If there were ever a desperate heart, it pounded in the chest of Forth. He was consumed and in love but he couldn't find the man who was causing his pain.
There were other forces at work here. People who would see them torn apart.
Beam had slip...
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It came on him abruptly. Forth knew only seconds after having taken his magic umbrella from over the party, that it was a mistake. He wasn't sure how big a mistake, but Beam was gone and Forth couldn't listen in on his heartbeat anymore.
Beam's step-mother and brothers disappeared off of his radar too. The one thing Forth was sure of, that plump, red-faced little man Cheap, was responsible.
Forth walked Maw out to her car. They spoke with real words for a change.
"P'Maw, you can contact me anytime, night or day if you need help. I have to know why Beam was afraid of his mom, and I know you want to catch that Cheap person."
He moved his mouth close to Maw's ear and kept his voice down. "No one wants to catch Cheap more than me."
He didn't have to tell Maw this. She saw that deep inside, Forth was three things. He was elated with the time he got to spend with Beam tonight, and, he was worried about the dark magic that was swirling around Beam and his family. Maw had lost contact with Beam too.
The third and most disturbing thing that clouded Forth's mind was his consciousness of the fearsome energy in his hands. Forth was uneasy to know that if he lost his temper he could do something regrettable.
Forth changed his tone from all business, to a softer and more considerate one. "I'm sorry P'. Where are my manners? Thank you so much for coming to my party. I feel I owe you."
Maw held her suspicions to her heart and Forth was kind enough not to probe. She didn't mention to Forth that every day he held onto this gift he'd accidentally acquired, her own powers were weakening. She was sure that Cheap's were too.
More than that, Maw learned from the fairy council that this robbing of fairy power was happening everywhere. The world over, fairies on the outside of the cloak were finding their magic dust wasn't performing as it should. Mistakes were being made. Animals and birds that had been used for fairy purposes, weren't turning back into their four-legged or feathered selves. Rivers that had been diverted, wouldn't flow to their original beds. Rockslides currently being prevented could at any minute resume.
"Come here, my boy." Maw held out her arms and hugged Forth. She repeated her birthday wishes and said that she would call on him.
Maw gently patted his back and held on. "At this point, I think you might be the only person who can stop Cheap. I think you have this gift because he made a mistake."
Maw changed her tenor too. "I should be thanking you. It was the loveliest party I've ever attended Nong."
