Fairy Metal Thunder (Songs of Magic, #1) (12 page)

Jason found himself entranced by the music,
swaying as he watched.

It showed the whole song, including the blue
cloud pouring up from the garage, and everyone screaming and
running as the downpour drenched them.

According to YouTube, the video had been
watched 90,342 times since it was uploaded the previous night.

“Totally great song, yo,” somebody said
behind him. The burger fryer, a bearded guy named Steve who was a
few years older than him, was leaning over Jason’s shoulder. Jason
hadn’t even realized anyone had come outside.

“Thanks,” Jason said.

“Who’s the chick? She’s totally hot.”

“She only dates high school guys,” Jason
lied.

“Oh, bummer. Tell her I said hi, little
dude.”

“Right.” Jason closed the laptop. He carried
it across the parking lot towards the Dumpster, to get away from
Steve. He dialed Mitch.

“Finally!” Mitch said. “Have you seen
it?”

“Yeah. How did that happen?”

“Kelly Kaiser, man. Eighth-grader, lives
three houses down.”

“Everybody seems to like it,” Jason said.
“Lots of people are asking when we’re going to do a show. Too bad
we don’t have any gigs, right?”

“This is just the beginning, man,” Mitch
said. “If people like that crummy video with half a song, imagine
what they’ll say when we put out a
good
video.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Jason said.

Back at the bench, Steve stood up, stretched
and opened the door to go back inside. Mona, the assistant manager,
stepped out, smiled at Steve as he passed her, then glared hard at
Jason.

“No cell phones!” Mona snapped.

“I’m on break,” Jason said.

“Not for long!” Mona crossed her arms, looked
at her watch, and then stared at him.

“Man, forget Bloody McSlobberbooger’s,” Mitch
said. “You should quit. This thing’s going to be very real.”

“I’ll quit as soon as ‘this thing’ pays real
money,” Jason said. “Last time I checked, YouTube was free.”

“Yeah, but it’s going to lead to everything.
Get over here and let’s plot some things.”

“Thirty seconds!” Mona called, tapping her
watch.

“Are you free tomorrow night?” Mitch
asked.

“Yeah, unless Mona gets mad and adds me to
the schedule. I should go.”

“Here’s what I’m thinking,” Mitch continued.
“My mom’s working at the hospital tomorrow night. Saturday night,
you know? So we play at my house, invite some people over so they
can dance, like a party. As long as we straighten the place up
before she gets home at six A.M., she’ll never know.”

“Okay, I’ll call you back—” Jason began.

“So we need a bunch of people here,” Mitch
said.

“I know some people to call.” Jason thought
of the phone numbers stuffed in his pocket. “I might have more by
the end of the night.”

“Make sure there’s plenty of girls,” Mitch
said. “We want it to look pretty, you know? And we need somebody
with a good camera.”

Mona tapped her foot loudly on the pavement.
Jason hurried her way.

“I think Tadd Gruber has stuff like that,”
Jason said. “He’s in the A/V club and everything.”

“Sounds good. Get him here.” Jason stepped
toward the door, but Mona blocked him with her fist.

“
No cell phones!
” Mona shrieked.

“Sorry!” Jason hung up, and she moved a step
to let him inside.

Jason returned Tadd’s laptop to him. “Hey,
Tadd, you have a video camera, right?”

“Oh, yeah. Canon VIXIA Camcorder, full HD, a
ten-x lens—”

“Is it good for recording sound?”

“I can get some microphones from the A/V room
at school. There’s a sweet Soundcraft LX7ii mixing board,
too—”

“Can you get them by tomorrow night?” Jason
asked.

“Sure. The school janitor owes me a
favor.”

Jason didn’t even want to ask about that.
“Great. Want to direct our new video?”

“I’m your guy.” Tadd winked and made a gun
with his fingers. “I’m ready to shoot ya.”

“Right. Thanks.” Jason walked toward the
front counter.

“Hey, Jason?” Tadd called. “Erin’s gonna be
there, right?”

“We’re all going to be there.”

“Can’t wait to frame her up in my lens. Bam!
Hot stuff!” Tadd made a squarish frame shape with his hands and
looked at Jason through it.

Jason was already starting to regret asking
Tadd.

“Welcome to Buddy McSlawburger’s,” Jason said
as he stepped up to the counter. “Would you like to try the
Slawburger Special?”

