nine

Keelie ran down the path to the parking lot ahead of her father. She'd spent the morning doing her laundry with Dad's herbal soap. Now her panties smelled like cat pee and lavender.

She'd tried to use the washers and dryers, but had stopped dead ten feet away and out of sight of the occupants.

The little glass-fronted room with the two commercial washers and dryers was full of half-naked pirates. They were drinking mead, throwing dice, and waving their arms, probably telling stories to each other, and not one of them had on more than underwear.

Keelie presumed that their clothes were being washed, but she wasn't about to go near the place, no matter how good they looked. And some of them were lots of fun to look at. She could sell tickets. The Full Randy-a new pirate show.

It had been a pain to do the laundry by hand. Next time, pirates or no pirates, she was using the machines, or else she'd be the one that was naked. But that might be moot. In two hours she'd be at the mall.

Keelie stared in disbelief at the ancient pickup truck with its rusted hood. She'd rushed through Ariel's feeding for this?

"Like I'm going to be seen riding around in this ski chalet on wheels," Keelie said. "Everybody who sees me get out of this contraption will expect me to yodel."

The thought of shopping at a real mall had made her almost giddy, but the jubilation deflated when she saw Zeke's unbearable ride.

The pickup truck wasn't so bad. It was even kind of cool, in a retro-cowboy way. But the A-frame camper attached to the back of it, decorated like a shop project birthday cake with gingerbread trim, horrified her.

Zeke sighed. "It's the only wheels I have, Keelie, so if you want to go to the mall and buy some new clothes, then you're riding in this `ski chalet on wheels."'

"I don't see how you draw the chicks with this," she said. "This buggy broadcasts `Granola Acres Retirement Home' loud and clear."

"This is just transportation, Keelie. And I'm older than I look, but I'm not retirement age."

"How old are you?" It hadn't occurred to her before to ask his age.

"Old enough to be your daddy." He opened the camper. "Would you like the grand tour, mademoiselle?"

She was going to refuse, but the smell of cedar wafted from the dark interior like a forest perfume. Irresistible.

Her hand reached out, fingertips touching the wood of the camper frame. It was blue spruce and cedar, from a remote northern forest in Alberta, Canada. Lovely.

She was growing used to the internal wood identification system she seemed to have been born with. In L.A. it had been faint, but here, surrounded by old forest, it was like a sound system turned up full blast.

The inside of the camper looked like a dollhouse. A small stove and refrigerator lined the back, next to a minute countertop and sink. Garlands of garlic and dried red peppers hung from a cup hook overhead.

"This is so cute!" As long as it stayed parked right here.

She ran her hand over the homemade quilt with awesome tree appliques that was tucked over the mattress on the shelf bolted to the wall.

A smaller shelf below the big one held a round pet bed lined with fleece and decorated with reindeer. Even if she hadn't guessed that it was Knot's bed, Keelie recognized his orange cat hair. An evil smile tugged at her lips. So, the wittle bitty kitty had a reindeer bed. She'd remember to torment him with that knowledge next time she saw him.

She looked out a window and saw the majestic Rockies, rising like giant stone teeth, and the Faire, tucked in at the bottom of the rising rock mammoths like a village from a fairy tale by Grimm.

Keelie glanced around the small interior. It had a cozy, self-sufficient atmosphere to it. She loved it, but something had to be done about the hideous alpine hillbilly exterior.

"Getting the fifty-cent tour?" Raven stuck her head in the door. "So, Keelie, what do you think?"

"This is too cute. Like a little dollhouse."

Zeke smiled at Keelie.

"I just don't want to be seen driving in it." She watched her father's smile vanish.

"Yeah, just think how it'll be learning how to drive it. You're fifteen, right?"

Learn to drive? In this? Keelie grabbed the doorway. Elm.

Zeke looked kind of faint, too. "Learn to drive? Already?"

