by B. J. Smash
I changed the subject before I lost my temper. I needed to know exactly what happened to Sabina and Ameena. We couldn’t afford to have another Helsberg on our hands.
“What three wishes did you make?”
“You should be able to figure that out on your own but if you need me to…I’ll explain it.”
I tapped my foot and waited impatiently but Izadora watched the scene behind us. Everyone talked continuously to one another, vocalizing their opinions of what to do with Ella. Snake Man stood by Ian telling him the story about how he lost his head once, in Helsberg.
“It was Ella’s doing,” he explained.
Ian wheeled his chair backwards when he realized exactly what Snake Man was talking about. “Your head comes off?”
“It does,” Snake Man said.
“Well that’s interesting,” Izadora said.
I tapped her on the leg to gain her attention. “Izadora. The three wishes?”
Annoyed with me, she said, “I wished for the two sister’s to be set free. They are now in a unique but quaint little town in India. In the jungle area. A place where they used to live with their father. They say it’s overgrown now, but that’s the way they prefer it.”
“Yeah. I’ve seen it,” I said.
Drumm looked impressed but he didn’t say anything.
“How…” she began, but I interrupted her.
“What other two wishes did you make?”
“I wished to have Merribay back of course. Well, I wished for my powers to return and then I fixed Merribay back to the way I left it. When I had first arrived here, Ella had taken over the place. She had your sister kneeling before her with a tray of scones and tea, and Ella was sitting on Eadgar’s lap and he was feeding her grapes. Much to his dismay, I must add.”
“Zinnia must have been angry,” I said.
This time Drumm spoke up. “When Izadora changed things back to the way they were, Zinnia punched Ella in the nose. Twice. It might be broken.”
“That’s why her nose is black and blue,” I said as it dawned on me where the discoloration came from.
“The third wish, well, I think you have guessed it already, but I’ll explain it anyway. I wished the town of Helsberg back to its own timeframe. I wished it back to the way it was before we ever messed with it.”
I nodded my head. “I know. I almost didn’t make it out of there. If it hadn’t been for Ladriant, I’d still be there.”
Drumm’s body stiffened at the mention of Ladriant. “Thank goodness he was there.” I thought for a moment he said it sarcastically because he wanted to be the one to save me. But I could tell by his eyes that he meant it. He was all about my safety.
Ladriant stood next to Ian. He listened to them talk but watched us.
“Alright. Everyone!” Izadora smacked her staff against the tree. Everyone clamped their mouths shut midsentence.
“Ladriant and…” Izadora whispered down to me, “What is the name of the man that holds the snake?”
“Snake Man,” I said. At this point I couldn’t remember his real name.
“Ladriant and Snake Man. You will both head to my house where I will debrief you. I need to know all that went on in Helsberg, from your point of view,” Izadora commanded.
“Debrief?” I giggled. She acted like she was an FBI agent or something.
She ignored me and waited for Ladriant and Snake Man’s answer. When they both agreed to go with Izadora she said, “I’ll take care of Ella. Drumm, show these two where my house is.”
The three of them turned to go and I wanted to go with them, but my plan was thwarted when Ian said, “Look at your feet! They are filthy. What were you doing? Wallowing in the mud? And your clothing is near shreds.”
“You have no idea…” I started to say but just shook my head instead.
“Well, someone needs a long hot bath,” he said. “And comb your hair. You look like a wild woman from the Orionary Forest.”
“What? Where is that?” I asked.
“That’s a story for another day…but remind me someday, I’ll tell you the entire story. Go take a bath.”
“She’s a Tom boy. I’ve tried to help her learn to be a lady. She doesn’t listen!” Zinnia, queen of primping, said.
Ian’s eyes drifted to Lucian’s amber coffin. I realized his suggestion to take a bath was his attempt at bringing humor to the situation. Humor had always been Ian’s way of dealing with anything. I could tell by the way he watched Lucian that he didn’t know what to think of him. His favorite nephew was on the brink of death.
