The Secret of the Dread Forest: The Faire Folk Trilogy

by Gillian Summers

  The elf girl nodded miserably. “My father is turning into a vampire.”

  twelve

  Elianard was the vampire. She should have known. But she couldn’t believe Elia was asking her to save Elianard, even if he was her father. She grasped the side arm of the porch swing to steady herself.

  “I don’t know how I can help.” Keelie looked at Jake, who returned her gaze without any expression. “I think you two had better go. Grandmother and Dad will be returning soon.”

  Elia nodded. She wiped her eyes and sniffled, then glanced at Jake to see if he was looking. Keelie felt the outrage build. Faking it again. Could she ever believe the elf girl?

  Jake sat down next to Keelie, glancing over at Elia before putting his head close to Keelie’s. “She needs your help. You’re a tree shepherdess, but it means more than helping trees. Do the right thing.”

  Jake’s voice was soft, but sounded old, as if he carried centuries of wisdom. If she closed her eyes, he’d sound like Dad.

  Ariel cried out, and her wings beat against the cage. She turned her head from side to side, as if she might see again if she kept trying. It tore Keelie’s heart in two. Elia had laughed when she’d cursed Ariel. She’d gotten into a lot of trouble for using magic she couldn’t undo, although the punishment, whatever it had been, would not help Ariel to see again.

  “The wizard at the rehabilitation center couldn’t break the curse on Ariel. Elia is the one who ruined her forever. And she helped Elianard try to kill a unicorn. She doesn’t deserve my help.” Keelie stood up, but Jake grabbed her arm.

  “People make mistakes, and it would be a mistake not to help Elia.”

  Keelie glared at Jake. “Did you know her father threatened to kill Dad?”

  Elia wailed, probably sensing that Jake was starting to see Keelie’s point. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I wish I could take back what happened in the Wildewood. And I wish I’d never cursed the hawk. It was wrong. You’re more powerful than anyone thought possible for a Round Ear.” Too late, Elia realized her mistake.

  Keelie jerked her arm free of Jake’s. “Even now, they think of me as something less than them, yet they expect me to save their asses when they get in trouble. Maybe this time I won’t help.” She took two steps toward the front door.

  “Keelie.” Jake’s tone was commanding. “Not helping someone is as bad as cursing them. It can lead you down the path to darkness.”

  Keelie stopped—her hand level with the knob, not looking back but feeling Jake’s gaze boring into her back. “If Elia can find a way to break the curse on Ariel, then I will think about helping Elianard.”

  With that, she bolted up the stairs two at a time. She needed to talk to someone who wasn’t an elf. Or a vampire. Someone sensible. And how dare Jake take Elia’s side? And they kept looking at each other as if they were in love or something. Disgusting.

  Sir Davey could help her. Maybe she could call him on Dad’s tree-connected cell phone.

  Alora was watching her. The treeling’s branches were crossed over her trunk, and Keelie imagined her impatiently tapping her roots in her flowerpot. “The aunties told me what happened to Ernem. I sense him. He sleeps peacefully now.”

  Keelie nodded. “Then you know we ran into Niriel and the jousters, and that Dad and Grandmother are at an emergency meeting.”

  “I know. Maybe you should listen to Jake.”

  “Why?”

  “He has a good heart, like you.”

  “So, you’re saying I should help Elia.”

  Alora’s face pushed out of the trunk’s bark. “In the forest, if one tree is sick, then its sickness can spread from leaf to leaf, eventually killing the whole forest. If by saving one tree you stop the disease, then you can save the forest.”

  “Thanks for the tree philosophy lesson. I need to talk to Sir Davey.” The treeling might be right, but Keelie didn’t want to help Elianard. There was too much history between them. She went downstairs and searched for Dad’s phone in the kitchen, but she couldn’t find it. Maybe Dad had it in his room.

  She found Mom’s carved wooden portrait leaning against the wall of Dad’s bedroom. Dad must have pulled it out after their talk. Fresh pangs of grief constricted her heart. She walked over to the picture and ran her hand over her mother’s face. “What should I do?”

