Ever After (Unfinished Fairy Tales #3)(18)
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Every day I wait for Krev to come pick me up. Mom and Paige stop trying to persuade me to stay. Instead, they make sure that I’m getting enough rest and sleep, eat healthy, and exercise regularly. Maybe they realize it’s no use trying to change my mind. Or maybe they’re still hoping that Krev is a figment of my imagination.
Sometimes I wonder how I’d react if Paige was in my situation. Would I have let her go to a strange world I’ve never heard of? No. But I trust Paige, and if she is certain about her decision and I’ve done everything I can, well, I would respect her decision. That’s probably what Mom and Paige feel about me.
And it happens one night. When I wake up from a dream of Edward, with tears stains on my pillow, the familiar popping sound occurs. The goblin hovers in the air, his yellow eyes large and unblinking, and there’s a tiny flapping sound from his beating wings.
“You’re late.”
“It’s too far,” he retorts. “Do you take me for an airplane, girlie? Don’t you forget that our magic is more limited now. All right then. It’s your last chance to decide whether you want to leave or not. Stay, and you can have a normal life here. Leave, and you risk your life, ‘cause the fairies can’t promise you they’ll succeed. So tell me, yes or no?”
“I take the risk.” My voice is steady, firm. “Take me home.”
He does a double take. “You are referring to Athelia as home now?”
“Yes.” It’s possible I won’t survive, but when I think of Katriona Bradshaw, who might be at the palace, in my place, my blood boils. When I think of Edward all alone, pining for me, pretending I never left, my heart aches for him. No matter what, I have to get back to him.
Krev shakes his head. “Never thought you’d fall so hard for Eddie. He’d better be worth it, girlie, if you’re willing to risk your life. Now, stand up and turn around, I’ve got to give you the spell that can make you breathe properly.”
For a moment, I consider rousing Paige and Mom and saying farewell for one last time, but it’s too late. A small hand touches my neck and the next second I can’t breathe—I choke and splutter—and suddenly I can inhale properly. But something else has gone wrong, and this time it’s my sight. Everything around me is fuzzy, like I developed short-sightedness in a few minutes.
“What happened?” I ask, groping in the air.
“It’s the spell,” Krev says. “We can’t do the same spell as Borg performed, but this is the closest we can achieve. There’s a ball of oxygen around your head. It’ll shrink in time, and you’ll die when it completely disappears, so time is crucial. We have to get you to the fairies as soon as possible.”
I want to scratch an itch on my ear, and realize it’s impossible. My fingers meet something solid, like hard plastic, and as I feel all over, it’s like I’m wearing an invisible helmet. Oh my God. I’ve become an astronaut. Sort of.
Krev begins to chant. Golden sparks shoot from his fingers, creating a large hole. This time, I could see something in that hole. It’s blurry because I’m in the oxygen helmet, but I can make out a dark forest and some large mounds built under the trees.
Is this the goblin realm?
“That’s where you live? Under trees?”
My voice sounds funny and distorted, thanks to the oxygen helmet around my head. Krev doesn’t hear me, or if he does, he’s ignoring me.
The hole grows bigger and bigger, until it’s the size of the door. I swallow hard. Goodbye, Mom. Bye Paige. I’m sorry that I’m choosing to leave you behind and start a new life in a world you can never reach. Take care of yourselves. I’ll always love you both.
Then I take a deep breath and step through the hole. A shaft of light shines into my eyes—it’s so bright that I am momentarily blinded, but then I stumble through.
“This way!” Krev hisses.
My journey from my own world to the fairies is completed faster than I expected. Krev must be worried about my survival, since the oxygen helmet around my head holds a finite amount of oxygen, just like Borg’s spell on me was only temporary. Maybe he’s also contemplating there’s a chance to send me back to my own world, if the transformation doesn’t work out. I got to say, the goblins are more caring than they appear. They might mock me or chide me, but they will lend a helping hand when they can.
My eyes barely adjust to the mounds of the goblin realm when Krev draws another hole and pulls me through. I would have liked to see Pippi again but as Krev says, I only have a limited supply of oxygen and I can’t waste any time. No sooner have I tried to catch a glimpse of a few goblins gawking at me than I’m dragged to the fae world.
It has been two years since I last came to the fae world by using Lady Gregory’s lily. However, it’s such a strange, wondrous world that it remains vivid in my mind. The gold-and-silver forest gleams with an unearthly atmosphere; magic hums in the air like an invisible current. I glimpse a tall, slender fairy with translucent skin and pointed ears glide out of a yellow house, and disappear like the wind. To be honest, while this world seems beautiful and perfect, it gives me the creeps.
Once Krev lands with me, he sends out a signal by yelling on top of his voice. “Oy! I’ve brought the human, midget!”
“Do not insult my daughter, or I shall have you thrown out of our dwelling.” A cool voice that makes me think of icicles echoes in the air. Two fairies appear, with Meg trailing behind them.