Into the Wildewood (22 page)

“Keliel Heartwood, out here now!”

Before she could move, the tent flap opened again. Dad appeared with a lantern held high, casting its bright glow onto Keelie and Laurie. This was all so surreal, as if she were one of those characters in a movie, just escaped from imprisonment, but now caught red-handed with all the searchlights focused on her.

Dad’s forehead was deeply furrowed. The arm that held the lantern aloft trembled a little, causing the shadows around them to flicker. Jared started to back away from the older men, then turned and pushed past Keelie and Laurie with a muttered, “I need to check on the horses.”

Dad looked them over, then turned. “Follow me.”

Keelie and Laurie did. Outside, Lord Niriel stood to the far left talking to Elianard and Elia. Keelie hesitated, wondering what they were doing here. Was everyone up at this time of the night?

The elf girl scowled at Keelie. This was probably the moment she had been waiting for. A sick feeling hit Keelie in the pit of her stomach as she envisioned Sean’s handsome face when Elia told him she’d been in the Rivendell tent with Jared—of course, leaving out the fact that Laurie had been there, too.

Dad motioned to them. “We’re going home.” He looked exhausted. His shoulders drooped, and he wiped his hand across his forehead. Guilt slammed Keelie. She noticed how Niriel, Elianard, and Elia, even in the glow of the Rivendell lantern light, shone with radiant health. They weren’t sick like the other elves, or even tired like Dad. Very curious.

Unable to take her father’s silence and the weight of his disappointment, Keelie started to speak, but only managed “I … ” before Dad cut in.

His voice held a mix of controlled anger and restraint. “We’ll discuss this later.”

Keelie was silent.

“Keelie snuck out to find that stray white cat.” Laurie’s voice was pitched high; she wasn’t immune to the strained atmosphere. “I mean, she worries about him, and then she freaks when this white horse gallops past from the woods.”

Elia gasped.

Keelie wanted to kick Laurie in the knee for opening her big mouth. Elianard and Elia didn’t need to know about her involvement with the unicorn. From their reaction, they’d put two and two together. But this probably wouldn’t put Einhorn in danger… all the elves knew about the forest guardian.

Dad’s stare was fixed on the elven trio.

Lord Niriel lifted his head. “How interesting.” He walked closer to Dad. “Zeke, since I arrived too late for the Council meeting, let’s get together at the lodge to discuss the illness that has befallen us.” He glanced at Elianard. “Can you join us?”

Elianard nodded.

“Good. Then let’s say in about three hours. I have to meet the Faire director first and go over available jousters for today’s show, but it will be a short meeting.”

Dad’s eyes narrowed, and he gave a resigned sigh. “I’ll be there.”

“See that you are.” Lord Niriel’s authoritative voice told Keelie that he was accustomed to being obeyed. Even though he was Sean’s father, she didn’t like the way he ordered her father around.

Elianard strode forward with Elia following in the wake of his robes. He stopped with a smarmy smile on his face. “Until our meeting at the lodge, Zekeliel.”

Dad gave a slight nod.

Something was up with the elves, and fear for Dad made Keelie forget her own situation and the fact that she’d probably be grounded for life. She wondered again if there was a connection between Einhorn’s failing health and the elves. As Dad always said, “as the forest goes, so go the elves.”

Elianard walked past her, and Elia, like a dutiful daughter, trailed after her father. She lifted her head slightly and glared at Keelie, then sneered at Laurie, the lowly human.

“Your face will freeze that way,” Laurie said casually.

Elia looked dumbstruck, as if a chair had insulted her.

Dad started down the path, his lantern steady in the darkness. “Let’s get back to the RV.”

On the hike back to Sir Davey’s, Keelie couldn’t take her father’s silence and his disappointment. “Dad, I … ”

“Why were you in the tent?”

“It was cold and dark outside.”

Dad stopped and held the lantern high above her head, making it look like he had a halo. “Keelie, you’re old enough to be responsible for the consequences of your actions. There are consequences, dire ones, if you take the wrong path. It can lead to darkness, to loneliness and despair. I trust you, Keelie, not to break the hearts of those who love you, those who will have to live with the aftermath of your actions for the rest of their lives.”

Shocked, for a second Keelie couldn’t find any words to make a reply. It sounded so extreme. She glanced at Laurie. She couldn’t explain about Einhorn in front of her friend. “Tavak called me. I had to go.” Dad’s expression didn’t change. It seemed to be a mix of love and pity and fear.

