“You mean you’ve locked him up and won’t let him leave?”
Mrs. Cheshire shot out of her chair again.
“If you cannot be still then just leave,” said Divoni tightly.
Ha, I thought, trying to hide my glee at Mrs. Cheshire’s being reprimanded.
“That girl is the epitome of disrespect,” she said, pointing one red-nailed finger at me.
“That is not the point at the moment.”
“His family must accept you,” said Alderoy. “Not just Susan, but his mother as well. Her rejection does not bode well for...things.”
He couldn’t bring himself to say that they were considering killing me off. Well, that was nice of him. I looked around at the three members of the Fairy Court.
“What am I supposed to say to her?”
Divioni coughed. “You are supposed to beg her forgiveness and request that she accept you into the family like a proper Fairy, instead of some outcast minx.”
“I wouldn’t be an outcast if you hadn’t arrested us,” I told him. “What we did wasn’t wrong. It’s only bad because you say so.”
Divioni’s face hardened, but Alderoy cut him off. “It is bad because we say so and we are in charge. I will thank you not to upset my colleague in the future,” he said, patting Divioni’s arm. “Now, you may go. There might be another one of these little chats in our future. Prepare yourself.”
It took everything I had not to give a sarcastic reply.
“Wait a minute,” I said. “Why do you want me to get along with the Summer Queen? Everything you have done up to this point as been to try to tear me away from Holt. What’s with the change?”
Now even Alderoy was losing his patience with me.
“It is NOT for you to question us,” he sputtered. “You will do what you are told and you will not try to understand concepts that are massively beyond your intellect.”
With an effort I calmed down. Forcing myself to take deep breaths, I simply nodded. “Sorry,” I mumbled, ordering myself to think of Holt and nothing else. I couldn’t afford to anger the Supreme Council, not with Holt still in prison. And maybe not ever.
I knew that the Winter Queen sat fuming in the corner, but I didn’t so much as look at her as I left. The one part of my encounter with the Supreme Council that stuck with me was that if we were probably going to have another chat, and it had taken us a month to have the first one, it could be a very long time indeed before they let Holt go.
A part of me was still harboring a secret idea that they would release him sooner rather than later, that one night he was going to appear in my room and cry, “Surprise, they let me go. And neither of us has to die! Bonus!” But that hadn’t happened, and it was looking less likely all the time.
Samuel was waiting for me in the hall, as promised. I had forgotten how warm it was in the room until I stepped into the cooler corridor.
“Are you alright?” he asked, placing the back of his hand against my hot forehead. He felt as cool as ever and I relaxed into his touch.
“Fine,” I said.
“What did they want?”
“Oh, you know, the usual, dress fittings and such.”
When Samuel didn’t respond I said, “They want me to go see Holt’s mother. I have no idea why, but they told me that the Summer Fairies have to accept me. But I thought that Holt was in prison because they didn’t want me to become part of the Summer Fairies.”
I said all this as we were walking down the stairs and out the front door. I guess I got to use the front door when I wasn’t there to visit my boyfriend.
Samuel’s car was parked out front and he opened the door for me to get in. I was surprised he was still so gentlemanly. I hadn’t been treating him well lately.
Surprisingly, the car wasn’t cold. “Had you been running it to warm it up?” I asked, touched that he had thought of that.
Samuel shrugged, but didn’t answer.
“You know why they want you to go talk to the Roths, don't you?” he asked. It was now past eleven at night and my own mother was probably at home wondering where I was.
“Because they want something good to come from all this nonsense?” I asked.
Samuel scoffed. “My mother doesn’t want you and Holt to be together. Nothing is ever going to change that.”
I stared at the road in silence. It was such a back road that there were no yellow lines down the middle, and it struck me as funny that this was where I had found so many Fairies.
“Why haven’t the Roths gone somewhere warm to live for the winter?” I asked. I vaguely remembered Holt saying that Summer Fairies tried to live in the summer as much of the time as possible.
Samuel glanced at me, but I didn’t have time to read the expression on his face.
“Why do you think?” he asked.
“Because of me?”
“Yup.”
I chewed my lips. “I find it hard to believe that I’m the cause of all the Fairy difficulties in the world,” I said. “You know, like, Fairies are powerful and here you’re saying that little old me is setting everyone on their ears.”
“It only takes one,” said Samuel, “and what you did was serious. They can’t just let it go.”
“Well, they could,” I muttered.
“No,” said Samuel, “we can’t.”
It was the first time that he had excluded me from the Fairy community since I had become one, but I was too tired to think about what he meant -- there were so many other issues to deal with instead. Now I had to visit Mrs. Roth, and that couldn’t possibly go well. Even if Susan tried to smooth things over, I had had no contact with Mrs. Roth since the night Holt and I had been taken away in cuffs. Instead, when we got to my house I quickly got out of the car and headed inside, knowing that Samuel would wait in the driveway until he saw my bedroom light go out.