When he noticed me watching him, he knew that I knew how he was feeling. He averted his eyes and said, “Just go take a bath and get a bite to eat. There is nothing we can do right now.”
“We don’t need you right now and you look like your about to tip over. Go ahead and go to your grandparent’s house,” Izadora commanded.
It was true that I hadn’t bathed or eaten in quite some time. A headache threatened to torment me and every muscle in my arms and legs ached. I could use a good soak and some food but I didn’t want to leave. There had to be something for me to do here. Someone had to guard Lucian. Someone had to help Izadora with Ella. Ladriant was new to this area, he might want a tour. Something!
I opened my mouth to protest. That’s when my father arrived on cherry tree lane. His dark hair combed and parted to the side. He was a tall man with a clean shaven face. He walked along the path and stopped. Old Spice lingered in the air. I could see the pride in eyes as he stood tall but his face was stern. He motioned for me to follow him. “Come home, Ivy. You’ve done enough.”
I knew that look well. You didn’t argue with that look. I was stubborn like a mule but when it came to my father…you didn’t argue with him. He had to be the only one in the world that I’d listen to.
Chapter Twenty Five
I spent the evening at Gran’s house with my family. Although my father didn’t want me to head out again so soon, he wasn’t about to stand in the way. Besides, he was planning a visit to the Land of the Elven to see my mother soon.
This excited me and freaked me out at the same time. They hadn’t seen each other for nearly seventeen years. Oh, and that brings me to a whole different subject. Tomorrow, I turned seventeen. On Friday. Friday the 13th. And the moon would be full that evening.
So, we had birthday cake. I blew out the candles, made my wish and pushed it into the back of my mind. Hopefully, it would come true. They say it is bad to vocalize your birthday wish until it comes to fruition, but what I wished for was the best possible outcome for my trip.
I’d like to say that I’m not superstitious; but I’d be lying. I can’t say anything bad has ever happened to me on any birthday that has taken place on Friday the 13th but I’ve always took precautions. On those days, I’ve always worn my underwear inside out – and worn my shirt backwards. I can’t say it’s been comfortable but nothing bad has ever happened to me. Oh, and Izadora taught me a new one…to wear a green ribbon underneath the back of your hair. I tied one in right after my bath.
Anyway, when we were done with cake, I hugged each of my family members and thanked them for my gifts. Soon after, Drumm, Tom and William showed up.
They explained what had happened to them after they’d been whisked out of Helsberg and planted in Merribay. Izadora had been there to greet them. At first William had cowered low and ran behind the azalea bushes, but after some heavy talking and cookie bribery, Tom coerced him back out in the open.
After all…Tom said she already knew who they were and why they’d gone to Helsberg to find the djinn bottle. Tom had explained, anyway, his version of why they needed the bottle. He said Izadora must have been in a damn good mood, because she actually called her mother Aggie using some type of long and fancy horn like it was a telephone. It took some convincing but Aggie had agreed that Magella could return to the ocean after the full moon. She couldn’t return before the full moon, because “she might get up to no good.”
>
So, it would be that Magella would return to the high seas and Tom’s mother was now free from any dealings with Magella. It all worked out. Just like Izadora knew it would. I think that years and years ago, Izadora suspected what would be happening today. She might not have known the whole outcome but she knew enough about it.
Now that brings me to Ella. According to Izadora, Ella and Uncle Royal had been living on the coast in two separate caravans. The old fashioned gypsy kind that had wheels and were pulled by horses. They had been staying there for the past several months because Ella’s mother, Lucille, had abandoned them. Uncle Royal informed us that on occasion, people reported them to the Maine State Police, reporting that they’d seen two old fashioned caravan’s on the beach. When the police would inspect the beach, they found nothing. Ella would cloak them, and apparently she was extremely proficient in cloaking. “Was” is the key word here. She “was” extremely proficient in cloaking. The tea had erased all memories and she wasn’t happy about it.
