Enchantment (16 page)

She'd get to the library and look up springs and geology tomorrow, she promised herself. Today after class she was going to the Forest Service office, and then if there was time she'd go up to see Ohlan.

Classes were mostly fun. Algebra and Trigonometry was her least favorite; she had only signed up for it because she needed the credit to qualify for college. Everything else would be a breeze.

Flyers posted in the hallways advertised the College Fair later in the week. Holly grimaced at one hanging near her locker, knowing her folks would drag her to the fair.

After her last class she paused in the school lobby to look at the bulletin board where club meetings and such were posted. If she wanted to go to the spring every day after school, it might be a good idea to have some after school activities to talk about.

Not that she wanted to lie to her folks. She hoped she wouldn't have to.

Most of the clubs that were organizing would only be meeting once a week, which wouldn't work as a cover story. A screaming green flyer caught her eye: “
Flight
needs reporters! Help make your school paper the best in the state!”

That might work. The paper came out every week, and the kids who worked on it spent a lot of time at it. Jen had done it for a semester last year, and it had eaten her after-school time every day.

Holly jotted down the information, then got on her bike and rode downtown to the address she'd looked up for the Forest Service district office. It turned out to be in one of the old wartime buildings, maybe even the one Amanda had worked in. The interior walls were ancient cinder block covered with too many layers of paint. Holly found the Forest Service's office at the end of the ground floor hallway.

She let herself into the tiny reception area and waited for the attention of the woman behind the counter, a petite, plump lady with a short cap of silver hair and glasses, who was on the phone. Posters on the wall advertised the nearest parks; old pueblo ruins. Holly had crawled all over them with her family numerous times. Now she wondered about their sources of water, and whether the people there had known the water guardians.

“Thank you for waiting,” said the receptionist. “How can I help you?”

Holly took out her small spiral notebook, painfully aware that she hadn't done any of the research she'd planned. She consulted her meager notes.

“I'd like to speak to Mr. Drover, please.”

The woman raised her eyebrows. “Do you have an appointment?”

Holly felt her cheeks getting warm. “No. Do I need one?”

The receptionist gazed at her for a minute, then folded her hands. “What do you want to speak to him about?”

“The Enchantment Spring Trail restoration project.”

“Maybe I can answer your questions.”

Holly fought back a frown. “He's in charge of the project, right? I'd really rather talk to him.”

“I'm afraid he isn't available right now. We do have this fact sheet.”

The woman picked a flyer out of a rack of various handouts and held it out. Holly glanced over it, then handed it back.

“This is all in the annual report. I want to talk to him about what's happening with the project now.”

“Well, I'm afraid—“

The door behind her opened and a salt-and-pepper haired man in a ranger's uniform came out, carrying a laptop case. “I'm on my way to that meeting, Helen. See you tomorrow.”

Holly stepped toward the door to intercept him. “Mr. Drover?”

He paused. “Yes?”

She froze. Now what? Demand to talk to him now, when he had a meeting to get to?

Holly stuck her hand out. “I'm Holly Parker. I'm writing an article for
Flight
about the Enchantment Springs Trail project.”

The ranger's eyes lit with interest. “Are you? Boy, that's quick. Didn't school just start today?”

“Yeah. Could I talk with you a bit about the project?”

“Afraid I don't have time right now—I'm actually on my way to a meeting about that project.”

“Oh. Could I come along?”

“It isn't a public meeting, I'm afraid. Tell you what—Helen, am I clear tomorrow at four?”

The receptionist sighed and consulted her computer. “You have a three-thirty with Allan.”

“Oh, that won't take long.” He smiled at Holly. “If you'll come back tomorrow at four, we can chat about it then.”

“OK. Thanks.”

“Sure thing.” His friendly smile lit up his face, and made Holly think he'd be a fun guide for hiking around the ruins. She watched him go, then looked at the receptionist, who was gazing at her like a dog guarding a bone. Holly grinned.

