Keelie held out her hand and the bhata climbed down to her. Clasped in its little stick fingers was a tiny red book. It held it out to Keelie, and she accepted it.
"Thank you." She studied the tiny book, then felt a tingle in her fingertips. The book began to grow Its binding lengthened and its cover widened until Keelie recognized the t.i.tle.
It was the dragon magic book. A piece of parchment was stuck in between the pages. She pulled it out, and read the strange, rune-like handwriting.
You left this behind. Thought you might need it.
Keelie smiled, then frowned when she lifted her head and saw Sean scowling at her. "It"s a book on dragons," she explained. "To help me understand Ermentrude."
Sean arched an eyebrow. "From Herne?"
Keelie nodded slowly, dreading Sean"s reaction to that piece of news, although it was kind of cool that he was jealous.
"Let"s go." Sean stormed away.
Angry about his elven stubbornness, Keelie stomped after him and grabbed him by the arm.
He stopped, but wouldn"t look at her. "What?"
"You wanted me to be honest."
"I want you to be smart, too. And Keelie, encouraging that dark beast to befriend you is not wise."
He said "befriend" as if it were a bad word. He turned to look at her then, and she saw the hurt and fear in his eyes. Then he hurried off.
"Mmm, mmm. That is one hunk of handsome elf flesh. If I were you, I"d hang onto him. He"s got a good heart, and a lot to learn, but it would be fun to teach him." Ermentrude was leaning against a nearby wall, her cane at her side. She winked at Keelie. "I heard old Herne is sweet on you."
"He asked me to be his consort, but I told him I"m too young.
"I notice you didn"t tell him no. And for the record, Sean is right."
Knot padded up to the Keelie, but stopped, his back arched, when he saw the dragon.
"Yeow!" he hissed.
"You!" Ermentrude bellowed.
Keelie saw flames erupt from the dragon-woman"s eyes and quickly stepped out of range. "Knot," she hissed, "run!"
Ermentrude closed her eyes and started to chant, then took a deep breath and exhaled. "It"s a challenge to keep control over my temper, especially when sneaky cats get into my bag." She pasted on a false smile when she looked at Knot, her lips pursed as if she were biting down on her tongue. "Knot, the next time you want to play in my yarn, please ask me."
"You knit?" Keelie asked. That Knot had tangled her yarn was no surprise.
"Yes, I"m making a scarf, and when I changed colors and looked through my yarn bag, I found orange cat hair everywhere."
Knot turned his face away and whistled. He refused to look at Ermentrude.
"Stay out of her yarn," Keelie warned. She put the book under her arm.
Ermentrude"s eyes widened when she noticed it. "What are you doing with a book on dragon magic?"
"Herne gave it to me." Keelie didn"t want to offend the dragon, but there was no magic here except for the way the book had grown in her hand. She held it out. The spine read Understanding Dragons.
Keelie stared at it, confused. "The t.i.tle used to be Into the Minds of Dragons."
"Magic is arbitrary between worlds. Objects can be one thing in Fairy or Under-the-Hill, and quite another on Earth," Ermentrude answered. "It"s a handy book to have. Be careful with it." She puffed on her cigarette. "I"m flattered. You"re wanting to know what makes me tick. When you"re finished, I"d like to read it. Might help me communicate with my daughter."
Keelie wasn"t sure she wanted to know Ermentrude"s daughter. She pictured a girl like her friend Laurie, only scaly with long ropes of red hair, garlicky dragon breath, and a bad temper.
Miszrial came striding over, not seeming happy in her new role of errand girl. "You"re wanted in a Council meeting. I told them that as soon as I found you, I"d bring you."
"I thought the meeting was tonight," Keelie said.
"This meeting is for the elves only," Miszrial replied.
"Then I don"t know why you want me there."
Miszrial"s lips thinned out. "Terciel warned us that you favor the fae, even though you are a Lord of the Forest"s daughter."
Keelie reminded herself that, as the daughter of an elven lord, she needed to conduct herself with every bit of elven dignity that she could muster. For her father"s sake.
She looked down at Knot. "Ready to go to the Council meeting?" She thought of Dad, and how he always had to trudge to meetings at all hours of the night and be a diplomat when dealing with p.r.i.c.kly elves. Ruling the elves was at the bottom rung of her career wish list.
Knot shook his head. "Not meow again."
Her sentiments exactly. Council meetings were boring, and you couldn"t leave early because it was considered rude. It never failed-as soon as a meeting started, she needed to go pee. She turned, hoping for a few words of support from Ermentrude, but the dragon was gone. Keelie tucked the book back under her arm. It would make for good reading during the boring parts of the Council meeting.
