The Secret of the Dread Forest: The Faire Folk Trilogy (7 page)

Keelie jumped behind the cart, her heart thumping hard against her rib cage as her brain tried to reason out what she’d just seen. Watching Jake materialize out of thin air had to be right at the top of the list of the weird things she’d seen in the past several months. Keelie didn’t know whether to run or stay. She took a deep breath of the soothing scent of the surrounding evergreens, trying to calm herself. Something warm and furry rubbed against her ankle. She glanced down, saw Knot, and relaxed a fraction, feeling safer.

Mist swirled around Jake’s feet. It was as if he had a
fog machine hidden in his ragged boots. Fat water droplets dripped from the trees, making little puddles on the ground. She stared up at him. His eyes were bright green like an elf’s, but the veins in his eyes bulged bright red, blood red. His skin was as white as the snow atop the highest Cascade mountain peaks.

The mist twirled around him like a vapory snake, and its tendrils reached out for her. Keelie stepped back. Behind her, a loud stick snapped. A jolt of panic filled her and she almost tripped, hitting the cart heavily.

“Don’t knock me over,” Alora said in a frightened voice.

Keelie’s palms were sweaty. Little beads of condensation had formed on Alora’s leaves. Keelie closed her eyes and connected to the forest’s magic, trying to find an answer from the trees. But there was no answer. She envisioned the green around her, and a wave of energy flowed from her to Alora. The clay flower pot glowed with a golden light. It wasn’t hot, but bright. Uh-oh! Keelie sensed that the amulet was reacting to her tree magic. She could only hope there wasn’t going to be any big problems because she did. The comforting scent of loamy soil filled the air, which glittered with gold and silver flecks.

Keelie could see the
bhata
all around them, and out of the corner of her eye she saw the water sprite’s huge eyes peering at them from the stream bank.

“Keelie, don’t be afraid.” Jake said. His voice sounded as if he were faraway or not altogether there, as if bits and
pieces of him were still forming. The mist encircled him, and sparkles like silver glitter revolved around him. Jake closed his eyes, and when the sparkles disappeared, he looked like a normal boy, like he did the first time she saw him sleeping in the woods.

“I think we’re both more than mere humans. So who’s going to explain first?” Keelie asked.

Silence.

Knot sat down on Keelie’s foot, a heavy lump of fur. The cat’s purring filled the silent forest, accompanied by an occasional plip-plop from the water dripping from the trees.

“Gentlemen usually go first.” Keelie prompted.

“Who said I was a gentleman?”

“Well, what are you?”

“What are
you?
”

Keelie sighed. “We could play this game all day, but if we’re going to get anywhere, somebody has to ‘fess up first.”

Alora’s face pushed out from the bark on her trunk and she piped up. “I’ll start. I’m Princess Alora, the Princess of the Great Oak of the Wildewood.”

Jake bowed elegantly. “It is the greatest honor and pleasure to meet you, Princess Alora.”

Shocked, Keelie looked at the little treeling, then at Jake. Only tree shepherds could hear trees talk, even when they spoke aloud.

Alora lifted her little branches to her face and giggled, her twinkles glistening even in the dark shade of the trees.
Keelie noticed that Alora’s face seemed more human—her nose more pronounced, her eyes more expressive, and her mouth rounder with human-like lips.

She looked from Alora to Jake. “You can truly see her? And hear her?”

Jake nodded and shoved his hands into his pockets. He seemed like an ordinary teenager—just one who talked to trees, like she did. She glanced at his ears again, wondering if they’d suddenly turned pointy, but his head was blurry in spots. She rubbed her eyes and turned to Alora. When they got back home, she was going to scold the treeling for revealing herself to someone she didn’t know. Time for the stranger-danger talk.

Alora leaned back and lifted a leafy branch as if she was about to share a secret with her best friend. She whispered, “He’s nice. Don’t worry—we can trust him.”

Jake grinned.

Keelie didn’t grin back. She studied him. He was still pale, and his curly hair was wild. The blur was still there. Tree magic wasn’t helping, so she touched the rose quartz at her belt and reached for the Earth magic it could summon. The blur vanished, revealing pointed ear tips. “You’re an elf.”

