Faery Worlds - Six Complete Novels (71 page)

“Can you get them by tomorrow night?” Jason asked.

“Sure. The school janitor owes me a favor.”

Jason didn't even want to ask about that. “Great. Want to direct our new video?”

“I'm your guy.” Tadd winked and made a gun with his fingers. “I'm ready to shoot ya.”

“Right. Thanks.” Jason walked toward the front counter.

“Hey, Jason?” Tadd called. “Erin's gonna be there, right?”

“We're all going to be there.”

“Can't wait to frame her up in my lens. Bam! Hot stuff!” Tadd made a squarish frame shape with his hands and looked at Jason through it.

Jason was already starting to regret asking Tadd.

“Welcome to Buddy McSlawburger’s,” Jason said as he stepped up to the counter. “Would you like to try the Slawburger Special?”

Chapter Fifteen

After he got home from work, Jason lay back on his bed and took the thick wad of napkins and McSlawburger's receipts from his pocket. Nine girls from his school had given him their phone numbers, none of whom had ever spoken to him before. He had a ready crowd for the video.

Jason turned out his light and closed his eyes. He needed sleep, but he was too excited. He would see Erin tomorrow, and he could only imagine how happy the unexpected jolt of internet fame was making her. All because of the instruments Jason had snagged from the fairies. He imagined her hugging him, maybe getting really happy and kissing him...even if that didn't happen, it was going to be a fun Saturday night, with everybody coming to hear them play.

He lay in the dark for a couple hours, and then he heard a scratching sound, like some kind of animal was crawling under his bed. Jason flipped on his lamp, leaned over the side of his bed, and raised the cover to look underneath.

There was nothing but dust and dirty clothes. Unfortunately, this meant his guitar was missing.

Jason sat up quickly. Just past the foot of his bed, he could see his guitar case floating towards his bedroom window.

“Hey!” Jason hopped off the bed. A pair of small green hands held the guitar case from underneath. Legs dressed in patched, dirty wool trousers ran the guitar closer to the window.

“Stop!” Jason yelled. Remembering how far the goblin could teleport, Jason jumped right in front of the window, instead of directly at the little man.

It worked. The goblin disappeared in a puff, then reappeared on the windowsill, swaying under the weight of the guitar case. Jason snatched the guitar case away. Grizlemor looked up at him in surprise, still stooped over and holding up his empty hands.

“What are you doing?” Jason asked.

“Er, ah...” Grizlemor said.

“Why are you stealing my guitar?”

“Oh,
your
guitar?” Grizlemor chuckled, but it sounded fake. He looked scared. “That's funny. I'm only stealing back what you stole!”

“I just need it a little while longer,” Jason said. “We're going to make a video.”

“Oh, you are not!” Grizlemor's eyes widened. “Are you trying to pull the wrath of Mad Queen Mab down on your head?”

“Who?”

“The queen of the Fairies! I already explained this.”

“Why would she care?” Jason asked.

“Why would she...why would she
care
?” The goblin paced back and forth on Jason's windowsill, shaking his head. “You don't know what you've gotten into, do you? The fairies are right. Man-world has forgotten all about the Folk.”

“The who?”

“All of us!” Grizlemor thumped his chest. “Goblins, fairies, elves, dwarves, leprechauns, gnomes...perhaps trolls, if you want to be generous...”

“Oh, little magic people.”

“In any case, young sir, kindly hand back that guitar, which is stolen fairy property, and I will restore it to the proper owners.”

“Yeah, right,” Jason said. “You'll probably just sell it.”

“I will not! You have my word.”

“But you're a thief,” Jason said. “And a...goblin. I can't trust you.”

“You, too, are a thief,” Grizlemor said. “And a human, the least trustworthy thing of all.”

“I'm not giving the guitar back.” Jason carried it back toward his bed.

Grizlemor appeared on Jason's bed in a puff of green smoke, pulling at his dirty knots of hair. “But think of the damage raw, unleashed elemental magic could do to this world! In the hands of untrained amateurs!”

“What kind of magic?” Jason asked.

“He doesn't even know!” Grizlemor flopped back on Jason's bed, covering his arm with his eyes and kicking his feet. “How could this happen? Why me, Fates?”

“Why do you even care?” Jason asked. “You're a thief, so you can't really be mad that I stole something. And it's not like I stole from you. Why don't you relax?”

