The Invitation (13 page)

“Good.”

Tim watched the old hag fly away. Once she was completely out of sight, he unsnarled his ankle and stood up. “You were bluffing, weren't you?” Tim asked Rose.

“What?” She looked puzzled.

“Like John Constantine in that nightclub. You were just bluffing. About knowing her name.”

“No, Tim. I wasn't bluffing.”

Tim got the distinct impression that not only wasn't Rose bluffing, she strongly disapproved of it as a tactic.

“When I was younger I learned certain matters,” Rose explained. “Among them were names. Names of gods, and mortals, and wild folks. Names of cities, and trees. Of eagles and serpents. I was not bluffing. I would have destroyed her.”

“Oh.” Tim felt funny inside. He felt honored that she would have used that power and knowledge to save him. But he hated that he had put her in a position where she'd have to. He didn't want to be some blundering kid who always needed bailing out.

They found the path again and walked along it in silence, as Yo-yo flew above them. The woods were full of sounds, but no words passed between Rose and Tim for some time. Each was deep in thought. Tim couldn't even begin to guess what was in Rose's mind. Probably wishing they'd
chosen some other kid to show magic to.

Then came an unmistakable sound: thundering hoofs. Coming toward them swiftly. A beautiful woman rode around the bend a few yards in front of them. A beautiful
green
woman. She reined in her enormous white horse and came to a stop.

“Who be ye? And what do ye on this path? Speak! Lest I change ye to scuttling mice and set your own owl upon ye!”

T
IM SIGHED. COULDN'T
he make a move without being threatened? Was everyone in Faerie out to get him? This place seemed even more dangerous than his own world, where all those magic practitioners wanted to kill him. That, at least, would be a simple fate. Here, who knew what could happen to him? Snout wanted to make him a servant for seventy years; the “heart's desire” seller wanted his fingers, or his eye color; Baba Yaga wanted to cook him. There were probably as many possible fates in this world as there were creatures who could think them up. Tim's hands balled up into fists and his whole body tensed. Not from fear, though. Not this time.

Rose laid a hand on his arm. She must have sensed his frustration. “My lady,” she addressed the green woman. “We are travelers. And we needs must walk this path wherever it will lead us.”

Needs must?
Tim squinted at Rose. She'd gone all medieval. He shrugged. That must be how they liked to speak here in Faerie. All fancy.

“Who rides the wind must go where their steed will take them,” the woman on the horse responded.

“Who treads the way of stars must walk in silence,” Rose replied.

Now Tim out and out stared. What the heck was going on? Were they speaking in code?

“I see,” the woman on the horse said. “We have met before, have we not?”

“Yes, lady,” answered Rose.

So they
were
speaking in code, Tim thought. It was like some magical password.

“The last time we met you wore a man's skin,” the lady on horseback said. “And you looked out at the world through male eyes.”

“Yes, lady.”

“Ah.”

They must have passed the test, Tim thought, and this lady seemed to approve of both versions of Rose, because she smiled. “Will you introduce me to your companion?” she asked.

“As you wish, lady. This lad is called Timothy Hunter. Timothy, this lady is Queen of this realm.”

Tim gaped at the green lady. Then, remembering his etiquette, he dropped to one knee
before the horse. “Pleased to meet you, um, your Majesty.” That's how one was supposed to address royals, wasn't it? He never imagined that he'd meet a queen by
leaving
Britain! Much less a beautiful
green
queen!

“You may call me Titania,” the lady said. She studied him for a moment. “I can see that you have undergone trials in my land, child.”

Does it show?
Tim wondered. He raked his fingers through his dark hair, trying to make it lie flat. He hoped he wasn't a filthy mess; after hanging upside down in Baba Yaga's hut and then landing facedown in the dirt, it was a definite possibility.

“Let me assure you,” Titania said, “it is not all hardship here. There are delights aplenty in this place.”

“Yes, your Majesty.” Tim nodded.

The lady smiled at him, and Tim felt shot through with warmth. Her eyes seemed to change color, and her green skin sparkled as if she wore glitter. He thought he had never seen a more beautiful woman in his life.

“You came here seeking me,” Titania said. Tim noticed her voice had a lilt to it, somewhere between singing and speaking.

“Did we?” Tim asked. “I thought we were just following the path.”

“This is my realm, and all paths in it are my paths.”

