Alosha (13 page)

Paddy trembled visibly. Ali did not trust him, but it was clear he was being honest when he said his kind could not be locked up. There had been real terror in his face when she had grabbed him.

“Paddy is the only one here,” he said.

“The only leprechaun or the only elemental?” Ali asked.

“The only one I know of,” he said evasively.

“Okay.” She pointed toward the pawnshop door. “Go get their things back.”

He turned and opened the door. “If Paddy can, he will.”

“And I want the cash,” Ali called after him. When he was inside with Mr. Fields, she turned to the others. “Do you believe me now?”

“He could just be a midget,” Steve said cautiously.

“He's the weirdest looking midget I ever saw,” Cindy remarked.

“You guys are impossible,” Ali said. “But I don't care about that right now. I want to make a change in plans. I want to bring Paddy with us.”

“Are you crazy?” Steve asked.

“He'll steal us blind the first chance he gets!” Cindy said.

“I think I can keep him under control. He's already afraid of me. But think, he came out of the Yanti. He must know where it is, what it looks like, maybe even how it operates.”

“But you know it's at the top of the mountain,” Steve said. “The tree told you.”

“A reliable source,” Cindy muttered.

“It's not that,” Ali said. “He must know about the various elementals, and we're about to head into a forest filled with them. He might be able to give us information that could save our lives.”

“You've taken his gold,” Steve said. “You've threatened him with prison.

Why should he save your life? It's more likely that he'll lead the elementals to you.”

“I'm willing to take that chance,” Ali said. “I think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.”

“I love all these decisions you're making for us,” Cindy said. “And only yesterday you were my friend.”

The comment hurt Ali. Was there truth in it? It was their lives she was risking as well as her own. They should have a say in her plans.

“I'm sorry,” she said. “We can vote on it. I've given you my reasons for taking him. But if you think it's too dangerous, say so.”

“I think it's too dangerous,” Steve said.

Cindy considered. “He might be able to tell us stuff we don't know.”

“He might lie to us and mislead us,” Steve said.

Cindy smiled. “He's kind of cute, though.”

Steve groaned. “Now she has a crush on a leprechaun.”

“I don't have a crush on him! He's different is all.” Cindy paused. “I say bring him.”

“Brave choice,” Ali said.

Steve frowned. “What if he doesn't want to come?”

“I'll make him,” Ali said simply.

It turned out to be far from simple. Paddy returned with Steve and Cindy's things. He even forked over the cash he had picked from their pockets. Then he wanted his gold back—he demanded it. Perhaps he was not as afraid of her as she thought.

“It doesn't belong to you,” he said. “If you keep it you will be the thief, Missy, not Paddy.”

“I will return it to you after you do me a small favor,” Ali said.

He was suspicious. “A favor?”

“You are to come with my friends and me to the top of the mountain. You're to take us to the Yanti. Then you can have your gold back.”

Paddy's eyes bugged out of his head. He shook his head violently. “You
can't go up there! A nice girl like you, Missy! Lord Vak's coming soon—he brings many of his people! They'll slice you to pieces!”

Ali stopped. “Who's Lord Vak?”

“See! You know nothing of what you speak, Missy. You don't even know who Lord Vak is. No, Paddy will not go up there. You can keep me gold.”

His words shook Ali. Again, she thought to threaten him with prison. Yet Steve had made a good point. Threats were a lousy way to start a working relationship. Also, she remembered something Nemi had told her.

“Say I get to this Yanti in the next two days. When I close it, won't the elementals who are already here in our dimension be trapped?”

“No. They will shift back into their own dimension. The forest will be free of them . . . Unless you want some to stay.”

“You have been here only a few days, Paddy,” she said. “But already you've made a bag of gold for yourself. I imagine leprechauns are pretty industrious. In our dimension we would call you guys self-starters. But I think it'll be harder for you to make money here if there are thousands of leprechauns. The competition will be terrible. Do you see what I mean?”

His bushy eyebrows frowned. “Not sure, Missy.”

Ali knelt so she could talk to him face to face. “I'm going to close the Yanti with or without your help. But when I do I can choose which elementals will remain in this dimension. If you help me, I'll make sure you're the only leprechaun left on this side.”

Her proposal interested him. He put a hand to his chin. “What if you don't make it up there? What if Lord Vak catches Paddy helping you and cuts off me toes?”

“He won't catch me. I have powers.”

Paddy frowned. “Are you a fairy?”

“I'm a human being. But I fought three trolls yesterday and defeated them easily.”

He was thoughtful. “Paddy heard a bit about that. But Lord Vak is smarter than trolls, and more powerful. Will your powers work on him?”

“Yes,” Ali said.

“I don't know about . . .” Cindy began.

“Shh!” Ali snapped, before turning back to Paddy. “Think how much money you'll make as the only leprechaun in the United States? Why, you might end up with your own talk show.”

“Shows talk?”

“Never mind. You'll get rich no matter what you do.” She suddenly handed him his bag of gold. “Take this back as a sign of good faith.”

His face brightened. He weighed the gold in his hands, perhaps to see if she had stolen any while he was in the store. He nodded his huge head.

“Paddy will go with you,” he said. “But you must give your word that Paddy will be the only leprechaun left on this side when you close the Yanti.”

“Agreed. You must give me your word you will do all you can to help us reach the Yanti safely.”

“Agreed.” He reached in his pocket and drew forth a silver flask. “Let us drink to our bargain.”

Ali wrinkled her forehead at the flask. “What's in that?”

He took a gulp and sighed with pleasure. “Whiskey.” He offered her the flask. “Drink, and the deal will be sealed.”