There was more going on with the elves than the unicorn and the illness afflicting them. Lots more. Maybe that was what Dad had been hinting at. Dire consequences. Right. It wasn’t as if she were about to turn into Darth Vader or anything.

At the RV, Sir Davey greeted them with a weary smile. “Coffee’s brewing.”

Laurie yawned. “What time is it?”

“Six,” Dad answered.

“Can you get me up at, say, twelve?”

“You’d better stay awake.” Sir Davey bustled over to the coffeemaker. “Going to bed now is pointless, since the Faire opens in two hours. Lots to do.”

“What? My mother would never … ”

“If you can stay up all night, then you can stay up all day.” Dad didn’t appear ready to stay up another second.

Laurie seemed at a loss for words. Keelie was sure that if they’d been in full daylight, her friend’s face would be pasty white from shock.

“I suggest if you want a hot shower, you go and take one now. Last one in will probably get a cold one.” Dad turned to Sir Davey. “Let’s start the oatmeal.”

Keelie’s stomach turned over. Elf politics, unicorns, trees, fairies, and Sean’s dad. And the missing letters from Sean. She needed quiet time to process everything that had happened tonight. She needed sleep. And in a few hours, she’d have to face Finch.

eighteen

Laurie took Zeke’s hint and headed for the shower. Keelie stayed by the RV door and watched as her father dropped onto one of the sofas and shook out a wrinkled copy of Y
e Wildewood Gazette
.

Sir Davey winked at Keelie and walked into the kitchen area. “Oatmeal coming up. What’s today’s plan, Zeke?”

“I’ve got a Council meeting to attend at eight o’clock, and I’ve got to check on the oaks, go to the woodlands near the stream, and open the booth.” Dad popped the paper in angry emphasis.

Knot hopped up beside him, placing an orange paw on Dad’s knee in a comforting gesture. Stupid cat. Acting all lovey-dovey to get on Dad’s good side.

Sir Davey whistled as he looked at the counter. “I’ll print out the information you requested about the forest before the dam was built. You’re going to need it.”

Peering up from his paper, Dad glowered at Keelie. She sensed tension flow toward her like an invisible electrical current connecting them. She reached for the rose quartz in her pocket and closed her hand over its familiar contours, but it didn’t help.

She served herself a cup of coffee and watched Sir Davey. He was busy at the computer keyboard on his office desk, which was converted from the rollout pantry at the far end of the kitchen counter. His attention was focused on a crystal orb attached to his computer. A topographic map flashed across his screen, some areas heavily outlined in green, others beige like a desert. The bottom of the screen read, “Wildewood.” The image grew as Sir Davey zeroed in on a pale rectangle of a rushing river and woodlands as far as the eye could see.

“This is an image of the Wildewood as an Old Growth forest, before it was logged.”

Keelie’s heart ached at the vision of beauty before her. She thought of the oaks in the Faire, the only remaining survivors of this ancient forest—no wonder they were so emotionally scarred. She glanced over at her father. Say something, she thought. Anything.

The sound of the shower running, followed by a sharp yell, broke the tense silence. Laurie had probably hit her head on the low-hung, Davey-sized showerhead. Good! If they hadn’t gone into the tent, Keelie wouldn’t be in this mess. Dad wouldn’t have to attend this stupid Council meeting, and she might have had time to help Einhorn. It was just like back in school, when Keelie got in trouble because of Laurie’s not-so-bright ideas. Funny what you forget when you’re away from someone for a few months.

Dad folded the paper. “Keelie, time to talk. Outside.”

She let her shoulders slump and kept her head down; if her body posture conveyed that she was being very humble, maybe he would go easier on her. She closed the RV door behind them, then held her coffee cup in front of her like a shield.

Dad looked at the trees at the edge of the clearing and blew out a sigh. “I know that Lord Einhorn summoned you. Tavak told me.”

Keelie frowned. “I don’t understand why Tavak sent me to help the unicorn. You totally outrank me. What could I do that you couldn’t?”

“He trusts you,” Dad said softly. “Lord Einhorn has reason to distrust elves. He chose you.”

