Through the Fairy Ring

Chapter Six

We saw Lan to his house, a tiny shack that looked as depressed as the man did. I made a mental note to increase his pay and spurred the Suntaria toward Arden's, doubly eager to get out of the forest. At least watching for a vicious creature took my mind off the fear that Meara and Garron sat at death's door.

"Uh, Hazel?" Tavi's voice was loud in my ear. "Remember how you said if the purse started moving to tell you?"

"It's moving?"

"Yeah, and I think the thing inside is mad."

I pulled gently on the horses reins, and it slowed to a brisk walk. Without the noise of the saddle creaking and the horse's rapid breaths, the muffled cries from inside the fabric prison were easier to hear. The purse twisted and swung in Tavi's outstretched hand.

"Here. You take it," she said.

I grimaced, remembering the female that had scampered up my sleeve. The situation called for a measure of bravery. I could do that—I had to.

"Hey, you." I grasped the strings and held it up so I was speaking directly to the side. "Shhh. You need to listen."

The fabric punched out several times in rapid succession. "Let me out of here, you goatish, onion-eyed codpiece!"

What the heck?

"Did he call me a codpiece?" I asked Tavi, not sure I'd heard him right.

"I did, you pribbling, beetle-headed flax-wench! I'll call you worse if you don't let me out of here."

"Listen." I gave the purse a shake. "You need to be quiet. I'll let you out when you're calm and you've given me some answers." I wasn't sure I really would let him out—he hurt Meara and Garron—but he didn't need to know that. I hated being devious, but I needed him to talk.

"Calm? You want me to be calm? You'll let me go, right now, hedge-pig, or the wrath of the Fairy King will come down upon you."

So! He was a fairy. "What kind of fairy are you?"

"I'm not talking to you until you let me out."

The bag bounced around as the fairy jumped up and down. I had to grin. He truly was "hopping mad," and he behaved worse than a five-year-old.

"Do you want out? Because it doesn't hurt me at all to leave you in there. I could put you in the sun, and things would get pretty uncomfortable in that stuffy bag."

The bag quit moving. "Okay, measle. Fine. What do you want?"

I frowned at the bag before turning to look at Tavi. Her eyebrow was quirked in surprise, but she shrugged and mouthed, "Go on."

"Well, what kind of fairy are you? You don't look like any I've seen before."

"Sheesh. What kind of witch are you?"

"How do you know I'm a witch?"

"The little air display? Back in the manor?"

Oh, yeah. "Just answer the question."

"You must not be much of a witch, because that was just pathetic." His tone mocked me. "Maybe you weren't trying as hard as you should have?"

"Hey! There were billions of you! And you were..."

"Hazel!" Tavi interrupted my tirade. "Not important. Move on."

"Right." I readdressed the bag. "Why'd you bite my children?"

"Because they're tasty."

Shock tingled over my shoulders. What the hell did that mean? "What kind of fairy are you?"

"I am Terlach of the Frid-Adhar fairies." His voice was smug, and I wanted to flop the bag against the tree once, the little pipsqueak.

"Not helpful. What are Frid-Adhar fairies?" I mimicked his tone, and then was embarrassed. I had never met a more frustrating creature. And unlikable. Maybe Tavi should take over the questioning.

"It's not my fault you don't know about the fairy lineages."

"What do I need to do to reverse the bites you inflicted on Garron and Meara."

A menacing chuckle escaped the bag. "You have to let me out, first, foot-licker."

Gads! The insults were annoying.

"I'm not letting you out until you tell me."

"Then we're at a draw, aren't we?"

"No, we aren't. You're going to tell me, or I'll find a river and throw you in." Right now, it would be a pleasure to do so, too.

"Then you won't know how to help your children."

"You think I can't find the answer on my own?"

The bag made a ripping sound, and the fairy charged over the top of my hand, needle-teeth bared.

"Crap!" I shook him off my hand, and he tumbled down, landing on his feet at the horse's side. He launched up into the air, dragonfly wings buzzing, and zoomed for the treetops. I pulled the heat from the air, and threw a fireball at him, but the horse jumped at the ruckus, and the fireball went wide. The fairy's laugh filtered back to me, and I clenched my hands into fists. "Damn it!"

I turned the bag over, exposing a slit about half an inch long, and then a large tear. He must have had some kind of knife. The tricky little bugger. I really didn't like fairies now.

We sat there for a moment before Tavi broke the silence. "We know what kind of fairies they are."

I closed my eyes, the defeat of the encounter made my shoulder's droop. "Lot of good that's going to do for us."

"It'll be okay, Hazel. Let's get to Arden. We can tell him the fairy's lineage, and then he can fix the kids." She patted my shoulder, and I exhaled. There wasn't much else we could do. I nudged the horse's sides until we were loping down the path.