Chapter 20

 

I sat up, looking at the scarf. Brokk was jumping up and down trying to take it from Jonathan’s hand.

“Where did you get that?” I asked.

“I might ask you the same question. This is embroidered with the thread of the Summer Court. You dropped it a few moments ago. One moment, there was nothing in your hand, the next it was there.” He crept towards me. “Have any strange dreams?”

I couldn’t really back away. And as much as what had happened in the dream had been really intriguing, I didn’t really want Jonathan in my space right now. I had to think.

I had pulled the scarf into the real world from out of my dream? What did that mean?

Could I bring something into the dream then?

Of course, I couldn’t help but wonder what I would bring and what I would do with it.

A knife? A sword? A big frickin’ laser-guided bazooka? The latter seemed so crass, but if it came to it, would I need to kill her? Could I?

While Jonathan waited on my answer, Brokk snatched the scarf and brought it to me.

“I took it from her in my dream,” I said. I didn’t tell him how I was still pining for his hardened body pressing against my back. I took a deep breath.

“Did you know you could do that?” he asked.

“No,” I said, studying the intricate weave. It was odd feeling it between my fingers. It was real. “I don’t know why I took it, but I had no idea I could drag it back here.”

“Come on,” he said, offering his hand. “We need to get to the Goblin Market if we’re going to get you another set of earrings.”

“The what?” I asked, taking it. He pulled me towards him. I thought he was going to kiss me. Instead he wiped a couple of leaves from my hair, and then started to climb down.

“The Goblin Market,” he said as he descended. “It’s like a flea market, but for the fey creatures.”

I climbed down after him and then paused to scour the forest. The howlers were gone, and there was no sign of their prints. Brokk climbed onto my shoulder and sat.

As we walked at Jonathan’s brisk pace, I wondered about the earrings. “When I wear the earrings she can see me in the visions, and she’s attacked me. In my dreams, she didn’t see me.”

He slowed enough to allow me to catch up. “It’s because I’m here and you’re wearing the brooch. I think she can’t see you in the visions just like in the real world. And the dreams are a side-effect of using the earrings. Looks like you can make similar trips in your dreams.”

That made sense, actually. If Chris was able to protect my dreams, that would explain why she had tried to drown me when he’d gone to the bathroom on the plane. It wasn’t until he returned that I woke.

I nodded my head, still a little nervous about this. I didn’t savor being drowned or meeting any other untimely end, but I supposed if I was going to figure this out, the dreams were the best chance I had.

We continued through the woods until we hit open farmland once more. The sun had only just risen, so it was still quite early. There was little human movement about.

Jonathan seemed in a lighter mood as we marched in the sun. We talked about my life after my visit to England. I filled him in on the meds, the doctors, and my mother.

“Why didn’t you fight them?” he asked.

“Because I was told I was crazy,” I said. “First, humans aren’t aware of your world. Or, most of them aren’t I assume. When people talk about faeries, everyone thinks they’re nuts. So I was led to believe I was seeing things that weren’t really there, and I needed help. What’s worse, though, is that my mother knew it was real, and she still led me to believe I was crazy. Then, when I returned from England, she finally found a doctor that could help. I’d been on the meds since.”

I thought about that visit to England. I wanted to mention how much I’d hurt when he had disappeared, about how I’d left England scarred, but he veered off the path. He took a sudden turn at an old oak tree, down a less trodden route, putting his finger to his lips to indicate quiet. We then crept towards a stream lined with old willows.

I could hear what sounded like wind chimes as we got closer, and voices — a lot of them. There was laughter and merriment.

As we rounded one of the willows, I stopped in my tracks. Jonathan paused, looking down the stream to where tables and tents were set up. It was a market, alright — complete with candied fruits, clothing, small animals in cages, and pastries, along with the ever-present scent of berries and apples. The place was crowded. The more human looking ones could’ve been anything, Nymphs or Trolls like Jonathan and Chris. There were others I had no idea how to identify. Some were half the size of humans, some were the size of the little winged Faeries, and some were combinations thereof.

Jonathan noticed my hesitation. “Stay here,” he said. “Sit down, and don’t look at anyone. The fey don’t like having their business prodded into, so pretend like you don’t see them and look down at the water.” He unpinned the brooch.