"Miss fourteen years and it kind catches up to you, doesn't it?" Keelie stood straighter. Learning to drive in this buggy was so not going to happen, but if it made Zeke uncomfortable, she'd let him think she wanted it.

"Mom had a Volvo. Fabulous safety rating." She flicked the doorway with her finger.

Raven grinned up at her. "My mom taught me how to drive in her old VW van. It was like driving a box. Worse, it reeked of stale patchouli."

Raven shouldered her purse. She looked great in hiphugging jeans and layered sweaters. As she reached up, Keelie saw a glint of gold at the waistband of Raven's jeans. A belly ring.

Envy stung Keelie. She wanted one so badly. For sure she'd have it before the summer was done.

"Earth to Keelie. Ready to go to the mall?" Raven was grinning.

Mall! Keelie'd been distracted from her mission for new clothes. She wanted-no, needed-to go shopping. It wasn't just about underwear. She craved the processed air, the new-clothes smell of retail heaven, not to mention the scents of fresh high-end coffee brewing, perfume samples, and the mingled smells of the food court-cinnamon buns, French fries, and Chinese food-that would infuse new life into her blood cells. She jumped down from the camper, landing with a splash.

"I'm ready."

If she had to ride in the Swiss Miss Mobile to get there, then by golly, she'd do it. Mom would've been proud that Keelie hadn't let any obstacle stop her from going shopping.

Zeke hopped into the driver's side of the ancient truck, inserted his key, and the engine coughed like a chain-smoking emphysema patient Keelie'd met when she'd gone on pink lady volunteer rounds with Grandma Josephine.

Raven jumped in next to Keelie after she got back in, squishing her against Zeke, then slammed the passengerside door shut.

Finally, the engine sputtered to life. Zeke pulled out of the graveled back parking lot where the Renaissance Faire actors and vendors parked their personal vehicles.

The place was crowded with Faire workers in everyday clothes, enjoying their day off. She didn't see Captain Randy. She almost giggled at the thought of just how much of him she'd seen earlier. It gave a whole new meaning to the phrase "pirate booty."

"On weekdays the craftspeople work on their wares, making more stock for the weekends," Zeke explained.

Raven laughed. "Not everyone's a craftsperson. A lot of us go to the laundromat, the grocery store, and do all those errands we don't have time for during the weekends."

Another pickup truck approached them, this one perfectly normal, with no dents, and best of all, no chalet on the back. It was full of long-haired guys. The driver leaned out and blew kisses at them. Captain Randy! Had he seen her?

Zeke shook his head.

Raven rolled her eyes. "That idiot. He was probably at the Admin office picking up his paycheck."

"Paycheck?" It hadn't occurred to Keelie that these guys got paid. She thought they all sold their stuff, like her dad did.

Raven gave her a look. "This ain't Middle Earth. The ones who aren't craftspeople are actors and performers."

"Does Elia get paid, too?"

"You bet."

"Not for her personality, that's for sure." As they approached the highway, Keelie ducked down.

"Need a nap?" Zeke's perfect profile was turned toward the road.

"Nope. Just because I had some kind of Little House on the Prairie spasm in the camper does not mean I want to be seen hauling it through the hills like Jed Clampett's kin."

"Jed who?"

Keelie sighed. The man was a media moron. "I'll bet you never watch Nick at Nite, do you? Hello? The Beverly Hillbillies?"

"Never met them."

Raven laughed and started to sing the theme song.

"And you're probably old enough to have seen them when the show was new," Keelie added.

He grinned. "I probably am."

"At least the rain's held off this morning." Raven looked at the lowering dark clouds.

"Business is way off because of it." Zeke drove with both hands on the wheel. Mom had driven with one hand on the wheel and a cell phone in the other.

"Elianard doesn't seem to be hurting financially." Keelie remembered his lush robe and fancy house.

"He doesn't show his face much at the Faire. He must have another business," Raven said.

"He's a teacher." Zeke turned on the truck lights as rain hammered them.

