Nemesis and the Fairy of Pure Heart (8 page)

“On the front of the pot is an engraving of Lugh, the first leprechaun. His name means Luck. He stands holding within his hands a few pieces of gold. On the rear of the pot there is a small, embossed picture of our greatest passion—a beautiful pair of black–buckle shoes.”

Bella laughed at his statement. As if she could be interested in shoes, she thought.

“So, does this mean we have a bargain, Fairy?”

Bella tilted her head to one side. Reluctant as she was to do this, she had known in her heart all along that she didn't have a choice.

Nodding her head, she whispered, “Yes.”

Nirb stepped forward, a small, worried frown upon his face. “Bella, are ye sure about this?”

Bella smiled faintly at him.

“I have no choice,” she said.

“Of course ye do. Ye can go home and forget about this silly plan of yers. Forget about this mortal.”

“I can't and I've explained this to you,” she whispered, seeing the worry in his eyes,

“Don't worry Nirb, I have no intention of failing.”

Once more, she remembered Arthur's words, and wrapped them around her as she stood up.

“Will you take me back to Teague?” she asked, reaching for his hand. “I must hurry,” she said, sensing that her time was running out.

Bella turned to Nurch, “I will see you soon. Please have my sliver ready for me.”

Nurch nodded his head. He reached out his hand and handed over a small parchment.

“Be safe, Fairy,” he said, watching her as she stepped closer to Nirb.

Nirb held her hand tightly, and tapped his stick to the ground, summoning the rainbow to him. They stepped within its safe confines, and the colours soothed Bella's frazzled nerves. In an instant they stood in front of Teague.

Teague bounced towards Bella, playfully shoving her aside before he sensed her mood wasn't as light as he'd thought it would be.

What's wrong, Bella?

“We need to go to the Immortal Markets,” she replied as she pushed her head into his neck and breathed in his scent.

What are we going to do there?

“We're going to get a pot.”

She turned to Nirb, who was watching her worriedly.

“How do we get there?” she asked.

“Once ye leave here, fly west. Fly straight onwards until ye see the ancient tree tops of Bemoomba, in the Manukies realm. Swing sharply north and continue on over the goblins realm, slow down when ye reach the border of the Satyrs, for over the other side lies the Immortal Markets.”

“Thank you, Nirb,” she said in a soft voice, already concentrating on the task at hand. She slid onto Teague's back and took to the skies without looking back.

10

The Immortal Markets

B
ella and Teague landed just outside the borders of the Immortal Markets. Sliding off his back, she stepped down onto the soft green grass. The afternoon sun shimmered down through the tree tops to bathe the whole area in translucent golden light. Soft tones glossed over the shrubs on the other side of the boundary lines.

Bella took a deep breath.

“Are you ready?” she asked Teague. At his nod they started forward.

The moment Bella set a dainty foot over the invisible line that divided the realms, she felt a gentle tug. After her initial surprise, she realised that it must be the pot reaching out to her, as Nurch had told her it would.

She looked around, trying to locate the source of the pull. In front of her was a clearing of soft grass, and in that clearing, side by side, approximately one metre apart, stood two huge men.

Bella ducked behind a shrub, and peered between the branches to take a closer look at them, thankful that they were not looking her way.

They were tall and well formed, and around their upper arms they each wore a set of gold armlets decorated with intricate embossed patterns. Neither looked around, nor moved.

They wait patiently for nothing,
thought Bella. She glanced at Teague, who had joined her behind the shrubbery.

“Why do you think they're just standing there like that?” she whispered.

I'm not sure,
he said softly in her mind.

Just then, a young witch materialised in front of them. Bella blinked. She watched the witch move towards the men, and then step through the space between them. The men stirred at last, shrugging uncomfortably and sniffing the air around them, trying to find the cause of the disturbance.

That has to be the opening,
telepathed Teague.

“So, if that is the entrance, where do you think the Nuffins are?” she asked in a whisper.

I don't know, maybe they are inside,
said Teague.

“According to Nurch, it's safe for us to enter the markets,” she whispered. “Let's go then.”

Uhm, Bella, I don't want to go inside there,
said Teague.

Bella looked into his face and saw dread.

“It's all right,” she whispered. “You stay here.”

Pitting herself against the worry that threatened her, she forced herself to stand. Stepping calmly past the shrubs, she made her way to where the men were standing. Pretending not to notice them, she walked toward the entrance.

Then stood still, terror gripping her. The men were starting to change. Low growls came from their throats; thick black hair sprang from previously smooth bodies; teeth sharpened and lengthened; thick legs became massive hind legs. The armlets began to glow eerily, and Bella realised that they were reflecting the last rays of the setting sun. Not stopping to watch the men complete the change to werewolf, she ran as fast as she could to the opening between the men, and threw herself through.

