Faery Tales: Six Novellas of Magic and Adventure (Faery Worlds Book 3)

by Phaedra Weldon

  “Leave her a note, and hope the drifters don’t mess with it?” There weren’t any good solutions.

  “You can’t stay here.” Zeg unplugged the netscreen and began winding up the cords. “I’ll take the system down. You go get your stuff.”

  Tam turned, moving like he was underwater, and started gathering things up—his clothes, a couple books, a battered teddy bear.

  He stood there for a moment, arms full of his possessions.

  “Here.” Marny grabbed one of the blankets off the couch and spread it out, then took the teddy bear and set it in the middle. “Anything from the bedroom?”

  “Yeah.” He blinked, clearly trying to focus. “Picture album, jewelry box.”

  “Go get them.”

  Tam laid the possessions on the blanket, then headed for the bedroom.

  “I’ll take this lot to the car,” Zeg said, arms full of the netscreen setup.

  “Good,” Marny said.

  The sooner they got out of there, the better. She undid the locks for her uncle, then turned back to the living room. Korr was still rummaging around in the kitchen, filling a plastic bag with protein bars and anything else that caught his eye.

  Tam came back out of the bedroom, carrying a few small items and a green dress that probably was his mom’s favorite. Wordlessly, he added them to the pile on the blanket, and Marny twisted it up into a bundle.

  Uncle Zeg bounded up the stairs and into the living room, his hair wild and frizzy.

  “Hurry,” he said. “There’s something happening at the end of the street.”

  Probably the smoke drifters gathering. Marny gave Tam a hard look. Whether he was ready or not, they had to go.

  Korrigan hopped down from the counter, dragging the plastic bag behind him.

  “Let us away,” he said, sounding like this was the best adventure ever.

  Which, considering he now got to leave the tiny house and see more of the mortal world, it probably was.

  “Anything else?” Marny hefted the bundled blanket over her shoulder.

  “No,” Tam said. “Wait—there’s a brand new Zing sim system downstairs.”

  Uncle Zeg shook his head. “Hopefully the drifters won’t think of the shop—or be able to break in. We’ll come get it tomorrow.”

  “Once we repair the window, we can bring everything back,” Tam said.

  Marny wasn’t so sure. The drifters were persistent, and dangerous. It would take more than a few days for them to calm down and slide back into their smoke dreams. Weeks, maybe. And where would Tam live in the meantime?

  “Come, come,” Korrigan called impatiently.

  Through the open door, Marny could hear the rumble of voices borne on the chilly air.

  “Marny, ride with me,” Uncle Zeg said, starting down the stairs. “Tam, you and the changeling go with Roy.”

  “But—” Tam started to protest.

  “Git ’im!” a rough voice cried from the street. “They’re taking the loot!”

  “GO!” Zeg shouted, pulling Marny with him down the stairs.

  She leaped over the broken tread, and at the bottom of the stairs glanced back at Korrigan. She didn’t like to leave him, but he’d be all right with Tam.

  “Quick,” her uncle said.

  Down the block, the drifters were coming toward them, carrying torches. Looked like Uncle Zeg’s flamethrower had given them some unfortunate ideas.

  “Hey,” Roy stuck his head out the window of his grav-car, parked right behind Zeg’s guzzler. “What’s going on?”

  He shot a glance at the approaching drifters, and went pale.

  “Start the car,” Tam called, clearing the last step.

  Marny was glad to see Korrigan right beside him. She sprinted to Uncle Zeg’s vehicle and wrenched the passenger door open. It screeched loudly, and the lead drifter, Skeever, lifted his head, his crazed eyes fixing on Marny.

  “Over there, ijidts!” he yelled, shaking his torch toward the cars.

  The drifters surged forward, their torches leaving oily smears of light against the darkness.

  “Get in,” Uncle Zeg said, then whirled. “All of you, go!”

  “Tam, hurry!” Roy yelled, sliding the passenger-side door open.

  Marny buckled in, her fingers clumsy with fear. The drifters were almost on them, dammit. Why was Tam just standing there, staring down the street with that look on his face?

  He turned to Uncle Zeg, expression tight with anxiety. And hope.

  “My mom’s out there,” he said. “I have to get her.”