He frowned. “Not so much, anymore.” He looked at Keelie, and then down at Knot. “Once a long time ago, but…”

“But—what?” Keelie encouraged him to continue. She
wanted to know what happened to him, and if maybe they were related.

Knot meowed. Jake kneeled to pet the cat on the head. To Keelie’s surprise, Knot didn’t hiss or swat at him, but purred. He was still sitting on her foot, which felt like it was going to sleep.

Jake nodded. “If you think it’s best.”

Knot meowed. So, apparently, the cat could talk to Jake but not to Keelie. Not like she wanted to speak meow anyway. Maybe she should kick him off her foot, but she liked having him there.

Still camping out on her foot, Knot placed his paw on Jake’s hand. Jake stood. “I will tell you my story, Keliel Katharine Heartwood.”

She gasped. “How do you know my full name?” Unfair, he knew about her, but she didn’t have a clue as to his real identity or to what he was. She looked down at the cat. “You told him.”

“I’ve been watching you as you run through the forest chasing the hawk. I heard the elves talking about Zeke Heartwood’s Round Ear child.”

Even though she didn’t show it, a sharp pain stung Keelie in her chest. Despite everything she’d done for the elves, they still called her Round Ear. Although she promised Dad she’d tried to fit in with them, she didn’t know if they’d ever accept her as one of their own. She straightened, mentally preparing herself for any more insults Jake might have heard the elves say about her.

“What are you?” Keelie asked. If Jake was half-human, she hoped her fate wouldn’t be to turn into mist and lose her great tan, because she was more determined than ever to hang onto humanity.

Jake spread his arms and stood before them, like a storyteller at a theme park. Alora leaned forward as if she was about to hear a really good tale.

“I was once an elf,” Jake began, “but I was born with wanderlust. I had to see the world, and I traveled. When I returned home, I discovered that logging companies were going to build a railroad through the Dread Forest. The elves were sick and the Dread was receding. A wizard who’d discovered the secret of the Dread made a deal with a railroad baron, to remove the Dread so that humans could enter.”

“No way,” Alora shouted. She put her branches to her mouth.

Jake nodded. “The wizard said he could find a way into the forest and make it so the workers wouldn’t be afraid. They wanted to bring iron in. It would’ve killed the fairies, and the forest would have died, too. The trees would’ve been poisoned by the coal. My people, tied to the forest, would be lost and forlorn on Earth. We’d traveled from Europe, and found our home here. Where else could we go? To join our kin in Canada? Each elf becomes attuned to a place where his soul lives in harmony with the forest. This was our forest.”

Keelie nodded. Dad had told her so. Alora leaned closer to her, and the treeling’s branches scratched her face.

“Do you mind?”

“Oops, sorry.” Alora sounded a lot like Laurie.

“There seemed little choice,” Jake continued. “I had to stop it.”

Keelie couldn’t imagine a railroad through this forest. She shivered with fear for the trees.

“I had knowledge of our lore, and I knew that during the Middle Ages, an elven alchemist had tapped into the fairies’ dark magic to stop an army from taking over our lands. It stopped the army, but the alchemist was transformed by his use of the forces of darkness.”

Keelie looked at Jake. “Transformed, how?” She bet he’d turned into a Red Cap; nothing could be darker than that little minion.

“He turned into a vampire. A creature of the night—a creature twisted by dark magic despite his willing sacrifice to save his people.”

Keelie flinched. “Vampire?”

Jake was by her side in a blink. He placed a cold hand on her shoulder. “You’re so warm.”

She looked up at him, and he held her gaze, his eyes bright green, but rimmed in red. A zing went through Keelie. Alarmed, she mistrusted the warm feeling she got from his gaze. Something about him touched her heart and made her feel all bright inside, but his words had been frightening. Dark magic. She shrugged his hand off and
backed away until she felt the reassuring roughness of bark from the oak behind her.

“You’re the one who saved the Dread Forest from the railroad all those years ago.”

Bingo.

“You used dark magic, and now you’re a vampire, just like the alchemist.”

“Yes. And I was banished by the elves because of it.”

Keelie’s chest ached as she thought of him, homeless and wandering, far from the forest to which he was still tied.

Jake turned away and gazed down at Alora. “Let me carry her for you.” He reached for the flower pot. Keelie stepped between him and the cart, not trusting his intentions. Maybe he would be drawn to the dark magic of the amulet hidden between Alora’s roots.

