Autumn (15 page)

“Just got the best of you, didn’t I?” I asked. “You didn’t look too brave a minute ago when you were being bested by a human girl!”

I don’t know what had come over me. Maybe it was my new Fairy powers, but all the anger I had felt towards Logan was now being directed at Rog. It felt wonderful.

“You aren’t human any more, though, are you?” Rog asked. Before I could answer he said, “Anyway, by all means, friends, come forward.”

Having the ten people with him step into the light probably wasn’t the best idea. They reminded me of the gypsies I saw in movies. Lots of color, lots of clothes that looked well-crafted and colorful.

“Who are these people?” I whispered in Samuel’s ear.

“They’re a group of traveling Fairies,” Samuel whispered back, never taking his eyes off Rog. “Not all Fairies have territories, so they travel. Technically, some are part of the Summer Court and some the Winter, but in reality many times they are just laws unto themselves.”

“Oh, wonderful,” I said. “Rog is rogue.”

“Clever,” Samuel breathed, trying to suppress a smile.

Judging by the look on Rog’s face, he had just seen something that pleased him. “So, you care for the girl, do you?” Rog was still talking to Samuel.

But Samuel wasn’t going to bite. “Who I care about, Rog, is none of your business, and you would do well to remember your place and whose territory you are entering.”

“As far as I know,” said Rog, just as casually as Samuel, “I am entering Logan’s territory, and the Roths have been family friends for years.”

“It was the Roths’ territory,” Samuel acknowledged. “But” -- and now he smiled, a cold, smile -- “winter is coming fast, and when it arrives, the best place you could possibly be is anywhere but here.”

All amusement vanished from Rog’s face at Samuel’s words. “Are you threatening me?” he asked.

Samuel shrugged. “Take it how you will. I am merely reminding you of your proper place, which you and your friends seem to be forgetting at the moment.”

The staring contest between the two Fairies was interrupted when a girl behind Rog came forward. She had dark red hair, falling in masses all the way to her waist, and she was at least as tall as Rog, if not taller.

“You did what you came to do,” she hissed in his ear, her hand locked around his arm. Rog tried to pull free, but she wasn’t letting go.

With a huff he gave up. I gaped at the girl, who was big and strong and looked far more commanding than Rog.

“Hi, Samuel,” she said, smiling brightly. “Fancy seeing you here.”

“Gaudet,” said Samuel, smiling a little. I could see his shoulders relax. Something in my head screamed for him not to let his guard down, because surely this girl was far more dangerous than the hapless Rog. But I kept my mouth shut.

“Will you be coming to the Fairy fair next weekend?”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” said Samuel. “Not for the world.”

“Delightful,” she said. Her whole face lit up as she turned to go, herding her friends in front of her. As the rest started to leave she looked over her shoulder and said quietly, “You look good, Sam.”

“You too.”

I watched her back disappear into the night. Samuel watched until long after the traveling Fairies had disappeared from view. When he turned to face me, I raised my eyebrows at him.

“What?” he asked, grinning. “She’s an old friend.”

“Oh, yeah,” I said dryly, “and she thinks you look good.”

“And you think I don’t?” he asked, his eyes dancing.

I cleared my throat and turned around. “Let’s get back to Nick,” I said.

I had almost just flirted with Samuel. Holt was in jail and I had almost flirted with Samuel. Maybe I couldn’t be around him without flirting. That was possible; he had been my destiny, after all. But I couldn’t stand disrespecting Holt’s sacrifice to me.

Without a word Samuel followed me back into the bowling ally.

What I hadn’t counted on after my encounter with the itinerant Fairies was Mrs. Cheshire, which was my own mistake, because I should have always counted on Mrs. Cheshire to ruin as much as she possibly could.

This time, I got in trouble with Mrs. Cheshire for defending myself against the traveling Fairies. She was like a viper waiting to strike, and strike she did.

Sunday morning was the one day I didn’t set an alarm. So I was surprised and angry when my mother knocked on my door that morning. Granted, it’s not like I was sleeping well, but I was still trying to. Groaning, I rolled over and shoved my head further underneath the covers.

“Honey?” my mom called through the door. “Your friend is here. It’s rude to keep her waiting.”

My head popped up. My only girl friend was Susan. Despite racking my brain, I was sure that she and I hadn’t had plans for today. I chatted with some girls at school, but we didn’t hang out. Frowning I called, “Who’s here?”

“Lydia Cheshire.”

“If she’s a friend of mine then I’m really a little bunny,” I muttered.

My mom opened the door. “Honey, you’re still in bed? Get up. She’s downstairs waiting. You aren’t even dressed.”

“You let her in the house?” I yelped, springing out of bed.

“Of course I did. What else would I do with her?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” I murmured. “Calling the police comes to mind. Who knows what she’s doing. She’s probably making off with the TV even as we speak.” Luckily, my mom didn’t hear me.

“I’m glad you’re making friends,” my mom went on. She was wearing an apron with sunflowers bursting across it, something she had brought from home. At the moment it was covered in flour. My mom loved to spend Sundays baking and cooking for the week, and that habit had only intensified since she had been away from my dad.

“What are you two going to do today?” she asked. My mom had asked several times if I had any girl friends in Castleton besides Susan, not knowing that Susan didn’t even really count. She was my supernatural tutor and a few years older, but Mom didn’t need to know that.

“I’m going to throw rocks at her until she goes away,” I told my mom as I pulled on jeans and a sweater. There was no chance I was going to spend any time trying to look good for Lydia Cheshire. “Then let’s see how badly she wants to be friends.”

I headed for the door, but my mom said, “At least comb your hair. Goodness. People will think I don’t take care of my own daughter.”

I highly doubted that was true, but I did what she wanted anyway, then asked, “How do I look?”