She landed heavily on her belly, sprawled on the floor. A few immortals standing beside the opening watched her in astonishment. A rather large goblin came towards her. Not knowing what to expect, Bella shrank away from him as his massive hands scooped her up. He surprised her by setting her straight on her feet. Then he put his hands on his fat waist and grinned down at her.

“The werewolves changed, didn't they?”

Bella felt her jaw drop in astonishment.

“How did you know?” she asked.

Some of the other immortals pressed closer, and one of them said, “Oh, we like to watch. It's always fun to see a newbie throw themselves through the opening, as if the werewolves were on their tails and all set to eat them.”

He laughed, and the rest of the group joined in.

Bella stood still for a full minute before she realised how ridiculous she must have looked. A giggle escaped, then grew until she found herself laughing so hard that the muscles in her stomach pulled and protested.

The goblin frowned at her.

“There now, Fairy, stop that before you make yourself sick.”

Bella glanced at his face as she wiped the tears from hers.

“Yes, I must have looked silly.” She smiled.

The other immortals started to drift off, leaving Bella alone with the goblin. Slowly she looked around. Of all the things that she had imagined, this wasn't it. Long tables, an assortment of immortals behind them, were covered in goods for sale. Bella's eyes widened as she looked at some of the merchandise.

The goblin turned his gaze to see what she was looking at. Kneeling down so that he appeared smaller, he said, “Let me guess, it's your first time in the market. Come on, I'll give you a tour.”

Bella looked up at him and offered him a small smile. She felt oddly safe and comfortable with this goblin she thought, perhaps due to her experience with Pronkzie and Gariz. He put out his palm and she stepped daintily onto it.

“What is your name?” she asked as he carried her towards the nearest table.

“Kale,” he smiled. “My name is Kale. What is your name, sweet fairy?”

“I'm Bella, the Fairy of Pure Heart.”

Kale stopped walking, his eyebrows snapping together as he looked down at her. “Are you the fairy who helped my brothers get out of the Cave of Forgetfulness?”

“Are your brothers Pronkzie and Gariz?” she asked delightedly.

“Yes,” he smiled as he started walking again.

They reached the first table. Kale lowered his hand until it was level with the table in case Bella wanted to step onto the table to explore its contents, but she seemed content to just look at the bottled concoctions from the safety of his hand.

“Is that
really
belly button fluff?” she asked as she looked at the label on the bottle filled with what looked like grey-brown fairy floss. The witch behind the table turned to them.

“It's a treat, Fairy. Would you like to try some? It's really delicious.”

“Oh no, thanks,” said Bella. “Whose belly button fluff is it?”

The witch raised her eyebrows.

“Now surely you can't be expecting me to give up all my secrets?” she asked, before turning away from them again to help someone on the other side.

Bella whispered up towards Kale, “Do other immortals really eat the fluff that comes from belly buttons?”

Kale laughed, “But of course, the witch is right—it's very good.”

Bella looked around some more, “Kale does that label say
Earwax?”
she asked. The witch turned around again and glared at them.

“Either buy something or be gone!” she snapped, growing impatient with their browsing.

Bella glanced over her shoulder at Kale. He shrugged his shoulders, lifted his hand again and started for the next table, which was covered with brightly coloured jewels and amulets.

“The colours are beautiful,” Bella said.

She sighed as she spotted a bright lime–green amulet edged in velvet black. It was shaped exactly like a dragonfly.

“That one reminds me of someone I know,” she said, pointing the amulet out to Kale.

They walked around, and every now and then one of them would comment as they passed tables laden with potions, mortal books, homemade clothes, dream–catchers, bowls, cauldrons, glassware, broomsticks, pets and exotic fresh flowers.

Kale rounded the first row of tables and Bella saw another behind it. These tables were heavily laden with assortments of foods. Spicy scents mingled with sweet. Perfumes lingered in the air. Kale moved them over to a nearby table. An old lady sat on a small chair and called out: “Goblin toe–jam. Best in the market.”

Bella wrinkled her nose. “That does not sound good.”

Kale grinned. According to his brothers, they all owed this fairy a great deal. They might have never escaped from the Forgetful Cave without her.

“Bella, I want to thank you for saving my brothers.”

Bella glanced at him in surprise.

“Don't worry about it,” she said, looking away.

“Nevertheless, I owe you a debt. I will do everything I can to help you. So what is it that you want at the markets?” he asked as he moved past a basket laden with fresh scorpions.

Bella grimaced as she saw them.

“Actually, I'm looking for the Nuffins,” she said.

