I started up the car again. “I’m hoping that the person I’m taking you to see will be able to help us on that issue. It can’t hurt, that much I know. And Fata, one thing I’ve learned over the decades is that we’re all just stumbling around, looking for the right path. Sometimes we luck out and find it. And sometimes, we just keep trying, because that’s all we can do.”
BY THE TIME we got to Auntie Tautau’s it was going on two o’clock. I couldn’t believe that the time had flown so quickly, but as I parked and cautiously got out of the car, it occurred to me that perhaps time speeded up when we were intensely focused on something.
As we stepped up on the porch, Fata looked around, avidly interested in the multitude of birdfeeders and flowerpots and gardens that surrounded Auntie Tautau’s house.
“Who lives here?”
“Auntie Tautau. I’ve gotten to know her over the past few months and I really like her. I like her better than I liked Auntie Berma. Auntie Berma was a little too opinionated for my tastes. Auntie Tautau, well, she can be a lot of fun and extremely compassionate.”
I knocked again, wondering if Auntie Tautau was going to come to the door. I was about to give up when I heard something inside, and then the door clicked open and Auntie Tautau peeked out.
“We need your help, Auntie Tautau. I need your help with Fata. You said I’d know what to do when it came time, and all I could think of was to bring her here.” I didn’t think it was time for Fata to leave and yet I wasn’t sure what to do with her until then.
Auntie Tautau motioned us in. She gave us a once-over and shook her head.
“You look like you’ve been mud wrestling. What on earth were you girls doing? And you’re both soaked to the skin. Come in, sit by the fire. I’ll get some towels and robes.” As she turned, Merriweather crooked his head, looking back at us.
“So the ocean comes to the Auntie,” he observed. “Not all goddesses live in the sky.” And with that the crow shut his beak and Auntie Tautau disappeared through the door.
“I wonder what he meant by that,” I said absently.
“I don’t know if I want to know,” Fata said. Her eyes were flashing again, but she seemed lethargic, as she knelt near the fire and rubbed her hands in front of it. “You always loved the fire, and I always loved that spark in you. You’re so vibrant and alive, Maddy. And I always felt like I was hiding in a swirl of mist, dancing on the edge of the ocean and sometimes on the edge of my sanity. The world seems to constantly move and shift like the waves, and I never know whether I am seeing things correctly, or viewing them from a distance. Sometimes it feels as though I look at life through a microscope, and other times it feels like I’m part of every single grain of sand on the ocean shore. As though every single drop of water has a part of me in it, and it makes me feel stretched and thin.”
“I wonder if you were always part of the water,” I said. “I mean, I know you and I and Sandy were all born to our elements, but I wonder if there isn’t a spark of water elemental or siren back there in your bloodstream somewhere. Something that allowed you to tune into your element more than Sandy and me due to ours. I love the fire, I can bathe in it and I feel it in my blood and bones, but not the way you connect with the ocean. Jordan said that you were part water elemental, so when did everything shift and change? While you were sleeping on the bottom of the sea, snug in Ocean Mother’s arms?”
“I suppose,” Fata said. She stood up and shivered, her dress covering very little of her skin. “I don’t usually feel cold anymore, but right now I feel it to my very core. I wonder why.”
“Because,” Auntie Tautau said, returning with two large towels, washcloths, and two bars of soap. “In my house, very little of the outer world has any effect. The oceans pull on you? Here she still will, but never to the degree it does when you step outside my front door. Here, you can remember more of yourself. Wash up. Maddy, why don’t you go first. There’s plenty of hot water in the shower. I can run your clothes through the washing machine while you’re here.”
I wanted to say that I wouldn’t be staying that long, but I decided not to argue. If Auntie Tautau could help us, I would stay as long as she wanted me to.
Fata glanced at me as I picked up the robe and towel and washcloth and headed around the corner, but she said nothing. Once I was in Auntie Tautau’s bathroom—a cozy room, complete with a walk-in shower, a vanity, and an extremely clean toilet—I let out a long breath. It felt like I had been holding it since I first walked into Ralph’s living room.
