Fey Hearted

by N. E. Conneely

  Ignoring the children, Silverlight focused the magic on the young adults. It continued the same tune rather than shifting to the trill that would let him know it had found what he was looking for. These humans were perfectly content to spend their days in a world where magic was a myth.

  With a sigh, he shifted his cloak, trying to block the night breeze. It was his bad luck to turn eighteen and be looking for fey hearted during winter. In the summer it wouldn’t have been a hardship to spend his nights exploring the streets of the human town, but this time of year it was raining more often than not, or when it wasn’t raining, it was cold or snowy.

  Weather was not his only concern. Silverlight glanced around, verifying that he was alone. One of the requirements of entering into the human world was avoiding detection. Some of that was accomplished by traveling at night, staying out of sight, and blending in; however, the primary way fey passed unnoticed was by exerting a subtle magic pressure on the humans that made them perceive the fey as something expected. That was the part that required a healthy amount of concentration, especially when coupled with the effort of searching for a fey hearted.

  One quiet step at a time, Silverlight made his way down the street. House after house yielded nothing, but that wasn’t unusual, and was why he was not expected to do more than three moons of searching. According to his father, there had once been thousands of fey hearted humans, and every fey who searched would return with one or more who might enjoy life in the fey world. Those days had passed, though, and now it was difficult to find even one fey hearted. Back when the fey hearted were plentiful, bringing one to the fey world was part of achieving adulthood. Now it was simply a tradition to search, and finding a fey hearted was a privilege.

  The street dead-ended in a cul-de-sac. Silverlight sighed and continued down the sidewalk. This would have to be his last group of houses for the night, and he had nothing to show for it. If he’d been able to turn the corner and go down another block while heading back to the park, it would’ve been a different story. Unfortunately, with the way these roads were laid out, it would take him the rest of his allotted time to get back to the Slit, which allowed him to travel between the fey and mortal worlds.

  He didn’t have much hope of success. After all, he had been going out every night this moon and had yet to find a single suitable human, but he had the magic check anyway. The five houses had a variety of inhabitants, male and female, young and old, but not one of them captured the magic’s attention. The cul-de-sac was as empty as the rest of the neighborhood.

  Silverlight dropped his shoulders and tried to push back the disappointment. This had been it—the last night he had to find a human before spring. Per his agreement with his father, he would spend three moons searching for a fey hearted. He still had two moons of searching left and it would be spring before the Slit would be opened again. For the safety of everyone involved, looking for fey hearted was forbidden during the coldest months of the year. From what he had heard, several other fey were planning on searching when the Slit reopened. That would force him to venture farther from the Slit and spend less time investigating houses.

  Turning on his heel, he started back down the street with a more purposeful stride. The magic trilled. There. He could hear the magic coming from a house behind his right shoulder. It trilled again, and he could feel the hint of yearning, a wish for something more. That could be it, the human he was searching for. Silverlight spun around and strode back into the cul-de-sac.

  Hopeful it was the real thing, Silverlight gave the first house a thorough examination. It contained a middle-aged man and two children, none of whom were of any interest to him. The next house was vacant, and the third house was as useless as the first.

  Silverlight eyed the remaining two houses, giving the magic his full attention as it did one last examination. There it was again, that sound, but this time he knew exactly where the magic had located a suitable human. Smiling to himself, Silverlight followed the sidewalk to the driveway and stepped onto the path that led to the front door. He assessed the wooden stairs and porch. They looked solid enough, but he couldn’t tell from a look if they were going to squeak and creak as he made his way to the door.

  Silverlight cautiously made his way up the stairs and across the porch. He focused on opening the lock. As the magic changed shape he heard the soft repeating notes shift, becoming more demanding. The lock clicked open, and the sound faded away.

  A cat hissed from the bushes beside the landing. Silverlight felt its fear. “Shh,” he soothed. The cat stopped hissing but kept watching him. When he didn’t move, the cat turned and stalked around the corner of the house, tail held high. While the magic could make humans skip over him, it didn’t work on animals.

  Silverlight cast one last look around the cul-de-sac, reassuring himself that no one else had noticed him. Then he carefully opened the door, stepped inside, and closed it behind him.

  The magic rushed away from him, and he sensed it again. Someone in this house had a burning desire to experience the magic and mystery that wasn’t of this world. Silverlight smiled. It was happening; he’d finally found someone to bring back to the fey community. At last, his hunt could be over, and he would be able to move on to the next part of this adventure—teaching a fey hearted about the fey world.

  As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he could see a wide staircase with a thick banister partway down the hall. One careful step at a time, Silverlight followed the fey hearted’s emotions up the stairs and down the hallway. They were a beacon, guiding him to the third door on the left. He used the magic to dampen any sounds and slowly opened the door.

  Inside, asleep in a twin bed, was a young woman with a book clutched in one hand. Strands of black hair obscured most of her face, but he could see a dragon on the book cover. From what little he could discern of the rest of her, she was on the small side, which would make her easier to carry.

