twelve

Dad took Pink Suit’s hand and bowed over it. “I have heard that there are magical beings in this forest, and truly I believe it now, for such beauty cannot be mortal. My first glimpse of you will be forever etched in my memory, and I will define my waking days from the second I saw you. You must tell me your name.”

Okay … hand out the barf bags. But Dad had said not to interrupt.

The woman smiled, exposing more of her flashy white teeth. No wonder those dudes wore sunglasses. The glare from Pink Suit’s teeth would’ve blinded them. “My name is Dawn Valentine.”

Finch had taken a step toward him, as if she thought his words were for her. Dawn Valentine, the town council-woman with the stripper’s name, seemed hypnotized. Keelie was going to have to save her father. He had to be truly sick to be making lovey-dovey eyes at this woman.

Pink Suit flicked her hand toward the three men in sunglasses. “Go check out the privy at the end of this lane.” She pulled a Ren Faire map from her clipboard and gave it to the first guy.

He nodded and motioned with his head at the other two guys. They automatically followed him, focused on the sensors they’d pulled from their toolboxes. Even their steps were in unison.

Dad’s smile widened. “Dawn Valentine. Lovely. A name for a goddess.”

Goddess! Keelie felt a little nauseous.

Pink Suit pulled the hairpins from her bun and released her mousy brown hair, which fell limply to her shoulders. Highlights, volumizer, and a decent trim, stat! She looked Dad up and down. “And you are ... ?” Her tone had gone all girly and coy. Barf.

“How remiss of me. I’m Zeke Heartwood.” He extended his hand once more in an elegant gesture. The woman placed her hand limply into his.

Very nice, except Dad didn’t let go of her hand, and the woman didn’t look like she was in any hurry, either. Definitely elf flu. Either that or he’d gone insane.

Dad turned to Finch. “What are you ladies doing on such a lovely day?”

Finch gestured toward the woman. “Ms. Valentine’s with the Canooga Town Council. She’s here accompanying the gentlemen with the EPA.” She shot Pink Suit a dirty look.

“Have you found anything?” Dad looked into her eyes.

“They want to check out some unusual air readings near the mountaintop. There’s a power plant on the other side.” Ms. Valentine gestured toward the departing men. “And they’re setting up groundwater testing.”

Finch pointed in the direction of the forested hill behind the Enchanted Lane. “We were on our way up.”

That was where she had last seen the unicorn, Keelie realized. She doubted Dawn Valentine would be able to see a unicorn, but she was afraid that the EPA dudes had something that could sense the unicorn’s magic. She needed to get up to the mountain. With Dad busy, this would be a good chance to check it out.

“Can I join you? In addition to being a master carpenter, I am very knowledgeable about the forest.”

“No thanks. We have two scientists working with us,” Dawn Valentine replied.

“I have degrees in biology, geology, forestry management, and medieval poetry.”

Three hundred years gives you a lot of time to get an education.

“Wow!” Dawn Valentine seemed to have melted. She was looking at Zeke as if she was ready to give him everything he asked for.

Instead of looking disgusted at her reaction, his smile warmed. “May I escort both of you lovely ladies up the hill-side?”

Dawn simpered like a homely high school girl who was being loved on by the quarterback. “I would love it, but I know Ms. Finch has a lot of work to do, and I’ve taken up enough of her time.”

Finch, who seemed immune to Dad’s charms, nodded and looked relieved. “I do have a mountain of paperwork. I’ll let the two of you investigate the hillside.”

“It will be my pleasure.” Dad offered the hypnotized Dawn Valentine his elbow, and she linked her arms through his. They strolled down Enchanted Lane together. Keelie looked up expectantly at the oaks, hoping they would dump acorns on them, but none came.

Finch sneered as she watched them go. She glanced at Keelie. “Your dad can sure pile on the Heartwood charm.”

“Yep.” “Yep”.

