“Right.” Keelie nodded in Elia’s direction. “Besides the hysterical mother-to-be, we have a dragon on our side. I think we’ll be pretty safe, especially with you guys along.”
“Let’s hurry then,” Sean said. “Walk behind the women,” he told the elf warriors. “I’ll take the front.”
Ermentrude went to Elia and put an arm around her shoulders. “Come on, dear, let’s get you something to eat. I’m afraid we’ll have to walk.”
“This is the worst trip of my life,” Elia sobbed. “I want to go home.”
“I understand, dear.”
Keelie stomped after them. She felt the same way, but she wasn’t about to whine about it to the world. Warmth for Sean flowed through her. She knew he was doing this as much for her as for Elia.
“Let me give you some relationship advice,” Ermentrude said, glancing back at Keelie. “I dated an elf once, and they need time to think about things.”
“You dated an elf?” Elia asked in a disbelieving tone.
The dragon chuckled to herself as if she was savoring a sweet memory. “He was very athletic.”
Keelie didn’t want to know.
When they finally reached the abandoned streets of Big Nugget, Keelie tried to ignore the fact that about fifteen cats and at least twenty crows were keeping pace with them. Knot and Coyote walked at either side of Elia, who seemed oblivious of the animals. “How far to the Crystal Cup?”
“Just a little bit more.” Keelie, Ermentrude, and the elves kept a wary watch for goblins.
At the café, Keelie and Elia went inside. The building seemed frail compared to the No-Tell Motel. The cats and crows, dragon and guards stayed outside while Elia hunted frantically for food. There were some old bagels under a glass dome. Keelie would have loved to have some coffee, but the coffeepot had been destroyed. No other food remained.
Elia sat down with a bagel and sniffed it. “I guess this is it.”
“This is it.”
Outside, the skies darkened and a cloudy sense of doom enveloped Keelie. “Elia, we need to go. This was a bad idea.”
Elia was reading the menu as she gnawed on the bagel. “I’m not leaving. I’m eating.”
“We need to leave now.” Keelie grabbed Elia’s wrist.
“Not until …” Elia stopped and looked around as if she sensed something was wrong, too. “I think maybe you’re right.”
Keelie heard the discordant jangle and her stomach dropped down to her feet. She was going to have to face a pissed-off Peascod and protect Elia.
The floor cracked and splinters flew everywhere. Peascod and several goblins spun upward.
Elia ran to Keelie, and she wrapped her arms protectively around her.
“What are we going to do?”
“I don’t know.”
Keelie tried to telepathically contact the trees, but it still didn’t work.
Peascod stood in front of Keelie, and he didn’t look happy. He waggled his index finger. “No, no, no. Trees can’t help you now.” His jester’s suit was stained and ripped. He sneered at her, and from underneath his creepy mask, his green bloodshot eyes glowed with hatred.
“Because of you, I have lost my position with Herne. Because of you, Keliel Heartwood, my plans for obtaining the magic have been ruined, but I’m going to enjoy killing you and your pregnant friend. That baby contains a lot of magic, and it will make a worthy gift to my master.”
Elia hid behind Keelie, and she shielded her with her body.
Peascod chuckled. “It won’t help to hide, elf. If you’d been smart, you would have stayed home in the Dread Forest where you and your child were safe.”
Keelie sought out the Earth magic running through the ground beneath the café, and it was weird. It felt like soil that had been tainted with blood. She’d sensed this before, in the Redwood Forest, but this was a darker form of magic.
She stared at Peascod, who laughed. “Yes, blood sacrifice strengthens our magic.”
“I knew you were evil, but this goes beyond what I’d imagined.”
“Thank you. I’ve been working on my evil ways for many years.”
At that moment, a loud pounding on the door erupted. “Kill him!” Peascod yelled to the goblins at his side.
Keelie knew Sean was outside, probably circling around the café ready to attack, and he was walking into a trap.
