Fairy Thief (9 page)

Saffron had been ready to counter anything Li said, ready to scream, ‘
This is Ny’s fault- not mine!’
However, she held her tongue at the hitch in Li’s voice, at the sadness that poured from the fairy and clung to Saffron’s skin like a thick mist.

Saffron cracked her knuckles and crossed her arms over her chest again. She scrutinized a wasp that banged along the ground, made to look a bumbling drunkard by the cold air.
What in the world was Li talking about now? Why would their entire world be changed because Ny took Markis’ soul?
The wasp landed on Markis, his wings flexing slower and slower. Markis seemed smaller to her — helpless and sad on the Indian blanket. A pine needle drifted down from the canopy and settled in his dark, curly hair. “How’s he going to get that stretcher over here — carry it around on his little, solar-bulb backside?”

Li smiled her indulgent mother-to-child smile. “It will change size when he changes size. He will have no trouble carrying the stretcher.”

“
Why can’t you guys just do that with our bodies then?”

Li’s eyes went out of focus — a great cumulonimbus cloud covered the sun and was reflected in her great, black orbs. “The human body does not change at
our
will.”

Twenty minutes passed before Saffron finally saw the glow of an orb wending through the woods. The multi-colored male fairy appeared in a burst of energy, much like the one he had in which he had left.

“
Did no one see you?” Li was wringing her hands.

The male fairy held the stretcher out to Li. His coloring was like a flame — bluish feet that gave way to fire-orange around his midriff, and mellowed into a warm marigold up around his neck. His head and hair were white, absent of all color — even his eyes were white. His smile was sheepish. “As a winged-child, this was my first time beyond our realm; I found it very…disconcerting.” He gave Saffron a sideways glance.

He told them he had appeared behind a Dumpster at the fire station. A brilliant, sparking cloud snapped and popped as he descended the last two feet to the ground and materialized into his seven-foot self. There was a yard to his right with four boys sitting in a clubhouse. They stopped bashing their action figures long enough to gawk at him — the brightly colored man with wings and a white head. After a few moments, he stepped out into the open and walked towards the firehouse. Four men were sitting at a card table, drinking Gatorade, and bantering over a game of hearts that had gone terribly wrong. They ragged each other until one of them spotted the fire-colored fairy coming towards them. When the fire-fairy was close enough, he waved an arm and dulled their senses. As he walked by, they watched with glassy eyes and slack jaws. He found a stretcher, quickly slipped out of the firehouse, and passed the men at the table whom he thanked profusely. One of the men slowly lifted his hand in response; he was already starting to come out of the funk. The others still sat there listlessly. The fire-fairy took refuge behind the Dumpster, and disappeared. The men stared at their cards for another five minutes.

Li put a finger to her lips. “I hope the card players’ sense of primeval masculinity stays strong, and that they will be too ashamed to admit to anyone that a fairy cast a spell on them — a half-naked male fairy.” She knew male pride was common, and hoped it was enough to hide their deed on this day.

The fairies, as gently as possible, maneuvered Markis’ body on the stretcher. Four fairies, one at each corner, flapped into the air to test the weight. Two more were requested to fly underneath, their arms stretched above them to support the rails on each side. Saffron settled onto the joined arms of her escorts, then gripped their necks into the crook of each of her elbows.

With a
whoosh,
Saffron and her escorts rose and flew quickly to catch the six fairies carrying Markis’ stretcher high into the clouds. Saffron felt her hair blast back from her face and form itself to the sides of her head as they sailed upwards. When they came beside Markis, the two males slowed their flight, and Saffron was able to open her eyes without her eyes tearing in the harsh wind. They flew straight up into the sky. Saffron watched the earth below her become smaller and smaller, until finally it was just a jagged puzzle of colors — brown and green, blue and pewter. Taking her body along for the ride was most uncomfortable compared to flight as a soul. She felt the bones of the fairies’ arms dig into her rump, and imagined how silly she looked as her cheeks flapped in the blast of passing air. It was getting colder, too. As they climbed higher, higher and higher still, it felt as though the temperature was dropping ten degrees for each passing minute. Saffron took in a deep breath and started to cough. The coughing turned into a fit.

