The Tree Shepherd's Daughter (24 page)

"How about I ignore the gift? So far it's just been a big
headache." Literally.

"You can't ignore it. Not in a forest. Keelie, I am so
proud of you. What you did was very brave. Cameron can't
stop talking about what you did for Moon."

Tears burned Keelie's eyes again. Thank goodness she
was wearing dark shades, she was turning into a swamp.
This time her tears were not grief. Her father was proud
of her.

"I'll come down in a bit and show you my new garb.
Janice and Raven picked them out."

Her father smiled and touched her cheek. "I'm sure
you'll dazzle everyone. You even look beautiful in Muck
and Mire Show clothes. But stay away from the pirates!"

What did he know? "Are they magic, too?"

"No. Most of them are just hormonal college boys
looking for pretty girls."

After three cups of Sir Davey's coffee, Keelie's headache
had almost completely disappeared, but she really had to
go to the bathroom. She sat up carefully, then dropped her
legs over the side of the bed. So far, so good.

"Do you need help?" Dad asked.

"No. I'm fine. Raven said I needed to move."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"I need to tend to something in the shop really quick. I
want to make sure Scott is handling the crowds and sales.
Sometimes he can get overwhelmed."

"I'm better. Go down to the shop."

When Dad left, Knot opened his eyes and yawned.
He hopped down onto the hardwood floor in front of the
garb that Raven had brought.

Keelie said, "Don't even look at them. If you pee on
them, I'm going to have a new kitty muff."

As she returned to her bed a few minutes later, Keelie
realized her headache had totally disappeared. She wasn't
green either, to her delight. She was happy she wasn't
going to go around looking like Kermit the Frog's human
cousin.

Crowds walked outside the shop, and from the near
distance, cheers resounded as the joust took place. Was
Sean riding today? Probably. She glanced at the rack, the
dress colors glowing like jewels. Watch out Elia, Keelie was
going to be dressed to kick butt.

"I wonder how Moon is doing." Keelie said to Knot,
but he'd disappeared.

After everything she'd been through to heal the owl,
Keelie wanted to make sure she was recovering. The path
to the mews just happened to go by the jousting ring.
Maybe she'd run into Sean on the way, and he'd notice her
new look. Goodbye, Mud Girl.

Outside, thunder rumbled from faraway. Did it ever
stop raining here? You'd think it was Seattle, not Colorado. Keelie was glad Janice and Raven had gotten her a
good thick wool cloak. The Irish cloak's large hood with
the ruffled rim let her see everything without being claustrophobic.

Keelie dressed, happy that the big sleeves were comfortable. She had to watch it around doors, though. Leaving the apartment, she'd gotten a sleeve caught in the door
and had been brought up short, landing on her butt on
the landing.

"Dad, going for a walk," she called as she passed the
shop.

He was busy showing a chair to a woman with overflowing cleavage. Another hovered nearby, anxious for his
attention. Of course.

He looked up and waved at her, then did a double take
when he noticed her garb.

"Looks like Sir Davey's brew did the trick." He bowed
to her with a flourish, and she did what she thought was a
curtsey, then took the path to the jousting ring.

She recognized the silver and green, black and gold of
Sean's colors as he galloped around the ring before going into the lists. She paused at the crowd's rim to watch as a
page tossed a tall spear into his hand. He caught it lightly,
even though Keelie knew they were heavy and awkward. Inside her cloak, she whispered, "Go, my brave knight, go."

"Ah, what lovely is this before me?"

Keelie knew that voice. Donald Satterfield, a.k.a. Captain Randy Dandy, her amorous pirate. She turned, dropping her hood.

He staggered back a little, "Whoa. You." He recovered,
putting his hands over his heart. "Ah, lass. You've made
my heart stop beating. There's only one medicine for that.
A kiss, sweeting, from your lips." He leaned against the
tree, blocking her view of the jousting ring, and held out
his arms, making kissy noises.

She backed away as he leaned toward her, lips pursed,
smelling like mead. "Go away. Not interested."

"But lass, it seems Lady Love conspires to bring us together."

"You're drunk." She made a face and turned to leave
but stopped when she heard him laughing behind her.