“You have my drink for me.”

“ 'Tis not the custom of a leprechaun to drink for another.”

“I'm not a leprechaun. You can have my drink.”

He paused and gave her an unusual look. “Very well,” he said, having another gulp. Then he closed the top and put the flask back in his pocket. He held out his hand. “Paddy will be needing a few dollars for supplies.”

“We're buying the food,” Steve said. “We'll buy enough for all of us.”

He shook his head. “Paddy prefers to buy his own things. Be needing whiskey for me stomach and tobacco for me pipe.”

“The Surgeon General has warned that smoking is harmful to your health,” Cindy said. “And excess alcohol can lead to cirrhosis of the liver and a host of other medical problems.”

“Cindy,” Ali said patiently. “He's a leprechaun. Tobacco and alcohol are probably good for him.”

“ 'Tis true,” he said, his hand out. “Can't travel without drink and smoke. A few dollars please, don't be stingy.”

Ali nodded to Steve. “Give him forty. I'll pay you back after I go to the bank.”

“Sixty,” Paddy said quickly.

“Forty,” Ali replied firmly. “You're to meet us back here in one hour. If you're not here on time, our deal is off. I still don't trust you, Paddy. None of us do. You will have to earn that trust. Do you understand?”

He saw that she was serious. “Aye, Paddy hears you, Missy.”

Steve gave him the money and he walked off in the direction of the liquor store. Cindy nodded her approval. “You handled him well,” she said.

“I agree,” Steve said. “Except at the end. I think it was a mistake to let him out of our sight before we take off.”

“I did that on purpose,” Ali said. “If we can't trust him in town, we won't be able to trust him up on the mountain. But if he's back here when I told him to be here, then at least he has shown good faith.”

“How do we know what good faith is to a leprechaun?” Steve asked.

T
he rest of their preparations went well—except, in Ali's opinion, they took too long. At the market they shopped carefully. Ali insisted they stock up on nuts and granola, two light items that were easy to eat on the run. They also bought two loaves of bread, a pound of dried fruit, and several cans of tuna. Steve insisted they get a few giant Hershey bars, and Ali was not hard to convince. Quick energy, Steve called the candy. But Ali drew the line at potato chips, which annoyed Cindy.

“The bags are mostly air. They'll take up too much room in our packs.”

“I'm willing to carry them,” Cindy said.

“But then you wouldn't have room for more important items,” Ali said.

Cindy sighed. “I feel like I'm in the army.”

“We'll probably all lose some weight on this trip,” Steve said, already munching on a chocolate bar.

“I doubt it,” Ali and Cindy said at the same time.

Paddy was waiting for them outside the pawnshop when they walked up with their groceries. He had a couple of bags of his own. Ali insisted on looking inside. Four quart bottles of whiskey, three bags of tobacco, and two pounds of beef jerky. Ali thought his last item was a wise choice and told him so. She wished they had bought some.

“Aye, Missy,” he said. “You don't want to be doing any cooking in them woods. Lord Vak and his people can spot a fire miles away.”

“Can't we at least make coffee in the morning?” Steve asked.

Paddy slapped Steve on the leg. He seemed to be getting into the idea of going on an adventure with a bunch of humans. “Laddie, you don't need coffee when you have whiskey!” he said.

“But we don't drink,” Cindy said.

Paddy frowned. “You don't drink? You have to drink to live.”

“We're kids,” Ali explained. “In our dimension no one is supposed to drink alcohol until they're an adult. Even then it is considered a bad habit. All we drink is water and soda, mostly soda.”

Paddy was dumbfounded. “ 'Tis a strange land.”

“Tell us more about Lord Vak,” Steve said.

Paddy glanced around and lowered his voice. “Let us speak of him when we're sure we're alone,” he said.

Grocery bags in hand, they headed for Ali's house, with Ali pushing her bike. The weather was mixed—clouds came and went, as did the sun. She hoped it did not rain on them during the night. They did not have a tent. She wondered what Karl was up to, if he had completed his tasks.

Along the way Ali asked the leprechaun if he was comfortable in his black boots.

“Aye, Missy,” he said. “Paddy's worn them all me life.”

“They haven't worn out?” she asked.

He blinked; he did that when he was confused. “What does that mean?”

Ali wondered if anything ever wore out in the elemental kingdom.

“Nothing,” she said.

Ali stopped at her bank on the way home. She had three hundred and twenty dollars in her savings. She had earned the bulk of it baby-sitting. Withdrawing the lot, she gave half to Steve for the groceries. He was obviously embarrassed to accept the money but took it anyway.

Karl was not at Ali's house but he had left a message. He was still showing Barney Adams his paper route, but said he would be done by ten-thirty. He told her to be ready. He was not delaying them, Ali figured. They still had to arrange the food in their packs.

The backpack Steve had found for Ali was much larger than her daypack. When it was full, and on her back, she had a hard time walking. Steve adjusted the strap around her waist.

“How does it feel?” he asked.

“Heavy. I don't like it.”

“It feels heavy because it is heavy. Backpacks are that way, when they're full.” He added, “But I can take more of the food if you want.”

“No,” Ali said. “We each carry our fair share.”

“I am in the army,” Cindy groaned, struggling with her own backpack.

Karl appeared shortly afterward. He took one look at Paddy, doing his nails on the couch, and pulled Ali aside. To make matters worse Paddy had washed off his facial makeup. As green as a dollar bill, he gave Karl a lot to take in at once.

“Who's that?” he asked. “Or should I say,
what
is that?”

“That's Paddy. He's going with us.”