“What are you taking that for?” I asked. “I thought it’s supposed to protect me.”

“It hides you, and it’s weakening already. I need to recharge it. I won’t be long.” He must have seen the worry in my face. “Brokk knows how to find me should anything go wrong. Don’t worry.” He kissed my forehead and I was a little taken aback. He smiled his dimpled grin and took off into the market.

I stayed where I was, but found it hard to just stare at the water. If there was anything I could use to save Chris or myself, I needed to know. That said, I wasn’t so foolish as to completely ignore Jonathan’s advice. I just watched from the corner of my eye.

Brokk sat beside me, patted my hand, and watched the market from where we sat.

I pulled my knees to my chest, resting my head on my folded arms. It was a casual enough pose, I hoped, and allowed me full view of what was happening. I have to say, feigning oblivion to their presence was a little challenging.

Everyone here was dressed from eras gone by, no one form of apparel standing out any more than another. Jonathan was one of the few dressed in more modern attire, yet no one seemed to pay any attention to it.

A lot of the women were in those puffy dresses from my dream. Fortunately none of them were Morgana.

Brokk pulled at my ankle. He motioned for me to stand up.

I contemplated telling him that Jonathan had said to remain here. But then, Brokk had never really given me bad advice so far, so I decided to go with it. I picked him up and rose.

He grabbed the scarf and held it up, indicating I should wear it around my neck. Then he pointed towards the market. I did as he suggested.

I wasn’t sure if I should walk with my head high and appear as if I belonged there, or try to remain obscure and skulk. After Brokk picked up my chin I went with the former.

I came to the first table, examining the necklaces and jewelry — it was some of the finest gold work I’d ever seen. The merchant was an old woman. She nodded to me with a smile, but said nothing. There was a mirror on the table, but I couldn’t see my reflection — only that of a strange old man. He winked at me.

I continued on, a number of the folk nodding their heads to me, some almost bowing. I realized the scarf must be symbolic of something important, so I nodded back and smiled. I felt like such a fraud, but it was getting me through the crowd unmolested.

One table was selling fresh fruit — apples and berries. The young woman offered me an apple. I wasn’t sure about taking it. It was red. The first thing that ran through my head was what happened to Snow White. Brokk indicated I should take the apple, so I did as I was told. I pocketed the fruit after nodding my thanks and moving on. I didn’t eat it, although it was tempting. I was getting hungry.

Further along, the little Faeries were playing, flitting about the tables. I could swear a couple of them looked familiar, like from my dream, or perhaps I’d seen them growing up. They giggled, waved, and flew off.

I noticed some whispering behind me. I listened, but the words were in a language I did not understand. I didn’t do an about-face to catch them, but I did pause long enough at a tent with no wares outside. Covered in a fine, purple cloth, it had nothing to indicate what I would find inside. I gave up on trying to overhear whatever gossip was happening at my expense and poked my head in the tent.

The inside was dark, with a few candles struggling to light the space. It was much larger than it seemed from the outside with a table in the middle. Behind it sat an old woman. She motioned for me to sit in front of her and grinned. Somehow I was expecting her not to have teeth. She did, but not that many.

I parked myself with Brokk sliding off my arm. He stood on the table beside me as the woman took my hands. Turning my palm upwards she ran her thin, bent finger along my skin. She leaned over to look at my hand, rubbing it with her thumb, as if trying to erase the lines.

I wasn’t sure what made me stay. A part of me wanted her to tell me about my future. Was I going to live? Was my end coming soon?

The woman looked into my eyes, and in hers I saw the emerald ones I’d come to know.

Then she creeped me out when she spoke with Chris’s voice.

“Katherine, what are you doing here? This is dangerous.”

My heart leapt. “Chris, oh my god! Are you all right? Where are you?”

“I’m okay,” he replied. “She has me in the Winter Court. Don’t make the trade Katherine. She’ll kill you once she has what she wants from you.”

“We’ll get you back,” I said. “Just hang in there.”

“Katherine,” he said. The old woman smiled. “If I don’t make it through this, I want you to know—oh my god! Katherine, it’s a trap! Get out of there! She’s there with you!”

I blinked. What?

I was too slow to move. The old woman changed in front of me, her hair turning golden and curly.

She seized my arm. “Now I’ve got you!”