Fae of Calaveras Trilogy Box Set

by Kristen S. Walker

  Wait, this was the knight in charge of protecting Santa Cruz? I whipped my head around to stare at the faeriekin, whose features looked rather more like a plain human. She didn’t look like a knight at all, in blue jeans and a faded tie-dyed t-shirt that said “Keep Santa Cruz Weird.” But Ashleigh and Dandelion were both looking at her with respect.

  I closed my mouth and sketched a belated curtsy, then glared at Akasha until she did the same.

  Dame Susan laughed and swung open the second half of the door. “Call me Sue.” She stepped back and gestured for us to come inside. “We don’t stand much on formality here. C’mon in and tell me what you need.”

  Sue grabbed Ashleigh in an enthusiastic hug when she came in the door, and then to my surprise, she did the same for the rest of us as we each stepped inside.

  Unlike Dandelion’s house in the Otherworld, Sue’s shack was not any bigger or better looking on the inside. It looked like it had been assembled from scraps of wood leftover from other buildings, and decorated with odds and ends found on the beach: driftwood furniture, bits of sea glass stuck to the walls, sea shells scattered in every nook and cranny. Most of the space was taken up by shelves full of books, but there was also a small card table on the far side with just one chair, an ancient iron wood-burning stove, a porcelain sink, and a ladder leading up to a loft.

  I looked around for somewhere to sit and found nothing, since I wasn’t going to take the only chair.

  Ashleigh started pulling floor cushions off a pile from the corner and passed them around, then sat down on one, tucking her legs underneath her and smoothing her skirt down.

  Copying her looked uncomfortable in sneakers, so I sat cross-legged on my own cushion.

  Sue sat down on a cushion of her own and leaned back against a bookshelf. “Ah. I hope you don’t mind sitting on the floor, but I prefer to live simply without the clutter of material possessions.”

  “Of course,” Ashleigh said with a smile. “Now, we’re here to look at your records. Rosa’s mother became a witch when she was living here, and we were hoping that you wrote down which Fae was her patron.”

  “Mm.” Sue looked up at the bookshelves behind her. “What is the name? And do you know what year this would be?”

  I cleared my throat. “Rosmerta McAddams. It would have been—” I looked over at Akasha. “Well, obviously more than sixteen years ago.”

  Akasha shrugged. “Probably closer to twenty.”

  Sue stood up and crossed to the bookshelf right next to me, forcing me to lean out of her way. “The name sounds familiar. Rosmerta…I think she was here in ’79.” She ran her finger over the spines of several books and then pulled one out. “Ah, here.”

  She knelt beside me and cracked open the leather tome, revealing a sprawling, uneven handwriting. “The moon was in Scorpio, see?” She pointed to a page marked with astrological symbols and peered at me for confirmation.

  I nodded vaguely. The date was in May, and I recognized the little M with a pointed arrow tail that was the sign for Scorpio. I tried to visualize the star chart. “So it was a full moon?”

  Sue nodded. “Always make the pact on a full moon. But Scorpio, that’s not such a good sign, see. Ruled by Pluto, lord of the underworld. And see what was going on with the other planets.” She clucked her tongue. “Said it wasn’t a good time, but Rosmerta was impatient. Said her patron wanted to make the pact right then, so I had to do it.”

  I scanned over the other markings, but none of it was labeled, and I couldn’t make out many of the words. “What was the name of her patron?” I asked, trying to sound polite. I was losing patience myself.

  Sue jabbed her finger at a word, but all I could make out was the first letter, another M. When I gave up squinting, she cracked a grin. “Morrigan,” she said, rolling the “r”s.

  “No!” I looked at the book a second time, trying to find some other name in the scratches. “You let her make a pact with an Unseelie?”

  Ashleigh held out her hand, and Sue passed her the book. “She’s not even supposed to have contact with mortals! How did Rosmerta find her?”

