by T K Eldridge
“Got it,” Ethan was bouncing his butt off his heels as he knelt on the stool, so excited to be helping. I had to remember this for when he was a teenager and didn’t want to help.
By the time we got the pizzas in the oven, there was shredded cheese all over the counter and floor, and Ethan had eaten about six slices of pepperoni. But there was a lot of laughter on my part, giggles on Ethan’s, as he went to get the dustpan and broom to try to help clean up the floor.
Once we had everything cleaned up, the pizza was done and Ethan didn’t want to wait until it was cool enough to eat. I distracted him with using a napkin to make a bib and pouring milk until the pizza had cooled past the burn your mouth stage. I cut the pizzas and put some on a plate for Ethan, then some for myself. We sat and ate, and after about half of one of those naan pizzas, Ethan was full. That’s when he went from cool kid to psychotic monster. Or, at least, that’s what it felt like.
“Alright, little man, let me get you wiped up and then it’s nap time.”
You would’ve thought I just suggested he cut off his left arm. The wails of distress with his body going limp and sprawling on the floor was a first for me. I wet a corner of a towel to wipe his face and hands. I used soap and water, not the battery acid his screams seemed to imply I was using. I tried to pick him up, but he kicked and flailed his arms enough to nearly give me a black eye. Finally, I whispered a word and lifted him with air, floating him across the room and towards the stairs. He stopped screaming and looked around as I walked up the stairs, floating him about waist height all the way up to his room. He was silent, eyes huge, barely twitching until I lowered him onto his bed.
Only then did he whisper, “Was that magic?”
“Yes, it was. Just so you know, pulling that crap with me won’t keep you from having to do what you have to do. Now, roll over and get some sleep. I’ll close the blinds and leave the door open, but no more of that screaming baloney, you got it?”
“Yes, Sin,” he whispered, pulled his bear close and rolled over.
Once I was back downstairs, I got a beer out of the fridge. Screw milk, I needed a beer after that. Beer and pizza. Food of the gods.
When Mira came home, I helped her unload the car and told her about our pizza and temper tantrum afternoon. She looked embarrassed that the boy had behaved like that and I told her he was still asleep, and it had been almost an hour and a half.
“Don’t worry, love. I handled it and he’s fine. He’ll probably tell you all about the pizza and being floated up to his room.”
She covered her mouth and giggled before giving me a hug. “Thank you for taking care of him for me.”
“Hey, he’s my responsibility too now. It’s my job to help take care of him, and to take care of you.”
“Well, he should be waking up soon. Let me get the last few things put away and I’ll go wake him. Didn’t you want to go for a run today?”
“I did, but Grampa suggested I stay close to home. He’s worried because he can’t get those two who tried to get past the wards to talk. And Sid’s on her way over.”
“I’ll be glad when this is behind us,” Mira said and headed into the kitchen.
I had to agree. I was tired of us living on the edge all the time. Hard to plan your future when your present was in a constant state of chaos.
* * *
Sid showed up much later with a bottle of wine, a six pack of my favorite beer and takeout from Little Ming’s.
We all had a nice dinner with Ethan being exceptionally well behaved. While Mira was giving him his bath and getting him in bed, Sid and I cleaned up the food and sat down with our drinks. She pulled out an old book that I barely remembered. It was bound with a worn blue leather cover.
“Do you remember when Mom used to read stories out of this book to us, when we were little?” Sid asked.
“I vaguely remember it. Honestly, Sid, Mom would start reading and I’d be asleep before she got past ‘Once upon a time’.”
