No Such Luck

by Jaclyn Weist

  “Okay. Will you go get them? And tell Louie that I want to hold a council?” I shoved my slippers into my bag. I wasn’t about to let those go to waste.

  She nodded and disappeared. I went through my closet to figure out what clothes to pack. Gowns would stay here. No reason to take them with me. Except maybe the gold one. I placed my hand on it and used both my luck and magic to shrink it down. If I couldn’t get it to go back to the right size, Maddie would have a really pretty dress for her dolls.

  Beth pushed the door open and dropped onto her bed. “We’re going to Atlantis?”

  “No. The mermaids hate me, and Colin wanted to avoid getting me killed. But we’re going through Atlantian tunnels.” I grabbed Beth’s bag out of the closet and tossed it over to her. “Take only what you came with, and then some food. I want to hurry.”

  While Beth packed, I told her everything Colin and Alleya had said. She pulled the strings on her bag tight and sat on her bed. “No wonder Colin wanted to get into the meetings so badly. They wouldn’t let anyone in but Jared, Adam, and me. Even Louie and Ethan had to sit out. Frankly, I’m worried about how things will go here while you’re gone. They’re already trying to take your power, and you were just lying in bed.”

  I slid my backpack on and winced at the dull ache in my ribs. “Sounds like it’s a good idea that I called a council, then. Who’s causing problems?”

  “Puck. Of course.”

  I grumbled and headed for the throne room. Puck sat in the throne, but jumped up when he saw me coming. His smile didn’t meet his eyes. “Hey, Puck. I’m pretty sure we already had an agreement that I was the queen. Remember?”

  He bowed slightly. “Aye. And I also remember that you were near dying and needed someone to take over.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Oh, give me a break. I was hardly near dying. Now get back with everyone else.”

  Jared came in soon after, holding his bag, and Adam followed. When everyone was assembled, I stepped up onto the dais.

  “I just wanted to bring you all together to let you know I’m leaving. There are events happening in the human world that are worrying me. I also have a way of breaking down this barrier on the outside that won’t necessarily work here.” Not to mention, the wand was there. “While I’m gone, no one is to go against my rules or you will be punished. To take my place, I’m putting together a group of leaders. Galan, Ethan, and Donella. I would invite Cam, but I’m assuming he’d rather come with us. Puck, you will be over the armies in Adam’s absence, but if you do anything to harm the fairy world, you’ll pay when I get back.”

  I’d thought of putting Louie’s family in charge, but knew I’d need them with me, along with August and April. The crowd murmured to each other as I turned and left. Cam ran to catch up with us.

  “Hey, Cam. I’ll meet up with you in a moment. I need to talk to Louie.”

  “Perfect. I’ll let them know you’re on your way.” He smiled and jogged down the hall.

  I crouched down to talk to Louie. “I want you to come, but it’s totally up to you. There’s an item I need out there, and this is the only way to get it. You three have helped more than anyone else, so I understand if you want to stay here.”

  “You know we’ll do everything we can.”

  “Even travel through underwater tunnels?” I knew they were part fairies, and I hoped it wouldn’t affect them as much. Kinda like I hoped it wouldn’t affect me.

  Louie paled, but he nodded. “To the ends of the earth.”

  I reached out and hugged him, and then Eoin and Patrika. “Thank you. Come on. We need to get going now.”

  The group of Atlantians were standing at the pond when the rest of us got out there. They smiled and were polite, but I could see the distrust on some of their faces. I knew Alleya and Exander were mermaids, and I wondered who else was.

  Colin led us down into the tunnel a few people at a time. I went first with Adam, Jared, Beth, and Louie’s family. The walls were clear, and we could see the water on the other side. Fish, and other small creatures would swim up to the tunnel to study us, and then leave again. I could get used to this. Louie, Patrika, and Eoin looked a little pale, but I hoped it was because of the lighting. April perched on my shoulder, while August stayed with Jared.

  When Colin caught up to us, he grinned and turned to face everyone. “Ready to go home?”