Cats, birds, and squirrels crashed through the window, shattering glass everywhere. They scrambled in and attacked Peascod. Crows pecked at his face, squirrels dangled from his clothes, and the cats scratched at his exposed skin with sharp claws. The nasty jester shrieked underneath the attacking mass of fur and feathers. Coyote rushed in and bit him on the butt, ripping his jester pants. Oh, gross! Peascod went commando.
Grabbing Elia by the hand, Keelie guided her toward the back of the café. They could make their escape through the kitchen. Sean came charging in the back door, sword drawn.
“Keelie, Elia, this way.”
“Where do you think you’re going?” an armored goblin yelled. He looked like something from a video game.
Sean attacked, smashing his sword down on the goblin’s head.
That had to hurt.
Keelie had to get Elia out of there while Sean kept the goblins busy. As they exited the back door, she looked all around, but she wasn’t expecting what happened next—Peascod spinning up from underneath the ground in front of her. She shielded her face from the flying debris as the disgusting jester blocked their escape.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Blood dribbled in rivulets from the scratches on his face and his arms.
A mop in a bucket of water stood at the back door. Keelie grabbed the mop and shoved it at Peascod’s face. Mop water as a weapon worked for Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz; maybe it would work for Keelie.
Peascod laughed. “That’s not going to work.” He seemed to know where she was going with this.
From his red and black pants pocket, he removed a glass sphere and tossed it up in the air. “You’re going to die, just like she did.” He laughed maniacally. “Linsa was powerful, like you, and her blood was a very good vintage.” His eyes glittered madly.
An image of a lifeless Linsa formed in the reflection of the glass. Peascod was standing over her body.
“This is not the image you showed Herne,” Keelie said.
“No, Lord Herne has not seen what really happened to the Shining One he loved. Nor does he know that I killed her. Linsa had discovered that I was gathering my own goblin army, and she was on her way to tell Herne when—oops! Somebody died. It was easy to make it look as if Herne had done the deed, and Queen Vania believed it.” Peascod laughed. “Linsa’s death caused the rift, which widened. Now there’s a rift among the creatures of the Northwoods, too. The symbolism is rich.”
“I’m shocked you even know what symbolism means,” Keelie said.
Peascod narrowed his eyes. “You’re a mongrel. You’re a mixture of everything, and you’ll never truly belong.”
He wasn’t going to try this psychological angle on her.
“You know, I’ve heard the same thing over and over,” Keelie retorted. “Living with elves toughens you up to the real world.”
Peascod carefully moved forward. “It’s always a rewarding experience to be sure of one’s self.”
Keelie heaved the mop at him. The smell of Pine-Sol filled the air and some water droplets landed on him.
Looking past the shrieking jester (who knew he could jump that high?), she saw Sean sneaking up behind Peascod. But he whirled around in time to stop the surprise attack.
“Oh, look, I’m caught in a love triangle. Shall we all kiss and make up?” Peascod began laughing. He threw the glass sphere up in the air, and as it rose, it arced over toward her.
<
br /> “Keelie, watch out,” Sean shouted as he barreled over to her.
Peascod spun around and disappeared into the soil. The sphere stopped midcourse and then turned, hovering as if it was on a seek-elf trajectory. It zoomed toward Sean.
“Sean!” Keelie screamed.
He lifted his arm up and shielded his face.
As Peascod spun back into the ground like a mad harlequin dancer dancing a frenzied dervish, Keelie picked up the bucket of mop water and threw it. It splashed everywhere, but missed its intended target. The ground was wet and muddy where Peascod had dug his hole.
Blood dripped down Sean’s arm. He’d been protected by his armor, but some of the glass had penetrated the exposed skin. Small fragments were embedded in his face.
“Sean, are you okay?”
“Yeah! What about you? Elia?”
“Elia—she’s not here.” Panic filled Keelie as she remembered what Peascod had said about Elia’s baby being a worthy gift for his master.
“We need to find her. Don’t move. I need to see where the tracks lead us,” Sean said, his armor clinking as he ran.