After he got home from work, Jason lay back
on his bed and took the thick wad of napkins and McSlawburger’s
receipts from his pocket. Nine girls from his school had given him
their phone numbers, none of whom had ever spoken to him before. He
had a ready crowd for the video.

Jason turned out his light and closed his
eyes. He needed sleep, but he was too excited. He would see Erin
tomorrow, and he could only imagine how happy the unexpected jolt
of internet fame was making her. All because of the instruments
Jason had snagged from the fairies. He imagined her hugging him,
maybe getting really happy and kissing him…even if that didn’t
happen, it was going to be a fun Saturday night, with everybody
coming to hear them play.

He lay in the dark for a couple hours, and
then he heard a scratching sound, like some kind of animal was
crawling under his bed. Jason flipped on his lamp, leaned over the
side of his bed, and raised the cover to look underneath.

There was nothing but dust and dirty clothes.
Unfortunately, this meant his guitar was missing.

Jason sat up quickly. Just past the foot of
his bed, he could see his guitar case floating towards his bedroom
window.

“Hey!” Jason hopped off the bed. A pair of
small green hands held the guitar case from underneath. Legs
dressed in patched, dirty wool trousers ran the guitar closer to
the window.

“Stop!” Jason yelled. Remembering how far the
goblin could teleport, Jason jumped right in front of the window,
instead of directly at the little man.

It worked. The goblin disappeared in a puff,
then reappeared on the windowsill, swaying under the weight of the
guitar case. Jason snatched the guitar case away. Grizlemor looked
up at him in surprise, still stooped over and holding up his empty
hands.

“What are you doing?” Jason asked.

“Er, ah…” Grizlemor said.

“Why are you stealing my guitar?”

“Oh,
your
guitar?” Grizlemor chuckled,
but it sounded fake. He looked scared. “That’s funny. I’m only
stealing back what you stole!”

“I just need it a little while longer,” Jason
said. “We’re going to make a video.”

“Oh, you are not!” Grizlemor’s eyes widened.
“Are you trying to pull the wrath of Mad Queen Mab down on your
head?”

“Who?”

“The queen of the Fairies! I already
explained this.”

“Why would she care?” Jason asked.

“Why would she…why would she
care
?”
The goblin paced back on forth on Jason’s windowsill, shaking his
head. “You don’t know what you’ve gotten into, do you? The fairies
are right. Man-world has forgotten all about the Folk.”

“The who?”

“All of us!” Grizlemor thumped his chest.
“Goblins, fairies, elves, dwarves, leprechauns, gnomes…perhaps
trolls, if you want to be generous…”

“Oh, little magic people.”

“In any case, young sir, kindly hand back
that guitar, which is stolen fairy property, and I will restore it
to the proper owners.”

“Yeah, right,” Jason said. “You’ll probably
just sell it.”

“I will not! You have my word.”

“But you’re a thief,” Jason said. “And
a…goblin. I can’t trust you.”

“You, too, are a thief,” Grizlemor said. “And
a human, the least trustworthy thing of all.”

“I’m not giving the guitar back.” Jason
carried it back toward his bed.

Grizlemor appeared on Jason’s bed in a puff
of green smoke, pulling at his dirty knots of hair. “But think of
the damage raw, unleashed elemental magic could do to this world!
In the hands of untrained amateurs!”

“What kind of magic?” Jason asked.

“He doesn’t even know!” Grizlemor flopped
back on Jason’s bed, covering his arm with his eyes and kicking his
feet. “How could this happen? Why me, Fates?”

“Why do you even care?” Jason asked. “You’re
a thief, so you can’t really be mad that I stole something. And
it’s not like I stole from you. Why don’t you relax?”

“Relax!” Grizlemor shouted, pounding Jason’s
bed with both fists.

“Quiet!” Jason whispered. “You’ll wake
everybody up.”

Grizlemor rolled over to lay on his side,
looking at Jason. “There are Queensguard all over the city,” the
goblin said. “Knocking on every door. ‘Have you seen these
instruments?’ ‘Any idea who might have these instruments?’ They’re
looking for the ones you stole, Jason. That means the Queen knows
about it.”

“But you don’t have the instruments,” Jason
said. “So you don’t need to worry.”

“I know when I need to worry! How many people
do you suppose spotted me leading you, a human brat, through Sidhe
City? Not a captive dancer in a fairy ring, mind you, but just a
boy, wandering free as you please in the streets? And of course,
the Queen must know they were taken out of Faerie.”

