The Tree Shepherd's Daughter (20 page)

Great, a shortcut. It probably led to the jousting fields. The path was narrow, and she brushed against fragrant
branches and her fingers grazed occasionally against the
rough bark of the trees that bordered the path. Pine, she
thought.

A branch snagged her hair, and she ducked to free herself. Her head yanked back. She reached up to untangle
her hair. It was wrapped between two sticks. It was starting to hurt. She pulled at a stick and felt a velvety texture.
Then a bony, stick-light hand grabbed her finger, wrapping around it.

Was it a bird? She felt around, fighting the panic that
made her shoulders clench and her skin prickle. Was it
fur, feathers? It felt like sticks and leaves and moss. And it
moved against her questing fingers.

She screamed and ran, tearing her hair loose. It hurt
like hell, but she wanted to get away from whatever it was.
She stopped next to a tree, out of breath, heart pounding.
What had it been?

She looked around. She was surrounded by trees, and
everything was quiet. Where was she? She should have
been at the jousting ring by now. She was lost.

Something moved in her hair. She froze. It glided down
the back of her head, then she felt it on her shoulder. Afraid
to look, she cut her eyes to the right. Sticks. She turned her
head a little. It was just sticks, held together with moss.

But it wasn't. She could see little hands now, brown
and hard and shiny, and eyes that glowed from the moss of
the face. The little creature lifted a hand to her cheek.

It wasn't real, she told herself. It was a doll from one of the vendors. A puppet, left in the trees as a joke. The puppet pointed toward the woods to the right.

She followed the tiny twiglike finger. There was movement in the bushes, probably some animal.

"Danger." The voice was like a whisper of dried leaves.
"Run, Keliel."

Okay. The stick knew her true name. The bushes rustled a few yards away. She saw a flash of red.

She ran, following the path, running as hard as she
could. Then she heard voices. Human voices. She veered
toward the sound and saw light ahead. And then she was
out of the woods.

She was at the edge of a clearing. She stopped, heart
still racing, and looked toward her shoulder, but the little
creature was gone. She knew she hadn't imagined it or the
glimpse of red hat.

Enough was enough. The evil little person was stalking
her. She thought of Sir Davey, who was around the same
height. She hadn't seen her attacker clearly, but she knew
it was not Davey.

Ahead of her was a large one-story building with massive timbers and a big wraparound deck filled with laughing people. She walked toward it and saw that it was on
the shores of a lake with an island in the middle of it. A
wide plank bridge farther down the shore led to the island,
which was large enough to hold several buildings.

Now that she was away from the forest, she could
think clearly again. She was mad at herself for running,
and from what? A bundle of sticks and a manic midget
in yard-gnome couture? If this was Earth magic, keep it, she thought. And the little dude was only waist high. Let
him come near her again, and she'd show him some Earth
magic, Keelie-style. She'd pound him into the ground.

The crowd on the deck seemed rowdy, and she was
hesitant about asking them for directions. Then she recognized two of them as the pirates who'd driven by after
picking up their checks earlier. Now she was definitely not
asking for directions.

The drummer from the Shire tent waved at her. "Hey
Keelie! Hungry?"

The man with his back to the rail turned around. It
was Scott. Fabulous.

Two of the pirates jumped down from the deck and
swaggered toward her. Her heart sank. Captain Dandy
Randy was one of them. She had to admit they looked hot
in their long boots and pouffy shirts.

"What a luscious bit of wench we have here," the other
pirate said. He weaved a little as he walked.

Captain Randy leered at her, but he grabbed the other
pirate's arm, making him spin toward him. "She's underage. Throw her back and catch her again when she's ripe."

She glared at him. Thanks a lot, Captain Geek.

The other pirate grinned. "She looks old enough to
me." He held up a beer tankard. "To all lovely lasses."
He drank deeply, then coughed as Scott's quiet voice rang
through the clearing.

"She's Heartwood's daughter."

The beer tankard flew out of the pirate's suddenly
nerveless fingers. It arced as if in slow motion, its contents flying out and splashing Keelie's new jeans. Great. She'd
smell like a brewery.

The pirates froze, then backed away.

