The Misadventures of Annika Brisby (14 page)

Finn

Annika, Yuri, and the samodivi most of the day outside; shooting from horseback, playing with the kittens, working in the garden and learning a few kickboxing moves until it was time to wash up and begin cooking dinner. Annika had wanted to get her backpack so she could listen to her music or write in her journal, but Talvi had mysteriously been absent all day and she didn’t remember exactly how to get to his room. She headed upstairs, having found the hall that led to the third floor where she thought his room was, when she passed an open door. She stopped, poked her head in, and was amazed by the bookshelves that reached from floor to ceiling. A towering window illuminated the room, and a set of French doors were cracked open to let in a bit of fresh air along with the light. A forlorn telescope sat out on the balcony as if waiting patiently for nightfall, but what got Annika’s attention was the sheer number of books that filled the room.

There were books stacked in piles everywhere; books by the windows, books on the nightstand by the bed, books on the floor beside the bed, books on the trunk at the foot of the bed, and books on a chest of drawers. There was a simple desk with none other than books on it, and an overstuffed chair and ottoman where Finn sat reclined and barefoot with his long legs stretched out before him, reading. He looked up and set his book aside on a small table that was piled with none other than books, but remarkably there was also a glass of water sitting on it as well. His room wasn’t bursting with opulent material possessions like those of his younger siblings, and none of his clothes were lying about…just books.

“I was wondering if you would come by,” he said, leaning his head back on the chair. His curls fell to the sides of his head, revealing a warm look in his soft brown eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Annika said apologetically. “Have you been here all day waiting for me to show up?”

“No, I’ve been here all day because this is what I do when I’m not teaching or doing chores,” he said, still resting his head on the cushion. His expression was welcoming, yet free from expectation. He moved one of his long legs and invited her to sit on the ottoman in front of him. As she came into the room he lifted his head, causing his curls fell back into his face.

“I was hoping to hear more about unicorns,” she said as she took a seat.

“Yes, I recall our conversation from dinner. Why are you so curious about them?”

“I don’t know,” she fibbed. “Ever since I was a little girl I always wanted to see one.”

“Then you must be quite content.” He glanced at the ring on her hand and lifted a brow at her, and she couldn’t help smiling in embarrassment. “Don’t worry—Talvi already informed Father and I. Your secret’s safe with us.”

“He said it wasn’t common for them to do this; to come near me in the first place and then to give me something like this,” she confessed. “I guess it’s more than just a strand of hair.”

“Without question. And Talvi’s correct about the manner in which it was given to you. I imagine your mystical benefactress thought you needed it for a reason, which is very—” He pressed his lips together and looked up at the ceiling, searching for the perfect word.

“Weird?” she suggested.

“Prognostic was the word I was searching for, but I suppose it qualifies as weird,” he said and stretched in his chair.

“How did you know it was a she, and not a he that gave it to me?” she asked. He sat up and took her right hand, thumbing the ring gently.

“I can tell by the color,” he said, pointing at the long strand of hair wrapped around the ring. “It’s dark silver, not pure white. She was as dark as the night, wasn’t she?”

“Yeah. How did you know that?” Annika wondered, but then remembered the telepathic nature of these elves. “What else do you know off the top of your head?” she asked as he gently set her hand down.

“What do you wish to know?”

“Why are they so secretive? It doesn’t seem like there’s anyone else living in these forests, so what do they have to be afraid of?”

“What do they
not
have to be afraid of?” Finn replied. “Have you ever been in one’s company, only to find yourself tired, irritable, and exhausted after speaking with them?”

“Oh, sure.”

“It’s essentially the same thing for unicorns, except much worse. They’re such sensitive creatures that they can’t afford to be in the presence of anything with less than four legs. Their empathic nature absorbs a lot of psychic residuals projected out and left behind by others. The other reason they’re so rare to behold is that they’re very powerful and magical. Sometimes they’re hunted for their horn or their blood as a remedy to cure the sick and dying. Their blood will heal nearly any wound, and if you drink enough you can become nearly immortal.” Annika’s eyes grew wide.

