Violet Wings

  "I didn't see it travel," I said, peering at it.

  "Yes." Beryl seemed even more nervous, but she congratulated me. "A perfect transport. Now listen to me, Zaria. Do not ever try to transport anything--including yourself---through the Gateway of Galena. You would set off all of its alarms."

  "All right." I watched her curiously. Why was she so nervous?

  "And never try to transport from Tirfeyne to Earth or from Earth to Tirfeyne. You cannot cross worlds with a transport spell," she said grimly. "If it could be done, there would be no need for portals."

  "Thank you." I was glad she had told me. Otherwise, I might have tried to transport myself to Earth. I fumbled my

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  wand back into my pocket. "Does fey magic work the same on Earth as it does here?" I asked.

  Beryl's wings went rigid. "Why do you ask?" she demanded. "Is Mr. Bloodstone right about you? Are you Earth-struck? Because if you are, you had better tell me."

  "Why?" I flared, rising up. "So you can sneer at me along with Bloodstone?"

  "Zaria!"

  I needed to get away. I banged open the door and rushed outside.

  "I want to help you!" Beryl yelled after me as I took to the air.

  Soaring high, I pretended I hadn't heard.

  I could see almost all of Galena: the dwellings with metal roofs shining brightly enough to hurt my eyes; those covered with gemstones polished to a sparkling sheen; the school with its tiered roof; parents with infants and toddlers in colorful suits; children on their way to school, bobbing and bouncing in small groups; the great gateway with its massive pillars; the splashing water of Galena Falls . . . and I could see the boulder marking the portal to Earth, a little smudge of sandstone in a cloud of orange and yellow flowers.

  The Zinnia Portal. That's what I would call it.

  I spotted Leona's silver wings floating below me, and near her Andalonus's blue hair and Meteor's

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  striped head. Diving, I caught up with them.

  Leona grinned at me. "I see you're free. Did you do it, or did Danburite release you?"

  I smiled blankly, remembering my promise to Beryl.

  "Uncle Boris hurried over last evening to liberate me," she said. "He couldn't get through the crowds until he made them understand he was the uncle of the famous Violet fairy. He was so puffed with pride he didn't care that I'd already freed myself."

  "Crowd?" I asked, looking over my shoulder, afraid we'd be mobbed again. "They followed you home?"

  She nodded. "It turned into a long celebration." Leona snickered and pulled out her wand. "Look, I've added filigree." She held it up so I could see the delicate whorls of gold and silver tracing the handle.

  "Beautiful."

  "Show us yours."

  "Nothing to see."

  Leona spun neatly in the air. "Show us!"

  "You'll go blind if you lay eyes on it," I said.

  Andalonus sniggered, but Leona and Meteor closed in on me. "Show us!"

  I drew out my plain, unchanged black stylus. Andalonus snorted.

  "Everyone will think you have no radia to spare," Leona scolded. "You won't get the respect you should have as a Violet fairy."

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  "Why should I get respect for being lucky?" I cried. "And if I keep my wand plain, no one has to know I'm Violet."

  "Everyone already knows," Meteor called after me.

  "Everyone can forget!" And I flew as fast as I could, away from my friends.

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  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  AT FOURTEEN, FAIRIES AND GENIES LEAVE ORDINARY school. Those who have registered with levels above 7 and reserves of radia past orange are then assigned a mentor to guide them. mentors are supposed to teach the correct way to use magic responsibly and give instruction about spells, which students record in a spellbook. However, not all mentors are conscientious; some have been known to mislead their students with ineffective spells and wrong understanding about magic. for this reason, tried and true spellbooks are often handed down within families, preserving knowledge that would otherwise be lost.

  --Orville Gold, genie historian Of Feyland

  At school that day, Beryl issued our magic records and ordered us to guard them carefully so we could show them to our mentors. When I received mine, I stared at the seal of Oberon over the inscription: Zaria Tourmaline, Registered Level 100, full Violet.

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  Then Bloodstone made a big display of handing out mentor assignments to those of us who had registered Yellow or more. There weren't many: Rumpel Garnet, Tuck Lodestone, Portia Peridot, Leona, Meteor, and me. Bloodstone reminded us to keep the identities of our mentors a secret. He scowled at me as he said it. I didn't know why he would single me out. I could keep a secret.

