"Can I call you Moondancer?" Keelie asked.

"Do not speak my true name here." Coyote moved ahead.

"I like him." Sean said. "He's grown on me."

Elia had been quiet. Keelie hoped she didn't have any bright ideas swirling in her elf head that could lead to complications with the queen.

Salaca and Fala had stopped outside a shop that had a wide front porch with rocking chairs and carpeted cat perches. "Since you're fond of cats and vermin"-Salaca looked over at Coyote-"we thought you might like to see this place." He waved his hand for everyone to enter.

Keelie hesitated. "Are you sure the queen won't mind?"

"We bought time," Salaca reminded her. "And the Timekeeper asked you to shop."

Not shop, she thought. The wise old Timekeeper probably wanted her to get to know the fae before she met their queen.

Keelie touched the wood (aspen, from the ancient forest). She turned the quicksilver doork.n.o.b and entered the shop.

Inside it was warm and cozy. Quilts were draped on the back of cushioned sofas and cats purred in front of a fireplace. Aquariums cast sapphire light on the hardwood floors.

A loud splashing caught Keelie's attention. It was a manta ray. He waved his stinger at Keelie and dived back under the water.

She turned to Fala.

"Sea witches need familiars, too." He looked at her as if she should've known that simple fact.

She looked at the next aquarium and a big eye blinked at her. Then she heard a humpback whale singing. "A whale?"

"It's a dimensional doorway," a woman's honeyed voice said. "The humpback has to be able to view its potential partner. Would you like to fill out an application?"

Keelie turned around and gasped when she saw an enormous lion affectionately rubbing the woman's leg as if he was a big old house cat. He had the most beautiful mane she had ever seen. He had gold ribbons woven through it and in the candlelight it glinted with sparkling perfection. Laurie would've been jealous. She paid top dollar at an expensive salon in L.A. to get that sun-kissed look.

The fairy woman wore a blue corset, with sapphire ribbons laced between quicksilver grommets. "I am the proprietor of this shop. I match magical folk with their magical helpers," she said. "My name is Maemtri." Her eyes were almond shaped and greener than an elf's, as if some verdant light glowed bright from within. The skin around her forehead and down her neck was spotted like a leopard's.

She motioned a delicate hand to the lion, who lovingly beamed up at her. "This is my familiar, Henry."

Henry held out a giant paw, and Keelie shook it as she would a dog's. Henry's paw was soft as velvet and he purred happily. It sounded like a muted chainsaw.

"My name is Keliel." She couldn't stop staring at the lion. She wanted to pet him so badly she couldn't stand it. Knot glared jealously.

Maemtri bowed her head. "You and your companions are welcome, and if you do find a familiar, I think you will find the terms of our arrangements agreeable to all parties. I did not expect a visit from you, Milady Keliel, or I would have prepared. Are you here to purchase a gift for the queen, perhaps?"

Fala bowed slightly. "We're just visiting, Maemtri."

A gift for the queen. Keelie's heart stuttered. She'd never even thought of that. She looked around at the magical creatures, but even here, giving someone a pet was a bad idea. A companion animal was a very personal choice.

Henry was sniffing Elia's skirt, and she'd backed up against a wall. Every cat in the shop was standing at attention, looking at her with their eerily intelligent eyes, like an army of Knots.

Knot yodeled and jumped, sending a box to the ground. Its lid flew off and loud hissing erupted as a dark and icky wave poured out of it.

Keelie recoiled at the sight of huge and angry c.o.c.kroaches scuttling on the floor. The roaches turned, as if sensing something, and headed straight for Elia. She screamed and jumped against Sean, who picked her up and held her above the floor.

Coyote snickered and then laughed, pointing his paw at Knot, whose fur was bushed out to the max. Henry the lion danced back when the c.o.c.kroaches came too close to his paws.

"Naughty fairy," Maemtri said. "Serves you right, you curious creature."

The lion lowered his head and cast a menacing glance at Knot.

Maemtri held out the box and snapped her fingers, and the hissing c.o.c.kroaches all jumped back into their container.

"Who would want hissing c.o.c.kroaches for a familiar?" Keelie heard the squeak of panic in her voice and tried to calm herself.

"Usually some of the dark fae, maybe a troll sorcerer. If there is a specialty familiar, Maemtri is the one to see." Salaca leaned his elbows against a counter. He seemed bored.

Fala opened the door and gestured toward the bustle outdoors. "Now that we've seen the familiar shop we need to move along. Good luck with any potential clients."

"I will see you at the masquerade tonight," Maemtri said and her eyes held Fala's. Keelie watched as a glance, like a secret, pa.s.sed between them.

She wondered what that had been about as she and Sean stepped out onto the porch.

"What's next?" Keelie asked. The shop had been interesting, but she wanted to get her mission over with.

Fala turned around and smiled wickedly at her. "You're just going to have to wait and see, but our next stop is going to be educational for Lord Sean."

