Magic Under Stone (10 page)

“It’s certainly too late to get clothes now. And we can’t take you to the city! Just ask your father when he gets back, I suppose.”

She sighed heavily. “When will I ever get to do anything?”

“I don’t have anything to do with it,” I said. “I think it’s ridiculous that you can’t go anywhere and everyone forgets who you are. How are you supposed to get on in the world like that?”

“You came from some really faraway country, right, Nimira?”

“Yes.”

“How old were you?”

“Thirteen. Well, almost fourteen.”

“Were you scared?”

“Well, I was, but ... I don’t know. Once you commit to something, you just manage through each moment. And nothing truly awful happened. The voyage over was uneventful. I found work right away, just not very good work. The worst thing wasn’t something terrible, it was the lack of anything wonderful.”

Violet sucked in her breath. “What about Erris?” she asked.

“Erris? I met him much later.”

“Yes, I know, I just ...” She tugged on one of her hair bows. “You fell in love with him, right?”

“I—I don’t know,” I said. “It’s not polite to be so blunt, you know.”

“I’m not trying to be polite,” Violet said. “I want to know what it’s like to be in love. I want a girl to talk to, and Celestina is no help. She says things like, ‘Oh, you don’t need to know about that, you can worry about that later.’” She mimicked a bossy tone.

Violet must be desperate if she wanted to confide in me. I hadn’t even been nice to her, and she wanted to talk to me about love? But I wasn’t sure how to talk to her about it. I wasn’t even sure what I felt anymore. What had I ever felt? My feelings for Erris had been so intense when I was trying to save him, but they had been replaced as of late by more of a guilty desperation, and I wasn’t about to tell Violet that.

We had reached the bluff, one of my favorite places on the grounds. A rocky promontory jetted into the sea, within distant view of the shore where we took walks and gathered seaweed and shells. From here, I could see dozens of islands and, on a clear day, which this was not, even the Cernan Light, striped like a black-and-white candy cane.

The bluff was marked by the burned husk of what might once have been a two- or three-room structure. Most of the chimney still stood, but otherwise it was just the foundation with some charred wood pieces jutting from it. Celestina had told me it was an old hunting lodge, but ruins held a certain fascination for me, even perfectly ordinary ones.

“Oh, I forgot about the haunted cabin!” Violet said, poking the ruins with her toe.

“Is it haunted? Celestina said it was nothing.”

“No,” Violet said, sounding rather displeased about it. “I just used to pretend it was. I didn’t have anyone to play with, so I was always wishing things were haunted, and they never were. Well, there it is.” She pointed to a rock formation that I had never paid much attention to, a large, somewhat flat rock stacked on two smaller rocks.

“That’s your mother’s grave? Those rocks?”

Violet nodded. She went to the rocks and leaned her head against them. “It’s a fairy grave.”

I shivered. “Let’s not talk about it,” I said. I didn’t want to think of Erris’s body buried under stones like these.

“Why not?” Violet said. “I’m not sad. I don’t remember her.” She spoke almost too emphatically to be believed.

“Aren’t you sad you don’t remember her?”

“Well ... I do miss her. It’s just that she feels like a story. Actually, worse. I think I know the mother in the Poppenpuffer Family books better than her. I guess everything would be different if she were still alive. Papa wouldn’t have gone to work for the Queen of the Longest Night.” She turned to me. “But don’t feel sorry for me or anything.”

“I don’t,” I said, although, of course, I did, a bit.

It was windy on the bluff, carrying sounds away from us, but we were both suddenly alert to hoof-falls, coming from the forest. Had something happened? I couldn’t imagine Celestina would take a horse if she needed to find us, unless it was urgent.

Violet and I looked at each other, wide-eyed, silently asking the other if we should run. What if it was those nasty boys from the shop?

Violet grabbed my sleeve. “Let’s hide behind Mother’s grave.”

The stones were big enough to conceal us from view of the forest, but terribly exposed on every other side. I knelt with her, but I was restless, my hands gathering small rocks I could throw at the face of an attacker. At least I was wearing my trousers.

