Fairy Metal Thunder (Songs of Magic, #1) (21 page)

“Yeah. I mean, yes. My mom told me I should
help you with yard work. But you said you didn’t want me to.”

“It was unnecessary. Mortimer handles all my
gardening and caretaking needs.” Mrs. Dullahan pointed to the
corner of the kitchen.

Jason jumped when he saw the tall, wraithlike
man in the corner, dressed in a black suit. A black chauffeur’s cap
was pulled low, shading his eyes so they couldn’t be seen at all.
His face was gaunt, almost skeletal. Mortimer didn’t move at all,
just stood with his arms folded in front of him. Jason had no idea
how he’d missed the man standing there. It was almost like Mortimer
had been concealed by shadows, except it was a bright Saturday
afternoon and the kitchen was flooded with sunlight, so there
weren’t any shadows.

“But he gave you the muffin basket, at
least,” Jason’s mom said to Mrs. Dullahan.

“What muffin basket?” Mrs. Dullahan
asked.

“Jason! You didn’t give her the muffin
basket?”

“She told me to go away!” Jason said.

“Nothing was said about a muffin basket,”
Mrs. Dullahan hissed. “I would have liked a muffin basket.”

“What did you do with the muffin basket?”
Jason’s mom snapped.

“Uh…my friends and I ate it,” Jason
said.

“Jason!” His dad shook his head.

“We’ll get you another muffin basket, Mrs.
Dullahan,” Jason’s mom said.

“Thank you. Though I would prefer an
assortment of cured meats and cheeses,” Mrs. Dullahan replied. “And
crackers.”

“All right…I’m sure we can do something,”
Jason’s mom said.

“The day of your uninvited visit to my home,”
Mrs. Dullahan said to Jason, “Did you depart when instructed to do
so? Or did you linger and snoop?”

“I didn’t snoop,” Jason said. “I left. I went
to band practice with my friends.”

“Taking the muffin basket with you,” Jason’s
mom added.

“Yes! Sorry! I didn’t know the muffin basket
was going to be such a huge deal.”

“It’s not the muffin basket itself, it’s the
principle of the muffin basket,” Jason’s mom said.

“Someone has been snooping around my house,”
Mrs. Dullahan said. “I returned from my trip to find some of my
lawn decorations vandalized.”

Jason thought of the little wooden squirrel
he’d broken when he landed in her back yard. He kept quiet.

“Did you have a nice trip?” Jason’s mom
asked. “Where did you go?”

“It was a hunting trip.” Mrs. Dullahan’s dark
eyes hadn’t moved from Jason.

“Ooh, yah? What were you hunting?” Jason’s
dad asked her.

“Prey.” Mrs. Dullahan’s eyes continued boring
into Jason, and he felt like squirming. “Did you, or did you not,
enter my yard at any time?”

“No,” Jason said, after a brief hesitation.
Could she tell he was lying?

“Are you certain?” Her mouth pulled down at
the corners as she stared unblinking at Jason.

“Yes…Yes, ma’am.”

“You did not enter my property? Did not climb
my wall?”

“No.” Jason’s voice came out quiet and
squeaky.

“Do you know of anyone who has?” Mrs.
Dullahan asked. “Have other juveniles discussed such a thing?
Perhaps bragging, as juveniles do?”

Jason shook his head. “I guess I can…listen
and see if I hear anything.” His gaze shifted from Mrs. Dullahan to
Mortimer. The tall, gaunt man hadn’t moved a bit. He was like a
mannequin. A Halloween decoration, maybe.

“I hope that you will.” Mrs. Dullahan’s voice
was icy now. She seemed to be angry at him. Maybe she really did
know he was lying. He felt transparent, exposed, and
vulnerable.

“The crime went beyond vandalism,” she said.
“Four musical instruments were stolen. A lute. A harp. Pan pipes. A
drum.”

Jason felt very cold inside. His guts were
knotting up.

“Have you heard of anyone with such
instruments?” Mrs. Dullahan asked.

“No…”

“I understand you are a music-maker,” she
said.

“A little bit.”

“Jason plays the guitar,” his mom said.
“We’re very proud.”

That was a little weird, too, but his
parents’ attitude about the band had changed drastically since the
music cast its spell on them.

“I don’t really play it that much,” Jason
said.

“May I see this guitar?” Mrs. Dullahan
asked.

“Oh, sure!” his dad said. “Jason, why don’t
you go grab it and play a little ditty for Mrs. Dullahan here? He’s
really good.”

“Um…I’m sure she doesn’t want to hear me
play.”

