Lurinda swore under her breath when they stepped through the Gate between the worlds and found that it was night in the land of the fey. “Be as quiet as you can,” she whispered into Tamisin’s ear. “The lamia have been more active of late, and loud noises attract them.”
“Really?” said Tamisin. “Lou never mentioned that.”
Lurinda gave her an odd look, but didn’t say anything more as she escorted Tamisin through a meadow, past a copse of trees, and down a steep slope to a stout door set in the hillside. After pressing a square of metal set in the door, she stepped back to wait, her eyes scanning the darkness around them. Leaves rustled in a nearby shrub, making her jump and turn around; she seemed relieved when the door finally opened. Taking Tamisin’s arm, she hurried her through the doorway.
A man closed the door the moment they stepped through, then locked it with an odd-looking key. When he turned to face them, Tamisin saw that he wasn’t a man at all, but a goblin with eyes like a cat’s and black hair so thick it might have been called fur. A scar ran the width of his cheek, nearly reaching the base of one of his catlike ears, making him look quite ferocious. He eyed Tamisin as if she were something he might have found stuck to the bottom of his shoe, then glanced at Lurinda and nodded before walking away.
“Who was that?” Tamisin whispered to Lurinda.
“That was Targin, Jak’s uncle.”
“But isn’t he the one I need to talk to?” asked Tamisin.
“He’ll talk to you when he wants to, and not before.”
“I thought we hurried to get here so I could talk to him.”
“That’s true,” said Lurinda, then she too, turned to walk away.
“Wait!” Tamisin put her hand on the woman’s arm, inadvertently pulling up her long sleeve. “I need to . . .” Tamisin’s voice trailed off when she glanced down at Lurinda’s hand. The goblin woman’s long, thin fingers had a dusting of white fur on the back and bore a single ring. Although the ring was unfamiliar, Tamisin had seen those hands before. “I know you!” Tamisin said, looking up into Lurinda’s eyes. “You were there when that goblin woman bit me. I was just a baby, but I’ve had the dream so many times . . . It was you, wasn’t it? You tucked my blanket around me. It was a kind act after those women were so cruel.”
“I’m surprised you remember,” Lurinda said, shaking off Tamisin’s hand. “I was certain the old crone’s magic didn’t work when I heard that you had come back. Yes, it was me. I was your mother’s favourite handmaiden. She came to me when she knew that she was pregnant and I helped her hide it from the court. I was there at your birth and I saw how difficult you were going to make your mother’s life. I loved her then; she was my queen and I wanted only what was best for her.”
“What about the goblin woman who bit me?” Tamisin asked.
“When I knew that you were going to be taken away, I paid her to use her magic on you. I thought she could keep you from coming back. Unfortunately for you, her magic wasn’t strong enough.”
“What about Jak? Where does he fit in all this?”
“Nowhere now. The boy was a useful tool, but he isn’t smart enough to get out of the way when his betters want to take over. The boy doesn’t know his place. The stories Nihlo has told me about Jak are disgraceful. Targin should never have let his sister leave her halfling here. I wouldn’t have been so charitable.”
The goblin woman’s words made Tamisin feel sick to her stomach. When Lurinda turned on her heel and strode off down the hall, Tamisin had to swallow hard before calling after her, “Can I see Jak?”
“If you can find him!” Lurinda replied without looking back.
Tamisin wasn’t sure what to do. It was obvious that neither Lurinda nor Targin had any intention of helping her and could probably be very nasty if they chose to be. Tamisin could only assume that Jak really was there somewhere, but she had no clue where she should start looking. A long corridor stretched before her with doors leading off on either side. She was debating whether or not she should start opening doors in the hope that she would find the right one when she realised that many of them were open just enough that the goblins inside could peek out. As a door clicked shut behind Lurinda, the goblins began to emerge from the rooms until a crowd had gathered around Tamisin. Some looked as if they might be members of the cat-goblin clan, but the rest looked like humans who had been given features from other animals. Tamisin saw long doglike faces, the tusks of wild boars, short, sharp beaks and long bushy tails.
