Enchantment

by Pati Nagle

  “Well, that sounds like it would be fun,” Mom said.

  Holly started talking about the trailers she’d seen. She was excited, but not about the movie; this might be her chance to get away and see Ohlan.

  When they got home, she called up some friends and suggested they meet at Sparky’s for burgers and shakes, then catch a movie at the theater next door. She was careful to let her mom overhear her plans.

  “It’s OK if I go out for dinner, right?” she asked, hanging up the phone.

  “Sure, honey. I’m just now starting the filet mignon. Your dad will enjoy your share.”

  “Oh, ha ha.”

  She caught her mom in a swift hug, then went off to her room to put away her new clothes. A bubble of excitement was hovering beneath her breastbone. There was fear in it, too—the fear of losing Ohlan, still haunting her—but she wasn’t going to focus on that. Tonight she was just going to think about now, not about the future.

  She decided to wear the new pale green lacy top, and spent half an hour in the bathroom doing her hair and makeup. Usually she didn’t care how she looked as long as she was presentable, but now she fretted, redoing her hair until it was just right. She wanted to be beautiful for Ohlan.

  She stared at herself in the mirror, wishing she had the gift of illusion. Nothing she could do with makeup and curling wand would change her brown hair and brown eyes to something more exotic. The lace-edged top was nice—softer than her usual look. It would have to do.

  She ducked into her bedroom and picked out a purse, a small rectangular bag of gleaming brocade with a thin black string to hang from her shoulder. In it she put her wallet, some loose change, lip gloss, cell phone, and—thinking of the creepy hiker she’d met at the spring—the little pepper spray canister her dad had given her.

  Dad was in the kitchen with his arm around Mom’s waist, nibbling on her neck, when Holly came out. “Oo—agh!” she said, pretending to shield her eyes.

  “Give it a rest,” Dad said, letting go of Mom, who went back to fixing salad. “Hey, don’t you look gorgeous! I hear you’re going out to paint the town.”

  “Yeah. Can I have my allowance early?”

  Dad dug out his wallet and handed her twenty dollars, then added another twenty. “You’ll want popcorn and a soda.”

  “Thanks, Dad!”

  Holly kissed his cheek and he gave her shoulders a squeeze. “Have fun, hon. Be back by midnight.”

  “If we don’t catch a late show.”

  “Well, as soon as you can after.”

  “’Kay.”

  She hugged her mom and picked up the keys to Mom’s Saturn on her way through the kitchen to the garage. The movie theater and Sparky’s were in a shopping complex in the center of town. At the stop sign at the end of her street Holly glanced toward the mountains, thinking of Ohlan, before she turned the other way.

  She wouldn’t be able to spend all night as she’d hoped, but if things worked out right, she’d have at least a couple of hours with him. Long enough.

  ~ 10 ~

  Debbie and Jen, two girls from her class that she hung out with sometimes, were already at a table when she got to Sparky’s. They looked like they shouldn’t be hanging together—Debbie was a cheerleader-perfect blonde who had too many brains to be a cheerleader, and Jen was a skinny, much-bepierced Goth—but they were best friends. A waiter brought them big, whipped-cream topped shakes as Holly arrived.

  “Chocolate malt,” she said to the waiter as she slid into the booth next to Jen. “Thanks.”

  “You need a menu?”

  “Nah. Just a cheeseburger, fries.”

  “Got it.”

  Jen grinned as she chewed her maraschino cherry. “Holly, dude! Haven’t seen you in ages!”

  “Yeah. My sister was here for a couple of weeks, so we did a lot of family stuff, and then Dad wanted me to go up with her to look at CU.”

  Debbie raised a perfectly-penciled eyebrow. “You going there?”

  “Nah. I’d feel like a tag-along.”

  “No shit,” Jen said, poking at her shake with her straw. “I’m going to UNM. Can’t afford to go out of state. Gonna have honkin’ loans as it is.”

  Holly glanced at Debbie, who had talked about studying law. “You picked a school yet?”

