The Wherewood

by Gabrielle Prendergast

  I think about this. It still seems to me that it might be worth it. Oren frowns at me. He knows what I’m thinking.

  “Humans,” he says, shaking his head again. “Always willing to risk so much for so little.” Before I can protest, Oren calls a servant over. “Find Blue Jasper somewhere comfortable to sleep. And see that he does sleep. He’ll need to be rested for his journey.”

  I want to prove to Oren that I’m not just an annoying, predictable human. So I go with the little servant without complaining. A few minutes later I’m in the most comfortable bed I’ve ever known. I lie there watching the magical stars on the ceiling. They twinkle through the tree branches. My eyes get heavy. I wonder if this is magic or if I’m just tired.

  In under a minute I’m fast asleep.

  Chapter Three

  The breakfast feast is nearly as big as the dinner feast. Finola and Salix stuff themselves on little blue eggs and bright purple porridge. Oren gives me a box of toaster waffles. Then he uses magic to make a tiny fire in a teacup. I toast my waffles over it with a fork.

  Two servants bring me a giant silver tray. There is a small can of orange soda on it. Everyone watches me drink it. They cheer when the bubbles make me burp.

  Mealtimes are weird in Faerieland.

  After breakfast Oren sees us off at the castle gate. He has decided Indigo will go with us.

  “I’ve looked at the Faerie laws,” Oren says. “Blue will go with Salix to the entrance of the Wherewood. I believe the Woods will see that as your pact fulfilled.” He frowns at Indigo. “After that, Indigo will escort Blue back to the human realm. While he’s there he will stop in at—” He turns to one of his guards. “What is the name of that place?”

  “Garden Depot,” the guard whispers.

  Oren nods. “Ah, yes. Garden Depot. Indigo will stop there and buy me a new rosebush.”

  Salix laughs. He quickly covers it by pretending to cough.

  While Finola and Salix check their supplies, Oren takes me aside. When no one is looking, he presses something into my hand. I look down. A sword and scabbard shimmer into view. The ghost sword!

  The ghost sword is visible only to the person using it. Back when Finola was a swan, and I commanded her by using her full name, she had to grant me three wishes. After I’d turned her back into her original form, I commanded her some new clothes. Finally I asked her for an invisible sword. That was the ghost sword. I used it to help defeat Olea. But I didn’t feel comfortable carrying it. I really don’t like any kind of violence.

  I gave the ghost sword to Oren. Now he’s giving it back to me.

  “A loan,” he says. “I hope you won’t need to use it. You’ll only be in Farwood and the Crosswood, but still. I want you to be safe. Indigo can bring the sword back to me.”

  “Thank you,” I whisper.

  We set off, slipping by magic back into the Crosswood. Then we continue on foot. Hours pass. Indigo chatters away about nothing. I notice that Salix and Finola sometimes walk holding hands.

  “Are you together?” I ask finally. “Like a couple?”

  “Yes,” says Salix.

  “No,” says Finola.

  “Forget I asked,” I say.

  Indigo snorts with laughter. It’s nice to see that romance is just as dumb in Faerieland as it is in the human world.

  It’s nearly dusk when Salix spots something through the dense trees.

  “There it is!” he cries.

  Indigo starts running.

  “Stop!” I yell, chasing after him.

  He’s still ahead of me when we reach a clearing in the trees. On the other side of the clearing is an old VW van. It’s tangled in a dense hedge. It looks a lot like the one Mom used to have. Hers was pale blue. This one is bright yellow.

  Indigo yanks open the passenger door. He climbs in.

  “No, Indigo!” Finola yells.

  The door slams closed behind him.

  The three of us arrive at the clearing together. Salix and Finola trip on a tree root. They go flying. I keep running. When I reach the van, I tug the door open.

  “Indigo!” I yell. It’s dark inside the van. Indigo is probably hiding in a corner somewhere. I climb in. The door slams behind me. The door on the other side of the van opens. Indigo is standing outside. The forest around him looks different. I don’t pay much attention to it though. I jump out and grab his arm.

