Faye’s queen-of-the-forest-faeries mother? I decided to start with my father.
“Remember, I told you Mike Purdy’s parents got killed in a car wreck the day of the Fruit Bowl Festival?”
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The light in Kizzy’s clear turquoise eyes faded a bit. “Sad,” she murmured. “So sad.”
“Mike found a letter in his mother’s safety deposit box. From his real father.”
“Oh, my!” Kizzy exclaimed. “Tell me all about it.”
I told her about Dennis McCarty’s visit and how Mike had flown to Ireland to trace his roots. I dug around in my purse, pulled out a scrap of paper and handed it to her.
“It has something to do with this. Can I use your computer to do some research?”
She reached for the glasses hanging from a silver chain around her neck, and placed them on the end of her nose.
“I see why your father went to Ireland. Ireland, of course, is the mythical home of the Tuatha de Danaan.” She paused and peered up at me. “What is it you want to know?”
My mouth fell open in amazement. I should have realized I didn’t need Google when I had Kizzy, a living, breathing encyclopedia of magic, right here in Peacock Flats, WA. Last year, she’d figured out Beck was a half-demon just by looking at him.
I grinned at her. “Well, according to the letter Mike found, his real father was an emissary from these people.”
When I said the word “people,” Kizzy’s eyes began to dance, a sure sign she was dying to tell me something. I had a hunch I knew what it was. “They are ‘people’ . . .
right?”
Kizzy looked like she was trying not to smile. “Not exactly.”
“So, what are they?”
“Faeries, Allie. They’re faeries.”
“No way,” I breathed. I hadn’t even told her about Melia, Chad, and Ryker. Geez, I was up to my neck in faeries. Then, Kizzy surprised me once again. “That boy you’re caring for . . . Chad?”
Even though I knew what was coming, I said, “Yes?”
“He’s a changeling . . . right?”
“So he says.”
“You don’t believe him? Trust me, he is a changeling. I knew the minute I saw him. He’s a faery.”
I sat in stunned silence, trying to piece it together.
Kizzy said, “Now, back to your original question. As the story goes, the Tuatha de Danaan came to Ireland—some say from outer space—and there they attempted to live peacefully. Highly skilled in the art of magic, they introduced Druid practices to the people of Ireland.” She paused and sighed.
“As always, dissension followed and war broke out. The Tuatha were defeated and went underground. Have you heard of faery mounds?”
I shook my head.
“Standing stones and faery mounds. Ireland is full of them. Your father is in the right place.”
I cleared my throat. “You might not believe this, but there’s more.”
Kizzy tilted her head to one side. “When it comes to magic, there’s very little I don’t believe. It’s about your mother, isn’t it?”
I launched into the whole Claude/Melia/Chad/Ryker story, talking non-stop until the words ran out.
Kizzy frowned and shook her head. “Entirely too coincidental, discovering both your parents have fae blood, one right after the other. There has to be a reason., Alfrieda Think, there must be a common denominator.”
Common denominator? Hmmm. I thought about my conversation with Ryker. Oops. “Um, Kizzy, did I mention Melia knows about the moonstone?”
Kizzy threw up her hands. “You most certainly did not! Well, there you go. Both sides of your 312
family have fae blood. Both know you have the moonstone, that you’re The Keeper of the Light.”
“But, what does it mean? Why now?”
Kizzy thought for a moment. “My best guess is that warring faery factions are moving toward some sort of final resolution. You and the moonstone are at the very epicenter of the conflict. All we can do is bide our time and see how it plays out. I know that’s not what you wanted to hear, but it’s all I’ve got.”
Opposing forces? Final resolution? The moonstone hanging around my neck was the common denominator in a battle among other-worldly faery kingdoms? Definitely too much to wrap my mind around. “You’re right. Not what I wanted to hear,” I said. “Guess I have no choice but to wait and see what happens.”
She nodded solemnly. “Follow your instincts, Alfrieda. You’ll make the right choices.”