  The Atlantians cheered, the sound echoing off the walls.

  “Great. Once we get near, you can all head back to Atlantis, and I’ll continue on with these guys.” Colin pulled out a few miniature motorbikes and ran his hand over each one. They grew in size until they were big enough for us to sit on. “Figured we could make this trip go faster. Two of you should be able to fit on each of them.”

  “You just happened to carry four bikes in your bag?” I looked down at the one he’d given me. “And where did you get them from?”

  “Technically, I only brought one, but Alleya and I figured out how to replicate them. A few hundred times.” He grinned and nodded toward the army behind us.

  Each of the Atlantians had their own bikes and settled onto them.

  “Fair enough. Also, you’ll have to teach me how to do it sometime.” I sat down on one and had Patrika climb on behind me. Louie went with Jared, and Eoin went with Adam. Beth had August and April sit with her on her bike.

  “Let’s go.” Colin climbed on, and Alleya climbed on behind him.

  We started down the tunnel, passing through ponds, marshes, and large areas of dirt. Where there was no water, it was dark, but the motorbikes had headlights on them.

  “Normally we’d have nice lights through here, but we needed to hurry, and I can only carry so many lights in my bag. We’ll get more as we get into the ocean.”

  I nodded so he’d know I heard him, but didn’t say anything. It was too loud, and quite frankly, I worried that we would make the walls collapse. Patrika clung tightly to my shirt, and sometime during the trip, she leaned her head against my back. When her grip began to loosen, I called out to Colin to stop.

  He slowed, and I put my brakes on. When I looked back at Jared, I could see that Louie and Eoin were having the same issues. I grabbed a blanket from my bag and threw it to Colin. “Do you think you could replicate that?”

  “Probably. Why?” He felt the material and ran his hand over it. When he was done, there were two.

  “I need a way to keep these leprechauns on the bikes.” I ignored the exhaustion that was beginning to creep into my body. I pulled on my luck, hoping it would make up for the magic.

  He made several more blankets and then climbed off his bike. “Let’s take a short break. Everyone, grab your lunches.” He took his food out of his bag.

  “Why are we stopping? We just started a few minutes ago.” I pulled out an apple that Nessa had given me and threw another one to Beth and the others. Beth held on to Patrika until I was off the bike, then we laid her on the ground to rest. Louie and Eoin went onto the ground by Jared and Adam.

  Colin gestured toward the tunnel wall. “We’re out of the fairy world. That’s why your friends passed out. Plus, I can see you need a break as well.”

  “Thank you. So where are we?” I stared up at the earth around us.

  “I don’t know. Probably somewhere around Texas.” He took a bite of his sandwich.

  So close to home. I was torn between going straight to my house and going to find the wand. But when I brushed the gold hair out of my face, I knew I wasn’t quite done. I wanted things back to normal. I took a bite of my apple, but didn’t taste any of it. When Colin told us it was time to move on, I shoved the apple core into a bag and put it into my backpack. I just needed to keep going, and I could sleep when this was all done.

  I took one of the blankets and made a sling, then picked up Patrika and laid her in it. She was stockier than I’d expected. Maddie was taller by a few inches, but probably twenty pounds lighter.

  “Here, trade me. You’re injured, remember?” Beth lai
d the fairies down over the scooter seat, and I pulled the sling off my neck and slid it over hers.

  I made another sling, then picked up the fairies to set them inside, while Jared and Adam did the same for Eoin and Louie. Once everyone was situated again, I started the motorbike. “Okay. Let’s go.”

  “You sure you’re okay?” Colin asked.

  I nodded. “Yes. I think.”

  “Let me know when you need to stop again.” He faced the front and continued on. As the earth around us got darker, Colin seemed to speed up. Glimpses of water and earth passed by quickly until suddenly, it was all water. At first it was shallow enough that we could see the sun above us, but we began a steep descent until we rode on the ocean floor.

  “Welcome to the Atlantic Ocean.” His speed continued as we passed by the wreckage of old ships. Sharks and other creatures I’d never seen before swam around us. An hour passed, and we came to a fork in the tunnel. He stopped and turned around. “Okay, here’s where we separate.”