  Uncle Zeg paused, halfway in the car. “I’ll help.”

  “No. Get Marny out of here. Meet us by The View.”

  Tam and his drastic heroics. She scowled at him and started to unbuckle her seatbelt.

  “Young lady, you stay put,” her uncle warned.

  He glanced down the street, then, with a low curse, threw himself into the driver’s seat and slammed the door. The guzzler started with a coughing roar, and he accelerated forward. The drifters started yelling. One of them grabbed a chunk of concrete from the street and flung it at Roy’s car. It left a dent in the shiny red finish.

  “We can’t just leave Tam,” Marny said to her uncle.

  “We’re not.”

  Uncle Zeg spun the wheel until they faced back toward the drifters. He thumbed on the high beams, and the mob halted, squinting. Tam picked up Korrigan and threw him into the back of Roy’s car, the bag of protein bars clutched to his chest.

  The leader of the drifters lunged and grabbed Tam’s arm as he got into the grav-car.

  “No!” Marny cried.

  Uncle Zeg gunned the engine and the guzzler shot forward, but Skeever was already collapsing on the ground. She didn’t know what Tam had done, but it had been effective.

  Roy’s car roared to life, and he skidded around into a U-turn. Sudden alarms and flashing lights split the air, and the drifters milled, confused.

  “Roy’s car alarm,” Uncle Zeg said. “Good move. Now hold on—we’re out of here.”

  “But Tam’s mom…”

  She watched, heart thumping in her throat, as the grav-car reached a slight figure in a yellow coat. Tam reached out and pulled her into the vehicle.

  “They got her. And they’ll catch up.”

  The night cracked again, this time with the sound of a gunshot.

  Uncle Zeg accelerated hard, leaving the scorch of burning rubber behind. Marny swiveled in the seat, checking to make sure the red car was behind them.

  A searing flash of light made her wince and blink. Then came a chest-rattling whump as Tam’s house went up in flames. The blue tarp on the roof melted and curled from the gasoline-fueled fire racing over the building. The drifters had brought Molotov cocktails.

  And now Tam really had no home to return to. Her eyes burned with smoke, with tears.

  Once they got out of the Exe, Uncle Zeg drove quietly, taking the streets that led to The View. Halfway up the final winding road to the compound, he pulled over and killed the engine. The silence of the night pressed in around them.

  “So,” Uncle Zeg said. “Tell me about the weird creature.”

  He’d been remarkably calm about encountering Korrigan—but then, he wasn’t ruffled by much. And they’d had more pressing issues at the time, like dealing with the smoke drifters.

  “That’s Korrigan,” she said. “Tam’s brother was stolen by the faeries, and they left a changeling in his place.”

  “And you ended up as his babysitter?”

  “Someone had to watch the little guy while Tam’s in-game.”

  Uncle Zeg turned in the seat to look at her.

  “You didn’t feel like mentioning any of this to me?”

  Marny shifted with discomfort. “Tell you that faeries are real? Would you have believed it?”

  “Yes.” His voice was clear with honesty.

  “I’m sorry. But everything’s been happening so fast.” She let out a breath.

  “Tam
and Jennet’s odd character disappearances in the Feyland beta testing aren’t just glitches, are they?” he asked.

  “No.”

  She didn’t say any more. The fact that Tam and Jennet were entering the Realm was their secret to spill.

  Uncle Zeg tapped his fingers on the wheel. “I won’t press you, though I suspect tonight will provide some answers.”

  “What’s Tam going to do?” She could voice her worry to Uncle Zeg. “His house is toast—literally.”

  At least he had his mom, and a few of their most prized possessions.

  Uncle Zeg scratched his beard. “The apartment behind my place has been empty since Grandma Tina passed.”

  “You know Tam won’t take charity.”

  “It’s not charity if he works for it. The place needs cleaning up. And he could do some jobs for me at the simcafe too. Don’t worry, I’ll make it comfortable for him to accept.”

  Marny nodded with relief. Tam and his family had a place to go. He might be too stubborn to agree on his own behalf, but he’d do it for his mom and the Bug. Provided they got the kid safely out of the Dark Court. Her stomach tightened with worry. What if they couldn’t? Tam’s life was dire enough without that fear hanging over them like a tornado poised to strike.