The fairy on her left looked sidelong at her. “No, Saffron, you must calm yourself. The air is thinning now. You must take very small, metered breaths.”

Saffron nodded, her eyes wide with fright. Her teeth began to chatter. As the breath wrenched from her and escaped her body, she felt her chest tighten, her throat constrict. She needed to suck air in so badly, but couldn’t. She felt panic ooze into her pores and shock her bones.
Where are they taking us? Don’t they realize our bodies can’t take extreme cold? I can’t breathe! They’re going to kill us. I should say something.
Saffron looked at her escorts, first one, then the other, while the air screamed past her ears. She didn’t say a word. She looked at them again, and the fairy who had spoken to her turned his head momentarily to stare back at her in question. Again, Saffron said nothing.
They can’t stand you right now, you know that. They probably
want
to kill you.
She ground her chattering teeth in frustration and fought to stay awake. The cold was now numbing her so much, she felt her body give way, and struggle for sleep. And then she stopped breathing. Suddenly, nothing was clear to her. She was surrounded by a muddy haze, and all she could hear was someone screaming “Ow! Ow!” Then she felt her heart leap into her constricted throat and she began to dry-heave. In a few short seconds, she could breathe again, but still, her heart choked her. She heard different screaming now — the screaming of the wind past her ears and understood what she heard before wasn’t, ‘Ow!’ but, ‘Down!’ from the fairy on her right. And that’s where they were taking her — down. They nose-dived like a many-bodied kestrel, and plopped her onto the forest floor. She landed like a heap of long, pale limbs and wind-plastered hair. She tried to sit up, but fell back down with a whump.

Li’s face appeared in Saffron’s line of vision. “We cannot take your body that high — it will expire.”

Saffron’s voice was croaky. “Oh, Christ, you’re brilliant.” She winced and rubbed her frozen arms.

“
You must come out now.”

“
Wha — come out of my body?”

“
Yes, just like before…”

“
Yeah, well, this is a little weird you know.…” Saffron looked around at her captivated escorts. They were smirking.

“
I do not understand, Saffron.”

Saffron ground her teeth. “It’s the difference between undressing alone in your room and undressing on the beach!”

“
Saffron, we have all seen you…without your body on.”

“
It’s just
weird.
Can’t they turn around or something?”

“
Saffron, I am afraid I will never understand your fears — but very well.” Li looked at the others. On silent cue, they turned around in unison.

“
It’s not a
fear
, Li…anyone would feel weird about this….”

“
Yes, very well, Saffron; they are turned. Please commence.”

Saffron huffed. She closed her eyes. It took a couple of minutes before she stretched with the pull on her skin and on her throat, arched as it went through her chest, and held her belly at the tug in her gut. Her whole body melted with warmth and she sighed as her soul left her flesh.

There was more hubbub as another stretcher was acquired to carry her body. More figuring as they got it on the stretcher, her arms and legs flopping like a ragdoll’s, then they were up and away.

Li held her hand out to Saffron.

Saffron frowned as she placed her hand in Li’s. The frown disappeared as soon as Li touched Saffron’s skin. Through her smile, Saffron said, “I might be smiling now, but I won’t be too happy once you let go and you’re not pumping this happy juice into me….”

“
Then, child, be free, and enjoy your short time with happiness.”

Saffron tried to force her grin away — she could be happy without Li’s help — but she couldn’t stop feeling euphoric. Damn fairy.

They shot straight up over the ocean, and soared until they met the escort transporting Saffron’s stretcher. Saffron watched her lifeless, waxy face and billowing red hair. She turned her head to look at Li. “Does it irritate you that I call you a fairy?”

“
Why would this affect me negatively?”

“
Because, you’re Fey — right — or whatever…?”