“Doesn’t work on me!” She laughed. “Your dad is doing me a favor by getting Valentine out of my hair, so I’ll overlook the fact that you didn’t return to Admin after you got fired from Steak-on-a-Stake. I heard all about it. Turn your costume in bright and early on Saturday morning, and be ready to grovel, and just maybe I’ll give you another job.”

Keelie felt sick.

The costume was trashed. Her life would be over on Saturday morning. But Janice probably had a needle and thread; she could fix it. If not, then Keelie would have to write out her will this week.

Finch glanced at her illegal, anachronistic watch and frowned. “Gotta haul my butt over to the campground to make sure Little John has taken his medication. I swear all I do is babysit actors, artists, and whiners.” She started marching down the path. The dragon was back.

Dad was nowhere in sight, and Keelie returned to the shop to eat lunch. She needed to come up with a plan. She needed to be smart about this, and not go charging into the woods and possibly lead the EPA to the unicorn.

To her delight, the white cat sat atop the counter waiting for her. Knot was on the other end of the counter, purring his head off. The two cats were like furry bookends, except that the white cat didn’t purr. Keelie scratched its head. The more she thought about it, maybe now would be a good time to go and search for the unicorn.

“Have you seen my mystical friend in the woods?”

The cat closed its eyes and tucked its tail under its body.

She could walk in the woods to clear her head, and maybe if she ran across the unicorn, she could warn him about the EPA people and tell him to be careful. There had to be something she could do to make him better.

As she stepped out of the shop, Dad returned. “Where do you think you’re going?” He reached for Keelie’s elbow and guided her back inside.

“I was going to look for the unicorn, to warn him.”

“I don’t want you going into the forest alone.” His green eyes sparkled and his skin glowed. He leaned against one of the shop’s posts. The cinnamon scent faded, and with it, his glow, until he looked as worn and sick as he had at breakfast. Worse, even.

“Dad you look awful. Let me find the unicorn. I know I can do it.”

He sighed and rubbed his forehead as if his head ached. “You know, the elven have a saying: ‘As the forest goes, so go the elves.’ We’re not doing very well.”

“Then how come I’m not sick?”

He reached out to touch her rounded right ear. “Thank your mother.”

“That doesn’t explain Elia and Elianard. They look like you do when you put on the elven bling.”

A pathetic twitch of his lips was probably supposed to be a smile. “Elven bling?” He frowned. “So, those two are unaffected? Curious. I’m trying to discover what’s going on, and I’m convinced they’re part of it.”

“Does that include acting like a gigolo with that woman in the hideous pink suit?”

“A gigolo? That’s insulting.”

“You actually know what a gigolo is? Astonishing.”

“Don’t look surprised. I read. And I was merely charming Miss Valentine, and redirecting her attention away from the unicorn.”

“You didn’t do it with her, did you?” Keelie didn’t really want to know the details of how he’d redirected her attention, but she blurted out the question as soon as it popped into her mind. “That would be so gross.”

Dad’s face grew as red as Finch’s. “Absolutely not! You don’t ask your father a question like that. To reassure you and your overactive imagination, Miss Valentine isn’t my type, and I wouldn’t glamour a woman for romantic purposes. I don’t need to. Come on. We have to get back to work.”

“Work? In your condition? You dragged me to the herb shop for the tincture, and now I think it’s your turn to go there.” Maybe Dad was affected by the woods cursed with the Dread. But the Dread wasn’t here, and she was still getting that creepy, anxious feeling that made it hard to breathe—which preceded the paralyzing fear.

“What’s wrong, Keelie?”

“Yes, Keelie, whatever is the matter?” asked an oily voice. Elianard entered the shop and Keelie grimaced. Cinnamon was still the smell of the Dread. And of Elianard.

Elianard was a Ren Faire god in his flowing, embroidered robes. He lowered his gaze to the blocks on the worktable and smiled. “Your daughter is making your toys? How gratified you must be, Zekeliel. She is just like you. Well, the elven part.” He looked up, green eyes full of malice. “The forest dies around us, and you make toys, Tree Shepherd.”

