Reckonings by Carla Jablonski Page A

twilight she had left at Leanan Hill. A shining palace, colorful banners flying from its turrets, rose majestically above a crystalline blue lake. Lilting music floated on the fragrant breeze, as courtiers strolled on the lawn, playing unusual instruments. It was a beautiful sight, and it made Molly sick.
    â€œYou tricked me!” Molly O’Reilly fumed at the King of Faerie. “You told me you’d bring me to Tim!”
    â€œI have,” Auberon said. “The boy you seek is here. Welcome to Faerie.”
    Molly’s stomach tightened as she put it all together. Tim had returned to Faerie. Probably to talk to the green meanie herself, Queen Titania—the woman who claimed to be his real mom. It all fit with what Marya had told her in the letter—about Tim’s confusion, about his overhearing their conversation. Poor Tim. He must be really upset if he’s voluntarily sought out Titania. She’s never been anything but terrible to him. Molly felt worse when she realized she was part of the reason he’d taken this step.
    Then her stomach lurched completely as she connected the rest of the dots. If Tim is here, Auberon lived up to his end of the bargain . Which meant Molly would have to do the same. She’d have to stay here in Faerie. Forever.
    â€œCan this week get any worse?” she wailed. “First pink dinosaurs kidnap me. Then I’m grounded and forbidden to see Tim. Next thing you know, I’m packed off to the remote wilderness with my loony gran. And now—I’m trapped forever in stinking fairyland.” She kicked a rock, which turned out to be some kind of hedgehog thing with wings. It unfurled and fluttered away.
    â€œThere are those who find the delights of Faerie enchanting,” Auberon said, “its beauty, its sport, its riches.”
    â€œIf you think it’s so great, then why do youkeep coming back to our world?” Molly challenged.
    Auberon smiled. “You have me there, child. You have a clear eye.” He sighed. “You see, I have grown weary of this existence.”
    â€œSo you figured you’d trap me in it, too,” Molly said.
    â€œYou entered into the bargain of your own free will,” Auberon countered. “I gave you very clear terms. You could have said no.”
    â€œI know.” Molly sighed. “Tim warned me that things get all screwy with magical people. He wasn’t kidding.”
    Auberon strode a few steps down the hill. “Look at those Fair Folk. Forever at play. Their petty intrigues, their beguiling glamours. Pah! They play at life itself.”
    â€œWhich brings me back to my point,” Molly said, chilled by the King’s obvious distaste for his own world. “You’re going to keep me a prisoner here, in a place you hate.”
    â€œAhhh, there you are wrong.” Auberon turned slowly and faced her. “I have a deep love for this world. It is in my soul. I am tired of what it has become. Or perhaps it is simply that, since my travels to your realm, I now recognize the difference between authentic experience and one shielded by magic.”
    He lifted Molly’s chin with his blue finger. “I believe you can help me. You have fire. You are honest. I can see that. Perhaps we can reintroduce the raw, wild spirit that began this world.”
    He turned and gazed at the castle again. “Once, the Fair Folk were more like the Elementals,” he explained. “We had the passion of Fire, the inspiration of Air, the moody power of Water, and the solidity of eon-forged Earth. But we grew afraid of our own untamed nature and domesticated it, submerging it beneath prettiness and complicated rules and feuds.”
    â€œBlah, blah, blah,” Molly said. “So you’re bored. And you’re discouraged by your own evolution. Not my problem. My problem is Tim.”
    Auberon’s eyes narrowed, and Molly saw anger flash across his face. “You are