by Gayle Ramage
It didn’t take long for Hattie to take down the rest of the menaces. Soon, a cluster of blue sat despondently in the centre of the room. One, however, found the energy to raise their middle finger to the humans, which Michael thought was rather rude.
Hattie flicked her hair from her eyes and beamed at him. ‘All done,’ she said brightly, throwing him the gun which he managed to catch in time.
‘Now what?’ he asked, hoping she wasn’t going to leave them there.
She answered by digging into her jacket pocket and fishing out what looked like a small ball of silver wiring. Whatever it was, it made the pixies react with a gasp. ‘Unbreakable chains. Once this is used to tie them up, they can’t escape. It wouldn’t matter if they used the sharpest axe in the world, it wouldn’t make a difference. Only the person who does the tying can break it. Don’t ask me how it works. It’s very rare, and not many people have access to it.’ She slowly unwound the ball. ‘I’ve only got it as I can be trusted not to misuse it.’
She got the pixies and hedgehog to eventually stand in a line. Michael watched, still holding the paintball gun as she carefully wound the wire around the group, tightening it only enough to keep the creatures together.
‘Does the paint come off?’ Michael asked, regarding the patches of blue around the attic.
Hattie glanced at him as she tied a double-knot. ‘Of course it does. The poor things won’t want to be constantly visible to others. I’ll find a stream once I get them back where they belong, and wash it out.’
‘You’re letting them go?’
Hattie got to her feet with a slight groan. ‘I don’t have the right to keep them, Michael.’
‘So, you’re not some sort of -’ He paused, trying to find the right word. ‘You’re not some sort of law enforcement officer?’ He noticed the smirk on her face. ‘Well, what are you then?’
‘I’m human. Just like you.’
‘But you know about pixies.’
‘And the rest.’
‘The rest?’
‘Pixies are just one of a thousand creatures that share this world with us,’ she explained. ‘They’re just pranksters, the pixies. Harmless, really. Just be glad you didn’t have to deal with Ice Giants or -’
‘Ice Giants?’
Hattie placed a hand on her hip. ‘Are you going to repeat everything I say?’
‘Quite possibly.’
‘Look, all you need to know is that all those creatures you used to read about as a child, they’re real. They’re as real as you and me.’
‘And you’re someone who can see them, protect us humans from them?’
She laughed. ‘God, no. I’m not some superhero, or anything. I’ve not got any special powers or magical swords. I’m able to see them, where most people can’t, so I sometimes have to mediate between different races.’
‘Are there others like you? That can see them? Or is it just you?’
Hattie shrugged. ‘No idea. I think there’s some out there.’
Michael stared at the ground for a moment. ‘This is a lot to take in.’
‘Then don’t.’ Hattie stepped towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder. ‘No one’s asking you to. You just got caught up in this. Go back to your wine and your children and forget this ever happened.’
‘I don’t think I can,’ he answered.
She beamed, giving his shoulder a quick squeeze. ‘Great! Then I can call on your help, now and again.’ She sauntered back over to the pixies, and picked up the end of the wire, keeping a tight hold as she gently pulled the group forward.
‘Wait a minute, what do you mean my “help”?’ Michael asked.
Hattie faced him again, the little band of pixies careering into the back of her legs. She didn’t seem to mind. ‘Oh, you know. The usual stuff. Keeping an eye on my house if I have to go away, picking up my post. That kind of thing.’ She smiled. ‘Why, did you think I meant something else? Did you think I meant help with the creatures?’
‘No,’ he lied. ‘House and post. Fine, I can do that.’ He glanced at his watch. It was almost half past eight. He’d told the kids to be back before nine. He didn’t want them to return home and ask why a red-haired woman was leading a group of blue-splattered creatures through their new home.
With a bit of a struggle, Michael and Hattie managed to get the pixies down the stairs and into Hattie’s car that was parked outside her house. The vehicle was an old yellow mini and, despite the size of the pixies, they wouldn’t fit comfortably into the boot. Instead, Michael kept a look-out as Hattie bundled them into the back seat instead.
Afterwards, Michael and Hattie stood by the car. Both had streaks of blue paint on their skin and clothes from where they’d come up against the pixies.
‘Good job this stuff does come off,’ Michael remarked, wiping his hands on his trousers.
‘Thanks for your help.’
