Page 37 of Fairies Don't Fall

“Yes. It’s technology, but I don’t believe it contains iron. Many fairies use them quite comfortably. Of course, I should have added more sparkles. Next time.”

I hesitated. “If I don’t take this…”

“I’ll follow you,” he said, placing the black rectangle with a tingling buzz in my palm. “I’ll use your own shadow cloak against you like a proper villainous werewolf.” He pulled out another phone and pushed the big button.

The one I was holding vibrated alarmingly.

“Push the button,” he murmured.

I looked at him skeptically, then pushed it and there was his face in the screen. I stared at it and he winked. “Good. Push the button if you have trouble. If it buzzes, push the button and tell me how things are going.”

I nodded at the small Max on the screen, then it went black and I looked up to find him looking pleased.

“Now, you may go on with your fairy business, Princess Sparkles,” he said with an elegant bow.

I dropped a curtsy in Ruin’s baggy clothing. “Thank you, Lord Max, for your kind permission. Ruin and I will steal back my cloak once we craft an elaborate enough plot.”

“Excellent. I’ll see you when you return.”

He sounded so formal. Fairies could be very formal. Werewolves, much less so. “Right. Good luck with your werewolf business.”

“Yes, I suppose I should attend the meeting with the Goblin Authority, who wants to sue the factory that manufactured the poisoned snacks.”

My whole body tightened at the mention of the poisoning. I should have warned him more clearly. Still, he’d said thateveryone would make a full recovery. “Max, is there any way to make sure it doesn’t happen again?”

“Probably. Although watching you heal people of every infirmity they’ve ever had was illuminating. You really need to work on your healing.”

I made a face at him and tucked the phone in my pocket. “Yes, well, mustn’t keep the Goblin Authority waiting.” I turned and walked off like I knew where I was going. I had fairies in my head, and most of them were practically coherent, so I mostly knew where the banks would be. Downtown.

The largest and most notable was ‘Granite,’ and, like its name implied, was made of the gray stone, looking very austere and humorless, also very secure with its visible ogre guards and less obvious goblin presence. Goblins were as difficult to keep things out of as fairies.

I walked up the front steps past two large ogres in suits, and four goblins that blended with the stone so most wouldn’t see them. I avoided eye contact, because seeing goblins when they didn’t want to see you was considered something of an insult. I was on my best behavior.

An hour later, I was on my way back out, feeling like my best behavior was absolutely wasted on the goblins. First, I’d waited in line to talk to a clerk with a bald shiny head and glasses that emphasized his beady yellow eyes. Then, he’d had me wait in a chair for a loan officer, and then ended with the goblin in a suit handing me a packet that he had ready for fairies who wandered into his bank who didn’t know what money was. The way he’d said it was incredibly sneering.

I stood on the steps with the fairy explanation about money printed on paper in words I couldn’t read. I frowned at the tiny print and picked out a few letters. S. Oh, and there was an N.

“Can I help you?” a goblin asked, peering at the paper and then at me. His lemon-drop eyes widened, and he looked fromme to the building, then back at me. “You came to Granite for a loan? Their interest is terrible.”

“I agree. They weren’t interested in funding a hat shop at all.”

His smile sharpened. “You must not have told them who you are. I saw you the other night at the wolf warehouse, healing everyone. You healed my little sister, who gets in more trouble than I can possibly anticipate. She’s the one who had all those residual poisons in her system that she never told me about, but you pulled it all out of her in a very dramatic moment. Years of poisonings aren’t very appetizing, are they?”

I stared at him. “Years of poisonings? Why in the world would anyone be poisoned for years?”

“She mixes with unsavory types, trying to find her purpose in the puzzle. I have a cousin who rebelled against the goblin stereotypes and became a bodyguard instead of an assassin. My sister goes adventuring. Can I offer you a private loan for your hat shop?”

I frowned at him. He was a goblin who spoke very well, and dressed even better. His nails were perfectly manicured and his dark hair was gleaming, probably from hours of grooming. “What would you want for collateral?” The goblin loan officer had been very clear about my lack of collateral.

His smile was sharp, thanks to his gorgeous teeth being outlined in filigree silver and another black metal that made his white teeth pop. Maybe iron. Those teeth were beautiful, and also made for crunching through extremely hard things, like stone, bone…

I took a step away from him, sideways on the wide granite step. “Never mind.”

His smile grew even more dangerous. “How many goblins are watching you?”

“Six.”

“Six? Are you sure?”

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