The Secret of the Dread Forest: The Faire Folk Trilogy (16 page)

“How long is it going to take him to get here?” The weight returned to Keelie’s shoulders.

“He should be here the day after tomorrow.”

“That’s too late. I have to go back
now
.”

“It’s too dangerous for you to go alone,” Madalyn said. She blushed. “We hear things down here. We heard about the book.”

“Then you know that I have to go.”

Knot meowed.

Madalyn looked at him and her eyebrows rose. “If that’s the way it has to be. If you ask my opinion, she’s a mere babe to be doing such things.”

Barrow wrinkled his face. “Mom, are you talking to that cat?”

She gestured him away. “Never mind that, Barrow. Keelie, you’re going to have to take the stream. If you ask me, the child needs a cup of hot coffee and a good night’s sleep, but she has to go back Aboveworld…”

Keelie recoiled at the thought of stepping into the oily-looking black water. The offer of a cup of coffee and a good night’s sleep was much more appealing.

A cool greenness filled her mind, driving away the dark thoughts. The calmness of the trees and a mental surge of sunlight warmed her veins. Keelie stretched out her arms and reached upwards to the roof of the caverns, seeking the warmth of the sun. There had to be a balance of dark
and light. The elven part of her needed the sunlight—the human part of her needed the earth. But there was still something else she needed… She didn’t quite understand.

The aunties’ mingled voices filled her mind.
You are your Grandmother Josephine’s child, too. She was half fairy, and her fairy blood gives you access to the Underworld. Find the water sprite. She will lead you out.

Fairy? So Grandmother was telling the truth about Grandmother Josephine? Is that why Dad said I was under the protection of the fairies?

Yes.

The image of kindly, matronly Josephine in her nurse’s volunteer uniform came to Keelie’s mind. There wasn’t a fairy bone in her grandmother’s body. She loved helping people, but that didn’t make her a fairy. Then Keelie remembered that Grandmother Josephine never talked about her childhood.

A
bhata
touched Keelie’s cheek. Knot rubbed his head against her ankle.

Keelie shook her head as if clearing it.
What’s going on above ground? My father? Elia and Jake?

The tree shepherd and the others will stand trial tomorrow.

Keelie had less than twenty-four hours to save Elia, her new-found uncle, and her Dad.

The
bhata
dropped to Keelie’s shoulders and pointed behind her. She turned, as did the trio of dwarves. Hundreds of
bhata
had followed her.

Madalyn placed her hand against her chest. “My word, I’ve never seen them congregated together like this.”

“You must be something special for them to be here.” Barrow eyed Keelie with new respect.

Radorak’s deep blue eyes held a wisdom matched by his deep voice. “Davey said you were a gift, a rare gift among elves and humans, and now I understand.”

Knot rubbed his head up against Keelie’s ankles. Then he bit her.

“Ow!”

The water sprite bobbed up from the stream.

Keelie splashed backwards. “Holy cow. How did you get down here?”

“This is the same stream that goes through the forest and down to the river rapids.” She giggled. “I told you he liked you.”

Knot hissed, baring his fangs.

Keelie rolled her eyes. “He had a bean burrito for lunch. This is just a gas attack.” She rubbed her leg. She was going to need a rabies shot, a tube of Neosporin, or maybe a quarantine for cat cooties. She examined her leg. Knot hadn’t broken the skin, although it hurt as if he’d taken a chunk out. She glared at him.

He was now washing his tail as if he hadn’t done anything wrong. Like
big deal, I bit you—get over yourself.

“You’re a psycho!”

Knot stopped washing his tail and straightened, his spine crackling as he did so. He blinked at Keelie, then
purred. He really hadn’t had a bean burrito for lunch, but she’d covered for him.

The water sprite shook her head. “You need a tour guide out of here.”

“Yes, I do. Can you help?”

“I’m a great guide. I swim down to the river where the humans go river rafting. Sometimes I like to freak out the people as they’re coming over a big rapid and I pop out of the water. They’re screaming anyway, and then when they see me, they scream even louder.”

“Isn’t that dangerous, exposing yourself to humans?” Keelie hadn’t realized how far the little sprite got around.