  When he gave me my mentor scroll, he actually smiled. What could make Bloodstone smile?

  I waited until he went on to Portia before reading it. Magic Mentor for Zaria Tourmaline: Lily Morganite. Report to 3750 Morganite Towers in Oberon City.

  Lily Morganite? Wasn't she the one who had reported our visit to Earth? No wonder Bloodstone had smiled. Had he and Beryl discussed it and decided on someone who would disapprove of me? Did they hope to cure me of being Earth-struck?

  Bloodstone started his good-bye speech to the class. "Now that you have your crystal watches, you may all explore Oberon City," he droned. "Those of you with levels above seven and reserves of radia past Orange will train with your mentors, who will expect to meet with you tomorrow morning. The rest of you may consider your education complete."

  Complete. How I envied Andalonus!

  "The term for this class is at an end," Bloodstone continued. "What we began together seven years ago ..."

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  He kept going on and on. I didn't listen. I couldn't pretend to be sorry about the end of school. If not for my mentor assignment, I would have been completely happy. No more days spent with Bloodstone!

  But I would have to train for another three years with my mentor. Why? Why couldn't I study my mother's spell book on my own?

  I tried to console myself. Maybe my mentor wouldn't be too terrible. Maybe she wouldn't hold my visit to Earth against me. She was a Council member, so she would know more than most fairies. Maybe she could help me.

  "Dismissed," Bloodstone said at last.

  A few fairies and genies stayed to say farewell to Beryl and Bloodstone, but most of us packed the doorway eagerly.

  Outside, Portia teetered on tiptoe in front of Meteor, her green wings unfurled. She blinked so fast I thought she had a bug in her eye. "Would you like to go into Oberon City with me?" she asked him.

  Meteor turned to Andalonus, who waved him on. He cast a look at me. I shrugged. Leona spread her hands. "If you go with me, you'll be mobbed," she said.

  Meteor nodded abruptly at Portia. They floated off together.

  "You're expecting another horde?" Andalonus asked Leona.

  "I'm Violet!" she said. "The news will have spread by now, and all the fey folk who aren't allowed in Galena will

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  be on the other side of the gateway, waiting for a glimpse of me. And Zaria."

  "Not me," I told her.

  "You can't hide forever, Zaree."

  "I can hide today." I wanted to talk to her, about Lily Morganite. "Leona--"

  She rose, beckoning me to join her.

  When I stayed on the ground, she flared her silver wings, turned, and flew away, leaving me with Andalonus.

  "I hate this," I mumbled.

  Andalonus pulled his ears." Zaria, is it so bad to be Violet? You'll never run out of radia. I have to guard mine carefully or I'll use it all in the next hour." A breeze sprang up, stirring his hair into a blue nimbus. "Imagine all the good you'll be able to do."

  "Andalonus Copper, it's you who should have been Violet." I tried to smile, but felt I would choke.

  He squinted at me. Andalonus, the genie who made everyone laugh, looked serious and sad. I didn't like to see
him that way.

  "I'm going home," I said. "Maybe I can learn a spell that will turn me into a better fairy."

  "I'll see you soon, Zaree."

  I nodded. Lifting off, I soared into the sky. I left a gaggle of children in my draft as I flew homeward.

  I landed with a bump and hurried inside. At least Beryl was still away, no doubt lingering at school, discussing the

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  new group of seven-year-olds "who would soon begin. Or maybe she was talking with Bloodstone about her troublesome Earth-struck charge.

  In Oberon City, the gawkers would be gathering, expecting to see the Violet fairies swoop through the Gateway of Galena. For now, I had a little time alone, but what about tomorrow--and every day after? Would I ever have peace again?

  I'm not sure how long I lay in the perch of our front room, counting the stones in the wall. I don't remember how or when I made one of the biggest decisions of my life. I remember only that by the time I went upstairs to my mother's room, I was intent on finding a spell that would make me invisible.

  How I wished I could talk to my mother. Then again, maybe it was just as well she wasn't there. She would try to stop me from doing what I had planned.

  I took out her spellbook and skipped to the advanced spells near the end.

  There it was.