  Sue crab walked across the floor and sank back onto her own cushion. “Don’t know how it happened, but I did follow the treaty. We went into the Otherworld to make the pact, since Morrigan wasn’t allowed to come through the gate. Later she went to the baroness and swore the usual oaths to follow the Seelie Court’s laws, like not harming people with her magic, so it wasn’t like she was trying to skirt the rules.”

  Ashleigh still gaped at her in shock. “I just—” She shook her head. “I don’t know how you could let something like that happen. You should have reported Morrigan to the queen.”

  Sue pursed her lips together. “Well, can’t say that I’ve ever really cared for politics of one side or another. And I don’t recall swearing any oaths to turn in other people because of the vague suspicion that they might do something wrong. I followed the letter of the laws I’m bound to, and there’s nothing you can do to punish me.”

  “The fact is that my mother did break her oath not to harm people, and then she violated the treaty when she opened a gate and let Morrigan enter the human world.” I sighed and shook my head. “We have to strip her powers in order to stop her. But Morrigan won’t just take away Mom’s powers because we asked her to. There has to be another way.”

  Dame Susan shrugged. “Nothing in the pact itself said anything about following Seelie law, so Rosmerta hasn’t violated it. To break that pact would be unethical, too. You don’t get to decide who does and doesn’t have magic.”

  I clenched my jaw and my breath whistled out between my teeth. I was losing patience after all of these dead ends. “Not taking away Mom’s powers puts thousands of people in danger, maybe more. I’m not going to hurt her. Isn’t the safety of everyone more important than my mother’s right to magic?”

  Dandelion cleared his throat and spoke for the first time. “You didn’t like your mother making decisions for you, even when she claimed it was for your safety. How is this any different?”

  “Because it is!” I burst out.

  Akasha reached out and touched my hand, and I felt the tension drain away. “Think about it, Rosie,” she said in a soft voice.

  I hung my head. “No, you’re right. We have to find another way.” I got to my feet. “Thank you for your help, Dame Susan. We appreciate the information, even if it isn’t what we’d hoped for.”

  The knight stood up with a grunt and shook my hand. “I wish you luck on your quest. You’re right that many lives are at risk right now. May you find a solution that doesn’t violate your own principles.”

  I smiled weakly. “I think we’re hoping for a miracle at this point, but I’m not going to stop trying.”

  The four of us filed out of the cramped shack in the forest. Ashleigh led us back down the trails to the Grove of eucalyptus trees, but before we stepped back through the gate, she stopped and touched my arm.

  “Hang on a minute,” she said with a frown. “Can I talk to you?”

  We stepped away from the others. Looking at her more closely, I noticed that her lower lip was trembling. “What’s wrong? Are you worried that we aren’t going to be able to fix things?”

  She looked down at the ground, but she took my hand and gave it a squeeze. “I’m sorry, Rosa, but I don’t think that I can help you anymore.” She hesitated. “I don’t know how to handle these kinds of things. I wish that there was more I could do.”

  I squeezed her hand back. “We don’t even know what we’re doing yet, so we’ll go through our options when we get back. There might be more that you could do. And it means a lot to just have you there.” I took a deep breath. “I’ve been meaning to tell you that what I said, about taking back my oath to the Seelie Court—that doesn’t apply to our friendship. I’m not turning my back on you personally.”

  “I realized that.” Ashleigh met my gaze, and her eyes sparkled with tears. “At first, it hurt my feelings, because I tho
ught you were abandoning me, too. But you’ve always made the distinction between me as your friend and your political connection to the Court. And I’ve been thinking about it a lot since then, because you might have the right idea, to stay out of the politics. I don’t think I’m cut out for it, either.”

  I was suddenly afraid that I’d changed Ashleigh’s mind about her future. “What are you saying?”

  She took a deep breath. “I’m saying I need some time to think things through. Glen is turning into a different person than I thought he was, and I don’t think I can be his partner—personally or politically.” She glanced back the trail to Dame Susan’s shack. “I want to stay here for a while so I can go over my options. The Court won’t be happy if I break the betrothal, but it’s my future.”