“Nah, the only ones that can truly see me are the ones with fairy blood. Anyway, it gets boring hanging out with elves, who can’t see me and are too busy playacting the Middle Ages, and with dwarves who are too busy working all the time.”

The water sprite sounded lonely. Keelie could sympathize.

Barrow seemed insulted. “I don’t work all the time. I do sculpture. I even did one of you. I see you in the caverns splashing around.”

The sprite seemed surprised, “Really?” She gazed dreamily at the dwarf. “Why don’t you say hi? I could pose for you.” She lifted herself up from the water.

“Yeah.” Barrow blushed.

A piteous meow broke the moment. Knot was crouched at the edge of the stream, his eyes dilated. He dipped a paw
into the water, then looked back at Keelie. She figured he was telling her that it was time to go.

“I’ll take you up on that offer of a tour guide.” Keelie slipped down the bank into the cold, black water, reaching gingerly for the bottom. To her relief, the water was only waist-deep.

The sprite swam ahead of Keelie.

She tried not to think about anything living in the water as the wetness weighed down her jeans. She would focus on getting out of here, back to Dad and the others.

Knot meowed, pacing along the bank.

“What?”

He meowed louder and moved close to the water, then bounded back.

She couldn’t leave him here, although the thought was tempting. Very tempting. She needed him, but she’d at least get something out of this favor.

“I’ll carry you, but no more sleeping in my underwear drawer or sticking your face in my oatmeal.” She should probably negotiate for more, but she was too worried to think straight.

Knot’s tail twitched back and forth and his eyes narrowed to slits.

The water sprite snickered. “He’s got it bad for you.”

Knot tilted his head, then gave a little yowl and waited for her at the edge of the stream.

She braced an elbow on the edge of the stone bank and reached out for him. He was a dead weight in her arms, at
least twenty-five pounds. Keelie’s arms were going to be numb by the time she reached the village.

Knot had other ideas. He was not going to get wet. He climbed up her torso as if she were a rock-climbing wall, digging his claws into her skin. When he got to her shoulders he placed his back paws on them, and his front paws on her head. She knew he must look like an Egyptian pharaoh kitty. Her shoulders cramped from the weight.

“You’re going on a diet.”

He dug his claws into her scalp.

“Ow, ungrateful beast.”

Keelie waved goodbye to her newfound friends and slogged forward.

After what seemed like a long time, she saw enormous tree roots hanging down from the cavern ceiling. It had to be the aunties.
Are you there, oh, great trees?

We’re here. You need to go to the treeling. She needs to be with us.

Guilt washed over Keelie. Alora was alone—she had to get back to her. She reached out to her.

The treeling sniffled.
Where have you been?

Long story. I’ll be there soon.

I heard some mean elves stomp into your house.

Meaning that the jousters had searched her bedroom.
Are you okay?

Yes. But I heard them say that at least you’d gotten rid of the puny plant. I’m not a plant. I’m a tree. I’m Alora, acorn daughter of the Great Tree of the Wildewood Forest.

Relieved, Keelie smiled.
You sure are.
Alora was okay.
I’ll be there soon.

Hurry it up! I’m thirsty.

The sprite stopped. They had reached the first cavern, where Keelie had entered. The underground stream ended here as well, vanishing into the wall.

Knot launched himself off Keelie’s head and onto the bank with an elegant jump that didn’t do her scalp any favors, but her head and shoulders felt tons lighter. She twisted her neck and hunched her shoulders, trying to readjust her muscles. She was going to need to see a chiropractor once this was all over.

Still waist deep in the water, Keelie looked down at the little sprite. “Thanks.”

She stared up at Keelie with wide eyes. “You going to be okay?”

“I have Knot.”

The water sprite shook her head. “That’s not saying a lot.”

On the far side of the tree roots, Keelie noticed movement from several
bhata
. They were returning. “I’ve had help from the fairies, the trees, and the dwarves. I think I’m going to get through this.”

“I’ll be around if you need me.”

“Thank you.”

Keelie climbed up the bank toward the tree roots, squelching with every step, and grabbed an exposed tree root to pull herself up. As she touched the root, familiar
green energy filled her, as comforting as chicken soup. The queen oak above her sent her strength.

Go to the youngling. She is to play an important role and she needs her shepherdess.