"Are you ready?" Miszrial was tapping her foot impatiently.
"Yes." Keelie watched Miszrial start up the road to Grey Mantle. "Is there a reference book on elves? If not, there should be. Maybe I"ll write one. The Human"s Guide to Elves."
"It"s forbidden to tell humans about elves," Miszrial said stiffly.
"Right. And it"s forbidden for elves to have a sense of humor, too." Keelie trotted after her. She looked back at Knot. "You"re coming, right?"
"Meow have to?"
"Yes, yeow has to."
"You"re talking to your cat," Miszrial snapped.
Keelie smiled. "Yes, I"m talking to him. Don"t you talk to your cat?"
"I don"t have a cat."
"You need to get one. It would improve your personality."
"I don"t see how having a cat would improve my personality. Everyone finds me charming."
Whoosh! Comment sailed over her head.
Dad was waiting for her at the foot of the stairs when she left her room in the lodge. Uncle Dariel and Elia were sharing a room, and Dad was bunking with Sean, so Keelie still had her own s.p.a.ce.
Dad smiled appreciatively when he saw her. She was wearing her elven robes, which Grandmother had presented her with last winter, and she"d put on some eyeliner and lip gloss, stuff she never usually bothered with. The elves preferred a natural look, and today Keelie wanted to highlight her human side. The alliance included the dwarves, the dark fae, and the elves, but the humans got no say at all.
"You look lovely." Dad wore one of his elven robes, too; it was long and richly embroidered, with wide sleeves over a tight-sleeved jacket. His long hair was loose and hung down over his shoulders.
Keelie tripped over the hem of her robe and Dad caught her. "Oops." Her knee-high Ren Faire boots gave her steady footing, but the long clothes took some getting used to and she"d only worn them once before.
The forest was full of armed elves on the lookout for goblins. Keelie and Dad started up the path to the Council building. In the Dread Forest, the Council met in a stone circle, but the weather must get intense here in the winter. Keelie couldn"t imagine meeting outside when it was twenty degrees below zero.
"I"m proud of the way you"ve handled yourself." Dad looked down at her and smiled. "It hasn"t been easy, I know."
"Thanks, Dad. It"s nice of you to think that, even if I did mess the rift up even more." Keelie lowered her voice although the path was deserted. "These elves are really unfriendly. You should see how they treat Elia. It broke her heart."
He sighed. "They fear change, and Elia married Dariel. A unicorn. They could probably forgive his past disgrace, but anything not elven ... as you say, not so much."
"I guess that"s what makes me the angriest. That they"re mad at her because of Uncle Dariel."
"Queen Vania will not be here tonight," Dad said, abruptly changing the subject. "Do you think she would welcome another visit from you? Without Elia, of course."
"You"d be okay with that?" Keelie thought about the angry, powerful queen. "I"m not sure it would do any good."
Dad patted her back. "None of us knew how dangerous the situation was when we sent you, Keelie. We heard only that it was a disagreement between the elves and the High Court about how the humans were getting access to magic. We knew you would gain admittance in the High Court as no elf could."
"They let Sean and Elia come, though. No one stopped them." Keelie thought of the strange faire at Quicksilver. "We saw some weird things and met some really outrageous people. If you can call them people."
She stopped talking when they arrived at the Council building. Just off the main vestibule was a huge room. Long benches surrounded a fire pit, and the walls were covered by cloth hangings embroidered with elven symbols. Keelie felt a mix of elven and Earth magic around her and realized that the symbols held some sort of charm.
A group of elves in blue robes were seated around the circle. Elves were big on meeting circles. Maybe they needed some drums. They could pound out some good beats, although Keelie didn"t think these uptight elves could produce a drum circle like the ones at the Ren Faires she"d attended. Maybe a keg of mead and some nachos would help.
She spotted a familiar, friendlier face and headed over to Norzan. "I"m glad to see you up and about, Lord Norzan."
"Good evening, Keelie." Norzan bowed his head. "Thank you for the help you"ve given us. We have put you in grave danger, I fear." He looked tired. Keelie knew that the drama among the elves, on top of the injuries he"d received in the Redwood Forest, must be exhausting for him, but she was so glad he was here.
Dad clasped Norzan"s arm in his, and the two tree shepherds looked into each other"s eyes for a long moment. Keelie had no idea what that was about.
