After the Fire (7 page)

“You'll have to bring a mug for yourself next time,” said Alice.

Next time
. Was Alice going to share Dar Wynd? Melissa turned this idea over in her mind. Her life had been crowded with Cody, cluttered trailers and tiny apartments. In Dar Wynd there were no annoying little brothers and no embarrassing mothers.

Melissa was on her third cookie when she suddenly realized that Sharlene must be wondering what had happened to her. She stood up. “I think I better go.”

Alice was silent while Melissa slid through the hole and climbed down the steps. Then she leaned over the wall and said, “Come back tomorrow.”

Melissa hopped from the bottom rung onto the ground. Meeting Alice and going to the tree house were the most exciting things that had happened to her for a long time, but she didn't want Alice to think she could boss her around.

“I'll try,” she said.

Eight

S
harlene had taped a paper on the wall that said
Flycatcher Lake Boggle Tournament
. She had drawn a line down the middle and written Melissa's name at the top of one side and her name on the other. Their games from yesterday were recorded. So far Melissa was winning.

Melissa ignored the paper all through supper. She read Cody two picturebooks to help him fall asleep. When she came back into the main room, Sharlene had lit the oil lamps and spread the game out on the table. She said, “Best out of five. You need to defend your title as champ so far.”

She sounded so eager that Melissa gave in. They slid into the game quickly. Melissa was surprised to see how fast the time flew by until she was declared the winner at three games to two.

“You're killing me with those bonus points,” said Sharlene. “
Slippery!
Eight letters! How could I see
slipper
and miss
slippery
?”

Melissa picked up a letter cube and turned it around in her fingers. “I met Alice Hope today,” she said. “She was at the island.”

Sharlene looked surprised. Then she said, “Really? That's great.” She seemed so interested that Melissa immediately felt herself retreat. “What was she doing there?”

Melissa shrugged. “Nothing much. There's a big flat rock where you can sunbathe. She was just hanging out.”

“What's she like?”

“Okay.” When Alice had sworn Melissa to secrecy, Melissa was pretty sure she just meant Dar Wynd, but she quickly rejected the idea of telling Sharlene that Alice had taken the things from the cabin. Alice was right; it was really no big deal. After all, it wasn't anything
valuable
, but Sharlene probably wouldn't agree. Melissa dropped the cube into its hole and slid the tray into the box. She gathered up the papers and pencils.

“Just okay?” said Sharlene.

“She's nice.” Alice was hard to explain. “She talks a lot. She's writing a fantasy story.”

“A writer. That's neat,” said Sharlene. “It will make a big difference for you to have a friend to do stuff with. Why don't you invite her over here? Maybe she could even come for supper.”

Melissa sighed. It had been a huge mistake telling Sharlene. Alice's mother had an important job in Vancouver. What if Alice saw Sharlene's high school English course lying around? And Cody could be in one of his monster moods.

And besides, Melissa had an uneasy feeling that Sharlene wouldn't approve of Alice.

She frowned. “I might.”

Cody lay on his back in the water, as rigid as a board, supported by Melissa's hands. He looked like a soldier, his arms clamped tight to his sides. Melissa had a vague memory of a swimming instructor telling her to be a starfish.

“Pretend you're a starfish,” said Melissa. She slid one hand out and tried to loosen Cody's grip.

He screwed up his face and gasped, “Don't let go!”

Melissa held him for a few more seconds. Then Cody sputtered “No more!” and struggled to put his feet down.

“Well done, Cody!” called Sharlene from the porch when the little boy was upright again.

“He won't put his face in the water,” said Melissa. “How can he learn to swim if he won't put his face in the water?”

“I don't want to!” roared Cody. He tipped his head sideways and peered under the dock. “I see fish!”

“Rome wasn't built in a week,” said Sharlene, laughing. “How about a lemonade-and-cookie break?” She put her book down on the arm of her chair. “I'll bring it out. I need to move. I don't know how you do school all day. It's only eleven o'clock and my head feels like it's full of cotton.”

