Love Charms (117 page)

With a loud whoosh a gray cloud enveloped
the brick fireplace and, when the smoke cleared, it revealed a doll-sized,
lithe yellow man with transparent wings wearing, of all things, a kilt. The
tiny Yankees baseball cap ruined the fairytale look though. With a sweeping bow
he said, “You summoned me?”

“Yes. I have a message for the dragons.”

“And payment for this service?” He looked
up at her, expectant.

“A gallon of honey.”

“A rich reward indeed. Very well, I
accept.” He reached for the note Vera held and tucked it inside his shirt. With
an audible popping sound he disappeared.

“That was a pixie?” Jacob asked.

I nodded. Pixies weren't rare or even
unusual, but people like Jacob, fully immersed in the human world, didn't see
them often. “Yes. They act as messengers between this plane and Fairy.”

“Actually, they do more than that. Fedex
just signed a contract to have them handle some of their more critical medical
shipments.” Vera began to put away the ingredients used to call the pixie.

“A Sidhe signed a contract?” Jacob
snorted. “Fedex must have a terrible corporate legal team. Even as a first year
law student, I knew fairies didn't honor contracts or filled them with so many
loopholes they didn't have to.”

“You're forgetting one thing,” Vera said.

“What?”

“We have honey and they don't. The Sidhe
will honor any contract that benefits them and this is certainly a case where
the pixies get something they want.”

“Amazing.”

“Common sense, my dear. Sometimes you
legal types over think things.”

“Okay, so what happens next?” Jacob
asked.

“Well, normally the dragons would send a
service contract and negotiate terms, but you and Sofia do not have that kind
of time so I took the liberty of handling that for you.” Vera went to her desk
and came back with a scroll which she handed to me. “I think you'll be
satisfied with the terms. Your weight in mundane gold in exchange for helping
them find a thief.”

I unrolled the scroll and stared at it
trying to make sense of the ornate calligraphy. “My weight in gold?” I
whistled. Mundane meant it would be real, not some Sidhe trick. That was a lot
of coin and dragons didn't often part with gold.

She nodded. “Yep.”

“What was stolen?”

“I don't know, but if I had to guess, I'd
say it was something shiny. You know how dragons are. Whatever it is, it
violates the dragon's safe harbor treaty with the Sidhe and they are desperate
to prevent a scandal.”

“It's political then.” I grimaced. Sidhe
politics were touchy. I would have to tread carefully.

“Unfortunately it always is,” Vera said
with a wry smile.

“Well, it's not like I have a choice.”

“If you wait much longer you won't have
one at all. The police will be here any minute.”

“Will you be okay?” I didn't want to save
myself at her expense.

“They'll never know you were here."
she said patting me on the arm in reassurance. "Don't worry. I will take
care of myself."

I smiled. The nice thing about having a
friend who could see the future was she was always prepared. I tucked the
scroll into my back pocket and turned to Jacob. ”Are you ready to go?”

He shrugged. “Like you said, I have no
choice. It's either stay here and tangle with the necromancer or go to Fairy.”

“Yeah, I know it sucks, but at least in
Fairy we'll have safe passage. Here the cops are taking pot shots at us.” I
stood up and offered him my hand which he took. “Let's do this.”

“Let me get my wand.” Vera disappeared
into a room off the kitchen and returned with a tarnished silver wand in her
hand. “Stand in front of the fire.”

We followed her instructions, Jacob
tightly gripping my hand. I gave him a reassuring squeeze. “It'll be all right.
You'll see.”

He opened his mouth to say something, but
the door between worlds opened just then, and cut him off.

Chapter
Nine

A loud whoosh of air marked our entrance
to Fairy and caused my ears to pop. Traveling between the human and Sidhe
worlds was an exercise in instant gratification. No ten hour car trips or
endless delays at an airport, one second you're standing in someone's kitchen,
the next you're in a grassy field under a pastel sky in Fairy.

The only thing traveling between the
dimensions had in common with the more pedestrian human transport methods, was
a change in air pressure. I yawned to finish equalizing the pressure in my ears
and took in my surroundings. I had only been to Fairy once before, with a tour
group, and hadn't seen much beyond the resort area the Sidhe had created for
human visitors.

The Sidhe had been quick to capitalize on
human interest in their world, and, for the price of a few gallons of honey,
you could treat yourself to an all-inclusive vacation at Magic Sands, the
premiere beach resort of Fairy. Demand ran so high, there was a three year
waiting list. I had so enjoyed my first trip--the massages were the best and
martinis with pixie dust didn’t cause hangovers-- I had immediately signed up
for a return visit and was due to go back in another year.

Where we were now bore little resemblance
to the pink sand beaches and sapphire blue ocean of Magic Sands. Vera had sent
us to fields of bright green grass under a lavender sky. Soft yellow light
lanced through puffs of dove gray clouds. From what I knew of Fairy geography,
we were probably in the Lowlands.

I shielded my eyes from the sun with my
hand and turned a slow circle, but the view was the same from all sides: green
land topped with a pastel sky spotted with clouds. There wasn't even a road.

