Fairy Thief (24 page)

“
Just waiting for you, slow-poke,” Saffron smirked.

Orji sighed. All Tai and Saffron ever did was bicker. He crawled on. Finally, the tunnel became larger and larger until it was big enough for the group to walk. After they had walked a mile or so, a light began to glow up ahead — just a pinpoint at first, but eventually it became brilliant and large enough to engulf the entire space. Now that Saffron could see the walls of the tunnel, she gasped in shock. From the cold, hard feeling under her hands, she had imagined the tunnel was marble. But, the tunnel wasn’t marble at all — it was smooth, clear glass. “Ooooh, this tunnel is made of glass — look!”

“
Nope,” Orji yawned. “Not glass — diamond. Flat, polished diamond.”

Saffron stumbled forward, completely enchanted. Suddenly, they stood on a threshold, a cliff that hung over a deep, black precipice.

“
Let’s see,” Orji stroked his chin and confirmed with Tai, “We came from there, right?”

Tai frowned. He looked at Wo. Wo held Deva in the palm of his hand. He raised her up to give her a kiss on the back of her neck. He studied the direction in which Orji and Tai pointed.

Saffron looked to where they pointed also. She saw nothing. Well, she saw more cave. Not smooth like their diamond tunnel, but a brown, rocky, normal, and very large cave. The cave had no ceiling and no floor. When Saffron looked up, she saw only a black hole. She looked over the edge of their cliff and saw more of the same. She looked back in the direction in which they were still pointing. She had no idea what they were seeing.

“
Yes, that’s right.” Wo finally agreed. “Yes, we’ve already been there.”

Orji looked, considered their travel options. A slow, devious grin crept across his face. “Well, boys, I’m sure you can imagine which way
I
want to go — but I don’t want to insist. Please, let me know how you feel about it.”

Tai was confused for only a moment before he realized which path Orji was suggesting. He snickered. “Well, I insist you insist on that portal.”

Saffron frowned. They were up to something. Something not good — she could feel it. They were all behaving like mischievous children again, and she was quickly becoming annoyed. “What are you laughing about, Tai?”

“
Is it okay with you, Wo?”

“
Oh sure, why not? We have to keep checking until we find them. Why not that way, right?”

Tai clapped Wo and Orji on the back. With his arms around the two, all three turned to smirk at Saffron.

“
What?” she snapped. They were
so
childish.

“
Oh, it’s nothing,” Tai chimed innocently. “It’s just that,
that…”
and he pointed straight down the maw of the black hole, “…that is our next path.”

Saffron refused to do it. She refused to give them what they were fishing for. She refused to scream and cry and object. She refused to give them
anything
that they could enjoy. She forced her features to harden into what she hoped was a poker face. She took a few short moments to get a total grip on herself. “How do we start on that path?” she questioned evenly enough.

Tai’s smile slipped — just a little bit. “We jump!” he hissed.

Saffron was about to gasp, but caught herself in time. She held her breath to keep from flinching. “Fine, I’m about to jump off of that cliff, so if you’re playing games with me you had better let me know now, before I start…free falling.”

Tai got his smile back full force. He heard the pause before ‘free falling,’ and it was enough to titillate him. He nodded slowly and held her eyes. “Yes Saffron, yes. We have to jump!” His wings flapped lazily, back and forth. He knew she wouldn’t do it. She’d start bawling and crying any minute now. Then they’d waste more time while she sniveled. More time for him to taunt her in her misery.

“
Fine.” She assumed a snooty air, “I’ll go first, then, since you’re holding us up with your theatrics.”

Orji watched her closely. They all did. Her face contorted as she struggled for a look of nonchalance. Her hands were fisted into balls, her arms held ramrod-straight at her sides. Her shoulders were held back, her chin high as she eyed the hole.

Saffron’s mind was reeling. She broke through the inner screams of hysteria to calm herself.
They wouldn’t let you get hurt. They wouldn’t let you step off the edge unless it was safe. Trust them, even though they’re toying with you. They wouldn’t let you get hurt. Step off.
She stepped to the edge. She looked back over her shoulder at Orji. His eyes weren’t mocking her as she had expected. They were soft and encouraging. He gave her an almost imperceptible nod. Saffron allowed herself to fall forward even as she held his gaze.

Tai was quite perturbed. “What was all that about?”

Orji shrugged, “Looks like our lady is made of more than we had imagined, hmm?”

Tai grunted and flew down the hole after her. Wo flew down, too. Orji took a running start and jumped from the edge with all his might, to see how far across he could reach, before he descended. He almost made it to the middle, then pummeled down like a rock. He fell so fast, he felt like he wasn’t falling at all, but sitting still while a massive wind pushed past him.

Saffron could feel the fall, though. Her heart flew up her into her throat and sat there, strangling her. She was absolutely horror-struck as she shot through the empty space. She had enough time to think, which made her feel nuttier.
I’m going to die,
she thought.
And what really sucks about it is, I have all this time to think about it. I’m just falling and falling, and pretty soon, I’m going to crash and die.
She had more time, and soon remembered her current state of existence.
Oh yes, that’s right — I’m not going to die. I’m going to crash on some surface, my body will turn to bloodied jelly, but I’ll still be alive, and can remain there — as fully-conscious, bloody jelly. And I’ll have to remain bloodied jelly until I turn myself right again.
She rolled her frenzied eyes. “How long is this going to take?” she yelled, then screamed like the banshee everyone assumed she was.