  Spell of Invisibility

  Requires Level 50 magic

  The invisibility spell will render the subject invisible to any onlooker by causing the subject and anything the subject may be touching to appear to be part of the surroundings. (The subject may also be the one performing the spell.) Ten minutes of invisibility uses

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  50 radia. Each additional ten minutes uses another 50 radia.

  It is inadvisable to attempt a long-lasting spell of invisibility.

  The wand must touch the subject. Infuse the wand and say, "Verita sil nos mertos elemen."

  When I had memorized the spell, I stood beside my mothers window and steadied my wings. I was going back to Earth.

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  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  ONCE UPON A TIME, FEY GODMOTHERS OR GODFATHERS WOULD INTERVENE IF THEY PERCEIVED THAT THEIR GODCHILDREN WERE IN TROUBLE, BUT THIS HAS BECOME RATHER RARE. THE MAJORITY OF GODMOTHERS AND GODFATHERS BEING RED, THE CAPACITY TO GIVE ASSISTANCE TO HUMANS HAS DECLINED.

  HOWEVER, MOST FAIRIES AND GENIES STILL LOOK IN UPON THEIR GODCHILDREN BY USING THE FEY SCOPES. THE SCHEDULE OF VIEWING BOOTHS REMAINS BUSY, DAY AND NIGHT.

  FEY SCOPES THAT VIEW EARTH ARE A GLORIOUS CREATION OF THE ANCIENTS. A SCOPE CAN TRACE

  THE MOVEMENTS OF ANY PERSONAGE INCLUDING

  NOT ONLY HUMANS BUT ALSO INHABITANTS OF TLRFEYNE WHO ARE VISITING EARTH: FAIRIES, GENIES, LEPRECHAUNS, PIXIES, GREMLINS, TROLLS, GNOMES, ET CETERA. THE ONLY THING NEEDED TO FIND AN INDIVIDUAL IN A SCOPE IS TO KNOW THAT INDIVIDUAL'S

  NAME.

  THERE IS ONE BLIND SPOT IN THE SCOPES. THEY CANNOT PENETRATE EARTH'S SURFACE TO SEE UNDERGROUND.

  --Orville Gold, genie historian of Feyland

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  As I soared lightly over the pool below Galena Falls, not one of the children playing there glanced in my direction The invisibility spell seemed to be working. I was looking through my own special one-way window to the world. I could see them, but they couldn't see me. I liked it that way.

  When I got to the sandstone boulder of the Zinnia Portal, I didn't pause before stepping straight through it.

  Earth's sky greeted me, beautifully blue. Soft breezes showered me with scents. As I flew gently above the ground, Earth seemed to have a heartbeat the same as my own. The golden light falling across the grasses told me I had been right to come here. I needed a refuge, a place where no one would ask what I was doing or why.

  And as long as I was here, what harm could it do to look for Sam and Jenna? I could just peek at them from inside my invisibility. I wouldn't talk with them or do anything that they might remember.

  I renewed the invisibility spell before it lapsed. Lily Morganite or Boris Bloodstone could look through a viewing booth as much as they liked; I wasn't going to be found.

  There were only a few people in the park where I'd met Sam and Jenna: a white-haired man and his brown dog, twin girls in pink sunhats, a mother trundling a baby.

  I floated down a street leading away from the park, past silent houses, reaching out with my magic but not knowing how to use it to find the particular people I wanted.

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  I flew slowly, one hand resting on my wand. Feeling slightly silly, I tried talking to my magic. Show me. Show me Sam and jenna.

  I drifted three streets east, then felt drawn to stand in front of a house with a maple growing in the yard. The tree's branches reached upward, and again I marveled at the pattern of each leaf. Green paint covered the house. The shades were up, and I saw movement flickering on the other side of the windows.

  Just to be safe, I renewed invisibility again before going up the flight of steps that led onto a porch. I peered through the windows, but the sun's glare reflecting off the glass made it hard to see inside. But the front door opened easily, and I slipped through.

  I knew I had found the right house when I saw Jenna standing near Sam in a big room with beige walls. She was smiling at the open door. Sam turned, and his eyes seemed to find me. I wondered if the spell could have faltered, but then his gaze slid past me to the doorway.