Speaking of choices, I said, “Ryker wants me to go with him to Boundless.”
Kizzy gasped and her hand flew to her throat. “No Allie, you mustn’t. It would put you in terrible danger. Faeries cannot be trusted. This boy, did you say his name is Ryker?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sure he’s very handsome, am I right?”
I shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. If you like the biker-boy type.”
Kizzy hid another smile. “And, do you?”
Good question. “There’s something about him I don’t trust. He’s a little too . . . it’s like he’s trying to be, oh, I don’t know. There’s just something about him.”
Kizzy nodded. “He’s covered himself in faery glamour to hide what he is.”
“Oh, he told me about the glamour. The reason I don’t trust him is because I’m bummed out about the whole Junior/ Beck thing. I swear, Kizzy, I don’t know why, but my boyfriends keep bailing on me. There’s no way I’m getting involved with another guy. Especially if he’s a faery.”
“That’s my girl!” Kizzy held up a hand, palm forward. I slapped it. Gently. “You’re right to be cautious. Humans aren’t equipped to deal with faeries. Their heads get all muddled. You must never eat or drink anything in faery land, or you may not be able to find your way back.
“I wouldn’t even think of going if my grandmother didn’t need me. I should be able to trust my own grandmother!”
Kizzy thought for a moment. “Faery time is different than mortal time. If you go into the faery world, what seems like twenty minutes could be two weeks. How would you explain your absence?”
My hand flew to the moonstone. “The moonstone will protect me.” As I said the words, somehow I knew them to be true.
“You don’t know that for sure. You’d be taking a terrible risk.”
“What if I told you I can use the moonstone to stop time?”
If I thought I was incapable of shocking Kizzy, I was wrong. She gasped and pointed at the moonstone. “No, you did not!”
“Oh yes, I did!” I told her about turning the moonstone to a new setting and exposing it to moonlight. How the world turned silver.
Her face closed up. “Who else knows about this?”
“Just Chad. And Ryker. Apparently he was spying on us.”
“That’s not good. Chad is a child. He may accidentally tell somebody about it. As I said earlier, faeries are tricky. Ryker may try to use it to his advantage. We have the Trimarks to watch out for, too.” Her beautiful turquoise eyes brimmed with tears. “Oh, Allie, to think that I was the one who gave you the moonstone and started all this.”
I jumped out of my chair and gave her a hug. The last thing I wanted was to cause her pain. “Not 313
your fault. We both know the moonstone is my destiny. I can handle it.”
As I held Kizzy in my arms, she felt so frail and thin, it scared me to death. Maybe I made a mistake coming here and adding to her worries.
As if she could read my mind, Kizzy patted me and said, “I know you can, darling. And I love being part of your life. Please, don’t ever stop confiding in me.”
Before I left, I promised to keep her in the loop. When I got home, I parked the car. Instead of going inside, I sat under the apple tree to think. Kizzy and I hadn’t finished our conversation about me going to Boundless with Ryker. The whole “stopping the world” thing had sent us down a different path.
I picked up the moonstone and stroked its satiny surface. Wh
en I closed my eyes and felt its calming presence, I made a decision. I would let the moonstone guide me. I would do what felt right. I wanted to meet my grandmother, but, truthfully, I wanted to go on this journey for Faye. If somehow, someway, I could get Melia and Faye together, maybe Faye would be happy or, at least, less screwed up.
The pick-up was parked in its usual spot, so Faye was home, no doubt waiting for a call from Mr. Hostetler. I couldn’t hold back a huge eye roll at the thought. Once again, I spotted a red tailed hawk soaring over Blaster’s pasture. As I watched, it circled lower and perched on the old cistern. Ryker checking in?
The door to the trailer flew open and Faye stepped out. She slung a bag of trash into the garbage can before she spotted me. “Allie! I didn’t hear you drive up. Beck just called.”
I stood and brushed the grass off the seat of my pants.
“Don’t worry, I gave him a piece of my mind.”