“Guess I did need an appointment.”

The receptionist softened as she turned to her computer. “Yes, you really do. He's on the go a lot. What was your name?”

“Holly Parker. Thanks.”

“You're welcome. See you tomorrow at four.”

Left with more time than she'd expected, Holly headed for the spring. It was actually good that she was going to talk with Mr. Drover tomorrow; she'd have a night to look some things up and get her arguments organized.

As she biked across town her spirits rose, looking forward to seeing Ohlan. She had missed him a lot the last couple of days. Excitement started to curl around her heart.

A new sign stood at the trailhead, a big black-and-white poster nailed to two wooden stakes, announcing that the trail would be closed for the renovation project starting in a week. Holly frowned as she parked her bike and walked past the sign on her way up the trail.

The woodsy, pine-sharp smell of the forest made her forget her annoyance and filled her with happiness. She made a point of noticing the flowers blooming, the songs of the birds hidden in the branches, other rustlings made by critters she couldn't see or only glimpsed. This walk was a transition from her human world to Ohlan's world, and she had come to treasure it.

As she came within sight of the spring she saw Ohlan standing beside it, smiling as he watched her approach. Her heart skipped and she lengthened her stride, sliding her heavy pack off her shoulders and dropping it on the ground as she reached him.

“Holly!” He caught her in his arms, picked her up, and spun around, making her laugh.

“Got more energy today, I see!”

“There haven't been many people on the trail.”

He lowered her to her feet, then kissed her, sending her stomach into her shoes. Holly didn't think about anything else for a couple of minutes, until he paused to move to the concrete coffin. They perched on the edge, arms around each other. Holly leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed contentedly.

“There probably won't be a lot of people on the trail this week,” she said. “They've put up a sign down at the trailhead that it will be closing. But I don't want to talk about that. Here, let me show you some pictures.”

She fetched her pack, got out her camera, and told him about the trip to Chama, showing him the photos she'd taken. Ohlan was fascinated by the train, and asked a lot of questions about it.

“Would you like to ride on a train? I mean—if you weren't so weak, and could leave the spring?”

Dammit, she hadn't wanted to bring that up. It was hard to avoid, though. It limited him so much.

“I think I would like it,” Ohlan said, smiling softly.

Holly wanted to promise him that she'd take him to Chama, but she didn't know if she could deliver. Biting her lip, she paged through more of the photos.

“This was a fountain out back of the B&B. I thought it was pretty cool.”

“She's beautiful. Like a sea nymph.”

Holly glanced up at him. “Are there really sea nymphs?”

“Oh, yes. I saw them once, when I visited the ocean.”

Holly's jaw dropped. “You've been to the ocean?”

“Long ago. It was closer then.”

Long ago as in millennia, probably. She kept forgetting how old he was.

Holly looked back at her camera, at the picture of the web-fingered mermaid. “I met a river guardian. Wish I'd thought to take her picture.”

An idea occurred to her and she looked at Ohlan. He met her gaze and smiled, then leaned toward her.

“Wait—I want to try something.”

She stood and took a couple of steps back, switching the camera to shaky-hands mode because she never could hold the thing still. Ohlan sat patiently watching her. She framed him up and clicked off a picture. The flash filled the glen like lightning.

“Oh!” Ohlan raised his hands to cover his eyes.

“Sorry! Let me turn off the flash.”

He lowered his hands, blinking. Holly adjusted the camera and held it up again, then carefully pressed the button. The screen preview showed Ohlan sitting on the edge of the spring housing, glowing with soft golden light, radiant against the dark and dappled greens of the forest.

“Wow.”

Holly came back to the spring and showed Ohlan the picture. He smiled with delight, then looked up at her.

“That's me?”

She sat beside him. “Haven't you ever seen yourself?”

“Only reflected in the water. And I look different depending on who sees me.”

Holly grinned. “Like Schrödinger's cat.”