Izadora had the two caravan’s brought to Gran’s front yard and placed a circle of protection around them. Uncle Royal can get in and out of this circle, but Ella cannot. She will remain prisoner there until further notice. Or until Gran gets sick of them – which probably won’t be long. It will be then that Izadora moves Ella to Magella’s old prison. The crannog on Elder’s lake in Merribay. The crannog must be inspected first to ensure that Magella doesn’t leave behind any trace of magical elements or spells. Even though it was clearly stated that Magella couldn’t perform any magic during her imprisonment, we all knew she dabbled with little spells here and there.
Here is where things got interesting. The main reason Ella and Uncle Royal had moved to Maine is because, Ella had heard about Zinnia’s adventures with the UnSeelie. We are still unclear how she learned about this, but Izadora assumed it’s from some type of scrying device that she had used to view Zinnia from time to time. Izadora has requested that someone bring her Ella’s trunk from Gran’s, where she will take it upon herself to search for any crystal balls or magic mirrors (or any other numerous kinds of things.)
Regardless of how Ella learned about Zinnia’s adventures, she ended up finding the white bridge in Merribay that leads to a section of Fairyland that the Fae use to hold parties. There she met up with Darvon, who was said to have liked her red hair and blue eyes.
During the time she was meeting up with Darvon, she was also lying to Ish McTish, telling him that she would get the djinn bottle for him. He had no idea that she was so crazy!
Uncle Royal claims that he knew nothing about the Fae, Ish or Darvon. He never knew Ella was leaving the caravan at night.
Even thinking about it now, I have to wonder what else Ella discovered in Fairyland. I would like to talk to her someday but there would be no time for it now. She needed time to calm down. Earlier I walked by her to get something from Granddad’s car and Ella was sitting on a lawn chair in front of her caravan. I planned on ignoring her, as I didn’t want to pour salt on a fresh wound, but her constant hissing pulled my attention in. When I looked into her eyes, she reminded me of that girl from the Exorcist movie. Her once beautiful glossy hair was in tangles and her eyes had darkened significantly. Her once creamy white skin had paled three or four shades. At the time, I couldn’t help but wonder if Izadora’s invisible protective barrier would hold her in.
She had caused me to become extremely nervous and so I had fumbled for words. “I like your caravan,” I had said, while I leaned from one foot to the other. “It’s a pretty shade of green. And uh…your father’s caravan is pretty neat too. Yellow isn’t the color I would have picked, but it’s cool. I mean…they remind me of hobbit houses. You can’t get any better than that.”
That’s when she jumped up and ran at me full blast, growling like a bear. If she didn’t look possessed, I might have remained a bit calmer, but she did look possessed – and I pulled one of Gran’s bamboo plant stakes from the ground, and held it up like a sword. I thought for sure she’d reach me and I’d have to beat her down.
Thank goodness for the invisible barrier! When she ran into it, it had acted like an electric fence. It jolted her and she shook violently for a moment, and then fell on her backside. “Not bad,” I had said aloud, thinking about how Izadora’s spells were awesome.
Ella hadn’t liked my comment. She vowed then and there to come after me and Zinnia one day. I think her exact words were: “Ivy. I am going to get out of here and hunt you and your sister down. I will hunt you like a hunter hunts a wild boar.” Only her voice sounded a bit rough, like someone who was undergoing a possession. I suppose that could have been my imagination playing tricks on me.
That’s when I decided it was time to walk away. She had a few screws loose upstairs in that head of hers, and she needed some time to recover…or receive mental help.
Even now, I walked to the foyer window to peak out at her. She stood at the edge of her barrier and watched the house. “Holy cow she’s creepy,” I said to no one.
Of course it was Uncle Royal that overheard me. He was on his way to the kitchen for his third piece of cake. “Oh she’ll be fine. She’s just a little spoiled. I told her mother not to give her everything she wanted.”
Drumm looked over my head and peered out the window. “OoOo…she is sort-of scary. You better keep an eye on her.”
“I tell you…she’ll be fine! She’s acted out like this before. I’ll just give her her flute and she’ll be content.” He brushed us aside and started a conversation with Gran. Gran’s eyes were like hoola-hoops but she continued to be nice to Uncle Royal. She felt sorry for him; and not so sorry for Ella.