I stripped off my clothes and slipped into her shower. The hot water felt soothing against my skin, and by the time I got out and dried off and changed into the robe, I was breathing easier. I knew it wasn’t polite of me to let Auntie Tautau handle Fata Morgana without me, but I desperately needed a break. Staring at myself in the mirror, I splashed some more water on my face and finally gathered up my clothes and made sure that the bathroom was clean, and headed back out to the living room.
Auntie Tautau took my outfit from me, and Fata’s dress, and while Fata took her turn in the shower, she bustled off to put them in the washing machine. When she returned she was carrying cups of hot chocolate, and a plate of cookies. Feeling grateful, I dove into my chocolate and sipped the hot, minty foam that frothed atop the drink.
Fata returned shortly after. Her eyes lit up at the hot cocoa and cookies, and she ate like she hadn’t eaten in years. I ate three cookies but she finished the rest of the plate. Auntie Tautau returned to the kitchen and when she came back she was carrying another plate of cookies, along with a round of Gouda, and the pot of hot chocolate. She refilled our mugs, and sliced the cheese, handing us thick wedges.
“I wasn’t planning on stepping in at this point,” Auntie Tautau suddenly said to me. “I have a part to play, but it’s not yet time. However, Fata Morgana can stay with me for the night. We’ll take it one day at a time. She’ll be safe here, both from herself and from harming others.”
Fata had discovered some of Auntie Tautau’s figurines. She wasn’t even listening to us, so rapt was her attention on the ceramic dolls. She wasn’t touching them, but stared at them as if they were the most miraculous thing she had ever seen.
I realized there was so much that Fata had missed out on in the outer world, so many things she knew nothing of that Sandy and I had experienced and seen as we watched the years and decades go by, changing ourselves to match the times. In a sense, Fata had been plucked right out of the past and dropped in the present, without any chance of acclimating herself.
“You’ll be okay with her here?” It was a stupid question. After all, Auntie Tautau was one of the Aunties, but I still felt pushed to ask.
“I’m not the one you’d have to worry about, my dear,” she said that gleam in her eye. “If I wanted to, Fata would be gone and never ever seen again. All I’d have to do is shift the web, and all that takes is for me to desire that it be. There’s much you have to learn about the Aunties still, but then—you could live a lifetime and never know a fraction of what and who we are.
“Now, scoot yourself on out of here, Maddy. You have things to do, and you still have a deadly killer after you. I would help if I could, but it’s not my vision to see where he is.”
I started to say good-bye to Fata, but she was still engrossed in all of Auntie Tautau’s curios. From the door, I blew her a kiss, knowing she would never see it. Feeling like a mother leaving her child at nursery school for the first time, I turned and walked away. The storm had lightened, and a ray of sun broke through, filtering in from low on the horizon. I took it as a good omen as I got in my CR-V and headed home.
THAT EVENING, AS Aegis and I were trying to puzzle out where Dracula might be staying, the doorbell rang and Kelson answered it. It was Sandy and Max, and they headed into the kitchen, where we were sitting around a pot of tea.
“I’m so glad to see you,” I said, jumping up to give Sandy a hug. I waved at Max and he blew me a kiss.<
br />
Aegis clasped his hand, and they did a manly shake. I tried not to laugh, but Sandy snorted.
“Oh hush, woman,” Aegis said. “There’s so much estrogen around here that we have to have some traditions. Let us have our handshakes, and back pats.”
“Just long as you don’t pat each other on the butt like they do in football,” Sandy said with a giggle.
Kelson, who was finishing up a stew for the next day, carried over a bottle of wine that she knew Sandy and I liked, along with goblets and a bag of chips. “That’s all we have for snacks right now, because Aegis forgot to bake tonight.”
“They’ll just have to do with ready-made muffins for breakfast. We’re dealing with a serious issue and you know it.” Aegis gave Kelson a long look.
“Of course I know that, and you should realize I’m just giving you a hard time.” She wriggled her nose at him.
