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I thank Terry for his help, and, before leaving, pause at the exact spot I’d seen the person of interest sit. As I pretend to search the contents of my purse, I lay a hand on the wooden counter. There have been, of course, thousands of people who sat in this very spot, but the psychometry doesn’t seem to care. Maybe it works off my intention or maybe it’s based on some seriously strange woo-woo energy... but rather quickly I hone in on the man I want. What I see and sense are both confusing and enlightening.
Isensejoy. And Iseea small cabin in the woods.
Whoa. I’m beginning to think this guy is really, really sick.
Murder room, anyone?
I snap shut my purse and head outside to the Momvan.
Not much I’m going to do with a license plate number myself. For some reason, society has a problem just giving the public free access to those records. Yes, I jest. Private eyes in California can’t access license plate info. Not a huge deal, considering Detective Sherbet sent this my way.
Like I said, he probably has the file in front of him.
Chapter Ten
Lies upon Lies
With each step Tammy took toward the rotting tree, memories of the time she lived among faeries shifted further to the forefront of her brain. Curiously, the more time she spent here, the less ‘real’ her life in California felt.
Meanwhile, she knew Maple wouldn’t react well to opening the gate they needed to open. Human mortality protected Tammy from the corrupting influence of the dark faerie.
Despite her evident fear, the tiny faerie perched on Tammy’s shoulder practically shook with rage. This close to the place the bad ones took Annie, the faerie’s need to exact vengeance threatened to spill out at any second. All she needed was a target for her frustrations.
Without waiting for Maple to say a word, Tammy reached a hand out toward the rotten tree, weaving the spell the way she’d practiced over and over again for this exact moment. If normal authorities could effectively take years to prepare for a rescue mission any time someone got kidnapped, the world would be a much better place.
This, of course, wasn’t the normal world.
Like an imperious queen dismissing a filth-covered peasant from her path, Tammy flung her hand to one side in an ‘away with you’ gesture. As if struck by lightning, the tree split down the center in an instant. Pale white glowing vapor coalesced in the narrow gap between halves.
As Allison jumped at the sudden, unexpected blast of thunder, Tammy stepped up to the tree and thrust her hand into the luminous miasma filling the crack.
An unseen force grabbed her hand and pulled her forward. Despite the space being only a few inches wide—much like the faerie doors—she sailed through it unharmed and staggered to a stop a few paces later. All around her lay a blackened, twisted version of the faerie realm. Surprisingly, it remained as lush and full as the living forest, only made of shadows and darkness rather than verdant green. A sense of many eyes watching her from unseen places made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.
Or maybe that was just Maple. Tammy sensed the fairy queen had taken refuge there under her collar.
All manner of roots and vines crisscrossed the forest floor, some as big around as tree trunks. To travel any significant distance in this place would require a good deal of climbing. Between the barrier-like roots and thick undergrowth, they faced an arduous trek. Tammy contemplated taking on the form of a bird, hesitating only since Allison wouldn’t be able to do the same. In the faerie realm, shemightbe able to turn herself into an enormous version of an eagle, big enough to carry a rider. However… the dark realm had the potential to manipulate her magic in unexpected ways. Better she reserved it for situations where she absolutely needed it rather than convenience.
A vertical streak of white light appeared beside her. Allison flew out of it, flailing her arms for balance as she tried to catch herself from the force that hurled her into this place. Once she recovered, she turned to say something to Tammy, but ended up being distracted by the scenery, gawking. Her expression appeared to be a mix of ‘holy crap’ and ‘what did I get myself into?’
“I don’t like this place,” said Allison. “It feels…”
“Evil.” Tammy frowned.
“Yeah. I was going to say negative.” Allison scrunched her nose. “I haven’t been surrounded by energy this bleak since that meeting with the radio station bigwigs, the jerks who wanted to buy out the station.”
Tammy couldn’t laugh in this place, but she did manage a slight smile. Just like Mom, Allison tended to make jokes as a means of soothing herself when worried. As for herself, it struck her as almost crazy how calm she felt. All the anxiety and nervousness building up in her disappeared the instant she’d gone through the rotten tree.
Fear of doing the thing is way worse than doing the thing.Tammy turned in place, scanning the area.I’m here. I’m ready for this rescue mission. Annie needs us.“Which way?”
Maple jumped out from under her shirt collar and flew in a series of rapid, zoomy circles, then paused in midair and pointed. “That way.”
Tammy nodded once, then proceeded in that direction. She knew that Maple and Annie had a special connection. Thanks to her exposure to fantasy stories and Anthony’s video games, she wanted to think of it in terms of a wizard (Annie) having an animal familiar. Except, Maple being the faerie queen would be insulted by comparison to a wizard’s cat. Regardless of the nature of their link, Maple could easily locate Annie even in this dark and tormented place.
Not far from where they appeared, Tammy dragged herself over a horizontal vine so huge it came up to her shoulders. The light faerie realm occasionally had similar massive runners crisscrossing the forest floor, but the biggest one she’d seen there had only been waist-high. It also hadn’t been dead, or seemingly made of charcoal.
“Oof.” Allison jumped down from the giant vine. “Talk about extreme hiking. Is this how faeries feel?”
“Not really.” Tammy jumped over the next crossing vine—this one only two feet in diameter. “They fly.”