I heard the horse step from the woods. It came closer, and closer, until it was sniffing the gravestones on the other side. Hiding became an almost unbearable tension, and it seemed unlikely the horse or rider would not find us at any moment, so I stood up, one hand full of rocks.

For a moment, I was speechless. Violet stood alongside me, equally speechless. The horse was unlike any I had seen—strong but delicate, like a stylized horse in a painting, with a pure white coat and curious, too-intelligent eyes.

But its rider was even more stunning, with skin like honey and eyes keen as a tiger, his straight black hair caught in a ponytail that stirred with the wind. He was not dressed like anyone from Lorinar; he wore a blue shirt that fastened with a sash, with an open neck and bare arms, and boots made from brown hide stitched with red thread.

And in his ears, gold hoops. And at his wrists, golden cuffs like a second skin.

It didn’t seem possible, but ancient tales were stirring in my mind, tales that traveled the world like spices and cloth, tales of imprisoned people with great power, the power to dissolve into smoke, the power to grant a heart’s desire, creatures recognizable by their golden cuffs of bondage.

A jinn
.

Violet took hold of my sleeve again, and I met those golden eyes.

“Who are you?” I asked. My voice stayed steady.

“I was sent by the fairy king.”

The fairy king. He had found us. Celestina said he couldn’t harm Violet, and I prayed that was true, but Erris ...

How quickly I had relaxed. I had started to delude myself that the fairy king wouldn’t bother with us, and I didn’t want to remember how this fear felt, knowing I must do and say just the right thing to save us. But here it was, like a fist inside me, squeezing on my lungs.

“The fairy king?” Violet asked. I squeezed her hand as a signal that she should let me do the talking. Clearly, the signal was missed. “Well, don’t bother. You can’t hurt me. You can’t lay a finger on me.”

“Who are you?” the jinn asked.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Why would I want to hurt you?”

Violet shied back, apparently realizing rather belatedly that she’d said too much.

“I’m looking for Erris Tanharrow,” the jinn said. “Do either of you know a gentleman by that name?” He spoke very calmly, as if he already knew we did.

“You’re a jinn,” I said. I wanted to be sure of this before I thought what to do, although even then, I was not at all sure if my knowledge of jinns was true or formed by the exaggerations that inevitably come from tales carried by trade routes.

Violet was breathless, staring at him as if hypnotized. “A jinn ...”

Possibilities raced through my mind. Jinns were bound to their master until they granted three wishes. At least, that was what most of the stories agreed upon, although I had heard tales of one wish, five wishes, limitless wishes. I also had no idea how powerful these wishes were.

What if the fairy king had wished for this jinn to harm Erris? Would any force keep him away? Jinns in stories always granted
their wishes; they never said,
Oh, I tried to grant your wish but a couple of young ladies prevented it
.

“Why do you want Mr. Tanharrow?” I asked.

“The fairy king wants him, and that’s all I know. I won’t harm him.”

“But what of the fairy king?” I said. “Will he harm him?”

“I cannot vouch for him, but
I
will not harm him.”

None of us here had magic. Erris had brute strength in his metallic body, but what was strength against magic? Especially without particular training. This jinn had unknown abilities.

For a split second, I pushed him from my mind.
If I get out of this, I swear I will never be caught helpless again
, I thought. But how could I get out of this? Would the Queen of the Longest Night help me now as she did when I gave Erris life? But I had time to summon her properly, then.

Perhaps I could lead the jinn in the wrong direction? But Erris would have no idea what I was doing, so he wouldn’t know to hide.

I was in the middle of these thoughts when Violet made a sudden dash for the jinn. Maybe her knowledge of the protective spell on her made her foolishly brave. She grabbed the hem of his tunic. “Nimira, run away!” she shouted.

“Violet! What on earth are you doing?”

“The jinn can’t hurt me, so you just go!” The jinn himself did look startled by this turn of events. If I was going to run away and warn Erris while the jinn was distracted, the moment was now. What would Celestina say if I returned alone and Violet was gone? But I didn’t know what else to do. I turned and bolted back to the house.

Stupid, stupid girl! She really should know better than to test her magical protection against a jinn. If I had to choose between
Erris and Violet, of course I would choose Erris ... yet, it nagged at me even as I ran. Violet seemed so innocent—if irritating—and truly living. Not to mention she was the precious daughter of the man who would hopefully save Erris.