For a second Keelie remembered her old life, when her fate was not manipulated by ancient trees and curses. She sighed.
What about the jousters? Are they guarding you?

The one named Sean is here. He will help you.

Sean has betrayed me. I don’t trust him.

His heart is yours, Tree Shepherdess. He is true.

Tell that to Risa, Keelie thought.

We do not have time to discuss the hearts of humans. You must help the treeling.

Trees. Where was their loyalty?

Keelie climbed up through the roots, working to push her wet clothes through the dirt. She was going to be a mud ball when she got out of here. She broke through to the night air and inhaled the fresh green smell of the forest gratefully. She had come up under a different tree, another of the aunties.

Sean stood under the tree that had first led her to the Underworld. His blond hair moved in a pine-scented breeze and her heart beat faster despite his betrayal.

She was going to have to trust him. She hadn’t believed him when he’d said the marriage hadn’t been his idea, and his father had turned out to be her family’s enemy. But now she was going to have to trust him. The aunties were asking for a lot.

“I need for you to get his attention,” Keelie whispered to Knot.

He blinked.
Gotcha
, he seemed to be saying. Or at least she hoped he was.

He sauntered over to Sean, who was looking up into the aunties’ branches. Keelie glanced up and saw Ariel perched on a low bough.

“Ow!” Sean hopped on one foot and glared at something on the ground.

“Everything okay?” One of the other jousters shouted.

“Yes, everything’s fine.”

Keelie shook her head. Had that cat ever heard of subtlety?

Knot sat behind Sean, out of view of the other jousters. He was admiring his paw, claws extended. Sean looked ready to drop-kick the kitty out of the forest. Knot motioned his head in Keelie’s direction, and Sean’s gaze turned to her. She popped up and waved.

Sean hesitated a moment and then sauntered over, standing with his back toward her. “Where have you been? We’ve looked everywhere for you.”

“I need to get to Alora. It’s important.”

“Who is Alora?”

Keelie blinked, surprised, then remembered that Sean didn’t know the princess treeling. Thank goodness, or the jousters who searched Grandmother’s bedroom would have taken the treeling.

“She’s a friend.” Okay, so maybe she didn’t totally trust
Sean, no matter what the aunties said. “She’s in my grandmother’s bedroom.”

Sean nodded. “So you need to get back to the house? I’ll help you.”

“How?”

“I don’t know. We need a distraction.”

As if on cue, Knot sauntered out of the sheltering roots.

“There’s that cat,” one of the jousters shouted. “Lord Niriel said to catch him.”

Knot waited until several men had spotted him, then dashed into the forest.

Keelie ducked back into the roots.

An armored man clattered by. “Stay here and guard the trees, Sean,” he said, already breathing hard.

Knot would lead them on a merry goose chase.

When they were out of sight, Sean held out his hand, rough from hard work, and Keelie accepted it. He clasped his other hand over hers and she felt a delicious tingle run up her spine.

A shout went up from behind them. “There she is!”

Sean turned quickly, then looked back at her. “Run, Keelie.”

Run? To where? Keelie ran back to the massive tree trunk.
Open the door.
Her mental shout got a quick response. The giant root that blocked the entrance to the Underworld twitched to one side, as if it were a dainty lady’s finger and not a tree root the size of a station wagon.

Keelie dropped into the exposed hole and slid painfully down the way she’d just climbed out, faster now that she
was coated in slick mud. Above, the jousters’ shouts grew louder. They’d spotted her escape hatch. Why wasn’t the auntie covering the hole?

Her heels hit the bottom hard, jolting her, and she took off, racing down the dark cavern passage. Behind her, she heard the metallic clatter of a jouster falling down the hole.

She hoped he was okay, but she couldn’t stick around to find out. Echoing shouts told her that more men had come below ground, and they’d be after her in a second. She ran faster, retracing her earlier route. At her side, a shadow raced. Knot was with her once again.

Keelie raced on, passing through the caverns that she’d explored earlier. The labyrinth room was empty, and she crossed the bridge over the silent black river and dashed through the empty workroom, wondering where Barrow and his parents had gone.

She was in unfamiliar territory now and still she sped on, not daring to stop. She passed ruined palaces and places where feeble sunlight shone into abandoned, thorny gardens. After a while she realized that no one was chasing her, and she stopped. Under-the-Hill was enormous, and she had no idea where she was.

