***
Hours later, when the sunlight had slowly disappeared from my little cell, and I’d had several more fairy families come to inspect me, Deacon came back. He was carrying a little torch of fire, and he slipped the flame into the two torches attached to the walls just outside my cell.
I jumped to my feet and wrapped my hands around the twig-bars, watching him silently. He didn’t speak, either. He just walked over to the web-lock, and dipped the torch at it. The lock rapidly reduced, shrivelling up on itself with a fizzle. Then a clump of darkened silver fell, useless and no longer sticky, to the ground.
I threw open the door and followed Deacon, who dumped the torch, along the branches of the home tree.
“What will happen to you if they find out you helped me?” I asked as we ran.
“Shh!” he snapped, and made an urgent hand movement to keep up with him. To my surprise, we didn’t go back into the throne room. At that point, I was more than grateful that Deacon was leading, because that was the only way I knew back to the fairy ring portal.
We ran down one branch, through another empty room, and then up another branch. I was afraid I might lose my balance and fall off as the branch grew thinner. Deacon stopped and I nearly ran into him. We had stopped outside another tree: this one looked fairly ordinary, but I could see a door carved into like the other ones.
“This is where they keep the new babies.”
I looked at him in question, and suddenly remembered that I wasn’t the only one missing from my parents’ house. Of course: Celeste. I’d forgotten all about her when I was feeling too sorry for myself.
I pushed open the door and was confronted by row upon row of tiny little babies in cradles made out of walnut shells. Several fairies looked up at my approach, then dismissed me. I realised they must think I was like Deacon, one of the human servants. That was good – so far.
I searched the babies in the walnut cradles, looking for my sister. The babies here were of every colour, with every face shape – some of them older than Celeste, some of them younger. None of them were old enough to crawl yet. There were about twenty or thirty in this room alone, monitored by the fairies.
There she was! I tried not to let utter delight show on my face as I scooped her out of the cradle, making sure the blanket was covering her as Mummy had shown me. I tucked her safely into my arms. One of the fairies look at me with raised eyebrows, silently questioning.
“The queen asked to see the most recent acquisition,” I said, hoping I sounded more grown-up and responsible than I appeared. The fairy nodded and waved her hand, dismissing me.
I tried not to run as I went back to Deacon. He peeked at Celeste, sleeping soundly in my arms, stroked her soft thin hair.
“Is this your sister?”
“Yes,” I answered. “I’d know her anywhere.” Noisy little Celeste. Except at this moment, she was quiet and peaceful. Maybe being in Fairyland had been good for her.
“You need to go that way,” Deacon said softly, and pointed. I looked. A thicker branch crossed below the thin one we were balancing on, and I could see it overlapped with another branch that lead to the portal, shining in the middle distance.
“Aren’t you coming with me?” I pleaded, shifting Celeste up over my shoulder.
“I can’t: I’m sorry. I can’t risk being seen with you. That’s why we went the long way. But the portal’s close.”
“How do I make sure I come out in the right place on the other side?”
“Well, that’s why you need to hurry: the portal only links to the same ring for about five days. Then it links to another ring somewhere else.”
My mouth fell open. “And I had to wait so long!”
“You’ll just have to risk it, Abigail. You haven’t eaten anything: you and your sister are still capable of escaping. Go, now: before they discover you missing!”
I took off, and without even thinking about it too hard – if I did, I was sure I would fall to my knees and start sobbing for my mummy – I leapt from the thinning branch onto the first of the thicker branches. I landed with a thud and spread my weight onto my free hand so I didn’t keep going and fall off the branch. I clutched Celeste tight – the sudden momentum and freefall hadn’t woken her up. The second overlapping branch was just ahead, and I took off running after giving Deacon one final look of goodbye, and thanks.
I leapt onto the portal’s branch, and just at that moment several fairy guards dressed in black and silver burst from the throne room’s main doors. I flung a look of terror over my shoulder and raced to the portal. Without even slowing down, I hurtled through and crashed into the lush green grass of the forest.
Celeste awoke and started howling, her lusty cries so familiar and welcome to my ears. I got to my feet and braced for the fairy guards to follow through, trying to settle my sister. After a few minutes she stopped fussing, and the fairies hadn’t come through yet. I was afraid they were simply gathering a larger army to come through and claim us.
I had to think of a way to stop them.
Wait. Deacon had said fairies didn’t like fire.
A plan started to form, and I looked around for a suitable place to put Celeste. It wouldn’t do to bring her home while the changeling was still there.
The sun was starting to set. It must be very late in the summer night. Celeste and I had been away all day. My parents would be furious with me.