“You can trust him.” Alora’s little voice was confident.

Jake bowed his head. “Princess Alora of the Wildewood Forest is safe with me.”

Alora might be safe, but Keelie wasn’t safe from a sudden awareness that she liked Jake, even though he was cursed. He had saved the forest from the railroads, so he knew how to work dark magic. Keelie thought about the design on grandmother’s book and wondered if there could be a cure for Ariel’s curse in there—if she was willing to use the amulet. Maybe Jake could show her how. Such a tiny amount of dark magic wouldn’t have the same dark consequences.

Jake’s eyes darkened. “Remember always, Keelie, even
though we think we’re justified in using dark magic, there is a price to be paid for such knowledge and actions.”

Had he read her mind? He was watching her like a predator watches its prey.

“If you saved the Dread,” Keelie managed to ask, “why did the elves treat you so badly? Surely they understood your sacrifice?” There were parallels to their stories, and she shivered thinking of her own brush with dark magic.

“For the safety of the other elves and the forest.” Jake stayed close to her. “Cold? Or are you afraid of me now?”

Keelie thrust her chin up. “No. If Knot trusts you and Alora trusts you, then I’ll have to trust you.” She was taking a risk trusting the opinions of a trickster cat and a newborn sapling.

“You’re a rare being among the elven, the humans, and even among the fae, Keelie Heartwood. Most people would be afraid of me.”

“I think it’s because I’ve seen dwarves, elves, and water sprites. However, if you ever wear a red hat, then I’m going to run from you.”

Jake smiled. “I’ll pull Alora’s cart for you until we’re almost at the village.”

In a way, it was like a guy offering to carry her books, except in Keelie’s case, it was her tree.

She couldn’t say no, even though she suspected that he’d feel the amulet’s presence. She surreptitiously unclipped the rose quartz from her pants loop and leaned
over to tuck it into the soil, whispering the shielding spell Sir Davey had taught her.

Above her, Alora giggled. “That tickles.”

Keelie straightened, and the second her finger lost contact with the Earth magic-shielded soil, the Dread slammed into her. She forced herself to straighten, knowing that the urge to run screaming was just an illusion.

They walked slowly, and Jake chatted about elves while Keelie concentrated on acting normally. The faint sound of village life grew louder. Music, talk, the clanging of the blacksmith’s hammer—all meant that soon she’d stop feeling so awful.

A tiny, sane part of her mind thought that they were acting like friends, until Jake asked about Elia.

“She’s Elianard’s daughter, and we’ve had some runins,” Keelie said through gritted teeth. “He’s my elven lore teacher.” She made air quotes around “elven lore.” “You shouldn’t trust Elia. She seems nice now, but she’s done some awful stuff.”

“She’s not so bad. I see the beauty in her heart.” Jake looked a little moonstruck. “I can see that she loves her father very much. She’s loyal.”

Keelie snorted.

Jake stopped walking, and as soon as he released the cart handles Keelie felt in Alora’s dirt for her rose quartz.

“What are you doing?”

“Getting my house key.” Her fingers closed around the smooth stone and she almost sobbed with relief. An empty
pillowy feeling in her head took the place of the squeezing fear.

Keelie turned to Jake. “I think Elia saw you, but she said she’d give you a few more days before she tells the other elves. So you’ve got to go somewhere else, or we’ve got to figure out a way to convince the elves to let you stay in the forest.”

Jake shook his head and stepped back. “They’ll never reverse the banishment. And things will go badly for you if you tell others about me.”

“Is that a threat?”

“It’s the truth.”

“I’ll speak for you,” Alora said. The treeling seemed a lot taller, and now she was making dreamy tree eyes at Jake. He didn’t notice, but Keelie wasn’t surprised. It was a guy thing.

“I wish it would make a difference.” Jake looked at his feet.

Dad’s voice echoed from the trees. “Keelie?” He did not sound happy.

She sighed. “That’s my dad. When will I see you again?” When she turned around, Jake was gone.

“Keelie, where have you been?” Dad asked.

“I’ve been—”

Alora cleared her throat. “She took me out for a ride.”