“I would be delighted,” Mrs. Dullahan said,
and her words sounded cold and frosty. She stared at Jason with her
coal-black eyes. She didn’t sound like someone who could ever be
delighted by anything.

“Go on, don’t be shy,” Jason’s mom said.

Jason sulked as he walked upstairs. Katie’s
door cracked open as he passed it.

“Is Mrs. Dullahan still here?” Katie
whispered.

“Yes.”

Katie closed her door in a hurry.

Jason walked into his room, to see Grizlemor
standing on his bed, arms crossed, impatiently tapping one rotten
leather shoe.

“Where are my snacks?” the goblin asked.

“Sh!” Jason closed the door. “Mrs. Dullahan
is here,” he whispered.

“A dullahan?” The goblin’s mouth dropped
open, his eyes bugged out, and his pointy green ears jutted out at
either side of his head. He bounced on the bed, then jumped to the
windowsill. “There’s a dullahan in your house? I have to get out of
here!”

“Quiet! It’s just
Mrs.
Dullahan. The
old lady from across town.”

“She’s the guardian of the gate, is what she
is,” Grizlemor whispered. “I’m cooked if the dullahan finds me out
here, wandering man-world. She’s supposed to keep Folk like me in
Faerie!”

“Why do you call her
the
dullahan?”

“That’s what she is!”

“She’s looking for the instruments,” Jason
said.

“Oh, no, even the dullahan is searching? You
can’t let her see it!”

“I wasn’t planning to.” Jason brought his old
Fender guitar out of the closet. “Wish me luck.”

“May you find luck-clovers in your garden,”
Grizlemor whispered.

“Okay,” Jason said.

He walked downstairs to the kitchen, where
everyone watched him expectantly.

“Is this your only guitar?” Mrs. Dullahan
asked, scrutinizing it with narrow eyes.

“Yep,” Jason said.

“Go ahead, play us something,” his dad
said.

“He’s very good,” his mom said. “We’re so
proud of how hard he’s worked.”

Jason sat on a stool at the breakfast
counter. He plucked out “Learning to Fly,” but it was slow and
hesitant. He’d grown accustomed to letting the magic guitar do all
the work for him, and he’d never really been that great of a
guitarist in the first place.

His parents frowned, looking confused.

“That will be enough,” Mrs. Dullahan said
before he was halfway through the song.

“He’s much better than that,” Jason’s dad
said. “Play a different song. Why don’t you play one of the songs
from that video—”

“I don’t think she wants to hear anymore,
Dad,” Jason said.

“I’ve clearly heard everything you’re going
to tell me,” Mrs. Dullahan said. “Mortimer.”

The tall, gaunt man finally moved, though he
didn’t say a word, and he barely made a sound. He grasped the
handles of Mrs. Dullahan’s wheelchair.

“Good afternoon to you, Mr. and Mrs. Becker,”
she said, and Jason’s parents stood up.

“It was so nice having you stop by, Mrs.
Dullahan,” his mother said. “Feel free to join us ladies at the
Lutheran Church anytime.”

“I’m not Lutheran,” she growled. Mortimer
turned her around and wheeled her to the front door. Jason’s dad
held the door while he pushed her out.

“That’s okay!” Jason’s mom called after
her.

Jason noticed the time on the microwave. “The
show! I have to get going.”

“I hope you play better than you just did for
Mrs. Dullahan,” his dad said.

“Are you sure you don’t want us to come,
Jason?” his mom asked.

“Oh, no, I’ve got enough to stress about.
Thanks, though.” Jason hurried upstairs. He slid his guitar case
out from under his bed. It held the fairy guitar.

“What happened with the dullahan?” Grizlemor
asked.

“She’s leaving.”

A horn honked, and Jason looked out his
window. Dred’s rusty van was in his driveway, waiting for him.
Mortimer had just wheeled Mrs. Dullahan past it, towards a
windowless black van parked on the street.

“Wow, that’s bad timing,” Jason said. He
opened the window. “Just wait!”

Mortimer stopped, and Mrs. Dullahan turned
back to look. Dred laid on the horn again.

“We’re running late for the show!” Mitch
yelled out the passenger window.

Jason grunted in frustration. He closed the
window as Dred blew the horn a third time. Why couldn’t they just
wait until Mrs. Dullahan left?

“We can’t let the dullahan see me!” Grizlemor
said.

“I know, I know.” Jason found his school
backpack in his closet and dumped out the notebooks and pencils. He
held it open toward the goblin. “Get in here.”

“Excuse me?”

Dred’s horn blew yet again.

“Shut up!” Jason said. “Come on, we have to
go.”