Ouch. He was saying exactly what she’d been thinking. How disturbing to share opinions with evil Elianard. Keelie stood with her hands on her hips, determined not to let him get to her anymore. The magic rose in her. She stepped away from the walls and furniture, seeking distance between herself and wood. The hair on her arms stood on end, and Elianard’s long silvery locks starting to float around his head. He looked like a dandelion puff she could magically blow.

Dad stepped between her and Elianard, blocking the haughty elf’s gaze. “What do you want?”

“I’m here to deliver a message from the Council.” He smiled. “They’ll be arriving from Florida and Oregon. You’ve been summoned to answer for the oaks and for the status of the Wildewood. In the meantime, three of us wish to speak to the evergreens. We want to hear from them personally what ails this woodland realm because the Dread will soon be following the same pattern. You will be our guide, Tree Shepherd.”

“If I refuse?”

Elianard smiled. “You have no choice. Keliatiel commands it, as she should, given your family’s history.”

Dad flinched as if Elianard had punched him in the face.

“We’re meeting tonight at moonrise, in the old oak glade in the shadow of the three mountains. You’ve been summoned … ” Elianard raised an arm and pointed toward the hills that towered over the river’s edge. His long sleeve swept back, the end trailing the ground, the embroidery shimmering in the soft light. All of him seemed to glow with some type of luminescence. “ … To take us to the evergreens.”

No wonder Dad looked shocked. His own mother had sided against him. Normally, Keelie couldn’t stand Elianard, but there was something about him today that intrigued her, a charisma that hadn’t been there before. Was Dad’s charm magic still lingering in the air? She couldn’t tell. The Dread smelled of cinnamon, too.

“And you volunteered to meet with the evergreens?” Dad arched an eyebrow. “Why? What do you really want?” Keelie knew he suspected Elianard of bringing the Red Cap down on them in Colorado, and wondered why he didn’t just accuse him.

Elianard put a hand against his chest, frowning as if injured. “Don’t you trust me? Surely you do not think that the unfortunate series of circumstances at the High Mountain Faire had anything to do with me?”

Dad nodded solemnly. “I cannot accuse where there is no proof. Yet you are the only one who knows the lore books well enough to call upon the dark fae.”

“One could likewise accuse your daughter. Perhaps it was her tainted human half that lured the Red Cap to us.”

Yeah, right. Keelie had been there. She’d almost died trying to save the trees of the High Mountain, and Sir Davey had been injured.

Dad lowered his head, his eyes still on Elianard like a bull about to charge. He seemed stronger. “Whenever you’re around, magic is blighted. I can’t prove to the Council that you are the cause, but I can prevent you from harming my daughter. I warn you, stay away from her.”

Elianard’s face hardened. “Is that a threat, Zekeliel?”

“If that is how you choose to interpret my words, so be it.”

“I should report your irrational behavior to Lord Niriel,” Elianard said stiffly.

“And risk exposing yourself? An empty threat, Elianard.” Dad stepped forward. “If the Council wishes to inform me of a meeting, they’d best send another messenger. It is difficult for me to accept your words as truth. And as far as being your guide to the evergreens, speak to them yourself.”

Whoa.

Elianard’s voice dripped with restrained contempt. “You’ll guide us to the evergreens whether you want to or not. We must know what is going on in the forest. Have you been feeling a little under the weather, lately, Zekeliel? If so, you’re not the only one of the Faire Folk to feel sick.”

Dad shrugged. “There’s a bug going around, as my daughter would say.”

“The elven are not the only ones falling prey to the illness. The Council has issued a mandatory quarantine at the lodge and a curious journalist is investigating why some of the humans are getting sick. She’s noticed some odd differences between some of the Faire workers, and is calling attention to the EPA’s presence at the Faire.”

Dad’s expression went from nonchalant to pensive. “This goes along with information I received this afternoon from a human scientist. I’ll send a message to the Council. The EPA was indeed here, and they’re going to investigate even more closely.”

