“Well, if I must go back to the stinking high school tomorrow, I'll have to go back and sleep first. Say Maxi. Daniel and Teeuh just can't stay with me. Do you know of...?”
“I have Poot show them places,” he said. “And you might looky-look for Kellen's gnydy ball.”
“I'm ready,” said Daniel.
And with a good night all 'round, Tess took his hand and found herself in the shadows in front of the spirea bushes at the far end of her barrack. She could hear
Jasmine and Trent inside, shouting and throwing things. “No way am I going in there yet,” she said as she started for the road. “But I sure have all kinds of things to tell Drake. Surely he's still up.”
Poot did show Daniel and Teeuh places where they might stay. They chose the old county jail for its cots, running water and doors that still locked. They picked out places to sleep after Poot went back to Maxi's shop. Daniel turned over his mattress so that he would not have to sleep in its dust. “I knowe nat yit what beth wrang with this age,” said Teeuh, thoughtfully studying the rivets on the iron door of his cell. “but this heere gayhol semeth lyche un-to the evyl of oure owene tyme.”
Chapter 19
Jill's pluck and courage were an inspiration to say the very least, and though she had talked about going home when they left the hospital, it took very little convincing to get her to stay overnight with Nia and Sam. After an early breakfast of egg in a hole, they found themselves in Sam's car on Forest Preserve Road. At the immediate end of the palatial residences, they came to a large stable and woods.
“Right in front of the stable,” said Sam to the car. “Give us a moment after we get out for me to get my bag from the boot. Then go back to Nia's and park in front. I'll page you when we're ready to leave.” Both doors and the boot opened wide at the very moment that the car came to a gentle halt.
“This is abrupt,” said Jill as she stepped out.
“'Forest Preserve Road' does sound like a drive out in the country,” said Nia.
“I'd say that the countryside you two were expecting would be crop land up top,” said Sam as she grabbed up her bag and started for the barn. “There's a limit to what you can put under an acrylic dome. But there are more than a hundred acres of woods. We'll have all kinds of paths.”
“They're darling!” gasped Nia as they stepped into the ambience of alfalfa hay and cooing pigeons in the stable's feed way. “Are they ponies?”
“Douglas,” said Sam. “They're a small breed that descends from the Doolish unicorns of the Eastern Continent, hundreds of years ago. They needed a lineage appropriate for the scale of Atlantis and gentle enough for its inexperienced riders.”
“Aw sweetheart!” said Jill, running her fingers down the velvety nose of a little mare with her head over the gate of her stall.
Sam rode regularly and had one of her favorites saddled at once and helped Nia tighten the girth on hers as Jill went from stall to stall in utter enchantment, cooing and patting the little horses. “She said she'll tell me when she's picked out one,” said Sam as she and Nia led their mounts outside. “I told her to take her time.”
“I think it's so nice that she's enjoying this after all she's been through,” said Nia.
“Well,” said Sam. “Let's keep a sharp eye out for Fairy rings. And remember, we'll have to be careful to take note of just where the spot is.”
“You mean we don't discuss it in front of Jill?”
“What do you think?” said Sam. “More people is 'way more risk. It gets completely hair raising, out of control right away.”
“Well it's going to get awkward right away, not being able to talk in front of her,” said Nia. “And I swear. If there's anyone I've ever met whom I knew right away was straight and true, it's Jill. I mean look what's happened. We're already kind of a threesome, don't y' think?”
Sam found her stirrup, heaved astride her mount and rode in a small circle. “I suppose we are,” she said as she dismounted. “But I shudder to think of the police beating her to death for information. Girls dying at their hands on my watch add up after a time.”
“You really think so after the potentate got into it?”
“Oh you're right.”
“And you and I look like we may be getting so far into this, that I'm starting to wonder how I can even be around Jill unless she knows.”
“Oh Sa-am!” called Jill from the feed way. “I've found one!”