He and Salaca laughed.

Sean and Keelie exchanged a glance, and she saw a hint of worry in his eyes. She turned away quickly, but she was sure he'd seen it mirrored on her own face. Those two could not be up to anything good.

Keelie didn't know how far the Timekeeper's protection of them extended. From what she'd heard, the fae could find a loophole in any rule and exploit it. She didn't like the sound of the fairies' laughter, and she could tell that Fala and Salaca loved to create problems. Given the apprehension in her companions' faces, it was clear that everyone knew they had to keep their guard up.

Led by the tall fae, the group merged into the flow of odd-looking foot traffic, pa.s.sing shops that catered to the Other Realm's inhabitants. They stopped at a blacksmith's shop, where a hot fire burned brightly in the forge. Three shirtless fae worked inside, not a drop of sweat on them despite the heat, although their red-tinged skin shone as they hammered on a sword. The loud clanging of metal on metal echoed around them. It wasn't a sword of iron and steel these fairies forged-it was quicksilver, the metal glowing as if it were alive and was being formed into a living being.

Sean stepped forward, the siren song of the weapon calling to him. Keelie saw the sword weave its magic upon him.

Fala leaned close to him, his voice a whisper. "Elf, I can hear your warrior heart calling out to the sword. You want it. I will give it to you."

The fairy reached for another sword, which was hanging from a display. He held the blade up and it erupted into flames. Within the flames appeared the alluring outline of a woman, wearing nothing but the flickering fire. She stared at Sean as if she really saw him.

Sean's eyes were glued to the flaming woman's and he drew closer to the sword. "There are legends about swords such as this. My grandfather told me stories about them when I was a boy, and Elianard spoke of it in Lore Cla.s.s."

Keelie grabbed Sean's wrist as he reached out to take the sword. "Think, Sean. There will be a price. There is always a price when a fairy offers you a gift." She turned to Fala. "Tell him. Fairies speak true, that's what my Grandmother Jo always said."

Fala winked at her, unperturbed. "The price, Lord Sean, is that you freely give up the part of your heart that belongs to Keliel."

The sword flamed once again, and the flaming woman appeared. This time, she tossed her hair back and winked seductively at Sean over her shoulder. When she looked at Keelie, her eyes turned into slits.

"No sword is worth that price." Sean glowered at Fala. "How dare you even think I would trade my heart for a sword."

Fala returned the weapon to its scabbard, the flames snuffing as the sword entered the sheath. "Ho hum. Don't you get tired of being so honorable? Don't you want to let loose and have some fun?"

Salaca pointed at the sword that was being forged. "Put that one on hold for me. I'll be back for it."

One of the blacksmiths nodded and went back to his work.

"I've never seen anything like this. Are these living swords, or do spirits inhabit them?" Elia watched as one of the display swords' flaming edges produced another beautiful figure.

"The swords live. The quicksilver is mined near the volcano, and it has deep magical properties," one of the swordsmiths said.

Elia was still staring at the swords as Keelie dragged Sean away from the seductive weapons to the next openaired shop. She was surprised to find that the proprietor was a dwarf.

Baskets of gemstones lined the walls, not unlike a store she had seen near the Wildewood Faire. Another dwarf came in from the back. They were dressed in leather leggings and wore tool belts full of tools.

Maybe this is where she would find a suitable gift for the queen. Keelie was sure that the sword shop did not hold anything Queen Vania would want, nor did she want to surrender part of her heart for the purchase.

"Keelie Heartwood, is that you?" asked a familiar voice.

She felt a rush of joy when she saw her old friend and teacher, Sir Davey. "What are you doing here?"

"My girl, this is where I buy my inventory for the Renaissance Faires. Your father told me to keep an eye on you when you came through and to report back to him when I saw you." Sir Davey aimed a nasty glare at Fala and Salaca, who pawed carelessly through gemstones.

"Can you get a message to him? My elf phone doesn't work at all," Keelie said in a low voice. "Tell him I'm safe, that I'm going to meet the queen, and that Elia came along. Her family totally dissed her."

"I think you need some tiger's eye," Fala said nearby.

Sir Davey pulled Keelie away. "I'll let him know, but I'm not sure that I'll be able to reach him either, if you have not. Is it the trees?" His brow was furrowed with concern.

"I have no clue. The trees talk to me, so I don't think that's it."

"How about some rose quartz?" Salaca suggested. He seemed to be deliberately following them. "When you throw one at a troll, it's supposed make him want to climb a tree rather than continue the chase."

"I didn't know that." Fala raised his eyebrows. He glanced at Keelie and Sir Davey, then looked away.

"What does tiger's eye do?" Salaca asked, holding up the banded rock to the light.

"It's supposed to stop rashes." Fala grabbed three rose quartz and a tiger's eye, and handed them to a dwarf behind a table. "Put those on my tab."

The dwarf nodded, removed a leather-bound ledger from a box, and wrote in it.