“I thought it would be different.” Jacob
followed me step for step in my survey. “It's pretty close to our world.”

“Yeah, I know. Fairy and earth are
alternate planes of the same world.”

“What are we supposed to do? Walk?”

I shrugged. “I think we wait for an
escort.” The pixie should've already given the dragons Vera's message.

“You think?”

Seeing the alarm in his eyes at the
thought I didn't know for sure, I pulled the scroll out of my pocket. “I didn't
get a chance to read through this. Why don't you take a look? It should explain
everything.”

He all but snatched the document from my
hands and shook it open. “This script is really hard to read.”

“I think it's modeled after medieval
calligraphy.”

He grunted and held the scroll up to his
face, squinting. “From what I can make out, you're right. Someone is supposed
to meet us.”

I lowered myself to the ground, sitting
Indian-style. “Might as well get comfortable.” I patted the grass next to me.

Jacob rolled the scroll back up and
tossed it to me as he moved to join me. I tucked it into my back pocked for
safe keeping. Then we sat in companionable silence soaking up the sun and
acclimating ourselves to our new environment. Fairy wasn't so different as to
be an alien landscape, but there was a palpable otherness to the air and the
land. Some said it was because of the magic.

Jacob reached out to tuck a stray strand
of hair behind my ear. “You look tired.”

“Adrenaline crash.” I smiled.

“It's been a whirlwind. First the
detective, then the subway...” he paused and looked at me. The memory of how
things had ended on the subway sparked a sudden electric charge in the air between
us. Puzzlement, confusion, and hurt all flashed across his face. I felt about
two inches tall. I'd been rude and dishonest on the train.

“Yeah, about the subway...”

He held up a hand and cut me off. “No
need to explain. I misunderstood.”

“No, you didn't.”

“I didn't?” He frowned and gave me a
skeptical look.

I sighed and toyed with my hair, nervous.
“I enjoyed the kissing a lot.”

Jacob laughed, nervous. “I thought maybe
I had lost my touch.”

“No, the kissing was fine.”

“Then why did you run off?”

“It's complicated. I'm not sure I'm ready
for this.”

He gave a thoughtful nod. “I see. Cold
feet.”

“Something like that.”

“Sofia, have you been with anyone since
Mark died?”

Mute, I shook my head.

“Okay.” He ran a hand through his hair
and took a deep breath. “Look, I'm attracted to you. I know we probably
would've never met except for my brother's death, but I've wanted to kiss you
since I first saw you.”

I laughed. “I knew you weren't just
hiding from the cop on the subway.”

Jacob grinned and ducked his head.
“Guilty as charged.” His expression became serious. “I like you Sofia and I
want to kiss you again. Maybe go on a date.”

I twisted a blade of grass in my hands.
“Doesn't what happened with Mark bother you?” In his shoes, I wasn't sure I
would be so quick to ask me out. I had, after all, become notorious for killing
my boyfriend.

“Yes.” He held up a hand at the look of
horror I gave him. He wasn't supposed to agree with me. “Wait, let me finish.
What happened with Mark was an accident. A terrible accident that gave
you," he paused and gestured to me, “this haunted look in your eyes. That
makes you afraid to kiss another man. So, of course, it bothers me.” Jacob
shifted closer to me and took my hand in his. “I don't want to see you hurting
like this.”

“Oh.” I met his eyes noticing in Fairy
they were more tawny than brown, like a lion's. His hair was lighter too, more
of a golden caramel, a lion's mane to match his lion eyes. I touched mine with
my free hand and brought it up to see if it had changed too. I remembered from
my time at the resort that my natural auburn highlights had become more
prominent and this time was no exception. Instead of the usual dark brown, my
hair now leaned more towards the red end of the spectrum.

“Oh? All I get is an oh?” Jacob put a
hand to his chest in mock disbelief.

I flushed. “I don't know what to say.”

“How about, you'll think about it?”

“Yes. Definitely.”

He arched an eyebrow.“Promise?”

“Yes.”

Jacob leaned toward me. “Seal it with a
kiss?”

I fidgeted as he leaned in closer and
closer. Of course I wanted to kiss him, but still I held back. It was one thing
to kiss as a matter of survival, I had an excuse then. But if I kissed him now,
it would be admitting my feelings. There would be no going back, which was fine
here in Fairy, where Mark could not find me, but what about when I returned to
the real world? The one where my boyfriend might be dead, but our relationship
was still very much alive? Was I prepared to be part of a love triangle where
one of the members was dead and invisible to the competition? Yes. No...maybe.

Just when I thought I couldn't avoid the
kiss, a strong wind swirled around us and a shadow blocked the sun. Startled, I
pulled away from Jacob and looked up to see a dragon the color of a bright red
poppy overhead.

I had never seen a dragon before and the
sight rendered me speechless for a second. First, it was huge. Easily the size
of a basketball court in length with the height of a five story building. It
was hard to believe something that large could fly let alone shapeshift into
human form, which I had heard was the form dragons preferred for everyday life.
Odd to think, dragons didn't actually like being dragons.

