Tangled Magick (12 page)

“Mae sent this.” Leif held out the braid. It shook in his hand while he tried to catch his breath. Aletta scooped it out of his palm. He panted. “It was around the owl's neck.”

“It's hair,” Aletta said.

“Poppy's hair, to be exact,” Leif answered. He straightened up, his heart still beating hard.

Aletta shooed him and the owl into the house. “Come in out of the cold.”

The owl swooped in, perched on the overstuffed chair where Callum would normally sit, and began to preen her feathers.

Leif hesitated, shuffling his feet. He couldn't get the fever or he would be useless to help Maewyn and the others.

“Don't worry, I took the last of the medicine and shouldn't be contagious anymore.”

Leif stepped into the house. “You took the last of the medicine?”

“I figured if I was sick, I couldn't help anyone else.” Aletta bit her lip as a worried expression clouded her face. “It was wrong of me, wasn't it?”

“No! No, Aletta.” Leif shook his head emphatically. “You were right. We need our only resident wizard, for the moment anyway, healthy.”

“I still feel a bit ill, but I should be right in no time.” Aletta strode across the room to the large dining table. “Come, I'll get us some tea and the map Callum left me.” The wizard snapped her fingers and mumbled something. The kettle floated from the hearth to the dining table and poured water into a teacup, where a small strainer held leaves of loose tea. Leif was just wondering if he should go get a second cup when one glided into the room. He switched the strainer to the second cup as it alighted on the table.

Leif sipped from his cup, trying to calm his nerves as the kettle poured water for Aletta as she hurried back into the room carrying a large map. Unrolling the parchment, Aletta pointed to the Wedge, and then the red dotted line that led to Larissa, and then farther on to Watcher's Hill. “By my calculations, they should have made it to Larissa two days ago. This morning they were scheduled to start traveling to Watcher's Hill.”

“But that's if they made it to Larissa in the first place!” Leif interrupted.

Aletta blinked at him. It was as if she hadn't even considered that.

Leif ran his hands through his curly mop. “I know Callum and Mae are good wizards, but something might have happened to them. The wagon could've broken down, the party might
have come down with the Bricklebear Fever, or the horses went lame…”

“No, Callum took some of the remedy for the fever with him, just in case.” The wizard grabbed her cup from the table and sipped her tea, pacing. “The only thing to do is follow their trail and find them.”

“There is an easier way to find them,” Leif said. As if the owl knew what Leif was suggesting, she glided to the dining table and pecked at the map. Then she straightened and gave a soft hoot.

Aletta peered at the point where the owl had poked. “There's nothing there but the ruins of a castle destroyed in the Trillium War. I didn't tell you, but the hapennies fought in that war too, beside the humans.”

Leif laughed. “I doubt it. I've never heard of any war where hapennies fought alongside humans. That's ridiculous.”

“Remember how I said the elders didn't want the younger generation to get any grand ideas? Well, the generation of happennies who fought in the war burned all the writings about it and forbade anyone to talk about the war in the presence of the young.”

“And that must be part of the reason that humans don't visit the Wedge,” Leif said. A hotness burned in the pit of his stomach. He felt betrayed and ignorant. How could a part of their long history just be erased like that?

Aletta bent and pulled his chin toward her, staring him in the face. “I know what you're thinking, but the elders thought they were protecting you. They thought they were doing what was best for the future of the hapenny race.”

Leif pulled away. “By keeping us ignorant of our past? By letting us fear humans and wizards…and our own magick?”

Aletta rolled her eyes. “I didn't say it was a good idea! I'm just telling you what happened. Mistakes can be corrected. But first we need to find Callum, Mae, and the others.”

Leif straightened. “I'm ready to go.”

“Oh no you're not,” Aletta said as she bustled around the room collecting things. “Your mother would kill me if I agreed to that.”

“I don't care what my mother thinks,” Leif yelled. He puffed out his chest and pointed his thumb at it. “I'm sixteen. I'm old enough to make decisions for myself. And I say I'm going!”

“No.” Aletta shook her head.

“Yes!”

“
No!
”

“
Yes!
” Leif stamped his foot. “Leave the Wedge without me and I'll follow you on my own.”

Aletta rolled the map up and stuck it on the pile of things she'd gathered. “I can't let you go without talking to your parents first.”

Leif growled deep in his throat and let out a frustrating scream. “Fine!” He stormed out the door and stalked down the path. The owl followed him. He could hear the flap of her wings, the
swoosh
sound echoing the pounding of his angry heart. His parents weren't going to stop him from finding Mae.

L
eif stared at the afternoon sun leaking through the colored windows and into the cozy room at the Twisted Bridge Tavern, the Wedge's unofficial town hall. His mind was reeling with worry and his shoulder ached from the weight of the owl perched there, but he wouldn't ask her to leave—she was his only link to Mae.

“Callum, Maewyn, and the other travelers left knowing the dangers they might face,” Widow Bridgepath said. Her glasses had slipped down her nose so that she was looking at Leif and Aletta over the copper-colored rims. Her wrinkled hands were folded together on the tabletop, her shoulders hunched forward.

“We thought it was safe,” Aletta said. “We thought the trolls had gotten the message and moved on.”

“Yes. We all thought so, but it turns out we may have been wrong.” Old Mr. Hollowbeam's voice creaked as he spoke. He shifted in his chair before continuing. “You, Aletta, are free to leave and search for them—”

“But under no circumstances is my son to go with you!” Faria Burrbridge shrieked.

Leif's dad patted her hand to calm her down. “Yes, dear. We all know how you feel about it. Let Elder Hollowbeam finish.” Leif's dad nodded and smiled at the other villagers in the tavern. They were watching the proceedings with great interest over tankards of pumpkin-pie ale. Leif was sure the
outcome of the meeting would be all over town in a matter of moments.

