The Fairy Portal Second Edition

Chapter Five

Tassie didn't ask for much at first, and certainly for nothing that could be called a favor. A bowl of milk. Some bread with honey on it. A little butter, just the bit left over on the knife when Blake was done spreading it on his toast. Blake spent more and more of his time at home or in the woods, and Emily, less and less, going over to friends' houses, instead. But soon, it became too cold to continue going out into the woods, the snow was too deep to tread the pathways, and Blake spent most of his time outside of school in his living room peering out the window into the backyard. Finally, after about a week of his forlorn staring, Emily cornered him in their basement bedroom and asked, "Okay, what's wrong with you?"

"What?" Blake asked.

"You've been staring out the window like you're waiting for your lover to return from war," Emily said. "And I know it's not Benny because you haven't been spending time with either of us. And your crush was never bad enough for you to get this mopey, anyway."

"She's right."

Blake looked up to where Tassie was playing with the flame of a small votive candle he'd lit, one of her favorite pastimes. The fire wasn't safe in the woods, and she hadn't been back through the portal since Clementine had enchanted their glasses. Nothing had seemed to come through in either direction. Blake wasn't sure if Emily's markings had damaged it, but from what little Blake understood of it, it seemed to be out of use.

"You never go out anymore," Tassie said. She didn't look up from the flame. It cast bright lights and dark shadows over the lines of her face and body, flickering. "You're tense all the time. You only ever seem to calm down if it rains."

"I just want to be out in the water, I guess," Blake said. Tassie's head jerked up from the candle flame.

"What?" she bit.

"I want to go back in the woods. Out to the river. You know, not be cooped up inside all the time. But the snow's too deep. It's not safe right now."

That seemed to appease her, but her gaze was still suspicious.

"Maybe we can go out to the bridge?" Emily suggested. "I know it's not the same, but you could, like... look out at everything from there. I'll bet it's really pretty right now, with the snow and ice."

Blake's shoulders perked up a bit and he finally looked up.

"Okay," he said. He smiled.

***

It was a Saturday, so the bus they needed only ran once an hour. But with the proper warm clothing, the walk wasn't that bad. Only about a half an hour. Their boots crunched on the fresh snow, still unmoved by the plows, not so deep that the occasional car couldn't drive by and honk at them to get out of the road. Blake's breath came in thick, white puffs through his crocheted scarf, and about halfway there, Emily wrapped her gloved hand in his to try to seep in some of his warmth. Finally, they reached the bridge, and they stopped at the highest point in the middle. The river was wide, and while it wasn't frozen over, chunks of ice floated downstream in the current. Wherever Seamus was, Blake hoped he was warm and safe.

Wherever he was, it wasn't here. Maybe Seamus had a sense and knew Tassie was around. Maybe he didn't want to cause trouble. But that didn't quite ring true: Seamus didn't seem like the type to avoid trouble if it came to him.

What do you know? Blake lectured himself. You've met him twice. By luck. You might never see him again.

The cruel thought was like an icicle in his chest, cold and sharp, and Blake inhaled abruptly at the almost physical pain. The cold air bit the back of his throat. Was this some kind of magic from the Fair Folk? He couldn't ask Tassie. She was too jealous. It would cause trouble.