The Tree Shepherd's Daughter (26 page)

"Not a morning person, are you?" Keelie said.

Sir Davey glared at Keelie from across the kitchen
table. The hair on his wooly eyebrows stuck out in several
different directions.

"Mmph. Can't believe Zeke doesn't have coffee in this
place."

"We drank it all yesterday. I need a Starbucks fix."

"I need sleep. Trees tapping on the window, Zeke coming in and out all night long, and that cat. You need to
trim his claws."

She leaned against the table. So she had Sir Davey as
an ally against Knot. Ha! "What did he do?"

"Besides snoring, he kept me awake with the racket he
made sharpening his claws on my backside."

"He uses me as a scratching post, too." She showed
him her wounded ankle.

Sir Davey shook his head, "Never heard a beast so loud
before in my life. You'd have thought I was bunking down
with a mammoth with a head cold."

"Where's Dad now?"

"He went out around dawn, hasn't returned. He did
say if he wasn't back for us to go and help Cameron with
the birds. And though I'm beholden to Zeke for letting me
rest here last night, I'm looking forward to getting back to
my own home. Bird-free home," he amended.

On the way to the mews, Keelie was surprised at the
varying degrees of damage to the shops. A metal roof had
been blown off the music store where they sold pennywhistles, harps, and dulcimers. Rotten mushrooms encircled the overturned fairy-wing stand in the children's
area. The fairy wings were caked with mud, but in the pale
morning sunlight, they glittered, looking sad with their
little bits of sparkle.

Across the street, Janice was outside hanging a blue
tarp over the doorway into the herb shop. She glanced up
at them but continued working.

"Let's go and say hello. She looks upset."

Keelie hurried after him.

"Good morning. Looks like you suffered some damage, though not as bad as some." Sir Davey said.

Janice sighed wearily. "With a little help from Zeke, I
can have the wind damage repaired."

Raven pushed aside the overhanging tarp. "Move!" she
shouted. She had a black bandana over her hair, and she
wore a black Wildewood Faire, New York top and low,
hip-riding jeans. She scowled as she held a dustpan loaded
with a pile of decaying mushrooms out in front of her.
"Oh, this is so nasty. I never will eat a portabella again."

Keelie covered her nose. "Gross. It smells like Knot's
litterbox."

Raven said, "I'll talk to you later, Keelie. I've got to get
this putrid mess over to the compost pile." She ran, the
dustpan held before her like an evil offering.

Sir Davey's forehead wrinkled. "Is that the extent of the
damage inside? Mushrooms?"

"Oh, no. I've only just started checking things out.
Most of my dried herbs are caked with mold and mushrooms. I can't sell them."

Janice came closer and lowered her voice. "It's the Red
Cap. Dark magic. This has got to stop, Davey. Skins and
Raven drove a couple of the college kids to the emergency
room last night. The storm hit the Shire pretty hard."

Janice suddenly became quiet as Tania walked by with
a companion. She had a sneer on her face as she passed
them. "I'm surprised you had damage here; we didn't have
any at all."

Janice turned away. Apparently, she had nothing good
to say in reply.

Keelie recognized Tania's friend as one of the pub owners. He stopped and bowed his head. "Good morrow, gentles."

Tania continued on her way, not even acknowledging
Sir Davey or Keelie.

Keelie stared after her. What a witch!

"How goes it, Al?" Janice asked.

He said, "Not good. I see you've had some damage,
too. Some of the kegs in the pub were opened, and I had a
lake of Guinness on my floor. Going to cost me a fortune
to replace it all. I don't know if I can absorb the loss."

Sir Davey said, "I'll be back later. I have to check on
my shop, and I promised Keelie we'd go to the mews." He
nodded to the pub dude. "It pains my heart to hear about
the Guinness on the floor."

"Ah, I'd have a sticky mess to clean up, but Heartwood's cat's been lapping it up all morning. Didn't know a cat could hold his ale like that. He could drink a Viking
under the table."

Keelie made a mental note to store her new garb and
the La Jolie Rouge clothes in the Swiss Chalet-far, far
away from that cat. Beer had well-known bathroom side
effects.