Keelie’s hands tightened on the cup. “Okay, explain this to me, Dad. I’m about to turn sixteen. Elia, who’s like, sixty, called me a mutt, and she’s not wrong. I’m not elf, I’m not human, and I just found out about all this ‘other world’ stuff. So why me? Why can’t you help? Why can’t the other elves? Or Sir Davey’s Earth magic? Or Janice with her herb lore? I mean, if Lulu can do magic, why the heck am I the chosen one?” She realized she was waving her arm, and sat down on the RV’s steps. “You never explain anything. I need answers.”

Dad sighed. “I can’t protect you. I thought I could, until you knew more, but your magic seems to draw trouble. As for why you, only Lord Einhorn knows, but I suspect it’s because you are a child of two worlds and are apart from our struggle.”

Keelie frowned. “So the answer is that there is none? You don’t know, and that’s it.”

Dad untied the green velvet bag of rocks from his hip belt. It pleased her that he had them.

He closed his hands into a fist, then absentmindedly rubbed the rocks together, making them click against one another. A verdant glimmer glowed from between his fingers. Her aspen heart talisman felt warm. Keelie didn’t think she was doing any magic. Normally, tingles ran through her body. It must be Dad.

She pointed at his rocks. Instead, he placed his left index finger against his lips. He didn’t want her to say anything. He opened his hands and the rocks, cocooned in green energy, levitated one by one like little space satellites floating above the Earth. Keelie inhaled sharply.

Dad looked at her. “Why was Laurie out in the meadow with you?”

“Laurie followed me. I told her I was looking for Knot and the white cat.”

“Did she believe you?” The rocks, glowing green, still suspended in air, hovered above his outstretched hand.

“No, she asked if I was going to do some type of ritual. She heard Robin Hood—I mean, Jared—playing the guitar, and saw the party tent. Off she went. Laurie is a real social butterfly.”

“I spoke with Laurie’s mom.” The rocks dropped one by one in his hand. He clasped his fist around them. “That woman is a piece of work. I tracked her down using tree magic. She’s in Lake Tahoe with her boyfriend. She didn’t want me to send Laurie back, told me if I wanted to ground her to go ahead; that it may make the girl think about consequences. I can’t believe you wanted to go live with that woman.” Dad’s expression turned glum as he tightened his fist around the tumbled stones, and the green glow faded away.

Time to do some damage control. “That was back then. I was desperate to get back to what I thought would be the closest thing to having Mom.”

Dad reached over and ruffled her curls. “And now?”

“I’m home.” Keelie leaned into him and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “What happens next?”

Sighing, Dad looked up at the trees as if the
bhata
might be holding up a cue card as to what he should do with a teen daughter and her wayward friend. “Don’t discuss the unicorn with anyone, and Keelie, don’t go into the forest without me. I told you that Einhorn has reason to distrust the elves, and you do, too.”

“That sounds like a warning.”

“It is. I can’t lose you again.”

“Then clue me in, Dad.” She stepped away from him, angry. “You’re treating me like a kid. If there’s real danger, then tell me what’s going on. This ‘only Einhorn knows’ is bullshit.”

His eyebrows rose in surprise. “I’m trying to protect you. You’ve been through a lot in the last few months. Magic is new to you and I’m still trying to deal with how powerful your magic is. The best thing for you is to stay out of the forest, and stay away from the unicorn.”

“The unicorn, the jousters—sure, I’ll stay away from everybody and everything. Just lock me up in the Swiss Miss Chalet and call me Rapunzel. I heard about the memo you sent the jousters. Jared told me.”

“Stay away from him, too.”

“What? Okay, who can I talk to?” Her voice rose with each frustrated word. “You, Janice, Sir Davey, Knot, and I guess the trees.”

“Not the trees.”

“Great.” The word came out in a shriek. “Let me know how to keep them out of my head, Tree Shepherd.”

He ran a hand over his face and leaned against a chestnut sapling, as if taking comfort from it. “I don’t know what to tell you. I want you to be safe.”

“Ever since we got to this Faire, you’ve changed, Dad. We talked all the way here, and then suddenly you clam up. You were teaching me about the trees, about the elves, and ever since I saw the unicorn you’ve said nothing except to tell me stay out of the woods. Hello? Teaching opportunity. I can’t learn everything from osmosis.”

“There’s something very wrong with the forest here, something that could be dangerous to you. You don’t know enough about your magic, and I can’t help you now. I’ve got the forest and the unicorn to deal with.” The tips of his pointed ears were red, and his face was pale, making the dark circles under his eyes starker.