Fairy Thief (16 page)

They crouched and skittered out the front door and ran for cover in an alley. There they crouched again, and waited for the moment when they could run.

“
What’s your name?” Saffron whispered.

“
Orji.”

Saffron balked. “Your name is
Orgy
?”

Unaware of Saffron’s shock, he nodded and slowly craned his neck out to search the next bend. All was quiet — no ptt, ptt, ptt, of gunfire, only dust pluming in the empty street. He was getting ready to tell them to run when Saffron spoke again.

“
You cannot be serious!”

Orji looked back at Saffron over his shoulder. Sweat ran down his face in rivulets, streaking the weeks-old dirt that had collected in the creases on either side of his nose. He wondered, not for the first time since meeting her, if he should really be going with them, or leave well enough alone. How desperate was he to get to the Earthrealm? She was an odd duck, questioning his name and all, what was wrong with his name? “What’s wrong with ‘Orji’,”?

“
Well, you know….aahhh….lots of people….you know….” Awkwardly, Saffron wiggled her fingers and started to entwine them feverishly, as if they had a will of their own.

Orji stared at her in wonder and confusion, tilted his head, looked away, then cast another confused, sideways glance. “Look,
Saffron —
if we don’t get out of here, we could get bombed, and if you’re lucky, you’ll only lose a couple of limbs, then bleed to death slowly, just long enough to make fun of my name for a few more minutes — sound good?”

I don’t think that threat will work buddy,
he reminded himself,
not on Little Miss Ghost, here.
But then Orji saw Saffron’s expression drop at his words, and he realized it
did
work. She might be a ghost, but she was still afraid of the same things as everyone else.
Why,
he wondered,
why?

Saffron hung her head, properly ashamed, and said nothing.

There was a vacuum of sound — all weapons were silenced for a moment.

Orji whispered harshly, “Run, run!” They sprinted for a house much like the sad, dilapidated house of Orji’s brother. They waited again, this time in complete silence, then ran for a store with a shattered picture window. Through the course of the afternoon, they alternated running and hiding, hiding and running, until they found themselves on the edge of a forest. A forest filled with red-barked trees that towered six and eight stories high. The sun had since sunk in the sky, and they waited with quick breaths on the edge of night.

Saffron eyed the forest and gnawed on her bottom lip. “We’re going in there, aren’t we?”

Orji spat, then responded. “Yip.”

Saffron’s shoulders slumped. “Of course.” The trees loomed above her. The gouges in their bark drew out deformed faces with bulges and squints. She looked at Wo. “I know this forest is enchanted, I can feel it. It’s stinging my nose. But, you’re enchanted, so you can navigate us through here safely, right?” She was doubtful.

Wo’s answer was not heartening. He ran his hand over his mouth and tugged his bottom lip. “Yes, this forest is enchanted, only….” He looked at Tai in a funny way. It was a quick look and not filled with confidence.

Tai, who was suddenly captivated with the tops of the trees, made no comment.

Wo chucked Saffron on her plastic shoulder. “Time for another analogy! You know how in the Earthrealm you have your town — it’s small, cute, and an all around not bad place…. Then you have Taos — beautiful, mysterious, charm of the old west…. And how about Paris — cultured, a center of fashion….”

Saffron’s frayed nerves made her impatient. “What’s your point?”

Wo scratched the back of his head and wiggled his nose. “Well then, this forest, in comparison to those places, is a town in the inner-most part of the poorest city in a third world country and it’s two a.m. and we’re a bunch of naive churchgoers entering with nothing but a ham strapped on our heads and hundred dollar bills taped to our naked, sorry asses.”

Saffron shut her eyes.

Tai laughed. “Wo, you’re Analogy King! Honestly, I’ve never heard so many analogies from you in the hundred-plus years we’ve spent together!”

Wo frowned at his brother. “I’m just trying to explain things to her so she’ll understand on her own terms.”

“
Yeah, whatever, keep going. You make me laugh.” Tai fluttered up and down, up and down. “Gods, you people are slow. Can we pick up the pace?”

Orji went to ruffle Saffron’s hair, but it didn’t move until she realized what he was doing, then it gave way under his hand. But, by the time it gave way, he had stopped rubbing, because her hair was so stiff. The softness he expected to touch was one- dimensional and cold. He looked away from her and tsk-tsked the twins. “Come, come now — it’s not that bad. How dramatic you two are! Don’t scare the poor girl! Let’s go — our portal awaits. We’ll just get there, and go through, and be done.” He smiled a great big, cheesy, put-on smile. His lip twitched. He scrunched his face to pretend it hadn’t.

Saffron shook her head. “We haven’t even checked this realm for Markis.…”

Tai slapped her up the back of the head. “Good God, let’s go. He’s not here.”

“
How do you know?” She swiped at him, but of course he moved out of reach.

Tai ground his teeth. “There are no fairies in this realm.”

“
Why?”

Wo poked Saffron in the back. “Sshhh…just keep walking.”

As one, the group proceeded, lifting their feet high to tromp the prickly, marsh-like grasses that bordered the fortress of trees. The grass was anchored in black moss that was as puffy and spongy as marshmallows. The silence was thick around them and pregnant with an unknown menace. Wo and Tai whispered to each other above Saffron’s head. Their flapping was loud as they lifted up and down in the air.

Saffron wished
she
could fly every time being grounded made her weary. Orji grabbed her elbow when she stumbled on the clumps that seemed to suddenly appear and disappear under their feet. Before Saffron could stop herself, her right leg landed deep in a hole that had suddenly formed, causing her to trip face-first into the murk.

