Fairy Lies (18 page)

Tamisin had reached the forest and was heading for the flat rock where supper was served, hoping Irinia hadn’t cleared everything away yet, when she saw a cloud of tiny fairies advancing through the forest. Seeing that other full-sized fairies were hurrying out of their way, she moved to stand behind a tree.

“What’s going on?” a fairy only a few yards away asked another. “Colonel Mountain Ash doesn’t usually patrol our woods at night.”

“Haven’t you heard? Some ogres were spotted on our side of the hedge after curfew. I don’t like ogres, but I’d hate to be one when the colonel catches them. He’ll do his best to make an example of them so no one else tries anything.”

Tamisin glanced back the way she had come. Narlayna’s family was leaving, but the ogress was staying behind, which meant that if anyone was going to be caught, it would be her. From all that Tamisin had heard, Narlayna had enough problems without having to face the colonel, too.

Tamisin pretended to be as curious as the other fairies while the colonel and his troops were around, but as soon as she saw them fly off and knew that no one else was looking, she slipped back through the trees to the rocks by the cove. By the time she reached them, it was already dark. Once again she climbed over the rocks as quietly as
she could, which was harder now that she couldn’t really see where she was going. Keeping a low profile, she paused at the top to listen before climbing down the other side. At first all she could hear was the rumbling thunder of the waves breaking and the more muted sound of the water shushing across the sand. But after a few minutes she heard the soft, unmistakable sound of someone weeping. Peering into the darkness, she thought she saw a dark shape on the beach just past the waterline.

She had climbed partway down the rocks when she decided that it might not be wise to startle an ogress, so she began to make noise on purpose, pushing smaller rocks over, and muttering to herself as she looked for better footholds. The shape on the beach moved and got larger, as if the ogress had gotten to her feet.

“Wait!” Tamisin called softly as the figure began to walk away. Jumping off the rocks, she hurried to catch up.

“What are you doing here?” Narlayna growled.

“I want to help you,” said Tamisin. “If you return to your cave now, Colonel Mountain Ash and his fairies will catch you. They want to make an example of you for being out after curfew.”

“How do you know that?” asked the ogress, sounding more worried than angry.

Tamisin glanced back at the rocks. “Because I saw them, just like I saw you and your family earlier. Don’t worry,” she said, reaching for Narlayna’s arm when the ogress began to edge away. “I’m not going to tell anyone. I
just want to help you get back to your cave without anyone seeing you.”

“I don’t need your help,” said Narlayna. “I know a path through the trees that will get me there just fine.”

“If you’re sure . . . ,” said Tamisin. She watched as the ogress trudged away, going farther down the beach before turning inland. Tamisin frowned, annoyed with herself for being unable to make up her mind. The ogress might not want her help, but then, she didn’t know exactly what she was facing. Narlayna was still upset and might do something that could get her hurt. At least Tamisin could stand as lookout for her. Silently, Tamisin followed Narlayna and was surprised when the ogress climbed an incline so steep that it was almost a vertical wall.

Tamisin ran to the wall and peered up. There were no hidden handholds or likely looking ledges where she could place her hands or feet. The wall was as sheer and smooth as something sanded by winter storms could be.

“I’m not climbing that!” Tamisin muttered to herself. “But then, I don’t have to.” With a shrug of her shoulders, she freed her wings and looked up. Moments later she was hovering in the air behind Narlayna, who had reached the top of the wall and was standing on a narrow ledge, peering into the forest. When the ogress didn’t move, Tamisin looked past her to the twinkling lights drifting between the trees.

“I can still help you,” she whispered to Narlayna.

The ogress turned her head sharply, then nodded and
started back down. When she reached the ground, she set her hands on her hips and looked Tamisin over. “Why do you want to help me? You don’t know me. We aren’t friends. I don’t even like you.”

“I can’t help that,” Tamisin said, shrugging. “I want to help you because I don’t think the fairies are treating you right. People wouldn’t put up with it back where I come from, and I don’t like it here, either. Fairies may have more magic than anyone else, but that doesn’t make them better.”

Narlayna grunted and looked Tamisin in the eyes. “So what exactly do you think you can do for me?”

“The tree where I sleep isn’t far from here. If we can get past the guards, I can hide you in my bed until morning. No one would think of looking for you there.”

Narlayna snorted. “I’d never fit in one of those puny little beds! Even if I could, it would never support my weight. You’re going to have to do better than that!”

“Then I don’t know, unless . . . How do you feel about flying? The fairies are searching the forest, but they never seem to fly very high. If I fly higher, we might be able to get past without any of them spotting us. I doubt very much they would ever think of looking up. I could fly you to your cave and they would never know that you hadn’t been there all along.”

“You’re going to turn into one of those itty-bitty little things and lift me?” said Narlayna. “I don’t think so!”

“Am I itty-bitty now?” asked Tamisin. “Because I’m not going to get any smaller than this.”

“Fairies can’t fly very far when they’re your size. I’m
surprised you flew all the way up there,” Narlayna said, glancing at the rock wall. “There’s no way a big fairy could fly all the way to the hedge lugging a dandelion, let alone me!”

“If you haven’t noticed yet, I’m not a normal fairy,” said Tamisin. “I’m bigger than most and so are my wings. I’ve carried a person before without any trouble.”

“I bet that person wasn’t an ogress.”