Sam handed her reins to Nia with the right sort of wink and nod and walked to the stable.
“Thank you!” whispered Nia.
Sam returned shortly, leading Jill astride a little mare with a splash of white star on her forehead.
“Can we talk in there?” said Nia, nodding at the woods when they were all mounted. “Or do they have skinwelers hidden all over the place?”
“No skinwelers,” said Sam. “Just keep your eyes open.”
“For what?” said Jill.
“Fairy rings,” said Nia.
“Mushrooms growing in rings?”
Nia and Sam nodded.
“To eat?”
“Not quite,” said Nia. “It's quite a story. And I'm glad Sam's here, because it'll be a lot easier if she helps me tell it.”
And for a good long while they rode the paths looking for mushrooms as they talked, listening to the calls of tanagers, pewees and great crested flycatchers.
“So you've found out you're a Fairy,” said Jill.
“Even the potentate insists that I am.”
“Yeh? Well I could have told you that...”
“You're kidding!” said Nia. “How would you have possibly known?”
“Well,” said Jill. “Growing up in what was left of the old kingdom of Marr, there were older folks with enough independence and sense to call a Fairy a Fairy. I could see by your roots that your hair was truly green.”
“Wow! Well do you really think I might be magical? I never guessed that there was a possibility that you'd even believe it.”
“I have no idea under the shining sun. But I'll tell you one thing. If we find a mushroom ring, I want to be holding your hand when you step into it. And I want to so damned bad that I'll do anything you all need. Anything at all. You know. In for a penny, in for a pound.”
“That's it,” said Sam. “No matter how it really turns out, we can't afford for you not to try stepping into the first Fairy ring we find.”
“And it doesn't look like we're going to,” said Jill as she stood in her stirrups.
“Haven't we been on this very path before?”
“Yes,” said Sam. “But there are several days' worth of foot paths out here. And we can tramp the leaves in between. I've even been trying to grow mushrooms in well rotted horse manure in a petri dish...”
“Hey! That's...” said Nia.
“No use any time soon,” said Sam. “I just read that those rings take years and years to grow out from a single spore that sprouts in the center.”
“Well I don't mind coming out here to hunt every few days,” said Jill.
“Then there's the problem that Mom was a human. I might not have magic after all.”
“Yeh?” said Jill. “The old folks back home also used to say that anyone who had Fairy blood was always all Fairy, so I think we'll just have to wait and see. And my hind end is really getting sore.”
Sam steered her mare off the path near the calls of a pewee, pulled out her pager and squeezed it. “There's the stable, right through the trees,” she said as she dismounted. “Let's lead our horses back. By the time we've put away our saddles and tack, my car will be here.”
* * *
Nia and Jill were in the kitchen of Nia's flat, putting on the tea kettle and rummaging through the refrigerator while Sam sat on the end of her bed, pulling off her riding boots.
“Miss Bodine?” said the skinweler on the night table as it flashed to life.
“Here I am, gratefully wriggling my toes at last,” she said.
“The potent
ate requires Nia Greenwood's company this evening at six 'o clock,” said the face appearing out of the ball's swirling colors. “And Miss Greenwood needs to be dressed as closely as possible to the following list of items.”
Sam studied her toes and listened. The ball winked out. Sam looked at the clock.
“Shit!” she said, seeing that it was nearly five.”
“Yes?” said the ball, lighting up once more. “Is there something else?”
“Not at all. I was merely considering a task for which there is no longer enough time. She'll be there at six sharp.” And with that, she hurried to the wardrobe in Nia's bedroom and began sliding hangers.
Nia came right in for something else and stopped short at the sight of the clothes laid out on her bed.
“How much time do I have?” she said, looking at the silver stretch pants, lacy black corset and diamond dog collar choker. “An outfit after the potentate's own heart, eh?”
“Heart,” said Sam, handing over a pair of new black patent stilettos. “Something like that, at least.”