Melissa swam on her back out into the flat blue lake, one eye on Cody. There was a warm layer on top, but when she let her feet dangle down, they slid into coolness. Something slippery and weedlike slapped at her legs. She pretended that a sea monster was after her and swam in quick strong strokes to the shore.

Sharlene was back with a tray loaded with a jug, cups and a package of cookies. Melissa sat dripping on the edge of the porch, the sun warming her back, and Cody climbed into a lawn chair. How could she be so hungry, she wondered, devouring her first cookie in two bites, when they had just had bacon and eggs not that long ago?

“Do you hear something?” said Sharlene.

Melissa stopped mid chew and listened. An engine—a car engine—was steadily getting louder. She got up and walked to the end of the porch so she could see the road.

“Someone's coming,” she said. “It's a red truck.”

The truck bounced over the ruts and stopped beside the cabin. It was covered in dust and had an aluminum boat strapped to the roof. The front doors opened and two men climbed out. Melissa felt a stab of apprehension as she recognized the man with the beard and the man with the dragon tattoo from the store.

They strolled around to the front of the cabin. They were both holding cans of beer. “So this is where you're hiding,” said the man with the tattoo. “I'm Matt, and this here is my buddy Tyler.”

Sharlene didn't get up. “Can I help you?” she said.

Matt grinned. “Hey, this looks like happy hour. Can I offer you a beer? We got a cooler full in the truck.”

“No, thank you,” said Sharlene. “We'll stick with our lemonade.”

Tyler had wandered down to the edge of the lake. He turned around and said, “This would be a good place to launch our boat.”

“I'd rather you didn't,” said Sharlene. “This is actually private property.” She was smiling but there was an edge in her voice.

Matt raised both hands as if in defense. “Whoa there, lady, this is not exactly a friendly reception. What's your problem? Have a beer. Lighten up a little.”

Cody stared at the man, mouth open. Melissa's heart raced. She had no idea what her mother was going to do.

Sharlene stood up. “I think you'd better go.”

Tyler walked back toward the truck. “Let's get out of here, Matt.” He sounded bored. “I bet the fishing's lousy in this lake anyway.”

Matt looked Sharlene up and down. Then he tipped his beer can and said, “A pleasure to meet you, ma'am.”

He winked at Cody. “See you, kid.”

Melissa held her breath. Doors slammed and the truck disappeared back the way it had come.

They were gone. Nothing bad had happened.

“Do you think they'll come back?” said Melissa shakily.

“No,” said Sharlene. She smiled at Melissa. “Why should they? There's nothing to come back for.”

More than anything, Melissa wanted to believe her mother. But she could feel the back of her neck prickle.

Nine

E
lfrida galloped through the green valley on her
black stallion Nightshadow, her long golden hair
blowing in the wind. The castle where she lived stood at
one end of the valley. It was called Dar Wynd and had
been owned by generations of her family for six hundred
years. She stopped her horse and admired the tall towers
that reached into the blue sky. Then she spurred Night-shadow
on. She had promised to take her little brother,
Tristan, for a ride this afternoon. He was four years old
and big enough to sit in front of her on the powerful stallion.
She smiled when she thought of her beloved brother
Tristan. He was a strong little boy with red cheeks, and
he laughed all the time.

Elfrida left Nightshadow with a groom. “Give him
some oats,” she said, “but do not unbridle him. Tristan
and I are going riding together.”

She clattered in her riding boots across the stone
floor of the entrance hall. Milly, one of the servants,
rushed past her with a basin of water. She had a frightened
look on her face. She had been crying.

“Milly, what is it?” demanded Elfrida. “Where are
you going with that water?”

“To Master Tristan's room,” said Milly.

“Why? What is wrong with Master Tristan?”

“He has taken poorly. Very poorly. Why, I have
never seen the likes of such a thing.”

Elfrida's heart pounded with fright. “What do you
mean?”