“Well, no, but that doesn’t mean I can’t. It’s at least worth a try.”

“And if you can’t?”

“Then we’ll think of something else. Why are you complaining? All you have to do is hold on. I’m the one who’s going to do all the work.” Stepping closer to the ogress, Tamisin raised her arms and said, “Wrap your arms around my waist and we’ll see if I can do this.”

Narlayna laughed even as she reached for Tamisin. “You’ll never be able to get off the ground, let alone carry me above the trees!”

She was still chuckling when Tamisin said, “Hold on tight and don’t look down.”

“What are you talking about? I . . . How did you do that?” said the ogress, glancing down past her feet to the tops of the trees below. Suddenly she was squeezing Tamisin so hard that the girl could scarcely breathe.

“Not so . . . tight!” Tamisin gasped.

“Sorry,” Narlayna said, loosening her grip. “Wow!” she added, looking around. “I’ve never been this high. You’re a lot stronger than you look.”

“Can’t talk now!” wheezed Tamisin, who was already regretting her offer to carry the ogress. Not only was Narlayna big but ogres were solid and weighed even more than a human the same size would have weighed.

Tamisin’s heart was racing, and her breath was coming in ragged gasps as she glanced down to make sure she was going the right way. In the light of the nearly full moon she could make out the silver ribbon of the stream and the thick dark line of the hedge just beyond it. The fairies’ side of the forest was filled with twinkling lights, whereas the other side was much darker.

Just a little farther
, Tamisin thought, although the hedge looked miles away.

“This is incredible!” said Narlayna. “Why didn’t I do this before?”

Tamisin chuckled, which turned into a gasp of pain. She was straining something in her back, and the pain was only getting worse. Suddenly it felt as if something tore; the pain was so intense that she could barely see straight. “We have to . . . set down,” she said, but she was losing control as one of her wings refused to move the way she wanted it to. Using all her strength, Tamisin beat her wings as hard as she could, carrying them over the briar hedge even as they started to go down. She could see the glint of water, and thought they might be near the pool where she had seen the nymphs washing clothes. Then the ground hit and only Narlayna’s strong arms kept Tamisin from tumbling over and over, a move that would have crushed her outstretched wings.

When Narlayna let go of her, Tamisin fell to her knees, her body shaking with pain. The ogress took one look at her and picked her up like she would a small child. The pain was so intense that Tamisin couldn’t think of anything else. Squeezing her eyes shut, she gritted her teeth as the ogress ran with a lumbering gait. Tamisin didn’t open her eyes again until they entered Narlayna’s cave and the ogress laid her on a bed so soft that the down mattress seemed to swallow her.

Tamisin sat up once when the ogress made her swallow something sweet and thick. Her entire body became numb a few minutes later, and she drifted off to sleep even as Narlayna spoke to someone in a half whisper. When she woke again, it was still dark, but a candle lit the cave enough that Tamisin could see Irinia bending over her. The two-faced woman gave her another drink, but this one was bitter and made Tamisin’s tongue feel like it was too big for her mouth. Irinia was spreading something cold and sticky on Tamisin’s back when she fell asleep again. A short time later she dreamed of demanding voices and Narlayna speaking in a quiet, reasonable tone while Irinia sat beside her, holding her hand and warning her to be quiet.

Why wouldn’t I be?
Tamisin thought, and drifted into an even deeper sleep.

Chapter 14

Jak was thinking about Tamisin when he started across the plain. Doreen’s information about the fairy king had disturbed Jak more than he would have admitted. Although he had been worried about Tamisin before, he was worried in a different way now. What
did
Oberon want with her? And what did Doreen mean when she said that the fairy king changed how people looked at the world? It was true that Jak wasn’t happy about the way Tamisin had turned away from him, but that had been her choice and she’d been free to make it. Jak hated the idea that Oberon might have changed her in any way. He was sure that Tamisin would have fought it, if she’d known what was going on. He’d have to start looking for the pink dust right away.

Jak glanced back and noticed that he’d already walked a good distance. He could no longer see the opening to the canyon where he’d left the two sphinxes. The land he was crossing now was covered with lush grass, more like
a lawn in the human world than the tall grass in the Sograssy Sea.

Jak looked up; the forest didn’t seem that far away now. He wondered when he’d start forgetting things. Maybe he wouldn’t if he kept the important things fresh in his mind. His name was Jak, he was half human, half cat goblin, he was in love with a beautiful half fairy named Tamisin, and he was going to the forest to get her. For a moment he was worried when he couldn’t remember why she was in the forest, but then he decided that it really didn’t matter, as long as he knew that he had to go there because . . .

Jak scraped his fingers through his hair and frowned. There was something on the edge of his mind that he knew was important, but he couldn’t remember what. Oh well, he remembered that he was going to get his girlfriend, who . . . It bothered Jak that he could no longer remember her name, but that wasn’t the important part. As long as he remembered that he had to go to . . .

Jak stopped in midstep and looked around. He knew he had come here to do something, but he couldn’t remember what. Tired and thirsty, he decided to sit down for a minute. He chose a spot beside a narrow stream where the water looked fresh and inviting. Bending down beside the water, he set his hand on something hidden in the grass. It was smoother than a rock, and rounded. Curious, he brushed the grass aside. It wasn’t a rock at all, but a skull. Jak scrambled to his feet, his thirst forgotten.