Into the Wildewood (4 page)

“Custom-made boots. This is so Italian.”

“Yeah, I’ve even made boots for rock musicians when they’re on tour.”

“Impressive.” Maybe Keelie had discovered a designer side to the Faire: California Cool meets the Middle Ages.

“How long would it take for you to make me a pair?”

“Three weeks if I start today. You have to make a three-hundred-dollar deposit before I measure you, or you can pay in full using your Lady Visa or Master Card.”

Dad had confiscated all of Keelie’s credit cards when she had gone online and ordered new clothes from La Jolie Rouge. She’d been feeling really sad and upset about Mom. Dad had gone all parental unit when he saw the total—$400.00. But Keelie had bought everything on sale. He hadn’t understood how much money she’d saved. Dad had absolutely no shopping logic whatsoever. It had to be because he was all elf.

She didn’t need credit cards. She had a bank account bursting with cash. Talbot and Talbot, her mom’s California lawyers, had sent a letter saying that Mom’s estate had been put in trust until she turned eighteen and was attending college. Her eyes had bugged out when she saw how much money was there. Maybe Dad could front the cash, and she could go ahead and put her order in so that she could have them for this Faire. He’d want her to have themed footwear to coordinate with the business.

“I’ll have to get the money from Dad. He’s going to love the leaves and acorn theme. I’ll come back later to get measured.” He shouldn’t have a problem with her ordering a pair of boots she was paying for with her own money.

Lady Annie motioned casually with her hand. “Since you’re Zeke’s daughter, we can go ahead and measure you now, and I can start cutting the leather today, because once the Faire starts tomorrow, it’s going to be crazy.”

“Let’s get started.” Keelie sat on a small wooden stool (birch from West Virginia) and Annie got to work.

As Keelie left Annie’s booth an hour later, she almost ran into a man carrying a stack of boxes. This was one busy footpath. Up the lane, three hunky actors read from scripts, practicing their lines. They were part of Prince John’s guards. This Faire’s story line was that Prince John’s betrothed, Princess Eleanor, was coming and there was to be a wedding. Robin Hood and his Merry Men were going to disrupt the ceremony to rescue Maid Marian, who was being held prisoner and was serving as Princess Eleanor’s handmaiden.

Underneath the veneer of modern-day medieval madness, Keelie sensed the trees’ magic edging on her mind. Her hands were tingly from it. She reached inside her pocket and touched the rose quartz. Instant calm enveloped her. Remembering the lovely boots, Keelie smiled in anticipation. Just wait till Elia got a load of Keelie’s new boots. Perfect Elf Girl’s forehead was going to crinkle up with envy. Maybe she’d get some permanent wrinkles. Keelie would be more than happy to make Elia look her full sixty years, instead of seventeen.

Keelie peeked into her father’s shop. Dad wasn’t in, and she needed to get her cash. Here again, if she had a cell phone she could’ve called him to ask about the boots. If he had a problem with her ordering them, well, it was his fault because he should’ve replaced her cell phone by now so that he could’ve told her not to buy them.

On the other side of Dad’s shop was a bright Pepto-pink building, with a trellis of dark green ivy growing up one side and a sign that read, “The Gingerbread House.” Her mouth watered until she saw that there were no gingerbread cakes or cookies here. Instead, the shelves were filled to overflowing with something else she loved: puppets. There were fluffy white unicorn hand puppets and marionettes in the form of knights and princesses and dragons. They all looked so fun.

Keelie found herself on the shop’s porch, although she couldn’t remember climbing the three wide steps. From up here she could see Sir Davey walking down the path.

The shop drew her attention once more and she drifted inside. The walls were lined with shelves, which were draped with bright colors and crowded with hand puppets and stringed marionettes, as well as with the little puppets that could sit on your shoulder. The shop was so cute, and smelled like cookies, too, which added to the enchantment. Keelie could imagine the little puppets all coming to life.

A woman with blonde hair piled up in a disheveled bun came out and smiled at Keelie. “Hi, I’m Lulu, the puppet lady.” Her eyebrow was pierced with a little silver hoop, which had a tiny red heart dangling from it. She gave off a really cool vibe. Keelie’s anxiety melted away, and she was filled instead with a languid warmth as fuzzy and sweet as cotton candy on a hot summer’s day.