“Yeah, she wanted some fresh air.” Keelie wondered why the treeling was covering for her after having whined so much. Maybe it was because she and Jake seemed to have some kind of flirty connection. “I hope it’s okay that I took the cart.”

Dad arched an eyebrow. “You walked the tree?” He studied Alora as if seeing her for the first time in a long
while. “You’ve grown a lot since this morning.” He bent to examine her leaves.

Keelie hoped he didn’t sense the presence of the amulet. She’d picked a lousy hiding place.

The tree preened, shifting her weight forward in the flowerpot and making the cart roll forward. “It’s the air here. It’s done wonders for me.”

“What about me?” Keelie asked.

“Oh yeah, you.” Alora twirled her trunk around so she faced Dad. “Keelie’s helped, too, even though she’s complained a lot.”

Keelie narrowed her eyes. “Next time there’s a thunderstorm I’m going to put you outside.”

Alora placed her branches on where her hips would be, if she had hips. “You wouldn’t dare. I’ll tell the aunties.”

“Time for dinner. We’re dining with your grandmother,” Dad said. “Would you join us Alora?”

“What do trees eat? Leafy green salad?” Keelie had been looking forward to ditching Alora for a little while, and she also had to find a new hiding place for the amulet before some internal elven-magic detector went off to alert them.

“I don’t have to eat anything. And it would be a nice change to enjoy some civil conversation,” Alora replied. She crossed her branches over the place her chest would be if she had one. She turned her face away from Keelie and sighed.

“Fine, don’t look at me. No big loss.”

Dad leaned forward as if to take the big pot. “Can I carry the princess for you, Keelie?”

She was about to say “you sure can,” but a cold tingle shot through her fingers. The amulet.

“I have it, Dad. I don’t want the princess thinking she can charm her way through life.”

Surprised, Dad cleared his throat. He’d used his elven charm on a certain city council woman back in the Wildewood. “Let’s not keep your grandmother waiting.”

At dinner, Dad sat at one end of a long dining table (oak from Sherwood Forest), which looked like it came from a castle’s great hall. Grandmother sat at the other end. Keelie was across from Alora, who played with her twinkles. Everyone ate in uncomfortable silence. Yep, they knew how to have a rip-roaring good time here in the Dread Forest. Keelie figured medieval monks vowed to silence would’ve been a jollier bunch than these somber elves.

Keelie thought about Jake. It wasn’t fair that he had to live as a vampire because he’d used dark magic to save the Dread. There had to be a cure for him. Elianard had tried to drain Einhorn’s magic but the elves hadn’t ostracized Elianard, unless Dad just hadn’t told her that he’d been punished somehow.

And if she could find a way to save the Dread, maybe the elves would finally accept her. Maybe even her Grandmother would approve of her, and Dad and she could be a happy family without all the tension.

“How did your lesson go with Niriel?” Grandmother asked.

“Fine.” Keelie answered. She didn’t want to talk about Niriel and the sword fighting. She did want to know more about the time the Dread disappeared.

Dad ate his food and gazed out the window behind Alora. Grandmother delicately cut her tomatoes with a silver knife etched with scrolling leaves and vines.

“Were you both here when the wizard put a spell on the forest and made the Dread disappear, back when the railroad tried to come through?”

Grandmother dropped her knife, and it made a loud clank on her plate.

Dad lowered his fork. “How did you know about that?”

Keelie had to think fast. “Elia and I were talking.”

“Why were you talking to her?” Dad stared at her as if she’d started speaking French.

Grandmother hummed with approval. “I think it’s wonderful Keelie has made friends with Elia; she’ll be a good influence on Keelie.”

“I’m not so sure about that, Mother. Be careful around her, Keelie. What did you two talk about?” Dad asked,

“Sean.”

A surprised look crossed Grandmother’s face.

“Oh.” Dad looked puzzled.

Keelie decided to drop her question. Dinner continued in uncomfortable silence.

Knot sauntered into the room with his tail held high,
strutted past Dad, and sashayed over to where Grandmother was sitting. Loud purring emanated from underneath the table.

Grandmother’s back stiffened. “Zeke, your beast is rubbing his head against my leg.”

The purring became louder.

Keelie bit down on her lip so she wouldn’t smile. Or laugh.

“Mother, he likes you.”