Keelie couldn't imagine what the beaky-nosed, arro gant man could teach. He hadn't taught his daughter any manners, that was for sure.

Two hours later, after driving in pouring-down rain around what seemed like every street in the world, they arrived at the mall. Funny-it only should have taken thirty minutes from the Renaissance Faire grounds to the mall, according to Cameron.

Like a typical man, Dad refused to ask for directions. Whenever Raven asked if he could pull over in a service station to ask, he said, "I know what I'm doing." If Mom had been driving, she'd have used her sales sonar to zone in on the exact location. Or her GPS system.

Keelie sighed with delight as she scanned the grand temples of retail. She'd brought her money with her, but she wasn't going to spend it unless she had to. Dad owed her. She'd spend his money first. Plus, she might need it when she left for L.A.

"You girls hop out here, and I'll park the truck."

Keelie hopped out and ran for the doors, not anxious to be seen leaving the Swiss Miss Chalet on wheels.

She and Raven went through the revolving doors and stopped inside by a bubbling fountain. Music wafted through the air above the hushed murmurs of hundreds of shoppers.

Keelie took a deep breath, ready for a hit of that shopping-mall smell. This California girl was so ready.

Instead, the air seemed stale, a recycled stink that seemed familiar, but gross. Artificial. It wasnt the life-reviving result she'd anticipated. The first inhalation of mall air had always filled Keelie with a feeling of delirious anticipation. She stared around at the carefully manicured indoor gardens, the water fountain, the bright colors of store signs, and carefully arranged displays. It all seemed fake.

Don't panic, she reassured herself. She'd been through a lot of stress, and she needed to get inside a store. A real store with real clothes, and then she'd feel like the real Keelie.

"I'm ready for a tall latte and a dose of retail therapy," Raven declared.

Zeke joined them, looking disoriented and totally out of place.

"Where do we start?" he asked. "I take it this is your natural environment?"

Keelie swept her arm in a dramatic gesture, then twirled around on one foot like a ballerina. "This is my world."

Zeke sighed. "Then give me the grand tour."

Keelie scanned the directory and found her favorite store. "La Jolie Rouge is on the third floor. Let's start there."

"I love their clothes." Raven ran her finger down the illuminated glass sign. "Here's the coffee shop. Want to come there with me first, or shall I join you later?"

"Let's get this over with as quickly as possible." Zeke didn't look well.

She wanted to do it all, but if her father was going to declare a time limit, she needed to strategize.

"Get me a double-shot grande latte. And if they have almond biscotti, a couple of those." Keelie looked at her father. "How about you? Herb tea?"

"Green tea," he corrected. "With honey."

"Fair trade honey." Raven laughed. "Okay, folks, see you in a bit." She disappeared into the crowd.

Zeke stepped awkwardly onto the escalator, and Keelie took his arm. She didn't want him to fall down and cut their shopping trip short. He drew himself up, standing straight, and patted her on the hand, but his gaze was fixed overhead, on the skylights, where rain pattered onto the glass panels. Zeke's hair had parted around his ear, and Keelie saw a pointed ear tip.

She touched her round right ear, then felt the left one, the one with the funky pointed tip that she always kept covered with her hair or a headband. Mom had said it was a kind of birthmark. Now she knew who to blame.

Maybe all the pointy ears she'd seen earlier weren't fakes, but she was at the mall. She'd ask him about it later.

In La Jolie Rouge, she raced to the teen section, where she quickly started picking out clothes to try on. She narrowed her choices down to ten shirts and five pairs of hip-hugger pants. Zeke sat on a wooden window seat and leaned his head against the glass wall, arms crossed and eyes closed. Shopping obviously wasn't his fave activity.

A young salesgirl with a pierced eyebrow helped Keelie carry her clothes to the dressing room.

"Where did you get your piercing done?" Keelie whispered, glancing toward her snoozing parent.

