Wings (25 page)

When the sun began to set, fireflies lined up wing to wing on the branches of the neighboring trees, shedding a fanciful, flickering light. Tamisin thought the dance was about to begin when a pompous-looking gnome strutted into the center of the ring, but he was there to measure the height of the grass. When he found some that was too tall, he motioned for the fairies who had spent the day trimming it to trim it some more. While other gnomes inspected the flowers strung from branch to branch, and the mushrooms edging the ring, Tamisin walked around the entire circumference, trying to find Jak.

As the night grew darker and the fairies and their friends assembled for the dance, Tamisin felt more and more anxious.

“How ya doin’, Princess?” said Tobi, suddenly appearing in front of her.

“Have you seen Jak? I can’t find him anywhere.”

“Not since ya went to change yer clothes. That’s a mighty nice dress ya got there. Is it as soft as it looks?”

Seeing that Tobi was about to touch her dress with his sticky fingers, Tamisin twitched the fabric out of the way. “Don’t you dare touch it until you’ve washed your hands!”

Tobi frowned as he examined his fingers. “What’s wrong with ’em? Here, is this better?” he asked and licked them.

Tamisin shuddered. “No, it’s not. If you’ll excuse me, I have to find Jak.”

“Why?” said Tobi. “He’s prolly hiding so he don’t hafta dance!”

“Jak wouldn’t do that,” she replied, her throat tight with anger. “He promised he’d come. Despite what you might think, Jak has never lied to me. He didn’t take me anywhere I didn’t want to go, regardless of what Nihlo said. And he wasn’t spying on me to report to my mother like you were—and probably still are. I’d appreciate it if you’d stay away from me, Tobi! I have enough things to worry about without you reporting everything I say or do!”

Tobi looked stunned. “But I didn’t… I wasn’t … I wouldn’t…”

Lightning flashed overhead as Tamisin turned her back and stalked away, leaving the little goblin sputtering.

Tamisin was furious—at Tobi for talking about Jak that way, at Jak if he really had stood her up. She was debating whether or not she should continue looking for him when Titania arrived with her handmaidens and everyone began to line up behind them. A goblin girl with a plumed tail like a squirrel’s took Tamisin’s hand in her own and led her to the front of the line, just behind Titania. The fairy queen was dressed in a shimmery silver gown that seemed to flow over her body like liquid silver. Covered with precious gems, it caught the light at a thousand points, making Tamisin’s gown look dull in comparison. Titania smiled graciously at Tamisin,
then proceeded to walk through the forest, leading the line that grew progressively longer as more of the fey joined in. Wherever they walked, Tamisin looked for Jak, hoping she might yet see him, but he seemed to have vanished entirely.

It was midnight when the dance began, and the moon shone down on the revelers, adding its light to that of the fireflies. Titania was the first to step into the ring, and then Tamisin and the handmaidens followed while the rest of the fairies stood outside and watched. With so many eyes on her, Tamisin felt close to panicking.

And then the music began and Tamisin no longer had time to think. Titania took a dozen steps, her movements so graceful that she seemed to float above the grass. Then the handmaidens followed her, copying her movements like shadows in a brightly lit room. When they turned to Tamisin, she knew that they expected her to do the same. She tried her best. Following Titania’s lead, they danced across the ring, the others as light as butterflies while Tamisin was always one step behind. It wasn’t until they reached a patch of moonlight that her dancing began to change. It was a full moon that night, and it affected her just as it had back in the human world. A few more steps and she’d lost herself to the dance, imagining herself in a world that was neither fey nor human, a world that reflected both, as well as much that was uniquely hers. She was so caught up in the dance that she never noticed the handmaidens leaving the ring, nor when Titania left a moment later.

Tamisin danced as she had for so many nights, only
this time something different happened. She twirled, and as she twirled, her wings opened behind her like buds unfurling into beautiful flowers. No longer wet or limp when they emerged, her wings were glorious from the moment the air touched them. And here in the land of the fey where magic was as common as moonlight, Tamisin’s wings truly blossomed. Where her wings had seemed large in her human home, here they were twice as big. Their color was more brilliant as well, the blues more vivid and the violets richer. Unlike normal fairy wings that never changed hue from the day the fairy was born, Tamisin’s wings shimmered as she moved, the colors rippling across them in silver-edged sparkles. As graceful and as fluid as the dance itself, her wings moved with her, enhancing her dance and enthralling her audience.