Oh, great. Advice from the Queen of Bad Relationships.
“Um, what exactly did you tell him?”
With a breezy wave of the hand, she said, “Oh, nothing much. Just this and that. He wants you to call him.”
“Yeah, right, I’ll do that as soon as it rains frogs.”
Just as I uttered my bitter words, the phone rang.
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Chapter Sixteen
“Allie?”
“Yes,” I said in a crisp, business-like tone, hoping I sounded completely and utterly in control of my emotions
“How are you?”
“Just great.” I tried to keep my tone sarcasm free. Apparently I wasn’t successful, because Beck immediately replied, “What’s wrong?”
“Oh, gee, I don’t know. You tell me.”
“My mom called. She said she saw you at the fruit stand.”
“Yeah, and your sister too.” The real issue was hanging there, twisting in the wind. Why should I make it easy for him?
“Allie.” The way Beck said my name, so softly, so filled with tenderness, it put me over the edge. I knew what was coming and was powerless to stop it. My breath hitched in my chest and I made a little sound. I tried desperately to hold on to my anger, but hot, stinging tears welled up in my eyes and spilled down my cheeks.
“I need to tell you something,” he said in the same compassionate tone. I swallowed hard and tried to find my voice. All I could manage was a squeaky, “I already know.”
“You probably don’t know how much I love you, though.”
My anger returned, just in the nick of time. “You’ve got a funny way of showing it.”
“I met this girl,” he began. “She’s like me, a half-blood. She’s confused and hurting, like you were last year.”
I took a deep breath and fought to control my emotions. First and foremost, Beck was a healer. He was born with a gift and had been mentored by a shaman named Jed Nightwalker. Last year, I’d been a walking disaster because I’d caused a man’s death. Beck had chased away the nightmares and helped me regain my powers. I knew he wanted to go into medicine. It was his calling. But, dammit, I was the only teenage girl he was supposed to heal.
I found my voice. “So, how’s it going? The healing? Have you checked her for demon marks?”
Last year, Beck and shared a long, scorching hot kiss. Make that several long, hot kisses. As a result, I’d developed a demon mark on my palm. Since then, we’d figured out how to prevent that from happening by using the moonstone.
“Aw, come on, Allie. It’s not like that. I’m just trying to help her, that’s all.”
Unfortunately, Beck’s “helping” involved a lot of touching, and let’s not forget, his father was a lust demon.
When I didn’t answer, Beck said, “I’m not trying to make excuses, but when I saw you with Junior that day—the way the two of you looked at each other—man, I can’t compete with that.”
“So, this about Junior?” Geez, my voice had risen an entire octave. I made a concerted effort to lower it before saying, “You’re unbelievable! Junior and I aren’t even in the same country. I thought we were a couple, Beck. You and me. At least that’s what I thought until your sister told me you have a new girlfriend.”
Beck sighed. “Nicole’s full of shit, as usual. She was probably ticked off about something.”
Actually, she was ticked off at me, but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of being right.
“Okay, then.” Back to crisp and business like. “Anything else?”
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“I’ll call you again soon.”
“Oh, really? You probably won’t have time, what with all your classes and that new project of yours, you know, the girl you’re healing.”
That sounded so petty and jealous, I actually wanted to slap myself. Time to step up and be a big girl. I took a deep breath. “Sorry, Beck, that was nasty. Sure, you can call me. I miss talking to you.”
“I miss you too.”
I grabbed a paper towel and blew my nose, then cleared my throat. Even though I wanted nothing more than to end this conversation, I had to know. “So, this girl you’re trying to heal, she’s not your girlfriend?”
After a long pause—too long really—he said, “No, she’s not my girlfriend. I just want to help her.”
“You’re a good guy, Beck. If anyone can help her, you can.”
“Thanks, I was hoping you’d understand.”
I waited a beat before saying, “About Junior . . . ”
“What about him?” His voice held a tinge of belligerence.