I poured the wine as Sandy and Max settled around the table.
“Where’s Fata? Do you know?” Sandy glanced around, looking nervous.
“I left her at Auntie Tautau’s. She’s there for the night, and I don’t think she’s going to be going anywhere without permission. We had an interesting incident at Ralph’s today.” I told them about what had happened, feeling almost embarrassed to recount the discussion between Fata and me. But they had to know, especially if she had been running around, telling my secrets to everybody.
“So you and Fata were involved?” Aegis looked at me, his eyes wide. He didn’t look upset, just startled.
“We were lovers, yes. And we were lovers with the satyrs. And Sandy was right there with us.” I suddenly stopped, afraid that Max didn’t know about Sandy’s past. I was positive she had told him, but the words had slipped out before I could make sure.
“Oh crap, did I say anything I shouldn’t have? Or does he know?” Even when I tried to fix my gaffe, I seemed to be putting my foot in it.
Sandy let out a long breath. “Max knows about our past. I didn’t tell him about you and Fata because it was in the past, until the past showed up on our doorstep.”
“Here’s the thing,” I said. “Fata was in love with me. I loved her, but I wasn’t in love with her. That’s why she left. We had a big row, and the truth slipped out. She summoned up such a tempest that it shook the entire woodland where we were staying. And she stormed off to the shore. Sandy and I followed her, begging her to be sensible. But you can’t ask the ocean to stop raging, and you can’t ask a water witch to favor logic over her emotions. She accused me of breaking her heart, of doing it deliberately. She accused me of using her. And then she told me that I had actually broken her heart the day I picked her cousin over her. That made me angry—so angry. I had never known how she felt until we started hanging with the satyrs. When I met Tom, we fell head over heels in love, and Fata seemed so happy for us. She kept saying that finally, she had a sister. Tom was her cousin, you know. When I heard that, I hate to say it, but I began to wonder about his death.”
“You can’t mean it, can you?” Sandy leaned forward. “Do you really think she would’ve done that to her own cousin?”
“She was the only one who knew where he and I were that night. She was the only one we told where we were going. I suppose the vampires could have been tracking us, but it seemed so convenient that Fata was the one who told us to go to that grove. So, you see, I don’t know whether she would have done that to Tom, or to me. I don’t suppose I’ll ever find out, and right now, I don’t know if that matters.”
“Well, it certainly explains a few things,” Aegis said. When I looked at him, he shrugged. “I meant about the way she’s acting. But back to the topic at hand, where could Dracula be hiding?”
I desperately wanted to tell Sandy about Dracula’s weakness, but I had pledged my word to Essie and I couldn’t break it. I glanced over at Aegis.
“I can’t talk about some things,” I began.
He held up his hand. “Maddy made an oath that she can’t tell anybody something she found out. But Maddy, you’ll notice that I didn’t take any such oath there. Essie forgot to bind me to silence. So I can tell them exactly what we learned.”
I let out a little gasp and half rose out of my seat. “I never thought about that.”
“I’m a smart cookie, you have to admit.” Aegis looked so pleased with himself that I jumped up and threw my arms around his neck, giving him a big kiss.
“Tell us what?” Sandy asked.
Aegis turned to them. “It seems as though Dracula has developed an allergy to witches’ blood. The touch of it can burn him, and ingesting it can kill him. So he has a definite vulnerability. The question is, exactly how do we exploit it?”
“Actually,” I said, “the first question is where do we find him? We can’t kill him if he doesn’t show himself. And frankly, I don’t feel like running around on a wild goose chase, putting myself in danger, playing hide and seek. What about the Durholm estate? We know that has secret tunnels beneath it.”
“Possibly, but he would have to evade everybody who’s there and we know that the Winter Fae keep tight control over who gets in and out of that place.” Sandy brought out her tablet. “Let me call Bjorn and ask him about abandoned houses in the area. It would have to be one with the basement, so that may narrow it down a little bit.”