Chapter Twelve
After my meeting with the Supreme Fairies on Friday night I wanted to do something fun. On Saturday, instead of working, I asked Nick if he wanted to go bowling with me after dinner. I was a terrible bowler. Like, there was the worst bowler in the world and then there was me. But I wanted to try, because bowling was one of the few activities available to us in rural Maine.
My meeting with Holt had gone as usual. I had been on an incredible high before I went to see him, but afterwards I just felt deflated. My only relief was that he looked better than he had the first couple of times. He had started to fill out again and the dark circles under his eyes were retreating. It made me think that maybe we were coming to an end of our ordeal.
“Hey,” said Nick when he got to my house. I was reminded for about the millionth time how happy I was that Nick had a car.
“How’s it going?” I asked, following him outside into another cool evening.
“Carley called me,” he said as we got into his car. It wasn’t going to be long now until she visited. I could tell from her emails and texts that she missed us. Instead of forgetting about Nick she seemed more attached than ever.
“Oh?” I asked. Tonight I had gone for comfort, so I wore jeans, a hoodie, and my brown hair tied back in a ponytail. I didn’t care that it was Saturday night, date night, and my boyfriend was sitting underground at the Cheshires’.
“Yeah,” he said, “she sounded weird, but we talked for a long time.”
I raised my eyebrows. Carley never called me. She preferred her emails and her texts way more, but I could tell that she was becoming more and more worried about Nick. Even if she never said directly how much they talked, I got the idea that it was a lot.
“So, are you excited for her to visit?”
Nick grinned. “Of course. It will be awesome to have her here in the fall. I mean, I know she has her own family and school and stuff, but the three of us together all summer was great.”
The bowling alley was packed. We had to park in the very back of the parking lot, far away from the nearest street lamp.
“This is going to be great,” said Nic
k, getting out of the car, “and next weekend we can go to the fair.”
“What fair?” I asked.
“What fair?” he said, with pretend shock. “There’s a massive fair next weekend. All kinds of sweet stuff. Sometimes I volunteer there, but whenever I have a free afternoon you have to come. It will be awesome.”
Always up to be distracted, I agreed.
“How good of a bowler are you?” I asked as we walked inside. There were other people heading in as well, a lot of kids we both went to school with but didn’t really know.
“I’m awesome,” he said, grinning. “Naw, not really, but I was in a league in middle school.”
“Ah, um,” I started to laugh.
“Go ahead,” said Nick stoutly, “make fun. I was in the chess club too.”
I grinned.
“Samuel’s meeting us,” said Nick. “Hopefully he got here first and got us a lane.”
“Is he really?” I asked. Somehow I had expected that. Even though Samuel had been semi-avoiding me all fall, we actually ended up spending a lot of time together. But this would be the first time the three of us had been together and alone since summer.
Samuel had, in fact, gotten there first and gotten us a table. After Nick and I got our bowling shoes, we joined him.
I watched in fascination as Samuel bowled a perfect score every time.
“You’re good at bowling, too?” Nick asked. “Inviting you might have been a mistake.”
Samuel, dressed casually in jeans and a black t-shirt, just grinned. “I’m not that good,” he said. “I’ve only done it a couple of times.”
“Yeah, right,” said Nick. He turned to me and said, “If you’re good too you can find another way home.”
I laughed. “I’m the worst bowler ever,” I said, grinning. Just before Samuel turned around to sit down I saw his eyebrows rise.
At that moment, a little too late, I realized that I might actually be better at bowling because I was a Fairy. It was something I had noticed with both the Holts and the Roths; they were more capable, stronger, and more graceful than most other people. I especially had a lot of proof of that in relation to Samuel.
Since I didn’t do much in the way of physical activity or athletics I hadn’t really noticed a change in my body, except that I felt more limber, but who cared? I wasn’t the yogi type.
Once he sat down Samuel was facing me. And grinning. When he caught my eye I said, “What?” I was suddenly self-conscious.
He just kept grinning. “Go on, give it a try.” He pointed to the row of bowling balls.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I’m just looking forward to this.”
I found myself smiling back.
We spent most of the evening bowling. I actually wasn’t that bad, much to Nick’s frustration. He had no idea that he was bowling with two supernatural beings and just didn’t stand a chance.
In the end, both Samuel and I started to try and bowl badly, just so Nick wasn’t so miserable. In the end, the two of us made it into a game.
At one point I saw Samuel cock his head as if he had heard something surprising, but when he caught me looking he instantly pretended it was nothing. I soon forgot about his worries.
After we had finished a few games, Samuel disappeared and returned with a tray filled with snacks. I am a particular fan of stuffed pretzels and he had gotten me two. On top of that, there was old school root beer, cola, and water.
“What time is it?” Nick asked. Samuel checked his watch. “Almost ten.”
“Oh, I should text my mom,” I said. I hadn’t told her when I’d be home, and since it was a Saturday night and she loved Nick she wasn’t really worried. But she’d be happier if I let her know where we were.
I hadn’t looked at my phone all night, and after rummaging through my bag I realized I didn’t have it.
“Maybe you left it in the car,” said Nick.
“Yeah,” I said. “I should probably go check.”
