The Quicksilver Faire (24 page)

The ground shook, and Keelie grabbed at the blacktarred roof to hold on, but this was not an earthquake. Below, the trees lifted their roots and started to move, using their great limbs to smash the goblins against the buildings and into the street, guided by the dryads. The elves followed warily, swords at the ready, shields lifted.

Keelie shifted her vision, looking at the scene through tree sight, and watched the wild magic flow around the dryads and seem to do their bidding. The goblins fled, unable to fight the trees.

As soon as the fight got to the end of the block, Keelie ran down the stairs and into the street, Herne and Knot behind her. Outside, the Healer elves were performing first aid on the fallen. The dryads had all disappeared but one, who seemed to be waiting for Keelie.

"Viran and your grandmother send greetings," the dryad said, its voice papery and thin. "They heard your call for help, as we did. We have answered."

Viran, the old tree shepherd of the Redwood Forest, had grown weary of life outside of the woods. After the goblin threat there had passed, he had melded with one of the Great Trees and was now helping Grandmother Keliatiel, the new tree shepherd of the redwoods.

"You heard them all the way from California?" Keelie asked the dryad. That was some reception.

The slender figure nodded what seemed to be its head. "I will remain, to represent the tree spirits at the meeting of the Councils."

Keelie looked at Knot, puzzled.

One of the Healer elves turned to her. "We couldn't find you and called upon the dwarves and the dragon to help us. We meet tonight at the Council building."

"The dark fae will be there too," Herne promised. He turned to Keelie and bowed. "You are indeed a warrior." He vanished.

A green tickle in her mind told Keelie that the Mother Tree would be there tonight as well. Maybe not in person, but seeing through Keelie's eyes.

The Mother Tree. Keelie wondered where the withered old woman kept her roots. Was she part of the Mother Tree itself, perhaps a more physical manifestation of the tree spirits Keelie had met in the past? Or was she like a dryad, the creatures who lived in the trees? "Will Queen Vania come too?" she asked.

"She has not answered the call." The elf on the ground moaned and the Healer elf's attention turned back to him.

Keelie ran to see if Dad and Sean were unharmed. Her racing heart slowed when she saw Dad holding up an elven woman as her leg got bandaged. He seemed relieved to see her, too. He nodded at the Healer elves and stood, just in time for her hugs and kisses.

"Where were you for four days, after you returned from Fairy?" he asked. "I heard it rumored you were Under-theHill, but that cannot be true." Keelie's blush told him it was.

Dad pulled her away from the medic's area. "Are you mad? I send you with a warrior and your fae guardian, and you leave them behind to help Herne, alone? And what about Elia? She bears the hope of our forest, but she is alone among strangers in the Northwoods. These elves have no love for her."

"I noticed. But it wasn't my fault, Dad. You don't say no to a forest god."

Dad didn't seem to hear. "Dariel is upset-he abandoned his forest to come here to his wife's aid and found her alone in the elven village. Do you know how often a unicorn leaves his forest? Never."

"Elia was always with us in the beginning," Keelie said. "But I tried to ditch her when we went to the Quicksilver-" Oops. She realized her error when Dad turned hot red.

"You did what? You took Elia? To the High Court?" He tugged on his long hair, eyes wild. "Where's Davey? Why didn't he stop her?"

"Davey's related to King Gneiss, the King of the Dwarves. Did you know that?"

"Don't change the subject. Once you step into Fairy, you cannot control your fate. How did Elia come free of the place? What was the price?"

"I'll tell you everything, Dad. Knot came with me." Keelie told him about the rift and trying to mend it, and when he started to get angry, she told him about the Mother Tree. He seemed to relax. A little.

Miszrial appeared at their side. "We've counted one hundred and fifty dead goblins. Many have escaped."

Dad frowned. "And our wounded?"

"Twenty wounded, two dead. The wounds are mostly bites."

"That's good, right?" Keelie looked from one to the other.

"Not good," Dad said. "Goblin bites fester quickly."

"I'm not surprised," Keelie said. "They're so gross."

