by Linda Jordan
Lassair looked down at her hands.
“Many of them have withered away,” she said. “I’ve been told that when Faerie was closed, the energy from outside was shut off. The elders who disagreed with the closing went off on their own, became solitary, not passing on their skills. The elders who chose to shut Faerie off found that the energy didn’t flow like it used to. It had an end, like never before. Their old magic began to fail and they lost the desire to create new magic which would work within those limitations. They concentrated on glamour, it was easier than doing deep magic, like you did the other day, Meredith. I was lucky enough to have been taught by one of the elders before she withered away to silence. She still sits in the fire in our village, but never moves or speaks.”
Lassair stopped speaking. Aine hugged her mother’s arm.
“I wonder if the boundaries falling will revive the old magic,” said Meredith.
“That would be something to see,” said Skye.
“Something indeed,” said Fiachna.
Chapter 42 ~ Dylan
Dylan woke to find a woman dragging him from the water and onto the shore. His fist was wrapped around a tree root. The root broke off and came along, still in his hand.
She was really strong.
He instinctively pulled free of her and got to his feet, staggering on the shore, trying to come back to the world.
“Are you okay?” she asked. “I thought you were drowning.”
“I’m fine. I was just sleeping.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Sleeping in the water?”
He nodded.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard about anyone who slept in water. Especially cold water.” She paused, then said, “Well, there are those floatation tanks, but they’re shallow and warm water.”
She wore khaki shorts, a spring green T-shirt, socks and hiking boots.
She looked away from him, probably embarrassed by his nakedness. Humans could be that way sometimes.
Sitting down by a daypack, she took off her boots, emptying out the water. Her long blondish brown wavy hair was tied back in a low ponytail. She was quite the loveliest human he’d ever seen.
His hands itched to paint her.
She reached into her pack and pulled out dry socks.
“I’m really sorry,” she said, taking off her wet socks.
“Sorry for what? Trying to save me?”
“Sorry for disturbing you. It’s so annoying when people interrupt you, or wake you up.”
“Thank you for the intent,” he said.
She looked at his face, obviously avoiding looking at his naked body.
“Are you sure you’re okay? You look a little pale.”
“This is my normal color,” he said.
Then she stared harder with those big brown eyes. He could tell she noticed his long braided, grassy hair, slightly larger than normal eyes and then the webbed feet and hands.
She backed up on the grass, trying to quickly put her dry socks and boots on.
“I’m not going to harm you.”
“You’re not human.”
“No, I’m not,” said Dylan, sitting down in the soft grass of the bank. Close enough to talk, far enough not to be a threat.
She stopped panicking and tied the laces of her boots.
“What are you then?” she asked.
“I’m Fae. A water sprite.”
“That’s not possible,” she said, shaking her head.
“Well, I’m here, so it obviously is. You touched me, pulled me from the water. I’m flesh and blood, just like you.”
“But Fae don’t exist. Faeries don’t exist.”
He just smiled at her.
“I can’t believe this is happening. I’ve been wandering around and found this area which wasn’t on my map. I should’ve stayed back at the hotel and done the work I was supposed to do.” She paused and said, “Now what happens?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never been in this position before.”
“Ookaay. Maybe I’ll just stand up, pick up my pack, turn around and walk back the way I came. Pretend this never happened.”
“You could do that,” he said.
“And you wouldn’t try to stop me?”
“Why would I do that?”
“Some human men would.”
“Some would. Even when I spent time in human form, I was never one of those unevolved jerks.”
She cocked her head and looked at him, “You spent time as a human? Why?”
“I was curious about humans. And there were political reasons I didn’t want to stay in Faerie.”
“Someone was trying to kill you?” she asked.
“Nothing so dramatic,” he said. “I just didn’t like what was happening. I chose to go out into the world instead.”
“I didn’t know Fae could do that. Crap, I didn’t even know you existed. And why do you have an American accent if you’re here, why not Irish?”
“I’ve spent the last thousand years as a human in the U.S. Where are you from?” he asked.
“I live in Seattle, but I was born in Colorado. I’m on sort of a working vacation.”
“I lived on the Oregon Coast. Until recently.”
“When you say on the coast, do you mean literally?”
“I was a human, renting a vacation cabin. Not in this form and I didn’t live in the ocean.”
“Wow,” she said, shaking her head as if in wonder. “Just wow. A thousand years?”
Dylan nodded. He probably should consult Egan about talking to a human, but then again, this was how Faerie should be opened. One human at a time.
“You know you’re inside Faerie?”
“How did that happen?”
“We had some problems with invaders. All our boundaries are down. They won’t be going back up again.”
“Why?”
“Again, it’s politics. Times have changed. Those in charge have changed.”
“So, it’s not a magic thing. Do Fae do magic?” she asked, picking up her wet socks and beginning to roll them up.
In response he made her socks dry out instantly.
“Oh,” she said. “You can do magic. I see. So why would you lock yourselves away?”
“I wouldn’t. That’s part of the politics. It’s rather complicated. And humans haven’t always been so blasé about magic as you are. It used to be a burning offense. Remember witches?”
