The Faery Keepers

1. Caesleanyx

2.  The Queen's Guard

3.  Derek Carson

4. Traitor

5. Chrysantha Queen of the Summer Court

6. Hallucinations

7. Antidote

8. Nyla's Magic Touch

9. Home

10. Ceara's Domain

11. Answers and Questions

12. Keeper Lessons

13. Family Dinner

14. Gwephenlark & the First Keepers

15. Chaos

A F
aery with raven black hair walks among a patch of woods just before twilight. Her magnificent translucent wings are spread out behind her like twin fans, twitching softly in the light summer breeze. She wears a stra
nge dress that is made entirely
out of leaves that have been woven together, which cinches at the waist and forms straps around her shoulders. She doesn't worry about being seen by any humans that may have wandered into this particular part of the forest because she is glamoured invisible to their mortal eyes.

             
Unfortunately she doesn't notice as a man is following her. She doesn't notice the gun he has concealed beneath his belt. She doesn't see the
black
Z like mark on his skin. She doesn't see him pull
out the gun and aim it directly
at her, pull the trigger.

             
But she
does feel the bullet, iron, a F
aeries only weakness, infused in its core as it rips through her skin.
Silvery b
lood seeps from her skin and h
er world fades to gray
. S
he falls to the ground, unconscious amidst millions of flowers, shrinking to a size no bigger than a human finger.

             
“Katie
,
watch out!” Maggie squeals, taking a running leap into the pool next to me. The impact sends a spray of water into a couple of small boys sporting floaties swimming around next to us. They glare at her
form
beneath the water
and paddle away.

             
She resurfaces, giggling.

             
“Sheesh, Mags. Why don’t you just drown the kids?”

             
Maggie laughs, splashing me with a torrent of chlorinated public pool water.

             
“Gah! You got it in my mouth,” I sputter.

             
“Hey, you think maybe we should get going? It’s getting pretty late,” she asks, sobering up instantly after she’s had her fun.

             
I cast my eyes skyward to find she is right. The sun has moved from the middle of the sky when we’d arrived to low on the horizon. The heavens look on fire with orange and bubble gum light.

             
“Yeah. I suppose we should,” I sigh.

             
We wade out of the pool through scores of families trying to get cool in the ninety-eight
degree heat wave that blankets
the city
. But even a day in the water can’
t stave it off for long. In the dead of summer this degree of heat isn’t at all uncommon in Hawthorne Hollow, Michigan.

             
We go to gather our bags and wrap ourselves in towels for the walk home. My green two
piece makes me feel like an upside down carrot with my striking red hair. That plus a smattering of freckles—and I mean
everywhere
—and overly pale skin that makes me look like a ghost, I am
nowhere
in the boy
s
department. Not even a
one
. So it is better to have something to cover myself for the journey home.

             
Maggie, on the other hand, is Barbie doll next to my Raggedy Ann. Ultra blond hair, that isn’t dyed by the way, and startling icy blue eyes. A
nd a
perfect tan complexion without a freckle in sight. But I don’t envy her. She’s my best friend.

             
I’m walking, lost in my own thoughts so I don’t notice right
away that Maggie has
disappeared. One second she’s right beside me, the next; gone.

             
“Maggie?” I call out.

             
No answer.

             
I whirl around only to find strangers faces staring back at me. No Maggie.

             
Then I spot her under the alcove that leads to the parking lot. She’s kneeling on the cement talking to someone out of sight. A boy around our age walks in and sits on one of the stone benches toweling his hair.

             
Maggie straightens abruptly, looking disgruntled even from this distance.

             
I dart over to her. “There you are!” Relief floods my body. “What were you doing?”

             
“Shh,” she shushes me, distracted by something or someone.

             
“What?” I hiss.

             
The boy behind us perks up in interest. He lays down his towel and gazes at us, not even trying to hide it.

             
“Don’t you have something better to do?” Maggie snaps. “Beat it.”

             
Whoa
. That’s not like her. I peer at her in concern as she locks eyes with the boy until he leaves. He stalks off, looking over his shoulder at her, a weird expression painted on his face.
O...K

             
“What’s up?” I finally ask.

             
“He’s the reason he left, Kate.”

             
Huh?
“The reason
who
left, exactly?”

             
“Caesleanyx.”

             
“Pardon?”

             
“Say-
slea
-nicks,” she enunciates impatiently. “He was right there until
he
came marching in here.” She points to a small square on the floor.

             
“Okay now I’m completely lost. What is a Caesleanyx?”

             
“Not a
what
,
a
who
.”

             
“Who is three inches big?” I exclaim.

             
“Forget it. You won’t believe me anyways.”

I pause. “I’m sure I can handle it Mags.” She takes a breath then:

             
“Caesleanyx is, at least I think he is, a gnome.”

             
I blink at her stupidly, thinking she’s joking. She has to be. Right?

             
But when all she does is meet my stare evenly; her blue eyes sincere as ever, I back
pedal
. “Wait, what? You’re serious?” I ask, flabbergasted.

             
She merely looks at me like
I’m
the one who’s crazy.

             
“Come on! You can’t drop something like that on me and just leave me hanging!” I protest vehemently.

             
“All I know is I saw him there with my own eyes. He seemed pretty adamant about telling me something but then that guy had to come in and scare him off,” she pouts. “Maybe we can find him! He can’t have gone far,” Maggie exclaims excitedly. “Come on.”

             
She pulls me to the wall, the bottom of which is solid cinder block, I may add, mumbling something like Caesleanyx had gone
into
it. How he managed that...you got me there.

             
“Start feeling along the bottom there,” she instructs. “I’m not sure where but he vanished here somewhere.”

             
I kneel down on the cool floor next to her feeling the wall for I didn’t even know what. A tiny door? Holographic cement that your unsuspecting hand suddenly goes through?

             
“AH!” I squeal as a small square gives way at my touch at the seam of one brick and the next. “What the—?”

             
Tiny beady eyes gleam from within the darkness. Followed by a brown tattered hat that tapers to a point. A pudgy body that’s clothed in pant
s
, a shirt, and what looks like an apron, all in shades of brown. This includes his beard and scraggly hair, a deep umber.

             
My reaction to him: not at all gracious I’m afraid to say.

             
I give a little shriek and jump back, clutching my towel around me protectively. Like it’ll save me if Caesleanyx decides to bite.

             
“Would you stop that?!” Maggie hisses. “You’re fifteen, not five. Besides you’re going to scare him away again.”

             
I shoot her a glare.

             
“You can come out now,” she coaxes gently. “Kate won’t hurt you. She’s just a big baby.”

             
“She is not the one who worries me so,” Caesleanyx says. His voice is both gravely and squeaky at the same time.

             
Maggie squints at him.

             
“My kin are being hunted. We know not who is doing so. You bear the Mark of our allies. Help us you must.”

             
It’s amazing how loudly he could talk for such a small creature.