  Mom had run from the elves, which meant losing Dad. Keelie didn’t want to do that. She didn’t want to be out of her father’s life. But if she wanted to be part of his life, that meant being part of the elves. She still felt that urge to run back to California—if she could, she’d run back to her old life, back with Mom. But Mom was dead now, and Keelie didn’t know if she could do that because it would mean living without Dad. She sat back.

  There was one thing she could do. She wasn’t going to let Mom’s memory be shoved back in the closet. Keelie picked up the portrait. She wrapped her arms around it. “Come on, Mom.”

  She carried it down the stairs and placed it on the fireplace mantle. Front and center. The focal point of the Heartwood home. If Grandmother fussed about it, Keelie would set her straight. “Love you, Mom.”

  Fatigue overcame her. She yawned. If she took a little nap, she wouldn’t be so tired when Dad and Grandmother came home from the meeting. Assuming they even came home. Keelie had decided she needed to tell Dad everything she knew about Jake. Her father would help her find a solution to his situation.

  As for helping Elianard, Keelie didn’t know. She’d healed an owl and restored Einhorn the unicorn, but she didn’t know if or how she could help Elianard. She couldn’t doom him to a lifetime of darkness just because she didn’t like him, however.

  Keelie lay down on the sofa, sinking her head into the plump cushiness of the pillow. Something heavy landed on her stomach, knocking out her breath. She opened her eyes. Knot purred as he tucked his front paws underneath him. Keelie yawned again. “I wish you could talk to me. I wish I could talk to Laurie.”

  His purring grew louder as Keelie drifted off to sleep.

  Keelie was in the lunchroom at Baywood Academy, eating fish sticks. Gross! Processed fish sticks at that. Laurie sat across the table from her, silver tree earrings dangling. Ashlee scooted her green peas around her plate, then looked up, her mouth agape at something next to Keelie.

  A loud purring vibrated around her. She turned her head, and almost fell out of her chair when she saw that a huge fluffy orange cat holding a plastic lunchroom tray stood there. The cat wore a musketeer hat, and had a sword belted around his waist and floppy boots on his back paws.

  He motioned with his furry head toward the empty seat next to Keelie. “May ow sit ‘own,” he asked in what sounded like a thick Scottish accent. He sounded a little like a kitty Sean Connery.

  Keelie nodded. “Knot? What are you doing at my school?”

  He winked at her. It was Knot. This was too creepy. He plunked his tray down next to hers, moved his tail to one side, then sat in the chair next to her. He opened his milk carton with his claws and drank greedily, long pink tongue thrusting into the carton’s opening. Dribbles of milk trailed down his chin. He wiped it with the back of his paw, then licked his paw clean. “Me-ow. That is ‘owd.”

  “What are you doing here? What am I doing here?”

  Keelie looked around, wondering what else was strange. This was a dream, right?

  Knot ate his fish sticks, watching her.

  Laurie and Ashlee stared at the cat.

  “What are they doing here?” Keelie pointed at her friends. “And I knew you could talk.”

  “It is yeow subconscious placing yeow in a happy place.” Knot motioned with his paw at Laurie and Ashlee.

  They stared back. “What did you say we’re doing here?”Laurie was confused. Ashlee seemed to be in a catatonic state.

  Knot pointed at Keelie’s fish sticks. “Do yeow want those?”

  “Have at it. “ Keelie shoved the tray over to him. “Why are we here?”

  She had to wait for h
im to finish eating because he’d crammed six fish sticks in his mouth.

  He pointed to her milk. She gave it to him.

  “This is your cat?” Ashlee finally managed to squeak.

  Keelie nodded. “Normally, he isn’t this big. “ She turned to Knot. “Why am I having this dream?”

  “Yeow needs to remember dark magic is not bad or good, but if the heart of the user is bad, then yeow magic will be bad. If the heart is good, dark magic can make user dark. If good magic is used by bad heart, then bad things can happen. If good magic is used by good heart, then good happens. Yeow are good. Yeow understand?”

  Keelie looked up. Ashlee and Laurie had disappeared. Sadness filled her. She missed her friends.

  “I’m not going to use dark magic. I’m not like Elianard. Is this about me not helping him?”

  “Yeow can think yeow will use dark magic for good, but meow can be bad.”