He'd stopped weaving and stood still. "Keelie, my
sweet. Do you think the Faire admin would really let me
be drunk around the mundanes? I'd get my pirate ass fired.
I just take a sip before speaking to make it real for the
guests." He bowed and made a farewell gesture, with his
hat in his left hand, the right held over his heart.

She felt her face get red. Of course. She should've known.

Captain Randy Dandy winked and put on his big pirate hat again. "I'll catch you later, sweeting. And believe
me, I will. Captain Randy always wins his battles."

Cheering erupted behind her. Keelie spun around to
face a large crowd of people, some in garb, some in their
ordinary everyday clothes. They clapped and whistled.
Keelie whipped back around to see Captain Randy taking
a sweeping bow.

"Curtsey," he hissed.

She bobbed down, holding her skirts.

"Pirates." How dare he use her for material for one of
his improv performances? What kind of place was this,
where your private life became part of the ticket price?

More thunder rumbled, and the crowd started breaking apart. One man herded his kids away, saying, "Time
to get home."

The wind raced through the trees, and a branch from
a large oak crashed to the ground. She felt the tree shake
itself. The branch had been half-dead.

A strong smell of ozone filled Keelie's nostrils, then her
hair prickled. A flash of lightning hit the ground nearby.
People started to run for shelter in nearby booths, waved
in by merchants.

Keelie lifted her face. The clouds swirled wildly above
her like vengeful spirits. Rain pelted her face, cascading
from the sky. Little muddy streams formed along the paths
in the ground, carrying away sticks and little bits of pine
bark. Keelie picked up her skirts and ran for the mews.
She wanted to check on Ariel and Moon before she went
back to Heartwood. Once she reached Ironmonger's Way,
though, running was out of the question. The rain had
turned the dirt path into a treacherous mud slick. At least
she didn't have to worry about mudslides like she did in California. As she ran, the sodden hem of her skirt slapped
around her ankles. She could've sworn she heard that nasty
little Red Cap's voice in the wind.

Keelie raised her head again. The sky was a funky green.
Green sky? This couldn't be good. She remembered the
previous tornado warnings, and the sky had been this same
pea soup color. She longed for the sun. It had been days
since she'd felt its warmth on her face. The trees swayed as
the wind whipped around them. They agreed. It had been
too long since the sun had touched their treetops, their
roots craved the nurturing energy that fed them.

Everywhere the shops were crowded with mundanes
trying to stay dry. The mews were ahead, and she hurried
to get into the shelter of the tarps that covered the cages.
The musky smell of birds surrounded her.

Cameron's helpers were running back and forth, unlatching raptor cages from their stands.

"What are you doing here?" Cameron looked frantic.

"I came to see how Moon was. What's going on?"
Everyone worked quickly and precisely, but there was a
thread of fear in their movements.

"Haven't you seen the Weather Channel? Cold front
moving through, hitting a warm front that just appeared
out of nowhere. Tornado warnings posted everywhere. Security's getting the visitors out."

The wind lifted a tarp off of a vulture's cage. It squawked.
A great horned owl banged its wings frantically against its
cage. Ariel called when Keelie ran to her. "Cameron, do I
need to get her out?"

Gently removing Moon from her cage, Cameron said,
"Yes. Find a carrier for her."

Cameron placed Moon inside a carrier that reminded
Keelie of the one that Laurie's mom used for their mean
Himalayan cat, Pickles.

Once Keelie wrestled Ariel into the carrier, the hawk
pecked at her hand. It drew blood, but Keelie hung onto
the handle for fear of dropping Ariel. "Where are we taking the birds?" She shouted to be heard over the increasing
shrill of the wind.

"Across to Sir Davey's. It's the strongest shelter. Hurry."
Cameron raced ahead.

Keelie wondered where her father was, worried for
him. Wrapping her cloak around Ariel's cage to try to
calm the frantic hawk, she followed Cameron. James ran
with efficient and urgent speed as they gathered the other
birds. They loaded them into the back of a jeep, stacking
the cages precariously.

Keelie raced toward Sir Davey's shop, more concerned
for Ariel's safety than her comfort. Her skirts wrapped
around her legs. Hail pummeled her as she crossed the
little clearing toward Ironmonger's Way and the Dragon
Horde Shop. She had to stay focused, deflecting the trees'
fear of the approaching storm. If she left herself open to
them, their panic would paralyze her.

