“You’re just in time,” her mother said. “Wash your hands for dinner.”
That night, Annie made time to study and discovered that geography could be just as interesting as math and English—if she only looked at it in the right way.
* * *
Annie’s school still believed in letting children outdoors at the lunch recess. Annie and June were sitting under a tree with their heads together as Annie told about her flight.
“Where do you think you’ll go?” she asked June.
“Antarctica,” June said. “I want to see the penguins. And the big floating glaciers.”
“Isn’t it cold down there?”
“Sure, but you said Fidget kept you warm.”
“Oh, right.”
“Hey, Rusty!” someone yelled. They looked up and saw Trevor Bridges swaggering toward them.
“Oh, no,” Annie said. Trevor was the biggest bully in the fifth grade. He was two years older than them and thought he was the king of the swings.
“Ignore him,” June suggested.
“How?” Annie said. “He looks like a rhino.”
The bully stood a few feet away, with a group of his followers clustered behind him, sniggering. He actually looked more like a hippopotamus than a rhinoceros: he had a flat face and was large for his age, beefy but not actually fat. Annie had heard that he worked out with weights, which she thought was a ridiculous thing for a ten-year old to do.
“Hey, Rusty,” Trevor said, “where’s your fairy?”
Annie felt her stomach knot up. How did he know about the fairies? She looked at June, who shrugged her shoulders, frowning.
“If you’re speaking to me,” Annie said without looking at him, “my name is Annie Rust.”
“Yeah, you’ve got a rusty brain. That’s why I call you Rusty.”
“I guess I should call you Shrinky, then.”
“Huh?”
“’Cause your brain must have shrunk in the washer.”
“Watch it, Rusty, or else.”
“Or else what?” Annie said. She stood up. “Are you going to beat up a girl?”
“Yeah. I don’t care if you’re a girl or a gorilla. I’ll use your head for a weed whacker.”
“You’re the gorilla.”
“Well, you’re the fairy princess,” Trevor said. “Why don’t you call your little flying things to come save you? I’ll catch ’em in my butterfly net and stick pins in ’em.”
“I don’t need fairies to save me. I can beat you up anytime.”
Trevor’s gang went “Ooh” and “Uh oh” and “Ouch” like a flock of pigeons. His face went red and he clenched his fist.
“What did you say?”
“Don’t do it, Annie,” June said.
“Stay out of this, Newman,” he growled.
Annie raised her left hand with the palm toward the ground and fluttered it up toward Trevor’s eyes like Jazzberry floating in the meadow. He scowled and reached to bat it away from his face. She kicked him firmly in the shin with one shiny, hard, black shoe. He cried out and bent down to grab his injured leg, and Annie pushed him over with one finger.
June jumped up and the two of them ran toward the school building. Annie sang out loudly, “Trevor Bridges falling down, falling down, falling down.”
“He’s going to get you for that,” June said when they stood just outside the door.
“No, he won’t. Next time I’ll really beat him up.” She wiped sweat off her face. “I’m not worried about Trevor. But who told him about the fairies?”
They looked at each other for a moment and said together, “Otto.”
“I’ll kill him,” Annie said.
The bell rang to call the kids back to school. June opened the door and they walked down the hall toward their class.
“We’re stuck,” Annie said, “and we’re almost out of time. There’s only one way to save Jazzberry and Fidget. I have to introduce them to Uncle Dennis.”
“What?” June hissed. “Don’t you think that enough people know already?”
“You don’t think Trevor really believes there are fairies in the woods, do you? If he did, he’d be up there right now with his butterfly net.” They reached their classroom. Annie went to her seat and flopped down into it. June sat in her usual place right in front of her. “Uncle Dennis created this problem,” Annie said. “He’s just going to have to help us fix it.”
Chapter 6: Kidnapped
Otto wasn’t on the bus, but when Annie stepped off it she spotted him down the block. He started running the moment he saw her coming, but she was older and bigger and she caught up to him one house away from his front door.