In the Dragon Horde shop, Dad was helping James
load a Great Horned Owl into a crate. The bird seemed
calm. James latched the cage door. "That'll do it. Thanks,
Zeke. Don't know how I would've done it if you hadn't
been here to help."

"Any time, James. We're family here."

"Not everyone feels as you do. We're grateful." James
picked up the crate and made his way out of the shop.

"Watch it. Owl coming through." They couldn't see
whoever was behind the giant crate. The owl hooted.

"Good morning, Keelie, Davey," Dad said. For someone who had been up half the night, he didn't have any
dark circles under his eyes. Of course, Keelie was the same
way; she could stay up all night studying and next morning, she wouldn't have to use a cover stick like most of her
friends at Baywood Academy.

From the back of shop, Keelie heard a familiar shrill
cry, followed by squawking. It sounded like two avian toddlers throwing tantrums. She quickly made her way past
Sir Davey's rock displays.

There were two girls and a cute guy in green hospital
scrubs writing notes on clipboards. They looked like college kids.

"Make sure you have them strapped down. I don't want them to get jarred on their trip." Cameron said, waving a thin package. "I've got their medical records in this
folder."

Ariel flapped her wings against the cage. "What's going
on?" Keelie asked as she kneeled down to soothe the hawk.
Immediately, she settled down, as did the vulture in the
next cage.

"I'm sending some of the birds to the raptor center at
the university. Most of the mews were destroyed last night
during the storm, and the weather forecast says that this
same pattern will hit us for the rest of the week. We're still
going to try to hold the Birds of Prey show on the weekend, but I'll feel better knowing that the others have shelter."

"What? What about Ariel?" Keelie didn't want the
hawk to be sent away the way she had, to live among
strangers. "She belongs here."

The vulture beaked the cage wires as the really cute guy
tried to grab the handle. He cursed and pulled his hand
back. "Ma'am, no one can get near this vulture."

Keelie leaned over the cage, and the bird folded its
wings and tried to snuggle closer to her.

"Wow. That's amazing," the vet guy with the curly
blond hair said. "You've got a way with birds."

"Thanks." Keelie blushed as he winked at her. Cute as
he was, Ariel wasn't going to some university.

"Cameron, I can help with Ariel. Please don't send her
away.

Dad leaned against the doorframe. "I'll help her with
the hawk."

Cameron said, "Well, I can't ask for a better reassurance than that." She turned to the guy. "Tell the others I'll
be right there."

"Yes, ma'am." He wrote something on the clipboard
and walked away.

Keelie looked down at the vulture, and he blinked its
beady eyes at her, as if he was asking, can I stay with you,
too? She felt sorry for him.

Sir Davey said, "The ugly one can stay with me."

"What?" several voices asked at once.

"It can stay with me." Sir Davey sounded out each
word in a loud voice.

"Somebody needs his coffee," Keelie replied.

"I'll have a pot brewing soon, but I'm not caffeine deprived. I can take care of the vulture." Sir Davey looked
down at the caged predator.

"I never took you for a bird lover, Davey. You complained so much yesterday when we brought them here."
Cameron smiled broadly. "I guess Louie can bunk with
you.

Zeke laughed. "Think it'll improve business, Davey?"

"Better than that cat of yours. We heard it was drinking spilled stout at the pub."

"Not again. I guess I'll find him with the pirates." Zeke
shook his head. "I hope he hasn't run up a bar tab."

"Tell me you're kidding," Keelie said.

"Wish I could stay, but I have to run to the raptor
center in Fort Collins." Cameron picked up a cage with
a small kestrel in it. "I learned something interesting from
the clerk down at the convenience store. Rumor has it that the Faire lands will be sold for a strip plaza. I wouldn't
be surprised if Admin tries to pull something like closing
down the Faire early because of the damage. Possibly condemn some of the buildings right away."

Dad's eyebrows narrowed. "You heard this strip plaza
rumor from the store clerk?"

Cameron nodded. "It's the station near the exit."

"I'll need to check this out," he said.

Ariel rubbed her feathery head against Keelie's fingertips. She smiled at the hawk. At least they still had some
time together.

"I left my list of repairs on Davey's desk in the back."
Cameron walked toward the front door, holding the cage
high and clear of all the merchandise.