The girl, whose nametag read "Gabrielle," said, "The only cool place to go is Uncle Harry Mac's."

"Uncle Harry Mac's?" said Keelie. It sounded like a fast food restaurant.

"Yeah, he's got places all over Colorado. And he does it all: tattoos, eyebrows, ears, and belly button rings." Gabrielle lifted her shirt and showed Keelie her pierced belly button ring. A tiny fairy charm dangled from the ring. Fairies. She just couldn't get away from the darn things.

"I want my belly button pierced, too," Keelie said.

"So, who's the hottie you're with?" asked Gabrielle. And she pointed toward Zeke, who still had his eyes closed and his arms crossed, except now his head was sort of slumped over to the left, and he was making snorting sounds. Hottie? No way.

"He's my father."

"Whoa, girl." Gabrielle stared at Zeke again, then at her.

Keelie snatched the remaining pants and shirts from Gabrielle. The girl may have had good taste in clothes, but as far as men-gross. Her father.

Keelie tried on a tank top that said Vampire Girl in glittering sequins across her chest. The short top exposed a lot of skin. The jeans hung just right on her hips, though Keelie didn't like the cool air on her butt dimples. What were her girlfriends wearing in California? Keelie Heartwood was definitely a fashionista, not a Rennie.

She ran her hands across her belly button. "We're going to be making a little trip to Uncle Harry Mac's," she said to her little innie. "But no fairy charms. A plain hoop, or maybe my birthstone."

No matter what Zeke said, Mom had promised. Well, she'd promised that they'd discuss it when she got back from her business trip. The world owed her a pierced belly button.

"Are you decent?" Raven stuck her head over the dressing room door.

"What if I wasn't?" Keelie tried to look indignant, but then she saw the hand appear under the stall door, holding a big paper-sleeved coffee cup. "Bless you. You may enter."

Raven came in, sipping her coffee. "Cool outfit. Love it.

Keelie twirled to show her the back. "Think my father will let me buy it?"

"Not a chance. But he's out there canoodling with the shop girl, so you can use that as leverage."

"What?" Keelie stuck her head out of the stall door. Gabrielle was sitting very close to Zeke. He had a perplexed expression on his face. Eek. Keelie had to put a stop to this. She jumped out and struck a ta-da pose.

"Hey Dad, what do you think?"

Gabrielle smiled. "Cool outfit. You got it happenin', girlfriend."

Her father frowned. "Vampire Girl? It's not happening, Keelie."

"What do you mean it's not happening? What do you know about fashion?"

He stood and folded his arms across his chest, like the Jolly Green Giant. "I don't know anything about fashion, but I know vampires. I'm not buying that for you."

Gabrielle's eyes widened. "Cool."

"Oh, come on. I brought my own money, and I'll buy it myself if I have to." Keelie looked toward Raven for a little support. Raven sipped her coffee and watched them as if they were a vaguely interesting TV show.

"I'm buying it."

"Fine. Buy it. Waste your money. I'm sure Knot will agree with me. It's too adult for you, and vampires are evil. You won't wear it."

"What do you mean Knot will agree? Knot is a cat."

"Remember that incident with your underwear?"

Gabrielle looked confused. "Your cat picks your underwear?"

Raven was bent over, wiping coffee from her nose.

"Yuk it up, Raven. You are not helping here." She turned to Zeke and Gabrielle. "I am so not discussing my underwear with you." She didn't specify who "you" was.

In the dressing room, Keelie angrily tugged the Vampire Girl tank over her head. One thing Mom had taught her was not to waste money, even if it was to spite someone. She surveyed the clothes-if this top wasn't happening, then the others weren't happening. Except for maybe a green cotton shirt with drawstrings at the chest and long bell sleeves. Galadriel wear. What was the name of that stupid store? Galadriel's Closet. Probably all the people walking around with their prosthetic ears shopped there. Not her. She covered her pointed ear with her hair.