  Her uncle glanced in the rearview mirror. “Here comes Royal.”

  Headlights illuminated the inside of the car as Roy pulled up behind them. Marny opened the passenger door, wincing as it squeaked again. She grabbed the blanket filled with Tam’s stuff.

  The door of Roy’s grav-car slid open.

  “Special View taxi at your service,” Roy said, getting out and waving to the back seat. “Everybody in. We all need to go to Spark’s.”

  “I figured something along those lines,” Uncle Zeg said, clambering into the back. “I’m sure the gate guards wouldn’t let my car through this time of night.”

  Tam was in the front seat, his mom on his lap. She looked small and fragile, her gaze unfocused as though she wasn’t seeing at the real world at all, but some dream inside her head.

  Marny put Tam’s bundle on the floor, picked up Korr, and then squeezed in beside Zeg.

  “Crowded in here,” she said. “And no, Korr, you can’t sit on my lap.”

  He made a face, but didn’t protest as she set him down in the middle of the backseat floor. There wasn’t much room there, between the bundle, her legs, and Uncle Zeg’s, but the changeling would be well hidden from curious humans. Like the guards at the gate.

  “We’ll be at Spark’s in a minute,” Roy said, getting back in the car. “Sit tight.”

  “Like we have any other choice,” Marny said.

  At least wedged in like this, they wouldn’t go flying when Roy took the turns too fast.

  The grav-car slid under the plas-metal arch of the view, the guards waving them past without a second glance. Guess the CEO’s son could zip in and out any time he liked.

  Marny stared at the perfectly landscaped lawns and large houses. The View was so artificial looking. Nobody real lived that way—no toys in the yards, no weeds in the lawn, no character or color anywhere.

  “What’s the plan?” she asked Tam.

  He turned his head, one arm still cradled protectively around his mom. “The beta team has to go in-game to rescue my brother. Tonight. We were going to use the vid Roy made of Korrigan to convince everyone, but…” He shrugged.

  “Nothing better than the actual creature,” Marny said.

  She patted Korrigan on the shoulder. The shape of his bones felt strange under her hand.

  It had been a wild night, and was getting wilder. She was thankful she didn’t have to sim into Feyland with the team. There were enough of them that she wouldn’t have to force herself onto a sim system—though if she really had to, she would. The thought made her shudder, and she distracted herself by counting up the beta-testing team in her mind: Tam, Jennet, Roy, Uncle Zeg, sim-star Spark Jaxley, and…

  “Are you seriously going to ask Jennet’s dad to come with you?” she asked.

  “We have to.” Tam didn’t sound happy about it. “We need everyone. And Jennet has been trying to tell him about Feyland for months now. Maybe he’ll finally believe her.”

  Marny hadn’t met the man, but he seemed rigid in his opinions.

  Then again, they had Korrigan.

  “Here we are,” Roy said, pulling up to an enormous mansion.

  The place rose into the night, at least four stories of glass and steel. Behind the building, the lights of Crestview were spread out like a twinkling blanket. Marny looked, finding the smudge where the Exe glowed with a few sullen lights.

  They all piled out of Roy’s car, Tam carefully leading his mom, while Korrigan scampered out. For a second, Marny thought the changeling was going to throw himself on the lawn and roll around like a dog, but he managed to restrain himself.

  “Okay, everyone—behave.” Roy said.

  Marny suspected he was mostly talking to Korrigan. And maybe Zeg, who liked to mess with authority. She sent her uncle a half smile, which he returned. No matter how crazy or stressful, this was a prime adventure.

  The huge front door swung open at their approach. Probably cameras and sensors all over the place, up here at the top of the compound. A blank-faced security guard stood sentry, and behind him Marny glimpsed a warmly-lit entryway and spacious hall.

  “Hi,” Roy said. “We’d like to see Spark.”

  “I’ll inform Miss Jaxley you’re here,” the guard said. “Wait in the great room.”

  He flicked his gaze to Korrigan, and though his expression didn’t change, Marny saw the flicker in his eyes. She hoped Spark’s people were discreet.

