Enchantment (51 page)

Her
m
outh
fell
open.
“No
wa
y
!”
S
he
giggled
with
enthusia
s
m
.
“What
are
th
e
y
?
”
The
petals were,
in
fact,
win
g
s.
In
centre
of
the
flowers
were
tiny
little
faces
looking
up
at
her.
M
eeka
sank to
her
knees to
look
closer
at
the
precious
lit
t
le
beings.
Their
lit
t
le
faces s
m
iled bright
l
y
up
at
her. “I
thought
y
o
u
m
ig
h
t
like
th
e
m
,
but
it
real
l
y
does
get
better.”
A
s
she
stood,
Kerrigan p
o
ssessive
l
y
strode
forward
to
secure
her
hand
again.

“But,
what
are
th
e
y
?
”
Meeka
s
m
iled at
Pad
d
y
.

“Pixies.
And
this
is
Pixie
Field.
Keep
watching.
Y
ou’re
in
for
a
treat.”
Paddy
s
pread
her ar
m
s
wide
and
turned
in
a
circle.

A
s
Meeka
stepped
forward,
the
pixies
sprang
into
the
air
and
took
flight.
The
sky
w
a
s
s
udden
l
y
filled
with
their
brilliant
colors,
and
their
angelic
voices
r
o
se
in
song.
Meeka
flung
her ar
m
s
around
Kerrigan’s
neck
and
hugged
h
i
m
with
all
her
m
ight.

“It’s
the
m
ost
incredib
l
e
thing
I’ve
ever
seen. I
have
drea
m
ed
of
faeries
all
my life,
and
here they
are!”
Her
head
s
pun.
Exciteme
n
t
sang
through
her
veins.
As
she
s
pun
in
sl
o
w
circles,
a
pale
y
e
l
l
ow
glow
surrounded
her
bod
y
,
enco
m
p
assing
Kerrigan,
too.
She
followed
the
s
weeping flicker
of
pixies
and
realized
her
feet
were
no
longer
on
the
ground;
s
he
floated
off
the
ground along
with
the
m
.

The
ground
was…down
there.
Mo
m
e
n
tari
l
y
forgetting
the
pixies,
Meeka
y
e
l
p
ed,
and
they gent
l
y
bu
m
ped
back
onto
the
ground.

“Not
funn
y
,
Kerrigan,”
Meeka
scolded,
thinking
he
m
ust
have
caused
the
unnatural
displ
a
y in
order
to laugh
at her.

“Wasn’t
I,
s
weetheart.”

“It
had
to
have
been
y
o
u. People
just
don’t
float
in
the
air.”

“No,
not
usual
l
y
,
but
y
o
u’
r
e not
a
nor
m
a
l person.
Your
happiness
m
ade
us
f
l
y
,
Meeka. And
I
m
ust
s
a
y
I
prefer
it
to
y
o
ur
angry
fireballs.”

Shakil
y
,
she
straightened
her
T-shirt
to
co
m
pose
he
r
self.
“
I
do
love
the
pixies.”
she
s
m
i
l
ed, her
cheeks
warming.

“Th
e
y
seem
to
like
y
o
u
,
too.
They
on
l
y
sing
w
hen
they
are
happy
with
so
m
eone
or
s
omething.
Feel
privilege
d
;
they
never
sing
for
m
e.”
Kerrigan
chuckled.
The
pixies
continued
to fl
y
, dance,
and
trill
around
them
as
they
proceeded
through
the
field.

Meeka
gasped
when
the
pixies
gave
a
shrill
cry
and
dropped
to
the
ground.
A
m
o
m
e
nt
later,
s
he
found
herself
pre
s
sed
against
the
hot,
hard
back
of
her
guardian
his
m
uscles
tensed,
heart racing.

She
found
herself
looking
over
her
shoulders
so
m
ewhat
scared.
What
was
wron
g
?
O
bvious
l
y
, both
Catz
and
Kerrigan
thought
so
m
et
h
ing
was
wrong.

She
watched
a
s
Kerrigan
closed
his
e
y
e
s
and
chanted.
After
he
finished,
he
cursed
loud
l
y
. “Da
m
n
it!
I
can’t
fix
a
location on
it!
Catz,
can
y
o
u feel
w
here
the
source
is
co
m
ing fro
m
?
”

Catz
had
her
head
facing
into
the
breeze
as
if
tr
y
i
n
g
to
pick
up
a
scent.
“
N
o,
I
can’t
grasp
it, but
w
hatever
it
is,
it’s
evil.
I
believe
it’s
following
us,
and
it
probab
l
y
j
u
st
tried
to
enter
Pixie Field.”

Kerrigan
s
wore
loud
l
y
again,
and
the
sky
churned,
turning
gre
y
.
Meeka
watched
a
m
azed.
A bolt
of
lightning
s
hot
through
the
s
k
y
as
though
he’d
co
m
ma
n
ded
it.
The
lightning
struck
his
s
word,
and
she
scre
a
m
ed.
His
body
turned
into
the
brightest
of
lights—so
bright,
Meeka
had
to look
aw
a
y
. When
the
light
dissipated,
what
she
found
was
not
Kerrigan,
but
a
giant
dragon.