While she stared at the goblins, they were just as interested in her, acting as if they had never seen anything quite like her before. She put up with their poking and prodding, but when one with a snout pinched her arm, Tamisin slapped the goblin, making it squeal and back away. The rest of the goblins were grumbling when a tiny woman with long grey and white hair, catlike eyes and a kindly, wrinkled face pushed through the crowd, knocking goblins with her cane when they didn’t move.
Reaching Tamisin’s side, she smiled up at her, saying, “Don’t you remember me? I’m Jak’s grandmother Gammi. We met at the Halloween party.”
Tamisin nodded slowly. She had seen Jak’s grandmother only briefly, but this could be that woman.
“Don’t pay them any mind,” Gammi said, jerking her thumb at the goblins. “They don’t mean anything by it. Come with me. I’ve got a nice cosy room where we can sit and visit. I can’t believe she brought you here, then left you to your own devices.”
“Do you know where Jak is?” asked Tamisin.
“Of course not,” Gammi said in an overly loud voice. “But come with me anyway.”
Puzzled, Tamisin followed the old goblin woman down the hall to a room that was indeed cosy. Although it was only one room, it had been set up as two with shelves down the middle separating a bed on one side and a small table on the other. So many colourful pillows were piled on the bed that Tamisin didn’t see any space to lie down, but the chairs next to the table were big and comfy, just right for curling up in for a nap. Even the floor was padded with a thick rug that sank beneath her feet when she walked.
Once Tamisin looked at the walls, she didn’t notice anything else. Every inch from the ceiling to the floor was covered with pictures. Some were paintings, some were sketches, some were little photographs like the ones shot in photo booths. Most of them were goblins, although there were also fairies, gnomes, humans, and at least two trolls. Tamisin saw a photograph of a little boy who might have been Jak alongside a beautiful woman of the cat clan. She had the same dark hair as Jak, but her eyes were more slanted and her cheekbones more prominent.
“That’s his mother,” said Gammi. “My youngest daughter and the most headstrong. Takes after her aunt Lurinda that way. Jak was just a kitten when I took that picture with his father’s camera. I was visiting them in the human world at the time. I liked his father, but don’t tell Targin I said that. Jak’s father was a good human, and my daughter loved him to distraction. Then he disappeared and she went crazy looking for him. He was gone for a year before she got any clue as to where he might be, so she brought Jak here and left him with Targin. She thought it was better if her brother believed that she was out wasting her life on frivolous things, but she went looking for her husband. She still is as far as I know. I haven’t heard from her in years.”
“Does Jak know all this?” asked Tamisin.
“He has no idea,” said Gammi. “I didn’t want him to think he should go looking for them. It’s bad enough that I lost his mother that way; I didn’t want to lose him too. That sounds selfish of me, I know, but that boy means a lot to me. And that’s why I’m going to tell you where you can find him.”
“So you do know!”
“Of course I know! There’s very little that goes on around here that I don’t know. Jak is down with his hipporines. Targin locked him down there, thinking that he’d be as scared of those monsters as the rest of them are. But I know better. My Jak is the bravest one here, though there’s many that are too foolish to see it. Now, what we’re going to do is sit here and have a nice cup of catmint tea while you tell me all that you and Jak have done since the night of his Halloween party. Then, after everyone has quieted down for the night, I’ll show you where he is.”
“What time is it now?” asked Tamisin. “It was after midnight when Lurinda took me from the fairies’ forest, then daytime when we cut through the human world.”
“It’s night now, just past supper, and I daresay it’s a few days later than you remember. Now, you have a nice rest and I’ll get that tea, and maybe some supper for you besides. I doubt you’ve eaten . . . Uh-huh, I thought not. Lurinda isn’t the type to think of such things. Go ahead – you sit in that chair. It’s the softest.”
After Gammi left the room, Tamisin curled up in the chair, sitting so she could see the pictures on the walls. Her head was nodding when Gammi returned, but she jumped up to help the old woman set the tray on the table. During the next few hours while Tamisin ate berries in cream and drank tea, they talked about all sorts of things, including Jak’s parents, Gammi’s other children, Tamisin’s human family, the friends Gammi had made in the human world, Tamisin’s visit with the fairy queen, and how much Tamisin wanted to go home. After a while Tamisin started yawning, but she sat up straight when Gammi mentioned Lurinda.