Heartwood's daughter. It sounded like a curse. She
was doomed to be dateless. Hooves pounded behind her,
like the cavalry in an old Western. She turned to see white
horses gallop into the clearing, ridden by colorful riders.

Sean. Sean was one of the riders. And then Elias horse
caught up with him. The last person she wanted to see,
especially when she smelled like beer.

She saw that Scott had come to stand beside her. The
air smelled of beer, cinnamon, and ozone. Dark clouds
had gathered above them, echoing her mood.

She could feel the tension between the group on the
deck and the riders. She glanced behind her. Some of the
college kids who played pirate were gripping the rail, as if
waiting for the fight to begin.

Sean smiled easily at the drinkers. "Great day for a ride.
We've come to put the horses up-storm's brewing."

Elias eyes locked on Keelie, her lips pressed in a thin
line. "On your way to the Mire? Oops, sorry. I meant the
Shire."

Lightning flashed overhead, followed by the rumble of
thunder. The skies opened. Keelie was soaked in seconds.
She looked down, dismayed. Her new clothes.

Elia's silvery laugh tinkled overhead. Keelie's fists
closed, ready for battle, then she stopped. Elia was dry.
No umbrella in sight, but the girl's golden curls were perfect, and her long, green gown was unspotted. None of the other riders seemed to be as lucky. They, and their horses,
were wet, even Sean.

They wheeled their horses around and headed for the
bridge. Even from behind, Elia was dry. What the heck
was going on around here?

Keelie wanted to stick her tongue out but was afraid
she'd start a melee. When things got real between her and
Elia, she wouldn't drag a bunch of innocent guys into it. It
would be just her and the she-witch of the Medieval Hell,
mano a mano. And somebody's long, golden locks would
get torn out by the roots.

Scott grabbed her elbow. Before she could protest, he
was dragging her up toward a wide, tree-overhung path.
The path she'd thought she was on earlier. They passed a
long, low stage with a banner above that announced fencing demonstrations, and a shuttered booth called Aviva's
Shimmy Shack. A belly dancing shop! She'd remember
this place for sure. Maybe she could come here with Raven
when the weather improved.

A shout from behind her stopped them. "Hey, Keelie,
come back to the Shire tonight. We're having a drum circle
by the meadow. Inside if it's still raining." The drummer
waved at her and several of the pirates waved and grinned
from the deck.

She grinned back and waved with her free hand. Scott
yanked her arm. "Quit fooling around. You are in so much
trouble. Your dad said not to wander around by yourself."

She pulled her arm out of his grasp. "Yeah? Well, you
were the one put in charge of escorting me. And where
were you? Drinking with Jack Sparrow's buddies."

Did he look paler? She hoped he felt sick. Hard to tell
with water dripping down his face.

"Where were you? You have sticks in your hair." He
was looking at her head.

She reached up, panicked, but the sticks in her hair
were just tiny twigs and bits of moss. Nothing moved.

Scott gave her a weird look. "Come on."

Feeling they were even now, she walked fast to keep up
with his long legs, pulling debris out of her wet hair.

They passed closed stores and exhibit areas, and then
she saw the directional sign she'd seen the first day with
Ms. Talbot. She'd gone in the opposite direction. Maybe
she'd buy a compass and learn how to use it.

"The drummer, what's his name?"

"We call him Skins."

"How PETA-friendly. Skins said the drum circle, whatever that is, was going to be at the meadow, but I was in
the meadow last night, and that's a seriously creepy place."

"Yeah, your dad told me you wandered into Elianard's
camp. Stay away from him. He's worse than his daughter."
Scott leered at her. "But the Shire is tons of fun."

She ignored the remark. "What about the guy with the
red hat? What do you know about him? Does he work
here? He's got issues. Like, serial killer issues. Dad wouldn't
let me call the police, either."

Scott sighed. "There's a lot you don't understand about
the Faire. But you will. The police never get called."

"Never? As in, find a murdered body and just bury it
in the woods?"

"Planning to kill someone?"

"Just you." She had to walk fast to keep up with his
long stride. "What about the red-hat guy?"