  He placed each foot carefully as he approached the bed. Even with the dampening magic in effect, he didn’t want to risk waking her. He held his breath and brushed the hair away from her face, resting his first two fingers on her temple. As gently as he could, Silverlight used the magic to tap into her deepest desires.

  Yes, she was what he had been searching for.

  The tight muscles in his shoulders and back relaxed. All at once the last month was worth it. The countless hours spent searching homes farther and farther from the Slit had yielded exactly what he’d wanted to find, and with any luck, he could introduce her to the very world she’d dreamed of all these years.

  Shaking his head, he forced himself from his thoughts. This wasn’t the time to linger. There was much to do and not nearly enough time in which to do it. Bending the magic into a new form, he urged her into a deeper sleep, and to him, it seemed to start singing a lullaby. When he felt her reach a sleep that was nearly as deep as a coma, he changed the intent of the magic again, encouraging her to be accepting of what she was about to experience. The music changed tones, creating a more hypnotic tune. When the effects had settled over her, he gathered her into his arms. He couldn’t help but notice that she was even more petite than he had guessed.

  As he turned back to her bedroom door, a family tree caught his eyes. There was just enough moonlight for him to see that it followed the matriarchal line. While the men’s names varied, the women—Violet, Aster, Marigold, Daisy, Iris, Lily, and finally, Rose—were all named after flowers.

  What an odd tradition. Humans can be so strange.

  As he traveled downstairs and to the front door, he was careful not to bump the girl into anything. It was a little tricky getting both of them through the door, but using magic to open and close it certainly made it easier. When he got to the pathway below the front steps, he pulled the strongest invisibility magic that he could muster around the two of them. This really wasn’t the time for a human to get curious.

  Once they were off the property, the magic settled a heavy blanket of sleep acros
s the house. No one in there would be awake before morning, and by then, the girl would either be safely in the fey world or back in her bed.

  He carried her down the street and hoped she would choose to stay in the fey world. He could already imagine showing her unicorns and teaching her about magic. From what he understood, human stories portrayed magic very differently from its reality. He could also introduce her to other fey hearted. Perhaps they would even share some hobbies and that would help her adjust.

  Her desires so closely matched what the fey searched for that it would be a blow to have misjudged her. No one at home would hold it against him, of course. There were always humans who refused to stay for some reason, usually obligations they felt they couldn’t abandon. Though, if she decided to return to the human world, Silverlight wasn’t sure he would be able to keep searching. It would be too difficult to continue after having come so close to finding a fey hearted. Sighing, he focused on this moment.

  The park looked just as it had when he left it, dark with big looming trees and empty iron benches. The rustle of leaves in the breeze interrupted the otherwise silent night. He crossed the street with the girl and made his way across the grass, gaze locked on the trees ahead of him.

  To the human eye, it was nothing but two pine trees that disappeared high into the night sky. To his eyes, however, an opalescent fog hung between the two trees, and in the center of the fog was an archway. Through it, he could see not the grassy field of the park but a forest with trees, ferns, and squat bushes of all shapes and sizes. He adjusted his grip on the girl and stepped through the arch.

  A statuesque woman with white hair stepped out from behind a tree on the fey side of the Slit, where she kept watch. “What did you bring us?”

  “A young woman,” Silverlight said.

  Moonbeam nodded solemnly and set two fingers against the girl’s temple. “You found a good one.”

  Her comment reassured him, even though Moonbeam wasn’t in a position to judge the prospective fey hearted. That was the job of the treis.

  “Do you think she’ll stay?” he asked.

  “That’s up to her.” Moonbeam shrugged. “Go to the pavilion. You know what to do.”

  Silverlight took a deep breath. He couldn’t do anything about his nerves so he focused on his current task. It was only a short walk to the pavilion where the fey who would judge the girl were waiting.

  He walked into the pavilion, set her on the empty cot, and turned around, facing the three fey sitting behind a table. On the right was his father, Waterfall, a fey about six feet in height with white hair, pointed ears, and laugh lines etched into his face. In the center chair was Summersky, whose long hair was pulled back from her face with dozens of little braids. Occupying the left seat was George, a fey hearted who’d been living in the fey world for more than two hundred years.

  They were the treis and would decide if the girl would get a chance to stay in the fey land. If she was allowed to stay on this side of the Slit, they would undertake the unenviable job of explaining the decision to her. That was one part of this process Silverlight was glad he didn't have to do alone.

  Waterfall turned to the fey sitting next to him. “If you would like, I will remove myself from this process, as I can hardly be objective with my son.”

  “Hush, there’s no need for that at this point,” Summersky said.

  “The two of us will be objective for you,” George added before turning his attention to Silverlight. “We need to examine her.”

  Silverlight nodded, and the three adults got up from the table. They walked past him and over to the girl. One by one they rested two fingers against her temple and peered into her thoughts.