Dad straightened and looked behind her. "How could you allow her out of your sight? She went to Under-the-Hill with Herne. Alone."

She turned to where Sean stood, his face pale, and rolled her eyes. "Guys, I'm right here. I'm in one piece, virtue intact. And we need Herne's help as much as he needs ours. You sent me here to get us to work together and I was doing my darndest. If you want to get mad at someone, get mad at Queen Vania. She does not play well with others."

"We'll address that at the Alliance Summit." Dad looked at Sean. "We're not done speaking. Don't lose her again."

Knot walked by, once more in his regular cat form, and Dad glared at him. "You, too."

Knot purred and rubbed up against his leg.

A Healer elf came running up. "Ermentrude's awake and asking for the tree shepherd."

Keelie and Dad turned to her, both answering, "Yes?" Dad looked at Keelie. "My turn. Go get cleaned up. Take her to Grey Mantle, Sean, and don't lose her."

"Come on, Keelie." Sean began walking away, his hand on the hilt of his sword, as he did when he was upset.

She ran after him, matching his pace. "We can't go back to the village yet. I need to find out where Peascod went. He's planning something, Sean. He wants to defeat Herne, and Herne's weak enough that he might lose. He's seriously weak."

Sean stopped abruptly and turned to her. "Everyone is meeting in Grey Mantle. Herne promised to be there. You should let other people help now. This is not the mission you were sent to accomplish. It's much bigger, and you can't do everything alone."

Sean was right. Herne would be at Grey Mantle; in the meantime, she could talk to Ermentrude. The old dragon might have an idea about how to stop the leaking magic without involving Vania.

In the treetops above, Keelie sensed the presence of dark fae. When she lifted her head, afraid of what she'd see, she was relieved that it was only a bhata waving to her. It had something in its sticklike hand that looked like a small present. The bhata moved to where a large limb branched off into smaller ones, and it pointed at another creature in the tree.

"Knot, you can't eat the bhata," Keelie said. Knot swished his orange tail, eyes fixed on the little creature. "I think it has a package for me."

"See, what did I tell you?" Sean said, waving his hands. "What are you talking about?"

"Knot, come back down here."

"Meow." Knot jumped down and stomped over, sitting down next to Sean.

Keelie held out her hand and the bhata climbed down to her. Clasped in its little stick fingers was a tiny red book. It held it out to Keelie, and she accepted it.

"Thank you." She studied the tiny book, then felt a tingle in her fingertips. The book began to grow Its binding lengthened and its cover widened until Keelie recognized the title.

It was the dragon magic book. A piece of parchment was stuck in between the pages. She pulled it out, and read the strange, rune-like handwriting.

You left this behind. Thought you might need it.

Keelie smiled, then frowned when she lifted her head and saw Sean scowling at her. "It's a book on dragons," she explained. "To help me understand Ermentrude."

Sean arched an eyebrow. "From Herne?"

Keelie nodded slowly, dreading Sean's reaction to that piece of news, although it was kind of cool that he was jealous.

"Let's go." Sean stormed away.

Angry about his elven stubbornness, Keelie stomped after him and grabbed him by the arm.

He stopped, but wouldn't look at her. "What?"

"You wanted me to be honest."

"I want you to be smart, too. And Keelie, encouraging that dark beast to befriend you is not wise."

He said "befriend" as if it were a bad word. He turned to look at her then, and she saw the hurt and fear in his eyes. Then he hurried off.

"Mmm, mmm. That is one hunk of handsome elf flesh. If I were you, I'd hang onto him. He's got a good heart, and a lot to learn, but it would be fun to teach him." Ermentrude was leaning against a nearby wall, her cane at her side. She winked at Keelie. "I heard old Herne is sweet on you."

"He asked me to be his consort, but I told him I'm too young.

"I notice you didn't tell him no. And for the record, Sean is right."

Knot padded up to the Keelie, but stopped, his back arched, when he saw the dragon.

"Yeow!" he hissed.

"You!" Ermentrude bellowed.

Keelie saw flames erupt from the dragon-woman's eyes and quickly stepped out of range. "Knot," she hissed, "run!"