She stood at a stone-floored crossroads, the cool, mineral smell of the rock cavern mingling with an earthy scent, as if she’d gone deep into Mother Earth herself. Her pink quartz glowed dimly through her pocket. She pulled it out and held it up.

The light cast tall shadows all around and Keelie quickly dropped her arm. Too creepy. She turned slowly, holding out the light at waist height. Three steps to the right and the light brightened.

She started walking in that direction, thinking that Sir Davey would be proud of her. Before long she heard voices speaking in a strange tongue, and she hurried, spurred on by the fear of being alone.

The passageway curved, and then she was on the outskirts of an underground town. Dwarf homes, their facades cut into the living rock, were interspersed with workshops.

Small, stout people were walking briskly, packages under their arms, while others worked in their shops. Keelie recognized Barrow.

He gave a start when he saw her and hurried over. “Everyone’s talking about the elves coming Under-the-Hill. What happened?”

“They were waiting for me when I went back up to—” She faltered, not knowing what word to use to mean her own world.

“Aboveworld?”

“Yes. And I jumped back down, but they followed me.
I’m not sure when they quit chasing me, I was running too hard.”

Barrow put a hand on her arm. “I think instead of going back up there, maybe you should come to our hardware store in town.”

In town. The elves would never think of looking for her there. She frowned, remembering Dad and Jake and Elia. What would become of them? She had to get back to the village as soon as she could. With Sean and the aunties’ help, she could get to the Lore House and free the prisoners hours before the trial was to begin. Then she had to get Alora to the aunties and retrieve the book from them.

Barrow led her through busy market streets. It was strange being two feet taller than everyone else. It was unusual for the Underworld dwellers, as well. They stared at her and whispered as she went by.

They turned down a narrow street, and Keelie slowed. The smooth stone lane ended at the door of a wooden building, the only large-scale use of wood she’d seen so far in Under-the-Hill.

“Here we are.” Barrow grinned at her. “It doesn’t seem so far, does it? It’s like that in Underworld. Don’t trust distances, or time either. Both get tricky down here.”

He opened the door and motioned her in. She stepped across the threshold cautiously (oak, from nearby, but very long ago), followed by Knot. They found themselves in a narrow storeroom filled with boxes and bins bursting with tools, casks of nails, and folded tarps.

Barrow closed the door behind them. “Go straight up these stairs, Keelie Fae Friend, and you will be back among the humans.”

They climbed the stairs, Keelie in front. “Fae Friend. That’s a new one.”

Barrow took her hand, blushing. “I hope you don’t mind. You are a true friend of the fae, Keliel. You treat all creatures alike. I would also call you Dwarf Sister, and proudly.”

Tears prickled in her eyes. “Thanks.”

They reached the door at the top, and Barrow twisted the knob and pushed the door open. “Well, gotta get back before the old man finds out I’ve ditched work to bring you here. See you later.” He skipped back down the stairs and disappeared into the dark storeroom.

Keelie entered the back of the shop and closed the door carefully behind her. Would this be like one of those magic doors, where everything changes when you reopen it? She opened it quickly and looked. Same dark stairway, same smell of damp stone and rusting nails.

She closed it once more and walked quickly through the shop toward the front door, waving cheerily to Barrow’s astounded mother behind the cash register.

“Where have you two been all night? Where is Barrow?”

“All night?” It seemed just an hour or so since she’d slid under the aunties’ roots and Under-the-Hill. “Barrow just said ‘bye’ at the base of the stairs.”

“Take care, then. Come by for supper sometime.” Madalyn was headed toward the stairs in back—Barrow was in trouble.

Knot waited for her on the sidewalk outside, warming himself in the morning sunshine. Keelie took a deep breath of tree-scented air. All of the town trees spoke her name, and she sent out a warning.

Tell no one I am here.

Tree Shepherdess, the Dread Forest calls for you.

Keelie frowned. She couldn’t hear the trees of the Dread Forest. She did have to hurry back, but how? She looked around the quiet streets of the sleepy town. They didn’t even have bus service here, and it would take hours to hike up the road to the elven village.

A brightly colored sign drew her eye. Of course. Keelie hurried toward the tattoo parlor.

