by Gail Herman
Bess squeezed her hand. They stepped forward.
“The air is moving over our heads,” Myka went on. “So the cave is shaped like a dome.” She touched the wall. “Limestone,” she declared. “Rough and chalky.”
They edged along the side of the cave. “Stop!” Myka pulled on Bess’s arm. “Did you hear that?”
“No,” Bess squeaked.
Myka strained to listen. Straight ahead. A soft, steady hissing.
The snake!
Myka listened even more closely. The hissing was regular, constant. The snake was sleeping!
With any luck, they could sneak right by. “Stay close to me,” Myka whispered to Bess. “Step when I step. We’re going past the snake.”
Inch by inch, they crept. Slowly, carefully. “The snake is long and fat and coiled like a rope,” Myka relayed to Bess. “Its head is tucked under its tail.”
Minutes stretched. It seemed to take forever. The hissing grew fainter. Then it stopped. They had passed the snake! “We’re safe!” Myka told Bess.
They took another step. Suddenly, the air current shifted. “The pit!” Myka whispered. “It’s on the right.”
They slid forward, step after step. Bess turned to Myka. “Where—” she began. Then Bess slipped.
“Oh!” One foot slid off the edge, into the yawning pit. Myka gripped Bess’s hand. Clumps of dirt and rock skittered into the chasm. Bess dangled.
The basket fell from her shoulder. Down…down…down…never hitting bottom.
Myka reached for Bess’s other hand. Holding tightly, she leaned back and dragged her friend to safety.
Moving even more slowly now, they sidled along the cave wall. Myka stopped suddenly. She sniffed. A new smell mingled with the air, almost like wet laundry. “Do you smell that?” she asked.
“No,” Bess whispered.
Then she heard the sound of tiny legs. They skittered on the stone floor.
The poison bugs! Directly ahead!
“I can tell they’re not very big,” said Myka. “And there are rocks all around them.” Myka linked arms with Bess. “Jump when I jump,” she instructed.
Myka led the way, leaping over bugs as if they were chestnut checkers pieces.
They vaulted over one last bug and landed on the cave floor.
“We’re almost halfway around the cave,” Myka told Bess.
She put her hand to the side. The wall felt different—not quite so powdery. And even with her fading eyesight, she saw a slight glimmer of light ahead.
“The sides are growing damp,” Myka said. She and Bess shuffled forward. “We’re almost there. The shimmer moss is right…”
Myka touched a soft, spongy spot.
“Here!”
ONE HOUR LATER, Myka and Bess stood just inside the cave’s entrance. They’d stuffed their pockets with shimmer moss. Then they’d made their way back.
They were set to dash through the waterfall curtain. They had to land on the ledge outside. If they missed…
Myka didn’t let herself think about it. They had no choice but to try. There was no other way.
“Ready?” asked Myka.
“Ready,” said Bess.
Still holding hands, they jumped through the water. There was a moment of nothingness. Then their feet landed on stone. The ledge!
Myka and Bess moved away from the waterfall mist so that their wings could dry. It took a while, but they were finally able to lift off.
Slowly at first, then gaining speed, the fairies flew through forests, over the river and the orchard.
“No arguments,” Bess told Myka when they reached Pixie Hollow. “We’re going straight to the infirmary.”
Hovering in front of the door a few minutes later, Myka reached for the knob. But the door swung open before she even touched it. Clara pulled her inside, hugging her tightly.
“I’ve been waiting! I’ve been so worried, I was going to get the other scouts to find you!”
“Why, Clara, I’m glad to see you, too.” Then Myka laughed. “I mean, I’m glad to hear you. Are you ready to put the shimmer moss over my eyes?”
“Of course!” Clara exclaimed at once. “Come sit down.”
With Bess watching, Clara wrapped the shimmer moss over Myka’s eyes. Then she led her to a cushiony cot in the corner. “Now rest here.”
Myka stretched out and yawned. Clara put a soft blanket over her. All the flying…the close calls…The bed felt so comfortable.…So cozy…
“Of course you’ll stay the night,” Clara said.
“What?” Myka sat up. “Can’t I sleep in my own room?”
“Nurse’s orders,” Clara said briskly. “I’m not taking any chances,” she added in a softer voice.
“I’ll stay with you until you fall asleep,” Bess offered.
“No, no,” Myka insisted. “That would take too long. You know me. I never need much sleep. You just—zzzzzz.”
Myka was fast asleep.
Hours passed. When Myka woke, it was the next day, midafternoon. All around her, she heard murmurs.
“Who’s there?” she said.
“You’re awake!” said Bess.
“Clara? Are you here, too?” Myka asked.
“Yes,” said the nursing talent.
Myka sensed other fairies in the room. “Who else? No—wait! I can tell.” She smelled porcupine quills. “Trak and Sera.” She heard the rustle of a long petal dress. “And Queen Clarion!”
“Right!” Trak said. “We’re all here. We’re all waiting to see what happens.”