  "You didn't close the door all the way," a woman's voice said. "The flies will get in." She stood beside a table, her hands restlessly sorting piles of envelopes. Her profile showed a freckled nose and thin cheek, and a long fall of red hair. She wore a black dress belted around her waist.

  Sam strode to the door. He pushed it shut with the heel of his hand. "No flies, Mom."

  "I'm going to Denver to give your dad's boss a piece of

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  my mind," she said, flinging the envelopes down on the table. "That man had better tell me what he knows about why we haven't heard from your father." She faced Sam, her blue eyes blazing. "If he won't take my calls or answer e-mail, I'll see how he likes it when I barge into his office." For a small woman, she looked fierce.

  Their father? Was he missing?

  "Do you want me to go with you?" Sam asked.

  The woman seized a ring of keys from the table. "No. You need to take care of Jenna." She grabbed a handbag, black and shiny like her shoes. The little girl ran to her, hugging her legs. "Be good, sweetie," her mother said, planting a quick kiss on the top of Jenna's head. "I'll be back. Sam, order a pizza."

  Her heels clicked past me on the flooring, and she left by the door that Sam had just closed.

  "Will Daddy come back?" Jenna asked her brother.

  "Of course he will." Sam smiled at her, but his eyes were worried. He picked up his little sister. "Let's watch my cell phone videos."

  "Okay." She brightened.

  I trailed after them down a stairway so narrow I had to clutch my wings tightly against my back to keep from batting against the walls. I watched from the doorway, looking into a room painted a very light yellow. Sam plunked a red object onto a desk. He picked up a black stylus that looked like my wand and used it to tap against colored symbols and numbers on the front of the red thing.

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  A screen on the desk lit up. I thought at first it was television, which I had learned about in Human Culture class. When Bloodstone had first told us about it, Meteor had objected.

  "I thought you said humans have no magic."

  "Correct," Bloodstone had assured him.

  "But how can they show something that happened in the past, without powerful magic?"

  "It is called technology," Bloodstone answered. "And it is changing Earth faster than magic ever could."

  Looking at the screen in front of Sam and Jenna, I had to agree with Meteor. Scenes went by on the screen, scenes of places and people who were not in the room. How could that be?

  Sam held Jenna in his lap. She laughed and point
ed at the screen, but he didn't seem to be paying attention. With his father missing, I figured I knew what was on his mind.

  Jenna squealed. "Fairy!" She joggled Sam's arm. "Look, she's flying."

  Sam leaned his face around her, staring at the screen. "Whoa. What the--?"

  There I was, flying away. My image looked back once, hovering an instant before rising higher.

  "Who's been messing with my phone?" Sam asked. His hand jerked out to cover something on the desk. He moved his fingers, and my flight reversed to the moment when my face was visible. My image stood still; all my movement had

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  ceased; I seemed to be frozen in that one moment from the past.

  Technology was magic.

  "She has purple eyes," said Jenna.

  "Someone has seriously hacked my phone!" Sam cried.

  I wished I could see his face. What did he mean when he said hacked?

  "And purple wings," Jenna babbled.

  "Yeah. She's beautiful," her brother said. "Got to be Jason who put her there."

  Put her there?

  "Purple, purple, purple," Jenna said, singsong. She twisted around to look up at him. "How can she fly?"

  Sam drew a deep breath. "I wish I knew."

  Jenna gasped. Her eyes fastened on me. "Look!" she cried, pointing.

  I had lost track of time. The spell had lapsed and Jenna could see me.

  I heard the squeak of Sam's chair as it revolved and he faced me. Little bursts of gold lit his eyes--rays of amber, hazel, and brown. He looked astounded.

  I should do something, renew the spell instantly, but I felt frozen, like my image on his screen.

  "Hi, fairy!" Jenna said. "What's your name?"

  This time I could speak. "I'm Zaria."

  Jenna jumped out of Sam's lap. She touched my gown. "You're real," she gurgled.

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  "I should leave." If Sam and Jenna could see me, so could any snoop in Feyland.

  "How did you get in my phone?" Sam asked.

  "Stay!' Jenna said.

  "I can't," I told her gently. I drew out my wand, infused it, and touched my head, murmuring, "Verita sil nos mertos elemen."