  “Don’t run off like that,” I say angrily. Last time Indigo ran off (with Violet), Oren kidnapped him. And Olea nearly killed Mom and me. I’d rather not repeat that.

  I turn to drag him back through the van.

  But the van is gone.

  “What the…?” I say.

  I spin around, dragging Indigo with me.

  “Cool!” Indigo says. “We’re in the Wherewood.”

  “Great,” I say, rolling my eyes. “But where is the van?”

  “The van is the way into the Wherewood,” Indigo says happily. “But once you’re in the Wherewood, you can’t get out. Not until you find what you’re looking for.”

  “I’m looking for the van!” I shout.

  “I don’t think it works that way,” Indigo says.

  I gaze around at the trees. They look weird. Not right. I don’t want to go too far. I look at the tree closest to us. It seems to have keys instead of leaves. When I look down at my feet, I see the ground is made of something soft. I crouch to get a closer look. It’s clothes! Jackets and sweaters and mittens!

  “What exactly is the Wherewood?” I ask. I realize I should have asked this before.

  “It’s the place where lost things go,” Indigo says lightly. “There’s loads of lost stuff from the human world here. Ooh, look! I found a Frisbee!” He flings it away. It sails through the trees and disappears.

  I spin when I hear a noise behind us. My hand grabs the hilt of the ghost sword. There’s a ripple of light. I step in front of Indigo. But it’s only Finola and Salix. They pop out of thin air like bubbles and tumble onto the ground.

  “Ah,” Salix says. “This is awkward.”

  “Has Indigo explained about the Wherewood?” Finola asks.

  “He has,” I say. “I sure wish I’d had the information earlier.”

  They stand, brushing lost bus tickets off their knees.

  “Oren is going to be so angry,” Finola says.

  “It’s my fault,” Indigo says. He shrugs. “But Oren is always angry at me, so it doesn’t matter.”

  I close my eyes for a second. I know how Oren feels. “How does this work exactly?” I ask. “How does the Wherewood know what you’re looking for? And what happens when you find it?”

  Salix rubs his chin with one webbed finger. “I’m not sure how the Wherewood knows. Some kind of magic, I guess. But I’ve heard that once you find the thing you’re looking for, it just kind of…lets you go.”

  “You feel it,” Finola says. “I came here when I was little. I was looking for a bracelet I lost. Once I found it I felt…light. And then I was able to use magic to slip back into the Crosswood.”

  I think about that for a moment. “So the Wherewood won’t let me go until I find…what? The entrance to Merwood? Or will I have to go into Merwood itself before I can get out?”

  Salix and Finola exchange another look. I hate it when they do that.

  “What is it this time?” I ask.

  Salix’s green skin goes pink again. “Merwood is a different kind of wood,” he says.

  “Different how?” I ask. I’m sure I’m not going to like the answer.

  Salix hesitates. “It’s…uh…kind of underwater.”

  Chapter Four

  “Underwater?” I say. “How can a wood be underwater?”

  Indigo makes a face. “Have you looked around? How can a tree have keys instead of leaves? How am I standing in a suitcase full of Grand Canyon T-shirts? This is Faerieland.”

  Indigo digs through the suitcase of T-shirts as Salix tries to explain.

  “The Faeries of Merwood are
Nixies—water Faeries. The forest we live in is flooded. The roots and the lower parts of the trees are all underwater.”

  “So…you’re like fish?” I ask.

  “More like frogs,” Salix says. “We absorb the oxygen in water through our skin. We can stay underwater for a long time. But not forever. Only a few hours.”

  “Cool,” I can’t help saying. This is another Faerie skill I’d like to have. I’m an okay swimmer. But if I could stay underwater for a long time, I could hunt for sunken treasure and stuff.

  Finola huffs impatiently. “The point is, the entrance to Merwood might be underwater. If it’s deep underwater, Blue could drown.”

  Salix’s face falls. “Yes, I just realized that.”

  “Maybe the Wherewood will release me before that,” I say. “Maybe I won’t have to go all the way into Merwood.”

  Finola looks worried. “Maybe. But if it doesn’t, you could be stuck in the Wherewood forever. Unless you get into Merwood. Where you could drown.”