She stepped out of the dressing room. Zeke was looking through some blouses on a round rack. Raven trailed after them, a hanger over her shoulder. The sales girl had three on her arm. "Yeah, that's way cool. Sort of Lord of the Rings-like, you know," Raven said.

Keelie cleared her throat.

"Hey, girlfriend, that outfit is so you," Gabrielle said. She glanced up at Zeke, all flirty. "If your dad says so, that is."

Dad nodded. "That's more like it. You look beautiful, Keelie."

Gabrielle held out some more shirts. "Check these out. Your old man picked them out."

Keelie took them. Great, if you went to a severe private school for fairy princesses. She was not going back with Elia's wardrobe.

A white gauze one with colorful embroidery around the neck was the only decent one. She held it out. "This one doesn't suck too much."

Raven held out her hanger. Black jeans and two tops, one a skinny long-sleeved sweater, the other a beaded gauze poet shirt. All black.

Zeke stared at them. "Decent but depressing."

"Everyone in New York dresses like this." Raven held out the hangers, admiring her choices. "If you don't like these, I'm buying them for myself."

"They're very you," Keelie agreed. "I don't know what to get."

"Something colorful that fits. Something for girls." Zeke looked at Gabrielle for advice.

"Buttons 'n Lace is over there." Gabrielle pointed to one side of the mall. "And Noir Leather is over there." She pointed to the other side of the mall. "Girls wear all of those clothes."

Gabrielle was trying to be helpful, but Zeke glared at her.

"You all decide. I'm checking out Noir Leather." Raven grabbed her coffee cup and stood. "Tarl's girlfriend shops there. You know the one, Keelie. She was scoping out your Dad's butt the other day."

Keelie also remembered the silhouettes on Tarl's tent. "Oh, gross."

Keelie watched Raven go. Keelie was so going to get even with Raven for abandoning her to her father's fashion sense.

After trying on more jeans and shirts, Keelie wore the green top with bell sleeves and jeans that hung on her hips but didn't expose her butt dimples. Dad had bought her five shirts and five pairs of pants. She'd used her own money to buy the Vampire Girl top. She was not leaving it behind. And if Knot did anything to it, she'd have a pair of kitty-fur earmuffs, too.

Holding the two heavy La Jolie Rouge bags definitely balanced Keelie. She felt more like her old self.

Her dad, however, looked paler than she'd ever seen him-even more ashen than when Gabrielle had rung up the clothes and announced the total. It didn't seem to make him feel better when Keelie reassured him that spending five hundred dollars at La Jolie Rouge hadn't been that bad. They had really come out cheap. He just didn't get shopping.

After a stop at a shoe store, where he bought her the latest Nikes, she tossed her muddy Skechers into the box, demoted to work shoes. Zeke had paled again when the cashier said the total was one hundred and seven dollars. Keelie had to pat his arm to reassure him that it was okay.

She pulled the credit card from his hand as he was re turning it to his wallet. "Bank of Dread Forest? Is that for real?"

The sales clerk smiled. "Sure is, or at least my computer thinks so. Zekeliel Heartwood. Love that name." Her voice was sweet enough to draw ants.

Keelie pictured fire ants in the woman's super-short skirt and smiled. She gave him back his card. "Dread is Elianard's dog, too. He said he couldn't believe I'd gotten past him."

Zeke choked on a sip of green tea.

They caught up with Raven at Noir Leather. Just entering the shop was an education. An adult education. Zeke hastily dragged her back out and made her wait in the mall while he found Raven.

Keelie stared at the underwear on the mannequins in the window. They looked like Knot had gotten to them. Shredded, with chains.

Raven was loaded with packages, too. "Power shopping."

The last stop was a major department store for peefree underwear, bras, and socks. Raven was a big help here, and two hundred dollars later, even Keelie had to admit she was wiped. The Bank of Dread Forest credit card had had a workout.

