by E. G. Foley
“Jake! Jake!” He rapped on the surface of the painting and finally managed to get his cousin’s attention.
He came running down the hill as fast as he could.
Archie waited, relieved to see his cousin in one piece, but Nixie’s absence had put him in a state of dread. Jake arrived on the other side of picture frame, panting from his sprint.
“Are you all right?” Archie asked at once, even as he noticed that his cousin didn’t look so good. “What’s happened? Where’s Nixie?”
“Asleep.” Jake’s voice sounded muffled.
“Is she hurt?”
“Nah, she sprained her ankle, but she’s fine.”
Archie let out a sigh of relief. Then he reached into his vest and pulled out the map he had stolen and unfolded it. “I found you a way out. There’s good news and bad news.” For a second, Archie located the farmhouse painting in the diagram, then showed it to Jake, pressing the map up to the painting. “You are here.” He tapped the spot.
Jake leaned closer, studying the map. “What’s the good news? I could use some.”
“There’s an emergency exit in the silo next to that barn.” Archie pointed to the farm on the hill. “You’ve only got to go through one more painting to get out.”
“And what’s the bad news?”
“Uh, it’s the Hieronymus Bosch.”
Jake stared at him. “Of course it is. That’s just perfect.”
“I tried to find another way out for you. There isn’t one. It’s this or nothing. My guess is that they put it last to stop enemies from trying to sneak into the farmhouse scene through the back way. Nobody would willingly cross a Bosch landscape unless they had no other choice. The fellow was a thorough, raving loon-bat.”
“So what should I expect?”
“Oh, monsters, demons, scenes of eternal damnation. More or less.”
“Got it,” Jake said grimly, hands on hips.
Archie shook his head. “Be careful. Keep Nixie safe.”
Jake nodded, visibly bracing himself for the final leg of their journey. “Thanks, Archie. I knew I could count on you.”
“Of course. Good luck. I’ll be waiting for you in the gallery at my end of the Bosch when you come out.”
If you make it out alive.
A moment later, Archie watched his cousin trudge off to fetch Nixie for the end of their trek. His throat felt tight with anxiety as he folded the map up again, hid it in his vest, then allowed himself to wander off nervously, hands in pockets, only as far as the edge of the gallery.
Jake and Nixie would need a little time before they’d be in range, but Archie didn’t intend to go far, just in case they needed him upon making their reentry.
Wandering restlessly back out to the entrance hall, he was startled to see his sister heading into the ballroom once more, wearing yet another fancy gown—and a morose look on her face.
He hurried over to tell her about the latest developments. “Isabelle, this is no time for you to be flitting off to another ball.”
“Flitting? Do you think I want to do this? Mother’s making me. She says it’s imperative I make up for botching tea with the Queen today. Apparently running out of the room in the middle of a royal audience is rather frowned upon.”
“Ah, I suppose it would be. Listen, I found a map of the paintings…” He quickly explained.
Isabelle was thrilled to hear they were safe so far. “Maybe I can get out of here early if I make a good impression this time,” she said, nodding toward the ballroom.
“Well, if you can, I’ll be waiting for them out here. So come as soon as you can.”
“If I can’t get away, will you let me know once they’re out?”
“Will do. Hang in there, sis.”
Just then, Gladwin buzzed over to them. “Hey-ho!” the wee fairy said cheerfully. “Has anyone seen Dani O’Dell? I have a wonderful surprise for her!”
“Haven’t seen her in hours,” Archie said.
“What sort of surprise?” Isabelle asked.
“I was able to get permission for her to come to the ball tonight as a special treat!” Gladwin clapped her hands in excitement and twirled in a spiral, trailing golden sparkles.
“Oh, good!” Isabelle exclaimed. “That’ll make this thing more tolerable for me, too.”
“So where is the lucky girl?” Gladwin asked, beaming, as she hovered in midair, hands on hips.
“She went out to the zoo to visit Red,” Archie answered.
