The Quicksilver Faire (9 page)

Keelie touched the swirling knob, expecting it to be cold, but it was warm, and beneath the knob little sparkles appeared. She turned it, and the door began to open. Bright, colorful lights and loud crowd noise spilled out; there seemed to be a party on the other side. She pushed the door farther but it only moved a few inches. Inside, someone yelped.

A frog in a Robin Hood hat peered around the edge of the door. "Watch what you're doing."

Behind her, Elia gasped. Knot scooted through the door, followed by Coyote, who squeezed in under people's legs.

"Sorry, trying to get in," Keelie said. Long, greenwebbed fingers grabbed the door's edge and yanked as she pushed, and suddenly, she was in the strangest crowd she'd ever seen. The frog man was talking animatedly with a tall, skinny woman dressed in form-fitting white armor, with a tail whose end was swept casually over her shoulder, its tasseled end flicking back and forth.

So this was the Quicksilver Faire.

A massive woman swept by, yards of multihued gauze floating around her. Tall, iridescent, leathery gray wings sprouted from her back. Others in the excited crowd were more normal looking, if one didn't look too closely. They seemed to be packed into a big wooden gazebo.

She felt Sean squeeze in behind her, the metal of his chest plate hard against her back, and Elia pushed up to her side, eyes wide.

A rabbit was fiddling a sprightly tune while standing on one of the handrails that surrounded the gazebo, and he stopped playing when a man in purple robes raised his hands and shouted "Oyez!"

Silence fell over the crowd, which shifted and shuffled and moved like a living creature that had absorbed Keelie and her companions. The man consulted a scroll, then let it snap back into a circle as he yelled, "Everyone in parade route order and we'll begin shortly. Master Johnny O'Hare will lead us. Are you ready?"

Everyone bellowed at once that they were, and the rabbit leaped high over their heads, landing on a cinder road. He began to fiddle again, and the infectious music made Keelie want to dance.

"Magic," hissed Sean.

"I want to dance," Elia cried, and she bobbed ahead of them, doing a jig alongside a corseted pirate Amazon. Keelie and Sean hurried to catch up, not an easy task since everyone was dancing along behind the rabbit.

As they moved forward, Keelie noted their surroundings like an explorer charting unknown territory. Beyond the stone-and-timber buildings of the town, she saw an enchanted forest of huge trees that glimmered with radiant magic, flowing with waves of light just like the aurora bore alis. It was as if they'd entered a version of the Northwoods forest that was hundreds of years older.

The rooflines of the faire's tents and buildings, along with the other odd structures ahead of them, were silhouetted against the dazzle of a beam of spinning light. The beam seemed to be coming from the center of the faire, and it called magic to Keelie like a summons she couldn't resist: Come to me, come to me.

She pulled her gaze away and tried to take in the whole faire at once. It was like stepping back in time to medieval market days in London or Paris, only it was a market filled with unimaginable treasures and inhabitants.

A voice in the back of her mind whispered, Beware of the fairies, for they can hide their cruelty behind their beauty.

Knot and Coyote ran along at the edges of the parading crowd like fuzzy little kids anxious to get to the fun. Keelie looked back anxiously, searching for a jester hat with dangling, discordant bells, but no one was wearing one, and relief flowed through her. Strange, how she'd rather face the High Queen of the Shining Ones than Peascod. She felt trapped between two dark problems now, when she'd only expected to confront one. Maybe the High Queen would know what to do about Peascod.

Sean had removed his helmet and was looking around as if trying to take in everything at once. "This place is amazing, Elia. We may be the first elves to see it."

"Stay close to me, Sean," Elia whispered loudly. "I smell only fairies."

The man in front of her turned to give her a dirty look. Elia didn't notice. Instead, she pointed toward Knot and Coyote's bushy tails as they vanished around the corner of a half-timbered building. "Where are they going? Are they going to warn the queen that we're here?"