  Great choices. “What about you?” I ask. “Won’t you drown too? Or Indigo?” I’m starting to get really angry with Salix. He shouldn’t have brought us here.

  “I can use magic to breathe underwater,” Indigo says. He’s now wearing a Grand Canyon T-shirt that’s at least five sizes too big for him. It goes down to his knees. “For a while anyway. Oren showed me and Violet how. He didn’t want us to drown in the castle pond.”

  “Yes,” says Finola. “I know how to do this too. But that magic won’t work on you, Blue. You’re human.”

  I groan. I’m frustrated. As usual. I turn to Salix. “What if I commanded you?” I ask. “Using your full name?”

  Salix’s eyes widen. “But you don’t know my full name,” he says. “I—my mother told me never to tell a human my full name.”

  “I know Indigo’s full name though,” I say. “What if I commanded him?”

  Indigo tilts his head to the side. “That might work,” he says. “You could command me to turn you into a frog. But how would I turn you back?”

  “I’d command you again, of course,” I say.

  The three of them fall silent. Their faces grow very serious.

  “But Blue,” Finola says. “How would you command Indigo if you were a frog? Frogs can’t talk.”

  I get a sudden chill. Faerie magic is so dangerous. What if I’d commanded Indigo to turn me into a frog without thinking of this? Would I have been stuck as a frog forever?

  “Okay,” I say, concentrating. “What if I just commanded Indigo to make me so I could breathe underwater? I wouldn’t have to be a frog.”

  The three Faeries look at each other.

  “I wouldn’t do that,” Finola says. “Unless you were very specific, the magic could go very wrong. It might choose to make you a fish or an eel.”

  “Or a sea slug,” Indigo suggests. “Or a lobster!”

  “Okay. I get it,” I say. “Bad idea. But isn’t there some way to do it safely? A way to make it so I can breathe underwater?”

  “Well,” Finola says, “we could find a witch. Witches have much better control over their magic. And they can make potions and spells that wear off.”

  A cool breeze suddenly blows around us. It makes the keys tinkle on the trees. It gives me another chill. Finola looks up at the sky. She frowns.

  “Where are we going to find a witch?” I ask nervously.

  Salix looks grim. He shines his little lantern into the dark trees.

  “Witches love the Wherewood,” he says. “They find all sorts of lost things for their spells and potions in here.”

  “That’s right,” Finola says. “If we stay here long enough, chances are, a witch will find us.”

  We decide to venture deeper into the Wherewood. The going is rough. The forest floor is made up of shoelaces and socks and lunch boxes. Every few minutes I almost trip or get tangled in something. Indigo wanders ahead. He keeps exclaiming whenever he finds something interesting.

  “Hey! It’s an iPod!” he says at one point. And then, “Look! This baseball is autographed!”

  Finally, when my nerves are about to snap, Indigo yells, “I FOUND MY YO-YO!”

  When I catch up to him, he’s dancing around, waving a cheap plastic yo-yo in the air.

  “I’ve been looking for this for ages!” he says.

  He jumps up and down. A cool breeze ruffles his golden curls. I can’t help but laugh along with him. He looks so happy.

  As he settles down I hear a dog bark.

  “What was that?” Salix asks. He takes Finola’s hand again.

  “It sounded like a dog,” I say.

  “A dog?” Finola says. “There are no dogs in the Faerie Woods.”

  I think about that for a second. “This one must be lost,” I say. “That’s why it’s in the Wherewood. Right?”

  The dog barks again. Closer this time.

  “This way!” I shout, following the barking.

  A few minutes later Indigo and I find the dog. It bounds up to me happily, wagging its tail. Taking a closer look, I see the dog is a girl. She’s large, brown and shaggy. Though she’s not wearing a collar, she has an envelope in her mouth. There’s a name and address on it.

  “Mrs. Rosa Guzman,” I read. The address is in a city not far from where I live. “Poor puppy,” I say, ruffling the dog’s ears. “Are you lost?”

  The dog barks.

  “Let’s call her Rosa,” Indigo says.

  “Good idea.”

  Turning, I see Finola and Salix hiding behind a tree.