  “Oh, Ashleigh.” I threw my arms around her in a hug. “I wish that I could stay here and talk about it with you. Don’t make any big decisions right now, though. We have to fix this first. You have to come with me.”

  She hugged me back, then pushed me away. “Yeah, we’ll talk later. But I knew what my decision was a long time ago, I was just afraid to admit it.” She sniffled a little and wiped her nose with her hand, forgetting her dainty handkerchief. “I really believe you’re the one who can save everyone. I’d just be in your way, and I’m tired of letting everyone be responsible for protecting me. Here, I’ll be out of danger, and I can get some advice from Dame Susan about my future.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “I’m not sure what kind of advice she’d give you. She seems kind of…woo-woo.” I twirled my finger next to my head.

  Ashleigh laughed. “She comes off that way at first, but she’s actually pretty smart. You’ll have to get to know her better.”

  I shrugged. “Okay, someday, then.” I held out my open hands. “But I still need you, even if it’s just for moral support. You’re the most supportive person I know—more than that,” I added with a shake of my head.

  I struggled to find the words for how I felt. With Ashleigh, I always felt comforted and happy. She’d been through hell with me and more, and seeing her pull away from me like that, I felt like my heart was being ripped out of my chest. She meant more to me than any other person in my life.

  And then, all of a sudden, I realized what she was to me. I took a step back, staring at her in a new light. But even as I accepted the truth, I couldn’t say it aloud. What if I told Ashleigh that I loved her, and it ruined our friendship? I’d already broken my heart twice over Kai and Zil. I couldn’t make that kind of mistake again.

  “Ash, I—I’m glad you’re not going to marry Glen,” I stammered instead. My voice broke, and I turned my face away, afraid of what she could read in my expression.

  Ashleigh took a step closer, peering at me. “That wasn’t what you were about to say,” she pressed. “A minute ago, you were telling me not to rush my decision about Glen. What changed your mind?”

  I threw my hands up defensively. “I’ve never trusted Glen,” I said quickly. “I always suspected that he was hiding a lot of things, and I don’t think he told you the truth about everything, either. If he really saw you as a partner, then he should’ve trusted you.”

  She folded her arms. “You’ve kept secrets from me, too. And how do you know what he told me? What’s really going on?”

  “I had a lie-detecting charm for a while when I was trying to track down my mom in the Unseelie.” When I saw her jaw drop, I spread my empty hands again. “I don’t have it anymore! I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about it sooner. I already promised that I wouldn’t keep any more secrets from you. Please believe me.”

  Ashleigh took both of my hands and stepped closer, looking directly into my eyes. “Then tell me,” she whispered in a low voice. “Why do you need me to come with you?”

  She was several inches taller than me, but Ash never felt like she was looming over me—until now. I tried to look away but my eyes were drawn back to her. I was uncomfortably aware of a new feeling: that her stunning beauty wasn’t just the ethereal Otherworldly quality of a faeriekin. Her kindness shone through in her eyes, encouraging me to open up to her. I tingled when I remembered the time we’d kissed on the Midwinter Solstice, under the influence of a spell. And if Ashleigh could forgive me for everything else that I’d done, then our friendship could survive this moment of madness—although part of my heart told me that this feeling had been growing in my heart for years.

  I took a deep breath. “I always need you,” I whispered back. “You’re the one I go to when I’m upset, and you always make me feel better. You’re the one I tell all of my feelings to, and I can’t keep a secret from you, not for long.” Three words summed up everything I felt. “I love you,” I whispered.

  Confusion flickered across Ashleigh’s face. “Love can mean a lot of things.”

  I felt her start to withdraw a little, and I held her hands tighter so she couldn’t pull away. “You know what I mean.”

  Her eyes widened, and she gasped. “What do you want from me?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t want anything from you. You asked me for the truth, so I told you. I don’t want to change our friendship or anything. Just, please—come with me.”

  Ashleigh nodded slowly. “Okay, so…we’ll have to talk about this later.” Then her smile came back. “But I’ll come, if you think it will help you.”