“He’s in denial,” Drumm whispered.
“Yeah. I think I liked Ella better when she giggled all the time,” I said.
I pried myself away from the window. Something about Ella drew me in and mesmerized me.
Drumm and I sat in the parlor with Aunt Cora and Aunt Clover. They were oblivious to everything around them and completely ignored our entry. They were tee-heeing like old school girls and both of them had been into the booze. Aunt Cora tied her silky brown hair up in a loose bun and she wore plenty of burgundy colored lipstick on her lips. Each time she sipped from her wine glass, lipstick would remain on the rim.
Back in the “old days” Aunt Cora wouldn’t dream of wearing colored lipstick. She always used pearl pink lip gloss, which added just a touch of shine. She would then blot it ten times to make sure that it wasn’t too bold. Ever since she met her new beau Minimus, she’s been more adventurous and daring. It was a good thing if you asked me. Gone were the days of nitpicking every single pain, twitch or ailment she experienced – and recording them into a recording device. Yes, she still carried her recorder but she didn’t use it as much. And yes, she still recorded the occasional ailment but she claimed she felt more alive, and healthier than she’d ever felt before. It was all due to Minimus. He had gotten her mind away from germs and diseases.
Aunt Clover sat in Gran’s Victorian chair. Her ankle had fully recovered, thanks to Izadora. Ish McTish had been the one responsible for placing the black rope in Posie’s collar, and causing the curse. However, after some smooth talking – he’d been forgiven.
A dainty stained glass lamp, a bottle of whisky and a single shot glass sat on the side table next to her arm. Her eyes were vibrant and glossy and she had a permanent smile on her face. Her pearly teeth glistened in the light of the lamp. She swiped a blonde curl from her eyes and pushed it behind her ear. As she laughed at something Aunt Clover said, the curl came loose and fell back into her face. She poured a dram of whisky into a shot glass and tipped it up at Aunt Cora. “Here’ss to you and Minimusss,” she slurred. “I like that name. He sounds like a lil’ mouse.”
Aunt Cora giggled. “Oh Clover. You’re crazy. Are you excited to do some research in Hy Brasil?”
I still didn’t know what to think of all this pirate nonsense and I still didn’t know what to think about “
past lives” but I listened carefully. I hadn’t heard anything about Aunt Clover’s hypnotherapy sessions and the best time to find out any information from my aunts was when they had been drinking.
“Of course! I ‘member him like it was yesterday,” Aunt Clover said.
Her random statement puzzled Aunt Cora. “Who do you remember?” Aunt Cora wrinkled her brow.
“Johnnie,” Aunt Clover hiccupped.
“Clover…you never mentioned a man by the name of Johnnie. During our sessions you just told me about the treasures you kept finding,” Aunt Cora said.
“I dunno. I just ‘member him all of a sudden.” Aunt Clover waved her hand like it was nothing to worry about.
This baffled Aunt Cora. “It is true that over time...you will remember things from our sessions. Things that will randomly pop into your mind. But you’ve never mentioned a Johnnie until now. What did he look like?”
“He’s got a long face. A mustache. A goatee. A short beard…oh! Oh! And he braids the beard.”
“What color is his hair?” Aunt Cora asked, genuinely curious.
“It is dark brown. He has dark brown eyes. He’s about six foot. He likes to wear a bandana or some type of scarf in his hair. And he has a scar on his right cheek.”
Aunt Cora pursed his lips, and made a smacking sound. “Ohhh. Is the scar shaped like a…a…crescent?”
“It is!” Aunt Clover leaned forward, slapped the arm of the chair and fell back in her seat knocking the side table. The lamp rocked back and forth, and the bottle of whisky vibrated with the movement.
“Oh,” Aunt Cora’s eyes opened unnaturally wide. She leaned her arm on the back of the couch and let her hand fall over her lips.
“Why? Why do you ask me that quess-tion?” Aunt Clover slurred.
“Oh nothing,” Aunt Cora said.