“Who?”

“I'll bring you a book about it. Oh—do you read?”

“Yes. Amanda brought me books, and read poetry to me.”

“She taught you to read?”

Ohlan's brow creased in thought. “Not exactly. More, she read to me and I saw how she was doing it.”

Holly gaped at him. “You just picked up how to read from watching her?”

“From sensing what she was doing. It's my nature to reflect what's in the minds of those around me. That is how the illusion works.”

Holly looked back at the camera. “Well, it's a really fine illusion. Do you think if I show this to other people, they'll see you? Or will they just see the spring?”

“I don't know. I've never seen this magic before.”

Holly laughed. “It isn't magic. It's technology.”

“I could say something like that about myself. Not magic, but the nature of the world.”

“Hm. You seem pretty magical to me.”

Ohlan's arms slipped around her. She turned off the camera and dropped it into her pack so she could give him her full attention.

The sun had set by the time she tore herself away and said goodnight, promising Ohlan she'd return the next afternoon. She still wanted to spend a night with him, but it would have to be Friday or Saturday; she'd never get away with a school night.

As she hurried down the trail, her cell phone fired off the parental ring tone. She paused to dig it out of her pack.

“Hi, I know I'm late. On my way home now.”

“It's almost six,” Mom said.

“Sorry—I lost track of time. Be there in ten minutes. Love you, bye.”

Holly ran the rest of the way to the trailhead, jumped on her bike, and pumped for home. The street light on the corner flickered on just as she turned onto her street. Dad's car was in the driveway; she walked her bike past it and into the garage, then hurried into the house.

Mom looked up from checking something in the oven. When she saw Holly, she grabbed a couple of potholders and took out a casserole pan.

“Mmm! Lasagna!” Holly said.

Mom put the pan on the stove top and turned to her. “I really wish you'd call if you're going to be late. Just so I don't worry that something happened.”

“I know, Mom. I'm sorry.” Holly took off her pack and left it by the phone nook. “Should I set the table?”

“It's already done. You can get the salad out of the fridge.”

Mom's voice sounded frosty. She'd have to watch it, Holly thought as she opened the refrigerator. She didn't want to piss Mom off.

Dad came in from the living room as she put the salad on the table. “You're in disgrace, young lady.”

“I said I was sorry.”

“Where were you?”

She bit her lip. “Doing some research. I'm going to write an article for the school paper. I'll be working on it after school all week. Is it OK if I do my chores after dinner instead of before?”

Dad glanced at Mom, who was bringing in the lasagna. She sighed. “As long as you get them done before bed.”

“I will.”

“And remember, the college fair is Thursday. You'll have less time for chores.”

“Maybe we should just skip it.”

“Nothing doing, miss,” said Dad.

Mom just kept frowning. Holly pondered how to get on her good side again as they sat down to dinner. Pick some wildflowers for her, maybe?

“What's the article you're writing about?” Dad asked as he passed the salad.

“Enchantment Spring Trail. They're doing a big renovation project and they're going to tear down the spring.”

“How can you tear down a spring?”

“There's this concrete housing that was built to hold it. It's not very pretty, but I think it should be preserved. I mean, it's more than fifty years old. It's part of our history.”

“Fifty years doesn't make it an antiquity.”

Holly frowned at him, and he laughed. Annoyed, she stabbed at her salad.

“Well, you have strong feelings about this, obviously. That's good. You'll write a strong story.”

Holly's mouth was full, so she just nodded. She didn't really want to talk too much about it.

“Isn't that the spring you and Madison visited?” Mom asked.

“Yeah.”

Holly ate a bite of lasagna, ignoring the long silence. She didn't want to talk about Ohlan, either, not right now.

Dad came to her rescue, asking her about her first day of school. Holly obliged, telling them which classes she liked best and which friends she'd reconnected with.

“How did you wind up writing for the school paper already?” Dad asked.