Under the Bridge (5 page)

She eyed his heaping tray. “Still
growing?”

He sighed and ate a burger in two bites. “I
had to buy shoes for the fourth time this year. Dad says if it
keeps up, I should get a job at a shoe store. At least then I’d get
an employee discount.” He grinned. Eyrnie’s dad was bursting
buttons with pride over his size. He’d been worried, what with
Eyrnie being so short for so long. Now he might just catch up to
his enormous father.

“So why are you letting Carrie pollute your
airspace?” Eyrnie asked, loud enough for Carrie to hear. Her head
twitched their direction, but otherwise she managed to ignore
them.

Billy grunted. Eyrnie had missed the last
couple of days of school, so she filled him in quickly.

His chocolate-brown eyes widened. “Whoa!
Seriously, a troll?” He smirked. “Yeah, I can see Carrie having the
hots for him.” They had to speak quietly now, so unfortunately,
Carrie didn’t hear.

“Yeah. He chose a pretty good-looking
glamour; it was like dangling a shiny lure to a trout. Too bad
she’s dumber than any fish. I had to chase her down and convince
her it really was a worm on her hook.”

He snickered. “You should have let him eat
her.”

An unexpected shadow fell over her, causing
her skin to prickle in protest. Billy didn’t want to look up; she
had a feeling she knew who stood over her.

“Nein. We had an agreement…for now.” Before
she could object, Ash Bergtagen sat down at her side, making her
flinch. She automatically put a hand on her blade.

Eyrnie reacted rather poorly. As full-blooded
pooka, he had no trouble piercing glamour. His eyes flew wide and
his nostrils flared angrily as he took in the troll’s true form.
His offended snort was a little too horse-like for Billy’s peace of
mind.

Ash remained calm. “Easy, Ponyboy. I fed last
night. The girl is in no danger…now.”

Repulsed, Billy tried to edge away, but there
was nowhere to go. A glance behind her showed that Carrie had
gathered her friends and was beating a hasty retreat. They huddled
by the soda machines, chattering like stealthy magpies. She
prepared to follow.

“Stay,” the troll said mildly. “If you know I
am here, then you know I am not with her.”

“I don’t want you with either of them,”
Eyrnie growled. His hands were poised on the table as if to spring
over, and his skin had darkened slightly, hinting at hide.

Still relaxed, the troll considered him. “So
little control. Are you going to show your true self, dark
horse?”

Eyrnie snorted, but reined himself in with
effort. He was sweating as he stared down the troll with dark, wild
eyes. There was a hint of red in the chocolate irises. “You don’t
belong here.”

“Does any of us? Who is the bigger monster,
Ponyboy? I only covet the flesh; your kind destroys the mind.”

Rage flashed in his eyes. Billy covered
Eyrnie’s hand with her own before he could answer. Formally, yet
with a tenderness borne of years of friendship, she said in the Old
Tongue, “
Dear friend. Peace
.”

He quieted. He was still breathing hard, but
the rage dimmed.

She was not sure where the tenderness came
from; she was not the maternal kind, and they did not have a
romantic relationship. Perhaps it had been instinct and nothing
more.

Regardless, a remnant of that soft calm
remained as she turned to the troll. “Why are you here, now?”

He looked skeptical and somewhat impressed.
“Softly speaks our fairy queen.”

She frowned at his non-answer. “I’m pretty
sure you got that wrong. We had to read
Midsummer Night’s
Dream
.” It was in the dreaded Shakespeare quarter in her senior
year. She’d been bored out of her mind, and it had been a struggle
not to sleep during the videos of the play. As if old Shakey had
known anything about fairies! Still, some of it must have rooted in
her brain.

He grinned. “Have I? Shall I inform the
snakes and blindworms to take a hike, dear Tatiana? As penance I
shall slay the thorny hedge-hog and smite the blind worm.”

She grunted. “I already slew the hedgehog
with my hairbrush this morning, and coffee cured the blind worm.”
She couldn’t help a small smile at her joke.

Eyrnie looked at her like she’d just fallen
off a pumpkin wagon. “You’re joking with him?” he asked
incredulously.

She grimaced at him. “I joke with
you
.
Besides, he might be a bone-crushing monster, but you have to admit
he’s a step up from Carrie.” She looked at the troll severely.
“That doesn’t mean I’ll let you eat her, though.”