“Why did you do it?” she screamed. He shrank as if she would start pelting him with punches, but she just stood there, red-faced, waiting for him to admit his betrayal. This took about ten seconds.
“He heard me arguing with my mom,” Otto said when it became clear she wasn’t going to kill him immediately. “It was in our backyard, I think he was standing outside the fence listening.”
“To what? Did you tell your mom about Jazzberry and Fidget?”
“No!” he squealed. “I wouldn’t do that. But she wasn’t going to let me go up to the woods with you guys.”
It was true. After the first week or so, Otto had stopped coming.
“She said I shouldn’t be going up there alone every day. When I told her I wasn’t alone, I was with you and June, her face got all funny and she said I definitely shouldn’t be going up there with girls. I think...” He sputtered and stopped.
“What?”
“I think she’s afraid you’re my girlfriend.”
Annie stared at him for a moment and burst out laughing. Otto looked hurt.
“I’m sorry, Otto,” she said. “What happened with Trevor?”
“My mom said I had to stay on the block, so I was just riding around on my bike. Trevor rode up on that cool French bike he has and knocked me down. He sat on my chest and asked me what I was doing up in the woods with you and June. He was all slapping my face and tickling me and saying we were k-k-kissing up in the woods. I told him no we weren’t, and he said okay then, what were we doing?”
“So you told him about the fairies and the dragons.”
Otto hung his head. Annie felt sorry for him; her anger had melted away. She put an arm around his shoulders and said, “It’s okay, Otto. He didn’t believe you.”
“He didn’t?”
“No, he probably thinks we were playing with dolls or something.” Otto looked happier for a moment, then he looked sad again. “Now what’s wrong?”
“Great. Now Trevor Bridges thinks I play with dolls in the woods.”
“It’s better than thinking you’re playing with fairies.”
“He’s going to beat me up every week for the rest of my life.”
“Not if I have anything to say about it,” Annie said, and she walked him home.
* * *
She was determined to ask for Uncle Dennis’s help, but she couldn’t think of a sly way to do it. That left her no option but the obvious one. On Saturday morning, Annie rode her bike to her aunt and uncle’s house, parked her bike on the walkway, and rang the doorbell.
Aunt Helen answered the door with her evil poodle, Mr. Snowball, in her arms. “Why, Annie, whatever are you doing here? Come in.”
The poodle snapped at her as she squeezed past her aunt. She said hello to the cockatoo, who said “Hi” back.
“Is Uncle Dennis here, Aunt Helen?”
“Yes, he’s in his study. But he doesn’t like to be disturbed when he’s working, dear. Maybe you could come back tomorrow with your parents?”
“I’d like to see him now, please. It’s kind of important.”
“Oh, dear. Is anything wrong?”
“Not yet,” Annie said.
Her aunt dithered for a moment before deciding to interrupt Uncle Dennis. He came out from the back of the house a moment later, frowning.
&n
bsp; “Hi, Annie. What’s up?”
“I need to talk to you about something,” she said. He smiled and waited, as if he expected her to say it in front of her crazy aunt. “Um, can we go somewhere... else. It’s—” She glanced at her aunt. “It’s private.”
“Oh, I see,” Uncle Dennis said. Aunt Helen smiled shyly as if they were going away to discuss her Christmas present. “Come on back to my study.”
This was a room Annie had never seen before. There were two tall bookcases, both of them full of books, and big pictures of elephants and zebras on the walls, and a huge desk with two computers and a lot of papers on top. Uncle Dennis cleared a pile of papers off a chair and Annie sat down.
How was she going to tell him? She had thought about this for two days and had not come up with a plan. So she blurted out the simple truth.
“I need you to help me with a secret,” she said.
“I see.” He settled himself into the big chair in front of the desk. “Why are you asking me? Can’t your dad help you?”
“Not with this.”
“Oh. What about your mom?”
“You’re the only one who can help me, Uncle Dennis.”
“Does it have something to do with computers?” he said.
“It’s really hard to explain. I have to show you.”