  “Not quite. I’ve got a couple of choices.”

  Holly knew that Debbie had been offered scholarships from at least three schools, two of them Ivy League. With her GPA and test scores, Debbie could have her choice of schools. Holly’s grades weren’t far behind that, but she hadn’t really pushed on the college front.

  Felicia and Rob, who’d been dating since sophomore year, arrived together, and the subject switched to movies. Rob had brought the listing from the local paper and passed it around. Two camps emerged: Rob and Jen wanted to see the robot adventure movie; Debbie and Felicia were more interested in a romantic comedy about bad-girl brides. Rob would cave, Holly knew. He always gave in to Felicia.

  “Anyone interested in Soldier’s Farewell?” Holly asked.

  They all looked at her like she’d proposed a walk on the moon, which was the reaction she was looking for. The movie she’d named was a mother-son drama set in Ireland during World War II. She wasn’t really interested in it herself. She’d picked it because it had an early show time—twenty minutes before either of the others—and a longer running time.

  “I thought you wanted to see Glory Daze,” said Jen, pouting.

  “I do, but it’ll be around a while. Soldier’s Farewell might not.”

  They argued some more over their burgers and fries, and finally settled on the bride comedy, with Debbie and Holly promising to come back with Jen for Glory Daze the next weekend. Rob looked like he’d like to join them if he could get away with it.

  Holly checked her watch and stood up. “Well, Soldier’s Farewell starts in a few minutes. Catch up with you guys later.”

  “It’s three hours long!” protested Jen.

  “Yeah. Don’t wait for me.”

  She tucked enough cash to cover her food and a tip under the edge of her plate, then headed out amid a chorus of goodbyes. The theater was within sight of the windows at Sparky’s, so she went ahead and bought a ticket for Soldier’s Farewell and went in, then slipped out the back exit to the parking lot and headed for her car.

  The sun had just set, and the mountains to the east were still pink. Holly didn’t stop to admire them; she jumped in the car and headed for Mountain Way. At the top of the loop she parked on the street rather than in the pullout by the trailhead, not wanting to call attention to her after-hours visit. The street lights came on as she walked to the trail.

  A new sign had been posted there: she read it in the orangish pool of the nearby street light. “Notice: Enchantment Springs Trail will be closed for renovation starting September 7.”

  That was a week from Tuesday. Holly swallowed, then walked past the sign and up the trail.

  She’d forgotten a flashlight. Under the trees it was already dusky. She thought about going back to the car for the flash Mom kept in the glove box, but decided not to bother. The moon would be coming up soon; it was just past full. Meanwhile she walked slowly, letting her eyes adjust to the lack of light.

  She didn’t want to go too fast anyway, didn’t want to get too warm. She wanted to look nice for Ohlan.

  Her stomach was all fluttery. Strange that she was nervous now, when she was perfectly comfortable with Ohlan in the daytime. But then, she wanted more than conversation now.

  At least she didn’t have to worry about birth control. She gave a small gasp of laughter at the thought.

  This was crazy. The whole thing was crazy. Seducing a millennia-old water spirit who lived in a spring? Mad was right, she was nuts.

  But it was a good kind of nuts. Down in her soul, it felt right.

  Holly paused at the edge of the glen and took a deep breath to steady herself. Though it was darker now, her eyes had adjusted and she could see the
concrete coffin, slightly lighter than the surrounding foliage. She walked up to it.

  “Ohlan?”

  The water began to glow softly. Holly touched it with a fingertip and whispered his name again.

  The glow increased. As though a mist was clearing, she saw Ohlan’s face come into focus in the water. He looked asleep, like he had when she first saw him. She caught her breath again at his beauty—she never got used to it, even though she thought about him all the time—and watched his body take shape. Responding to her presence, perhaps? Finally he opened his eyes and smiled.

  Holly smiled back, completely smitten. All her worries faded as affection swelled within her.

  Enchanted. That’s what she was. Such a perfect name.

  Ohlan sat up, blinking sleepily, still smiling. “Holly.”

