Larkspur (42 page)

“
I’ll explain everything
later,” Jill said. “I promise.”

“
You’ll explain everything
now,” Tanesha demanded. “Starting with why is this fairy here? We
just got rid of one scheming maggot.”

“
Liban is the sister of
the queen of the fairies, Queen Fand,” Jill said. “Fand is the
queen of Marle, from the story. When we were at home and knocked
out, Liban came to me and asked if I would help her set things
right.”

“
In return, I promised her
the long life and safety of herself, my nephew Jacob, and their
children, as well as assistance removing the curse,” Liban said.
“We must leave now. If we delay at all, we will miss our small
window.”

“
Katy still can’t see me.”
Jill hugged Katy.

Liban leaned over and touched Katy’s eyes.
Katy whispered, “Mommy?”

Jill kissed her cheeks and held her
close.

“
I need you to do this for
me,” Liban said. “Jimmy, Sam, you too.”

Jimmy and Sam stepped over to where Tanesha,
Heather, and Sandy were standing.

“
No matter who comes for
these children,” Liban said. “Do not let them go.”

Liban looked from face to face as if she
were making a pact with them.

“
I don’t care if you think
you see their mother or father,” Liban said. “Do not let them touch
Katherine or Padeen. Do I have your word?”

She looked around as each of them
nodded.

“
You, Sam, you have
authority of blood over Katherine because you are her biological
grandfather,” Liban said. “Let no one tell you
otherwise.”

“
Jimmy,” Liban
said.

“
James,” he
said.

She gave him a charming Cleopatra smile and
he blushed.

“
Jimmy, you have authority
of Padeen by sacred marriage,” Liban said. “This bond is more
powerful than fairy magic. Let no one tell you
otherwise.”

“
Women-friends,” Liban
said. “You have the authority of love over Katherine.”

“
And Paddie,” Sandy
said.

“
We love Paddie,” Heather
said.

“
Good,” Liban said. “Let
no one tell you that your authority is invalid. You must not let
the children go.”

“
Why?” Heather
asked.

“
Because the entire fairy
world, and thus your world, will be cast into darkness if we are
not successful and the children are taken,” Liban said.

She knelt down to Paddie.

“
You recognize me,” Liban
said to the boy.

“
You’re Cleopatra,” Paddie
said.

“
I’ve been called that,”
Liban said. “You are a truth teller, Padeen. You will know if the
person who comes is actually who they say they are. Will you
speak?”

“
Will it keep the fairies
from taking Katy?” Paddie asked.

“
I hope so,” Liban
said.

Paddie nodded.

“
I won’t let Paddie go,”
Katy said, and grabbed his hand. Paddie smiled.

“
You.” Liban pointed to
Sandy. She looked horrified and pointed to herself. “You know
people deeply. Do you know how to determine who is Jillian and who
is not?”

Sandy scowled and bit her lip. After a
moment, she nodded.

“
Good,” Liban said. “Can
you the same with Jacob? Valerie?”

“
Val’s right there,” Sandy
said.

“
She’s coming with us,”
Liban said.

“
I am?” Valerie looked
confused.

“
Yes.” Sandy nodded. “I
will.”

“
Listen to the boy,
Sandra,” Liban said. “Ask him. Whatever you do, do not let the
children go.”

“
Jillian?” Liban
asked.

Jill kissed Katy’s forehead one last time,
and looked up. Jill, Valerie, and Liban disappeared.

“
That was weird,” Tanesha
said.

“
I like you,” James
laughed.

“
Why?” Tanesha
scowled.

“
You speak what you
experience,” James said. “Most people report what they want to see
or what they think they see.”

“
Sounds like we’ll need
all the help we can get,” Sam said.

Instinctively, the adults surrounded the
children. They didn’t have to wait long.