The horse snorted impatiently, and the woman patted it and murmured a few sharp words that Tim couldn't understand. The horse settled back down.

“What will you have him know, Rose Spiritus?” the Queen asked Rose.

“It has been given to me to show Tim the spheres beyond mortal ken,” Rose replied.

“And you have shown him Faerie?” The Queen seemed flattered. “Good. We will go to my palace.”

“Is it far?” Tim asked. He didn't want to sound rude, but he was tired of all this walking. His feet were sore, and he was bruised from tumbling over in Baba Yaga's hut. Being tied up and hung upside down waiting to be cooked really took it out of a bloke. He could use a nap.

“It is as close as the harvest moon in the evening sky,” the Queen said. “As distant as a dream on wakening. Near as a rainbow, and so remote you could walk forever and never reach it. Is it far? No, Timothy, it is not far.”

They were there. They were simply, astonishingly, there. Tim glanced up at Titania on her horse, surprised. How had she done it? How had it happened? To him, it seemed as if they had
never moved at all.

“Welcome to my home,” Titania said, gesturing to the shimmering castle in front of them.

Tim looked up at the high turrets, which glittered like icicles in sunlight. There was something familiar about everything he had seen in Faerie. Then he realized why. The architecture, the clothing, even some of the language—it all reminded him of the past. The past where Merlin the great magician had lived. The past he had studied in school. The time when there were kings and queens and courts and courtiers and damsels in distress. Only, the inhabitants here were an amazing mix ranging from the almost human to the completely unrecognizable.

A yellow groomsman with an upturned nose and tufts of purple hair on the tops of his purple ears appeared. He held out his hand and helped Titania dismount. Then he took the horse's reins and led it away.

“Shall I show you my grounds?” Titania asked, smiling. Now that she was standing beside him, Tim could see that she was tall and willowy—taller even than Rose. Her flowing burgundy gown skimmed the grass and gracefully floated around her slim frame with her movements. Her long, green hair hung down to the middle of her back, and with every step she took, little bells
jangled from the ribbons twined through her shining strands.

“Please,” Tim said. “That sounds like fun.”

Rose and Tim walked with Titania across the tiled portico in front of the castle. A low wall separated the front court from the main entryway, which had a mosaic walk leading to the castle door. A brilliant blue pool on either side reflected the cloudless sky. Yo-yo darted about, first flying ahead, then over to the pools by the castle, then circling above them.

Rounding the castle, they passed formal gardens, surrounded by ornate gates, and then the grounds opened up into lush meadows. Up ahead, Tim saw a group on horseback, and what seemed to be a picnic under enormous leafy trees.

“Ah,” Titania said. “My husband has not yet left. You should meet him.”

Tim gulped. Titania's husband? If she was a queen, that meant her husband was…He was about to meet a king! He hoped he wouldn't say anything wrong. Or dumb.

Titania, Rose, and Tim reached the picnickers by the trees. It was a group of creatures Titania called sprites and flitlings. From what Tim could tell, flitlings were the tiny beings that he thought of as fairy-book fairies—they were pretty little things with wings. The sprites looked almost like regular
people, if people were always pretty and handsome and came in all the colors of the rainbow.

One of the sprites had a lute and was entertaining the others. He stopped singing as Titania approached, and several of the flitlings giggled. They looked just the way Tim and Molly did when they were about to be caught drawing terrible caricatures of their teachers. Tim's eyes flicked to Titania. He had the feeling the sprite had been making up rude songs about her.

Titania acted as if she hadn't noticed a thing. “Beautiful day,” she greeted the group.

“Yes, Majesty,” the singer said. Several of the group quickly stood and bowed.

Titania waved a hand. “No need,” she said. “Be as you were. I am here just a moment.”

Titania stepped away from the group and watched the figures on horseback. She seemed to be waiting for them to notice her.

Tim watched, fascinated, as the elegant and stately queen began acting like a teenage girl being ignored at a dance. She fiddled with her hair. She rolled her eyes and tapped her foot. She rearranged the folds of her dress several times. She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted.

Finally, a man on a large white horse trotted over. Tim couldn't help staring. Not only was the man blue, but he had what looked like curved
ram's horns on his head.

“Well met, Titania,” the man greeted her, pulling his horse to a stop.

“Husband,” she replied, sounding bored and unconcerned.

Tim smiled.
What an act
.

The blue man noticed Rose and Tim. “I see you have guests.”

