the cycle when Cory spotted Mary Lambkin and Jasper Wilkins, who were also leaving the park.

  “Cory!” Mary called. “You’re just the person I wanted to see. You were right! Jasper and I are perfect for each other. We’re going to my parents’ house in New Town in a few days to get married, then on to the shore for our honeymoon. Thank you so much for bringing us together. We never would have met if it weren’t for you. Please feel free to use my name if you ever need a matchmaking reference.”

  “You’re welcome!” said Cory. “I’m glad it all worked out.”

  Cory was thrilled that Mary and Jasper were so happy together. She thought about them as she put on her helmet and climbed onto the cycle behind Blue. She was still thinking about them as she and Blue rode down the street. If only she could make more couples just as happy. No one had contacted her about matchmaking after the guilds got truly nasty, and she found that she missed making matches. Wondering who else she could match, she thought about the one couple whose images kept appearing in her mind. Because she had no intention of matching her mother and Officer Deeds, she decided that they didn’t count. But there was one other couple she could match. It wasn’t that long ago that she had seen Micah’s true love.

  Closing her eyes, Cory thought about her uncle. His match popped into her head right away. It was a fairy woman with curly pink hair, vivid green eyes, and a quirky smile that made her seem friendly. I should find her, Cory thought. Micah has been so good to me. He deserves true love if anyone does.

  It was late when they finally walked in the door, so Cory was surprised to find her uncle sitting in the main room, reading a book. “I couldn’t sleep,” he said when she asked. “I tried, but I lay awake worrying about all sorts of things, so I got up and found a good book.”

  Cory remembered what her grandfather had said that very morning. “I have an idea that might help you,” she told Micah. “According to my grandfather, the monster who came here last night can make everyone in a household worry. He told me what to do about it. Stay where you are, Micah, and Blue, you sit over there.”

  While Blue took a seat, Cory walked around the room, turning out the fairy lights. When it was dark, she thought, Wings! and they sprouted from between her shoulder blades as if they’d always been there. “He told me to think about love,” she said to herself. Closing her eyes, she thought about how much she loved Blue, how happy she was when he was around, and how she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. She thought about her uncle and how kind he had been to her, how she had always loved him, and how much she wanted him to be happy. She thought about her friends and how she loved them, too, even when they drove her a little crazy. Each time she thought about a different kind of love, she felt warmer inside.

  “Wow!” Blue murmured. “Would you look at that!”

  Cory opened her eyes, wondering if he was teasing her. She was standing with her wings spread wide like her grandfather had suggested. Without thinking about it, she had spread her arms, too, as if she was offering someone a hug. Her head was tilted back, so that she was looking at the ceiling. However, the strangest and most unexpected thing was that she was glowing. A soft, rosy light was coming from her body, her face, and even her hair. When she glanced at her arms, she thought they didn’t look real.

  “That’s incredible!” said Blue. “I know I feel better.”

  “I don’t know about you, but I’m not worried at all now,” her uncle said with a laugh. “With that kind of ability on our side, I don’t think any of us have a thing to worry about!”

  CHAPTER

  12

  The next day, Cory received a message from Jonas McDonald.

  Cory,

  I really like your baby dragon, but she can no longer live here with me. Please come get her.

  Jonas McDonald

  Cory’s heart sank. After Princess Lillian gave her the baby dragon, Cory had hoped to keep it with her at Micah’s. When that didn’t work out, she had given Shimmer to Jonas McDonald to help with his fairy problem. Cory had thought she’d found a good permanent home for the dragon at McDonald’s farm, so she was surprised to get his message. Now she didn’t know what to do.

  Thinking about each of her friends, she tried to come up with someone who would be glad to give a home to a dragon. It would have to be someone who liked animals and had a fireproof house. There was only one person she thought she could ask.

  Olot,

  Would you and Chancy be able to give a home to a baby dragon? She is very cute and her name is Shimmer.

  Cory

  Olot’s reply came just a few minutes later.

  Cory,

  I’ve never had a pet dragon! Sure! Bring her with you when you come to tonight’s rehearsal.

  Olot

  Pleased that it was settled, Cory told Macks that they were going to the Dell, the farm that had belonged to the McDonald family for years.

  “It’s been a long time since I went for a ride in the country,” said Macks. “A little peace and quiet will be restful after all that excitement yesterday.”

  “Did you have fun at the party after Blue and I left?” Cory asked him as they stepped onto the porch.

  “I sure did,” said Macks. “But wrestling with a Bigfoot and Old Gnarly on the same day made it the best day ever!”

  They both enjoyed the ride through the open countryside. Cory was surprised that Macks could identify all the crops and animal breeds. “My parents lived in town, but I spent most of my summers at Blue’s house,” Macks told her. “We were always getting into trouble. Boy, did we have fun!”

  When they arrived at the Dell, Jonas McDonald was picking grapes to take to the market. Cory saw him from up by the house, but he didn’
t seem to hear her when she called to him. Glad that she’d worn sensible shoes, Cory and Macks hiked back to where Jonas was working. When they got closer, Cory tried again. When Jonas didn’t respond, she kept walking toward him, waving her arms while shouting, “Jonas! Hey, Jonas, we’re here!”

  She must have caught his eye, because he turned their way and was startled when he saw them. “Sorry!” he said as he pulled earplugs out of his ears. “I wear these so I don’t hear the screaming.”

  Cory was close enough now that she could hear the gossiping grapes shouting and talking in their tiny, high-pitched voices. The grapes were the result of repeated accidental sprinklings of fairy dust by passing flower fairies. Although the dust had altered most of the produce on the farm, the grapes were the most obnoxious. Jonas had contacted Cory to help with the problem. Shimmer had been her answer.

  “The grapes scream when I pick them,” Jonas said, plucking one from the vine as he said it. When the grape screamed like a frightened baby, Cory could understand the earplugs.

  “It really gets on my nerves after a couple of minutes,” said Jonas. “I took your suggestion and sold them as a novelty at the market, but you can only sell so many of these before people aren’t interested anymore. I want my old kind of grapes back. I’m hoping that next season the vines will produce normal grapes again.”

  “Did Shimmer help at all?” asked Cory.

  “She sure did! The fairies changed their flight pattern after Shimmer chased them off. They don’t fly over my farm at all anymore,” said Jonas. “But, well, come here and I’ll show you.”

  He led them down the path to another part of the farm where cornstalks grew chest high. Most of them looked strong and healthy, but a large section had been burned to the ground.

  “Shimmer gets a little excited sometimes and isn’t very good at controlling her flame,” Jonas explained. “I’m sure she’ll get better at it as she gets older, but I can’t wait that long. This isn’t the only burned patch around the farm. There are others even bigger than this. I need you to take her home today while I still have some produce to sell.”