Keelie bit down on her lips. She needed to calm down. She closed her eyes and reached out for the trees. I need your help.
Peascod’s dampening field of magic had been removed. She dreaded to think what else he had up his jester hat.
Milady, what can we do?
I need to reach Dad. Elia has been taken by goblins. He needs to bring the elves.
“Hurry, Keelie. I think I know where she is,” Sean said.
She followed him down the street. Hundreds of muddy paw prints marred the sidewalks. She had never been so relieved to see anyone in her life as she was to see Elia with Ermentrude.
She ran to Elia and hugged her. “I’m so glad you’re safe.”
Elia hugged back, pressing her teary face into Keelie’s shoulder. “Me, too. I was so scared for my baby, especially after what he said.”
Ermentrude handed Elia a handkerchief embroidered with dragons.
“I know,” Keelie said.
Elia pulled away from her. “Knot and Coyote guided me out of there, and the cats and crows came around and attacked the goblins. We got away, but some found us, but when they saw Ermentrude they ran.”
Knot and Coyote grinned at Keelie.
“Good job, guys.” She nodded toward the dragon. “Thank you.”
Ermentrude shrugged. “I’m a mother myself. I understand these things. Mess with a baby, you mess with me.”
Keelie looked up at the black ribbons flying from the maypole, where the goblins had been dancing. The place was filled with negative magic.
She closed her eyes, concentrating on the current of energy beneath them, and found it—tainted with dark magic, oily with evil. She touched the wood of the maypole, and to her surprise discovered the same essence she’d detected in the Under-the-Hill grove. It had the same telepathic imprint.
“We need to leave,” Ermentrude said in an urgent tone, looking around nervously. “I’ve sensed this darkness before.”
“Ow! That hurts,” Sean yelled as Keelie pulled out the last small shard of glass with tweezers from the side of his face. They were back at the No-Tell Motel, which had a charred wing but was still habitable. Their new rooms were smoky, but it was actually an improvement.
Elia was asleep in a different room, guarded by Coyote and Knot. An army of cats patrolled the motel, along with additional Dread Forest jousters and Northwoods elves. Ermentrude had given them orders to let her know if they saw any goblins.
The dragon dug through her huge purse and pulled out a tin of salve. “My very own creation. I make a batch every hundred years. I use crushed fire blooms, which grow at the base of an internal volcanic pool. It’s highly prized among the dwarves.”
It was hard to concentrate on Ermentrude or think about Elia. Sean was shirtless, and Keelie wanted to run her hands down his chest and over his chiseled abs. His skin was warm, and she wanted to press her body against his.
“Keelie? Keelie!” Ermentrude’s voice rose.
“What?” She forced herself to look at the dragon, who gave her the pot of salve. “Thank you.” She looked at the little pot’s label. The letters were written in a scratchy calligraphy, but she knew what they said. Fire Bloom Salve.
“Can you read that?” she asked Sean.
“No. Can you?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t understand how you can read that. It looks like code to me. Runes, maybe?”
“You drank the tea Herne gave you. It enhanced your fairy abilities,” Ermentrude said.
“Herne again.” Sean snorted. He reached out and pulled Keelie closer to him, as if the very act would shield her from the nature god.
Keelie pushed him away, but he reached out for her hand and squeezed it. “Is it a permanent change?” he asked, staring at her. “Is it to make her more like him? More like a dark fae?”
Keelie didn’t look away from Sean, but she’d had the same thought.
Ermentrude returned to the lumpy chair in the motel room. “Due to the fairy blood flowing through a matriarchal lineage, the answer is yes. But the tea wasn’t bad for her. It just makes her magic work more efficiently.”
“I still don’t like it,” Sean said.
Ermentrude sniffed. “Of course not, but you’re going to have to accept the fairy magic within Keelie because it’s part of who she is, and you certainly do like the rest of the package.”
“It’s always wise to listen to the words of a dragon.” Sean quirked an eyebrow. “Practical advice.”