“Nurse was making him a hot drink. She left him
playing with his wooden blocks. When she came back,
he was lying on the floor crying as if he had a broken
heart. She called your mama at once.” Milly sniffed and
tears started to pour down her face again. “They have
put him to bed. There is something dreadfully wrong
with him.”

Elfrida ran up the stairs ahead of Milly. She raced
down the hallway to Tristan's room. She stood outside the
door, her heart beating fast. Then she went in the room.

Elfrida's mother, Amarantha, was sitting beside
Tristan's bed. She was wearing a long purple robe.
Her cheeks were white. “Hush,” she said. “I have only
just got him to go to sleep.”

Elfrida stood beside the bed, trembling, and
stared at her little brother. A gasp of shock burst out
of her. Instead of her brother's chubby pink face, she
saw thin, sunken white cheeks like the face of an old
man. His hair was like limp straw, and Elfrida was
surprised to see how long it looked. It almost touched
his shoulders.

Behind her the nurse whispered, “It is a sad day in
the house of Dar Wynd.”

Amarantha sent for the old lady, Dame Bridget, who
lived in the village and was known all over the land for
her great wisdom. She brought a bag of healing herbs.
She examined the sick boy and then shook her head.

“Was he crying when you found him?” she asked.

“Yes, he was,” said Nurse. “Louder than I have ever
heard him cry. Tristan is usually such a happy little boy.”

“Amarantha, this is not Tristan,” said Dame Bridget
sadly. “I have seen your little boy in the village and
I know him. I fear Dar Wynd has been visited by the
fairies. They have taken your healthy Tristan and left
you one of theirs to raise. This boy is a changeling. He is
not human. There is no doubt in my mind.”

“That cannot be!” shrieked Amarantha. “It is true
he looks different, but it is because of this strange illness
he has.”

Dame Bridget pulled back some of the limp hair and
revealed the boy's long pointed ears.

Everybody gasped.

A changeling!

Amarantha's wails of grief sent shivers up and down
Elfrida's spine. “I will find my brother Tristan,” Elfrida
vowed to herself. “I will bring him home.”

“That's as far as I want you to read,” said Alice. She was sitting cross-legged on the sleeping bag, her sharp eyes on Melissa. “I still need to work on the next part.”

Melissa put the papers down. “It's really good. It sounds just like a real book. I could never have thought of all that.”

Alice shrugged. “It's okay,” she said, but she looked pleased. She stood up. “I've decided you can help with the arrows.”

“What arrows?” said Melissa.

“For Elfrida's bow. Austin helped me make the bow but he's too busy to make arrows. He'd
like
to help but he can't. I've got all the sticks. They need to be peeled and then sharpened into a point. I've brought two knives.”

The tree house was cool and shady. Melissa leaned her back against the wall. She held a stick firmly in her hand and tried a few experimental scrapes with the edge of the knife. The bark held tight and she pressed the blade harder into the wood. A long strip peeled back, revealing the pale green wood hidden underneath.

Thin slices of bark drifted over her lap. Melissa felt herself relax as she listened to Alice describe in detail the movie she and Austin had watched the night before. It was based on a book called
The Lion, the Witch and
the Wardrobe,
and Alice said it had given her lots of ideas for her story. “I'd like to put a faun in my story, but I don't know if that would be copying.” She grunted as her knife skittered across her stick. “Austin made popcorn while we were watching the movie and we had a popcorn fight. It was so much fun.”

She examined her stick critically and then looked at Melissa's. “Yours looks better than mine. Mine's all ragged.”

Melissa flushed with pleasure. The secret was to ease the knife gently into the bark. Alice was going too fast but Melissa didn't want to tell her that. “Do you think the bow will work?” she said.

“It doesn't really matter,” said Alice. “It's for inspiration to help me write. I've decided that Elfrida's older brother, Warwick, has been giving her secret lessons in shooting a bow and arrow. They have to be secret because she's a girl. She's going to need weapons to battle the fairies.”