"They're having fun," Keelie said. "It's good advice to stay close together, though, especially in this crowd." At least at this faire Keelie didn't have to sell furniture, so maybe she could shop when her mission was completed. She didn't know what currency the fairies used. Maybe it was based on magic. A thread of caution formed in her mind, weaving its way in her thoughts-always be careful when dealing with fairies. She would be.

Sean walked alongside her, his fingers laced through hers, and she could feel his muscles tense as he resisted the urge to dance to Johnny O'Hare's magic.

She was on her way to meet the Shining One's fairy queen. Images of the deadly Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland flashed through Keelie's mind. Echoes of "Off With her Head" swirled in tune with the fiddler's music.

She tightened her grip on Sean's hand. He reassuringly squeezed back. "I'm here," he whispered in her ear.

Knot and Coyote reappeared and paced in front of them, their paws stepping in equal, measured strides as if to present a united front to the fae.

Coyote turned his head to Sean. "Stay with her. Don't let her out of your sight."

"What did you two see? Do you know where we should meet the queen?" Keelie asked.

"The queen won't be meeting us; she's sending an es cort," Coyote replied. Beside him, Knot's normally wide eyes were hooded. Not a good sign.

The parade passed the end of a lane where lanterns made of the same sparkling metal as the fairy doorknob floated in midair, illuminating the narrow, crowded streets. Jostling throngs separated from the parade and moved down the street before them, and Keelie grabbed Elia's hand as Sean pulled them free of the parade. They were joined by a group of giggling girls, arms around each other, who looked like any of Keelie's friends on a mall outing-except for the glistening, fluttery wings that arched out behind them.

A stout woman with a basket on her arm, who had her reptilian tail tucked tidily out of the way, passed them. Behind her, a great hulking shape in a hooded robe plodded along, swaying side to side. Keelie was sure she didn't want to see his face; his smell was enough to make her back up a step. Not the image of a medieval English market she'd conjured in her mind.

The bad smell diminished as the creature trudged on, its stench replaced by delicious smells that wafted from a cafe-one very similar to the Crystal Cup in Big Nugget. Red-checked gingham tablecloths covered the wooden tables (rather than wrought iron tables, since most fae found iron toxic), and the cafe chairs had twisty backs, the wood embellished with crystals. It looked like the furniture Keelie's father made. A woman with fuzzy ear tips, like a cat's, sticking up through her dark hair exited from the restaurant. She carried a tray loaded with glistening pastries, and when she turned around, Keelie saw that she had a cat tail, too. She felt her mouth drop open, and closed it.

The cat-tailed girl turned around and smiled at them mischievously. "Would you like to eat a bite of me cakes? One bite, and you'll never want for food, again."

Knot hopped on the table and glared at the girl, tail whipping back and forth.

"You." The girl's smile vanished and her own tail started to swish angrily.

"Yeow," he replied. They glared at one another.

"You never returned after Beltane. Is she the one?" the cat-tailed girl almost shrieked, pointing at Keelie.

"Let's leave them to work this out." Coyote herded Keelie, Sean, and Elia away from the cafe and down the path.

"But those pastries looked good. I'm hungry." Elia rubbed her stomach. "I love faire food. Maybe we can find turkey legs like the ones at the mundane faire."

Coyote motioned toward the pastry shop. "My lady, I must remind you once more that if you eat fairy food, you will hunger for it always, as will your child. No human or elven food will nourish your body or your soul, and eventually you will die of hunger."

"Oh." Elia protectively placed her hand over her belly.

Even though she was a major pain in the butt, one thing Keelie knew for sure was that Elia would be a good mother.

"Let's get this meeting over with," Sean said. "I've had enough of this world already."

"Why elf, you've just entered our realm. Is that any way to treat your hosts?" A tall, slender fae wearing a long black robe had appeared before them. His hair gleamed silver and his eyes glowed with an alien tint.

Despite his unusual looks, Keelie felt drawn to the fairy-an immediate physical attraction that made her feel warm and fuzzy on the inside, as if she'd had several cups of mead.