“Really?”

“Yes, really. In the wild, ravens live an average of seventeen years, but Cazadora has been with our family ever since Father was my age. She still flies as though she’s a young bird.”

“How did that happen?”

“She most likely fed on a dead unicorn; that’s my guess. Ravens are scavengers, you know,” he said. “She’ll eat just about anything, so don’t ever bring food into the library, unless you don’t mind sharing.”

“Good to know,” she replied with a chuckle. “So if unicorn blood can do that to Cazadora, have people ever done that to live forever?”

“Yes, but it’s a high price to pay. One would have to kill the animal to acquire the amount of blood needed.”

“There is a certain amount? How much?”

“More than a thimbleful, I’m sure. But no one has killed any of the creatures in centuries, and I doubt they ever would. It’s punishable by death in every realm. It’s said that if you kill one, the pain you cause it to suffer is multiplied by a thousand, and your immortal life will be afflicted with this pain as long as you live. The few that have committed such a heinous act always killed themselves before they could be tried and executed.”

“But if they’re immortal, how could they die?”

“Oh, countless ways,” he said matter-of-factly. “Severing of the head or a main artery and bleeding out, being run through the heart, breaking one’s neck, falling a great distance, being crushed in a carriage accident, drowning at sea, being eaten by wolves…” He paused and took a drink of his water. “I think you get the point. Being immortal isn’t the same as being invincible. Even the stars above die, although it’s millions of years later. A unicorn won’t live anywhere near that long, but as long as they suffer no terrible injury, they grow very old. Even I don’t know how old they can be, and while I’m not trying to be boastful, for me to not know something about something is rather…infrequent.” He made a little gesture to his literary surroundings and she nodded.

“Wow…” Annika sighed, and shook her head in wonder. “I still can’t believe I’m sitting here, having this conversation with you. I’m talking to an elf, which I didn’t think existed, about an animal that I didn’t think existed until I saw it with my own eyes. I spent the day shooting arrows and kickboxing with your elf sister and three wood nymphs, which I didn’t think existed, either. I keep thinking at some point I’m going to wake up and have dreamt all of this, but I’m really here.”

“Yes, you certainly are,” he replied, studying her from behind his curls. He was holding back a smile, prompting Annika to try and guess what he had on his mind. Was it simple curiosity? Academic intrigue? Romantic allure? There was only one way for her to find out, so she leaned a little closer and held her wrist within inches of his fingertips.

“Maybe you should pinch me. You know…so I can be sure,” she suggested with a flirtatious grin.

“And cause you pain? I wouldn’t dream of it.” He shook his head and folded his hands over his chest, leaving Annika to wonder if he’d just turned down a perfectly innocent reason to touch her. Maybe he was such a gentleman that he honestly couldn’t imagine pinching her. Or maybe he was one of those scholars who was a genius in the classroom, yet completely oblivious when it came to the laws of attraction. She’d met a few guys like that, ones who couldn’t tell the difference between a woman being nice and a woman hitting on them. She rested her hands in her lap and decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.

“Your bracelet’s really pretty. Where did you get it?”

“Hilda made it for me,” he answered without further elaboration.

“Do you ever take it off?”

“No,” he said in a neutral tone.

“What stones are those? They look like moonstone.”

“Yes, actually they are.” Other than looking down at his bracelet, nothing in his body language or voice changed, much to Annika’s frustration.

“I’ve read that the whiter the moonstone is, the more potent it is in matters of love…and those stones are really white,” she pointed out. He glanced at her in slight surprise.

“I’m very impressed, Annika. I didn’t think you would know so much about magical matters,” he said, and rose to his feet. He walked to his desk and retrieved a notepad and pen before returning to his chair, this time sitting up in a more formal position. “Now, I do believe it’s my turn to ask
you
some questions.”

