Clockwork Blue (86 page)

In awe,
Malcolm
lifted his finger to touch the pixie. It was real. A sensation of wonder, of solid light, traveled over his skin, brightening the dark cavern where his heart lay hidden, a canal of sorts opening up his soul to the sun. His
Nicola
knew of this magic all along because she was enchanted herself. He knew it now as surely as he knew the sun rose and set, as surely as he knew the seasons, as surely as he knew he loved
Nicola
with all his heart and soul.

"
Do you believe?
"

"
I do,
"
Malcolm
whispered.

"
The darkness has left you—you are no longer the Black Falcon,
"
Allegro declared and graspe
d a handful of
pixie
powder. Then he glanced toward the dresser
. What did the pixie see? Could it be the other
pixie
,
Glissando
?

Allegro
began to chant:

Light upon light, the flight of the dove, heed the Falcon
'
s avowal of love, so that his magic will make you well thus, with a kiss, break this spell.

The pixie flicked his wrist, releasing a sparkling glitter of magic
al
dust from a wand that suddenly appeared in his hand, a discordant D and C sharp rending the universe. Then Allegro cried out. Mystical lightning hit him, knocking him off his feet, throwing him against the hard side of the drawer.

Malcolm
stared in horror at the
pixie
'
s unconscious form, its smoking wings engraved with musical sharps. Though he didn
'
t know what it meant, he hoped the little creature
'
s sacrifice wasn
'
t too late—that his efforts would bring
Nicola
back to the living.

Nicola
floated in a sea
of nothingness, in limbo between two universes. One she was familiar with—there was pain and hurt. The other realm before her signified eternal light and love. Peace and goodness vibrated through the atmosphere, glowing in a warm force filled with acceptance.

Malcolm
didn
'
t love her. The mere memory of that pain was enough to make her want to run as quickly as possible toward the Light.

But someone called to her from Earth.

She was tired, so drained of energy, and she wanted nothing more than to give up the struggle and travel to the bright light at the end of the tunnel.

The call sounded closer and
... familiar. She could hear the deep pain in his tone, could see the anguish in his handsome features.
Malcolm
.
She couldn
'
t hear his words but she could see his tears as he leaned over her, stroking her cheek with a sort of reverence. A sparkle of magical dust, not resembling the pixies
'
enchantments,
but deeper, more profound, more
... eternal glittered and pulsed into her very veins, her heart. The magic of
Malcolm
. The magic of
Malcolm
'
s love. She knew it as inherently as she knew the sun would rise, the trees would grow, that something had changed to make
Malcolm
believe—believe in magic, believe in love.

"
You
'
re not ready
ye
t for the heavenly clouds, lass,
"
Allegro whispered through her subconscious.

Warmth beckoned to her. She felt wetness trickle down her nose and puddle near her cheek.
Malcolm
'
s tears.

He needed her desperately,
craved her. And he
believed
. No, her time for death hadn
'
t arrived.
Not yet.
She must return. With resolve, she fought her way back through the la
ye
rs of atmosphere toward her destination.

Allegro opened his
eyes
and immediately noted the healthy
yellow
hue of
Nicola
'
s life ring.
"
She
'
s going to be all right,
"
he said, his deep sigh heartfelt.

Glissando
had been leaning over him. At his words, he followed Allegro
'
s gaze. His wide grin held worlds of relief.
"
Thank the blessed enchantments of
Malcolm
'
s love,
"
he murmured.

The profound joy Allegro felt caused the deep ache in his wings to dissipate. With a lump in his throat, he watched as
Malcolm
openly wept, holding
Nicola
close.

"
Does it hurt?
"

He knew
Glissando
referred to the brands on his wings, which meant he was ostracized.
As he tore
his gaze from the tender reunion between
Malcolm
and
Nicola
,
the pain return
ed
. Adding to it was realization of the repercussions of his
law-breaking
. The threat of expulsion from his home hit him with the force of a two-ton troll.
"
No,
"
he lied. Standing, he willed the
burn
away so that he could show a brave front.
"
Well, that is that.
Malcolm
has declared his love for her three times now, and he truly adores her. She
'
s hale and sound, except for a throbbing in her head.
"

"
Yes
, I
'
m certain she
'
ll have a headache for a while,
"
Glissando
replied, giving his friend an uncertain stare.
"
We
'
ll appeal the ostracism,
"
he blurted.

"
No, I don
'
t want to grovel when I know it won
'
t help. The best action for me is to accept judgment and go on.
"

"
But where will
you
go?
"

"
I
'
ll visit various stations, try to find the trolls—perhaps trap them underground before they can do any harm.
"

"
But
you
can
'
t get your elixir. It
'
s locked up in Jubilant.
"

"
Never fear. I have several megasectors stashed in various other places.
"

"
You
do?
"

He didn
'
t like the manner in which
Glissando
stared at him, as if he knew it was all a bluff.
"
You know us Sopranos. We
'
re thrifty.
"
Turning to hide his fear, he tested his wings and decided flight would cool off the bum.
"
Send my regrets to Dulce for abandoning her at the
party. Just tell her I
'
ll see her again in a
ye
ar.
"

"
All right,
"
Glissando
said uncertainly.

The chances of him surviving a
ye
ar without the protection of Jubilant were next to zero—he read the truth in
Glissando
'
s e
ye
s. Putting on a brave front, he waved in a carefree manner he didn
'
t feel.
"
I
'
ll be seeing
you
.
"
To leave without seeing another pixie for a
ye
ar, no one to talk to in all that time, swept over him like a desolate wind. And that was at best.

At least he could try to conquer the creatures who had most likely escaped the underworld. With dogged determination, he flew south, toward the enchanted lock, planning to retrieve some of his elixir hidden in the woods before he approached danger.

A low hum sounded behind him. Curious, he glanced back.

"
Allegro!
Wait up
.
"

He halted in midair, confusion sweeping over him.
"
What are you doing?
"

"
I'm coming with you.
Do
you
think I
'
d let
you
get all the glory by trapping the trolls alone? No, sirree.
Besides, you need my pixie dust to have a chance out there.
"