"Talk to your father about him. And the meadow's not
so bad. What's creepy about it? The Faire administration
keeps the area by the Shire mowed and the kids hang out
there. They build bonfires and stuff, far away from the
trees."

"That actually sounds like fun. But you don't feel anything strange about the meadow?"

"No. Not near the Shire. This hasn't been a normal season. Besides the weather, there have been thefts and fights,
and Skin says there's some bad vibes around the Shire."

"Bad vibes, huh? Now who sounds like they're from
California?"

"So no more sneaking off, right?"

"I did not sneak offl I was with Cameron in the
mews.

"The mews are on the other side of the Faire grounds."

"I got lost."

He looked at her skeptically. "Remind me not to go
walking in the woods with you."

She almost said, why, are you scared? But instead she
lifted her chin. "What makes you think I want to walk in
the woods with you?"

Why did she say that? She didn't want to encourage
him. Sean, yes. Scott, no way. But he didn't seem to notice. Clueless wimp.

She splashed her way back to Heartwood. The wind
had changed direction, and it was warmer. That was a
blessing, at least. She didn't have to be cold and wet. And she had dry clothes waiting for her. She picked up speed,
almost passing Scott.

The lights were on in the workshop, and Scott went
through the furniture, now protected by long tarps. Keelie
squished up the stairs.

The apartment was dark, but it smelled deliciously
of cooking onions. Keelie was amazed to see rays of light
shooting up from the floor. For a second she thought it
was another woo-woo Faire moment, but then she realized
that it was the workshop lights leaking through spaces in
the floor boards.

She knelt on the wide plank floor (cedar) and put her
eye to a crack. For a second, the images didn't make sense,
then she realized she was seeing a huge log, bark still on,
strapped to sawhorses. Zeke and Scott stood at either side
of the log, examining it.

A deep purring sounded near her, and Knot's furry
head bumped her cheek. She stayed still, afraid he'd scratch
her eyes out.

"Good kitty." The purring stopped. "Miserable feline."
The deep rumble resumed. "You are so weird."

She pushed away from the floor and headed toward the
bathroom to towel off. Knot followed, watching with eyes
half-closed as she undressed and pulled the tags off more
of her new clothes.

"Where were you when I ran into the red-hat midget
in the woods?"

His eyes opened wide and he stared, almost as if he
understood her words.

"And that little twig puppet? The Henson studios need
to know about that technology. It seemed real."

Knot wasn't purring anymore. He was watching her
carefully. She stopped brushing her hair. "What? You've
never seen a chick with moss in her hair? It's all the rage in
the Colorado woods."

A twig bounced from her brush and fell at his feet.
He batted it closer and sniffed at it, then started to purr
again.

Keelie laughed as she noticed the huge bald spot in the
back of his head. "That must have been from Ariel. Serves
you right."

Warm and dry once more, she walked to the kitchen,
hoping for a cup of tea. A big package was on the table.
She glanced at the label. Dread Forest, Oregon? She remembered her dad's credit card. Must be family.

She took the tea kettle down from its shelf and turned
on the cold water. Knot sat on her foot. With her other
foot, she nudged Knot. He didn't move an inch. The diabolical cat sank his claws deep into her skin. "Ow!"

She pushed him hard with her foot. He let go, sliding on the hardwood floor on his belly. Knot huddled his
body into a ball. His tail twitched. He raised his backside
up, ready to pounce.

"Come on, psycho kitty, I'll take you on." Keelie wiggled her foot in his direction. He lowered his caboose, sat
up, and studied her, suddenly calm as she filled the kettle. She tried to ignore him, but he continued to stare at
her, and his eyes began to dilate, turning into large, black
orbs.

He meandered toward the bedroom curtain, then sat
down.

"Not on your life," she warned. She put the kettle on
the stove, turned the burner on, and wiped her hands on
a tea towel. Her father had started dinner. There was a pot
of spaghetti sauce on the stove, and water was simmering
in a stock pot.

"I mean it, cat. Stay away from my new clothes, and
stay away from me. You're beyond demented."

The cat purred as if she had given him a compliment.
Something blue and tiny stuck out of a snarl of fur by his
shoulder. She reached down quickly and plucked it off. A
tiny blue feather. What kind of bird had this come from?