Soon Nia clopped to the end of the walk with Sam as the car doors came open for them. “Bad enough being a whore,” she said, getting into the seat, “without her making me dress the part.”
“I'm sorry that...” said Sam.
“And I should keep my mouth shut,” said Nia, as the car started moving. “It's not your fault and I know that I have it better than everyone else.”
“Perhaps. But it's not right.”
“But You, Jill and I are going to change it. Right?”
“That's the plan,” said Sam.
They were there already. Nia stepped out, waved to Sam and hurried to the door as fast as she could with her whorish heels.
Benjamin showed her to the potentate's recreation room with a bar, a dance floor and a small stage. Beyond the dance floor were some tables, a billiard table at the far end and a massive stone fireplace along one wall. “Would you like a drink?” he said.
“No thank you,” said Nia. “Will she be long?”
“I don't believe so. I shall let her know you're here. Please have a seat at one of the tables. Supper will be served directly.”
She was still looking this way and that, having not yet found a chair when
Pandora swayed into the room in red satin blouse and stretch pants, cream lace corset, diamonds and red satin stiletto heels. “Ah there she is!” She purred out in the quiet. “My delectable little Fairy, all positively yummy, as usual.”
“Pandora...”
“I hope you're hungry. Benjamin will bring supper any minute. And Look 'ee,” she said with a wave as three musicians stepped onto the stage with a cello, violin and viola and took their places on folding chairs. “Some romantic repast music for our chamber.”
“You've thought of everything,” said Nia with a bounce she hoped looked less fraudulent than it felt. “I've never heard anything quite like their music before.”
“It's a fugue,” said Pandora, brushing her fingertips across Nia's shoulders, setting off an icy shudder. “For you I try. Now tell me, how is your friend? Is she fully recovered?”
“Oh she is,” said Nia, still seeing the need for enthusiasm. “The nurses said a Dr. Bloodstraw healed her, but they couldn't find him anywhere at all.”
“Why how very odd,” said Pandora with sparkling eyes as she pulled back a chair for Nia.
“But not half as odd as Jill coming to and finding a gorgeous woman on her bed who told her she needed a bath,” said Nia, taking the chair. “And this woman just walked out without another word.”
“You're right,” said Pandora. “This tale's getting downright strange. But isn't there more?”
“Actually, yes. Jill swears it was the beautiful woman who healed her and not Bloodstraw at all. And the hospital staff all think she was delirious and dreaming. And if any of them saw this woman, they're not about to admit it.”
“Really!” squealed Pandora.
“But Jill gave so much detail, that I believe she actually saw her.”
“Well don't keep me in suspense. What else was she besides gorgeous?”
“She said she had long thick raven black hair and an absolutely perfect figure.”
“My!”said Pandora with another squeal. “That sounds like me.”
“Was it?”
Pandora gave a predatory grin of glee. “Of course!” she giggled as she stroked Nia's cheek. “I was fed up with old Bloodystraw losing patients. Had I not seen for myself, your lovely Beak friend would be dead now.”
“And I do thank you. I'm truly in your debt.”
“And I'd think you would be too,” she said with a deep and serious nod. “So this very evening we shall discuss how you can repay me.”
Repay her? Nia was not certain that she was hearing right. Was Pandora's saving Jill not her way of showing that she could be a friend with special benefits? How could any of what Pandora did for Jill possibly be something she owed her for? She was already her whore. Where was she drawing her lines? All Nia could manage was a look she hoped conveyed her rapt attention.
“Good,” said Pandora. “Here comes Benjamin with our supper. I hope you like duck. This is a personal favorite of mine. One I apparently share with my late mother.”
“Oh?”
“Yes,” said Pandora, scooting her chair as Benjamin wheeled the trolley up to the table. “Duck roast stuffed with sour cabbage. At least that's what my father told me. I've no memory at all of my mother. She was murdered by my elder brother when I was a baby.”
“That's awful!” said Nia, a little surprised at her own outburst. “I'm sorry to hear that.”