"I'll start on them when I get back. Keelie and I have
plans for this afternoon." Zeke put a hand on Keelie's
shoulder.

Dad's to-do list was getting longer and longer. He was
going to need a BlackBerry to keep up with it all. She
wondered if he'd be opposed to one, since he didn't find a
need for microwaves or cellphones.

"What about Ariel?" Keelie asked. She didn't want to
leave her in the teeny, tiny carrier.

"Bring her with you. We're going into the forest. Ariel
will be fine."

Excited, Keelie slipped on the heavy glove and put her
arm into the cage for Ariel to hop on.

As they walked down Ironmonger's Way, Ariel perched
on Keelie's arm, tenting her wings for balance. Once they
cleared the bridge, Keelie peeked over to see if she could see the mysterious creature that lived in the water and had
saved her from the Red Cap. Maybe the storm had washed
the creature away.

Dad turned to Keelie. "We're going into the forest, and
I want you to only observe. Don't speak, even if what happens is strange. I will answer all of your questions later. We
must hurry, the time draws near."

That sounded so fairy tale Grimm. Time draws near.
Okay. Dad was getting all tree-mystical on her. As long
as he didn't carry a staff with a big crystal on it, Keelie
was prepared not to freak out. After everything she'd seen
and experienced, she didn't think there was anything that
would freak her out.

Knot ran ahead of Keelie, as if he wanted to be the
leader of the expedition. Couldn't she do anything without the hairball showing up?

Deeper into the woods, the claustrophobic feeling
began to envelop her. Sweat dripped down her back, and
she found it hard to breathe. It had been like this when
she'd been lost and met Elianard.

Ariel called out and turned her feathery head toward
Dad.

Keelie stopped. What if she couldn't find her way out?
What if she ran into those bug and stick things? What if
the Red Cap showed up?

Dad turned around.

"I can't go."

Her father looked puzzled, then his eyebrows rose.
"Oh, that's right. I'm so sorry. I forgot about it."

"Forgot about what?"

Dad placed his hand on Keelie, and soothing warmth
spread through his fingers. Is this what trees felt like when
he touched them? She felt her anxiety slip away, dissipating
like fog in the morning sun. She inhaled, then took several
cleansing breaths the way she did in yoga class at school.

"Better?"

"Yeah. I don't know why I get claustrophobic in these
woods. I never did before."

"It's a spell to keep interlopers out."

"The Dread."

"How did you know that?"

Before she could answer, Ariel flapped her wings and
rose to the upper branches of a tall cedar tree.

"Ariel, get back here."

"Let her go. She'll be fine. She's beginning her journey."

"Journey. Not what I want her to do. What if she gets
away?"

"The trees will watch her. Now follow me."

Yep, tree mystic.

As they walked along, Ariel zipped ahead of them and
waited on a tree branch. When they caught up to her, she
would fly to another perch and wait. Other than the beating of Ariel's wings and the crunching of their feet on the
sticks, there was complete and total silence. Knot flitted
silently from one side of the path to the other.

A gentle breeze tousled her hair, bringing a hint of
decay in the air. Mushrooms again. Ariel flew to her. Keelie
extended her arm, and the hawk landed precariously. She
turned her head, and her golden eye glinted. Ariel rubbed
her feathery head against Keelie's cheek.

Keelie held still until Ariel spread her wings to regain
her balance.

"Come along, Keelie."

A silver glimmer in the center of a circle of mushrooms
caught Keelie's attention. "Hold on, Dad."

Keelie walked over to it and knelt, careful not to dislodge Ariel. It was a silver ring. She picked it up and examined it. Raised leaves danced around the bright, slender
circle. Raven said her belly-dancer friend Aviva had lost a
ring like this one.

Ariel called and turned her head toward the large oak
tree. Something shimmered, but she saw no one. Shoving
the ring into her jeans pocket, Keelie sensed something
was there.

The hair on her neck stood up. The air shimmered
again. She smelled cinnamon. This was creepy. Was this
the Red Cap?

She held very still and tapped into the inner sense
that let her talk to Hrok. The remaining chlorophyll in
her blood sang as the trees responded. And there, in front
of the tree, stood Elianard, dressed in richly embroidered
robes, clutching his staff. Their eyes met, and he glared at
her as he realized he was visible.