For the rest of the afternoon, Finn picked through Annika’s brain, asking about everything from science and medicine to American pop culture and slang, but the subject of magical stones did not come up again.

the powers of pixie dust

Finn’s younger brother had kept to himself most of the day, and even at the dinner table Talvi was quiet as a mouse. His mother asked if he was feeling well, but he only smiled and replied that he was just fine.

After the dishes had been cleared, he led Annika into a parlor where numerous lamps lit the room brightly. Runa grinned and patted the space next to her where she was curled up on a settee, and Annika took the seat. Yuri was playing with Stella, and Althea held her grandson in her arms while Anthea played piano for them. It was a large grand, and she plinked away while her father smoked his pipe beside her. Talvi sat on the floor near Annika and reached under the settee, pulling out a small wooden box inlaid with mother-of-pearl camels. He opened it and took out a small leather pouch of tobacco and a package of rolling papers, fashioning a cigarette for himself. They listened to Anthea play for a while, but she kept faltering at her notes.

“Darling, why don’t you take a break? We’ll have Yuri play something for us,” her mother suggested as she swayed back and forth with Sloan.

“I just don’t…I can’t understand why I can’t remember the notes,” she stammered, and covered her eyes with her hand as she stood up. Ambrose held her in his arm and said something inaudible in her ear, and she gave a weak smile.

Yuri cracked her knuckles and stood up, but she passed by the piano and found a violin instead.

“Annika, why don’t you play with her?” Talvi asked.

“I play electric guitar,” she tried to excuse. “I can’t remember the last time I played an acoustic.”

It didn’t matter what her excuse was, because Talvi had already found an old Spanish guitar mounted on the wall and handed it to her. Annika didn’t feel worthy to hold such a lovely thing in her hands, but the instrument spoke to her and beckoned to be played. She strummed it a few times, and only needed to adjust the strings a tiny bit to get it in tune.

“Alright, I doubt you’ve ever heard this song, but it’s one of my favorites.” She’d barely picked out the first handful of notes when Talvi laughed and sauntered over to the piano.

“Over the Hills and Far Away? What an appropriate choice considering where you are,” he smirked, and sat down at the bench to play. Annika was so pleasantly surprised that she completely forgot the first measure of lyrics to the song she knew so well. She watched his fingers dance effortlessly along the keys, and soon Runa and Hilda were humming along with them. The experience was remarkable to Annika, as if the elves and nymphs had always known about Led Zeppelin. They played for almost an hour and she wanted to play more, but it was clearly someone’s bedtime. Althea couldn’t keep Sloan from fussing any longer, and Stella was fast asleep in Anthea’s lap. Talvi pulled the cover over the piano keys and watched his parents help Anthea take her children to bed.

“I can’t believe how this thing sounds! Is this a magical guitar?” Annika asked no one in particular.

“Oh dear…did someone give Annika some of my pixie dust when I wasn’t looking?” Finn asked with a sly grin.

“You have pixie dust?” Yuri squeaked.

“Yes, I do,” Finn smiled.

“You do not!” his sister argued.

“I do so. I just got it the other day.”

“I doubt that.”

“You’ll see soon enough.”

“What does pixie dust do?” Annika asked curiously. Sariel stood up with her nose in the air.

“It makes you do asinine things like invite vampires to your own birthday party, that’s what.” Everyone grew quiet, and even Runa suppressed her giggles. Finn spoke up before the silence got too awkward.

“You know that they’ll be here for Father’s meeting, don’t you? He included a letter inside of Konstantin’s party invitation.” Both Yuri and Sariel’s jaws dropped.

“He invited them?” Sariel gasped in surprise.

“
He opened my invitation
?” Yuri repeated in complete horror. But whereas Sariel just looked a little shocked, Yuri seemed overwhelmed with worry.

“So when are they getting here?” Yuri seemed distraught.

“Now don’t work yourself into a tizzy. They’ll be here in time to celebrate your birthday. It’s not exactly easy for them to get around,” her older brother reminded her. She still seemed irritated that her party hadn’t been the only reason for their R.S.V.P. and even more irritated that her father had tampered with her allegedly sealed invitation.