His mother fanned herself and adjusted her winter bonnet.

“As I was saying, Aletta, please find Mae and the others. We must trust in the magickal protections on the bridge that Mae provided. Any hapenny over the age of seventeen is welcome to go with you,” Elder Hollowbeam croaked. “Leif, however, being only sixteen summers, must stay in the Wedge.”

Widow Bridgepath slammed the gavel on the table. “Our word is final.”

Mr. Hollowbeam raised his hand to get the server's attention. “A pint of wedgeberry rum, if you please.”

“But it's not fair!” Leif stomped his foot. “In six months, I'm old enough to make my own decisions—what's going to happen to me in six months that's going to change me so significantly from who I am now? Am I going to magickally become a grownup? One day too young, the next old enough to decide for myself?”

“Those six months will give you more time to mature,” his dad said. “To grow into your britches.”

Leif turned to the wizard and raised his eyebrows, silently pleading with her to intervene. “Aletta?”

Aletta looked at her feet. “I live in the Wedge by the permission of the Elders, and I must follow their word, especially when it comes to an underage hapenny. I'm sorry, Leif.”

“Goose pie and malarkey!” Leif shouted. He turned on his heel and stormed from the tavern. The owl hopped off his shoulder and screeched after him. As he pulled open the door, he glared at the gathering of hapennies. “Just so you know, my mother's house has been invaded by piskies. You might want to do something about it before the little blighters start robbing your houses too.”

Faria gasped as Leif strode out into the quickly darkening night. The leafless trees clacked together, looking like giant
fingers reaching into the sky. He wished those giant fingers would pluck him out of the Wedge…
Giant fingers! River Weed Starr! That's it!
He would find River Weed Starr. Surely the giant would help rescue Mae.

His owl—he'd taken to calling her Peck—preened herself in a nearby tree, keeping an eye on him as he paced in the village square. He bit the skin on his thumb, trying to quickly think of what he would need to pack, and how he was going to get the map from Aletta. Several of the villagers passed him with sidelong looks and whispers. Mr. Birchbeam tipped his hat before covering his face with a scarf and pushing into the wind. Leif waved and then tried to act casual, stuffing his hands in his pockets and whistling a snappy tune as he ambled out of town. He knew Aletta wouldn't give him the map; he'd have to make a copy. He was just hoping she'd left it out on the table.

When he was out of sight of the village center, he broke into a run. Getting to Mae's house as fast as he could, before Aletta, was the only chance he had to put his plan into action. Peck flew next to him as he careened around the bend. Curls of smoke rose from the chimneys in the distance. The dead heads of sunflowers dipped as he raced past, and the pigs squealed as he came into view of Maewyn's house. Glancing furtively around, Leif slunk in the front door and breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the map curled on the table on top of the other supplies Aletta had gathered. Peck flew to the chair and landed with a hoot, and Leif shut the door before searching for parchment, ink, and a quill. He could find nothing in the common room to write with, though. Map in hand, he jogged down the hallway to what used to be Gelbane's workroom and shivered as he pushed the door open. Two years ago he'd been caged in that room, waiting to become a troll's dinner, until Maewyn rescued him. Now the room was clear of Gelbane's contraptions but cluttered with books about beasts and history and magick. Potions and salves lined the bookshelves, as well
as jars of what Leif hoped were ingredients. The fire in the hearth had burned down to coals, and the room had an unused feeling about it.

A soft scuffle in the corner made Leif's heart jump into his throat. He turned, holding the map up like a sword. Two black eyes peered up at him from under the table. Leif relaxed and crouched down to scratch the little red squirrel's head. “Beau! How are you, buddy?”

Beau's nose twitched. His bottom lip began to quiver, and then he burst into tears.

“Hey, hey now, what's the matter?” Leif asked. Then he looked around the room. Usually wherever Beau was, Trina wasn't too far off, but Leif didn't see any trace of her. “Trina stowed away in Mae's bag, didn't she?”

Beau nodded and mopped his tears with his tail.

“I'm sorry. I know you miss her, just as much as I miss Mae. I'm going to find them, don't you worry.”

The little squirrel nodded and brightened. He pointed to himself, and then to Leif, nodding enthusiastically.

“You…you want to come with me?” Leif asked, trying to decipher the squirrel's squeaks and expressions. He figured he was right when Beau nodded his head so hard, Leif thought it might go rolling off. Leif chuckled a little. “Okay. Help me find parchment and ink so I can make a copy of this map.”

Beau bounded off and came back with a blank roll of parchment. He gestured for Leif to follow him to the desk under the window. The little squirrel disappeared through the small crack between the roll top and the desk surface. Pushing the roll top back, Leif found Beau holding the quill triumphantly and grabbed the ink jar. He unrolled the map and secured the corners so it would lie flat. Then he proceeded to make a copy. He was so engrossed in his work that he didn't notice Aletta when she appeared in the doorway.

“I thought you might try something like this,” Aletta said.

Leif tried to hide what he was doing. His heart pounded in his throat as he turned toward the wizard. “It's not what you think… Okay, it is what you think. But what I am supposed to do? I cannot leave Mae in whatever situation she's in, no matter what my parents and the Elders say. She asked for help. The owl I carved for her… She came to
me
.”

“Have you thought that the owl only came to you because it was made by your hands?” Aletta asked.

Leif shook his head. “No. Mae sent her to me. Who else would have understood the braid of hair around the owl's neck as a message of distress?”

“What am I going to do with you, Leif?” Aletta said as she entered the room and gazed at the perfect copy of the map Leif had drawn. “You are too stubborn for your own good.”