“Relax!” Grizlemor shouted, pounding Jason's bed with both fists.

“Quiet!” Jason whispered. “You'll wake everybody up.”

Grizlemor rolled over to lie on his side, looking at Jason. “There are Queensguard all over the city,” the goblin said. “Knocking on every door. 'Have you seen these instruments?' 'Any idea who might have these instruments?' They're looking for the ones you stole, Jason. That means the Queen knows about it.”

“But you don't have the instruments,” Jason said. “So you don't need to worry.”

“I know when I need to worry! How many people do you suppose spotted me leading you, a human brat, through Sidhe City? Not a captive dancer in a fairy ring, mind you, but just a boy, wandering free as you please in the streets? And of course, the Queen must know they were taken out of Faerie.”

“How would she know that?” Jason said.

“Because she wouldn't care about simple theft otherwise!” Grizlemor was hopping up and down on the bed now. “If they remained in Faerie, it would be of no concern to her. But if four instruments of high elemental magic are taken off to man-world, then whew, the trouble that would cause! Why did you have to be so greedy? Why couldn't you just wait for your little darling's necklace?”

“I still want that back.”

“Oh, oh, I don't think so,” Grizlemor said, wagging a finger. “Unless you bring me all four of the instruments, so we can put this whole thing to rest.”

“It's not your necklace,” Jason said.

“Neither are those instruments yours.” Grizlemor kept bouncing on the bed. “This is quite fun, isn't it?”

“Stop it!” Jason grabbed him and pulled him down to a sitting position. “You're making too much noise. Look, I'll give the instruments back when we're done with them.”

“And when will that be?”

“I'm not sure.”

“I'm sure you're not,” Grizlemor said. “Because the music of those instruments is addictive to humans. You won't be able to stop playing them.”

“I'm giving them back!” Jason snapped.

“Don't go and make this 'video' of yours,” Grizlemor said. “Honestly, please. You'll be endangering yourself and your friends. Including that man-girl you're so sweet on.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The one with the emerald necklace. I saw her sleeping. She was hideously ugly, by goblin standards, but I suppose if you're just a human—”

“Shut up!”

“I'm only trying to make things easy for you,” Grizlemor said.

“What happens if I don't give them back?” Jason asked.

“Oh, don't consider that. The Queen will unleash terrible monsters to pursue you. The longer you make her wait, the worse it will be. She may even feed you to the beasts of the labyrinth.”

“The what?”

“You don't understand the power of those instruments,” Grizlemor said. “You know they make people dance and feel happy. There's much more inside them. They contain the powers of the four elements.”

“Which four elements?”

“There are only four.”

“I'm pretty sure there are more than a hundred,” Jason said, thinking of the periodic table in his chemistry class.

“You only need four for magical purposes,” Grizlemor said, then waved a hand. “Anyway, it's obviously way beyond your brain-grasp. The point is, you're endangering me, and you're endangering yourself, and your man-girl—”

“Stop calling her that.”

“—and the wrath of fairies is not something you want to find yourself crushed underneath,” Grizlemor said.

Jason's bedroom door opened.

“Jason?” Katie asked. “Who you talking to?” Then she gaped.

Jason looked from Katie back to his bed. A puff of green smoke remained where Grizlemor had been.

“It was the monster!” Katie said. “I'm telling Mom and Dad!”

She turned to run down the hall.

“No, Katie, wait!” Jason chased after her and picked her up. “Shhh! Okay? Shhhh!”

Katie looked at him for a few seconds, then nodded her head.

Jason carried her back to his room, closed the door, and set her down.

“Stay very quiet,” Jason whispered.

“Okay,” she whispered back.

Jason knelt by his bed and lifted the cover. “Come on out, Grizlemor.”

After a moment, Grizlemor crawled out and stood up. Katie gaped at the green-skinned goblin, in his filthy woolen cap and coat.

“Katie, this is Grizlemor,” Jason said.

Grizlemor doffed his cap and bowed. “Young lady,” he said, and Katie giggled.

“Is he a scary fairy?” Katie asked.

“No, he's a goblin.”

“But he's a good goblin.”

Grizlemor shrugged. “I'm good at
being
a goblin,” he said.

“He's not going to hurt us,” Jason said. “But you can't trust him. He's a thief.”