“Great, I guess we’re on coffin duty,” Talvi sneered.

“Coffins? They really sleep in them? I thought that was just movie stuff,” Annika asked in disbelief.

“Well, what if they walked in their sleep? I dare say they’d wake up a little toasted,” Finn chortled, and reached for Talvi’s cigarette box.

“That’s not very nice, Finn,” Hilda said reproachfully.

“Hey Runa, weren’t you telling me that the vampires crave human blood more than animals? What about me? If I’m supposed to be at this meeting does that mean I’m screwed?” asked Annika.

“Well, it’s not, um—”

“I can’t predict whether or not you’ll be screwed by the time of their arrival, but you ought to be escorted everywhere whilst they’re among us,” said Talvi.

“Don’t worry, she’ll be with us constantly,” Hilda snickered. He tried hard to hide his displeasure while the samodivi exchanged amused glances. Yuri ignored them as best as she could.

“Are you guys all going to be at this meeting?” Annika asked. Everyone nodded their heads.

“All of us except Anthea. I’m not sure if she’ll have the strength for it,” Finn answered.

“What’s the matter with her? I noticed her act strange tonight,” Hilda asked. Finn looked at the floor for a moment and then into Hilda’s eyes.

“Her husband Asbjorn is trapped on the other side, or some other place in between.” Hilda and Runa seemed greatly upset at the news, but Sariel didn’t flinch. Apparently she had learned this when she had reached the house before them.

“That place looks so awful! How would he even survive?” Annika asked.

“You’ve seen it?” Yuri implored her. “I’ve only heard of it.”

“It’s really creepy,” Annika admitted, feeling shivers go down her spine. “It’s like a desert with black sand and the sky’s all red.”

“I try not to think about how narrowly we escaped it,” Runa cringed at the memory as well. “Poor Anthea! Those poor babies! I hope we can find their father!”

“Let’s not talk about this anymore,” Sariel said, still standing. “We shouldn’t bother getting all worked up when we don’t know enough about that place. We’ll know more soon.”

“Not soon enough,” Yuri mumbled.

“This will calm you down,” Finn said, and handed a lit cigarette to his sister, who took a couple puffs.

“You’d just think we could put our heads together and…” Yuri trailed off, at a loss for words.

“And?” Finn asked, wearing an uncharacteristic grin that was typically sported by his brother.

“You’d just think…” She scratched her head and handed the cigarette to Sariel, who took a deep drag. And then another. And then another.

“You’d just think that
somewhere
around here there have got to be six hundred red and white roses!” Talvi and Finn burst out in hysterical laughter as Sariel choked on the smoke.

“You put pixie dust in this?” she screeched while looking at the little stub in her fingers. She tried to look annoyed at them, but sure enough, within seconds her face had melted into the sweetest smile Annika had seen. It was a welcome change from the perpetual frown she always wore. Yuri stood up and took Sariel by the arm.

“We need to go and look at the arrangements I have made so far! I want to know what you think of the tablecloths I found! Come on!” The two of them giggled as they stepped out of the room and together they tore down the hallway, hooting along the way with giddy laughter.

“Wow, that stuff works pretty fast,” Annika said, mystified at the potency.

“I can’t believe you fooled Sariel. She hasn’t fallen for that in a long time,” Hilda said, shaking her head a little in disapproval of Finn’s behavior.

“I was only trying to cheer up Yuri. Father’s been snooping through her mail. And I can’t help it if Sariel smokes like a chimney!” Finn laughed again.

“What’s going to happen to them?” Annika wondered.

“Oh, they’ll probably come up with some fabulous idea for the party and then fall asleep before they write it down. I doubt they will even remember what they did tomorrow morning,” Hilda sighed.

“But it’s not harmful at all,” Finn assured Annika. “You’d have to smoke all the time to have any negative effects.”

“It sounds like it could be fun. I’ll try just about anything once,” Annika said.

“Would you really?” Talvi asked from his place at the piano bench. Her eyes darted over to his but he only smiled innocently.