All the women in the Mall of Colorado kept gazing at Zeke as if he was some sort of Adonis, but he didn't return their eye contact. He focused his attention on Keelie. And she liked that.

"Hey Zeke, how about something to eat before we return to the Faire? There's a food court here." Raven had turned to look down a corridor, nose twitching.

Keelie's stomach rumbled at the scent of real, non-medieval food. Chinese. Suddenly, she craved egg rolls.

"Is it anything like the King's court?" Zeke asked.

"Surely, you jest," said Keelie.

Zeke stopped and smiled at her. "You made a joke."

"Yeah, she's feeling better." Raven poked her shoulder.

The realization that she'd made a joke startled her. It had to have been all the shopping. She was back in the normal world. She had to be careful-she was slipping. He might get the idea that they were getting along.

On the way to the food court, Keelie saw a stand of pay phones. A lifeline to Laurie. Maybe she'd have a moment to slip away and call.

At the fast food Chinese restaurant, Keelie ordered sweet and sour chicken and egg rolls. Zeke ordered some vegetarian concoction with tofu.

As they stood in line for their food, Keelie said casually, "Hey, I need to use the ladies' room."

"Go ahead. I'll find a table."

"I'll come with you." Raven walked with her toward the ladies' room.

"Raven, I really wanted to call my friend in California." She held her breath, thinking that the older girl might tell Zeke.

"Cool. I've got to wash my hands. I touched everything at Noir Leather." Raven left her by the pay phones and walked on.

Keelie punched in the 1-800 number on the metal buttons. No hawks here, thank goodness.

"To whom would you like to make a collect call?"

"Laurie Abernathy. I mean, Elizabeth Abernathy, in Los Angeles, California."

The connection was made, and as before the operator asked, "Would you accept a collect call from Keelie Heartwood?" to the party on the other end.

"Yes. Most definitely." Laurie's voice sounded wonderful, especially here in the shopping mall, surrounded by her purchases. Her spirit felt renewed. She felt closer to Mom.

"Go ahead." The operator's voice disconnected.

"Yo, Keelie, what happened yesterday?"

"Long story."

"How's it going? Is it as primitive as we thought?"

"More so. And you wouldn't believe how weird. I need to get out of here."

"Working on a plan. I've been trying to reach you for, like, forever on the cell phone."

"I dropped it into the mud. It's not working."

"Major bummer."

"Yeah, and worse, my clothes aren't with me. They're in Istanbul."

"Like in Turkey?"

"As in the capital of. At least my father's had to buy me all new clothes. I'm at the mall now. Back to the plan."

"Major problems? Mom may not be so hot on you moving in. She's, like, got a major new boyfriend?" Her voice rose at the end of her most of her sentences, making everything a question.

"Well, I never did exactly firm it up with her."

"Keelie. I thought it was handled."

"I didn't have a lot of time to cement things before the attorney showed up with the plane tickets."

Keelie knew she had to get back before Zeke thought she'd fallen into the toilet. Raven hadn't come out of the ladies' room yet.

"We would have had it all settled if you hadn't run." Laurie sounded peeved.

"I'll come up with a new plan. Maybe I could stay with you until I do," said Keelie.

"Way, girl. Are you sure, though? Like, my mom is having major PMS this week. Even I would consider hanging out in a tent to get away from Grizzly Mama," said Laurie. "She even made me do my own laundry."

"At least you have a washer and dryer." Zeke had found a table. Keelie could see him scanning the area for them. "I'll try to call you in a couple of days. Zeke's watching me like a hawk." Hawk. A pang went through her chest. She was supposed to continue Ariel's feedings.

"Gotcha. Take care, Keelie. I'll call my cousin in Boulder to see if she can help us out."

"Great. Bye, Laurie." Keelie hung up. She missed her friend. They had been together since preschool, and not being together was like not being with a sister.

She closed her eyes. Hold back those tears. Keeping her feelings locked in her box was getting harder. A hand with a tissue appeared in front of her face.