“Well, I’d better go find her, then! She needs to hurry and put on her best party frock! I didn’t think you boys would be interested,” Gladwin added, “so I didn’t bother getting permission for you.”
“No, no, that’s quite all right,” Archie assured her. “Jake won’t mind, I’m sure.”
“Where is that rascal, anyway? With Dani and Red?”
“Oh…he’s around here somewhere,” Archie said vaguely, brushing off a twinge of guilt for lying to Gladwin. What choice did he have? As a royal garden fairy, she’d be duty-bound to tell on Jake and Nixie for going in the paintings. He was not going to get his friends in trouble on top of everything else they had already been through. “I daresay he’ll be along at any moment.”
“Very well. See you in the ballroom, Izzy! I’m off to find Dani.”
“See you soon!” Isabelle waved, but when Gladwin had gone, she turned to Archie and whispered, “Is Dani really visiting Red?”
He shrugged. “That’s what she told me. Why do you ask?”
“You know I don’t like eavesdropping on the emotions of friends and family, but I couldn’t help but notice she was really angry all day about what happened with those shapeshifter brats.”
Archie snorted. “So was I.”
“You and I don’t get angry in the same way Dani does.” Isabelle shrugged. “Maybe it’s the redhead temper or something, but I have this sneaking suspicion that she’s planning something.”
“Like what?” he asked in surprise.
“I don’t know.” Isabelle shook her head. “Revenge.”
“Well, don’t ask me, I was in the library all day. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
Isabelle nodded after a moment. “Yes, you’re probably right. She wouldn’t do anything rash,” she said, but she looked doubtful.
“You can ask her what’s on her mind once Gladwin brings her to the ballroom. Oh, there’s Miss Helena looking for you.” He nodded toward the open doorway of the ballroom, where the elegantly dressed governess stood, beckoning to her charge.
Isabelle let out a sigh. “Here we go again.”
“Better you than me, sis.” Archie smiled ruefully, then sauntered back into the art gallery and began pacing back and forth, waiting for Jake and Nixie to emerge from the hideous Bosch painting.
# # #
Dani O’Dell had lied to her friends, knowing they could have no part of this.
In fact, she had not gone to visit Red. She had brooded on revenge all day, and now, under the cover of nightfall, the time had come to carry out her plan.
Though every drop of superstition in her Irish blood screamed at her not to do it, she dared step over the mushroom boundary into the fairy ring and was instantly engulfed in the hurly-burly of the infamous fairy market.
She stared all around her at the stalls, where non-human vendors were hawking their magical wares. Magical food was on offer, as well, but at least she knew enough not to take a bite or she might be trapped in fairyland forever as a slave or a changeling child, a fairy prisoner. Fairies, it was known, were very fond of children and would rather keep them small than let them suffer the pangs of growing up.
But Dani very much intended to grow up, and right now she had important things to do—clearing Jake’s name, for starters. She would not permit anyone to falsely accuse her best friend of this crime, and even more importantly, she intended to get back at the skunkies. Oh, they were going to be sorry by the time she was through with them…
Magical swor
ds on display in an armorer’s stall whispered to passersby with soft, metallic voices, but Dani didn’t want to kill her foes. That was a bit extreme. What she really wanted was a prank of some kind…equal in wickedness to what the skunkies had done to her and Archie today with their chemical attack.
“Pardon, sir. What’s that?” she asked at the stall of a magical chemist. He had pointy ears and funny goggles and wore a white coat. He looked over the edge of his counter at her.
“Why, that’s a jar of onion gas, love.”
“What do you do with it?”
“You twist the lid open and let the gas out. It creates a magnificent stink. You could clear out a stadium with that.”
“Hmm.” It would be poetic justice, but it occurred to her that skunk shapeshifters were probably immune to bad smells. She shook her head and moved on.
“Hullo, dearie,” said an old witch with a market stall full of potions.