“Oh. Okay.” He reached out a hand as if she could put her problem into his palm.
“Not here,” she said. “Can you come with me?”
“Come with you? Well... I was right in the middle of something when you—”
“It’s important,” she interrupted.
Uncle Dennis looked at her quietly for a moment. His eyes were half-closed as if he were tired. Finally he said, “Should we walk or drive?”
“Drive, please.”
She followed him back to the living room.
“Annie and I are going for a short drive,” he told Aunt Helen. He picked up his keys and wallet from the kitchen counter and Annie followed him out to the garage. The door closed as Aunt Helen was saying, “But where—”
She got into the passenger seat of his big, white car. “Where to?” he said.
“The Haunted Woods, please,” Annie said.
Uncle Dennis nodded. He didn’t look surprised.
* * *
He took it better than June and Otto had. When Fidget stopped pretending to be a tiger and plopped onto the ground in front of him, Uncle Dennis merely sat down hard. He didn’t even faint.
“What?” he said after a moment. “What is that?”
“I’m a dragon,” Fidget said, rubbing the tips of his ears together.
“There are no dragons.”
“There are no computer store owners who want to build houses,” Fidget replied snidely.
“You, you can t-talk!” Uncle Dennis said.
“Better than you can, apparently.”
“Stop showing off, Fidget,” Jazzberry said. She flew from wherever she’d been hiding to hover directly in front of Annie’s uncle. “Is this your uncle?” she asked Annie.
“Yes,” she said.
“That can’t be a fairy!” Uncle Dennis said.
“That can’t be a human!” Fidget responded.
“Fidget!” Jazzberry scolded. She turned back to Annie. “Was this really necessary?”
“There’s no other way,” Annie said. “I’m just a kid. I can’t stop a bank all by myself. Even if I could find out who to talk to, they’d never see me. Uncle Dennis is an adult. He can help us.”
“Help you with what?” her uncle said.
“You have to stop the development,” Jazzberry said. “If you don’t—” She paused.
“If you don’t,” Annie said, “you’ll kill all the fairies and all the dragons.”
“What?” he said.
“I’m afraid it’s even worse than that,” Jazzberry said. “We haven’t told Annie everything. If you proceed with trying to cut down the Haunted Woods, it’s not just our lives that will be in danger. All the humans in this area could be in jeopardy.”
“What do you mean, this area?” he said.
“North America,” Jazzberry said. “Possibly farther.”
Now Annie had to sit down.
* * *
Uncle Dennis was still digesting things when Jazzberry suddenly turned and floated higher off the ground.
“Do you feel that?” she asked Fidget.
“Yes,” the dragon said sadly. “Now our bacon’s in the fire.”
“What?” Annie said. “What is it?”
“Our game is over,” Jazzberry said.
“What game? What are you talking about?”
“JAZZBERRY!” a voice boomed from the trees. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?”
Fidget ran behind Annie and rolled up into a ball tight up against her back. “Wake me up when it’s over,” his muffled voice said.
“FIDGET!” the voice called. “STAND UP AND ACCOUNT FOR YOURSELF.”
“What’s going on?” Uncle Dennis said. He stood up and tried to see who was speaking so loudly.
“Fidget and I are about to be punished,” Jazzberry said.
“For what?”
“We’re not supposed to talk to humans. Ever.”
“But—” Uncle Dennis stopped talking as a flock of fairies flew out of the woods into the clearing.
There were half a dozen of them, some with spiky hair that was fiery red, others with deep blue. They were about six inches tall, dressed in filmy robes of white or lavender or pale yellow. They flew gracefully and silently into the clearing and stopped, hovering in the sunlight with slow strokes of their butterfly wings.
For a long time, the fairies stared quietly at Annie and her uncle. Then they turned to Jazzberry.
“I thought you knew the rules,” one of the red-haired fairies said. “I thought you were old enough to play outside. We trusted you with young Fidget. What have you done?”
“I’ve tried to save us,” Jazzberry said boldly. “The council couldn’t do what was necessary, so Fidget and I have done it for you.”