Ermentrude closed her eyes and started to chant, then took a deep breath and exhaled. "It's a challenge to keep control over my temper, especially when sneaky cats get into my bag." She pasted on a false smile when she looked at Knot, her lips pursed as if she were biting down on her tongue. "Knot, the next time you want to play in my yarn, please ask me."

"You knit?" Keelie asked. That Knot had tangled her yarn was no surprise.

"Yes, I'm making a scarf, and when I changed colors and looked through my yarn bag, I found orange cat hair everywhere."

Knot turned his face away and whistled. He refused to look at Ermentrude.

"Stay out of her yarn," Keelie warned. She put the book under her arm.

Ermentrude's eyes widened when she noticed it. "What are you doing with a book on dragon magic?"

"Herne gave it to me." Keelie didn't want to offend the dragon, but there was no magic here except for the way the book had grown in her hand. She held it out. The spine read Understanding Dragons.

Keelie stared at it, confused. "The title used to be Into the Minds of Dragons."

"Magic is arbitrary between worlds. Objects can be one thing in Fairy or Under-the-Hill, and quite another on Earth," Ermentrude answered. "It's a handy book to have. Be careful with it." She puffed on her cigarette. "I'm flattered. You're wanting to know what makes me tick. When you're finished, I'd like to read it. Might help me communicate with my daughter."

Keelie wasn't sure she wanted to know Ermentrude's daughter. She pictured a girl like her friend Laurie, only scaly with long ropes of red hair, garlicky dragon breath, and a bad temper.

Miszrial came striding over, not seeming happy in her new role of errand girl. "You're wanted in a Council meeting. I told them that as soon as I found you, I'd bring you."

"I thought the meeting was tonight," Keelie said.

"This meeting is for the elves only," Miszrial replied.

"Then I don't know why you want me there."

Miszrial's lips thinned out. "Terciel warned us that you favor the fae, even though you are a Lord of the Forest's daughter."

Keelie reminded herself that, as the daughter of an elven lord, she needed to conduct herself with every bit of elven dignity that she could muster. For her father's sake.

She looked down at Knot. "Ready to go to the Council meeting?" She thought of Dad, and how he always had to trudge to meetings at all hours of the night and be a diplomat when dealing with prickly elves. Ruling the elves was at the bottom rung of her career wish list.

Knot shook his head. "Not meow again."

Her sentiments exactly. Council meetings were boring, and you couldn't leave early because it was considered rude. It never failed-as soon as a meeting started, she needed to go pee. She turned, hoping for a few words of support from Ermentrude, but the dragon was gone. Keelie tucked the book back under her arm. It would make for good reading during the boring parts of the Council meeting.

"Are you ready?" Miszrial was tapping her foot impatiently.

"Yes." Keelie watched Miszrial start up the road to Grey Mantle. "Is there a reference book on elves? If not, there should be. Maybe I'll write one. The Human's Guide to Elves."

"It's forbidden to tell humans about elves," Miszrial said stiffly.

"Right. And it's forbidden for elves to have a sense of humor, too." Keelie trotted after her. She looked back at Knot. "You're coming, right?"

"Meow have to?"

"Yes, yeow has to."

"You're talking to your cat," Miszrial snapped.

Keelie smiled. "Yes, I'm talking to him. Don't you talk to your cat?"

"I don't have a cat."

"You need to get one. It would improve your personality."

"I don't see how having a cat would improve my personality. Everyone finds me charming."

Whoosh! Comment sailed over her head.

Dad was waiting for her at the foot of the stairs when she left her room in the lodge. Uncle Dariel and Elia were sharing a room, and Dad was bunking with Sean, so Keelie still had her own space.

Dad smiled appreciatively when he saw her. She was wearing her elven robes, which Grandmother had presented her with last winter, and she'd put on some eyeliner and lip gloss, stuff she never usually bothered with. The elves preferred a natural look, and today Keelie wanted to highlight her human side. The alliance included the dwarves, the dark fae, and the elves, but the humans got no say at all.