Sid laughed and nodded. “I remember. But there’s a story in here, and when I was a teen, I looked up ‘The Ballad of Tam Lin’ that Mom once told me this story was similar to. It talks about changelings, fae children left in place for stolen mundane children. The Tam Lin tale, from Scottish folklore, said the children were replacements for the fae children that were part of a tribute or a tithe paid to the devil. There is also a reference to this in the ballad of Thomas the Rhymer. The common pieces are that some changelings forget they are fae and live a happy human life, while those that cannot forget they are changelings, go back to the fae world without warning their human family. A lot of common beliefs say that this was folklore set up to allow sickly children to be abandoned to the wilderness so as not to be a drain on a farming family’s resources. Tales are in most every culture about children being swapped out for fae babies. I think they’re stories made to explain some of what we’re seeing happen here.”
I took the book from Sid and read the story. It was only about four pages long and told of a pretty young wife who watched her new baby disappear out a window. When she ran outside to try and catch who stole her child, she saw the baby lying in a beautiful woven basket, decorated with flowers. She picked up the child and the basket and carried it back inside. From that day forth, the child showed uncanny intelligence, strength, beauty, and a skill with growing things. They were a successful and well-loved farmer in the village. However, they would never pick up a sword or use the metal farm tools, preferring a bow and arrows or wooden implements.
“Well, the sword thing is probably because when the story was first written, iron was a major component in swords and farm tools. Now, there are other metals used for weaponry,” I said.
“That’s all great, Sin, but the point is, this little story doesn’t make it out as a bad thing the child was stolen, while all the others, it is evil. We need to find out who wrote this version of the changeling story.”
“Well, if it was Mom’s book, maybe it was also Grandma’s book?”
Sid sat up and slid her phone over on the table, dialed the number and hit speaker. “Let me call Grams and ask her.”
I opened a beer and listened to Sid talk to Grams, thinking about the story. “A tithe to pay the devil, huh?”
Grams answered the phone with a “Yes, Siddie, I put the groceries you had delivered in your fridge and left the rest on the counter for you. I love those new dishes you bought. They’re so cheerful! And the new comforter for your bed, and those towels are just to die for.”
“Grams! Did you go through my whole place?”
“Well, it’s not much space to go through, is it? Am I not supposed to use your facilities when I’m there?”
I heard Sid sigh and watched her scrub her face with a hand while I laughed silently.
“Grams, I called about something important. Do you remember a blue leather bound book of stories that Mom used to read to us when we were little? It’s pretty old and there is no title page or name on the cover.”
“I think I remember something like that. It’s hand printed, right?” Grams asked.
“Yeah, and the pages are yellowed and thick, like cloth.”
“My mother had it as a child and passed it along to me. It was her primer, I guess you call it. That’s her printing.”
“Oh, wow, Grams. This is a real treasure then. Do you have any idea where the stories are from? Because one of them may be a hint to what’s going on with the fae kids being stolen,” Sid said.
“If I remember correctly, she said she wrote them down as she was told them.”
“We’re talking about Margaret Fraser Fortin, right?”
“Yes, that’s my Mama’s name,” Gram’s said. I heard a faint quiver in her voice.
“Grams, you okay?” I asked.
“Yes, Sin, I’m fine. And you’re right, Sid. My Mama wasn’t born around here.”
“Where was she born, Grandma?” Sid asked, voice soft.
There was a pause, then Grandma answer
ed, “She was born on the other side of the Veil. In the Court of Light. I love you both, but I need to go rest now. Goodnight, my loves.” And the phone disconnected.
“She’s still having a hard time with the memory block her mother put on her way back when she was stolen,” Sid said. “So anytime we talk about stuff around her Mama or the kidnappings or the fact that her mother came from Faery, it makes her feel unsteady. She’s doing well, though, Sett said. It was just a pretty solid block for over a hundred and thirty-something years, y’know?”
“I can’t imagine. I mean, we’ve had a lot of stuff hidden from us, but no one actually messed with our memories about it. At least, I don’t think so,” I said.
“Gee, you’re so cheerful and encouraging, brother-mine,” Sid teased.
“So, you went to see Mrs. Duchamp today, right? How was she holding up?” I asked.
