The Fairy Portal Second Edition

Chapter Six

They spent the last few days of the semester holed up in the school library looking up past construction in the forest preserve, to see if anything like this had happened recently, and if so, how it had been done. Their search didn't lead to much that could be of use, but they did find that while the clearing was off the path, it was near enough and the road wide enough that the construction workers wouldn't have to bulldoze down much to get there. But any was still too much, and Blake and Emily had to keep it from happening. Somehow.

***

The final few days of their research brought them to the forest, to scale just how much the construction workers would have to bulldoze and try to guess where they'd have to intercept them.

While they carefully trod around the fairy ring, Tassie snuggled up on one of the bigger mushrooms and buried her nose in it, breathing in deep. Although her eyes were solid black, they were wider than usual when she looked up again, and she had a silly smile on her face, very unlike the serious pout she usually wore. Emily kneeled down beside her and gently prodded her shoulder, and when Tassie didn't bite, Emily snickered.

"She's high!" Emily exclaimed. "She likes the mushrooms because they get her high!"

Blake chuckled half-heartedly. His eyes darted to the east, in the direction of the river. He hadn't seen Seamus in ages, and wasn't sure the Merrow still even wanted to see him at all. But if Tassie was distracted...

"You watch her," Blake said. "I'm going to circle the area and see just how much space we're dealing with."

"Sure," Emily said, but it was distracted as she watched Tassie stumble off the mushroom and into the grass. She fluttered her wings and flopped around like a landed fish.

Blake turned away and rolled his eyes. As soon as he was out of view, he picked up his pace, making his way through the forest and brush. He'd only actually been here two or three times, but mentally, he'd trekked this path every night to get to the Merrow he'd been dreaming about for so long. He knew it like his own backyard.

When he arrived at the riverbank, he paused, looking out at the green water. For a very long time, there was only silence as he strained for a glimpse of Seamus, anything, somewhere.

"Seamus?" he finally called, but softly, so his voice wouldn't carry back to the clearing. "Are you here?"

Nothing.

Blake sighed and sat down in the damp dirt of the bank. He'd have to get back to Emily and Tassie soon, but for now, he needed a minute to mope.

Then, something glinted in the air, and with a soft plunk landed beside him. Blake picked the object up. It was a small, ribbed shell, about a quarter of the size of his palm. He looked up again, sitting up straight, craning his neck to see under the surface of the water. A flash of purple tail, a glimmer of bluish green scales, and Seamus's head popped up in front of him. Seamus shook his head to clear some of the water from his hair, and he smiled. His teeth were sharper than Tassie's, but not so curved, not so wide.

Blake grinned and leaned forward.

"You're here!"

"I heard you," Seamus said simply.

Blake moved a little closer as Seamus approached the bank. The Merrow propped himself up on his elbows, leaving his lower half swaying in the shallows.

"What's this about?" Blake asked. He held out his hand, turning the shell over with his fingers. Seamus grinned.

"So you can call me when you want to see me," he said. "I'm not always in this area. I have a territory out in the lake, too." He nodded toward the shell. "But with that, you can call me back and I'll know you're here, even if I'm not. Just throw it into the water. I'll know."