Dani stared at her, instinctively afraid. The hunch-backed, wart-nosed crone in her hooded cape was not the sort of proud, patrician witch like old Lady Bradford. More the come-and-see-my-gingerbread-house-out-in-the-forest sort of hag. She gave Dani a toothless smile.
“And what is a clever little biscuit like yourself doing wandering ’round the fairy market, child?” the crone asked sweetly.
“Um, looking for a potion…or something?”
“Well, I have many magical solutions to everyday problems. Amulets and powders, spells for sale, too. You’re welcome to come and take a look.” She gestured at her countertop with a claw-like hand. “What sort of difficulty are you facing, might I ask?”
Dani took a hesitant step toward her. “Some shapeshifter children have been giving me and my friends a hard time.”
“Shapeshifters, hmm. I believe I may have something here…”
“I don’t really want to hurt them, per se,” Dani hastened to explain as the witch bent down behind her counter and began searching for something. “I just want to make them leave me alone. Put them in their place.” She paused, standing on her tiptoes, trying to see what the witch was doing. “It’s not fair, you know? Being harassed by magical kids when I’m just an ordinary human.”
“Are you, indeed?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Dani said. “The only thing that’s different about me is my ginger hair.”
The witch peered over the edge “Do you want me to fix it for you? Would you rather be a blond? Brunette?”
“No!” Dani said in alarm, clasping her hair protectively. “It may be different…but it makes me who I am.”
“Oh ho, and you like who you are?”
“I do!” Dani replied, only realizing it herself even as she said it. Even though she didn’t have magical powers. She looked away while the witch continued searching for something, mumbling to herself. What am I doing here? she wondered. This is probably a terrible idea…
“Ah! Here we are.” The witch placed a small silk pouch of something on the counter.
“What’s this?”
“Sticking Powder. You use it like fairy dust.”
“Throw it on a person?”
“Aye. If it’s just a prank you want, this will do the trick. It’ll keep those shapeshifters of yours stuck in between their human and animal form, which is always very embarrassing for their kind. They like being fully one or the other so they can blend in.”
“It doesn’t keep them like that permanently?”
“Only lasts an hour or two.”
A grin spread across Dani’s face. “I’ll take it.”
She paid for the Sticking Powder, though it cost her three weeks’ wages, and thanked the witch profusely, but forgot to ask the most important question: Does it have any side effects?
Eager to get the skunkies back, she put it in the pocket of her pinafore and marched toward the edge of the fairy market. Just then, a familiar trail of golden sparkles appeared ahead, and Gladwin came zooming out of the darkness.
“Dani! There you are!”
“Hullo, Gladwin,” she answered uncomfortably.
“What are you doing in here?” her fairy friend exclaimed. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you! You’re not supposed to be here. Don’t you know it isn’t safe? Jake had better not be in here with you.” Gladwin glanced around.
“No, he’s not. Why were you looking for me?”
“Because…I got you invited to the ball tonight!” She twirled in an eager circle.
“You did? Really? I can go?”
“Yes! Hurry, run and put on your best party frock and then you can join Isabelle in the ballroom.”
But, crestfallen, Dani halted her. “Thanks so much, but I’m sorry, I can’t go.”
“What?” Gladwin flew back to her, searching her face with a frown. “I thought that was all you wanted to do!”
“I did, but right now I have more important things to worry about.”
“Like what?”
“I promised to help clear Jake’s name for starters. I found out who stole the Queen’s flag, but I can’t take them on alone. They’ve got magical powers and I’ve none. So I came here to find something to help me even the odds a bit.”
“Oh, Dani, you should know better than that. Who stole the flag, anyway?”
She explained everything to Gladwin, who was most indignant on her behalf and Archie’s and Jake’s.
“Let’s go tell Lord Badgerton about this,” the fairy said at once. “They’re his niece and nephews. He can hand down their punishment himself.”