  We walked back to Dandelion and Akasha, who were waiting by the Grove of eucalyptus trees. Ashleigh walked next to me, still holding my hand. I didn’t know what it meant, but I wouldn’t think about that—for now, it was just enough that she was there.

  Dandelion raised an eyebrow at me but said nothing.

  “Let’s go,” I said, grinning at everyone. “We can do this!”

  34

  The Gate

  Rosamunde

  When we got back to Golden Forest County, we flew out of the Grove before the guards at the castle noticed our arrival. To my surprise, Akasha did not ride on the back of my broom this time, but instead sprouted clear wings and flew on her own like Dandelion. Ashleigh had wings of her own too—sparkly pink butterfly wings.

  I steered us all toward our old house outside of Madrone. We landed in the empty yard, where the melted snow revealed the damage from the fire I set months ago. My house key was still on my keychain, and I dug it out of my bag to let us inside.

  “What’s your plan?” Akasha asked, looking around the empty house with a shiver.

  I pointed upstairs. “Gonna grab anything of Mom’s that’s still around, and make a poppet.” When she frowned, I explained, “The Seelie Court put up localized shields around this house and Mom’s store so that she can’t use her powers in that particular spot. That must be more ethical than just taking away all of her magic, because she can just choose not to be there, right? So I’m going to do the same thing, and the way that I know how to do is that is to make a poppet like the one she made of me.”

  Ashleigh’s face lit up. “I knew you’d think of something.”

  Akasha dragged her heels going up the stairs behind me. “I don’t see how that’s going to help anything. You’d have to figure out where she is right now and then take the poppet to her, and you said that she was getting help from the Unseelie, so they would just stop you.”

  “Ah.” I grinned back over my shoulder at Dandelion, who remained silent during the conversation, and I saw on his face that he already knew what I was going to do. “We take the poppet to the gate so her powers don’t work there. Then we see if that gives you full control of the gate spell so you can close it on your own.”

  My parents’ bedroom was untouched since the last time I’d been in the house, looking for signs of where she’d gone. Her dresser drawers and closet were still open and many of her things were gone, packed in a hurry. But Mom had also left many things behind: old clothes that didn’t fit her anymore, extra shoes that she didn’t care about, a broken hairbrush on the bathroom counter. More than enough materials for a spell that targe
ted her.

  I grabbed an old t-shirt she used to wear on cleaning days and tore it into strips. Then I knotted the strips together in something vaguely resembling a human figure. Inside I placed a few personal items: hair from the brush, cheap jewelry, a picture of her and Dad that had been sitting on her bedside table.

  In the same jewelry box, I found a broken silver chain, and wrapped it around the poppet. As I did so, I named the figure “Rosmerta” and pictured the chain binding her powers, keeping her from using any kind of magic while the poppet was nearby. I knew better than to just bind the magic that she got from the Fae Morrigan—humans could use magic of their own, and I was pretty sure that Mom knew sorcery.

  Akasha and Dandelion watched without saying anything, but my sister was skeptical when I held up the result. She wrinkled her nose. “That’s creepy. Are you sure it will work?”

  I shrugged. “Only way to find out is to try it.”

  “Okay, but—” Akasha shuffled her feet on the ground. “I’m not sure that I know how to close the gate. All I’ve done so far is make it bigger.”

  Ashleigh smiled. “If you can change it one way, I’m sure it’ll work the other way, too.”

  Dandelion put his hand on Akasha’s shoulder. “And I’ll guide you through it. Don’t worry.”

  I hugged my sister tight. “All you have to do is try. We believe in you. Now, come on.”

  We went out the front door again, and I stopped to lock it behind us. Akasha looked back at our childhood home with longing.

  “Do you think we’ll get to live here again?” she asked.

  “It belongs to Mom, so I guess that’s up to her.” I checked the lock a second time and dropped the keys inside my bag. “But it’s never going to be the same as it was. You know that.”

  She sighed and looked down at the ground. “Yeah, I guess not. All this change is hard, though.”

  “We’re together again. We can get through anything.”