“Good thinking, and while you’re at it, ask him if he knows of any tunnel systems throughout the town. I’m sure there are, but we don’t have time to go looking for them right now. Although I suppose we have as much time as it takes before we can find Dracula.”
While she called Bjorn, a local fox-shifter real estate agent, I found my silver stake and dagger and put them on the table, carefully keeping them away from Aegis. They had seen so much action over the years, been party to so many deaths. And yet, now they called to me like they hadn’t for a long, long time. Auntie Berma had given them to me, on a day that I would never forget.
WHEN I EMERGED from the Faerie Barrow after the faerie warrior had carried me away into it, I was unaware that twenty years had passed. The area looked overgrown, a little wilder, and I felt dazed. I had cried a good share of the time when I was inside, but I had learned from the Fae.
They had taken me under their wing, and taught me tricks with the fire that I would never have known. They also taught me to use faerie fire, a skill that I felt best kept hidden, because it brought me too close to the realm. There were so many times when I thought it would be easier to give up and stay inside with Bubba, but he kept me grounded. He reminded me of the world outside, and while I was content there, after a time I realized that I needed to go home. Finally, the tears slowed and I approached the warrior, whose name was Tia, and asked her to let me out. Carrying Bubba, I followed her to the door and she opened it.
“We will miss you,” she said. “You could make a life here with us. Tom knew it would be a safe haven for you. If you ever want to come back, just call for me and I’ll hear you.” She gave me a tiny silver whistle, which I tucked in my pocket.
“I’d love to stay, or at least a part of me wants to. But I need to go back. I need to find Tom. Surely, he had to have escaped, don’t you think?” In my heart, I knew I was clinging to false hope. But I didn’t want to admit it, because then the reality of what had happened would hit home. I had spent so many days in tears, missing my Tom, and worrying about him. What if all those tears had been in vain?
I turned to Tia. “How long has passed since I came here? Since you rescued me?”
I had asked the question a number of times, and in all the time I had spent here, no one had ever answered me. They would just smile and say, Not enough time.
Tia held my gaze and for a moment I thought she still wouldn’t answer. But finally, she took a deep breath and said, “Twenty years. Twenty years have passed in the outer world. May I give you a word of advice?”
I was still stuck on the twenty years’ part, but I nodded.
“Don’t
expect to return to your old life. You can’t. Things have changed in the outer world, and you’ve changed from being in our world. Be prepared to pick up a new direction. Best of luck, Maudlin. We would have you stay with us if you like, and the invitation is an open one.” And with that, Tia opened the door and I walked out into a new world.
The first thing I did was head for home. They probably thought I was dead, and I wondered if my mother would finally show some sign of being happy I was alive. Bubba ran at my feet, pouncing on butterflies and grass and anything he could get his paws on. He had seemed content in the Faerie Barrow, and I hoped he didn’t mind that we had left there.
When I arrived home, I suddenly felt shy, and I knocked rather than go right in. My mother’s voice echoed from inside, bidding me to enter. As I opened the door she glanced up, looking harried at the stove, where she was making a stew. She dropped her spoon and backed up a couple steps, a look of fear sweeping across her face.
“Maudlin, is it you?”
I nodded. “I was in a Faerie Barrow.”
She seemed hesitant. “We thought you were dead. We thought the vampires had turned you as well as Tom.”
In that second all my hopes and dreams crashed to the floor. I had known in my heart that the vampires had taken him, but I had wanted to believe that it was just worry, that he had somehow managed to escape. And then what she said hit home.
“Turned him? You mean, they didn’t just kill him?” A new horror washed through me. I had hoped and prayed that he had managed to escape, or at the worst, that he had died at their hands. But if they had turned him, then it was worse than anything I had dared imagine.
“Oh, they turned him, all right. While you’ve been hiding yourself with the Fae, the vampires have been on the rise. Their numbers are growing, both here and in Europe. The vile creatures are growing bolder with every night.” She picked her spoon up again, and rinsed it in the dish bucket. Then, returning to her stew, she began stirring it slowly, looking like she wanted to say something.