“She was the firebrand of the family, always ready to fight for a cause. Then the fairy queen’s people came to get her and we didn’t see hide or hair of her for years. We did get letters though, and at first she sounded truly happy. It seems she was the queen’s favourite, not surprising considering how beautiful she was and how sweet she could be when she was getting her way. Then something happened, she never did tell us what, and Lurinda fell from the queen’s favour. Her letters changed after that. She still said she was happy, but I could tell the difference. It wasn’t until she came home that I learned how bitter she’d become. She felt as if she’d been wronged. Now it seems she has a new cause, though she won’t tell me what it is. I hear things though, so I know it involves your mother.”
“What do you think she intends to do?” asked Tamisin.
“I’m not sure, but I have a good idea. She and Targin have both been brimming with secrets lately. I think she’s the one who told him about you. It was after she returned home that Targin came up with his grand plan for Jak to go to the human world. Bert and I went along to help, but Jak probably would have done fine on his own. None of us had any notion that Titania was your mother. My Jak is a good boy and never meant you any harm.”
“I know that,” said Tamisin.
“There are some of us who wouldn’t care that the fairy queen has a half-breed daughter, but there’s others who would get all riled at the notion. I think Lurinda and Targin are betting on that to stir up support for a revolt, though they each have their own reasons. My son thinks he’s helping our people, whereas Lurinda . . . Let’s just say that my sister is a bad person to cross. I’ve known her to bear a grudge for years. I bet kidnapping you was her idea too. She was the one who planned all our escapades when we were young. This whole thing is right up her alley.”
Gammi glanced at the pictures on the wall and sighed. “It’s been bothering me no end that members of my own family are causing all this trouble, so I decided it was up to me to stop it. I think my son wants to be king of the goblins, a noble enough cause if it didn’t mean that so many people would have to die to get him there. But Lurinda . . . I think she has her sights set on something grander, although what it is I just don’t know. She always did want to be at the top of the heap. Whatever they’re planning is going to happen in the next few days. This place is crawling with goblins, with more coming all the time. So now that I’ve talked your ear off, I’m going to tell you what you really want to know. In just a few minutes I’m going to walk you down that hallway and show you a door, but there can’t be a peep out of you or Lurinda will stop us. When she brought you here, she never intended for you to see Jak again. She told you all that fiddle-faddle just to get you here so they’d have a hold over your mama.”
“My mother warned me that might happen. I can’t believe how stupid I’ve been!”
“You haven’t been stupid. Lurinda’s good at what she does. She can persuade a bird to fly upside down if she’s got a mind to. I should know. I’m her little sister and she talked me into doing more foolish things when we were girls than I care to remember.
“Hand me my cane and we can get started,” said Gammi as she struggled to her feet. “That’s it. Now I’ll just wrap this cloth around the bottom to muffle the noise. There we go. Wouldn’t want my tap tapping to tell everybody what we’re doing. Here, put on this cape so they’ll think you’re a goblin if anyone does see you. Now follow me and don’t make a sound. If you have any questions, now’s the time to ask them.”
Tamisin was so confused that she just shook her head.
“No? All right then. I’ll unlock the door, and I’ll leave it that way. Here, take this torch.” Gammi handed Tamisin a short stick with wooden prongs at the top. The prongs held a transparent cube that glowed with an inner fire. “Don’t worry, it won’t burn you. The gnomes make these things and you won’t find any better. It doesn’t look very bright now, but it’ll work just fine in the dark. Once you’re in the hipporines’ cave, find Jak and bring him back here. I would have gone myself before this, but there are some things these old bones can’t do. Come first light I’ll let you both out the front door before anyone else is stirring. You’ll have to find your own way after that, but Jak’s a smart boy and will figure something out.”
“Thank you, Gammi,” Tamisin said, kissing the old woman’s cheek. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
“Neither do I,” chuckled Gammi. “Now be off with you, and take care of my grandson!”