“Ah, yes. Rose Spiritus, Timothy Hunter, this is my husband, King Auberon.”

“Your Majesty,” Rose said, bowing her head.

Tim took the cue from Rose; falling to bended knee wasn't required. “Pleased to meet you, sire,” Tim said, dipping his chin to his chest.

“Will you join us for some further conversation by the back pool?” Titania asked.

“I am off to the hunt,” Auberon said.

“Again?” Titania said.

Auberon's jaw tightened. “I find pleasure with my friends,” he said. “They treat me with warmth and respect.”

“And I do not?” Titania demanded.

Uh-oh. It sounded like a domestic squabble to Tim. He noticed that the sprites and flitlings kept their distance.

“You were invited,” Auberon said.

“Because you knew I would not join you,” Titania countered.

“If it amuses you to entertain these guests, go right ahead. I have other plans.” With that, Auberon turned his horse and rejoined his friends. They trotted away, toward the woods, hounds barking at their heels.

Titania's eyes narrowed as she watched them. Then she spun around. “We will return to the castle. Now.”

Fighting with her husband sure makes her pick up speed
, Tim observed, struggling to keep up with the vexed Queen of Faerie. Rose's legs were longer than Tim's, so she was better able to keep up the pace. By the time they reached the large tiled patio behind the castle, Tim was breathing hard.

“Please, make yourself comfortable,” Titania instructed. Tim lowered himself to a nearby sofa awkwardly, wishing he had something to say. Looking up, he spotted a bird flying far overhead.

“Look!” he said, pointing to the bird. “That's my owl, Yo-yo. I'd wondered where he'd gone to!”

“That is no bird of yours,” Titania corrected him sharply.

Tim, Rose, and Titania watched the bird as it swooped toward them. Titania was right; that bird wasn't Yo-yo. It was much larger, much more powerful.

“A handsome falcon,” Rose commented.

“Yes,” Titania replied, a smile slowly spreading across her face. “Yes, he is that.”

The falcon was now circling just above them. Titania's expression changed. She looked up at the bird. “Not now,” she snapped.

Instantly, the falcon flew off.
If she used that tone on me
, Tim thought,
I would be off as well
. He snuck a peek at Titania.
She may be beautiful, but she sure is moody
.

The Queen had settled onto a couch, arranging her dress prettily around her. She ran her fingers through her hair, setting the little bells chiming. She smiled at Tim; a full and radiant smile.

“You have been seeing worlds, child,” Titania said. “You know, there are many realms accessible from your world, as well as mine.”

“Really?” Tim asked. “How many?”

“An infinite number. Waiting to be opened.” She held out her hand. A thick old-fashioned-looking key glittered between her fingers. “Here is the key. Use it how you will. A gift from me to you.”

She threw the key at Tim, who caught it easily.

“No!” Rose gasped.

“D
ID I DO SOMETHING
wrong?” Tim asked Rose. The key felt warm and heavy in his hand. It felt right—as if it belonged there. So why was Rose so upset? “Did I do something wrong?” he repeated.

Rose had shut her eyes and held her hands to her face.

“No,” Titania answered for Rose. “No, you did nothing wrong.”

She is so beautiful
, Tim thought, looking at the Queen.
How can someone green be so pretty?

Titania crossed to a small table and rang a little bell. Instantly, a servant stepped into the room.

“Hamnett, two strawberry cordials,” Titania ordered. “One for me and one for my guest, Timothy.”

“Oh, none for me,” Tim said hastily.

Titania smiled. “Ah, so you do know the rules
of Faerie. Well then, just one. For me.”

The servant slipped away, and Titania kept her large, ever-changing eyes on Tim. “You are interested in other realms?” she asked.

Tim shrugged. “Sure, they're pretty cool.” He liked how nonchalant he sounded. Kind of like John Constantine.

“You can access an infinite number from Faerie,” Titania told him.

“Really?” Tim asked. “Do you go through a little fence in the middle of a field?”

“No, child. You go through a door. By using a key.” Titania nodded at the key Tim held in his hand. “Come.”

She stood and led Tim and Rose behind the castle, to a row of gigantic doors that seemed to stretch to the horizon. Between the doors were more of the low sofas that were scattered around the patio. Titania settled herself on one of them. Rose remained standing.

“Those all lead to worlds?” Tim asked, his voice dropped to a whisper.

“Yes, for one who can open them.”