He smiled. “You asked why I’m here. You amuse
me; enough that I chose to prolong my hunt.”

She thought about that for a moment. “Are you
giving me a choice? Either I can baby sit Carrie or I can hang with
you?”

“That’s messed up,” Eyrnie complained. “If
you’re around Billy, then I have to put up with you, too.”

“You could always leave,” the troll said
coolly. The green in his eyes grew murky with yellow.

“Boys!” Billy said sharply, putting the
brakes on a fight. The tension between them was making her skin
prickle. “Look, you’re both misfits. I don’t know why either one of
you thinks this is worth fighting over.” Ignoring Eyrnie’s
indignant expression, she studied the troll. “Are you serious? If I
let you hang around, you’ll leave Carrie alone?”

“I’ll warn you before I eat her,” Ash said
generously.

“Big of you,” Eyrnie retorted.

She didn’t like it. It was plain that Eyrnie
and the troll were not going to be friends. For that matter, she
agreed with Eyrnie;
she
didn’t want to hang with a
flesh-eating monster, either. Still, she wasn’t so petty that she
would ignore this opportunity. “Fine, but I’m not going to amuse
you. I’m not a sideshow freak.”

Ash smiled.

Eyrnie growled—a long, low rumble.

Billy wasn’t in the mood to be charitable.
“Oh, have some dignity, won’t you? You’re not a dog. Besides, lunch
is over.” Finally! She was starting to develop a headache. Probably
had something to do with the rigid muscles protesting in her back.
She might have to allow the troll close, but her body was pitching
a fit.

Feeling morose, she trudged to her rented
locker, wishing the troll wouldn’t follow her. It made her shoulder
blades itch. She opened her locker, hoping he’d move on…and was hit
with the most hideous stench.

Revolted, she staggered back, covering her
nose in self-defense. Eyes watering, she stared at her locker, but
could find no immediate source for the smell.

“Eh! What is that?” Eyrnie asked nasally,
pinching his nose. All around them students were gagging, running
away. A few brave ones huddled at the end of the hallway, well back
from the staggering reek.

Unaffected, Ash strolled up to her locker and
poked inside. He sniffed deeply. “Pixie dust.”

Billy’s eyes flashed to the onlookers. She
caught a glimpse of Carrie’s gloating face just before she ducked
out of sight. She barred her teeth and immediately regretted it as
the smell coated her tongue.

Eyrnie poked her. “Turn it off, would you?
I’m dying here!”

She reluctantly peered into the locker with
the troll. It was much, much worse up close, and she actually felt
faint. It was dog farts and stale urine, rotten eggs, skunk and
vomit all at the same time. She struggled to track down the
suggestions Carrie had whispered to each grain of dust, but it took
breath to counter them, and it was hard to pronounce the Old Tongue
properly while holding her nose.

Ash finally sighed. Nudging her out of the
way, he told the dust, “
No one can smell you
.” With that
simple command, suddenly they could breathe again.

“Man, she really worked on that one,” Eyrnie
said when he could safely inhale.

“I hate her.” Billy gripped the locker door,
staring blindly into its depths. Her headache had gained hurricane
force, causing tears to spring to her eyes. Of course, they might
also be tears of rage. How dare Carrie pull this now! She had
scooped her niece’s fat out of the fryer, and this was the thanks
she got. She wanted to scream.

“You’re ditching?” Eyrnie asked in concern
when he saw her pulling her helmet out. “I know Carrie’s a mutt,
but you can’t let her win like this. We can take her.”

“I’m going to kill her if I don’t leave,”
Billy muttered through her teeth. Fury sat sour in her stomach,
made her heart rate spike. There were a thousand ways to punish her
niece, but just now, she wanted blood. The craving made her blood
buzz, her teeth ache. She needed space between them before she did
something rash.

Ash was looking at her with interest, but he
didn’t say anything.

She warned him anyway, “Remember our
deal.”

He pulled out a scary smile just for her.
“Don’t worry, lamb chop. I told you I found you entertaining. I
can’t wait to see how you punish the girl.”

It was scary to be on the same wavelength as
him, she thought as she strode out the door. And for a moment, she
wondered; what would it be like to be as conscious-less as a troll?
Would she enjoy shredding Carrie without guilt?