After sticking her head out of her room and looking both ways, Gammi led Tamisin down the hall. It was much longer than Tamisin had thought, and she kept expecting someone to pop out of one of the rooms and catch them. Nothing happened, however, and when Gammi opened the door at the end and stepped aside to let her pass, Tamisin mouthed the words “thank you.” Then, stepping into the darkness beyond the door, she held up the torch and tried to see.
Jak was delighted when his uncle threw him in the cave, although he was careful not to let it show, which was easy because he was still sluggish from the antidote to the poison. Knowing how the animals would react when they saw him, he kept his distance until he was sure his uncle and the other goblins were gone.
The greenish-white glow had spread further across the walls, making the cavern even brighter than he remembered. The hipporines refused to settle down until he walked among them, petting and scratching and getting reacquainted with his old friends. Although the foals born in his absence were rough and wanted to take a bite out of him, Jak knew just how to handle such young ones. Once the hipporines quieted, Jak crawled on to the shelf where he’d often gone to rest.
The next morning when he woke, sunlight was pouring through the opening in the cave ceiling. He hurried over the wall so the hipporines’ caretakers would still believe that he was afraid of the animals; he was certain that if they thought he liked being with the beasts they’d find something truly awful to inflict on him instead.
Every morning the goblins came to feed the hipporines around the same time, leaving a plate of food or a crust of bread for Jak as well. He was forced to drink from the pool at the base of the wall, but the water was clean, for it had yet to flow into the hipporines’ trough. Jak filled his day with taking care of the beasts. There was so much to do that he slept soundly at night; nothing short of the hipporines acting up could wake him.
On the third night, Jak was asleep dreaming of his life in the human world when the hipporines began to scream. He woke with a start, afraid that he’d overslept and the goblins had already come to feed the beasts. Halfway to the wall he realised that the sun wasn’t shining through the hole in the ceiling and that it was still dark enough to be the middle of the night.
Through the noise of the hipporines, Jak heard someone calling his name. He watched as a faint light bobbed down the tunnel, bursting into a glowing ball when it entered the cave, banishing the darkness for twenty feet in every direction. It was Tamisin.
Whooping loudly, Jak vaulted over the wall. “I thought I’d never see you again,” he said, walking towards her.
Tamisin laughed. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily. Not after all we’ve gone through.”
A scuffle broke out among the hipporines, raising the noise level on the other side of the wall and reminding Jak of where they were. He frowned at Tamisin. “How did you get in here? This is the last place you should be. What are you doing here anyway?”
“I’ve come to rescue you,” she said. “Lurinda found me during the dance. She said your uncle was angry and you needed someone to speak on your behalf; it was really just a ploy to get me here. I don’t know how well you know her, but she isn’t a good person, Jak. She’s trying to use me to get at Titania. I think she may have been the one to send Nihlo after me. And she told me some things about my mother . . . I might have misjudged her – my mother, I mean.”
“I know all about Lurinda,” said Jak. “She was there when Nihlo’s friend stabbed me with a poisoned knife in the fairies’ forest. I closed my eyes, so they must have thought I was unconscious, but I heard everything they said and then I figured out the rest. Lurinda told my uncle, Targin, about you so he’d get you here. When I wasn’t fast enough to suit her, she offered the reward. She didn’t care what shape you were in when she got you, so it didn’t matter who brought you to her. When that didn’t work, she sent Nihlo. I think she’d gone with him to the edge of the Sograssy Sea; she just stayed in the woods so no one would see her.
“My uncle is interested in goblins’ rights; Lurinda’s goals are more personal. I think she started the whole thing because she wanted revenge against Titania, but it’s gone beyond that now. Lurinda wants what Titania has – respect, power and control – and she’s willing to do just about anything to get it.”
“And then I came here on my own,” said Tamisin.
“Lurinda is a master at manipulating people. She would have got you here one way or another if you’d refused to come.”
“That’s pretty much what Gammi said. We had a long conversation. I like her a lot.”
“Good,” said Jak, smiling into her eyes. “So do I. But that still doesn’t explain how you got down here.”
