brilliant. Everything shimmered and sparkled as if dipped in diamond dust.
Tiny balls of light flew around her. One landed on her hand and it tickled softly, like a butterfly. Upon closer inspection it seemed to be a glowing butterfly.
A glowing butterfly with the body of a person?
Noli shook her head, startling the little ball. They’d put poppy syrup in her food to keep her passive and she fell asleep in the tree. She needed to wake up and go back to the house or she’d be in trouble.
“Wake up, Noli, wake up.” Her eyes squeezed together. When she opened them, she still sat in the strange garden. The sky above held stars unlike the ones she’d gazed at so many times with V. This dusky rose sky held no moon.
She pinched herself hard, but that didn’t work. Neither did slapping herself. She jumped out of the tree. A pain shot though her foot. Ow. Dreams didn’t hurt. Did they?
The little balls of light surrounded her as she sat on the ground, cupping her bare foot. They reminded her of illustrations of faeries from a book.
That was silly. It was all a hallucination. Faeries weren’t real. Science said so.
V said they were. But that was V. He always spouted nonsense about faery trees, faery flowers, faery rings …
She drew in a sharp breath as a realization cascaded over her with the force of a punch in the stomach. All those things V had told her to watch for, things she’d discounted as poppycock, were present in the garden—the giant oak, the wildness, flowers faeries liked, a ring of mushrooms. A little ball of pink light landed on her hand.
Carefully, she examined it, studying it like she might a plant or an engine.
Little eyes blinked at her, as if it examined her right back. Blue eyes, attached to an all too human-like face. Pointed ears peaked out of blonde hair flowing down to her shoulders. Truly, the creature in her hand looked like a miniature person with translucent wings. Her pink dress resembled flower petals.
“Faeries are real?” She scrubbed her eyes with her free hand then looked again. No, it was still there. Gently, she touched the hair of the creature with her finger. The creature flew off her hand as if startled. She flew closer, tugged on an escaped strand of Noli’s hair, then flew a few feet away in a fit of giggles. A few other balls of light joined the pink one. A purple one flew up and perched on Noli’s nose, making her go cross eyed.
No this wasn’t a hallucination. Everything she knew about science and the world collapse on her, making her gasp for breath. They were little people, real things with curiosity.
If faeries were real, what else existed?
Her heart thumped at the thought of things like ogres and trolls.
Right now the bigger problem was how she’d get back to Los Angeles. “Where am I?” she asked, hoping they were intelligent.
The little faery joined the others and they flew around her as if trying to tell her something, but she couldn’t quite understand. Wherever she was, it was wild and beautiful. There was no Miss Gregory, no Dr. Martin.
But no Charlotte. Or V. Or her mama.
A crack of a branch made her head whip around. Her body tensed as she tucked her necklace away. “Who’s there?”
“Hello, Magnolia.” A figure emerged from the shadows. Even though there seemed to be no moon in this place, she could see him perfectly. There stood the man from next door. The one who spoke with her and Charlotte. The one who called himself Kevighn Silver.
Eleven
The Otherworld
Noli’s heart raced as the strange, ethereal man approached her. The faeries swirled around her like a miniature battalion of protectors.
“Who are you? Where am I?” Her voice came out as the barest of whispers.
“I won’t harm you, Magnolia.” The words dripped from his lips like liquid silver.
His black hair hung loose and piercing yellow eyes sparkled wildly in the moonless night. He was a beautiful man, like a Greek statue from a picture in one of V’s books.
Tiny balls of light flew around her. One landed on her hand and it tickled softly, like a butterfly. Upon closer inspection it seemed to be a glowing butterfly.
A glowing butterfly with the body of a person?
Noli shook her head, startling the little ball. They’d put poppy syrup in her food to keep her passive and she fell asleep in the tree. She needed to wake up and go back to the house or she’d be in trouble.
“Wake up, Noli, wake up.” Her eyes squeezed together. When she opened them, she still sat in the strange garden. The sky above held stars unlike the ones she’d gazed at so many times with V. This dusky rose sky held no moon.
She pinched herself hard, but that didn’t work. Neither did slapping herself. She jumped out of the tree. A pain shot though her foot. Ow. Dreams didn’t hurt. Did they?
The little balls of light surrounded her as she sat on the ground, cupping her bare foot. They reminded her of illustrations of faeries from a book.
That was silly. It was all a hallucination. Faeries weren’t real. Science said so.
V said they were. But that was V. He always spouted nonsense about faery trees, faery flowers, faery rings …
She drew in a sharp breath as a realization cascaded over her with the force of a punch in the stomach. All those things V had told her to watch for, things she’d discounted as poppycock, were present in the garden—the giant oak, the wildness, flowers faeries liked, a ring of mushrooms. A little ball of pink light landed on her hand.
Carefully, she examined it, studying it like she might a plant or an engine.
Little eyes blinked at her, as if it examined her right back. Blue eyes, attached to an all too human-like face. Pointed ears peaked out of blonde hair flowing down to her shoulders. Truly, the creature in her hand looked like a miniature person with translucent wings. Her pink dress resembled flower petals.
“Faeries are real?” She scrubbed her eyes with her free hand then looked again. No, it was still there. Gently, she touched the hair of the creature with her finger. The creature flew off her hand as if startled. She flew closer, tugged on an escaped strand of Noli’s hair, then flew a few feet away in a fit of giggles. A few other balls of light joined the pink one. A purple one flew up and perched on Noli’s nose, making her go cross eyed.
No this wasn’t a hallucination. Everything she knew about science and the world collapse on her, making her gasp for breath. They were little people, real things with curiosity.
If faeries were real, what else existed?
Her heart thumped at the thought of things like ogres and trolls.
Right now the bigger problem was how she’d get back to Los Angeles. “Where am I?” she asked, hoping they were intelligent.
The little faery joined the others and they flew around her as if trying to tell her something, but she couldn’t quite understand. Wherever she was, it was wild and beautiful. There was no Miss Gregory, no Dr. Martin.
But no Charlotte. Or V. Or her mama.
A crack of a branch made her head whip around. Her body tensed as she tucked her necklace away. “Who’s there?”
“Hello, Magnolia.” A figure emerged from the shadows. Even though there seemed to be no moon in this place, she could see him perfectly. There stood the man from next door. The one who spoke with her and Charlotte. The one who called himself Kevighn Silver.
Eleven
The Otherworld
Noli’s heart raced as the strange, ethereal man approached her. The faeries swirled around her like a miniature battalion of protectors.
“Who are you? Where am I?” Her voice came out as the barest of whispers.
“I won’t harm you, Magnolia.” The words dripped from his lips like liquid silver.
His black hair hung loose and piercing yellow eyes sparkled wildly in the moonless night. He was a beautiful man, like a Greek statue from a picture in one of V’s books.
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