Maybe Erris would have some idea, I thought wildly, without even a guess as to what that idea could be.

I burst through the kitchen door. Celestina was sweeping the floor.

“Is Erris here?” I cried.

“He’s outside, just like you were. What’s wrong? Where’s Violet?”

“There’s a jinn,” I gasped. “At the bluff. Violet wouldn’t come with me.”

“A
jinn
? And Violet is still there?”

“It’s Erris he’s come for, but she ran up to him, and ... I guess she’s all right, if that protective magic holds, but—Well, I just don’t know what to do!”

“I’d better go after her. If something happened to her ...”

“And I need to find Erris. Hide him, or something. I don’t know how strong a jinn’s powers are. But you be careful.”

“All right,” Celestina said. “You go to the shore and I’ll go after Violet. If I find Erris first, I’ll tell him what’s going on, and we’ll meet back here. When we can.”

I nodded, and took off again down the path to the shore. It slanted ever so slightly downhill as it wound its way through the apple orchards, forest, and meadow, making it a little easier to hurry. Still, my heart was leaping from my chest.

I was not surprised to find Erris at the shore. Watching the water was one of his favorite things.

I shouted a brief version of events to him as I scrambled over the rocks.

“Luka has a jinn?” His face drained of color.

“Yes. You have to hide.”

“If a jinn wants to find me, where can I hide?”

“I don’t know, but I’m not about to turn you over without a fight. Maybe we could hide you in one of those shut-up rooms in the house. Maybe ... or maybe in the cellar? Behind crocks of pickles?”

Erris looked understandably skeptical. Supposing we even had time to get him back to the house without running into the jinn, surely he would search the house. There must be places to hide in the woods, but I couldn’t think of any offhand, and did we have time to find one?

“You know,” he said, “I don’t actually have to breathe.” He looked at the water.

“Underwater? But—will it damage your clockwork? Salt water?”

“I don’t know, but if there’s one place he won’t think to look for me, I bet it’s underwater. From all I’ve read, jinn have more natural power than any other being. But they are fire spirits. If anything will foil them, it’s water.”

“But ... it’s so cold,” I said, looking at the waters that suddenly seemed too dark. The waves were gentle, but I didn’t trust the water with Erris.

“Nim, do you want me to be carried off by a jinn or not? I’ll hide behind that rock there.” He pointed. “At least ’til the tide goes out. If I hear anyone coming too close, I’ll duck underwater, so shout when the coast is clear.”

I had no better plan, and I couldn’t dither here forever, so I briefly squeezed his hands, praying the water would be kind to him, and nodded.

“I’ll be all right,” he said.

“You’ll ruin your suit.” I smiled a little, and he smiled a little back, but our eyes were sad. If his suit was the only thing to come out of this worse for wear, we would both be lucky.

He turned to the water and I turned to the trees. I couldn’t watch the water lapping at him.

ORDORIO VALDANA’S MANSION

As the young woman with the dark braids ran away, Ifra stared at the girl holding his arm. She was small and pale, with her hair in bows. She looked afraid too, and the way she peered up at him made him feel sheepish. Her hands encircled the cuff at his wrist, but when he looked at her, she let go.

“Where are you going to take Erris?” she asked softly.

“To the fairy king.”

“Can you take me instead?”

“Why? Who are you?” Ifra hadn’t heard anything about a girl.

“I’m his niece.”

“His niece? You are a Tanharrow too?”

“Yes. I’m Violet. My mother was a Tanharrow.”

“Luka didn’t mention you,” he murmured, and he wondered why. Was it because she was a girl? But fairy society had not struck him as especially patriarchal.

“He doesn’t know about me,” Violet said, her voice flattening.
“No one does. My father asked the Queen of the Longest Night to put a spell on me so no one would remember me or know I exist. So the fairy king couldn’t hurt me.”

“Then why would you want me to take you to him?”

“Because ... I want to know ... where my mother comes from. She died when I was little. I don’t know anything about fairies.”

Ifra slid off the horse, but he wasn’t sure what else to do. She looked so sad. “I understand,” he said.