“Want me to go with you?” Samuel asked. He was looking at me in a way that made something squeeze inside my chest.
“No thanks,” I said. “I’ll only be a minute.”
Grabbing my coat, I dashed for the door before I could change my mind.
The parking lot was still full, but there was no one else outside. Right next to the bowling ally was a restaurant, and I could see people standing outside smoking and chatting, but they were too far away for me to make out their faces.
Nick’s car was never locked. He liked to say that it had so many holes in it there was no point to locking it anyway, but now I was a little worried about my phone.
I walked faster.
Which meant that I didn’t see the dark shapes appear from between the vehicles and slowly surround me.
I got to Nick’s car, and as luck would have it my phone was on the floor where my feet would have been. I swiftly grabbed it up and spun around.
“Ah,” I cried, as my nose collided with a shiny button attached to a shoulder.
A guy was standing in front of me, his very pale eyes gleaming out of the shadows. They were colorful and bright, but I couldn’t see any of his other features. The street lamps cast an enticing glow, but the light was too far away to help me see the guy any better. One thing Fairy strength lacked was an ability to see in the dark, apparently.
“Sorry,” I said, shifting from foot to foot. If this guy thought he was here to rob me he had another thing coming. First, I had left my wallet inside, and second, I was apparently a badass Fairy now.
“You should be,” he said. He spoke fast, but as if he changed his mind about the words he chose right before he said them. It reminded me of wind blowing in all directions.
“Sorry?” I said again, only this time it was a question.
“You are Autumn, are you not?” he asked.
I was about to reply when I saw the darkness shift behind him.
Materializing as if out of the fall air were at least ten other forms. By the way Pale Eyes didn’t turn around when I let out a gasp, it was clear that he knew who they were and expected them to be there.
“Who are you?” I asked.
He shrugged. “It’s not really important, but we came because of the problems we heard of here. We heard that a Prince was making trouble and that a human girl was to blame for the disappearance of one of my friends.”
“You’re friends with Logan?” I asked. It wasn’t that I couldn’t see how Logan had friends. I could, he was very charming...when he wanted to be. I just couldn’t imagine how one of his friends would be mad at me for what had happened. Logan wasn’t even going to get in trouble for what he had tried to do. He was a mamma’s boy to the millionth degree.
“I am,” he said. “My name is Rog.”
“I would say it’s nice to meet you,” I said, “but my mother told me never to lie.”
I heard twitters of laughter in the group behind him, some even high-pitched enough to make me think there were some girls with him. But Rog’s own eyes hardened into tiny pinpricks of anger.
“Logan said you were useless,” said Rog, “and now I can see how he’s right. My only consolation is that the Winter Queen is not as foolish as Logan’s brother, and she will never allow you to get away with what you have done.”
I clenched my jaw until it hurt. “You don’t know anything,” I told him. Bold words considering I knew nothing about this guy or his friends.
“I know enough to do this,” he said. In a flash his hand swiped out. I saw something sparkle faintly, right before something solid and long slapped me across the face.
Rog was a Summer Fairy, I knew, because he had just attacked me with a vine.
I staggered back against Nick’s car as Rog pushed forward, cursing myself for not having sensed the Fairies nearby sooner. I had felt a little off all night but had assumed it was what happiness felt like after a month of being worried and miserable.
I gasped, more i
n surprise than in pain. “Is that the best you can do?” I demanded.
With a growl Rog swiped at me again, but this time I was ready for him. Instead of standing there and letting the magicked vine hit me, I dodged around him. Coming up and under, I called to the plants under Rog’s feet. Long dead, they shifted and sprang to life. It was just enough to push Rog off balance. I darted away between two cars.
Behind me I heard Rog cry, “After her, damnit! Go after her!”
I heard other Fairies arguing with him, but I knew I didn’t have long. Even if his friends didn’t come after me, one of Logan’s friends wasn’t going to let me get the better of him.
I dashed towards the light of the bowling ally. For the first time I felt light on my feet, fast and confident. I wondered if this was the start of what it felt like to be a Fairy.
Luckily, I didn’t even have to go inside. Right before I got to the double doors leading back to my friends, one came crashing open. Out stepped Samuel, his face a web of anger. I came skidding to a halt.
“Are you alright?” he asked, but his eyes weren’t on me. They were searching the darkness at my back.
“I’m super,” I said, putting all the sarcasm I could into my words.
Samuel nodded. “You should probably get behind me.”
“I think that’s a wonderful idea,” I told him, scurrying around.
“Where’s Nick?” I asked from over his shoulder. I had to stand on my tiptoes a little. Samuel was tall.
“He’s inside. No one has any idea this is happening,” said Samuel, “and they won’t unless something goes wrong.”
“Right, well, here’s hoping that doesn’t happen,” I muttered. I saw the back of Samuel’s dark head nod.
I started to murmur a thank you, but just as I did the dark shapes of Rog and his friends started coming towards us. I was glad that in order to come after me, not only would they have to go through Samuel (which I was confident no one in their right mind wanted to do), but they would also have to come into the light.
Autumn Page 10
