Page 82 of The Water Witch (Fairwick Chronicles 2)

A murmur of voices rose from the crowd and I heard someone say, “We should go—at least we won’t be trapped in this world.”

Lorelei stepped forward of her own volition, looking calm and at peace. One Stewart walked on either side of her, each carrying a set of bagpipes. As they approached the door, they began to play.

The plaintive notes captured exactly the mood of the gathering. The two pipers separated and went to stand on either side of the door. Lorelei paused beside me.

I nodded at her and she understood that her children were safe.

The ghost of a smile lit her face, then she adjusted the plaid mantle around her shoulders and daintily stepped through the door. I watched her walk down the grassy hill toward the willow tree where Lura and Quincy stood waiting for her with a group of undines. Among them I could make out one undinewith red-gold hair bouncing up and down on her toes and waving to me. Raspberry. I was glad to see her looking so happy.

When I turned back to the glade I saw Fiona Eldritch in a long green dress, her ash-white hair falling loose around her shoulders. As she stepped forward, bells chimed. I had never been fond of the Fairy Queen, but the sight of her preparing to leave this world forever squeezed something tight in my chest. The Stewarts piped a mournful dirge as she approached the door.

“This isn’t the first time we have had to leave this world,” said Fiona. “Always when humankind have thought they have no need of us they have soon enough seen the error of their ways and longed for us to come back. As long as one human longs for our return the door will not stay closed forever.” She turned to me. “And I believe that this doorkeeper will make that happen.”

Gathering her skirts and in a whirl of green and the chiming of bells, she stepped through the door. On the other side a man appeared, mounted on a white horse. His hair was the color of spun gold, the same gold that glittered on his horse’s bridle and reins. He held in his hands the reins of another horse, white too, but with silver saddle, reins and bridle. Fiona’s back tensed as she saw him, but then she bowed low, touching her forehead to the ground, her green skirts spreading in a pool around her. It was startling—and a little frightening—to see Fiona bow to anyone, but when she rose at his bidding I caught a glimpse of her face, radiant in the golden light of Faerie, and saw that she looked more triumphant than cowed. As she mounted his white horse at his bidding, I heard someone behind me say, “She’s back in her domain.”

I turned and found Casper Van der Aart and his boyfriend,Oliver, standing beside me. “Do they fight often?” Oliver asked. “Because no one likes a bickering couple.”

“We’ve probably got a few hundred years of happy reconciliation balls,” Caspar said, and then, turning to me, he explained that Oliver wanted to come with him. “Although I keep telling him he doesn’t have to.”

“And I keep telling him I’m not doing it because Ihaveto, I’m doing it because Iwantto. Besides, I’m dying to see this place. And no one is going to stop me.” He glared at the blond twins who had taken up places beside the two pipers. Their lips curled in identical smirks but they made no move to stop Oliver from stepping through the door with Casper. As soon as they stepped through I saw a group of stocky white-haired men and women waving from the bank and Casper lifting a hand in greeting.

The denizens of Faerie were coming forward to greet their long-lost friends and relatives. As the Brownes passed through, they were greeted by a flock of diminutive creatures clad in leather pelts and peaked caps. Dory, the last of her family to reach the door, arrived hand in hand with Brock.

“We only just got you back,” I said to Brock. “I promise I’ll keep the door open so you can both come back.”

“I know you’ll do your best, Callie, but don’t worry. If we have to stay, we’ll be all right—and so will you. I hear you’ve found a good handyman.”

I blushed, wondering what else he had heard about my new handyman, then I hugged Brock and Dory, trying not to cry. They stepped through the door still holding hands. Another group had gathered on the bank—tall blond men and women, a one-eyed man with a spear, a giant carrying a hammer, and a cavalry of women on horseback with winged helmets on their heads. As Brock and Dory walked toward them, the Valkyries saluted them. I turned away, my eyes overflowingwith tears, and saw Diana Hart standing at the door, surrounded by a herd of deer, the golden-eyed stag in the lead. Liz stood beside her, holding her hand. Although it was summer, Liz wore her fur coat around her shoulders. Not just any fur coat—it was her familiar, Ursuline. Of course Liz wouldn’t leave without her.

“Don’t worry,” I told Liz. “I won’t let them close the door forever. I have a spell to stop them.”

“I’m sure you’ll do your best,” Liz said, patting my arm. “But just in case I’ve asked Joan Ryan to step in as interim dean—and I’m hoping you’ll help her. Goodness knows what will become of the college…” Her eyes filled with tears and I squeezed her hand.

“And take care ofthis.” Diana draped something pink and scratchy around my neck. It was the scarf she had knitted to heal my spine, now a good six feet long and knitted in an intricate pattern that resembled the runes and spirals I’d seen on Skald’s phone. “I knitted extra protection spells into it. It should keep you safe…and remind you of your friends.”

I would need it, I thought. All my closest friends—human and fey—were leaving me. The one remaining chink of my wards grew heavier as I watched, with blurred vision now, the procession pass by me. I began to wonder if I really would be able to keep the Grove from closing the door. I had bound the door to my heart, but how reliable was that? And where was Frank? If he didn’t come with a means of destroying the Nephilim, would I be able to stand against them?

The last person to approach the door was Soheila, accompanied by three women, all with Soheila’s dark hair and flawless olive skin. Her sisters, I surmised, come to depart this world with her. Her sisters wore expensive designer clothes, as if they were going out to lunch instead of to Faerie, but Soheila was wearing a ceremonial caftan embroidered with apattern of feathers. Her long dark hair was loose around her shoulders and seemed to move in a breeze of her own making. She smiled and I felt a warm, spicy breeze against my face that dried my tears and filled me with a sense of peace.

“Be well, Cailleach McFay,” she said, letting her sisters go on ahead of her. “Don’t forget us.”

I was going to tell her that I could never forget her or any of the remarkable creatures I’d met this year, but a loud shout stopped me.

“Wait!”

Soheila and I turned to see three men enter the glade—Duncan Laird, flanked by Frank Delmarco and Bill Carey. Frank and Bill each had a hold of one of Duncan’s arms.

As the three men approached, Adelaide stepped between them and the door.

“I’ve had enough of these histrionics, Dr. Delmarco. If you want to go to hell with your succubus girlfriend, go ahead. But do it now. The door will be closed soon.”

“You’re counting on this creature to close it, aren’t you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, her eyes passing over Duncan as if he wasn’t there and focusing instead on Bill. She frowned, looking puzzled. “Whatareyou?” she asked.

“The question is what isthiscreature?” Frank said, pushing Duncan forward. Adelaide recoiled, as if afraid to come into contact with Duncan. There wasn’t much Adelaide was afraid of.

Frank dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out a handful of powder that he threw in Duncan’s face. I smelled clary sage and bluebells, the same herbs I’d used in the unmasking spell, and another herb I couldn’t identify. Frank uttered a few words in what sounded like Gaelic. Duncan growled and wrenched his arms free of Frank and Bill. Both men fell back,thrown by a force I felt from several feet away. A great whirling maelstrom was pouring out of Duncan’s arms as he stretched them out to either side. A blazing gold light burst from him, blinding me. I closed my eyes against it. When I forced them open again, Duncan stood before me, but it was no longer Duncan. Giant wings had sprung from his back and were beating the air into a froth. His skin beneath the tattered scraps of his torn shirt was golden, his eyes colorless ciphers. His hands had grown long, sharp claws. He raised one of the claws and I stepped back. He stepped with me and laid one claw beneath my jawbone.

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