  “I’ve seen Star Wars, and I’m not going to turn to the dark side, Yoda cat. “

  “Meow said too much already. Queens will be mad at meow.”Knot gazed at Keelie. “But meow will protect Keelie no matter what.” Knot’s purring became louder.

  “So let me get this straight. In kitty language, meow means me? So cats go around saying, me, me, me? That figures.”

  Knot winked and the lunchroom began to fade…

  Keelie woke up and blinked at the sunlight that filtered through the windows. “What a dream.” She looked around for Knot, but he’d disappeared.

  She stood up and walked into the kitchen. “Dad, are you back?”

  No sign of anyone.

  She ran upstairs and peeked into his room. It was tidy, just as it had been before. Jake had been right about the meeting lasting all night. She looked out the window and there was no dark fog, which meant that Jake wasn’t hanging around outside.

  Keelie remembered the fish-stick dream. Knot had warned her not to use dark magic. Although it was just a dream, it still reminded Keelie that she had to decide if she was going to try to help Elianard. She thought about Dad. He would want her to help. It would be the right thing to do. She would have to trust that.

  But first, she had to figure out how she’d transformed the steel sword into wood. She was sure it hadn’t been with Earth magic, and it hadn’t felt like a mix of earth and tree magic, either. If it was some safe method that involved the amulet’s power, then maybe she could use it to heal Elianard and Ariel.

  She wanted to talk to Sir Davey, though, before she told Dad. It meant she was going to have to go into town and use the pay phone near the Magic Forest Tattoo shop. Keelie walked back into her room. Alora was sleeping, so Keelie knocked on her trunk. “Hey, wake up.”

  Alora shook her branches and her eyes opened. “What?”

  “I’m driving into town.”

  “You’re not supposed to drive unless you have an adult with you.”

  “I didn’t say I was going by myself.”

  Outside, Keelie found Elia sleeping on the porch swing with a blanket draped over her. Jake must have brought it to her. Flames of jealousy flickered behind Keelie’s eyes. Elia was as beautiful as a princess in a fairy tale, but inside she was a warty frog.

  She shoved Elia’s arm. The elf girl opened her eyelids halfway and lifted her head. “What? I didn’t eat all the goat cheese.”

  “Goat cheese?”

  Elia sat up, the blanket falling down. Her gown was rumpled and wrinkled. “I was dreaming.”

  “Where’s Jake?”

  “He went into the forest. He’s going to keep an eye on father for me.” She yawned and stretched.

  “You two seemed to have hit it off.”

  Elia smiled. “He’s so kind and considerate.”

  “Totally. Not your type. I don’t think elves and vampires are a matched item.”

  Elia scowled. “Like he’s your type.”

  Keelie chose to ignore that comment. “I need to go into town, and you need to go with me.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’m not old enough to drive by myself, and I need an adult.”

  “Are you going to help my father?” She sounded wary.

  “Are you going to break the curse on Ariel?”

  “You know I can’t.”

  “I’m not saying I’m going to help Elianard, but I can try, and I need to talk to someone before I can do anything.”

  Elia nodded. “You need to talk to the dwarf.”

  “His name is Sir Davey.”

  “I know. One of his names, at least.”

  “Then call him by his name.”

  “Okay, okay. Being nice doesn’t come naturally to me. It’s early, and I haven’t had any tea or oatmeal.”

  “You’re not going to get any, either. Meet me by the camper in fifteen minutes, dressed in these.” Keelie tossed her a bundle of clothes.

  Elia sat glumly on the passenger’s side, wearing the jeans and T-shirt Keelie had given her. She looked about twentytwo—old enough to be an adult driver.

  Keelie cranked the pickup truck’s engine and it chugged to life. She pushed down on the gas, and they were on their way.

  “I’m sorry about what happened to Einhorn.” Elia turned to her.

  “Me, too.” She didn’t look at Elia.

  “I walked away, you know. I refused to help Dad kill him.”

  “I know.”

  “I’m sorry about the hawk.”

  “Me, too.”

  Keelie kept looking straight ahead, negotiating the curves on the road.

  “I’ve changed, Keelie.”

  “So you say, Elia, but I don’t trust you.”

  “I know.”

  Keelie pulled into a parking space in front of the tattoo shop and turned the car off. She was a natural behind the wheel. Dad would be pleased, once he got over the mad-on about her taking the Swiss Miss Chalet without permission.