“Gammi unlocked the door and we’re supposed to go back to her room. She’ll hide us until morning and let us out before anyone is up.”
“It sounds as if you two have it all figured out.”
“We do. So if you’re ready . . .”
Jak had just taken Tamisin’s hand when he heard voices echoing in the tunnel. This time there was no mistaking who they were. “Quick,” he said, pulling her towards the wall. “The goblins are coming. They’re early today. You’ll have to hide on the other side. I don’t want to find out what they’d do to you if they discovered you here.”
The hipporines had also heard the goblins; the sound of their voices had sent the beasts into a rage.
“But what about them?” Tamisin asked, gesturing towards the hipporines.
“If we hurry, I can get you to a place where you’ll be safe.” Jak linked his fingers together and crouched down. “Step on my hands and I’ll help you up.”
“I don’t think I –”
“There isn’t time to argue. Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing. We’ll climb the wall now. Once we’re on top, we have to jump. I’ll go first, then I’ll catch you. The hipporines won’t hurt me, but they don’t like strangers. You’ll be all right as long as I stay between you and them. There’s a ledge on the back wall where the goblins won’t see you and the hipporines can’t reach you. We have to be fast.” Jak braced himself against the stones while Tamisin slipped her foot on to his hand and reached for the top of the wall. He waited while she scrabbled at the stones. A moment later he was crouched beside her, looking down over the other side. He had to admit that the hipporines looked frightening with their ears back and their fangs bared as they milled just below the wall.
“Hey, you miserable excuses for monsters!” called a goblin from the tunnel. “It’s time for breakfast!”
At the sound of the goblin’s voice, the larger hipporines screamed so loudly that Tamisin put her hands over her ears. Jak pointed at the far wall and waited until she nodded. He gave her hand a quick squeeze, then jumped off the wall, landing lightly on his feet. The hipporines moved to surround him the way they always did, but he pushed them back and held up his arms for Tamisin, catching her as if she weighed nothing at all. Jak set her down while the hipporines surged around him, trying to get to Tamisin, craning their necks to snap at her. She was running beside Jak when one of the beasts caught the back of the cape in its mouth and yanked her off her feet. Jak kicked the hipporine, forcing it away from Tamisin while she struggled to stand. She was moving again when the light went out and she realised that she’d dropped it. Tamisin stopped to look behind her. Scooping her into his arms, Jak picked her up and ran. And then they were at the far wall and once again Jak boosted her up. Only this time he didn’t follow.
After gesturing for her to stay down, Jak ran back, hoping to retrieve the gnome light, but it had been trampled to dust before he could reach it. Without slowing his pace, Jak vaulted to the top of the wall, then jumped down to the ground on the other side.
A moment later, three goblins entered the cave lugging grisly sacks of raw, dripping meat. “I hope you’re hungry, beasties!” shouted the goblin who was carrying a pointed hook strapped to a long pole. “Snarp, it’s your turn to feed them.”
“Who made you my boss?” cried Snarp.
“Your mother, when she made you a moron! Now get up there or I’ll use this on you!” the goblin said, waving a hook in Snarp’s face.
Grumbling, Snarp jumped to the top of the wall and began cursing at the snarling, snapping hipporines. Once he’d emptied his sack on to the heads of the beasts, the other two goblins tossed their sacks up to him and he threw that meat as well. When the sacks were empty, two of the goblins left while the third stayed long enough to toss a crust of bread at Jak. The goblin cackled when the crust landed on the ground, then hurried after his companions, shouting at them to slow down.
Jak waited until he could no longer hear their voices before going over the wall. Moments later he was bending over Tamisin where she lay curled on the ledge. She jerked away when he set his hand on her shoulder, and he remembered that she couldn’t see in the near dark. “The goblins are gone,” he said. “You can get down now. The hipporines won’t bother you while they’re eating.”
“I can’t see a thing,” said Tamisin. “I don’t suppose you have a light with you?”
“No, but then I haven’t needed one. Cat goblins can see when it’s this dark.” He heard a scraping sound and a quick indrawn breath. “Let me help you. Here’s my hand. Lean this way . . . That’s it. Now put your feet over the side.” Jak guided Tamisin as she crawled off the ledge, catching her when she slid the last few feet. He held her hand as they walked to the wall, then helped her over that as well.