“Better than I expected, honestly. She told me about Finn being the grandson of the King of Faery and that the children are treated as the royal offspring they truly are. They don’t usually take them until they’re teens, but if things are imploding in Faery, they may be just taking them now no matter what the age to stop the degeneration of the dimension.”
“I’d really like to have a chat with this Finn guy. Find out how many kids he has out there, what the whole dimensional implosion threat is and how the kids are supposed to help,” I said. “I need to get Ethan off their list of most wanted. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect him.”
Sid reached out and hugged me, then finished the wine in her glass and got to her feet. “Let Mira enjoy the rest of the wine. I’m going to head home and see what kind of mess Grams made in my place.”
“I’ll be here. Grampa said to stick around until they could get something out of the guy that tried to break the wards. He said if they couldn’t get in, they’d try to lure Ethan out.”
“I’m doing paperwork tomorrow,” Sid said and she sounded a little – off. “If you want, I’ll keep an eye on him so you guys can go out?”
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Yes, I’m sure. I’ve got a stack to work through, and I can get Grams involved in keeping him busy.”
“What kind of paperwork, sis?”
Sid looked away and her shoulders sagged. “I’m taking a different position in the SPD. I talked to Grampa and he had some ideas. I just really hate the street work, Sin. I’ve always been happier buried in my books and research, while you’ve liked being around people. It’s why I studied for pre-Law and you did pre-Med.”
I stepped closer and gave her a hug. “I’ll miss working with you, sis.”
“Oh, we’ll still be working together. I just won’t be out on the streets. I’m on the team, but doing research, analysis, and interviews. Stuff like that.”
I felt relief at that. I loved being able to work with Sid, but I had noticed something wasn’t quite great with her in this job. “That’s good to hear, Sid. I love you. Go home and get some rest. If Mira wants to go get some stuff for the house tomorrow, I’ll take you up on that babysitting offer.”
I watched as Sid went out to her SUV and drove down the road. Doors locked and ward set, I turned off lights and headed upstairs. Ethan was sound asleep, tucked against Mira who was watching him sleep. I gave her a little wave from the door and she held up a finger, saying she’d join me in a minute, so I got myself ready for bed and turned down the covers. I was going to take Mira out tomorrow and make sure we got whatever she wanted to make this place more ‘ours’ and less a collection of everyone else’s stuff. She deserved to have a home she felt comfortable in. One that was safe.
* * *
The next morning, we dropped Ethan off with Sid and Grams, then headed into town. I had considered the trip into the city, but didn’t want to be too far from Ethan, just in case. So downtown Belle Cove it was. We found a few pieces of furniture at the two shops off Main street, some art we both liked and some new towels and stuff that Mira said we had to have. Curtains and pillows and things filled the back of the SUV before I finally called a break and pulled up at Moe’s Diner.
We were laughing and I had my arm around Mira when I pulled the door open and escorted her inside. A table near the window was free, so we took our seats and Mira grabbed a menu.
“What are you getting?”
“I’m getting the bacon cheeseburger, steak fries, coleslaw and a large chocolate shake.”
“Then I’ll get the cheeseburger and coleslaw and steal some of your fries, and a small peppermint shake,” Mira said.
I laughed and took her hand where it lay on the table. “Then I’ll order extra fries.” I heard someone approach the table and at first I thought it was the waitress. Then I heard the voice and my whole body tensed up.
“Well, if it isn’t Sinclair Boudreau,” said Cherry Marshall, the woman that still made me want to slap her every time she opened her mouth. It was a reflex thing. I curled my fingers into a fist and Mira squeezed my hand with hers.
“Ms. Marshall,” I replied.
“Aren’t you going to introduce us?” Cherry said as she stood hip-shot in a dress the same color as her name that looked like it had been painted on her scrawny, fake-boobed frame. Even her hair looked fake, dyed a blonde I hadn’t seen since colorized movies of Marilyn Monroe.