“Why?” queried Kale as he reached a hand into his pocket, pulled out a coin and paid a lady who was walking past with a basket of curled, fried spiders. The lady took the coin and in exchange gave Kale one fat fried spider. Kale thanked the lady and turned to Bella.

“Would you like a bite?”

Bella scrunched up her nose as she eyed the shrivelled–up and greasy body. “Uh, no, thank you.” She returned to the conversation that was the more pressing. “I need to find something the Nuffins have. It doesn't belong to them; I just need to retrieve it for the rightful owners.”

Kale looked at her for a moment. “I know where they're camping; I can take you there,” he offered.

“Thank you, Kale.” Bella smiled at him, but turned her face away as he popped the spider into his mouth. She cringed as she heard him crunching away. Kale walked past more tables, and Bella gasped as she saw exquisitely crafted wooden chairs and artfully crafted table tops.

“The Nuffins are just through that entrance there,” he said, pointing to where they were camping.

Bella smiled gratefully at him. “Thank you.”

“Do you need help?”

Bella closed her eyes for a moment.

“I still don't know what I'm going to do,” she said softly, as if speaking to herself.

“What exactly do you need to find?” Kale asked, bringing his hand closer to his face so that he could see her more clearly.

“A special pot that belongs to the Leprechauns. It seems the Nuffins stole it from them, and they would like it back. I have to stand before it, chant a spell they have given me, and it will return to the Leprechauns.”

“Why have they asked you to get it?” he asked.

“I need to get a sliver of their rainbow, and this is the exchange that they wanted.”

“Why do you need a sliver?”

Bella sighed and began to explain, “I became friends with a mortal. He followed me into the immortal realms and Nemesis took him from me. I have to gather a list of tokens to take to Nemesis in the hope that he will give me a wish and send my prince home.”

“Not asking much, are you?” said Kale seriously.

Bella remained silent for a moment. “Have you by any chance seen the pot that I mentioned?”

“Is that the pot that fills up with gold whenever one of them sticks their hands into it?”

Bella blanched as she realised what he'd said.

“They're using it?” she squeaked.

“Of course, they're on a spending spree.”

“Oh, Nurch is not going to like that. I just have to get it back before they do too much damage. Do you have any ideas?”

Kale put his hand on his head and rubbed it around as if in deep thought. Then his face lit up and he gave a great grin.

“What you need is the element of surprise,” he said, “so they won't see you coming. Do you have any invisibility dust?” he asked.

Bella thought for a moment, taking into consideration everything that she'd already removed from her bag. She mentally counted things off, then shook her head side to side.

“No, none of that, unfortunately.”

“Tell you what, Fairy. Since you helped my brothers from the kindness in your heart, I'll get you some invisibility dust.”

He took them towards the rear of the markets, to a small table tucked into a corner. A troll was picking something Bella didn't want to know about from his pointy teeth, and eyed them suspiciously as they approached. Kale stuck his other hand into his pocket and pulled out some coins, which he held toward the troll. Kale spoke a tongue that Bella recognised from her studies, but his rough voice and fast speech left her behind after the first few words.

The troll gestured angrily towards Bella, and shook his head. Kale responded with a threatening growl and another string of words. The troll reluctantly turned to one side of the table and took a small, musty green (or was it mildewed?) pouch, which he handed to Kale in exchange for the coins.

Kale moved quickly away from the troll's table to a clear area. He set Bella down gently, then used both hand to untie the drawstring and open the pouch. He pulled out specks of golden dust and dropped them in her hair. Bella sneezed.

“Bless you, Fairy,” he said, laughing, and lifted her into his palm once again.

“Thank you, Kale,” she said. “So tell me, do you have a plan then?”

“Yes. Once we reach them, I'll lower you to the ground. No one will be able to see you, so you can find your pot and chant your spell. And, just to be sure, I'll distract them. How does that sound?”

“Sounds good.”

Kale walked out into the cool night air, Bella really still on his palm.

“Am I invisible yet?” she asked.

Kale looked down. “Yes.”

“Won't you look funny holding your hand out like this then? They will properly wonder what's wrong with you.”

Kale stopped walking, pondering her words.

“I'll put you on my shoulder for a moment, then when I get closer to them, I'll put you down.”

He walked for a few moments more, then asked, “What are you going to do after you retrieve your pot?”

“I'll make my way out of the markets and back to the leprechauns,” she said softly.

“It has been nice meeting you, Fairy. I'll tell my brothers about our meeting when I get home,” he said, straightening his arm to allow her to move up to his shoulder.

“In all the excitement, I forgot to ask how they are.”

“They're fine. They came home from the caves and realised that they'd been missing for some time. We had been very worried about them, so we were all grateful that they were rescued by you, Fairy.”