Chapter 16

Jak woke the next morning to the sun shining in his eyes and the feeling that he had something important to do, only he had no idea what it might be. Yawning, he sat up, stretched, and looked around. It was a beautiful, calm day with a cloudless sky; Jak would have relished the thought of exploring the plain if he hadn’t felt so uneasy.

He was getting to his feet when he noticed the writing on his hands. Turning in place, he saw that the forest began only a short distance away. The day was already getting hot and the shade looked tempting. He entered the forest a few minutes later and noticed how much cooler it was in the deep shade. He paused to look up, awed at the sight of the oldest trees he’d ever seen. Even the trunk of the smallest tree was so wide that three men could not circle it with their arms; most of the trees were far more massive.

This forest felt different than most. The air was heavy with the breath of trees, the weight of their years, and something even harder to discern, which he finally decided was the tingle of magic. It must be strong here if I can feel it, he thought.

A flicker of movement drew Jak’s eyes, and he saw a full-sized fairy warrior standing only a few feet away, watching him. The pinecones embroidered on the shoulder of his tunic indicated that the fairy was an officer. Two tiny fairies flitted around Jak, as if waiting to be told what to do. At the officer’s gesture, the air sparkled and two warriors stood on either side of Jak, aiming short, slender reeds at him. Although the new arrivals didn’t have the pinecone insignia, all three fairies were dressed in the colors of the trees around them; the browns and greens shifted as they moved, matching the trees and making the fairies hard to see.

“Hey, how are you doing?” said Jak, still used to the ways of humans. His memory was returning bit by bit, just enough to know that there was a lot he couldn’t remember.

“What are you doing here, goblin?” asked the officer.

Jak wasn’t sure what to say. He knew he had come to the forest for a reason, but he didn’t have a clue what it might be.

“I’m not sure why I’m here,” he replied.

The officer grunted. “It’s too soon. He probably doesn’t have his memory back yet. The effects of the Land of Forgetfulness don’t wear off right away.”

“How long will it take?” asked one of the other fairies.

“It varies, depending on the species, age, size . . . There’s really no way to predict,” the officer said, looking Jak up and down. “Can you tell us your name?” he asked Jak.

Jak could see from the suspicion in their eyes that the fairies didn’t trust him, which made him think that he shouldn’t trust them either. Something that he had heard recently crept into his mind, and he considered it good advice: don’t give your real name to anyone you don’t trust. He still couldn’t remember his real name, but there was a name that he knew wasn’t his. “Nihlo.”

A twinkling light appeared in the gloom of the forest, darting under branches and over fallen trunks. It came to a stop beside the officer, and hovered there. The officer nodded and extended his hand. A moment later he was holding a pale yellow blossom and the tiny fairy was leaving.

“Say ‘Ah,’” the officer said to Jak.

“Huh?” Jak replied.

The fairy squeezed the base of the blossom, squirting nectar into Jak’s mouth. “That’s good enough.”

Jak opened his mouth to ask what was going on, but nothing would come out.

“I think it’s working,” said the officer. “We can ask him questions now, and he’ll have to answer with the truth, whether or not he can consciously remember it himself. All right, goblin . . . You are a goblin, aren’t you?”

Jak wanted to protest and say that they had no right to treat him this way, but he didn’t seem to have any control over his voice. His mouth opened of its own accord and words came out, even though he wasn’t thinking them. “I’m half cat goblin, half human.”

“I thought he was a cat goblin, Lieutenant Spruce,” said one of the other fairies. “They all have a certain look about them. I can honestly say that I can’t tell them apart.”

The other fairy snorted. “Look at him, Ragweed! He’s half human! That’s even worse than a full goblin. What’s Titania going to send next—full humans?”

“That’s enough of that, Mugwort,” said the lieutenant before turning back to Jak. “Are you a spy?”

There were a lot of things that Jak wanted to say, but the only word that would come out was “No.”

“Did Titania send you here?” asked the lieutenant.

“No.”

“Then who did?”

“No one.”

Mugwort made a rude sound. “This is worse than coaxing buds to open before their time!”

“Shh!” said Ragweed while the lieutenant scowled at Mugwort.

Turning back to Jak, Lieutenant Spruce asked, “Why did you come?”

“To see Princess Tamisin.”

“Now we’re getting somewhere!” breathed Mugwort. Ragweed punched his friend in the arm.

“Why did you come to see Princess Tamisin?” asked the lieutenant.

“Because I love her.”

Mugwort snorted. “Yeah, right!”

“Don’t laugh!” said Ragweed. “It has to be the truth if he said it under the influence of nectar.”

“Do you intend to harm the princess?” Spruce asked Jak.

“No.”

“Do you intend to harm anyone else here?”

“No.”

“You can take him to the colonel now,” Spruce told the two fairies. “Mountain Ash can decide what he wants to do with him.”

Mugwort looked disappointed and shoved Jak when he didn’t move quickly enough. “Leave him alone,” said Ragweed. “We’re just escorting him. He’s not a prisoner.”

“Yet,” Mugwort muttered.

When Jak looked confused, Ragweed patted him on the back. “Don’t listen to him. You’re fine. Now all you have to do is talk to the colonel and he might let you see the princess. I’ll take him myself,” he told his friend as he led Jak away.