I placed Celeste securely in the stump of a tree, tucking her blanket around her. It wasn’t cold, and I knew I’d be back soon: but I couldn’t help feeling guilty and worrying about leaving her. I continued to form the plan in my mind as I fussed around her and her eyes drooped closed. I would need to set up the plan, then act very fast. There is no way my parents would let me saunter back outside holding the changeling-Celeste.
Once my sister was asleep I took off at a run. The heat of the afternoon summer sun had dried the grass out. I had no problem finding my way home. I snuck inside the gate and went to the shed, all the while hoping neither of my parents were in the kitchen and watching me.
I found the petrol can right where Daddy had left it: next to the lawn mower. I picked it up and the liquid sloshed around inside. I ran back to the fairy ring and doused it in the horrifically smelly liquid. It made me cough a few times. I placed the can far away from the sleeping Celeste and the fairy ring, and dashed back to the house. This is where I needed to act quickly.
I ran through my backyard, past the overgrown grass and the play set. I ran up the steps and barrelled through the back door. It didn’t matter how much noise I made: I was counting on Mummy being asleep like she always was at this time of night, and I was sure I could outmanoeuvre my dad. I was still small and fast, and he wheezed since he started smoking again.
I spied his fat silver lighter on the coffee table next to the ashtray, and pocketed it. Then I made my way to my parents’ room to get the changeling.
My dad appeared from the study.
“Where have you been?” he roared, red in the face. He tried to grab my arm but I avoided him and raced to Celeste’s cot. Mummy sat up in her bed and flicked on the bedside lamp.
“We looked for you all afternoon!” my father continued to yell. “I called the police!”
“Abigail, what are you doing?” Mummy demanded. Her face was red from crying.
There the changeling was, lying happily in her crib sucking her fat little fingers. The fairy changeling that my parents didn’t realise looked nothing like my sister. I scooped her up, and her face turned harsh, snarling. She tried to bite me with her gums. I ran back through the house, avoiding both my parents as my mother screamed at me to stop and my father bellowed in rage.
I ran into the backyard and through the gate in the fence, my parents right on my heels. I sprinted as fast as I could through the forest, searching for the bright mushroom ring that had started all this. I found the clearing, then I found the fairy ring doused in the smelly, horrible liquid.
Shifting t
he changeling to one arm, I fumbled for my dad’s fat silver lighter. In my haste I missed the catch twice, but on the third time it caught alight. I tossed the lighter fall into the ring, and flames whooshed into life half as tall as myself and brilliantly hot from the petrol. The heat washed over me and the changeling screamed in my arms. I took a look at her plump, healthy face, contorted with rage, her gums baring at me and her eyes unusually intense and intelligent.
I threw the changeling into the fairy ring just as my parents caught up to me. My mother screamed again as the changeling fell, and my father caught my arm and yanked me aside. We all watched helplessly as the changeling fell into the fairy ring. There was a small flash of light, and the changeling and the fairy ring and the fire disappeared.
All that was left was a patch of dark grass.
I heard Celeste wail from the tree stump I had carefully placed her in. I slipped out of my dad’s grip and ran over to her. I lifted her out, snuggling her close, hushing her.
Mummy ran to us and took Celeste from me, cuddling and fussing over her. Daddy came up behind and I looked up at him.
“They took Celeste. I had no time to explain.”
“Who took Celeste?” Daddy demanded.
“The fairies. They took both of us and replaced Celeste with a changeling. That’s why she got better so quickly, because it wasn’t her. You couldn’t see that she looked and sounded different. It wasn’t her: but I found her, and I brought her back.”
“But I thought you didn’t like Celeste,” he said. “You said she was noisy and smelly. Why did you want to change her with the other Celeste – the healthy, happy one?”
I simply looked at him. “No one is going to mess with my sister. Not while I’m around to protect her.”
Fin
Thank you for purchasing this ebook.
Lissa Bilyk graduated from the University of Tasmania with a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honours in English Literature and Film. She currently lives in the Australia with her husband and three wonderful witch cats.
The Edge of Darkness (adult sci-fi standalone)
Storm Force series (Young Adult paranormal series):
Tina Storm: Demon Hunter
Demon’s Blood
Demon’s Path (coming soon)
The Archive of Lost Dreams (paranormal short story collection)
Lies for a Living series (New Adult contemporary romance):
Book 1: Backstage Heat
Book 2: Centre Stage
Book 3: Leading Lady
Box Set #1-3: Name In Lights
Connect online:
Blog https://www.lissawrites.wordpress.com
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