With graceful flaps of its enormous
wings, the dragon came to hover overhead, and snaked its head down to look at
us. Close up, it looked a lot like a Tyrannosaurus Rex with a squat, reptilian
head, large nostrils and even larger teeth. A carnivore for sure. I wondered
what they ate and hoped their palate didn’t include humans. At least I wasn’t a
virgin.

With a sulfur-laden snort, it said, “Are
you Sofia Parker?”

At my nod, he-- she? it?-- soared off,
rising above the clouds. Initially, it appeared to be leaving, but when it
turned and came back at us, I realized it was adjusting its flight pattern,
preparing to land.

I scrambled to my feet not knowing how
well dragons did with spatial relationships. From the way it was positioned, it
was due to come in head first, right into us. Being ready to move out of the
way seemed to be the wise thing to do. Jacob climbed to his feet as well and we
both watched in awed silence as the dragon gently settled onto the field amidst
the vortex of air its wings raised.

Even though I hadn't felt as if we were
in any danger, I was still surprised at how close the dragon had landed.
Probably not more than fifteen feet from us. The reason for the close landing
became apparent when the dragon began to walk. Short, stout legs might be good
for holding a dragon's heavy weight, but they did not grant the ability to move
with grace or speed. Where, in the sky the dragon had been a sleek, if large,
aerodynamic form, on land, it became a bumbling, clumsy collection of scales
and wings. I began to see why they liked their human form better.

Grunting with the effort, the dragon came
to stand in front of us and announced without preamble, “I am Tyllven and I
will take you to Wyvrnydell.” It shifted so its flank faced us. “Climb up my
back and we'll be on our way.”

I walked up and lightly ran a hand across
his scales trying to figure out how to navigate a height most people required a
safety harness to climb. With my fingers, I searched for a handhold, but the
scales were tight and smooth as glass and warm enough that I didn't want to
touch them for long. Next to me, Jacob did the same and we looked at each
other, exchanging shrugs.

“Excuse me, how do we get up on your
back?” Jacob asked, shouting to be sure the dragon heard.

The dragon craned its neck to look back
at us. “Here.” It frowned in concentration and slowly, some of its scales
swiveled, popping out into a makeshift staircase. “That should help.”

I took the 'stairs' first and counted
over two hundred before I reached the top. Out of breath, I leaned over, hands
on my knees and waited for Jacob who wasn't far behind. First the cop chase
marathon, now the dragon version of the stair master. I would bet I'd already
lost five pounds and that my legs would be sore the next day.

“You can sit behind my neck. There are
two spots there that make good seats for humans," Tyllven said, craning
its neck to watch us as we walked along the ridge of its spine. “You don't have
to hold onto anything. It's a very smooth flight.”

We made our way up to the dragon's neck
and settled into the 'seats' it indicated, which turned out to be some kind of
bony projection that formed two concave depressions perfect for us to sit in.
Once we were seated, Tyllven began to flap its wings. The wind the dragon
generated flattened the grass below, like a helicopter.

To my surprise, the flight
was
smooth. Despite the dragon's assurance, I had expected to be wind whipped, but
one flap of its large wings allowed it to coast for several seconds. I also
thought I would be cold too, but Tyllven's skin radiated enough heat to keep me
warm even though the air was cool. Now that I stopped to think about it, it
made sense that animals capable of producing flame would run warmer than most.

The ground dropped away until it looked
like a small green jewel. To the left, lay the dark swirling gray skies of the
Wastelands where the Hunt rode free and where time storms developed. No one
went into the Wastelands unless they had to. It was full of dark things and
tricks of time and space. Just looking at the obsidian clouds roiling above it
gave me goose bumps.

Although not visible from where we flew,
beyond the Wastelands lay the 'resort' area I had visited. Underneath us, the
verdant hills of the Lowlands rolled across the landscape in grassy waves. Most
Sidhe made their home in the lowlands. I would've picked the beach, but the Sidhe
didn't look for the same perks of location humans did. There was more magic in
the Lowlands and the Sidhe cared more about magic than the beach.

Based on Jacob’s watch, it took about an
hour of flying parallel to the Lowlands to reach our destination. The Sidhe had
given the dragons a large patch of land on the border of the Lowlands and
Wastelands. Over the centuries, the dragons had built a thriving metropolis (by
Sidhe standards) they called Wyvrndell, which served as a nexus of Sidhe and
human business. Because of the city's location, away from the Sidhe's
stronghold, it had become neutral territory for human and Sidhe business
interests. Wyvrndell was 'the place to be' for entrepreneurs. Sidhe from all
over set up shop in Wyvrndell and did a brisk business with human and Sidhe
alike. Wyvrndell had the financial clout of New York, yet wasn't much bigger
than a few city blocks.

From the sky, then city had the
appearance of a classic fairy town full of brick buildings coiling into spires
and cobblestone paths. As Tyllven lost altitude, I could see people in long,
flowing robes of various colors milling through the streets and around a square
filled with what looked to be market stalls.