Chapter 13

T
hey plunged into water. It was the first time a portal had led them to water, but here they were, plunging down several yards into a frothy, icy sea. This was their seventeenth realm. The handful of realms after they had met Deva were uneventful, save for a few small run-ins. They found no hint of Ny or Markis in those realms; no hint of fairy existence.

Saffron was blasted down into the depths of the water, and then, just as quickly, was thrust towards the surface like a cork. Before she came to the top, she panicked and thrashed her arms and legs around wildly. She felt a hand grasp her arm and pull her up. When she broke free of the water, she was face-to-face with Orji. He was howling with glee and spitting the water, fountain-like, into the air.

“
Whoo wee! Wasn’t that fun!?” His hair was plastered back from his face, the greys and greens of his hazel eyes sparkled brilliantly as drops of water fell from his lashes. He was very close to her, and his hand was still clenched on her arm.

She smiled at him and his manic glee as she pried his fingers from her bicep. She swam a little bit away from him, but looked back when his laughter came to a sudden stop. He stared at her, an expression on his face that she could not read. “Thank you. Thank you for saving me. I’m going to tread water over here now.”

“
Hey, it’s no problem. Do whatever you want.” He seemed a little embarrassed and turned away. He looked intently at their new surroundings.

“
Get her up….get her up!” Wo was screaming at Tai.

“
She
is
up! She’s fine! Chill out, will ya!” Tai glared at Wo as he tread water with his two legs and one free arm. With his other hand, he held Deva aloft. She was bellowing softly, as befitted her still-small size.

Wo shot up and out of the water, droplets cascading from his flapping , wet wings. “Give her to me — before you drown her!” He reached down and gently pried Deva from Tai’s fingers.

Tai gave her up so she wouldn’t get hurt. “She was fine….I wouldn’t let her drown, you know!”

Orji stopped playing spitting-fountain-head. “Why can’t we all just get along!? Why don’t you stop griping, and live it up, right? What we’re doing here – it’s called ‘having an adventure.’ So quit your whining and have fun!”

Nobody said anything. Tai and Saffron treaded water in silence and Wo crooned softly to Deva as he hung fluttering in the air. Tai flew up by his side and crooned to his love.

“
Well, now, that’s better. Silence is a great alternative.”

Saffron, Tai, and Wo — united at last — glared at Orji.

Orji was very irritated himself, but refused to show it. When he was with Saffron just now, holding her arm and looking in her eyes — her bottomless, beckoning, naïve eyes — he thought he would go insane. For the very first time in his life, he felt that sensation of ‘about to lose it.’ Then he saw her eyes blink from welcoming innocence to hardened closure. When she swam away, it was unbearable. He felt himself being gathered up in a net she had unknowingly cast. When she swam away, she made a hole in the net, big enough for him to slip through and get away — save himself. Still, he swam within the net, confidant that he could get away at the last minute. Orji scratched his rough chin and chuckled.

It appeared to be dawn in this realm. A mist hung over the water, making it impossible to see farther than twenty feet in any direction. Wo licked the water from his lips and brushed the hair from his forehead.

“
There,” said Orji. He pointed to a place, a dark blur behind the mist.

“
Do you know what it is? I mean, are we swimming towards a pleasure palace that will serve us a twenty course meal, or a slimy sea monster that’ll gnaw on my girlfriend for dinner?”

Deva mooed. Wo stroked her tiny head with his forefinger and sang her a song.

“
Doesn’t matter, make a swim for it — we’ll figure it out when we get there. I don’t feel like treading water all day long.”

Tai picked his teeth. “You could levitate.”

“
OMG! Do not start with that crap again! We can’t levitate, okay? Shut up.” Awkwardly, Saffron turned in the water so she was looking away from Tai.

Orji swam away from them. Something in the movement of his ghostly limbs, the push of water against him, the energy it took to cross the water, satisfied him. He pushed harder. Saffron was getting on his nerves, and he didn’t like to be an irritated guy. He wanted her off of his mind. He was the first to arrive on the little beach. Tai and Wo had hung back to chatter quietly as they often did. As soon as he could, he touched down on the soft, sandy bottom of the sea. He walked forward until he reached dry sand, then collapsed.

Saffron collapsed beside him. The twins fluttered over. They all sat complacently on the beach with nowhere to look. Everything was shrouded in mist. Deva mooed and made them all jump.

“
You know what?” Wo muttered, “No one will see our residue here, and the energy from it won’t travel — the mist will work as a container. I’m changing her back to her usual size. She really hates being this size. It’s been horrible not to be able to oblige her; she’s such a good soul.”

“
She’s a cow,” Saffron mumbled.

Tai and Wo gave her dirty looks. Tai gently lowered Deva to the sand and then they each put a finger on her body. A sparkling cloud of chartreuse fought with the mist for air space, and then, poof, Deva stood before them, full-sized.

“
Hey, Deva.” Orji gave her the thumbs up like he would a good buddy, then hung his head between his knees.

“
Hey, Deva, lookin’ good…” Saffron chirped, “...especially if I had some tangy sauce!”

Deva turned around, raised her tail, and evacuated one foot away from where Saffron was running sand through her plastic fingers.

“
Yeah, nice…. Nice girlfriend you guys have.”

“
Hell of a lot better than
Orji’s
girlfriend,” Wo whispered to Tai.

“
What?” Saffron looked at them with narrowed eyes. “
What
?”

Deva snorted and smiled.

Saffron was about to press them when Wo cut her off. “Hey,” he whispered and jabbed Tai in the ribs with his elbow, “..look.” His eyes widened. “Look at that man.”

Orji, Tai, Deva, and Saffron stiffened as they spotted the man through the mist.