  Roy beckoned them all in, then led the way down the hall, clearly comfortable with the mansion’s layout. They passed a table holding a vase full of white lilies, their sweet smell perfuming the air.

  What a crazy parade they were. Arrogant gamer boy up front, Tam and his totally spaced-out mom next, Marny after them, trying to keep Korrigan from darting into the side rooms, and Uncle Zeg in the back, big and fuzzy.

  The great room was, well, huge. Two-story windows on the far wall looked out over Crestview, the orange city glow washing out the sky above until only a few stars showed through. Tam steered his mom to one of the tan couches at the side of the room. She sat, staring out the window, and Marny hoped she wasn’t completely lost. Surely she was inside there, somewhere, and would wake up soon.

  Uncle Zeg stood by the door, and Marny took her place beside him. Neither of them wanted to make themselves comfortable. Not until they knew what was going on, and where they fit in.

  Roy grinned at Korrigan. “Take a seat,” he said, pointing to the big couch in the center of the room.

  Obviously he wanted the changeling to make an impression the second Spark walked in.

  Korrigan gave him a toothy smile, then hopped up and squatted on the plush upholstery. He looked wild and matted and dangerous, incongruous in the middle of the fancy mortal trappings. Give him a carnivorous forest, or a treacherous stream, and he’d be right at home.

  Did he miss the Realm? It was hard to tell, he was such an irascible creature, but Marny thought maybe he did, despite the lure of protein bars. Certainly he didn’t belong in the human world.

  Brisk footsteps approached, and Spark Jaxley appeared at the door. In person, she looked just as prime as the gaming posters featuring her image—same bright magenta hair, same intent, intelligent gaze.

  She paused and raised one eyebrow when she saw them all gathered in the room. Then her gaze found Korrigan, and the other brow rose.

  “Well,” she said. “This is interesting.”

  The changeling stood, his clawed feet gripping the couch, and made her a bow.

  “Well met, milady,” he said in his scratchy voice.

  “I take it you’re not from around here,” Spark said.

  Marny pursed her lips in approval of the gamer girl’s calm reaction.

>   “He’s from Feyland,” Tam said. “I know it’s hard to believe, but the game connects our world to the Realm of Faerie. Which, as you can see, is real.”

  Spark’s mouth firmed, her eyes narrowed in thought. “There have been some strange things in that game, I’ll admit. Things not even prime-level programming could achieve. So does this mean that faeries are overrunning the earth? Should we be freaking out?”

  “Not yet,” Tam said. “But things might get dire.”

  Zeg leaned forward, absorbing Tam’s words.

  “What are we going to do about it?” Uncle Zeg asked. “I presume the beta team is going in-game. Then what?”

  “Then we hope we get lucky,” Roy said, a twinge of bitterness in his voice. “Tam and Jennet have apparently managed to score an epic sword and talk to the guardians between the realms, or something like that.”

  Tam gave Roy a serious look. “It wasn’t all fun and games.”

  “Speaking of Jennet,” Spark glanced around, “where is she?”

  Spark slowly walked around the couch, keeping an eye on Korrigan, and then leaned against the back. Marny moved into the room, too. No point in standing around awkwardly, now that it was clear Spark wasn’t going to throw them out.

  “Jennet should be on her way over,” Tam said. “With her dad.”

  “Her dad?” The surprise was clear in Spark’s voice.

  “There’s no other way for us to get into VirtuMax headquarters and onto the sim systems,” Tam said. “We need Mr. Carter’s help—and his access codes.”

  “Like Zeg said, then what?” Spark asked.

  “We’ll make a plan,” Tam said. “As soon as they get here.”

  “We’re here,” Jennet said from the doorway.

  She glanced at Korrigan still crouching on the plush tan couch, then swallowed and looked back at her dad. Marny mentally crossed her fingers. She’d never met Jennet’s dad, but his actions spoke plenty loud.

  “What the hell is that?” Mr. Carter stopped, one foot over the threshold. His expression was a mixture of confusion and revulsion as he stared at the changeling.

  Marny studied Korrigan. She’d gotten used to, and a little fond of, his bulbous eyes, the slash of his mouth filled with sharp teeth, and the unlikely arrangement of his limbs. But he was still a revolting, otherworldly creature.