Part 2 (1/2)
Elia shoved her menu over to him and closed her eyes. ”Order me some tea and oatmeal.”
Keelie ignored her. Did the elf girl think she was going to be her personal a.s.sistant?
She opened the menu for Knot, and was not surprised when he placed his paws on the fish section. At least he had an excuse-no opposable thumbs. The women at the table next to them did a double take. Keelie glared at them with a what, you've never seen a cat order from a menu? look.
”Where's Misery? Maybe we should order for her,” Keelie said.
”Misery.” Elia snorted and quickly covered her face. Sean grinned and shook his head.
Miszrial seemed to appear out of thin air. ”Saved a spot for me?” She sat down stiffly. ”I will presume that you've made an idiotic attempt at making a pun of my name. Miszrial, Misery.” She looked at Knot. ”It's unfortunate that there are no laws in this town forbidding animals in eating establishments.”
Keelie pretended to be happy, since Elia still seemed too queasy to even try. ”We're so glad you could join us. I thought you'd still be searching for a car wash.”
Miszrial tilted her head. ”There is a detail car wash on the other side of the parking lot.” If Miszrial had left the SUV, she must be anxious to keep an eye on them.
Goodbye ”hiding out in a hotel” idea, Keelie thought. Maybe she could still check out the fascinating shops in the unusual town. She felt a hum of energy threading its way through the street. It felt like magic. She glanced at Sean, who didn't seem to be aware of it.
”Is he really reading that?” The elf guide stared at the cat, who was staring at the menu.
”Of course,” Keelie answered.
Miszrial shook her head. ”We need to hurry. We're expected at Grey Mantle and I have to return to my work.”
”What do you do? Are you a Healer?” Keelie studied the elf guide. She had the disciplined look of a doctor.
”Yes. I'm working on an herbal tincture that will help my people endure the winter by strengthening their immune system. Now is the time to harvest the principle ingredient, the Hunter's Moon flower.” The elf guide straightened, obviously excited by her work. ”It grows on the south side of the mountain, and can only be harvested by night, so that the sun's rays don't dry out the delicate stalks.”
Keelie felt her eyes glaze over. It was like talking to Risa. A small part of her thought that humans might use the tincture, too.
The waitress returned. ”May I take your order?”
Keelie scanned the menu and decided on oatmeal too, Sylvus help her. She was becoming more and more like an elf with each pa.s.sing day. ”Two oatmeals and two cups of peppermint tea.” She handed her menu to the waitress.
Sean closed his menu. ”A Crystal Cup special with whipped cream.” He turned to Keelie. ”I've craved fancy coffee drinks ever since that trip to the mall in Los Angeles.”
”I was too busy wrestling a tree to drink mine, but I know what you mean,” Keelie said. They'd ended up kidnapping the sapling in the food court's concrete planter and giving it a permanent home by a stream near Baywood Academy, her old school.
Knot meowed and placed his paw on the menu.
Keelie nodded. ”Good choice. We need a kid's meal of fish sticks and hold the fries.”
”Okay.” The waitress arched an eyebrow.
”I'm not hungry.” Miszrial handed the menu to the waitress, whose name tag said Hannah. ”Just peppermint tea.”
”Thanks.” Hannah took the menu. ”I'll bring your drinks back right away.”
Keelie opened her napkin and placed it on her lap. She leaned toward the elf guide. ”How is Lord Norzan doing?”
”He is better. His time in the Redwood Forest drained his energy, but here in his home forest he is healing. You will see him in Grey Mantle.” The elf guide placed dark sungla.s.ses over her face and turned away from Keelie, who definitely got the message: I do not want to talk to you.
Knot washed his face, ignoring all the human drama.
Keelie smiled nicely, bit down on her tongue, and didn't say anything-the excellent advice Dad had given her many times over the past months about dealing with cranky elves. She had a feeling she would be staying silent a lot in the coming days.
As they left the Crystal Cup to return to the SUV, Keelie thought of the Green Man mask and her eerie vision. Despite having witnessed walking trees, angry fairies, and magical unicorns, she'd never seen anything like the dark, horned figure who'd beckoned to her. Or heard a voice like that.
”Keelie, are you all right? You seem worried about something.” Elia was wrapping a cloak around her shoulders, s.h.i.+vering in the cool air. Pregnancy was occasionally doing wonders for the elf girl's personality-as in, she'd developed one. Glimmers of niceness, anyway.
”I just zoned out.” Keelie smiled at her, still worried about her vision.
”Well, don't daydream in front of my relatives. You'll embarra.s.s me, and since we'll arrive together, I can't pretend I don't know you.”
Keelie mentally crossed off the personality upgrade she thought she'd noticed. As they hurried to catch up with Misery the marching elf, they pa.s.sed the mask shop again. Keelie stumbled when she saw the Green Man mask, and Sean steadied her.
”Something's up with you, I know it,” he whispered.
”Later. I can't talk in front of the other elves.”
He frowned, but said nothing.
The parking lot was gravel, and on the other side was the detail shop that held their strange little SUV, now sparkling in the northern sun. No crowds here.
”Throwing up made me feel better, but I could use a nap.” A long golden curl had come loose from Elia's braid and blew across her face. She turned her head so that the wind swept it back, and stared into the trees. ”Do you hear that? Singing.”
Miszrial's eyes widened. ”Quick, into the car.”
Knot meowed scornfully, but Keelie thought that maybe the elf guide had noticed a moose or bear. Or an insane masked jester. She jumped into the back seat and didn't relax when Sean slammed the door behind them.
Miszrial drove as if they were being chased. Elia held on, turning green again.
Sean leaned forward, resting a hand on the back of the drivers' seat. ”Do you want me to help with the driving?” His offer seemed to come more from self-preservation than a desire to help Miszrial.
The elf guide gritted her teeth. ”No, I'm fine.” Her eyes kept checking both sides of the road.
Keelie's thoughts circled back to her strange experience at the mask shop. She'd seen various kinds of magic in the year since her mother had died, but this vision of the dark rider had been totally different from any of them. Was the Green Man-the forest G.o.d-watching her now? His magic had felt deep, old, and very dark, and just the brief encounter had made her shaky. But it intrigued her, too ... a tremor ran down Keelie's spine. She'd never dealt with a G.o.d before.
She needed to call her father, but she didn't want to do it in front of Miszrial. She was here to help solve a problem for the elves, but it was beginning to look like the situation was more complicated than a simple disagreement over how the magic leak started. Maybe other creatures were involved. Really scary creatures. Whatever was going on, Keelie didn't want the Northwoods elves to think that their amba.s.sador from the Dread Forest was weak, or that she was drawing the attention of old forest G.o.ds who felt the need to utter warnings. She didn't know what Beware meant, but it sounded alarming.
The elves might be able to tell her about this G.o.d, if they even knew he existed. The elves at home couldn't sense lesser fae like the bhata and the feithid daoine, and they hadn't known about Under-the-Hill beneath them. While it was hard to believe that a being as powerful as the Green Man could be a secret from the local elves, Keelie decided that she wouldn't ask about him until Dad gave the okay.
Elia turned in her seat to look at her. ”Are you going to pout all the way to Grey Mantle?”
Keelie made a face. ”If being snarky makes you feel better, go for it.”
Elia's mouth fell open. ”I don't know what you mean.” She muttered something.
”Did you just call me a Round Ear?” ”Round Ear” was an insulting elven term for ”human.”
Miszrial snorted. Laugh it up, Misery, Keelie thought.