  “Don’t be scared,” I say. “She’s friendly.”

  Finola and Salix step forward slowly. Rosa sniffs them. She wags her tail. I tuck the envelope into my pocket. Maybe I can take Rosa back to the human world with me. I could return her to her owners.

  Salix pats Rosa’s back.

  “She’s so soft,” he says. “I heard dogs had spines like dragons.”

  “No, they—what?” I say.

  “I heard they breathed poisonous gas,” Finola says.

  Indigo and I look at each other. He shrugs.

  “I mean, her breath does kind of smell,” he says.

  I dig into the carpet of lost things on the forest floor and come up with a studded belt. Using my ghost sword, I cut it shorter and turn it into a collar for Rosa. Then I find a long skipping rope. I tie that to the collar as a leash. Now Rosa is ready to travel with us. At least she won’t get lost again.

  I’m not sure which direction to go. No one else seems to have any idea either. But Rosa starts to tug on her leash. So we follow her. She takes us into a darker part of the forest. We try to stick close together. Salix holds up his lantern to light our way. We end up on a narrow path through dense trees.

  Suddenly a tall man appears out of nowhere. He’s wearing a long, gold-trimmed blue coat. His hair is white and curled at the ends. And he is pointing a huge silver sword directly at us!

  “Halt!” he yells. “Halt in the name of the Thirteen Colonies!”

  We halt. Salix holds his lantern up a little higher.

  “Who is this?” he asks.

  “I’m not sure,” I say, squinting up at the man. “But I think it might be George Washington.”

  Chapter Five

  “That’s General George Washington to you, young sir,” the man says.

  “General?” I ask. “Not president?”

  “What?” he snaps.

  “Never mind,” I say.

  The man’s body shimmers a bit. I can see right through him for a second. Is he a ghost?

  “Halt!” he shouts again. It’s as though he’s just noticed us.

  I look around at the others. I expect things in the Faerie realm to be weird. But this is extra weird.

  “I think I know what’s going on,” Finola says. “Last time I was in the Wherewood, I met two men. They were arguing about who would arrive in London first. And something about a slow train from Oxford and a fast train from York.”

  “Bri
tish spies, no doubt,” George Washington says.

  Finola ignores him. “The men started talking about how far it was. And how fast the trains would go. Then they came up with an answer and poof. They disappeared.”

  I scratch my head. Something about her story sounds familiar. “Wait,” I say. “That sounds like a math problem.”

  “I get it!” Indigo says. “It’s homework. Lost homework.”

  “Exactly,” Finola says. “Like you humans do at school. Someone loses their homework. It shows up here in the Wherewood. Kind of a ghost.”

  George Washington glares down at me. “Are you a patriot?” he asks.

  “Oh…I’m not sure,” I say.

  “Can you tell me the locations of the British forts?” he asks.

  I try to remember my history homework. “Uh… north?” I say. I probably got that wrong. But this isn’t the real George Washington, so I don’t think it matters.

  “Not helpful,” he says. “I intend to march south. What say you to that?”

  “Yes! Good idea,” I say. “Head south and…cross the Delaware River!” I can’t believe I’m having a conversation with George Washington. But maybe if I give him the right answers, he’ll let us pass. That seems like the kind of dumb thing that would happen in Faerieland.

  “The Delaware River, you say?” He seems to think about it. “Are you trying to trick me? Is it a trap?”

  Gah! I wish I had paid more attention in history class. Was the Delaware River a trap? I don’t even know. “Maybe you should ask one of your advisers,” I say. Then I struggle to remember any names from the American Revolution. “Like…Alexander Hamilton!”

  George Washington shimmers again. He goes transparent.

  “Halt!” he repeats for a third time, raising his sword.

  Indigo snorts with laughter. I’m glad someone is having a good time.

  “Any ideas?” I ask.

  Finola and Salix both shrug. “Maybe we could just go another way,” Salix says. “Or find another path.”

  We turn around. But we don’t get more than a few feet. Two horsemen gallop toward us. They stop their horses. Now we’re surrounded. Salix lifts his lantern up. I get a better look at them. My heart sinks.