Grizlemor looked at Jason and snorted. Jason felt a little guilty, but he hoped Grizlemor wouldn't tell Katie that Jason had stolen the instruments from the fairies.

“Just don't tell Mom and Dad,” Jason said. “It'll be okay. He was just leaving.” Jason gripped the handle of his guitar case tight. “Right, Grizlemor?”

Grizlemor sighed. “If that's how it must be. But remember my warning. You'll wish you had listened to me, Jason. Good evening, young lady.” Grizlemor replaced his cap. He jogged to the window, puffed his way up to the sill, and then vanished in a last puff of green smoke.

“Oooh,” Katie said.

“Yeah, ooh,” Jason said. “Try chasing him after he stole something of yours.”

“What was his warning?” Katie asked.

“It's nothing.”

“It sounded big.”

“He just, um...doesn't want me telling anybody I saw him. Goblins like to keep themselves secret.”

“It wasn't about those fairy instruments, was it?” Katie asked. “Do the fairies want them back?”

“No, it's no big deal, Katie. Don't even worry about it.”

“Are you in trouble with the fairies?”

“Nobody's in trouble. Just promise me you won't go wake up Mom and Dad. Okay?”

“He's gone, right?”

“He's all gone.”

“Will you tuck me in?”

“Fine, whatever.” Jason picked her up and carried her to her room. “There. Good night, Katie.”

“And read me a story,” Katie whispered.

“Katie, I have to go.”

“Just a short one.”

Jason shook his head, annoyed. He looked at the bright picture books on Katie's bookshelf. “What kind of story do you want?”

“One about fairies,” Katie whispered, with a sneaky grin.

Chapter Sixteen

Saturday, Jason woke up worrying over the goblin’s warning. It had been hard to take Grizlemor seriously when Jason had just caught him burglarizing his house again. He’d brushed off Grizlemor’s warnings as the goblin’s attempt to act like he was doing Jason a favor by robbing him.

Now Jason wondered if there might be some truth in what the goblin said. He looked from his guitar case to the heap of napkins with phone numbers on his table. There had to be some kind of price to pay for this, Jason thought. Magic instruments that could draw such a crowd, and turn many more people into fans after hearing just one song—and only half of the song, really, presented in a shaky, poor quality video made on a phone—magic like that couldn’t be just free for the taking.

Jason didn’t know if he believed Grizlemor’s talk about the Fairy Queen, but the fairy musicians themselves would certainly want such amazing instruments back, and could very possibly harbor some fairy fury for the person who stole them.

He remembered the “Queensguard” fairies in their black armor and long swords. Even if they were small, they looked tough and vicious. Jason could probably fight off one or two, but he wouldn’t want to get into a fight with a pack of them.

Then his cell phone rang. Mitch.

“All systems go,” Mitch said.

“Huh?”

“It’s happening tonight,” Mitch said. “Tadd’s coming over to shoot the video tonight. Call up all those new fans and let them know.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I just got off the phone with Tadd.”

“Maybe this isn’t a good idea,” Jason said. “We don’t even know how this magic stuff works.”

“But we know it
works
. Don’t back out now. Erin’s excited about it, too.”

Jason rubbed his head. He didn’t want to disappoint her.

He opened his case and looked at the enchanted guitar, the strange runes everywhere on the dark, polished wood, the glimmering golden tuning pegs. He brushed his fingertips along the deep engravings on the soundboard, gazing at the sparkling little amethysts that dotted it here and there. The guitar was warm to the touch, like a living thing. It seemed to call to him. He could barely resist the temptation to pick it up and start playing.

His mom knocked on the door. “Jason, the lawn isn’t going to mow itself.”

“I’ll be out in a minute,” Jason told her.

“Not yet, my mom’s still here,” Mitch said on the phone.

“I wasn’t talking to you, Mitch.”

“
Mick
. Just get us an audience and get yourself here tonight. I’m taking care of everything else.” Mitch hung up.

Jason hesitated, then picked up the first napkin and dialed the number.

“Hello?” a girl’s voice asked.

“Hi, um…” He checked the name. “Wendy? This is Jason Becker. You gave me your number last night at Buddy McSlawburger’s—”

A painfully high-pitched squeal pierced his eardrum, and Jason pulled the phone away from his head. His ear was ringing.