“
Hey!” Jacob said, as he
stepped out of the fog.

~~~~~~~~

Jacob walked past the frozen fairies and
touched Delphie’s sleeve. She let out a little yelp and jumped
back.

“
You startled me,” Delphie
said. “How did you get over here so fast?”

Jacob stepped back. She looked around at
everyone frozen in time. She nodded her head, and he gave a partial
shrug.

“
I wouldn’t have guessed
this.” Delphie nodded.

“
I asked Gilfand about
freezing time earlier today,” Jacob said. “He said it’s something
only a very few can do. Prince Finegal can. Queen Fand asked me
about it earlier.”

“
How long will it hold the
fairies?” Delphie asked.

“
Not long,” Jacob said.
“No more than ten minutes. Gilfand was very specific. Then, he
said, expect them to come out fighting. What do we do
now?”

“
We get our family and go
home,” Delphie said.

“
What about resolving this
thing?” Jacob asked.

“
You see these people,”
Delphie said. “They are too selfish and stupid to solve their own
problems. Why should we help them?”

“
Because they will come
after us,” Jacob said. “Jill, Katy, the boys, and their children
will never be safe.”

Delphie nodded.

“
Then we strike at the
root,” Delphie said.

“
Which
is . . .?” Jacob asked.

“
No idea,” Delphie
said.

Liban, Valerie, and Jill appeared in front
of Jacob.

“
Jill!” Jacob rushed to
hold her, but Liban stepped in front of him.

“
We have no time,” Liban
said. “Where is Gilfand?”

Jacob pointed. Liban snapped her fingers and
spoke a word in another language. Gilfand was unfrozen. He looked
around him and saw her.

“
How long has it been?”
Gilfand asked.

“
Only a few minutes,”
Jacob said.

“
Too long,” Gilfand said.
He turned to Jill. “Will you start with my queen?”

Jill gave a slight nod. Gilfand took her
arm.

“
What?” Jacob asked. “What
the hell are you doing?”

He took a step, but Liban held him in
place.

“
Don’t make me bind you,”
Liban said under her breath.

Gilfand escorted Jill to the queen. Delphie
jogged to Jill’s other side. Jill looked at the beautiful
woman.

“
Why, she’s broken into
pieces,” Jill said. Her voice was filled with wonder. “I’ve never
seen anything like this. You think
I . . .”

“
Only your kind,” Gilfand
said. “Your grandfather is too ill, too old. Your mother does not
have your strength or power.”

“
What about my brother?”
Jill asked.

Gilfand looked at Jacob and laughed.

“
You are two peas in one
untrained, cynical pod,” Gilfand said to Jacob. Turning back to
Jill, he said, “Please try.”

Jill gave a fast nod. Standing on her tip
toes, she put her hands around Queen Fand’s still face. She closed
her eyes and shook her head.

“
She needs salt water,”
Jacob said.

“
Why?” Liban
asked.

“
I don’t know why,” Jacob
said. “It grounds her and . . .”

Liban snapped her fingers, and they, the
still frozen fairies and ghost-men around them, were standing in
the surf up to their knees just off of Meayll Hill, where Jacob had
found and rescued Manannán.

“
Thanks,” Jill said.
“That’s better. Let’s see . . .”

She put her hand on the top of Queen Fand’s
head.

“
Mother, why are you
broken into pieces?” Jill whispered.

“
My heart is broken, my
kind rejected, my body torn.” The words came out of Queen Fand’s
still and passive face.

“
Yes,” Jill
said.

She touched each of the places where Queen
Fand’s human skeleton had been torn apart. At each junction, bright
white light flashed, sparked, and then became still. Jill touched
Queen Fand’s face again before moving to her heart.

“
My children,” Queen
Fand’s words seeped out of her still mouth. “My
children.”

Jill put a hand on Queen Fand’s chest and
one on her back. She closed her eyes and called to her own sons for
help. Together, in a mighty pulse, they put the pieces of Queen