Their hands touched with a zap of static and Lulu jumped back from the shock. She waggled her hand in the air. “Hey kid, you have some zing there.” Her face had gone splotchy as if she’d eaten shrimp and was having an allergic reaction.

“Are you okay?” For some reason, Keelie really liked Lulu; she genuinely seemed like a nice person, someone Keelie could hang out with when the Faire got boring.

“I’m fine. You work here? What’s your name?”

“I’m Keelie Heartwood. My dad’s shop is next door.”

Sir Davey saw her and waved, although he frowned when he saw Lulu. “You okay, Keelie?”

“Fine. Just visiting the neighbors.” Keelie wondered why Davey looked so wary. Knot hissed and arched his back.

“Is it safe to have that cat loose? He should be on a leash or in a crate.” Lulu looked queasy.

“You can’t walk a cat on a leash.” But the idea of Knot in a crate was actually pretty good. “Besides, he’s part of my dad’s business.”

Keelie sensed the oak trees across the lane. Green energy was building up, and the oaks were definitely angry. She looked around, but didn’t see anything that would anger them. Not a lumberjack or beaver in sight. Acorns began pinging on the tin roof of the puppet shop.

Lulu groaned. “Not again. I’ve complained to the Faire director, and she said it’s being handled, but whatever she’s doing is not working.”

Keelie looked out. The trees were now like multi-limbed wooden creatures aiming their acorns like little projectiles at the gingerbread shop. Another tingle shot through her, making her shiver. A major dose of tree energy was coming their way. Keelie grabbed her rose quartz and stepped out onto the path. She addressed the trees.

Stop it. Leave the puppet lady alone.
Her unspoken command rang through the clearing.

No response. Worse, it was as if she’d hit a wall. She was being ignored.

Shocked, Keelie turned around. This was the first time the trees had rejected telepathic communication with her, and she didn’t like it one bit. It was like calling someone and having them rudely hang up on you.

Lulu’s gaze traveled past Keelie and up to the branches of the oaks. A breeze swept down the winding lane and acorns showered down around them like green hail. Keelie threw her arms over her head, but no acorns hit her. She looked up.

An invisible umbrella surrounded her. She could see the acorns hit the air a foot above her, and then careen off as if they’d bounced from something solid. Lulu was gone, fled back into her shop, and Keelie was trapped in a bubble in the middle of an acorn storm. This wasn’t her magic, so who was protecting her?

four

Through the haze of green and brown nuts, Keelie saw Dad come out from the back room of the shop. He frowned, then held out his hand. Waves of calm rippled past her, then up into the trees. The anger melted, vanishing into calm silence, then subsided into sleep.

Relieved, Keelie ran toward him. She was going to have to learn how to do that hand thing. She kicked acorns out of the way as she went. They even covered the shop floor.

“Did you do that?” Dad’s eyes were bloodshot now, and the whites had a green tinge. A side effect of the green magic? Keelie stared, afraid to say anything. It was hard to tell what passed for normal in her crazy new life.

“No, it was the trees,” she answered. “They blasted us.” Keelie touched one of the wooden support beams: hemlock, local to the forest.
An overgrown logging road, and the stumps of ancient trees around her, and sorrow, rooted deep
. Whoa. She shook the wood’s memory from her head. She needed more plastic in her life. A credit card would be a good start.

Dad leaned against the smooth polished pine counter. “I know what the trees did, but did you put up the protection shield?”

“The what? You mean that invisible umbrella? I thought you did that.”

Knot sauntered out from behind the counter, his furry tail held high. Hadn’t he just been across the street?

They both stared at him.

“Do you think he did it?” Keelie looked down at the stupid cat. “I thought he was the one who made the trees mad, using one for a scratching post or something.”

Knot batted at a huge green acorn that had rolled in with Keelie. It skittered across the pine floor like a rolling marble. Knot ran after it, pawing it until the acorn twirled round and round like a lopsided top.

“No, it wasn’t him.” Dad was talking to her, but looking over her shoulder. Keelie turned to follow his gaze.

He was staring at the puppet woman and the hundreds of acorns carpeting the ground in front of her shop. He obviously thought something was up. Dad closed his eyes. When he opened them, he frowned. His eyes looked spooky. “The oaks will be quiet for a while.”