Grizlemor sighed. He disappeared in a puff
and reappeared inside the bag. Jason zipped it up, slung it over
his shoulder, and picked up his guitar case again.

He dashed downstairs, yelled a goodbye to his
parents, and then he was out the front door.

“Don’t bang me around so much,” Grizlemor
complained inside the backpack.

“Sh!” Jason said.

“Come on, come on!” Mitch yelled from the
rusty van.

Over at Mrs. Dullahan’s van, Mortimer had
opened the side door, and a wheelchair lift slowly unfolded to the
ground. Mrs. Dullahan was watching Jason and his friends closely as
Mortimer wheeled her onto the hydraulic platform.

“What are you waiting for?” Mitch slapped the
side of the van. “Let’s go, let’s go.”

Jason didn’t want to open the rear door of
the van and give Mrs. Dullahan a look at all the instruments
inside. He opened the side door and saw Erin sitting in one of the
two back seats. She smiled at him, and for a moment, he completely
forgot what he was doing.

“Jason, did you miss the part where we’re
running really, really late?” Dred asked.

Jason shook his head. He glanced at Mrs.
Dullahan again, who rose up as the platform lifted. Then he climbed
in and slid his guitar case between the back seats, and dropped the
backpack on the floor. He finally remembered to smile back at
Erin.

“Close the door!” Dred said. She threw it in
reverse and backed down his driveway while he hurried to slam the
door.

“Who’s that lady?” Erin asked.

“Mrs. Dullahan.”

“What’s she doing at your house?” Dred
asked.

“Having coffee with my mom.”

They pulled into the street. When Dred put it
in drive, the side door of the black van closed. The black van
immediately started following them. Mortimer must have already been
in the driver’s seat, though Jason couldn’t tell for sure, because
the windshield was tinted black. Jason was pretty sure that wasn’t
legal.

“Isn’t this exciting?” Erin asked him. “Our
first show, Jason!”

“Yeah, it’s great,” Jason said. He couldn’t
stop looking out the rear window at the noiseless black van that
followed them like a shadow.

“I’m so nervous. Aren’t you nervous?” Erin
asked.

“Yeah, very nervous,” Jason said. He looked
at her and tried to smile through his fear. He’d expected Erin to
be cold after she’d rejected him, or treat him like a freak. If
anything, she was acting friendlier than usual to him. Maybe she
felt sorry for him.

“Why is Mrs. Dullahan following us?” Dred
asked.

“Is she going to the show?” Mitch asked.

“Didn’t you tell me you snuck into the fairy
world through a door in her yard?” Erin asked.

“Yeah, I did,” Jason said. “She’s the
guardian of the gate. She’s kind of supernatural, or
something.”

“A monster!” Grizlemor appeared in a puff of
smoke next to Erin’s feet.

“A monster!” Erin screamed, pulling away from
him.

“No, not me,” Grizlemor said. “The dullahan.
I’m a goblin, not a monster.”

“What’s the difference?” Erin asked.

“Hmph.” Grizlemor sat on the floor.

“Uh, Dred,” Mitch said. “There’s a little
green man in your van.”

“He’s with me,” Jason said. “He’s okay.”

“Why do you call her ‘the’ dullahan?” Erin
asked.

“That’s what she is. One of the most
dangerous sort of darkfae,” Grizlemor said.

“Dangerous sort of what?” Mitch asked.

“Some fairies are drawn to evil magic,”
Grizlemor said. “Fairies being power-hungry nutters. The more they
use the evil magic, the more it twists them into monsters.”

The black van stayed close behind them as
they drove away from Jason’s neighborhood. Now Erin was watching
out the back window, too.

“Is this something we should worry about?”
Erin asked.

“If she follows us all the way to
Minneapolis, yes,” Jason said.

“So, what’s with the goblin?” Mitch asked
Jason.

“He comes with the instruments.”

“A ‘roadie,’” Grizlemor said, winking at
Jason. “That’s the correct term, right?”

“Oh, cool, a built-in roadie,” Mitch said.
“Man, these instruments just get better and better.”

Grizlemor rolled his eyes.

“So Mrs. Dullahan is an evil fairy,” Dred
said. “Awesome. What does she want with us?”

“She’s trying to figure out who used the
fairy doors she’s supposed to guard,” Grizlemor said. “Because
somebody
trampled around breaking things, not being cautious
like me.” He glared at Jason.

“So she’s after Jason?” Erin looked alarmed.
Weirdly, that made Jason feel better. For somebody who didn’t want
to date him, she really seemed worried about him.