“Talvi, I’m curious. How many people did you invite to this party anyway?” Finn asked his brother. Talvi bit his lip as he counted on his hands.

“Perhaps two…no…three hundred…hmm… I honestly don’t know,” he shrugged a little, and Finn let out a howl of laughter.

“You’re in such hot water if you don’t even know how many guests will be here,” he said, wiping a tear from his eye. “I’m not bailing you out this time.”

“Pish Posh,” he said, and motioned for Runa to bring over his box of tobacco. “Mother and Father are well aware of the parties I throw.”

“Yes, but unfortunately, so is everyone else in the area. Who’s going to be watching the door for the pixies? Remember what happened last time they showed up?” Talvi stopped rolling his cigarette and lifted a brow, giving his brother a smile. It was not so much a hopeful smile as much it was an expectant one.

“
Me
?” Finn groaned loudly. “Why can’t you find someone else?”

“You know everyone as well as I do, and I’ll be too busy tending to details,” Talvi said, and lit his cigarette.

“What details have you tended to, anyway?” Finn inquired with a skeptical expression.

“You’ll see,” he said, but offered no elaboration on what he had up his sleeve.

Runa gave a big yawn and Hilda pulled her up from the comfortable cushions they’d been resting on. She motioned for Annika to join them, but Annika was reluctant to leave. While she was curious about the powers of pixie dust, the allure of having two sexy brothers all to herself was harder to resist.

“It’s getting late, and we’re all going to town first thing in the morning,” Hilda told her. She stood in place with Runa, waiting for Annika to get up and join them before bidding the brothers good night. Although she was frustrated with Hilda for making her cut her evening short, she knew it was for the best. Still, one foot dragged in front of the other, and she found herself trailing behind next to Runa as Hilda marched ahead. When she arrived at her room she quietly pulled her aside.

“Hey, Runa, can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” she said sweetly. “You can ask me anything.”

“Do you know what ‘Maurice toe companya vlatzee’ means?”

“Do you mean
mo rees toe comp an ya vlatzee
?” Her brown eyes got very large, but not as large as the smile spread across her face.

“Yeah, that’s it. What does it mean?”

“Who told you that? Oh, it was Talvi, wasn’t it?” Runa asked, still wide-eyed in amusement. Annika glanced at her toes, but eventually nodded her head. “Oh my, I haven’t heard that one in a while!” Runa covered her mouth, but her eyes now had a dreamy look in them.

“It’s not bad, is it?” Annika asked, and leaned against the doorway.

“I really can’t translate it. I don’t speak the language as well as he does. There’s so much that gets lost in the interpretation.”

“Can’t you give me a rough idea?” Annika was dying of curiosity.

“Well, yes, but it sounds so unrefined,” Runa hesitated.

“I don’t care. Just tell me!” she urged. Runa finally caved in, not that it took much convincing.

“Word for word it means something like, ‘lick my bees’ legs’.”

“That sounds a little vulgar,” Annika said, wrinkling her nose.

“No, no, no!” Runa shook her head. “It’s a saying in Fae, the language of the fairies. A lot of what they say gets misinterpreted. Anyway, you must know how the flowers are such an important part of their lives?”

“Uh, sure,” Annika nodded, figuring fairies and flowers just went hand in hand.

“So, pretend you are a flower stuck in the ground, and Talvi is another flower, far across the meadow, and the bees…you send them back and forth to one another, and, you know, it’s…” Runa blushed bright red.

“What? Come on, Runa! What is it?” Annika was anxiously awaiting the explanation.

“It’s the only way you two can make love!” she hissed.

“Oh, right, because the bees are pollinating them,” Annika whispered, recalling Vince telling her this when she was very young. “So he…I guess he wants to send some bees my way pretty bad, huh?” Runa giggled again and her blonde hair trembled with her laughing body.

“Yes, I think it’s quite obvious that he does. I wish you spoke Fae so you would understand its meaning better. You’ll have to trust me on this. What he said is so much more beautiful than I can ever explain.”