  Outside, the “Piercings Available” sign glowed blue against the brick wall. Keelie touched her belly, so far still free of any embellishment.

  A corner of Elia’s mouth lifted. “I had mine done at the Ren Faire by a silversmith.”

  “You’ve got a piercing?” Keelie sighed. It was so unfair.

  Elia arched an eyebrow and raised her shirt to expose a silver ring glinting in her navel. Keelie figured everyone on the planet had a piercing except her.

  She looked at the tattoo shop. If she got her belly button pierced, no one would know but Elia, and she’d keep her mouth shut because she needed Keelie’s help. Keelie’d wanted a piercing for so long, but although Mom was close to letting her have one before she’d died, Dad had resisted. First things first, though. She had to call Sir Davey.

  Elia pointed toward the diner. “I need some food. They serve good oatmeal here.”

  “Fine, go get your breakfast. I’ll make my call. Take your time.” And if you’re not back when my call’s done, I’ll go and get my belly button pierced, she thought.

  Keelie punched in Sir Davey’s number. His phone rang several times. Finally, his greeting kicked on. “This is Sir Jadwyn. Prithee leave a message.”

  “Sir Davey, this is Keelie. I need to talk to you. Now. Please pick up.”

  “Hello?” The mellow baritone was not quite right.

  “Sir Davey?”

  “No, this is his brother, Alvain. Davey’s away mining for diamonds in Arkansas. Can I take a message?”

  Disappointment flooded Keelie. “When do you expect him back?”

  “Oh, I’d say in a few days. Once those boys start digging, they get busy and lose all track of time. I stayed home to sort the geodes—that’s dragon eggs to you—for the Northern California Renaissance Faire in a couple of weeks.”

  “Tell him Keelie Heartwood called, and I need to speak to him as soon as possible.”

  “Well, hello, Keelie! You’re Zeke’s girl. He talks about you all the time. I’ll let Davey know you called, and that it’s urgent. Is there anything I can do to help?”

&nbs
p; She didn’t know Alvain, or how much he might know about Earth magic. “No thanks. I really need to speak to Sir Davey.”

  As Keelie hung up, she pressed her head against the phone. She didn’t know what she was going to do. Sir Davey was out having a Snow White Hi-Ho moment in an Arkansas diamond mine. And he never mentioned he was going to the Northern California Renaissance Faire. Or that he had a brother.

  It stung her, as if he’d betrayed her. He could’ve told her about California, but he probably thought that she would have begged him to take her along. And he would have been right.

  So here she was, stuck saving Elianard and being nice to Elia, who had managed to turn Jake’s attention away from Keelie.

  She looked at the Magic Forest Tattoo shop. She deserved a belly button ring. The world owed her a belly button ring.

  Keelie marched in. A high wooden counter (yellow pine, Georgia) ran along one side of the shop, plastered with pictures of possible tattoos, everything from tribal designs to beautiful colorful renditions of dragons. There seemed to be a lot of fairy drawings.

  A scary-looking dentist’s chair with a tray table next to it was on the other side, along with a low counter covered with bottles and jars.

  A purple-haired woman with a fairy tattoo on her arm looked up from a three-ring binder of tattoo samples and smiled at Keelie. “Just looking? It’s all right to look. I won’t bite.”

  “I’d like to get my belly button pierced.”

  Her pierced eyebrows rose. “How old are you?”

  Oh, great, here came the “you’ll need your parent’s permission to get a piercing” comment. “Eighteen.”

  The woman lowered one of the eyebrows. “I was sixteen when I got my first tattoo.”

  “Two years younger than me.” She was pleased that her voice sounded steady.

  The woman walked around the corner of the counter. “Are you hiking in the forest?”

  “No, I’m visiting with my grandmother.”

  “I have a lot of hikers come in to get a tattoo as a reminder of their spiritual and mystical experience in the Dread Forest.”

  “Really? I thought most people were afraid to go in the forest.” Keelie wondered how long the Dread had been fading if people were finding it “mystical.” Sounded like a bunch of New Age hooey to her, the kind Laurie’s mother would fall for. Of course, Keelie talked to trees and fairies, so who was she kidding?