  We scooted over so the army could get around us. Most smiled as they went by, but there were a few suspicious glances. Once they were all past, Cam stopped. “I was going to head home with the rest of my group, but I can’t leave you like this. You don’t want to admit it, but I’ve seen you nearly fall off your bike a couple of times now.”

  He took Louie from Jared and put the sling over his shoulders. “This way, you can rest.”

  I wanted to argue, but he was right. I leaned the bike against the tunnel and climbed on behind Jared, then wrapped my arms around him.

  “I’m liking this trip better already.” Jared laughed.

  “Me too. Just don’t let me fall off.” I yawned and laid my head on his back.

  Colin shrank my motorbike and put it in his bag before turning back to us. “You ready? We’ll go through to Egypt and then take a smaller tunnel to Stonehenge. That’s about the closest I can get you.”

  “That’s perfect. Thank you.”

  Colin continued on, and I held tightly to Jared. I watched the scenery as we traveled, drifting in and out of sleep. There were a few different tunnels that led off from this one, and it amazed me that Colin knew where he was going. It was probably another hour before the tunnel began going uphill and the water around us lightened.

  We stopped several minutes later and Colin climbed off his bike. “We’re going up an escalator of sorts, so we’ll need to shrink the rest of your bikes. You should start feeling better once we’re on the surface.”

  I climbed off the bike and readjusted the sling that carried the fairies. We watched as he shrank the rest of the bikes and put them in his bag, and then we headed over to the stairs. These steps were smoother and seemed to be made of glass. When we stepped onto them, the steps started moving. I leaned over the side to see a slide coming down.

  “Man, you guys think of everything.”

  “Well, the Atlantians been down here for several centuries, so that tends to help.”

  My energy slowly returned, and soon Louie and Patrika stirred before squirming to get out of their slings. It was another few minutes before Eoin, woke up and we were able to get him out as well. The fairies slept on, and I was beginning to get a little worried about them.

  At the top of the escalator, there was a door above us with a stool to step on. Colin went first and put his hand on the door to activate it. He lifted it just a few inches and peeked out, then lifted it the rest of the way.

  “Okay, it looks like the area is closed for the night.” He climbed out first, and then we pulled up the leprechauns.

  The summer breeze blew cool on my face as I stood and waited for the others to climb out. I knelt down and laid August and April on the grass. It took a couple of minutes, but soon they stirred and opened their eyes.

  “We’re here.” I helped them up. “You feeling okay?”

  April yawned and nodded. “That’s the best I’ve slept in months.”

  “I feel refreshed as well. Thank you.” August bowed and then took off up into the sky.

  “I need to get back home if you don’t need anything else,” Colin said from behind me.

  I hugged him and then Alleya. “Thank you both so much for all your help. Sorry Adam wasn’t able to teach you how to use the bow.”

  Colin waved it off. “It’s fine. I wouldn’t use it much down there anyway. I don’t want to pop the bubble around the city.”

  Beth laughed. “That wouldn’t happen. Um, right?”

  “We wouldn’t survive if it was that easy to break.” Alleya hugged her and then climbed back down into the hole.

  As soon as Colin was down inside, we closed the hole and stared up at the sky filled with stars we recognized.

  “Anyone else want to run screaming through the field that we’re free?” Jared asked.

  I raised my hand. “Me. I do.”

  Louie shook his head. “Humans. You’re not safe yet. The fairy world is now without a queen, and while you set up the council there, it will not appease the people for long. We need to get the wand and return as soon as possible. We’ll need you to help transport us to Scotland. We’ve never been to the place you want to go, and our magic isn’t up to what it needs to be.”

  “Okay. I can do that.” I pulled my phone out of my pocket and flipped the pictures until I found one of the throne room. “This is what it looks like. And then just know it’s Edinburgh Castle.”

  “Aye. Thank you.”