“How do you know that? Ermentrude is the only dragon you know, and you just met her.” Keelie tried to open the salve, but the lid seemed to be welded closed.
“Sean’s grandfather is well-known among the dragons, Keelie,” Ermentrude said. “He defeated a mighty tyrant and has our gratitude.”
Sean shrugged. “It’s family lore.”
Keelie wondered what else Sean had never told her. It must be an elf-guy thing, because she’d uncovered a lot of her own history when she visited her father’s house in the Dread Forest for the first time.
“I’m going to check on Elia. Make sure the cats and elves are keeping guard.” Ermentrude shoved her bag onto her shoulder.
Keelie wrenched the tin of salve open and scooped up a glob of the medicinal-smelling stuff. “You said you wanted us to be honest, but you never bothered to tell me about dragons.” She rubbed the salve on Sean’s shoulder where a goblin had stabbed him.
Sean jumped. “Easy.”
“Sorry.” She’d applied it a little more roughly than she’d meant to do.
“That’s okay. I think it’s helping.” He moved his shoulder. “My grandfather battled an evil dragon named Avenir and put him into an enchanted sleep, not far from here. Avenir had hurt hundreds of humans.”
“How near here?” Keelie felt a tingle in her neck, which didn’t stop until it hit her tailbone. “Wait a minute. Your grandfather didn’t kill the dragon? Could Avenir be awakened from his enchanted sleep?”
“Not that I know of.” Sean shook his head. “It was hundreds of years ago. And I don’t know exactly where it happened. Under a mountain, according to our family lore.”
She absentmindedly rubbed some more salve, gently, on Sean’s wound. Amazingly, the wound began to heal before her very eyes.
“Wow. Ermentrude was right, this stuff works. No wonder the dwarves want it.” Keelie ran her hand over Sean’s shoulder and down his chest. He lifted her face until she was level with his gaze. His green eyes burned, intense.
“I’ve thought about what you said, about Herne saying you would live as long as me.” Sean lips were close to hers. “I know this has been one of the things that has kept you f
rom wanting to take our relationship further.”
He wrapped his hand around her neck and brought her face closer to his.
“Yes,” she said.
“Good.” Sean kissed her, and frissons of delight traveled through Keelie’s body. She realized she’d been afraid to enjoy her relationship with Sean, but not anymore. She leaned against him and deepened the kiss.
When their lips gently parted, he pushed her back against the wall and pressed his body against hers. Resting his forehead against hers, he said, ”I think your father will probably hear about us being in a motel room alone.”
Keelie laughed. “And you’re half-dressed, Lord Sean o’ the Wood.”
“You’ve seen me like this before, in the smithy.” Sean’s hand rested on her backside.
“Yeah, well, we weren’t alone there.”
The door opened and Knot and Coyote marched into the room. Knot’s cat jaw dropped, and Coyote snickered.
“I think our moment is over,” Sean said.
Knot glared at Sean, and a low growl rumbled from his throat.
“You’re right,” Keelie said. She leaned close to him. “But we can meet later.”
“We will.” Sean kissed her lightly on the lips. Knot fell over onto his side and placed his paws over his eyes.
Sean shrugged into his shirt. “I’ll go and help Bromliel. The goblins could still be in the area, and we’re trying to pick up their trail.”
Keelie nodded. “I think I’m going to work on some notes. I want to write it all down while it’s fresh in my mind. Dad wants to know more about the Under-the-Hill forest.”
Sitting down at the motel-room desk, Keelie drew a sketch of the forest and made notes on the page about the differences in the trees in the grove. She sketched the mountain, too. Ermentrude had said that somewhere underneath the mountain was a volcanic pool that was bubbling through the rift. Perhaps the way the Under-the-Hill trees gathered energy to live was widening the rift.
Or not.
Earth magic, quicksilver, and fairy magic … all were used in the areas where goblins had been seen. Keelie couldn’t see how the dots connected, but it was there. She leaned her head into her hand.
The Quicksilver Faire Page 21