“How would she know that?” Jason said.

“Because she wouldn’t care about simple theft
otherwise!” Grizlemor was hopping up and down on the bed now. “If
they remained in Faerie, it would be of no concern to her. But if
four instruments of high elemental magic are taken off to
man-world, then whew, the trouble that would cause! Why did you
have to be so greedy? Why couldn’t you just wait for your little
darling’s necklace?”

“I still want that back.”

“Oh, oh, I don’t think so,” Grizlemor said,
wagging a finger. “Unless you bring me all four of the instruments,
so we can put this whole thing to rest.”

“It’s not your necklace,” Jason said.

“Neither are those instruments yours.”
Grizlemor kept bouncing on the bed. “This is quite fun, isn’t
it?”

“Stop it!” Jason grabbed him and pulled him
down to a sitting position. “You’re making too much noise. Look,
I’ll give the instruments back when we’re done with them.”

“And when will that be?”

“I’m not sure.”

“I’m sure you’re not,” Grizlemor said.
“Because the music of those instruments is addictive to humans. You
won’t be able to stop playing them.”

“I’m giving them back!” Jason snapped.

“Don’t go and make this ‘video’ of yours,”
Grizlemor said. “Honestly, please. You’ll be endangering yourself
and your friends. Including that man-girl you’re so sweet on.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The one with the emerald necklace. I saw her
sleeping. She was hideously ugly, by goblin standards, but I
suppose if you’re just a human—”

“Shut up!”

“I’m only trying to make things easy for
you,” Grizlemor said.

“What happens if I don’t give them back?”
Jason asked.

“Oh, don’t consider that. The Queen will
unleash terrible monsters to pursue you. The longer you make her
wait, the worse it will be. She may even feed you to the beasts of
the labyrinth.”

“The what?”

“You don’t understand the power of those
instruments,” Grizlemor said. “You know they make people dance and
feel happy. There’s much more inside them. They contain the powers
of the four elements.”

“Which four elements?”

“There are only four.”

“I’m pretty sure there are more than a
hundred,” Jason said, thinking of the periodic table in his
chemistry class.

“You only need four for magical purposes,”
Grizlemor said, then waved a hand. “Anyway, it’s obviously way
beyond your brain-grasp. The point is, you’re endangering me, and
you’re endangering yourself, and your man-girl—”

“Stop calling her that.”

“—and the wrath of fairies is not something
you want to find yourself crushed underneath,” Grizlemor said.

Jason’s bedroom door opened.

“Jason?” Katie asked. “Who you talking to?”
Then she gaped.

Jason looked from Katie back to his bed. A
puff of green smoke remained where Grizlemor had been.

“It was the monster!” Katie said. “I’m
telling Mom and Dad!”

She turned to run down the hall.

“No, Katie, wait!” Jason chased after her and
picked her up. “Shhh! Okay? Shhhh!”

Katie looked at him for a few seconds, then
nodded her head.

Jason carried her back to his room, closed
the door, and set her down.

“Stay very quiet,” Jason whispered.

“Okay,” she whispered back.

Jason knelt by his bed and lifted the cover.
“Come on out, Grizlemor.”

After a moment, Grizlemor crawled out and
stood up. Katie gaped at the green-skinned goblin, in his filthy
woolen cap and coat.

“Katie, this is Grizlemor,” Jason said.

Grizlemor doffed his cap and bowed. “Young
lady,” he said, and Katie giggled.

“Is he a scary fairy?” Katie asked.

“No, he’s a goblin.”

“But he’s a good goblin.”

Grizlemor shrugged. “I’m good at
being
a goblin,” he said.

“He’s not going to hurt us,” Jason said. “But
you can’t trust him. He’s a thief.”

Grizlemor looked at Jason and snorted. Jason
felt a little guilty, but he hoped Grizlemor wouldn’t tell Katie
that Jason had stolen the instruments from the fairies.

“Just don’t tell Mom and Dad,” Jason said.
“It’ll be okay. He was just leaving.” Jason gripped the handle of
his guitar case tight. “Right, Grizlemor?”

Grizlemor sighed. “If that’s how it must be.
But remember my warning. You’ll wish you had listened to me, Jason.
Good evening, young lady.” Grizlemor replaced his cap. He jogged to
the window, puffed his way up to the sill, and then vanished in a
last puff of green of smoke.