Lulu’s splotches had disappeared, and she was hanging marionettes on a spinner rack. The woman stared back, but turned away with a fearful look in her eyes.

“Come with me, Keelie,” he said loudly. “I’m opening these crates in the back, and I want you to see where I keep my packing supplies.” He lowered his voice and put his head near hers. “What did she say to you?”

“Nothing, really. She told me her name is Lulu. She has the greatest shop with all these cool puppets. What’s up with the oaks, though? They’re totally cranky.”

“More than cranky. And they’re not responding to us. They’ve been like this for years, but usually a little care comforts them, calms them down.” He shook his head. “I’m not sure what’s going on, but I fear it may be serious. If only I could speak to the unicorn.”

“Want me to find him?” She cringed inwardly. Her voice had come out high-pitched, like an eight-year-old begging for a treat.

“Stay out of the forest, and don’t ask again. These trees are old, Keelie, the survivors of a logging camp which existed here about thirty years before they built the dam and power plant upstream. The Faire is built over the old logging campground, and some of these buildings stood then. It’ll be a long time before the forest recovers.”

That would explain the hemlock post’s image. “The trees aren’t this obnoxious every year, are they?” If so, this would have been called the Haunted Forest instead of the Wildewood Faire.

“It was a beautiful forest.” Dad’s eyes grew misty as he remembered. “There were no elves to perform the tree Lorem, so the energy and spirits of the fallen trees haunt these lands, and something has awakened them. That’s one reason why I don’t want you going near the unicorn. He’s powerful and protective of the forest, and he may not hesitate to use your magic for his purpose.”

Fear skipped up Keelie’s spine. “There’s not another Red Cap, is there?”

“No, no evil fairies, just the Faire director that I have to get ready for. She’s a beast of a woman.”

Keelie had filled with yearning when Dad said “unicorn.” She knew he was in the forest, and even though Dad had warned her about his glamour, she didn’t want to resist the compulsion to go into the woods. What could the unicorn do to hurt her? Dad watched her with a suspicious expression that said
I know you’re up to somethin
g. If she did go into the forest, she’d need to divert his attention.

“Why were the oaks throwing acorns at Lulu? She’s really nice.” The puppet lady had a right to be freaked about the acorns.

“I don’t know. She’s new. The children’s costume shop used to be there, but the owner got sick this spring. Admin scrambled for someone to fill the slot, and Lulu was looking for a new home for her puppet business.”

“Is she an elf?” Lulu didn’t look like an elf, and she was too nice to be one, but there was something magical about her.

“No, she’s human, but she makes me uncomfortable. She’s odd. Steer clear of her until I know what it is, okay?”

“But she’s so nice. I like her. ”

“Keelie!”

“Okay, but can I at least buy one of her puppets? I want a shoulder unicorn.” Mom would have bought one for her. She’d loved stuffed animals. Moments later, hot tears rolled down Keelie’s cheeks, as if on autopilot. She hated how she cried without warning.

Dad pulled a wad of tissues from his pocket and gave them to her. These days he always carried tissues in his pocket for his waterspout daughter.

“Sorry.” She blew her nose.

“It’s normal, Keelie. You’re grieving. Three months isn’t that long. You’ve been through a lot since losing her, too.”

“No kidding. Like finding out I’m not human?” That had been a shocker.

“Half human,” he corrected. “It might do you a world of good to do something other than hang out at the shop. I’m stuck here, getting ready for opening day and waiting for Scott to arrive, but you’re free. Why don’t you get a job?”

“I just wanted to hang.”

“If you had a job working in the Faire, you could earn some pocket money. I saw the shopping gleam in your eyes.”

“What a coincidence. I was just at Lady Annie’s looking at boots.”

“You already have your Mom’s and the ones Janice gave you. Why don’t you buy a bow and learn archery?”

“Archery?” Leave it to an elf to think archery was fun. And he would bring up the fact she already had two pairs of boots. Dad just didn’t get shoes and females. Two pairs weren’t enough.

“I thought I’d use some of the money Mom left me. And besides, they’re not so expensive.”

“I’ve seen the price of those boots.” Zeke quirked an eyebrow, as if he thought it was funny that she wanted a pair. “But if you really want them, you can get a job.”

“I just ordered a pair.” Keelie blew her nose as she said it, trying to disguise the words.