Page 12 of The Water Witch (Fairwick Chronicles 2)

“You saved me!” she said out loud.

“We saved each other,” I said.

She gave me a smile so warm that I wasn’t even scared byher sharp, pointy teeth. Then she twirled around, her long hair fanning out in a brilliant red-gold wave. Her green eyes flashed when she faced me again.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

She tilted her head and I could hear her thoughts flickering. Undines didn’t have names until they reached Faerie, I realized. Then she grinned, her sharp teeth glittering in the sunlight.

“Raspberry!” she announced, clearly proud of herself.

I laughed. “That’s the perfect name for you. I’m Callie. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

She giggled and twirled again, then started pulling me toward the crowd on the riverbank. I gave Liam a questioning look, but he was busy fending off the attentions of a pair of giggling undines. Liam might miss me after I was gone, I reflected as Raspberry pulled me toward her companions, but he’d hardly be lonely.

The undines were certainly vivacious. In just the short time they’d been in Faerie—although now that I thought about it, I really had no idea how long we’d all been here—they had changed. Not only did they have legs now, but also their flesh, which had been transparent back in the human world, had turned golden under the Faerie sun. Not that I could say where in the sky the sun was. No. It was more as if the golden light—Aelvesgold—had filled the transparent vessels of the undines. Their hair was now golden with sea green highlights, their eyes had changed from moss green to sparkling citrine. Clearly they were enjoying the change. They’d imagined sparkly green and gold dresses for themselves that showed off their new long legs and brought out the sea green highlights in their hair—except for Raspberry, who had given herself a pink dress and red highlights in her hair. They flipped theirgold hair over their shoulders and held out their tawny arms as if admiring fresh manicures. I could feel heat rising off them as they gathered around me and laid their hands on me.

As they almost all did. They plucked at my arms and stroked my hair—which wouldn’t lay as smooth as theirs—and wound their arms around my waist. They chattered in a tongue I couldn’t understand, but I got their meaning well enough. They were thanking me for bringing them safely through the Borderlands. They were letting me know they were glad they had come.

Recalling their primary concern about coming to Faerie, though, I looked around for male undines. There were a few—smooth-cheeked, lanky lads who were each surrounded by a bevy of young female undines. One young man, tall, with black ringlets and wearing a tartan kilt and a brooding look, stood off to the side. All the males looked alternately bored and terrified. I’d seen the look on many a young college boy. If they’d had on Ray-Bans and black jeans they would have fit right in at Fairwick College. Well, at least there weresomeboys, I observed, even if the female to male ratio looked worse than at a Sarah Lawrence mixer. I hoped they weren’t all gay…

“Gay?” Raspberry asked. “They don’t even seem happy to see us.”

“Maybe they’re just shy,” I answered. “They’ve only had their sisters’ company all these years.” I looked around for one of the older undines. At first I couldn’t see any difference between the young women on the bank, but then I noticed that some were more subdued and paler. One of these had just arrived on the riverbank. Although she looked hardly older than her teens, she held herself like an old woman and her hair was ashen white. She wore a long-sleeved, high-necked dress that hung loosely on her bony frame. Her eyes were asickly yellow-green. She was clearly ill. I hadn’t thought therewassickness in Faerie.

“Not sickness, but wasting.” Liam had come up beside me, having freed himself of his admiring throng.

“Wasting?” I recalled that Soheila had said that the fey had to return to Faerie periodically or they would fade, but she hadn’t said that the reverse was true, only that some creatures couldn’t procreate in Faerie any longer. “Is there anything that can be done for her?”

“Oh yes. Watch.”

The sick—orwasting—undine approached a group of new undines. They looked a little startled at her appearance, but in their enthusiasm and trustfulness, they welcomed her into their circle, winding their arms around her thin waist and stroking her long white hair. She smiled wanly and touched their hair and skin, as if remembering when she was young like them. I was just about to remark to Liam on how sad the scene was when I noticed that the wasting undine was changing. Her skin was brightening and her hair was turning gold. She stood straighter—she even seemed to gain an inch in height—and her arms looked rounder. To accommodate her new looks she changed her dress to one of the clingy green and gold ones worn by the younger undines. Within minutes she was indistinguishable from the juveniles.

“Did she just…feedoff them?” I asked, appalled.

“Yes. After a few years here in Faerie, the undines become unable to absorb the Aelvesgold. It’s kind of like a vitamin deficiency in your world. No one knows exactly why some of the creatures in Faerie have it—undines, sprites, brownies, goblins—and some do not. The newly arrived undines can still absorb the Aelvesgoldandthey can pass it on to the older ones. But the effect won’t last long. The older undines have to go back to the human world or they’ll die.”

“But if they go back now, they might have to leave in just a few days. The Grove wants to close the door forever.” As soon as the words were out I knew I shouldn’t have said anything. All the happy chatter and laughter stopped. The undines turned their faces to me in a synchronous wave, like a herd of cattle turning to watch an interloper crossing their field, but their eyes had none of the docility of cows. Instead I felt pinned by a hundred sharp green spears.

“What do you mean,” one of the undines asked, stepping forward out of the crowd, “close the door forever?”

I recognized that she was one of the older undines. Although her hair and skin were golden there was a waxy pallor just below the surface.

“No final decision has been made,” I said quickly. “There’s going to be a meeting to decide the matter. Perhaps they’ll decide to keep the door open. I don’t really know. In fact I’m pretty new to the whole…fairy thing.”

“But you have fey blood…” She stepped closer and sniffed at me as if smelling sour milk. “…mixed with human.” She took another step closer, but Liam inserted himself between us.

“Feed off your own kind, Lorelei,” he snapped.

Lorelei? He knew her?

Lorelei bared sharp, pointy teeth and hissed. “Like you do, incubus? I can smell her on you. Are you protecting her so you can drain her dry yourself?”

“I will see her to the door safely, just as she has brought these undines here safely. You should thank her for bringing them.”

“Why? She’s only brought them to a barren land where they’ll fade away. They’ll never have the joy of love or bearing children…”

“But there are a few male undines among you,” I interjected. “I saw some.”

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