“You’ve doomed these humans.”
“I’m trying to save them,” Jazzberry said.
Uncle Dennis said, “What’s going—”
“QUIET!” the red-haired fairy said. “Our children have broken our laws by revealing themselves to you. Your fate will depend in part on your behavior and your manners. Be wise, pay attention, and don’t speak until we ask you to.”
Annie looked at her uncle, and he looked back and shrugged. He didn’t look frightened, but Annie was so scared she didn’t even think about standing up. She knew her knees would give way as soon as she tried it.
If they could fly her around the world in two hours, what could they do if they thought she should be punished?
“Fidget,” one of the blue-haired fairies said. “Come out.”
Fidget unrolled himself and stepped in front of Annie. “Don’t hurt her,” he said. “It’s not her fault. We came to her and asked for help, and she offered it freely.”
“We’ll consider that,” the red-haired fairy said, “along with everything else. Willowleaf?”
“Back to the council ring,” the blue-haired fairy said.
“Get up, little girl,” the other one said kindly.
“Annie,” Annie said. She struggled to her feet and was surprised that she stayed up.
“Come with us, Annie. You too, sir.”
“Dennis.”
“Dennis. Follow us.”
The flock of fairies turned and led the way into the woods. Annie and Uncle Dennis followed as well as they could. There were no trails, and the fairies seemed not to care how thick the undergrowth was: they flew in a straight line, leaving it up to the humans to find a way through the brambles and shrubs. Jazzberry flew on one side of Annie and Fidget flew on the other. As they went deeper into the woods, the light seemed to fade. It was still day; Annie could see sunshine streaming down between the trees. But somehow it was getting darker des
pite the light from above. It got harder and harder to push their way through the bushes, until suddenly they broke through into a strange space.
The trees formed a high canopy above a large open space that was almost perfectly round. Within the clearing there were no trees and no undergrowth, only grass and flowers. Annie didn’t see how there could be enough light for the grass to grow, since the branches overhead completely blocked the sky, leaving the clearing dim and dusky, even though it was an hour or more until sunset.
“Sit here,” Jazzberry said, landing on a tree trunk that grew horizontally, about two feet off the ground. Annie and Uncle Dennis sat down on the rough bark and looked around.
The trees around the edge of the open space, whose wide branches formed the ceiling of this outdoor room, were all enormous oaks. The fairies that had led them there had vanished. Annie tried not to fidget, but Fidget, sitting beside her on the tree bench, couldn’t help himself. He scratched his ear, rubbed his feet, stretched his neck, gaped his jaws, and flicked his wings.
“Fidget,” Jazzberry hissed, “hold still.”
Suddenly, Annie noticed that they weren’t alone any more. On every tree branch and behind every trunk were dozens, hundreds of fairies and dragons. The fairies were all dressed very much alike, in gauzy robes of many colors, and each one’s hair was violet, yellow, red, or blue. The dragons were mostly larger than Fidget, about the size of a collie. Their scales were green, brown, or black. None of them made a sound, which was the scariest thing so far.
The fairies that had led them through the woods floated into the center of the clearing, along with several others and about ten dragons. They flew silently to the center of the open space and settled to the ground. Instantly, a ring of mushrooms blossomed out of the grass, surrounding them with a short fence of thin stems and pointed caps.
“Council is in session,” said the red-haired fairy who had talked before. “Jazzberry and Fidget, explain yourselves if you can.”
Chapter 7: The Hollow Hill
Jazzberry flew out to the edge of the mushroom fence and began singing in a voice so beautiful and lyrical that it took Annie a moment to realize that she couldn’t follow the words.
“Speak in English so your friends can understand you,” the red-haired fairy said.
“You’ve been debating this problem for over a year,” Jazzberry said boldly. “Talk has gotten us nowhere because what we needed was action. Now we have less than a month before the big machines come to destroy our home, and millions of human lives are at risk. Fidget and I realized that your problem was that you were concentrating on the adults.”