“Yeah. Still, why shut away until now? This is the 21st. century.”
“Politics. And not all humans are living in this century, are they? Not even all Americans are.”
“No, I guess you’re right. So, what happens next?”
“I don’t know. My name’s Dylan, by the way.” He held out his hand.
“I’m Solange.” She got on her knees, leaned over and shook his hand.
“You’re still wet,” she said.
“I’m a water sprite. I exude water as well as contain it. It’s normal.”
“What happens when you’re being human?”
“I look and feel like a human.”
“Huh,” she said, staring at him as if she were reevaluating him.
“Would you like to see more of Faerie?” he asked.
“Would I be able to leave?”
“Yes, whenever you wanted to. Those old stories, they were about the time when Faerie was closed. It’s wide open now.”
“So, no tricks.”
“No tricks. When you want to leave, I’ll escort you back here, so you can find your way back to wherever you’re staying.”
“No kidnapping or me being gone from the real world for a hundred years?”
“No. And although you’ve never seen it, this is part of the real world too.”
She sat silently for a couple of minutes.
Dylan looked around him. He saw a pair of dryads dance past, notice Solange and disappear in the trees.
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll come.”
Solange stoo
d, closed up her pack and shouldered it.
Dylan slid to his feet and they walked through the meadow grass towards the palace. He pointed out a few of the beings only seen in Faerie. Butterflies who flew backwards. Purple hummingbirds that fed from yellow flowers he didn’t know the name of. An occasional dryad nurturing the trees.
There were others, but they were either too shocked or too shy to come out and be noticed.
They walked through the dappled shade of the birch trees. Then the sunny meadows filled with bees flying between white apple flowers. The blossoms were lush looking and the bees seemed happy.
The scents of Faerie seemed stronger with Solange, the colors brighter. Everything had more life. He’d lived over fifteen hundred years and never noticed apple blossoms. But then he’d never been with a human in Faerie.
He loved watching her reactions to seeing the magic which existed everywhere in Faerie. His eyes followed the emotions which flickered across her face, the melody of her laughter.
Was it because Faerie had been opened that the magic was coming alive again? Was it because of the energy that Lassair had transferred to him? He had no idea.
But it felt wonderful.
They walked half of the morning before coming to any dwellings. An earth spirit in one of them had left tables of freshly baked bread out in front. A gift. There were bowls of honey and jam to spread on the bread, as well as butter. And a pitcher of cool mint tea with glasses.
He and Solange stopped. Dylan didn’t usually eat bread, he preferred fish. But he made an exception this time. He spread the soft brown bread with butter and honey. It tasted glorious, the rich and sweet flavors mingled together in his mouth. And the smell was divine.
“I’ve never tasted anything so good in my life,” she said.
He sipped the tea and the mint danced around the lingering taste of butter.
Dylan bowed at the earth spirit who stood peeking out from behind a tree. He bowed back in return. Solange did the same. The earth spirit hesitated, then bowed back at her. Then disappeared back into his home made of columns of willows grown together into walls.
They continued on towards the palace. Since Egan had been made Luminary the center had changed. There were more stone houses. And more massive fires lit in empty spaces. Few stood around the fires, Dylan guessed they were all inside. It was as if Egan had brought fire back into balance with earth, air and water. That could only be good.
At the base of the hill upon which the palace stood a crowd had gathered. A huge new courtyard had been created between the stone road through town and the upper courtyard with the vault.
This courtyard was bordered by a ring of water over which bridges passed, although there were also places to wade through the water for those who chose to. Then a ring of tall, stately trees, Dylan guessed they were trembling poplars, but he wasn’t that good about tree names. Inside that circle was a stone gathering place. A pillar of fire blazed in the center of it.
The courtyard was filled with Fae. He and Solange crowded in. The surrounding Fae were too busy looking at the center to pay attention to a stray human.
Inside the fire, on a large stone, stood Egan. He shimmered in the blaze and kept turning so that he could face everyone at one time or another throughout his speech.
“Many of you were made uncomfortable or were even perhaps injured when I first took over as Luminary. I regret that. The spell to imprison the Fomorians went wrong and all the elements were imbedded inside me. They’ve been released and I can now get to work.”
He continued. “With the breaking down of our boundaries and the opening of Faerie, we must come up with a strategy of presenting ourselves to the world. We have many advantages that humans don’t and we must be careful not to harm them. It’s also crucial that they not come to fear us. They have enough weapons to wipe out the entire earth. And their politicians are not always wise enough to set weapons aside. We must find ways to live in harmony with our neighbors. These are not the same people as when Faerie was closed a thousand years ago. Nor are we the same. I believe humans have a great deal to offer us and we have as much to offer them.”
“I’m asking those of you who wish to go out into their world and work as ambassadors to please come see me. There are several of us who’ve spent the last thousand years in the human world. We have ideas and information that you may find valuable. I’m also asking that should you find humans wandering into Faerie, that you show them kindness. Help them to find the way out or guide them to someone else who can help them find what they need.”