Pandora waved her off. “I appreciate your concern sweetness, but it's quite unnecessary. Mother was a fool and she had it coming.”
“I see,” said Nia feebly.
“Now here I've upset you,” she said, patting her hand. “Remember that I said it would have to be a little bit at a time or you'd never believe me.”
Nia nodded.
“Good,” she said with a giddy clap of her hands. “Let's talk about more pleasant things instead, like us.”
“Us?” said Nia as a scald of fear washed through her.
Pandora smiled, pushed away her plate and rose from her chair. “We can come back to the duck,” she said. She dismissed the band with a wave and held out her hand to Nia.
Nia parked her napkin in bewilderment and was shown out to an iron settee before a fountain in a lush and tropical arboretum alive with brilliant butterflies, twittering with scores of iridescent hummingbirds tending the cascades of honeysuckle and wisteria.
“This is gorgeous, Pandora,” she said, turning about before sitting.
“I thought you'd like it, my pet,” she said as she drew her fingertips slowly across
Nia's bare shoulders, sending a shudder down her spine. “So now, let's discuss our future.”
“Our future?”
“Relax sweet pea. We're friends. Right?”
“Of course.”
“And since that makes you my first friend ever, you should be the one to bear my child,” she said with a grinning bounce.
Nia suddenly could not breathe enough. She knew by now that she was probably hearing right. If she gave into the urge to bolt from the room and run away, she knew she would never live through it. “But that's not possible,” she squeaked through her dry lips.
Pandora squeezed her clammy hand. “Oh it's no problem at all with the technology we have,” she said. “Here's Benjamin. He can tell you.”
Benjamin stepped from behind a column of honeysuckle with the chair he had been standing there holding and set it before them. “I could just as well have stood,” he said as he had a seat. “But if my understanding is correct, you would be more reassured by a discussion of this sort of matter if I were not towering over you.”
“Thank you.”
“Do you have a particular aspect of the undertaking with which you are least familiar and would
be most anxious and appreciative for an immediate answer?” he said politely. “Or should I simply descriptively summarize according to outline?”
“How is this possible? I mean we're both female.”
“Males are required only if you have no tools...”
Nia shook her head in confusion.
“Each of the cells in your body has a double strand of deoxyribonucleic acid with all of the information needed to create and operate your entire body...”
“DNA?”
“It is. Not counting red blood cells, the only exception to two strands of it in each cell is found in your germ cells, the eggs available for fertilization in your ovaries. These eggs have only one strand of deoxyribonucleic acid in each one. Males are similar. Their body cells each have two strands, just like yours. Their germ cells, which are called sperm cells, are like your egg cells by having only one strand apiece. Natural male utility in this regard lies in their sperm cells being motile and able to swim to your egg to fertilize it with their strand of deoxyribonucleic acid. Are you familiar with this?”
“Kind of.”
“What we shall be doing in your case is adding one of the potentate's single deoxyribonucleic acid strands to one of your egg cells without using a sperm cell to swim it there. We shall simply remove one of your eggs and implant a strand of deoxyribonucleic acid from the potentate and return it to your uterine lining where it will develop. You merely have to gestate and take care of yourself. It sounds like a fascinating activity. Have you any questions?”
“I guess not,” she said.
“Have you?” he said, turning to Pandora.
Pandora shook her head.
“Very good then,” he said with a nod to each of them as he picked up his chair and walked out.
“What do you think?” said Pandora, patting Nia's arm as if she had just been awarded a full scholarship.
“I'm... I'm stunned. I mean, I would never have. I mean I'm honored. I am honored, certainly.”
“You're rambling sweetie,” laughed Pandora as she got to her feet. “I think we should let you get used to the idea.” She turned to Nia with a suggestive grin and held out her hand. “Why don't we go play for a bit, sweetling? I'm sure that will take your mind off things for awhile.”
Wham! Page 19