Sir Davey barked out orders. "Move them birdies to
the back. They'll be safer there." His gray eyebrows rose
like little hairy caterpillars when he saw Keelie. "Lass, what
are you doing up and about after that episode last night?
Does your father know you're here?"

"Your really great coffee fixed me right up." Keelie
pushed her cloak back and revealed Ariel's cage. The hawk
was bobbing back and forth on her perch. Her shrill calls
made Keelie's ears hurt. The pounding of rain on the metal
roof didn't help.

Sir Davey nodded. "I see how it is. There's a bond betwixt you and the hawk. Now move her and yourself to
the back. And stay there."

Something hard plunked onto the metal roof of Sir
Davey's shop, followed by more. The hail was getting bigger. Keelie huddled down next to Ariel and whispered to
her. "It's going to be okay. I'm here." Ridiculous thought.
If a tornado hit the building, they would both die.

There were more shouts from the front of the shop.
Cameron yelled something to James. The howling wind
drowned out his reply. The weather radio beeped, and the
announcer in a dull, robotic voice said, "Tornado Warning for the greater Fort Collins area, including the High
Mountain region."

Sir Davey waddled back into the small room of the
shop, muttering to himself as he carried a cage almost
as large as himself. Inside, the turkey vulture flapped its
wings and squawked.

Plopping the cage next to Ariel, Sir Davey said, "Keep
an eye on this buzzard; he's a trouble maker."

He whirled around. "When I find out who or what is
behind this storm, I'll be whipping up a spell to teach him
a lesson."

Shivering, Keelie looked up. "You think this storm was
caused on purpose? Who could do that?" Maybe the singing she thought she'd heard in the wind really had been the Red
Cap. Her heart raced. Was that little creep magically that
strong?

The buzzard flapped his wings, causing his feathers to
brush against her arm through the cage bars. She wanted
to move away from the ugly bird, but he stopped squawking and tilted his bald head as if he was studying Keelie,
trying to figure her out. He calmly folded his wings. The
verdict was in: he liked her. She didn't know if that was a
good thing or not.

Twenty minutes after they took shelter, the storm
passed. As Cameron's helpers left to assess the damage,
Sir Davey walked Keelie back to Heartwood. "Cameron's
quite pleased with you. Your help made all the difference
today."

Keelie blushed. She'd been glad to help Ariel, but it was
nice to be appreciated. "Sir Davey, you said you thought
something or someone had caused this storm. Do you
think it was the Red Cap?"

He eyed her from under his hat brim. "Don't mention him aloud in the forest. The poor trees have just been
through a storm. They're traumatized enough."

Keelie looked up at the tall trunks around them. Solid
and unmoving. Silent as ever. But she could feel the nervous energy that ran through their sap. It flowed up and
down her skin like a million ants. She rubbed her arms
through her big sleeves.

"How can we get rid of him if we don't talk about
him?"

Sir Davey gripped her arm in his strong hand. "Leave it to the adults, lass. This is too dangerous for you. You're
new to the magic, and though you're strong, you don't
know what you're getting into."

Pounding steps squelched through the mud behind
them. It was James. "All the cages were turned over and
the tarps are gone. Cameron wants to know if the birds
can stay where they are."

"Yes." Sir Davey looked stunned. "All those birds in
my shop? The Dragon's Horde has been turned into a veritable roost."

His warning about the Red Cap was sobering, but
she'd seen the nasty decaying mushrooms on both sides of
the path and all around the shop.

"It's a good thing we're having our meeting. In fact,
I may be staying over and sleeping on your dad's couch.
Those birds smell."

At the shop there was no sign of Knot, thank goodness.

"Zeke's waiting for you upstairs, Sir Davey," Scott said.
He looked at her. "You're all wet."

"Thank you, Lord Obvious." She needed to change
into dry clothes and hang up these wet ones to keep them
out of Knot's reach. Upstairs, Janice sat on the couch
drinking from a green mug decorated with gilded trees.
Steam rose from the rim, and the aroma of mint lingered
in the air. Her father stood by the stove, pouring boiling
water into the pot.