“We have a lot of work to do. And a great deal of dreaming. To discover what we want Faerie to be now and in the future. I wish to bring Faerie into the present day and to regain what was a golden age for us. I need your help. We need the wisdom of the elders and the vitality of the young. Please feel free to come to the palace and talk with me. Once we were a people who believed ‘Do no harm.’ I hope as our powers increase through the re-opening of Faerie that we can again embrace that discipline. Faerie was closed out of fear. Let us never again act out of fear.”
Many of the Fae cheered at this. Others remained silent. Dylan guessed those were the ones who still felt afraid.
The crowd began to break up and disperse. Out of the trees flew hundreds of ravens, who Dylan knew would repeat Egan’s word to all those in Faerie.
Many Fae now noticed Solange’s presence and were shocked. Some vanished or fled. Others gave a polite bow and left. Still others lingered, following her and Dylan up to where Egan stood, now out of the flame and on the stone courtyard.
Dylan had no idea what to tell Egan.
He simply knew that he wanted to stay with this woman.
And not just to paint her.
Chapter 43 ~ Egan
Egan stood in the new courtyard which was quickly emptying. He’d given them some things to think about. The breeze blew through the poplars, making their leaves whoosh and rattle softly. The sun shone down on the remaining Fae skin, leaving the air perfumed as if by exotic fragrances.
His mouth still reeled from the taste of Lassair’s peppers which he’d eaten just before the speech. She’d been roasting again and had agreed to teach him pepper lore.
Egan noticed the human woman with Dylan immediately. Dylan was looking at her as if he couldn’t take his eyes off her. It reminded Egan of the way his glassblower friend still looked at his partner of thirty years. The man had been completely besotted by his wife. And she with him.
Egan had never heard of or seen a Fae look like that. Humans yes. But then Dylan had spent a lot of time with humans.
Many Fae came up to him after the speech, asking what they could do to help. He had a schedule of gatherings in his mind. Tonight was for those who wanted to help within Faerie, help around the palace. Tomorrow morning was for those who wanted to plan how to work with humans. Tomorrow afternoon was for those who wanted to go out and do the work with humans. Tomorrow evening was for those who wanted to rebuild Faerie. The next morning was for those who wanted to work on a permanent spell to contain the Fomorians.
In between all those meetings he planned to meet with individuals, Fae who needed or wanted to work alone. Or those who just wanted to talk with him.
Finally, most everyone had left except Dylan, the human, and a group of Fae who were obviously curious about her.
“Egan, this is Solange, Solange this is Egan, our Luminary.”
Egan bowed at her and she returned the gesture.
“What brings you to Faerie?” he asked.
“I was out hiking and I saw Dylan. I thought he was drowning and I pulled him out of the water. But he was only sleeping.”
Dylan said, “I thought she might like to see more of Faerie. And to meet you.”
“And what do you think of Faerie?”
“It’s amazing. And you’re all so different.”
“So are humans.”
“I don’t think so.”
“There’s huge differen
ces between Northern Europeans, Africans, Pacific Islanders, Native Americans and Australian Aboriginal peoples.”
“That’s true, but it seems like there’s more, just between the two of you.”
“We are opposites,” said Egan. “He’s water and I’m fire. But we’re much more alike than we are different.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” she said. “I can’t see it.”
“Perhaps you will with time,” said Dylan.
“What does that mean?” she asked, looking at Dylan with an obvious suspicious look on her face.
Dylan said, “Well, now that Faerie’s open, more of us will be coming out into your world. Humans will have more exposure to us.”
“Oh.”
Egan smiled. That hadn’t been what Dylan had meant, but it was a good save.
“Three nights from now is the Solstice. We’re having a celebration. You’re welcome if you’d like to come,” said Egan.
“What sort of celebration?” asked Solange.
“Music, theatrics, dancing, wine, food. The best that Faerie has to offer.”
“Hm. I might just do that. Is it clothing optional? I’m not very good at nudity.”
“No. On Midsummer we always dress. We wear the most ornate costumes we can make or find,” said Egan. “And this Midsummer will be the most extraordinary in a very, very long time.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Because we’re alive and in Faerie,” said Egan.
Dylan smiled at him and then at Solange.
Egan looked up to see Meredith, Fiachna, Skye and Adaire had joined the crowd.
This would indeed be a celebration to remember.
About the Author
Linda Jordan writes surprising characters, funny dialogue and imaginative science fiction and fantasy worlds. She creates novels and short fiction, serious and silly. Her main themes revolve around healing and transformation.
She’s fascinated by nature’s peculiarities, mythology and spirituality, what makes humans (and aliens) tick, political systems and the creation of music and art. She loves including all this and more in her stories.
In another lifetime, Linda coordinated the Clarion West Writers Workshop as well as the Reading Series for two years. She also spent four years as Chair of the Board of Directors during Clarion West’s formative period. She’s worked many other jobs, more than she cares to count. Eventually, she fled the city to live out among the tall cedars.