“I wish I could make light the way the full-blooded fairies do,” said Tamisin. “All they have to do is beat their wings fast.”
“Have you tried it?” asked Jak.
“No, but I will now,” she said, taking off Gammi’s cape. “There’s plenty of room here. Stand back and let me see what I can do.”
Jak was amazed when Tamsin’s wings unfurled behind her. They were much bigger and more powerful than he’d imagined. The breeze they created when she moved them stirred up a small dust storm, making Jak’s eyes sting.
“Nothing’s happening,” Tamisin said eventually. “I didn’t really think I’d . . . Wait, did you see that?” she asked, suddenly sounding excited. “There was a glimmer, I’m sure of it! Hold on. Let me see . . .” Tamisin was panting now, her breath coming in short, sharp gasps as she beat her wings faster and faster. “There! I can see you. You don’t need to look so surprised.”
“I’m not. I just didn’t expect it to work so well.” He coughed, squinting at her through air now thick with yellow-brown motes. “You don’t have to beat your wings that fast. It’s too bright, and the dust . . .”
“Oh, sorry,” Tamisin said, slowing her wings to a less frenzied pace. She glanced at the entrance to the cave. “Do you suppose the door is still unlocked?”
“I hope so,” said Jak. “Otherwise we’re both trapped down here.”
Tamisin walked up the tunnel, beating her wings more slowly as she learned just how fast she needed to move them to create light. Jak followed, seeing the tunnel with real light for the first time. It seemed shorter that way, and they reached the end before he knew it.
While Tamisin stood to the side, still beating her wings, Jak tried the latch. It was locked. “Do you think you can change it like you did that door back at the inn?” she asked.
“I tried that before you got here. It didn’t work. The gnomes probably made the lock just like they did the one on the front door. Nothing can open that lock except the key that goes with it. But I’ll try again anyway.” After setting his hand on the door, Jak closed his eyes to focus on the lock and what he wanted it to become. A glob of raspberry jelly, he thought. That wouldn’t keep anything out. He could feel the tingling sensation, so when it grew strong enough, he pushed with his mind. Nothing happened except he got a pounding headache and the taste of raspberry jelly in his mouth.
“I didn’t think it would work,” he said. “We’re both trapped now. We should return to the cave in case someone comes back. My uncle must be up to something if he had his goblins feed the hipporines so early.”
“Are you sure there isn’t any other way out?” Tamisin asked as they turned around. “Could there be another door that the goblins don’t use very often?”
“Nothing that we can use,” said Jak. “Believe me, I’ve looked.”
Tamisin sighed. “I wish I hadn’t told Tobi to stop following me. If he had seen me leave the dance with Lurinda, he could have told my mother. At least then they’d have some idea where to look for me. If only I had some way to let them know . . .” Tamisin stopped near the end of the tunnel and stood so still that even her wings weren’t moving. “That’s it!” she cried. “All I need to do is dance!”
“If that will make you feel better,” Jak said.
“It’s not about how I feel,” said Tamisin, giving him an exasperated look. “Whenever I dance in the light of a full moon, fairies come to see me. They find me wherever I am. My parents thought they were fireflies and made me dance inside because they’d always show up.”
“But there isn’t a full moon now. Look!” Jak pointed towards the pool of water. Sunlight was streaming through the hole in the ceiling, making the water glint and sparkle beneath it. The sun had come up while they were in the tunnel.
“That doesn’t matter,” said Tamisin. “The moonlight taught me the dance, but I know it by heart now.”
“Don’t you need music?” asked Jak.
“The music is in my head,” she said, and she began to dance.
Jak watched as she twirled and spun, gesturing with her arms like a willow tree in the wind. With her body swaying, her wings fluttered like petals carried on a breeze one moment, then undulated like pond grass the next. Jak could see how fairies would be attracted to her dancing. It was the essence of nature, the heart of what gave the fairies their magic.