"Thanks, Raven." Keelie took it and dabbed her eyes.

Raven looked sympathetic. "It's tough, I know. Let's eat."

Sympathetic up to a point. They headed back to the table.

Zeke sat with a big mound of vegetarian noodles studded with tofu nuggets. Keelie wasn't hungry anymore. She picked at her food while Zeke ate his.

Raven looked from one to the other, then put down her chopsticks. "I think I have to go back to the leather shop. I think I left something there."

"Do you want us to come along?" Zeke frowned.

"No, eat. I'll be back. You guys talk."

When she was gone, Zeke turned to Keelie. "Are you okay?"

She didn't answer. Her chopstick picked up peas and carrots and piled them into a veggie landfill on a corner of her plate.

"I guess coming to a mall is too much like home and reminds you of your mom."

Keelie looked up at him, amazed that he knew what she was thinking. "Why did you let Mom leave?"

He seemed to be trying to keep his face blank, to hold some deep emotion back. Keelie could give him a lesson or two on that.

"Mom said she didn't want to live in a fairy tale world where she could never belong. Is that the truth?"

Dad lowered his plastic fork. "Your mother needed to be in her world, and I had to be in my world. She was young, as I was, when we met and fell in love."

Keelie placed her hands underneath her knees. "Why did you guys get married?"

"I couldn't imagine living without her. She felt the same way about me. Or at least she did at first." He slumped, as if he was very tired.

"And because you had me."

"No, I married your mother because I loved her." He smiled, but it wasn't happy. "You came along after we had been married for a couple of years. You were a blessing to us both, Keelie."

When had his eyes gotten bloodshot? Was he going to cry in the food court? Keelie looked around nervously. No one was paying attention. She wanted answers, and this was neutral territory for everyone.

"Then why didn't you guys stay together?" Her voice sounded strained. She was trying to keep it down.

"Even when two people love each other as much as your mom and I did, sometimes it's too hard to blend their two worlds into one, especially after they have children. If there can't be a compromise, then one of them must choose. We tried. Your mother wanted you in her world, but I couldn't join you there. I loved you both, and I thought it would be better for you." He looked sick as he said it.

"I wanted you both, too. Why couldn't you come to California? It's nice there. People love high-end furniture, too. Your stuff is great; you would've made a killing."

"It's pointless to discuss it now. You're here with me."

"Hey, everyone ready to go? I saw the Weather Channel on the news monitor by the restrooms. Tornado warnings all around the range." Raven looked worried. "I don't want to leave Mom alone."

A sharp pain shot through Keelie's chest. If Mom was alive, Keelie would do exactly the same thing that Raven was doing: get back to her mom because she was worried about her. It hurt that she wouldn't have that opportunity again.

Zeke stood up and swayed.

"Whoa, Zeke. Are you all right? You look awful." Raven grabbed his elbow.

"He's looked bad since we got here," Keelie said.

Raven looked at Zeke, who hadn't answered. She bit her lip. "Okay. I drive up the mountain."

"I can do it. Maybe it was the food." He looked down at the Styrofoam tray and plastic fork.

Keelie thought she heard him mutter, "Wood." He managed to walk all the way back to the truck, then collapsed on the bed in the back.

"Looks like I'm driving after all." Raven took the keys from his hand. Keelie lifted the seat of a built-in bench and took out a folded blanket. She unfurled the thick folds and tucked them around her father. He murmured "wood" again, but didn't open his eyes.

She took his hand and moved it until it touched the wall. Her own fingers brushed it. Cedar.

"Cedar," he murmured.

Keelie backed away from the bunk. What was this? Dad had called it a gift. Her mother had called it a wood allergy. It was more. Mom had lied. Keelie called it a curse. Keelie thought of her dancing attacker and the moving stick men and the voice from under the bridge. This little human half-breed needed to hear the truth from her father.