Orji sighed as he helped her up and steadied her. Then he sighed again and lifted her up into his arms.

Saffron couldn’t look into his eyes when she said in a flat tone, “You don’t need to carry me.” But she didn’t protest any further.

“
Say there, Orji, that’s very noble of you, to help the girl, but what you don’t know is that this here girl has left her body behind; it’s only her soul you support.” Tai landed in front of Orji and Saffron and crossed his arms. “If she were so inclined, she could concentrate and find that leaving her physical expectations behind will greatly lighten her journey…and yours.”

Orji frowned. “Wha…?” Did that mean she wasn’t a ghost? He let her slide out of his arms. Her feet landed with a squelch. He slapped a spider that crawled on the back of his neck and looked at her. “You’re not from the Earthrealm, originally? You’re not...
human
?”

Saffron lost her balance, caught herself, tottered a little more, then squatted to keep from bumbling. “Yes, I’m human,” she responded quietly as she rubbed her knees.

“
Are you, ah, dead?”

Saffron winced and squinted up at him. “NO! Oh, my God, no! I’m just — separated from my body.”

“
Oh, right. Of course.” Orji looked thoughtful for a moment then said, “You know, boys, a big part of being human is being physical. Do you know what that’s like? I mean, can’t you understand why it may not be so fair that you wish she lose that…?”

Tai bristled suddenly, his thin, froggy-fairy skin turned brick-red. The black marshmallows around his feet started to smoke and bubble. Wo flew down to stand by his side. He patted Tai’s arm consolingly. Tai was as stiff as an iron rod. “I don’t need you to preach to me
about what it’s like to be human!”

Orji had jumped when Tai started yelling. He halted in the black moss that was starting to turn to muck. He looked back at Tai with his eyebrows raised as he waved the putrid, burning-sulfur smell away from his face. Seeing a look in Tai’s eyes, and in Wo’s, he decided to say no more.

About a quarter-mile inside the trees, the muck, murk, and grasses stopped, and they found themselves walking on flat, clear forest floor.

“
I don’t
know
why!” Tai hissed at Wo. They had been bickering quietly to each other up there for the last several minutes.

Saffron’s head snapped up after she brushed at the last bit of slop that clung to her calf. “What? What is it? What are you talking about?” Her voice was starting to strain. Something about this forest put her completely on edge. It was dark, it stank like wet, moldering things, and it just felt
wrong.
Elusive thoughts trilled down her back, running their legs like millipedes.

Tai turned his venom on her. “Stop slapping at that muck on your leg? De-solidify! It’ll disappear!” He kicked at empty air as his wings hummed to keep him aloft.

“
Hey!” Saffron spat. “Get off my ass! I
want
to be solid! Didn’t you spend the first part of this day bitching at me to get solid?”

He swooped down and yanked the clock on the golden chain over Saffron’s head. He looked at it, squinted, mashed his lips, frowned and moved his mouth like he was counting. “It’s been three days since then, Yoch.” He dropped the clock into the pocket of his lederhosen as he enjoyed Saffron’s silly facial expressions display.

She gasped. “What?!”

Wo landed beside Saffron. He looked at her with great big, green eyes. He knew her temper could be changed with a subject change. “We always navigate in a strange forest by talking to the trees.”

Saffron, confused, looked at Wo and nodded. She scratched her head, trying to figure out what he was going on about now. “Oh, and these trees can’t talk, right.”

“
No, that’s not it.” Wo shrank a little and looked nervously at the closest tree. It had to be at least four
hundred
feet tall, and all dark and gnarled. “These trees can talk. They just…
won’t.
They won’t talk to us.”

“
The trees are…,” Orji coughed
behind his hand, “…prejudiced. Looks like you need me already.”

Tai scoffed, “Don’t bet your sweet bippy.
You
won’t
be our savior. These trees don’t like you,
either!”

Saffron looked sideways at the big, ugly tree. She had a fleeting image of it moving, lifting its roots, and crashing towards her, limbs outstretched to grab her. The thought twanged a chord in her gut, and filled her with primal terror.

“
It’s all right, boys,” Orji squinted in the direction of the tree, but didn’t quite look
at
it, as if he were avoiding eye contact. “I know where the portal is all the same.” He lowered his voice. “Just keep your head down, keep quiet, and follow me.”

“
How come you know where this portal is?” The twins had told her portals, in any world, were not common knowledge. It was how the worlds persevered, remained untouched by outside forces. Those who knew of a portal’s existence kept the location a closely guarded secret.

Orji stiffened. He didn’t answer.

Saffron struggled to keep up with his long-legged strides, and fumbled for a way to rephrase. “I mean, I heard that no one….”

Orji held up his hand to stop her from saying more. He whispered, “Really, Saffron, we shouldn’t be talking.” He looked up at the treetops. “We’ll attract….undue attention.”

Saffron crossed her arms over her chest and hunched as she walked. Her eyes scraped back and forth, back and forth. Good thing it was impossible to pee her pants, because she was so nervous now that if
anything
were to jump out of the brush, she’d lose bladder control. She stopped walking because she had just confused herself.
No, that’s not right. I can pee myself. Everyone can see me pee myself, too. I could be totally embarrassed. But! The pee won’t actually be REAL. So I wouldn’t really pee myself, but everyone would still see that I did. Hmmm.

She had to talk. She
had
to. It was the only way to take her mind off things. “What’s in here?” No answer. She jabbed Orji in the ribs.