  I took Jared’s hand, and everyone else joined in. I closed my eyes and pictured the room I’d been in just a few weeks before, then pushed us there. The travel was a little rougher since it included three different kinds of magic, but we made it.

  A small tour group stood in the room, talking quietly as they studied the crown jewels in front of them. I was thankful that to them, the leprechauns and fairies were invisible. We let go of hands and smiled when the group moved away from the jewels to go to the next room.

  One or two people jumped, but otherwise, they didn’t say anything to us. I checked my watch. The castle should have closed already, so hopefully this was the last group through.

  I leaned in. “Everyone, just act natural. Look around at the castle like you’re tourists and then meet back here after the castle empties out. We can’t get caught or we’ll be stuck here all night.”

  Louie crept toward the glass display case where the crown, staff, and sword sat on a satin sheet. The wand sat in its own display case on the wall nearby. “This is it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Jared, come here.” Louie motioned him forward. “I’m not about to just sit here until we get caught. You have one chance. Use your ring to call for the wand, and then be ready to disappear.”

  Beth sighed. “You ruin all the fun. I was looking forward to crossing another castle off my list.”

  “That’s what I’m here for. Ready, Jared?”

  We grabbed hands again, and he reached out to the call the wand to him. It wiggled for a moment before disappearing and reappearing in his free hand.

  “Go!” I closed my eyes, and we transported back to Stonehenge. The trip was a little rougher, but we made it with wand in hand. Well, wand in Jared’s hand.

  Jared examined the wand and pointed it toward one of the stones. “It feels like there’s magic in here, but I can’t be sure.”

  “You’re the only one who can find out. Do something simple, like moving this stone.” Louie picked up a small rock and held it out.

  Jared pointed the wand at it, and instead of picking up the rock, he picked up Louie and moved him several feet away. “Sorry. I concentrated more on your hand than on the rock.”

  Beth and Adam stared at Jared with wide eyes. I glanced over at Jared and nodded.

  “I can use this ring to do magic. If I’m not wearing it, I can’t do anything. We figured it out when we were practicing one night.”

  “And you didn’t tell us?” Beth asked, glaring.

  Adam put his hand on her shoulder. “He cou
ldn’t. There were ears everywhere—including O’Malley’s. So, do you think you could get us home?”

  Louie stepped in. “No. He can’t. Not yet. The first thing we need to do is to open the portal to the fairy world. That way, the fairies can come back here and repair the world. It’s going to take all of us together to break that curse.”

  “Okay, so where is the closest portal to here?” I glanced around. “Is there one here?”

  Louie tapped his chin. “You mentioned Castlemorris. You’re sure that’s where you were when you saw the vision?”

  “Yes. I guess that’s probably the closest. Can you travel that far?” I asked.

  “With Jared and his wand, yes.” Louie eyed the wand, but the hunger for power I’d seen before was gone.

  We stood in a circle, and Jared stood in the middle holding my hand. He drew a circle in the air with the wand and yelled, “Castlemorris.”

  I felt like I was being squeezed into a small funnel. Just when I couldn’t deal with the pressure, we landed hard in a forest covered in ash. The trees still stood, but the destruction was already beginning. We’d been to this forest in Ireland several times, and it was only fitting that we’d end up here again.

  “Well done.” Louie stepped into the woods. “The portal is this way.”

  We walked through bushes covered in bugs and dead leaves. The magical feeling I’d had the few times I’d been here before was gone, and it just felt dead. It was about a mile off the trail before we started seeing the small villages where the leprechauns used to live. I saw a few lights on in the trees, but otherwise, it was deserted.

  Louie and Patrika seemed to drag as we got closer to their old home. Louie stopped and looked around for a moment before taking a left. An old tree stood tall above the rest, and while the rest of the forest was dying, this one seemed to thrive.

  “Here we are. The portal near your house opens on Midsummer’s Eve, but this one always stays open. Usually, we would just have to put our hand on the trunk like this.” He put his hand on a small bare spot, but nothing happened.

  “Let’s do this, then. We’ve all seen what the portals look like when they’re open. Picture that, and push with everything you have.”