“We do have a strong bond. He was my first boyfriend, the only person I could trust when I was in an impossible situation. We’ll always be friends. You get that . . .
right?”
“Yeah, I get it.” But I don’t have to like it hung in the air between us. Unspoken. When the silence became unbearable, I said, “I should get going. Talk to you soon.”
“See ya.”
I set the phone back in its cradle and swiped at my eyes
“You okay, Allie?” Faye called from her bedroom.
My throat was clogged with tears again. “I’m fine,” I croaked.
I had to get away before Faye could pop out of her room and start offering advice. “I’ll just be outside reading a book.”
I grabbed a book from the pile my English teacher, Mrs. Burke, had insisted I read this summer and headed outside. Dragging our ratty old lawn chair behind me, I headed for the apple tree, where I would sit and read and try to get my mind off Beck Bradford. The hawk that had been circling earlier, fluttered up from the cistern and perched on a fence post, its head cocked to one side. I waited a beat to see if it would morph into Ryker. When nothing happened, I opened my book and stared at the words until they blurred and danced across the page in a meaningless jumble. Concentrate, Allie, I told myself. Stop thinking about Beck and what’s-her-name. In my twisted logic, if I didn’t give her a name, maybe she didn’t exist. Yeah, right.
“Allie! What’s wrong?”
I looked up to see Ryker sitting on the cistern, twirling a russet feather between his fingers.
“Okay, I get it. You are the hawk. Or, the hawk is you. Which is it?”
He flashed his charming smile. “Which would you like it to be?”
I shrugged. “Don’t much care.”
“You look sad. What happened?”
“Don’t want to talk about it.”
“Whatever you wish. Let’s talk about going to Boundless.”
At this point, I’d probably have agreed to a trip to deep outer space. I just wanted to stop hurting.
“Okay, how do we get there? And, I need you to promise I’ll be able to come back.”
Ryker nodded once. “Absolutely. I’ll not only promise it, I’ll guarantee it.”
“How?”
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“An iron nail pounded in at the portal. Guarantees safe entry back into your world.”
“I have three questions. Why should I trust you? Where is the portal? And, since you
’re a faery, how can you be around iron here on the ranch?”
Ryker held up one finger. “You can trust me because I am indebted to your grandmother and want to repay her.” He flipped his hand over and pointed at the cistern.
“Question two: I’m sitting on it.” He pulled the human hair braided chain out of his shirt. “As for your third question, your grandmother imbued this chain with her magic.
It protects me from the effects of iron. Unfortunately, her powers have weakened, and it doesn’t last longer than twenty four hours. So, I have to re-visit Boundless every night.”
“How are you indebted to my grandmother?”
“My mother was in her court until Melia left Boundless to be with your grandfather. I was still a child at the time. When she left, she told me, one day, I would be a prince in the Seelie Court. She said a female of her lineage was meant to be my mate.”
“Um, and that would be . . . ?”
“You, Ava. She was talking about you.”
“No way! I’m just a regular human girl . . . ”
“Who can do magic,” he said.
“Well, yeah, but that’s because of the moonstone, not because my grandmother is a faery.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Pretty sure. What’s the Seelie court?”
“It’s complicated,” Ryker said. “But, to put it into simple terms, there are good faeries, those whose blood is pure, and dark faeries, the Unseelie, who accept all kinds into their court and mate with them.”
“What do you mean by those whose blood is pure?”
Ryker said, “The Seelie, like your grandmother and me, are true blood faeries. We haven’t a drop of mortal blood in our bodies.”
“Well, there you go. No way would I qualify for the Seelie Court, or whatever you call it. I’m mostly human.”
Ryker studied me gravely. “Is that what you think, Ava? What about your father?”
“Okay, the jury’s still out on my father, but my grandfather is most definitely mortal which, according to you, means I could not possibly be part of the Seelie Court.”
“Melia and I have had many discussions about this very thing. Your grandmother seems to think because of your, shall we say, special qualities, Luminata, queen of the Seelie Court, will make an exception in your case.”
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