Tamisin would have danced all night if a cloud hadn’t passed in front of the moon. As the light in the ring dimmed, she paused and for the first time realized that she had been dancing by herself. She glanced up, suddenly self-conscious, only to see the wonder in the fairies’ eyes. The faces blurred together as she looked from one to the next, hoping to see Jak. He wasn’t there, but at least now she felt as if the fairies might actually like her, even if it was just for a moment.

“Well done!” said Titania, and at that all the fairies cheered, a rousing sound that made Tamisin smile.

As the music struck up a lighter chord, the fairies outside the ring began to enter, some to congratulate her, others to dance the next dance. She saw Tobi looking sad
as he kept his distance, but still no Jak. Although she hadn’t felt tired while she was dancing, Tamisin was exhausted now and wanted nothing more than to find a seat and something cool to drink. Even so, she couldn’t help but look through the crowd as she left the ring, wondering why Jak hadn’t come to the dance. It wasn’t like him to break a promise. Tobi couldn’t be right, but if he wasn’t, where was Jak? She couldn’t imagine what might have happened to him. She was about to ask one of the guards to help her look for him when a goblin woman approached her.

“Your Highness,” said the woman. “Might I have a word with you? It’s of a personal nature.” Glancing from Tamisin to the shadowy forest beyond the ring, the woman hinted at the need for privacy.

Tamisin hesitated, but only for a moment. The woman had a sweet face with the green eyes of a cat and the soft white hair of a grandmother. Dressed in the pastels of Titania’s handmaidens, she looked like the kind of person Tamisin could trust. Although she didn’t recall having seen the woman before, so much had been going on over the short time that she and Jak had been there that she was sure she had seen only a fraction of her mother’s attendants. With a wave of her hand, Tamisin told the guard that she was all right and followed the woman into the woods.

“It’s about Jak,” the woman said once they were alone. “He’s gone back to see his uncle.”

“Why would he go without telling me?” asked Tamisin.

“He didn’t want to, but he was called away. His uncle is furious with him because the boy defied him by coming here.”

“But it wasn’t his fault,” Tamisin said. “He came only because I asked him to.” She felt awful now. Not only had she been angry with Jak for something he didn’t do, but he was in trouble for something she’d asked him to do.

“I’m sure you’re right, Princess, but Jak’s uncle, Targin, is awfully stubborn. The goblin is known for his temper, so there’s no saying what he might do to Jak unless …”

“Unless what?”

“Unless someone intercedes with his uncle. It would have to be someone who cares about Jak enough to travel to his uncle’s den and talk some sense into the goblin. I would do it myself, only I doubt Targin would listen to me.”

“I could go,” said Tamisin, “but Titania thinks that the goblins want to use me against her. Wouldn’t I be putting myself in their hands so they could do just that?”

“Your mother has been misinformed,” the woman said. “Someone would have to be terribly foolish to do something that would incur her wrath. Targin may be many things, but no one has ever called him foolish. They say that humans are capable of great loyalty and compassion. However, if you’d rather stay here where you feel safe …”

“No,” said Tamisin. “I’m not going to let Jak bear the consequences for something I made him do. Can you tell me how to get there?”

“I’ll do better than that. I’ll take you myself. I know a shortcut that will get you there safely in no time at all. We can leave right now if you’d like.”

“Why do you care so much about Jak?” Tamisin asked, still not sure if she should trust the woman.

“Because I’m his great-aunt, Lurinda. His grandmother is my sister. Surely the dear boy has mentioned me to you?”

“He didn’t tell me much,” Tamisin said, trying to remember if he’d mentioned his aunt’s name at all. She glanced down at her delicate gown and slippers. “Shouldn’t I change my clothes before we go?”

“There isn’t time,” said the woman. “If we don’t get there soon, it may be too late.”

“But my mother…”

“If we take the shortcut we can be there and back before anyone knows you’re gone. Trust me, this is the best way.”