The door behind her was flung open by a gust of wind.

Raven appeared in it. "Come on, Keelie. You have to ride up front. Too dangerous back here. I need you to navigate and keep an eye on the sky."

"If it's too dangerous, we can't leave Dad back here."

"Zeke will be okay, and we can't pick him up and put him up front. Come on, Keelie. The sooner we get moving, the sooner we get back to the Faire."

She shoved Knot's reindeer bed under Dad's head for a pillow. She looked at her father one last time, then jumped down from the camper and locked the door. She climbed into the truck cab and fastened her seat belt. Above them, the ominous skies were filled with gray and white clouds that spun in lazy circles. The light from the west was a sickly yellow, like a dim bulb burning in a dark room. The wind had died, and in the eerie silence Raven started the truck and backed out of the mall parking lot.

"Keep an eye on those clouds," Raven said. She sounded calm, but her knuckles were white on the steering wheel.

"What am I looking for?" Keelie looked up. Clouds and more clouds. Beautiful, dark, and constantly moving.

"When one of them starts to come down, yell."

"Come down? They're pretty low already."

"Down like a tornado, dumb butt."

Keelie had seen Storm Stories. She didn't ask any more questions, just kept her cheek pressed to the glass, her eyes on the treacherous sky.

The trip was faster since they knew where they were going. She didn't spot any tornados. They parked in visitor parking, and Keelie stayed with Zeke while Raven ran for help to get him to Heartwood.

Tarl came alone, but he picked Zeke up as if he was a baby and carried him most of the way. Before they reached Janice's shop, Zeke was awake again.

"I feel better."

"You look better. Better than dead." Tarl laughed.

Keelie struggled behind them with her heavy shopping bags. She'd stopped to put her old shoes back on. The disgusting mushrooms were everywhere. This place needed to be treated with a bleach bottle.

"I can walk, Tarl."

"I say you can't." Tarl held him closer, and Raven ran ahead to open the apartment door for them. Tarl and Zeke disappeared into his curtained alcove.

Keelie dropped her new treasures in her wardrobe and closed it firmly. Knot blinked at her. "Out. Touch not. I wish I could say it in ten languages."

The cat stretched, butt in the air, and sauntered out.

Tarl joined them for the chicken and rice that Janice and Raven brought up. Janice served Zeke dinner in bed while Keelie put the tea kettle on.

Outside it was dark, and the clouds had been blown ragged. Stars twinkled here and there, only to be quickly obscured again.

Like the clouds, a multitude of questions swirled around her mind about what happened when her parents separated, what she was, and how much her mother had known about it.

Dad had repeated that Mom couldn't live in his world. True, Keelie found it difficult to live in his world, too. She just couldn't figure how Mom and Dad came together in the first place.

Dad. She'd been thinking of him as Dad again. That disturbed her. It was like she was beginning to take his side in things while her Mom wasn't here to defend herself. It was all so confusing.

She remembered the sign she'd seen back on the road, glowing on a hill opposite the highway. Keelie had gazed in the rearview mirror and read the backwards writing: "Uncle Harry Mac's Tattoo and Body Piercing. Open Twenty-Four Hours!"

Just what she'd been looking for. If Zeke was freaked out by the Vampire Girl shirt and the extra-low-riding jeans, he'd totally pass out at a belly ring. Of course, he was passed out now, although Janice said he was just asleep. Whatever bug he had, it had hit him suddenly.

What was she doing here? This wasn't home. Raven and Janice were nice, but Raven was going back to school at the end of the summer, and then the whole Faire would be gone, disbanded for the year. And she'd be stuck with Zeke, and who knew what the next Faire was like. Or worse, the Dread Forest.

Was that her new life? Heck no. She didn't want a new life. She wanted a home, and for her, that meant L.A., and her friends, and the places she'd grown up knowing. No weirdness. No Earth magic, or apparitions, or furniture that talked to her. Los Angeles was normal. But was she?