“Nope,” I said, then turned to smile at Mira. “I’ll go order at the counter. Be right back, love.”
Mira smiled at me as I slid out of the booth and pushed past Cherry to go place our order. I leaned on the counter and watched in the mirrored menu board over the ordering window – just in case Cherry tried a rear assault while I stood there.
I watched in the mirror as Cherry held out her hand to Mira and said “I’m Cherry Marshall. Sinclair and I dated all through high school. We’re getting married someday.”
I blinked at her words and shook my head. Then I heard Mira’s reply.
“Well, hello Ms. Marshall. I’ve heard about you. Seems you’re still just as good with your delusions now as you were way back then. I’m Mira Langlois, Sinclair’s fiancee. Guess you’re not getting that wedding after all.”
I watched Cherry’s face go pale white, then flush as red as her dress. She turned and screamed at me across the diner.
“Sinclair Boudreau, you lying sack of shit! You said you was gonna marry me! How dare you marry someone else?”
Before I could open my mouth to reply, I saw an older man walk up to Cherry, grab her by the arm and start to drag her out of the diner.
“Sorry folks,” he called out. “My wife hasn’t had her medication today. I’ll get her out of your hair.”
“I’m not your wife and I don’t need drugs,” Cherry screamed as she slapped at the man’s arm. He sighed, turned and with a smooth shift, had her up over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry as he headed out the door.
I turned around and looked at the waitress. “She come around here often?” I asked.
“Only since she got out of Belle View Sanitarium. She still thinks she’s in high school. That man’s her husband, David. They were married about two years and she had three miscarriages and it broke her, poor thing.”
I actually felt bad for poor Cherry. “That’s horrible. I knew her in high school, but then I guess you figured that out. Anyway let me give you our order?”
Once the order was handled, I went back to the table and told Mira what the waitress had said. We agreed that it was awful and then Mira made me love her even more.
“Maybe we should see what your Grams knows about potions to help her situation, and send a basket to her husband?”
“That sounds like a great idea. Cherry’s from a witch family, but very minor. Not many of them have any real power.”
“So it’s okay to send potions and special stuff. Excellent.”
The rest of our time at the diner we laughed and ate, and Mira decided this was on her list of best food places in her new home town. Before we headed back to the farm, though, I took her
over to Nightingale’s Jewelers and she picked out the kind of ring she wanted. White gold, Celtic knotwork and turquoise gemstones that matched her eyes would soon decorate her left hand. It would take a while for the ring to be made and charmed and blessed – but the process was begun. I just hoped everything would be settled with the case and Ethan before it was time to come get the ring.
The case needed to be done before we could move forward.
Chapter Fourteen
Sid
I brought some of Grandma’s blueberry muffins and two coffees to Grampa’s office. Breakfast together had started to become a part of our routine, and I think we both really loved it. I also had the folder with all of the documentation signed to transfer me to a different job category. I found myself not dreading going to work for the first time in a long time. I didn’t realize how much I had been stressed by it all until I didn’t have to do that part any longer.
“Grampa, ready for breakfast?” I asked as I nudged the partially open door wider. He stood by the windows, but didn’t turn to greet me when I came in.
“Grampa?” I set the food and coffee down on an empty area on his desk. “You okay?”
Grampa shook his head and turned to me. “I’m not, Sid. This case is bringing back a lot of long lost memories.”
I rubbed his arm and sighed. “I’m so sorry, Grampa. Do you want to talk about it?”
“Close the door. Let me have some coffee and whatever you brought to eat and I’ll think about it. I don’t want to burden you with this.”
“That’s what family’s for, Grampa. We help each other carry those burdens that are too heavy to handle alone,” I said as I closed the door, then set out the muffins and coffee.
After we both ate a muffin and had some coffee, Grampa leaned back and met my eyes. “Did you get the paperwork done?”
“I did. And, making the change seems to have been the right thing for me. I felt a lot lighter on my way in today.”