Through the glass door, she saw Zabrina seated behind her counter, wearing a tank top that read, “Come to the dark side. We have cookies.” Her hair was intricately braided and she looked beautiful. It made Keelie very aware that she was scratched from Knot’s water ride on her head, and that her clothes were stiff with drying mud.

At least Knot was muddy, too, and his fur was a mess. If he’d used magic to make himself look good, Keelie would have been angry at him. She opened the door and stepped in, noticing a sticky feeling all over as she passed through. Zabrina was sketching in a book, her left hand loosely clasped around a cup of coffee. She looked up quickly
and stared, open-mouthed at Keelie. “How did you get in here? That door was warded.” She stood up as she noticed Keelie’s muddy clothes. “What happened to you?”

“A lot. I just took a tour of Under-the-Hill, thanks to a mutual friend of ours, Barrow.”

“You’ve been Under-the-Hill?” Zabrina gasped. The little fairy tattoo lifted from her shoulder and hovered, wings trembling. “And you walked through my warded door as if it was nothing. What are you?”

Keelie shrugged. “I’m still figuring that one out.” She pointed to Zabrina’s mug. “You have any more coffee?”

“Sure.” Zabrina poured Keelie a cup and handed it to her. “Tell me everything.”

Keelie sat on a stool beside her new friend and told her as much as she dared, leaving out the part about Jake being a vampire.

“Time passes differently Under-the-Hill,” Zabrina explained. “A few minutes can turn into days Above-world.”

That meant Dad hadn’t heard from her all night. He was probably frantic. “I need your help, Zabrina. Can you drive me back to the Dread Forest?”

Zabrina grasped the edge of the counter as if seeking support. “I can’t go to the Dread Forest.”

The tattoo fairy buzzed around the shop, agitated.

“The elves don’t want us there. They can’t even see the lesser fae, and I’m like, an abomination to them.” Zabrina glanced up at Keelie. “And you’ve been messing with fae
magic—very risky. Look at what’s happened to you. Look at your eyes. You’ve changed.”

Keelie hadn’t been near a mirror, and figured that her muddy clothes drew attention enough. She ducked her head to look into the mirror on the counter by a display of earrings.

Her hair stood out in mud-caked elf locks, and her pointed ear was scratched and bleeding. Long scratches radiated from her scalp, thanks to Knot, but it was her eyes that made her mouth drop open. Their leaf green was now flecked with bright metallic gold, and a wide ring of gold circled her pupils. Would they ever return to normal?

She forced her attention back to the real urgent matter. “I need your help. My father, my uncle, and Elia are in danger.”

Zabrina’s face paled. Keelie could tell she was on the verge of saying yes, but she was afraid. She put her hand on Zabrina’s arm. “Innocent people are in danger. I might fail, Zabrina, but I want to know that I did everything in my power to help them. I’ll accept the consequences.”

Zabrina sighed. “And I have to live with those consequences, too. You’re very powerful, Keelie. Lucky for you, I’m used to bratty girls with lots of power.” She reached underneath the counter for her car keys and glared at Keelie. “Didn’t you say that your mother was a lawyer?”

“Yeah.”

“It must be in the blood. Come on. Do your thing, Molly.”

Relief flooded through Keelie as she realized Zabrina was going to help her. Molly, the tattoo fairy, blended back into Zabrina’s skin, and they walked out of the shop followed by Knot.

“Hold on while I lock up and reset the wards you trashed.” Zabrina grinned at Keelie. “You don’t know how powerful you are, do you? Kid, I had the strangest feeling when you walked into my shop. I felt that my life was never going to be the same.”

If she had power, Keelie knew that she would need every bit of it to help Jake and her father; against Niriel, Keelie felt that she had only her wits to help her. She hoped it would be enough.

Zabrina unlocked the passenger door of a faded blue Volkswagen Beetle that looked a hundred years old.

Knot jumped in, and Keelie sat on the cloth seat gingerly. There was a hole in the floorboard.

“Oh, don’t worry,” Zabrina said cheerfully as she jumped in behind the wheel. “Vlad’s seen everything. A little mud won’t hurt him.” She patted the dashboard. “Vladimir’s a survivor. Except he sucks oil like a vampire. I always have to keep several quarts with me.”