“Like you just rolled out of bed and threw on some clothes and then your mother told you to comb your hair,” she said.

“Perfect,” I said, grabbing my bag and stalking past her. I would have to shower later. Normally a long shower on a Sunday morning was one of my few pleasures, but Lydia Cheshire was getting in the way of that, too. “Wouldn’t want Lydia to get the wrong idea.”

“What idea would that be?” My mom asked. “That you care enough to shower before you see her?”

“Exactly.”

For about the millionth time I wondered how Samuel had turned out as a halfway decent Fairy.

“I’ll be home soon,” I told my mom as I headed out the front door to find Lydia, who had gone back outside to wait.

“Have a good time, Honey,” my mom called after me. “Don’t rush back.”

As I walked towards her, Lydia pushed herself off the black car and sidled around to open the passenger door. I guessed we were going somewhere.

“What do you want?” I asked as I got about ten feet away from the car. I couldn’t be sure, because I didn’t want to look away from the Winter Fairy standing in front of me, but there was like a ninety-nine point nine percent chance that my mom was watching out one of the windows, and I didn’t want to have a fight with Lydia in front of her. I would have to get Susan over here to magic her memory or something if I did. The fact that summer Fairies could replace bad memories with good ones was a really nice trick, I thought, but I still preferred not to have to make use of it on my mom.

“We’re going to my house,” said Lydia, smirking. I dearly wished I could smack the smirk off her face. She must have sensed my disapproval, because her grin got bigger.

“Why?” I asked without budging.

Lydia still held the car door open. “Because the Winter Queen has summoned you and it’s best to do what she wants,” she said. She paused as she pretended to think, then continued, “Then again, you already know that.”

It took every bit of my strength not to leap across the space between us and hit her. Given that I was turning into a Summer Fairy and we were in natural opposition to the Winter Fairies, it shouldn’t have surprised me that I had become more willing to do violence. But it still did. Anyway, even if I was a Fairy I was still too small to go attacking people. Lydia would beat me in a fight with one of her hands tied behind her back.

Lydia’s eyes got wide. “Just get in the car,” she said. “You don’t really have a choice.”

“Why didn’t Samuel come to get me?” I asked, stalling for time. I had a bad feeling I knew why the Winter Queen had summoned me, and it wasn’t good.

“She has a couple of things to discuss with you. One is pretty awesome,” she said, shrugging as if she couldn’t care less, “the other less so, but still, not that bad.”

I rolled my eyes. I knew I didn’t have a choice, although her saying there were two things that the Winter Queen wanted to talk to me about made me nervous. One of them I could guess, but the other? What could I possibly have done now?

We made the drive to the Cheshires’ in silence. Lydia didn’t even turn on the radio, and I made no attempt to talk. When we arrived she got out of the car without a word, and I followed her into the house. I realized that I preferred visiting the Cheshires’ in daylight. Less creepy.

“Where’s Samuel?” I asked again. My feeling of foreboding was growing.

“He’s indisposed,” she informed me. “Oh, did I mention that you’re going to see Holt after your meeting with Mrs. Cheshire?”

At the sound of Holt’s name my heart soared, but my gladness was quickly replaced with suspicion. It wasn’t my day to see him, and not letting me see him until after I saw Mrs. Cheshire sounded more like a threat than anything else. What did Samuel’s mother have planned this time?

Mrs. Cheshire was waiting just inside the door. She could barely contain her glee.

“So, Autumn,” she said, “you can’t even listen to simple directions?”

Apparently when Samuel and the other Supreme Council members weren’t present, Mrs. Cheshire had no qualms about making a spectacle of humiliating me.

“What?” I asked.

“You disobeyed a direct order from the Supreme Council. There are consequences for such defiance.”

And there it was. I had been told not to use any Fairy magic unless Susan or Samuel was there to supervise. Last night, when Rog had attacked me, I had used my magic in self-defense. Mrs. Cheshire knew that I had done it and now she was going to take her revenge.

She smiled beautifully at me. Her eyes narrowed to slits as she took a deep breath.

If I had had to describe her at that moment, the closest word I could have used would have been deranged. But no one asked me, so I kept it to myself.

I trembled. I didn’t want to be afraid of Mrs. Cheshire, but I had to be. As long as Holt and I were under her control, her power to hurt us was fear-inducing.

“What do you have to say for yourself?” she asked.

Lydia, who was still standing next to me, was so happy she couldn’t stop shifting from foot to foot.

“I’m sorry,” I said. Even to my own ears my voice sounded hollow, but I couldn’t help it.

“You’re what?” asked Mrs. Cheshire, leaning forward. She was still grinning.

“Sorry,” I said again, louder this time. I wished Samuel would come around a corner and save me from his family, but I had a feeling they had made sure Samuel was nowhere nearby.

“No,” said Mrs. Cheshire, leaning away again so that the cold she had brought with her dissipated slightly, “but you will be.” I held my breath, waiting for the axe to fall.

“You will go and see Holt,” she said. “We are releasing him today. On the advice of the other Supremes, of course.”

I almost started crying with joy. It had been one long month, but Holt was finally going to go free. My whole body was tingling with delight at the very thought of getting to spend time with him outside the walls of the Cheshires’. He had gone through so much, but now it was finally going to be over. I wanted to collapse in relief.

“She doesn’t get it yet,” said Lydia dryly. I was brought back to reality with a crash. Instead of telling me my punishment, Mrs. Cheshire had told me I could see Holt. What was the catch?

“Okay...” I said. I couldn’t breathe.

“The catch,” said Mrs. Cheshire, looking so happy she was about to start salivating, “is that once he is released you will not be allowed to see him.”

Without meaning to I gave a cry, looking wildly between Mrs. Cheshire and Lydia. I bit my lower lip, hard, to keep from making any more noise.