"Now that everyone has gathered, we can begin." Miszrial stood to one side, hands lifted, palms up. She looked regal, but spoiled the effect when she tossed her hair behind her shoulder.
What was she doing on the Council? She didn"t have the people skills for a leadership position.
Miszrial smiled at some of the other elves, and they returned her smile. One big happy family.
Keelie didn"t have a good feeling about this meeting. She sat with Dad and Norzan. Terciel sat across from them.
Then Terciel stood up. "We must discuss the goblin invasion. Soon the dwarves will join us, and Herne and his dark fae brethren. But first, we must meet as elves." He turned to Keelie. "Keliel Heartwood, leave the meeting until such time as the others join us."
"What?" Keelie felt her mouth drop open. Talk about an unexpected action.
Dad"s face paled, and Norzan stood shakily. "What is this outrage? We sought out Keliel Heartwood. She came here at our invitation, to help us speak with the High Court."
Miszrial leaned forward. "And if you remember I disagreed with that idea, and all of my predictions have come true. She didn"t help us speak with the queen-she followed the queen"s orders to repair the rift and made it worse. More magic is spilling out. We are battling goblins in our own forest. The only good thing to come of this, in my opinion, is that the humans have fled."
"And how is this Keliel"s fault?" Dad spoke quietly, but his voice seemed to ring against the walls.
Miszrial gave him a pitying smile. "The elves of the Dread Forest are ancient, but you sent a poor representative. Her blood is tainted with fae and human elements that cause her great conflict. She knows not where her loyalties lay. Who can trust her?" She turned to Keelie. "Leave us now.
Keelie stood and put a hand down on Dad"s shoulder to keep him from joining her. "What happens here affects the whole world. I"ll wait outside until the others may enter."
She left, chin up, and wished she weren"t so well-bred. She was trying to be dignified, but she wanted to give the haughty elf a middle-finger salute.
Outside, a few dwarves had already arrived. The dryad was there too, standing next to Ermentrude, who was wrapped in blankets and sitting in a chair. Sean, who was not invited to partic.i.p.ate, was sitting at Ermentrude"s feet.
As Keelie headed toward them, Sean stood. "Have you come to ask us in?"
"No, I got kicked out for being a mongrel." Keelie shrugged, trying not to let her hurt show. "I thought my mixed blood was what got me invited up here in the first place."
One of the dwarves, a female warrior, turned to her with a frown. "The elves evicted you from their meeting?"
Keelie nodded.
"I am Topaz. You know my cousin Jadwyn."
"I know him as Sir Davey." She looked over her friend"s cousin. Despite the peaceful nature of the talks, the woman was wearing two knives and a sword.
Topaz smiled. "He speaks highly of you, unlike others." She shot a look of dislike at the Council building. "Excuse me." She rushed to the other dwarves and spoke earnestly. The group glanced at Keelie and talked more.
Great. Now everyone was gossiping about her.
"They"re outraged, Keelie." Sean stood next to her. "As am I."
"They can do whatever they like," Keelie said. "Besides, Dad"s in there. He and Norzan won"t let the elves come up with any weird plans."
Sir Davey arrived and waved cheerily at Keelie, but he was stopped by the grumbling crowd of dwarves. As he listened to their words, his eyebrows rose and his eyes widened, and Keelie saw his hand tighten on the dagger he wore on his belt. He glanced toward Keelie.
The doors of the Council building banged open and Miszrial stepped onto the plaza. Behind her were Dad, Norzan, and Terciel, as well as some of the other elves.
"Forest peoples, welcome to the Alliance Summit. I am Miszrial, and I welcome you on behalf of the elves of Grey Mantle." She motioned to the others. "The elves welcome you.
The air changed, growing warmer, and with a dramatic thunder clap, Herne appeared, horned and majestic. He must have timed it. Sean frowned and Ermentrude laughed at his theatrical appearance, but it seemed to work on the elves. They gasped. The dryad straightened, then bowed. Keelie slipped behind a tree. She didn"t want to add to the drama.
But Herne had other ideas. His stern gaze took in the a.s.sembled forest peoples, and he frowned.
"Where is my consort? Where is Keliel Heartwood, Forest Daughter?"
Keelie banged her forehead against the tree (a birch). So much for waiting. Thanks a lot, Herne.
Keelie stared at the dingy yellow wall of the No-Tell Motel, an abandoned motor court halfway between Grey Mantle and Big Nugget. The ride there, in the elven SUV on treacherous roads constantly watching for goblins, was bad, but not as bad as the Alliance Summit. Which hadn"t even gotten started.