  Minutes ticked by, and Silverlight clasped his hands together to keep them from trembling. The few times he’d watched this procedure it hadn’t seemed as nerve-racking as it was now, but now his fey hearted and her future were in question. If he’d chosen well and she decided to stay, then he would be tasked with overseeing her transition and lessons.

  The treis returned to their seats and exchanged a look. Finally, George spoke. “You chose well. She fulfills the criteria.”

  “Thank you,” Silverlight said, relieved that they agreed with his selection. That didn’t mean that she would stay, but it was a step closer.

  Summersky picked up the conversation. “We are prepared to offer her a place here.”

  Silverlight felt lightheaded. It was really happening. He had done well enough for the fey to accept her.

  “Awaken the girl,” Summersky directed.

  Silverlight moved to stand by her shoulder and pulled the sleep magic off her. Her breathing deepened, her eyes opened, and she scrambled away from him, falling off the far side of the cot. The fabric making up the wall of the pavilion bowed out.

  He had been warned that humans could have this reaction, but when he’d witnessed the procedure before the human had remained calm and rational. Silverlight leaned over the cot until he could see her. “It’s all right. We are not going to hurt you.”

  She took a ragged breath. “Who— What are you? What do you want with me?”

  Silverlight held out a hand, and she flinched. He pulled back. She would come to him when she understood that she was safe. “My name is Silverlight, and I’m a fey, though you could think of me as an elf. What’s your name?”

  Her other question could wait since it would be better if the explanation came from the treis. They had done it before, and if he tried to explain he might forget something or scare her.

  She tilted her head to the side. “Rose… Can I see your ears?”

  He pulled his hair away from his face and turned his head to the right and left.

  “They’re pointed, but that could be makeup,” she muttered. “Prove that you’re an elf—fey—whatever.”

  Silverlight picked a dead blade of grass off the ground and held it in the palm of his hand. Rose came to her knees, using the cot as a barrier. As he directed the magic, he heard a tumble of notes, like a wooden flute announcing spring. The blade of grass transitioned from brown to a healthy green.

  He offered it to her. When Rose didn’t take it, he set it on the cot and took a step back. Maybe with some distance she’d relax enough to examine it.

  Her eyes darted between him and the blade of grass. When several seconds passed without him moving, Rose snatched the grass off the cot. She turned it over in her hands, felt the edges, sniffed it, and even touched it to her tongue. Apparently satisfied, she set it back on the cot.

  “All right,” she said slowly. “The grass is real, but that doesn’t mean you’re fey.”

  “We shall take it from here,” Summersky said, meeting Silverlight’s eyes.

  He nodded and moved to the side so Rose had a clear view of the treis. He wasn’t happy to be farther away from her. Something about discovering her and bringing her to the fey land had left him feeling protective. He wanted her to choose to remain here and experience the magic this life had to offer.

  Rose studied the three adults as they approached. Summersky and Waterfall received once-overs, as they introduced themselves, but then she focused on George’s round ears. “Are you fey, too?”

  “I am now, but I was born human,” he explained.

  She opened her mouth as if she was going to say something but closed it without speaking.

  “The magic changes you,” George continued in a low and relaxed tone. “It also preserves and purifies you, healing injuries and preventing scarring.”

  Summersky placed a hand on George’s arm and redirected the discussion. “Rose, Silverlight has brought you here because he sensed your frustration with the human world and wanted to offer you a life filled with the things you desire. If you stay here, you will experience all that the fey world has to offer. Magic, mythical creatures—”

  “What kind of magic?” Rose interrupted.

  “Fey can heal and interact with plants and animals. You’ll see.”

  Rose
looked like she was willing Summersky to continue the explanation.

  After an uncomfortable moment, Silverlight filled the gap in conversation. “You would meet unicorns and dragons, maybe even a griffin. None of us know what type of magic will respond to you. Most fey can do simple tasks, but from there, individuals excel at different things.”

  His father sighed softly enough that Silverlight doubted Rose heard, but he knew it had been directed at him for disrupting the treis’s explanation.

  “Would you like to see some of our world?” Waterfall asked.

  Rose stood up, smoothed her clothing, and straightened her shoulders. “Yes. I would.”

  Chapter 3

  Maybe they were using magic to calm her because she didn’t feel scared. The logical part of her brain told her she should be afraid. Didn’t horror movies usually start with someone being kidnapped? There was no mistaking that she’d been snatched right out of her bed, since her last memories were of drifting to sleep with tales of dragons frolicking through her head. However, rather than fearing for her safety, Rose was as alert and excited as a child at a zoo. She was ready to see amazing things. This was her chance to see if the magic grandmother spoke of was real.

  If she wasn’t still dreaming, that was…

  Summersky motioned toward the door. “Waterfall, why don’t you accompany Silverlight and Rose and show her around?”

  Waterfall nodded and followed Silverlight over to the open door in the side of the pavilion. As he moved, the sword hanging from his belt caught Rose’s attention. She glanced at Silverlight, who looked to be about her age. He was also wearing a sword. If they wanted to harm her they hardly needed swords to do so. She could ask about them after she determined that this was real.