Tim whirled around to look at Rose. She gave a small nod, and he stepped forward, drawn to a glowing golden door. He inserted the key into the lock. The door swung open.

Tim stood on the threshold of the new world.
He stared into a dark place, primeval, hot and humid. He detected bird caws and growls of creatures he could not identify. He heard Rose's voice behind him.

“This is Skartaris,” she informed him. “In this world, time deforms and twists upon itself. Dinosaurs roam the earth, while planes fly overhead.”

Weird
. Tim stepped back and shut the door. He approached the next one. “Does this key fit all of them?” he asked.

“If you have the power to open them,” Titania answered.

Do I?
Tim wondered. He slid the key into the next lock. It turned. He suddenly knew—though he didn't know how he knew it—that he would be able to open the entire row of doors. And the doors to additional worlds inside them. He had that kind of power. He withdrew the key again and stared at it.

“It is time for us to leave,” Rose said, laying a hand on Tim's shoulder.

Tim's head whipped around and he stared at her. “So soon?” He wanted to explore more worlds, check out what the palace was like, how the Queen of Faerie lived, what else there was to see in Faerie.

Titania looked pleased. She stretched out on
the low velvet couch. Now she reminded Tim of a cat, pausing before pouncing. And hadn't she threatened to turn him into a mouse when they met? He felt strangely nervous.

“Tim has far to go before his journey's end,” said Rose. “We thank you for your hospitality, but we must return to our own world.”

“Really?” Titania sat back up on the sofa. “Tim was told the rules of Faerie, wasn't he?”

Tim's gaze went back and forth between the two women; one a queen of an alternate world of fairy creatures, the other a woman who was also a man. They both seemed very powerful, strong. And on opposite sides of an argument he didn't quite understand.

Titania pointed at Tim. “There. In his hand. A gift from Faerie. He took it, did he not?”

She stood and strolled toward Tim, definitely in high cat mode. “Timothy, boy,” she crooned, her hand gently stroking his face. “Will you stay with me? You will be my page and servant, here in the lands of summer's twilight, where there is no age or death.” She lifted his chin so he could gaze directly into her eyes. They seemed to change color as he looked at them. Her touch was like a butterfly's, there and not there. Her voice was like the incense in Madame Xanadu's dark apartment, swirling
around him, insinuating itself into him. Was that just a day ago? Or was it more? It would be nice to stay in one place for a while, he thought.

“You have not seen a fraction of the marvels of this world, Tim. You have not tasted our fruit, nor drunk our wine, nor danced to your soul's delight in our revelries.”

Was she wearing perfume? Tim hadn't noticed before, but now he got the distinct impression of an intoxicating scent coming from her—flowers and spring breezes.

Her fingers left his chin and trailed down his arm. She held his hand lightly. “Stay. Be my page. I can teach you much.”

What happened to all the birds?
Tim wondered. Just a few minutes ago the air was filled with the sounds of birds, and insects chirping, and sprites giggling, and all manner of fairies singing. Now he felt he stood in a vacuum of silence. What had she asked him? Oh, yes. She wanted him to stay here and be her “page.”
That's another word for a servant, isn't it?

Tim coughed. Her perfume now seemed a little too strong. Maybe he was allergic; all he knew was, it was overly sweet, cloying.

“Thank you for your kind offer, your Majesty,” he said as politely as he could. “But I want to go home. I don't want to stay here forever.” Molly
would never forgive him if he vanished without saying good-bye.
She'd miss me
, he thought.
And I would miss her
.

Queen Titania dropped his hand. He was relieved to see she didn't look angry or even disappointed. She took a step back.

“I am not offering a choice, Timothy,” she said simply. “You took a gift from me. A silver key. A key that opens worlds.”

Tim glanced down at the key in his hand, the truth coming at him hard.
She tricked me. I didn't accept it, she just threw it at me
. He dropped the key to the ground.

Titania's expression never changed. “You in your turn now owe a gift to me. Of equal value and worth. Otherwise I will be forced to keep you here.”

“I want to go home,” Tim insisted. “My dad needs me. And Molly. I mean, I'm nothing special. I want to go home.”

“It's too late,” Titania said. “Stay here because you choose it, or stay here against your will. Or give me a gift as precious as the key that opens worlds.”

“Why would you give me something so valuable?” Tim demanded.

Titania didn't answer, just waited for his response.