He bowed elegantly. "My Lady Keliel."

She knew she was falling under a spell of enchantment, but she didn't care. It felt so good. "Who are you?"

He rose from his graceful bow. "I am Fala. Your guide to the queen."

The whispers of beware floated to the forefront of her mind until Coyote's wet nose nudged her hand. The enchantment lifted.

Fala frowned, as if he knew that the glamour magic he'd spun to entrap Keelie had been broken.

Another fairy laughed as he appeared next to Fala. He turned toward Keelie. His skin was eggplant purple and his gorgeous, long white hair was woven through with strands of silver, which glinted in the light of the lanterns. He carried a quiver of arrows and a crossbow on his back. He reached for Keelie's hand and kissed it. "My Lady Keliel. I am Salaca, your escort."

A frisson of delight skipped up her spine and she had to repress a silly giggle. The drunk feeling returned, but this time she called upon her magic to create a shield. It pushed Salaca's magic away.

His lips formed a predatory smile. "I'm a hunter, my lady, and I've always enjoyed a good chase."

Sean stepped in between Keelie and the elves.

Fala laughed. "She is safe, elf. For now."

"Speak for yourself. I find her quite intriguing for a human hybrid." Salaca eyed her like she was a used car.

"I'm here to see the queen," Keelie said, in her grandmother's "obey me" voice. She doubted it would work on the fae, but it helped bolster her courage as she faced these dangerous and beautiful fairies.

"We ask safe passage to and from your lands." Sean forced the words out past clenched teeth. Keelie could see that it was an effort for him to remain polite.

Knot ran toward them, meowing loudly, covered in icing with bits of cake clinging to his fur. His meeting with the cat girl apparently hadn't ended well.

Coyote stepped in front of Keelie and confronted Fala and Salaca. "Lady Keliel is under my protection as well."

The two fae laughed in unison, and Keelie lost a little confidence in her furry guards.

Salaca stopped his laughter, then lifted his head as if he caught the scent of something, his eyes narrowed. "The Dark Hunt. We need to alert the guard."

Through the door they'd entered, which was still open a ways behind them, Keelie heard the baying of hounds once more. She remembered the horned figure on the horse. Herne. Salaca gestured, and Keelie heard the door slam shut.

Fala grinned at Keelie. "The queen will find this most intriguing. Is it a coincidence that the Wild Hunt rides when the little elf comes to call?"

"Mayhaps Keliel Treetalker has secret surprises for us, and I'm sure the queen wants to know each and every one," Salaca said as he circled Keelie.

She felt the buzzing of magic against her skin.

Knot stood on hind legs and reached up with his forepaws, as if snagging a thread, and Salaca drew back with a curse.

Keelie had thought her diplomatic status would protect her, but the fairies didn't seem to obey any rules at all. She was suddenly afraid-not for herself, but for her friends. What had she gotten them into?

Keeping her eyes level with Fala's, Keelie called upon her magic to create a shield once again. She wouldn't let him enchant her. Emboldened by her determination, she knew she couldn't let him see fear in her eyes. Dad said that the fae liked to intimidate and force their opponent to submit to their orders and worst whims. If they detected a hint of fear, then their snare was as good as sprung and their victim caught.

Fala bowed. "We shall continue our game later, Lady Keliel."

This was just a game to them. Maybe, instead of fearing for her elven and fae friends, she should be afraid for her own big streak of mortal.

Elia sighed and rolled her eyes. "Speaking of games, what is that booth over there?" She pointed.

Salaca scowled. "You were not spoken to, elf. Do not speak unless we give you permission."

Elia raised her chin and took a step forward. "I'll have you know that I bear the child of the Unicorn Lord of the Dread Forest. He's part fae and he outranks you."

Fala and Salaca stared at her belly as if a unicorn would pop out and gore them. Then they looked at each other and shrugged.

"Look at all these people," Keelie said. "This faire is much bigger than the human ones I've been to." Crazier, too. Time to steer the conversation to a safe place.