Fand’s heart back together again.

“
You must love, Mother,”
Jill whispered.

“
Why?”

“
It’s who you are.” Jill
put her hands around Queen Fand’s head. She looked at Jacob. “Her
mind is broken. I’m not sure why. Jake, can
you . . .”

She reached a hand out to him. He slogged
through the surf to her and took her hand. She guided it to Queen
Fand’s forehead and put his other hand on the back of her head.

“
I see what you mean,”
Jacob said. “Lonely. Angry.”

Liban began to sing:

Deep peace of the running wave to you,

Deep peace of the flowing air to you,

Deep peace of the quiet earth to you,

Deep peace of the shining stars to you,

Deep peace of the infinite peace to you.

She had sung one verse when Gilfand joined
in. Jacob joined the simple tune as they started again.

“
Okay, let go,” Jill said
to Jacob.

He moved his hands and stepped back.

“
Peace, Mother,” Jill
said. “Be at peace.”

Queen Fand’s face shifted to a soft smile.
Gilfand took Jill’s arm and guided her through the water to
Manannán. Jacob and Delphie followed. Liban gestured for Valerie to
stand in front of Queen Fand.

“
If my sister wakes before
Jillian is done, keep her here,” Liban said.

Valerie nodded that she understood.

“
He’s here and not here,”
Jill said. “I’ve seen this before . . .
trauma . . . What happened to this man?”

She glanced at Gilfand.

“
He was forced to walk in
a circle around the island just past the shore,” Jacob
said.

“
Did he lose his mind?”
Jill asked.

“
Yes,” Prince Finegal said
from where he stood. They gasped and turned to him. “Sorry, those
time stops never work on me. They probably don’t work on you
either, Jacob. Are you healing them?”

“
I’m doing what I can,”
Jill said.

“
He lost his mind when he
lost his queen,” Prince Finegal repeated what he’d said before. “I
say that but . . . He struggled with the transition
to living a fairy life. I’m not sure humans can really do
it.”

“
Mmm.” Jill gave him a
soft smile and focused on Manannán.

She stood on her tiptoes to put her hands
around his face, and then shook her head. She scowled.

“
What is it?” Delphie
asked.

“
His soul isn’t here,”
Jill said. “It’s . . .”

Jill pointed above his head.

“
Trauma . . .” Jill said, almost to herself.
She started to hum.

Kneeling down, she put her hands on
Manannán’s lower back near his sacrum.

“
Come back, Father,” Jill
whispered. “Come back . . .”

“
Left too much,”
Manannán’s words came from his still face. “Left my mother, my
father, my home to build a new life . . . family,
babies . . .”

“
He’s talking about his
life before he met my mother,” Prince Finegal said. “He doesn’t
speak of it much. I think he was happy then.”

Manannán’s face broke into a broad
smile.

“
Come back, Father,” Jill
whispered. She put a hand just below his rib cage and on his back
at the same height. “Come home.”

“
My love,” Manannán’s word
came out in a gust of air across his silent lips.

“
Be whole,” Jill
whispered. “Be whole.”

“
My problem to solve,”
Manannán said as he opened his eyes. “Yes, daughter, I will solve
this problem.”

Manannán hugged Jill.

~~~~~~~~

“
Katy, don’t you know me?”
Someone who looked very much like Celia appeared in their
space.

They had already dismissed a fake Jacob and
Jill. A phony Valerie didn’t fool them at all. But the fake Scooter
made Katy cry, and that made Paddie mad. Sandy had to pick him up
to keep him from chasing the dog-like being into the fog.

“
You’re not my
grandmother,” Katy said. “Go away.”

“
But
Katy . . .” The Celia-look alike reached out to
Katy. James blocked her movement. She sneered. “Be gone,
half-breed.”

Sam and James pushed the Celia-look alike
back into the fog.

“
Something’s happening,”
Tanesha said. “The fog is getting deeper.”

“
War is coming.” Katy
nodded.