The purring became even louder.

“Zeke!” Grandmother backed up in her chair, looking ready to jump backward.

Waves of purring vibrated the table.

“Knot. Stop it.” Dad said in a firm, I mean it tone. Keelie had been on the receiving end of that, many times.

Alora’s eyes widened.

Knot exited from underneath the table. His orange fur puffed out like a manic hairball. Keelie knew if she were to pet him she’d receive a static electricity charge. His eyes were totally dilated, black rimmed in green. Okay, something was weird about this.

“Zeke, don’t you have something to say to Keelie about a certain situation?” Grandmother suggested.

“Mother, I don’t want to discuss it now. Let me choose the time.”

“Zekeliel. Now is the perfect time. I can’t take another minute of his meddling, and if he’s not around, then they won’t know what is going on. It’s time you were able to
raise your daughter as an elf and not a human.” Grandmother motioned with her hand. “And a whatever.”

Keelie wanted to know who was meddling with what. Why didn’t Grandmother want to keep this secret? She wondered if Grandmother and Dad might know something about Jake. Had Jake told her everything?

Keelie looked from Dad to Grandmother and back to Dad. A thick wall of tension formed between them as they glared at one another.

“I’m tired, Zeke, and you promised me you’d talk to Keelie about this. And now she’s asking about the railroad—what if she discovers …”

Hating that they were speaking about her as if she weren’t at the table with them, Keelie was about to shout when Alora shook her head. Keelie stared at the treeling. Frost had formed on the flowerpot, and the treeling was growing right now—at that moment—right there at the table in front of Grandmother and Dad. Dirt crumbled around the base of her trunk as she widened and rose. If they discovered the amulet, it was going to be bad news for Keelie. Fortunately, Grandmother and Dad were having a stare down.

“Fine. Have it your way, Mother.” Dad sounded frustrated, and worry lines formed around his mouth like he’d swallowed something distasteful. He templed his fingers and leaned his forehead against his hands as if he was gathering his thoughts before he spoke. He lifted his face toward her. “Keelie.”

“Yes?” She kept her gaze focused on him. She suddenly felt sorry for Dad—he seemed so serious. He’d had a lot of responsibility dumped on him since he’d arrived. She missed him. It was like there were two different versions: Faire Dad and Dread Dad. She’d take the Faire Dad any day of the week. He smiled at her, and then for a brief moment, he was back. But then like a shimmering mirage in the desert, the friendly, relaxed Dad dissipated and the serious elven father replaced him.

“Keelie, your grandmother—” Dad glanced over at Grandmother Keliatiel as if confirming this was something she wanted to do.

She nodded. “You agreed, too, after all the trouble he’s gotten Keelie into.”

“Keelie, your grandmother and I have been discussing Knot. We don’t think he should be your guardian anymore.”

“What?” Shock riveted through her and her chin felt like it had dropped to the floor.

“You heard your father. We don’t think this…” she pointed at Knot “… creature should be your guardian.”

“I can’t believe you said that,” Keelie said.

“You heard me.”

“Yes, I heard you, but I’m not believing what I’m hearing.” Keelie’s shock ebbed into surprise.

Knot’s eyes narrowed into slits and his tail swished like an angry cobra, ready to strike. His claws extended from
his paws and he glowered at Grandmother, who glared back at him. He hissed.

For a moment, Keelie could’ve sworn she heard Knot say in a human voice. “You wouldn’t dare.”

Dad and Grandmother stared at him.

Knot meowed.

Grandmother quickly overcame her surprise and stubbed her index finger on the table. “See, they’re interfering with Keelie. They have their own agenda.”

Dad turned away from Knot and back to Keelie. “You have to listen to me because I can’t have you running into dangerous situations like you did with the Red Cap and with the unicorn. There are dangers in the Dread Forest.”

“I’m fine in the forest. Knot accompanies me everywhere I go. If I run into trouble, he’ll be there to pee on anything or anyone who is a problem. I’m learning that being a tree shepherd has unusual complications, but Knot has been there for me.”

Dad remained somber and stiff, looking more and more like Grandmother Keliatiel. “He has a conflict of interest when it comes to your interests.”