Keelie shivered.

“It’s a joke.

Keelie grinned. “Vladimir the VW Vampire. Now I’ve heard it all.”

With a grinding of gears and a belch of acrid smoke, they took off down the street. Keelie prayed that they’d get
back up the mountain in time to stop Niriel from poisoning the minds of the Elven Council.

Zabrina turned onto a two-lane highway and headed north. Ahead loomed the Dread Forest, an impressive wall of dense green woods.

Suddenly a gray barrier loomed before them. Zabrina shrieked and wrenched the wheel. A roar filled the air as the VW spun, the world looping around, and came to rest on the black earth at the side of the road.

Keelie closed her eyes, willing the world to stop moving, then glanced at Zabrina to make sure she was okay. Zabrina was staring, open-mouthed, at the massive vehicle that had swooped onto the road in front of them.

“I hate it when these tourists with their castles on wheels think they can hog the road,” she said in an angry tone.

It was a deluxe RV, an immense square box on wheels, stone gray. “Sir Davey!” Keelie pulled off her seat belt and flung her door wide.

The door to the driver’s side of the RV opened and a small figure climbed down. The man had a neat goatee and luxurious, long dark hair.

His glare turned to surprise and he hurried toward Keelie. She bent down to hug him. “Oh, Sir Davey I’m so glad you’re here.”

“I had calls from my brother, then from Radorak while en route. What on earth is happening? I ruined two turbocharged crystals getting here, but I made it.”

“We don’t have a minute to lose. Leave the RV here and come with us.” Keelie pulled him across the street toward Zabrina, who was standing next to her car watching them warily.

“Zabrina, this is Sir Davey. Or Jadwyn.” She looked down at her teacher and friend. “What do you go by here?”

“Davey will do.” He extended a hand to Zabrina. “How do you do? You own the tattoo shop, right?”

“Yes. I think we’ve met. I’ve seen you around town, and at the harvest festival too.”

“Chat later, drive now,” Keelie commanded, and dove into the front passenger seat. Davey climbed into the back with Knot, then Zabrina scrambled in. Vlad the VW was crowded now. They probably looked like clown-car refugees from a circus.

Keelie gritted her teeth, impatient. Who knew what was happening up in the forest? She smacked her hand on the edge of the car door. “The trees!”

Zabrina and Sir Davey stared at her.

“The trees can tell me what’s going on.”

“Do you have your tektite, lass?” Sir Davey was sitting in the center of the rear seat, hands on the backs of both front seats. Knot prowled the little car’s back deck like a pumpkin-colored caged tiger.

“I do, but I don’t need it or my rose quartz. The Dread’s gone. Totally broken,” Keelie told him.

Davey closed his eyes for a second, as if feeling for it,
then his lids sprang open again, framing his eyes against his hairy eyebrows. “How is this possible?” he whispered.

Keelie told her story for a second time that day, this time leaving nothing out. When she got to the part about Jake being a vampire, Zabrina shot her a wide-eyed panicky stare and the car fishtailed.

“Eyes on the road,” Keelie and Davey said simultaneously. Zabrina clenched her jaw and leaned forward, concentrating.

The fairy tattoo peeled away from Zabrina’s shoulder and fluttered near Keelie.

Sir Davey arched an eyebrow. “That’s something I’ve never seen.”

The little fairy turned her head coyly and batted her eyelashes at him, just as she had with Dad.

“She’s a little flirt.” He laughed.

“Her name’s Molly.” Zabrina pushed down on the accelerator and Vlad’s engine groaned with more effort. The tires crunched on the gravel.

Before them, the Dread Forest loomed, a primeval woodland of tall trees whose uppermost leaves seemed to brush the sky. Underneath the canopy, the air was green and the ground was carpeted with moss and small plants. Every inch of this world was alive.

Keelie rolled up the window to keep out the toxic cloud of burnt oil that roiled around the car like an angry storm cloud.

Molly mimed a small, delicate cough. She fluttered
around Sir Davey’s head. He didn’t seem to appreciate her, but was tolerating the little fairy’s presence just to be nice.

Knot climbed into Keelie’s lap. She put an arm around him to keep him from falling off. He snorted, then sneezed on her.