Shivering with a sudden chill, she hurried on
her way. She needed some fresh air.

7. Nightmare

“I had to have a reason for jumping up from
the table so quickly,” Carrie said in her defense. “Besides, my
friends expect it of me.” Billy had summoned them to her house to
put a stop to future foolishness. If Maura wouldn’t act, she
would.

Billy’s eyes bugged at that lame excuse, but
before she could challenge it, Carrie’s mother spoke up.

“No harm was done. Besides, Billy defused the
dust fast enough,” she said reasonably. “And how will you girls
learn if you don’t practice from time to time?” She smiled at
Billy. “I was very impressed by the clever way you convinced the
troll to leave her alone. It’s a good move, keeping him close like
that.”

Billy pursed her lips. She saw where this was
going. Carrie was going to walk out of a beating unless she thought
fast. She smiled evilly. “He didn’t promise to leave her alone
forever, just to warn me. In light of that, I think the two of us
should practice. A lot.” So Billy could thrash the snot out of her.
Unless Carrie had drastically improved, Billy would make hash of
her. It would make her feel a lot better.

She wasn’t too upset about the stinky locker.
That wasn’t even on the same scale as being saddled with a troll
for the foreseeable future.
That
made her mad.
That
was all Carrie’s fault.

Really, a thrashing was the least Carrie
deserved.

Sadly, it didn’t seem as if she would get
it.

“Another time,” Aunt Maura said, glancing at
her watch. “I’m afraid we have an appointment.”

She honestly didn’t want to start a fight,
but Billy could not let them walk away. They needed this resolved.
“When I’m done here.” She stared at Maura and then fixed her gaze
on Carrie. It was past time they dealt with this feud between them.
When Billy put her foot down, there would be no struggle. “Carrie,
you will stop sabotaging me at school. I am done with this.” Magic
wrapped thick around her voice, and she saw Carrie back off a step.
Unable to protest the clan magic, she lowered her eyes.

Maura drew in a deep breath, and visibly
swallowed. When she spoke, her voice was quiet, but there was rage
in her body language. “Didn’t you say the troll was amused by your
pranks, my lady? What will he do if they stop?”

Billy wanted to flinch at the honorific.
Maura had never called her anything respectful, and it made her
uneasy. She didn’t let it show, however. “It doesn’t matter. I have
to kill him anyway. While I’m finding a way to do that, I want the
distractions to stop.”

No one argued. No one agreed, either. Billy
didn’t miss the distinction as she ordered them to go.

Grumbling, Billy went into the house and made
some tea. She needed some quiet time to sort through things.

Her mother had made that tea for her. She
sighed over the cup, thinking wistfully of better times. She’d
first had this blend on the back porch with her mother. She’d made
it especially for Billy, and she remembered her first sip. It had
been a test.

“What do you think?” her mother had
asked.

Pixies learned early how to identify herbs,
even in combination. Billy had thought for a little bit, then said
confidently, “Lemon balm, mint, chamomile, a touch of lavender
and…rose? Since when do you put rose in this mix?”

“Bud or hip?”

“White rosebud,” Billy said with a frown.
“From my favorite bush. You know, that thing will never bloom if
you keep massacring all the buds.” She’d spent a great deal of time
sniffing the new roses as they came into The Flower Power, and this
was one of the best she’d ever smelled. So many of the roses were
colorful, but downright stinky. She didn’t understand plant
breeders. Who would want a stinky rose?

“Collecting. You know I won’t kill it.
Besides, I wish to have some of the hips, so I will allow it to
bloom now.”

Mollified, Billy studied the woman she’d
thought was her Gran. They hadn’t been on good speaking terms since
Gran had declared her plan to match Billy up with an elven consort.
She wondered jadedly if this was to be a harangue.

“I wanted to talk to you about our
disagreement. I let my temper get the best of me,” Gran had
admitted.

Billy raised her brows. That was quite a
concession, nearly an apology, in fact.

“You must understand how strongly I feel
about this. Though things ended badly between the king and I, it
was a great honor to bear your mother. You have royal blood, and
that is no little thing. It is my duty to see the line replenished,
renewed. Only a royal alliance can do that.”