Duh! Keelie could’ve told him that within the first five minutes she met Knot. However, the sadistic hairball had been there for her, and no way was she going to have another guardian. Knot had been her mother’s guardian and he was going to remain Keelie’s. A fierce loyalty for the feline rose within her.

“Knot will stay my guardian,” she said flatly.

“Do not talk to your elders like that, young lady. Just because you’re half human doesn’t excuse disrespectful behavior,” Grandmother said.

Keelie pushed her chair back and stood up, not even looking at her grandmother. She stared at Dad. “I don’t care what Grandmother Keliatiel says about Knot. I don’t care she doesn’t like him. He stays with me.”

The sound of tapping against glass filled the room. Keelie looked up and saw the twiggy faces of the bhata pressed against every window in the house. Somehow they’d heard her, and had responded.

“Zeke, what is going on?” Grandmother sounded nervous.

“I think they’re sending us a message.”

Knot hopped onto the table, walked over to Dad, and swatted him on the cheek. A red scratch mark formed on Dad’s face. Unmoving, he narrowed his eyes at the cat, and Knot stared right back.

Then the windows opened as if by invisible hands, and about a hundred small bhata riding on squirrels streamed into the dining area. The wooden floor was a moving mass of fur and sticks. The only thing missing was Snow White. Keelie should’ve been freaked out by the squirrels, but she wasn’t.

Grandmother Keliatiel placed her hand over her mouth to suppress a scream. You would’ve thought living in the forest she wouldn’t have any heebie-jeebies about squirrels. From Grandmother’s reaction to the woodland animals,
Keelie concluded this wasn’t an everyday occurrence in the Dread Forest.

A squirrel skimmed over Keelie’s foot. The animal’s fur was creepy and woolly against her skin. She jumped back. Okay, that was a little too close for comfort.

A
bhata
with holly leaves for hair climbed up Alora’s flowerpot and began digging into the soil. Alora shrieked at the
bhata
and pounded it with her branches. “Make it stop, Keelie.”

She raced around the table, grabbed the bhata by its stick feet, and held it upside down, pointing her finger at it. “Stop.”

The
bhata
blinked at Keelie with round brown eyes the soft color of ground nuts. She turned it right side up and placed it on the table.

“Go!” Keelie pointed toward the open window. It bowed its head and climbed down onto the ground, leaving a trail of holly berries in its wake. At least she hoped it was holly berries.

The squirrels and the
bhata
surrounded Dad. Knot’s eyes remained dilated, making him look like a possessed kitty from a horror movie.

Dad bowed his head to the cat. He said, “I understand. All will be well with Keelie.”

Dad turned to Keelie. “Knot will remain your guardian.”

“I knew it. I knew it. We’re too late. This all started with Katharine, and her mother before her. Of all the mundanes,
Zeke, you had to pick the one with…” Grandmother looked at Keelie and her voice faded away.

“What started with my mother and Grandmother Josephine?” Keelie asked.

Grandmother Keliatiel shook her head. “Nothing you need to know about. The damage has been done.”

“Mother, enough,” Dad said in a deep voice.

Keelie and Alora stared at one another. Grandmother Keliatiel sat back down in her chair.

Keelie watched, dumbstruck, as the
bhata
and squirrels departed through the windows.

Knot’s fur glowed pumpkin orange, as if he were ready for Halloween. Walking across the table, he strolled over to Keelie and placed his neon paw on her hand. His footpads felt cold against her skin. She smiled at him.

He hissed.

“Don’t think this changes anything,” she said.

He purred.

He hopped off the kitchen table and walked down the hall to the bathroom. She heard him scratching in his litter box.

Alora shook her leaves.
What a cat!

Grandmother looked disgusted.

Keelie didn’t know what the bhata had to do with Knot, or what her mother’s mother had to do with anything. She knew that Dad and Sir Davey could speak to the cat, although they’d never admitted it nor told her what he was. She must be asking all the wrong questions.

The next morning, Keelie went down to the village green to practice her new skills with the broadsword. She swung it around in a high arc over her head, trying to ignore the sharp pain in her muscles. She was surprised at her arm strength today. Even though she didn’t want to learn from Niriel, Keelie liked the idea of using a sword to bash her enemies. It would be cathartic, even if her enemy was just a straw dummy. And the pain would fade as her skill increased.