“I apologize for this, Timothy,” Rose said. She
stepped up behind Tim and placed her hands on his shoulders. “I wish you had heeded my warning. But do not despair.”

Tim sighed with relief. Of course, Rose would get him out of this.

“I will return with the other three,” she promised. “We will free you somehow, even if we have to raze half of Faerie to do so.”

Tim glanced at Titania. She didn't seem to register the threat. He craned his neck and looked up at Rose, as he understood what this meant. “You mean, you aren't going to stop her?”

“I cannot,” Rose said. “But you are our responsibility and we will do what we can.”

“But—”

“Rules are rules, here as much as anywhere else,” Rose said. “You have her gift in your possession.”

Tim bent down and snatched the key from the ground. He held it out to Titania. “Here. I don't want it anyway.”

Titania shook her head, the bells in her hair jangling. “Once given, a gift cannot be taken back.”

“I'm not staying here!” Tim shouted. “This is ridiculous. I'm human! I don't belong here!”

“Then what will you give me in exchange?” Titania asked. “You see, I'm reasonable. If you have something to trade, I will accept it.”

Tim racked his brain but knew he'd come up empty. “I don't have anything special. Even the thing I got at the market was just normal. That Glory bloke said so.”

“What did you get at the market?” Titania asked.

“An ordinary egg,” Tim replied, fishing it out of his pocket. He was surprised that it hadn't broken in all of his adventures. It was sturdier than it looked. “That's what he called it.”

The egg glowed in his hand. Sparks swirled inside like the tiny constellations he had seen with the Stranger.

“A Mundane Egg!” Titania gasped.

Tim glanced up. “That's what I meant. Normal. Boring. Mundane. I got good grades on my synonyms. I knew it was one of those words.”

“No, Timothy,” Rose corrected softly. “It isn't one of those words at all. Not in this context.”

“Why?” Tim asked. “What's so special about it?”

“Inside this egg is a part of creation as yet unborn,” Rose explained. “One day the egg will hatch, and from it a whole world will emerge. Every world is hatched from a Mundane Egg. And they are valuable. Almost beyond measure.”

Tim stared down at the egg in his hand. He
held something that contained entire universes?

“Your Majesty,” Rose addressed Titania. “I ask that you do us the honor of accepting Timothy's gift.”

Tim held out the egg to Titania. “Please?”

“I have no choice. Rules are rules.” The Queen carefully lifted the egg from Tim's hand. “Strange. I had thought the last Mundane Egg hatched long since.”

“So you'll take it?” Tim asked.

“Very well,” Titania said, her eyes never leaving the egg. “You may go—both of you.”

Rose took Tim's arm and they left the palace. Outside, they found the path and continued on, Yo-yo circling above them again.

Titania watched them as they disappeared into the grove. The falcon reappeared overhead. It swooped down to land on the railing near Titania. In seconds the powerful bird transformed into a man. His long straight hair was a little lighter than Tim's, his face sculpted and lean.

Titania turned to him. “You were right about the boy, Tamlin,” Titania said thoughtfully. “He is special. He is to be watched.”

 

Tim woke up in a field, grass tickling his face.

“Wha—What?” He sat up and looked around. He lay beside the gate through which they entered
Faerie. Rose was standing over him, transformed back into Dr. Occult, trench coat, hat, and all.

“We're back,” Tim said.

“That's right.”

Tim gave Dr. Occult a suspicious look. “We're not somewhere funny, are we? Alternative universe or something?”

Dr. Occult looked tired. “No, it's over. This part of the journey, anyway.”

Tim glanced down at his hand. He was still holding the key. “What do I do with this?” he asked.

“It's yours,” Dr. Occult said. “It was a fair trade, after all. Keep it. Perhaps you'll find a door that key will fit.”

Tim stood and stretched. Yo-yo sat perched on the gate post, watching him. “Shall we?” Tim said to the bird. Yo-yo flew to his shoulder. They crossed the stream and Tim found the spot where he'd buried his coins and his house keys. After retrieving them, they headed toward the horizon, where the sun was rising.

“Well, that's over,” Tim said with a yawn.

“This part of your travels, yes.”

“Only one more journey to go, then,” Tim said. “Only one more guide. The blind guy—Mister E.”

“That's right.”

“So where now?” Tim asked.

“Tomorrow.”

“That's when we leave?”

“No, Timothy,” Dr. Occult replied. “That's not
when
you're going. It's
where
you're going.”