The room was gray when Trevor became aware of his surroundings. Chilly air from the half-opened window touched his face. He stretched and pulled the blanket up around his chin.
The plastic blinds tapped rhythmically against the windowsill mixing with a soft scraping noise. He turned. Light between the slats hit his face. When his eyes adjusted, a sprite sat on his end table.
He squeezed his eyes shut, and opened them quickly. She was still there.
“Good morning, sleepyhead,” she said.
Pushing back the covers, he slid away and sat up.
“We haven’t been formally introduced, but I’ve heard a lot about you.” She tilted her head and squinted her eyes. “You are Trevor, aren’t you?”
He nodded. “Who are you?”
“Amber. Surely they’ve mentioned me.”
“Who?”
“The sprites in the woods? Little green people like me. Well, the pookah’s not exactly like me, but never mind. I’m sure it will all come back to you once you wake up. How long does that usually take? I’m a little short on time.”
“You must be Silverthorn’s girlfriend.”
“Right!” She clapped her hands. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”
“Why are you here?”
She drew one leg up and clasped her hands around her knee. “I’d like to get your take on their plan. You seem to be the one in the center of the action. What is it they’ve asked you to do?”
“They haven’t told you?”
“Well, there have been some strategy discussions.” She leaned back and looked up at the ceiling. “They are in a different twilight than I am, you know. We can’t always get together for planning committees. I just found out about you this morning.” She gave him a little smile. “The big night’s coming up soon. What’s your part?”
“I’m supposed to get the catnip.”
“Catnip?”
“I think Electrum called it a Changeling Plant.”
“Ah, yes. The catnip. Is it guarded?”
“I have to get past Mrs. Hayworth, a huge yellow cat, and,” he sighed, “a mean dog.”
Her eyes got big. “Have they offered you anything to overcome these forces?”
“I’m supposed to meet them in the woods tonight and hear the rest of the plan.”
“Typical.” She paced to the end of the table and looked out the window. “Life in the palace. He hasn’t given a thought to details like transportation, tools...” her voice trailed off and she leaned closer to the window. “Do you know there’s a ship in your yard? I don’t know how I missed that when I flew in.”
He jumped out of bed and leaned on the windowsill. “Where?”
“Under the maple tree.”
He shook his head. “I don’t see any ship.”
“It looks like a broken branch on the ground, but that’s a ship or I’m not a merchant.” Something glittered from the leaves and she squinted. “I think that’s Ragnar’s figurehead.”
“Figurehead?”
“The salamander. Can’t you see it glittering?”
“You mean the pin? It’s stuck in there too deep to pull out. I guess I could try to get it off with pliers.”
“Take it off?” She sounded horrified. “Ragnar’s had that figurehead for years. Her voice turned suspicious. “How did it get in your yard?”
“I dropped it there. Brownie and I went to the woods and I pulled it out of the water.”
Amber gasped and said in a hoarse whisper, “You! You’re the one that carried off Ragnar’s ship. Do you know what you’ve done?”
Trevor didn’t know what to say. He shook his head.
“No of course you don’t know. You didn’t even know it was a ship.”
“I just pulled a broken branch out of the river. I didn’t mean any harm. It doesn’t look like a ship.”
“It’s cloaked,” she said, “but it won’t stay that way. You can see the figurehead because it’s from this world. It’s been...” She squinted her eyes in thought. “Three days tonight. You’ll need to take it back tonight or it will dissolve. Twilight would be best.”
“That’s going to be difficult.”
“Why?”
“I’m you’re size at twilight, remember?”
“Oh yes, that’s right. Well, then you’ll need to get it out of the light. It’s only natural light that’s the problem. The glowstones won’t affect it.”
“The what?”
She pointed to the lamp. “Glowstones.”
“Light bulbs?”
“Whatever. Let’s see. Where can you put it? How about under the bed? That should work. But you have to do it today. Understand?”
He nodded. Amber didn’t know about his mother’s zest for neatness. Getting it past her would be challenging.
She glanced back out the window. “I really have to get going. Sun’s coming up.” She flew over to the windowsill. Bending over, she folded her wings and slipped through.
Trevor looked closely. “Hey! You cut a hole in the screen,” he said.
She shrugged. “Not me. That hole was already there. Perhaps you’ve had other visitors. Don’t forget the ship.” With a wave and a glimmer of gold, she flew away.