At first the light of the moon was enough to let them pick a route through the forest, but when they reached an older, less-cared-for section where the trees met overhead, preventing the light from reaching the ground, the woman took a handful of dust from her bag and blew on it. Light flared, allowing Tamisin to see the roots that would have tripped her and the branches that would have blocked her way.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“We’re almost there,” the woman said.

Tamisin was beginning to have doubts when they stepped between two trees and a pale light shimmered
around her. A chill caused goose bumps to prickle her arms, then suddenly they were in full daylight with the summer sun warming her skin. Tamisin squeezed her eyes shut as the bright light made her eyes tear. “What just happened?” she asked. Peeking through her lashes, she turned to look behind her. The fairy forest was gone, replaced by a meadow awash with wildflowers. Tamisin glanced up at the sound of a jet flying high overhead. Somewhere a radio was playing music with a lively beat. It was obvious that they were no longer in the land of the fey. It took her a moment before she recognized the field where she had picked flowers the day she went on a picnic with Jak.

“It’s the shortcut,” the woman said. “Follow me.”

They passed the waterfall where Tamisin and Jak had had their picnic, then hiked through the woods, forsaking the path that ran alongside the stream. Cutting through a backyard, they reached a street lined with sycamore trees. A woman glanced up from weeding her garden while a little girl playing hopscotch on the sidewalk pointed at Tamisin and said, “Look! It’s Cinderella!”

“How can it be summer here?” Tamisin asked Lurinda as they crossed another street. “Jak and I have been gone only a few days and it was autumn when we left.”

“Didn’t Jak tell you that time passes differently here than it does in the land of the fey? It never passes at the same rate from one day to the next, which is why we have
to hurry. Who knows how long we’ll have been gone while Targin decides Jak’s fate?”

“Where are we going now?” asked Tamisin.

The street was vaguely familiar with its meticulously maintained older homes. A truck belonging to a lawn service was parked in front of one of the houses, and the men unloading the mowers stopped to stare as Tamisin and Lurinda passed by. “Must be a party,” said one of the older men.

“This way,” said the woman, leading Tamisin behind the only run-down house on the street.

Tamisin had the feeling that they were being watched as they walked through the yard. It wasn’t until she glanced at the porch that she recognized the house. “This is where Jak lives!” she said. “I came here for a party.”

A face appeared at one of the windows, but was gone before Tamisin was able to get a good look. “I wonder if that’s his grandmother,” she said. “Maybe I should stop in and tell her about Jak.”

Lurinda frowned and hustled Tamisin past the house. “There’s no time for that now. Whoever is in that house wouldn’t be able to do Jak a bit of good. Here we go, right between these two trees.”

“This is the Gate Jak and I fell through the night of his party. We didn’t end up anywhere near where he thought we would.”

“That was a fluke,” said her companion. “The Gate wasn’t working right because of a storm. It corrected
itself the very next day. I came through it just a few hours ago in fey time.”

Herding Tamisin in front of her, the woman took her to the hazy patch of air that marked the Gate.

“I don’t understand,” Tamisin said. “Did my mother send you here?”

“Don’t worry, my dear,” said Lurinda as they stepped from one world to the next. “It will all become clear very soon.”

Lurinda swore under her breath when they stepped through the Gate between the worlds and found that it was night in the land of the fey. “Be as quiet as you can,” she whispered into Tamisin’s ear. “The lamia have been more active of late, and loud noises attract them.”

“Really?” said Tamisin. “Lou never mentioned that.”

Lurinda gave her an odd look, but didn’t say anything more as she escorted Tamisin through a meadow, past a copse of trees, and down a steep slope to a stout door set in the hillside. After pressing a square of metal set in the door, she stepped back to wait, her eyes scanning the darkness around them. Leaves rustled in a nearby shrub, making her jump and turn around; she seemed relieved when the door finally opened. Taking Tamisin’s arm, she hurried her through the doorway.

A man closed the door the moment they stepped through, then locked it with an odd-looking key. When he turned to face them, Tamisin saw that he wasn’t a man at all, but a goblin with eyes like a cat’s and black hair so
thick it might have been called fur. A scar ran the width of his cheek, nearly reaching the base of one of his catlike ears, making him look quite ferocious. He eyed Tamisin as if she were something he might have found stuck to the bottom of his shoe, then glanced at Lurinda and nodded before walking away.