“No, Gladwin! I’m not a baby, I don’t want the adults solving all my problems for me. Don’t you understand? It’s bad enough that I always have to be the youngest. Doing that would only make me a tattletale, to boot.”
“Well, what do you want to do, then?”
“I’ve got to handle this myself. But believe me, I’ve got a plan.”
“Dani, what’s on offer here is not the answer to your problems, trust me,” Gladwin warned, gesturing at the vendors’ stalls.
Dani just shrugged, but said nothing about having bought the Sticking Powder.
“Will you at least let me help you? As a friend?” Gladwin asked.
“All right, but we have to do it my way.”
“Very well. What did you have in mind?”
“Come on,” Dani said. “I’ll show you.”
# # #
A short while later, Dani pounded her fist boldly on the front door of the skunkies’ suite. She was guessing their parents were at the same ball Isabelle had gone to, leaving the three little miscreants to their own devices.
Dani’s plan was simple. She would distract the skunkies while Gladwin sneaked in through the window and stole the Queen’s flag back. In truth, Dani would have liked to have done the stealing personally, but Gladwin was better suited for it, being a great deal smaller.
As soon as they had recovered the flag, they would bring it to the Elders and unmask the real culprits. Jake’s name would be cleared, so by the time he escaped the Enchanted Gallery, he would be pleased as punch to hear how she had saved his reputation.
It felt good to know that she could rescue him sometimes, too. Heaven knew he had often done the same for her. Why, just this past Christmas at the North Pole, Jake had stopped a great, stinking yeti from biting her head off like a lollipop. This seemed the least she could do for him in return. Besides, she thought with vengeful glee, I can’t wait to use the Sticking Powder on the skunkies.
Thankfully, Gladwin had never actually asked if she had bought any magical items at the market. Dani would not have wanted to lie to her. Gladwin would soon see the truth, but at least she could not technically accuse Dani of fibbing.
In any case, as Dani waited, heart pounding, she heard sneaky rustling sounds coming from behind door, along with decidedly guilty whispers.
“Who’s there?” one of the boy shapeshifters called from inside the suite.
“Our parents said not to open the door to strangers!” the girl chimed in
.
“Oh, we’ve met before,” Dani said in a hard tone.
The door swung open, and there they were.
“Well, well. Do you two smell something?” the girl drawled to her brothers, her nose twitching with hilarity at Dani’s expense.
“Very funny.”
“I see you finally made it back from the forest.”
“Yes, and I came to say you’re not going to get away with this.”
“Aren’t you brave?” one of the boys taunted. “Three against one.”
“Foolhardy,” his brother remarked.
“Stupid is more like it,” said the girl. She seemed to be the ringleader, adept at causing trouble.
“I’m not afraid of you runts,” Dani said. “But let’s try to be mature about this, shall we? I came to talk to you like civilized people.”
“That was your first mistake,” the taller boy said.
“Why did you steal Queen Victoria’s flag?” Dani demanded. “What are you planning to do with it?”
“I don’t think that’s any of your business,” the girl said with a sneer.
“Are you going to sell it? It’s probably worth a lot.”
“Why? You want to buy it, Spot?” the shorter boy asked with a mocking leer at her freckles.
“No, Stripe,” she replied to the skunk boy. “I’m just curious about how you pulled it off.”
They glanced at each other and couldn’t resist the chance to brag.
“It was pretty slick of us if we do say so ourselves…”
They all began talking at once, eager to show off and trying to outdo each other in describing their individual parts in scampering up to the roof of Merlin Hall, shimmying up the flagpole, keeping a lookout, and untying the ropes that had held the flag in place. Dani asked a few questions, pretending to admire them begrudgingly for their derring-do but really just keeping them talking and distracted.
Behind them, she could see Gladwin buzzing in through the open window and flying around the suite to find the Queen’s flag.
“You know you’re going to be in trouble if somebody finds out,” Dani pointed out.
“So?” the taller boy asked.
“We don’t get in trouble,” the girl informed her.