Keelie would have to remember that little tidbit about how rose quartz affected trolls, if she ever had one chase her. She'd confronted a red cap and a goblin, but not a troll, and she hoped she never would.

Sir Davey walked over to Sean and Elia, who were looking in the baskets of gemstones. His caterpillar eyebrows rose when he saw Elia. "You've changed quite a bit since the last time I saw you," he said. "May I offer my belated congratulations on your marriage, and now I hear you are expecting?"

She proudly patted her rounded belly. "Yes, I am, but I'm ready to leave this place. My feet hurt." She shot Knot a frown. "And I'm still hungry."

Keelie smiled at Sir Davey. "I still need to find a gift for the queen. I'd better go." She leaned low to Sir Davey. "Tell Dad that the Timekeeper stopped time for us."

Sir Davey's eyes widened. "That is a great honor. He doesn't do that for everyone. Your father will be pleased, and I'll let him know when I get back Earthside." He surrept.i.tiously pointed at Salaca. "That one is the queen's eyes and ears," he whispered.

"I figured."

Coyote whined by the door, and Keelie waved goodbye. After Sir Davey's booth, they pa.s.sed a Poisons and Potions shop. A woman filing her claws cackled when Keelie pa.s.sed by. She shivered when she saw some of the dark containers that held liquids ranging from ruby red to disgusting, pond-sc.u.m green. Janice, the herb lady at the High Mountain Ren Faire, would run as fast as her legs could take her from this place, but her daughter Raven, Keelie's friend, would love it.

Knot was waiting by the entrance. He stood upright and twirled his whiskers with his paw. Coyote lounged against a windowsill next to him, also on his hind legs.

It seemed the more time they were in Fairy, the more the two of them were changing into ... what, she didn't know. Keelie was uncomfortable with the changes.

"Why are you two standing up?" she asked.

"Meow practicing for the queen," Knot answered.

"Meow too," Coyote said, laughing.

Knot growled at him. "Yeow making fun of meow accent?"

Beside them, creatures and fairies wove in and out of the crowd, walking in and out of shops and laughing as they strolled along, singing songs.

Fala and Salaca jumped into the crowd, merging with them behind a group of frog-faced men wearing pirate hats and nothing else. They left behind wet footprints. Keelie shook her head, trying to rid her mind of that image. Maybe they were looking for a shop selling pants. Keelie kept her eyes on anything but their froggie behinds.

As they pa.s.sed a tattoo shop, Fala noticed that Keelie glanced into the window. "Isn't this a perfect symbol for your life, Keliel? You're always watching other people, and never feeling like you really belong because there are so many different bits of yourself. You're what part elf, fae, and human? Do you ever feel whole?"

Inwardly, Keelie flinched, but she hoped she kept her face a mask of non-reaction. "Shut up," she said. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction to see how painful his words were.

Fala laughed, as if he knew his words cut her deeply. She glanced at the clock on the tattoo shop's wall. It still read five minutes till midnight. The Timekeeper's magic had worked, but now Keelie wondered how the queen would react to the action, or if she'd even notice.

Below the clock, a dark-haired fairy was getting a tattoo. Wings as black and shiny as a raven's were folded against her back. Salaca tapped on the window, and the fairy girl turned her face to show a flowering vine tattoo twisting up the side of her face. When she turned, real flower petals dropped from her cheeks to the floor.

Fiddle music played nearby, and as they turned up the next street, Keelie saw that it was the rabbit fiddler she'd heard earlier, backlit by a whirlwind of light. The vortex. It seemed close enough to touch, but appearances were deceiving in the fairy world.

She was ready to get on with the mission, but now fear pulsed through her at the reminder that she was close to her goal. Still, her toes tapped of their own accord in time to the music and the pulse of the vortex. She wondered if the musician wove magic into his melodies.

Beautiful high voices broke into song, and she looked around for the singers who gave words to the fiddler's tune. Many danced, but no one sang.

Coyote scooted up to Keelie and wagged his tail excitedly while stomping his paws in a bad imitation of a tap dance. "Johnny 0' Hare's the best fiddler in the realm."

"Johnny O'Hare is a favorite of the queen, but he still chooses to play for the rabble." Fala sniffed.

Around them, the fae had gathered to hear the magical fiddler, but Keelie heard the creatures whispering about her behind their hands.

She's the one.

She's not what I expected.

Pushing her way to the edge of the crowd, with Sean right behind her, Keelie grabbed Elia and pulled her along. The singing grew louder, and she saw a pushcart full of potted flowers. The flowers were singing, their leaves and petals trembling as their tiny magical voices rose to join the fiddler's chorus.

Keelie stopped. "Are those for sale? That's what I want to buy for the queen."

Coyote bounded ahead before she could approach the warty-skinned salesman who manned the cart. "Allow me. You'll probably end up bargaining away your nose."

He bargained intensely with the creature behind the cart, then motioned Keelie closer. "Choose your plant and let's get out of here."