‘I would say “anytime” but…’ He let his voice trail off, and smiled.
‘I’ll maybe see you around, then.’ She opened the driver’s door and slid into the seat.
‘So where are you taking them?’
‘These guys look like they belong near Exeter, so that’s where I’m taking them.’
‘Exeter? You’ll be driving for hours. You won’t make it before midnight.’
‘No, but the sooner I leave, the sooner I can get back.’ She put the key in the ignition, the engine growled into life. ‘Besides, if I kept them until the morning, they’d only keep me awake with the swearing and the singing. God, the singing…’ She shuddered. ‘Anyway, thanks again, Michael.’
‘No problem.’ Michael stepped back as Hattie pulled the door shut. Giving him a small wave, she pulled out onto the road and drove off. Michael watched until the mini disappeared from view, and then walked back across to the house, still trying to get his head around everything that had happened tonight.
The kids returned not long afterwards, laden with boxes of pizzas. Ingrid was cradling a litre-bottle of lemonade in her arms. They found Michael sitting in the kitchen, sipping a coffee. His laptop sat open in front of him.
‘Hello you lot,’ he said, leaning down to give his daughter a kiss. ‘How was Edinburgh?’
‘Great!’ Ben enthused, delving into one of the pizzas. ‘We walked along Princes Street, then went bowling. I won twice!’
‘Once. You won once,’ Ingrid corrected him. ‘Tom won twice.’
‘Yeah, but you nearly beat me, Ing,’ Tom said, tickling his little sister under the chin, making her giggle. ‘Thought you’d be hungry, dad, so we got pizza.’
‘So I see,’ said Michael, mouth already salivating at the delicious smells wafting from the cardboard boxes. He put down his coffee and went to retrieve some plates. ‘And you’re right; I am famished.’
‘Did you enjoy your peace and quiet, then?’ Tom asked, pouring the lemonade into four tumblers. ‘Bet you had a nice, boring evening.’
Michael glanced at the laptop screen, showing an article about pixies. ‘Yes,’ he replied. ‘A very boring evening.’
THE ENDAUTHOR NOTE
Thanks for reading the first story in the Edinburgh Elementals series. If you want to read of more strange goings-on in Edinburgh, the second and third book in the series are also available in ebook and audio book formats.
Tears of Gold
The Brisingamen Necklace - A necklace forged by four dwarves in ancient times. It is said that, if worn, you tears turn to gold.
The Brisingamen Necklace - A necklace currently residing in a glass display case, on a shelf, in the bathroom of an Edinburgh townhouse belonging to a woman called Hattie.
The Brisingamen Necklace - A necklace soon to be stolen from an unsuspecting thief.
Land of the Ice Giants
Hattie is a woman with great hair and the unusual ability to see all creatures of magic, whether they want to be seen or not.
On her way to visit the Ice Giants in the Scottish Highlands, nothing can disrupt Hattie'
s plans. Except an unreliable car. And a stowaway forest spirit...
The third book in the Edinburgh Elementals series.
MORE FROM THE AUTHOR
SCIENCE FICTION
Time Travelling Assassins
Cigs, Bolan & Strange Men With Guns
The Shoemaker’s Son
Quality Times
The Whispering Tombs
The Grandparent Trap
WRITTEN AS RK MOORE
Neighbourhood Witch (A Paranormal Romance)
P.A.S.C.OIf you enjoyed The Trouble With Pixies, you may like…
Foul is Fair by Chantal Halpin
Sam would prefer to stay concealed amongst the nobodies. She’s a witch with a dodgy past, hiding in the insurance claim industry. When a high-profile politician is threatened with having his Community position as a vampire exposed, she couldn’t care less. Sadly her boss forces her on baby-sitting duties and she unwittingly attracts the attention of a witch-hunter. While trying to protect her confidential client’s secret identity, she also has to fight her attraction to the pyromaniac hunter like a suicidal moth.
An Urban Fantasy short story of approx 2,500 words set in London.
Chantal Halpin lives in England with her family and their smelly rescue dog. She mostly writes Urban Fantasy and loves anything fanged, fae witchy or shifty. She is currently working on the Witch Hunter series which includes both Urban Fantasy and Young Adult stories.
Find out more about the author at:
http://www.wearegoingonawitchhunt.wordpress.com