  “Sorry I woke you. You look tired.”

  “I was out a good part of the afternoon. A squirrel needed help.”

  “A squirrel?”

  He nodded. “It’s sleeping now, over beneath that oak.”

  Holly glanced in the direction he indicated, and could just make out the shape of a scrub oak. As she looked across the glen, she realized she’d forgotten something. There was no place comfortable to sit.

  The edge of the concrete coffin wasn’t wide enough for a seduction. She needed a park bench, even a big flat rock. But there was nothing like that in the glen, not even an old log to sit on.

  If she’d thought of it, she would have brought a blanket to spread on the ground. Mom kept one in the trunk of her car, but Holly didn’t want to take the time to walk back down for it. She bit her lip, annoyed with herself.

  “What’s wrong?” Ohlan asked.

  “Nothing.” Holly turned to him, smiling. “Nothing, just …”

  He watched her, waiting patiently. So sweet, so generous. He’d worn himself out helping a squirrel. Amazing.

  Holly went over and perched on the edge of the concrete. “Would you hold me, please?”

  Ohlan’s smile warmed. In a graceful move he slid onto the coffin’s edge beside her, facing the other way, his legs still in the water. Gently he took her in his arms.

  Holly sighed and closed her eyes, laying her head on his shoulder and breathing in his smell. It was different; not sunshiny, more musky. Still delicious.

  “I want you to make love to me,” she whispered.

  He was still for a moment. Dread leapt into Holly’s heart. Was he going to say no?

  “I would like that,” he answered, “but I am not sure I have the strength.”

  Holly raised her head and leaned back to look at him. The moon had risen, and a pale beam of light caught his face, showing her the strain she hadn’t noticed before. His eyes looked hollow.

  “Because of the squirrel?”

  He nodded. “Being out of the water so much. I’m sorry.”

  “Ohlan … is it getting worse?”

  A frown creased his brow. “I don’t know.”

  Fear and frustration stung her eyes. She couldn’t rub them or she’d smear her makeup, so she blinked, trying to fight back the tears.

  Ohlan’s arms tightened around her, pulling her closer. She yielded, feeling a teardrop escape to fall on his shoulder. He kissed her cheek, then the corner of her mouth. A jolt of electricity shot through her as he kissed her lips.

  She kissed back hungrily. He tasted so good. For a long time they sat like that, kissing over and over until Holly felt like she was floating.

  Maybe they could make love in the spring; that might give him enough energy. There was just the little problem of her breathing. She giggled at the thought, and Ohlan raised his head.

  “What?”

  “Nothing. Do that some more, please.”

  “Mmm.”

  Holly tried to forget everything else, to just be totally aware of Ohlan and enjoy him. She told herself it didn’t matter that much if they couldn’t make love tonight. What mattered was that they were together.

  She didn’t quite buy it.

  Ohlan drew back slowly, then sighed. His eyes were closed, and he pulled deep breaths.

  “You all right?” Holly asked.

  He nodded, smiling, eyes opening just enough to gaze at her through his lashes. “Dizzy. You make me—high.”

  Holly laughed, flattered. “Same here.”

  His hands on her back were cool. She raised a finger to his cheek, tracing the line of his cheekbone, his nose, his lips.

  “You feel so real.”

  He grinned. “Good trick, eh?”

  “I wish there was a way you could become really human, like in the fairy tales.”

  His smiled faded, and his eyes got serious. “But then the spring would lack a guardian.”

  “Guess so.”

  “Why do you want me to be human? Is this not close enough?”

  Holly bit her lip. She wanted him to be free of the spring, was why. She wanted him not to be tied to it, not to be dependent on its existence.

  “Can—guardians—um, move? Change homes?”

  Ohlan shook his head. “We are bound to our origins.”

  Her throat tightened with the dread she couldn’t forget. She leaned against him, clinging to him.

  “What is it?” he whispered. “What’s troubling you?”

  She drew an unsteady breath. She was not going to cry.

  “We can make love another night,” he said softly.