“Is it time to take off the moss?” asked Myka.
“Yes.” Clara stepped closer to the cot. “It is.” She patted Myka’s hand. “Are you ready?”
“Of course!” Myka answered. But was she really? What if she opened her eyes and her vision wasn’t any better? What if the shimmer moss was just ordinary moss, with no magic in it at all?
There’d be no more patrols. No more soaring through the sky listening for hawk cries. No more excitement. No more helping her friends.
Gently, Clara unwound the moss. She lifted it from Myka’s eyes. “There!” she said.
For a moment, Myka kept her eyes closed. Then, little by little, she opened them.
She blinked. Once, twice. “I can see!” she cried.
Sunshine streamed brightly through the window. A metal chair gleamed. Bess’s smile glowed. “I can see as well as ever!”
Myka turned to Trak. He stared at her, a questioning look in his eyes. “How do we know for sure, Myka? You’ve tried to fool us before.”
“Oh, Trak! I’d fly backward if could. I shouldn’t have pretended. I just didn’t want to stop scouting!”
He smiled. He understood. “And now?”
“And now I can see! In fact, I see you just had a poppy puff roll.”
“What?” said Trak.
Myka leaned forward and picked a crumb from under his shirt collar.
“Okay, Myka.” Trak laughed. “I confess! I sneaked into the kitchen before I came here.”
“So are you ready to go on patrol?” asked Myka.
MYKA HAD LUNCH before patrolling Pixie Hollow. She was starving! As she ate, she glanced around happily. The tearoom had never looked so lovely. Dulcie’s muffins had never tasted so good. Fairy chatter had never sounded so musical.
“I’m glad you’re better, Myka!” Beck called out.
“Fly with you soon!” Tink beamed. “We’ll search out that coin together!”
Myka soaked up all the good feeling. She didn’t want to waste time, though. She was itching to do some scouting. She just had to take care of one thing first.…
She darted out the nearest window and flew quickly to Bess’s studio.
“I see you’re done already!” she told her friend. The cave picture sat drying on an easel. There was the pit…and the snake…and the poison bugs. “It looks just like I thought!”
Next, she flew outside. It felt so good to be outdoors!
Myka waved
to a butterfly herder, a dust talent, and even Iris. Then she flew to the eucalyptus tree lookout. She peered in all directions.
She saw ants carrying crumbs in a faraway field. She saw inchworms sliding up trees in a distant wood. Everything looked fine.
She raised the whistle to blow the all-clear signal. But then she stopped.
A faint sound was coming from the other side of the forest. What was it?
Myka stood at the edge of the platform. She grabbed a leaf and shaped it into a funnel to catch the sound. Holding the leaf cone to her ear, she listened.
Bzzzz. Bzzzzz.
Bees!
Slowly, the sound grew louder. It was a whole swarm! And it was heading their way! She blew three quick shrills on the whistle. Danger! Danger! Myka dove from the tree in a burst of speed.
Racing, she darted through Pixie Hollow. She was almost to the courtyard. First she’d find the other scouts. She’d tell—
“Trak!” she cried, nearly crashing into him. “There’s a swarm of bees flying toward the Home Tree!”
Below, a group of fairies overheard.
“Can we believe her?” a harvesting-talent fairy asked.
“Yes.” “No.” “Yes.” Each fairy had a different opinion. Myka ignored them all.
“Please, Trak,” she begged.
Trak flew to the upper branch of the Home Tree. He raised his binoculars and turned in a circle. “I don’t see a thing,” he called down. “I don’t see one bee!”
“I don’t see them, either!” Myka said hurriedly. “I hear them!”
She turned to Queen Clarion, who had flown to her side. “I do,” Myka said quietly. “I hear them.”
Trak and Queen Clarion looked at each other. They both nodded.
“Beck!” Trak called to the animal talent. “Let’s work together.”
Beck signaled Fawn to come, too. “We need to send the bees another way,” she said. “Myka! Take us to the swarm.”
Myka led them to the edge of Pixie Hollow. She pointed to the other side of the forest. A giant black and yellow cloud of bees swept closer. They were buzzing angrily.
Myka caught her breath.
Beck and Fawn stood their ground. As the bees drew nearer, they pointed to the mountains. They called out. To Myka, it sounded like ZZZZZzzzzZZZZ.
Suddenly, the entire swarm turned around. The buzzing cloud moved farther and farther away.
“What did you say?” asked Myka.
Beck grinned. “We told them about an amazing field, chock-full of sweet-smelling flowers!”
“You’re a hero!” Myka told Beck.
Beck smiled even wider. “You too, Myka.”
It seemed that all of Pixie Hollow was waiting for them to return. Fairies and sparrow men clapped and cheered.
“Hooray for Myka!” Trak’s voice rose above all the others.
Myka’s glow flared with pride. She was the top scout once again! And after everything that had happened? She was a better one, too.