Tamisin danced with her eyes closed, but when she stopped she opened them and looked around expectantly. “They didn’t come,” she said, sounding disappointed. “I must have been wrong; it does work only when there’s a full moon.” Tamisin sighed and glanced up at the hole in the ceiling. “You know, there is another way. I wonder how big that hole is.”
Jak shrugged. “You’d have to be in the water and look straight up to see it.”
“Or fly,” said Tamisin, beating her wings. She rose above the water, making the surface dimple with the breeze her wings created. “I think it’s big enough,” she called back to Jak.
“Then you should go,” he said. “Maybe you can get word to someone that I’m down here.”
“I’m not leaving you,” said Tamisin, coming back to land beside him.
“If you’re thinking of carrying me, forget it. When fairies are full sized their wings aren’t strong enough to support their own weight for more than short distances. You’d never be able to fly up there with my weight too.”
“You’re forgetting one thing, Jak,” said Tamisin. “I’m not like most fairies.” Wrapping her arms around his waist, she looked up at the hole in the ceiling. “That isn’t too far. We’ll be out of here in a minute provided that hole is big enough for the both of us. I’ve never carried anyone before, so put your arms around me and hold on tight. You can close your eyes if you get scared.”
Jak laughed as he slid his hands under her wings just below her shoulder blades. The wings felt warm against the back of his hands and almost as smooth as her skin. “Why would I be scared?” he said when Tamisin began to beat her wings. “We’re not going anywhere.” And then they were off the ground and flying over the pool. Jak looked down. Heights had never bothered him, but then, he’d never flown before. As the pool receded below them and the hole in the ceiling drew closer, he tightened his arms around Tamisin and took deep breaths, trying to slow the pounding of his heart.
The walls of the hole were as smooth as if someone had carved them. Although the opening was about twelve feet wide when they entered it, it soon began to narrow. Soon Tamisin was struggling; the higher she flew, the less room there was to beat her wings. The walls couldn’t have been more than nine feet apart when her wings began to brush the sides of the hole. Her flying became more erratic, and the effort it took was obvious in the perspiration beading her forehead and the near-frantic look in her eyes. Jak wasn’t sure they were going to make it when he looked up. Although they were only a few yards from the opening at the top, the hole was closing in so much that soon Tamisin wouldn’t be able to move her wings at all.
Jak looked up to check the width of the hole. A group of small objects blocked the light around the edges, making the hole seem narrower and more irregular than it had from below. When the objects moved, Jak realised that cats were peering over the edge.
The walls were less than six feet apart when he said, “Now it’s my turn. I should be able to brace my body across the opening, and we can chimney-walk out of here.”
“What . . . are you . . . talking . . . about?” panted Tamisin, her muscles shaking with fatigue.
“It’s how I learned to climb up vertical shafts. You brace your back against one side and your hands and feet against the others. Then you work your way up the shaft by moving your back, then your feet. My friends and I had races at school, and I got pretty good at it.”
“I’ll try . . . anything.”
“When I give the word, you let go of me. Ready, set, now!”
When Tamisin took her arms from around him, Jak let her go as well and in the same movement flung himself against the wall. He slipped for a terrifying second before he braced himself. When he was comfortable with his position, Jak reached down to Tamisin, who was already losing height. He pulled her up beside him. “Close your wings!” he ordered and she did, snapping them shut and folding them away.
With Jak’s help, Tamisin climbed to the wall above him, bracing her body just as he told her to. Then, moving ever so carefully, they ascended the wall a few inches at a time. When Tamisin reached the top, she wasn’t sure what to do, so Jak situated himself so that she could use him as leverage. Tamisin was soon up and over and a moment later so was Jak.
Weak with relief, they were rubbing their aching muscles and congratulating each other when Jak saw the sparkle of fairy lights among the trees. He was still watching when the lights flickered and turned into full-sized warriors.
“I think we have company,” said Tamisin.
“I know,” said Jak. “Your dance worked!” Excited, he glanced at her, then turned around to see where she was pointing. “Oh!” he said, spotting the fierce-looking goblins entering the clearing.
With fairies on one side and goblins on the other, Jak and Tamisin had come out of the hole in the middle of a battleground.