  She closed her eyes. “Not sure I can get away again. My folks think I’m at the movies.”

  “They would disapprove?”

  She gave a huff of laughter. “Yeah. Pretty sure they would.”

  “Should we not honor that?”

  That was the last thing she’d expected to hear from him. She sat up to meet his gaze. He loosed his hold on her and gazed back, looking serious.

  Holly licked her lips. “See, I don’t think they’d understand. I mean, they wouldn’t want to take the time to understand. They’d just assume you were a human, and based on that they wouldn’t want me to be with you.”

  “And if they could be brought to understand, would that change their minds?”

  “Um. I don’t know. Probably not.” She ran a hand up his arm to his shoulder. “Did Amanda talk to you about marriage?”

  “She spoke of marriage and children as something that was expected. Marriage is a partnership, yes?”

  “Yeah. It’s not automatically expected so much any more, but it’s still a pretty big deal. You’re not supposed to have sex before you get married, and then after you’re married, you only have sex with your spouse. That’s the theory, anyway.”

  Geez, how had she gotten here? Why was she explaining human sexual customs to an immortal spirit, when she’d rather be jumping his bones? His illusory bones.

  “So,” Ohlan said slowly, as if piecing together a puzzle, “if you and I were married, then your parents would not object to our making love?”

  Holly couldn’t contain a cough of laughter. “Um, well—I think my folks would rather I married a human.”

  “Would you rather marry a human?” Ohlan asked.

  He was serious. Suddenly her stomach was fluttering again. “I—I don’t know. I’m kind of too young to be planning marriage.”

  “How old should you be?” he asked gently. “I can wait.”

  Tears rose to her eyes and she gasped, trying to hold them back. “Ohlan—“

  “I’ve upset you. Forgive me. I’m just trying to understand.”

  Giving up, she threw her arms around his neck and cried into his shoulder. He held her, gentle and patient, stroking her hair. Gradually she subsided.

  She’d just received her first proposal of marriage. It gave her a warm feeling, even though she was pretty sure Ohlan didn’t quite get the concept.

  “You may want children someday,” he said when she’d been quiet for a while. “I would understand if that’s why you don’t want to marry me.”

  “That’s not it. There are ways around tha
t.”

  “Then what is the reason? I promise I will understand, but I would like to know.”

  Why didn’t she want to marry Ohlan? Who said she didn’t? But wanting and being able were two different things.

  It was looking like she’d have to explain that to Ohlan.

  She sat up and wiped at her eyes, sniffing. Didn’t dare meet his gaze, so she caught one of his hands in hers.

  “Ohlan, we um … actually don’t have a lot of time.”

  “Why not?”

  She winced. No easy way to say it, so she just blurted it out.

  “They’re going to demolish the spring.”

  “Demolish?” He sounded incredulous.

  Holly felt tears threatening again. She drew a ragged breath and hurried to explain.

  “There’s this whole plan for redoing the trail. There’s going to be construction equipment up here a week from Monday. That’s nine days,” she added in a strangled voice, not sure how clear he was on human timekeeping.

  He was frowning. “I don’t understand.”

  Holly cupped his hand in both of hers and pressed a kiss into the palm. “I’m going to try to stop them. Not sure how but I’m going to try.”

  She had a vision of herself standing in front of a bulldozer. Probably exaggerated.

  “How can they demolish the spring?”

  Holly brushed away a tear. “Believe me, they can. Humans have come up with a lot of ways of destroying things.”

  Ohlan met her gaze, still frowning. Maybe she hadn’t made it clear to him, but she just couldn’t bring herself to say aloud that he was going to die.

  One way or another, he was going to die. Before she did. Which was deeply unfair.

  Holly cringed at the selfishness of that thought. Ohlan had been here for thousands of years, helping every creature that came his way and needed protection. That had to be more important than her wanting him as her lover.

  Or spouse, she made herself think. Not that it mattered. There wouldn’t be time to put a wedding together, even if she could somehow explain it to her folks … who still wouldn’t approve.