Elianard’s complexion whitened a shade or two. He reached for the worktable and steadied himself, then looked at Dad, who had crossed his arms over his chest. An understanding glance passed between the two men, as if they’d declared a truce. They’d probably realized that they were going to have to work together against the EPA.

The turbulent energy in the shop settled down. It was still tense, but calmer. Keelie turned away, but stopped—“Lulu?”

The puppet woman stood at the shop entrance wearing full fairy godmother gear, including sparkling wings. Dad and Elianard turned at the same time and stared, open-mouthed, at Lulu.

She came inside, but stopped when she saw Elianard. Keelie noticed that Lulu’s costume exposed quite a bit of cleavage; she looked more wenchy than fairy godmothery.

With her gaze glued on Elianard, Lulu leaned against a post and spoke in a smoky, seductive voice. “Hello. What is your name?”

Dad’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Lulu? Is everything okay?”

“I’m fine. Never better, but you must introduce me to your handsome friend here.” Her voice became even darker and sexier.

Keelie turned to look at Elianard. Again, there was something about him today that just drew you into his energy. It was like being mesmerized by a candle flame and wanting to reach out to touch the fire.

Lulu did a va-va-voom saunter over to Elianard, who seemed very uncomfortable to have a human woman openly flirting with him. This was good. Keelie was still miffed with the puppet lady after the Plumpkin incident, but all would be forgiven after this little spectacle.

Dipping her shoulder seductively, so that Elianard could get a good view of her chest, Lulu lifted her skirt to expose some calf from beneath her white sparkly dress. “Oh, baby, I’ve been looking for a man like you. You’ve got power unlike anything I’ve ever sensed before, and I’m looking for a man with energy like yours. You can handle me.”

Mother Goose was on the loose, and she’d found her an elfman to keep her warm. Keelie clapped her hand over her mouth.

Elianard looked like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming tractor-trailer.

Lulu placed her hand on his shoulder and whispered in his ear.

Dad walked over to Keelie and smiled at her with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

“There’s something about you that I find deeply attractive. Want to come over and play with my puppets?” Lulu gave him a seductive pout and made kissy motions.

Elianard grimaced and removed Lulu’s hand from his shoulder, a scornful look on his face. “I must pass on your, er, eloquent invitation.”

“Oh, baby, don’t say no, come down to my camper and I’ll bake you my special chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. You won’t be able to resist my cupcakes. They’re so yummy.” She waggled her shoulders, giving a different meaning to the idea of baked goods.

Elianard turned and left the shop, walking quickly. The amorous puppet lady trotted at his heels, making kissy noises.

Dad’s whisper interrupted Keelie’s enjoyment of the sickly fascinating scene. “I need to save Elianard.”

“Don’t you mean save Lulu?”

“Not really. Interesting comment Lulu made about Elianard being a powerful man, but for the moment let it suffice to say that Lulu is a witch, and Elianard is Elianard. Even though they deserve one another, we need to discover the source of the elven flu.”

“Lulu’s a witch?”

Dad nodded. “Have you noticed the way children flock to her booth? It’s not just because of the toys she sells. I was going to inquire about her with the WWA.”

“WWA?” Keelie frowned. “Sounds like some television wrestling league.”

“It’s the Wizards and Witches Association. I think Lulu is enchanting children and stealing their energy.”

“That is so vile.” Keelie remembered the kids with blank faces who trailed around after the puppet lady.

“The Faire isn’t just a good cover for elves. A great many beings find it convenient … ”

Lulu, across the lane, was plastered against Elianard, body to body. The veins in his forehead popped out like thin purple rivers. He bit down on his lips as if he were trying hard not to scratch a really bad itchy rash in public.

The ground seemed to surge and billow around Keelie, and the oaks seemed to be walking toward her. Clammy, cold, and disoriented, she tried to breathe, but cinnamon clogged her nose. The Dread was hitting her like a tidal wave.