Li smiled. “You may call me fairy, fey, friend, sister, Sidhe or Eeslu — as long as you call me.” She winked.

Saffron tried to push a disgruntled voice through her perma-grin lips. “Hmph!”

They stopped soaring straight-arrow up, and were now flying on a more diagonal path. They flew across the sky until they reached a massive cloudbank as big as an island. They stopped in midair, and slowly landed on the cloud.

Saffron gave a small, mousy shriek. Maybe
they
could stand on clouds, but her body sure as hell couldn’t. She let go of Li, her smile dropped, and she flew at one of the escorts holding her body up on the stretcher. She grabbed his arm. He looked at her oddly as she stared back at him with defiance. He laughed and pretended to drop the stretcher.

She screamed, “No!” and jumped on him like a monkey, trying to clamp his arms still. Her eyes were wide and terror-filled.

He pressed his lips and wiggled to get her off.

She hiss-whispered, “No…..no….nonono…,” as he successfully unhooked her and began to lower his corner of the stretcher. Saffron lunged towards the next fairy, jumped on him, and wrapped her legs around his hips. She flung her arms around his neck, and with her face less than an inch from his, she stared dead into his eyes and firmly said, “No! Do not put this stretcher down.”

He chuckled too, squatted, and lowered the stretcher as she clung to him.

She was so busy covering her eyes with grief, that she didn’t notice they had lowered Markis and took his body off the stretcher. He now slumbered on the undulating cloud.

The fairies watched Saffron, some with amusement, some with irritation — others in pure amazement as she grasped for one of them, then the other, clinging like a gluey monkey.

The transparent fairy, with eyebrows raised, turned to Li and, without moving her lips, asked if Saffron really was her eternal soul mate…. Li waved the fairy away, then flew to the male fairies’ aid as Saffron was very close to turning into a clawing, snarling beast. Li landed on the cloud and stood.

“
Saffron.” Saffron had one leg on top of a fairy’s shoulder and both arms wrapped around his head. “Saffron.” The call was calm, patient.

Saffron stopped struggling and looked under her armpit, down at Li.

“
You can stand on the clouds, Saffron, you will not fall through. Even within your body, we would not let you fall through the cloud. This is an enchanted cloud. It has been so long before the time of the winged children.”

Saffron thought about it. Even if she
could
stand on the clouds, she didn’t
want
to stand on the clouds – it just wasn’t right. What if there was a weak spot in the enchantment? Who really safety-tested these things anyway? The fairies had said themselves, they weren’t used to dealing with actual bodies. So, what did they know? She’d give herself a heart attack standing around, waiting to slip through. She looked at her pathetic, unknowing body on the stretcher and felt sorry for it.

“
I assure you, Saffron; you cannot fall through these clouds. They are enchanted, it is impossible.”

“
Crap.” Saffron felt incredibly stupid. Slowly, she unwound herself and slunk to a sitting position on the white puff as it rolled like suds across and under her. Her escorts walked a safe distance from her, the clouds swirling around their ankles. One of them rubbed at his neck and rolled his eyes.

Saffron looked at Markis. A great wave of sadness fluttered up from her chest and sat in her throat, feeling as if it would strangle her. Tears welled in her eyes as she reached hesitantly to touch his black boot, his leg in his jeans, and finally the soft skin of his arm beneath the cloth of his t-shirt. She ran her fingers through his wavy, dark hair and smoothed it back from his forehead. A prayer vibrated through her mind, a desperate plea for his long, sooty lashes to lift off his cheeks and let his chocolate eyes cling to hers. No such luck. The guilt and shame that smothered her was becoming unbearable. Her tears came quickly as sunlight reflected off of them and blinded her with piercing light.
Oh, my God, how long is this going to take me? How many realms am I going to have to search for his soul? How could Ny be so awful? How could a fairy kidnap somebody’s soul?
She threw herself on Markis’ chest and sobbed. She sucked for air and found she couldn’t breathe, only hiccup and gasp like a beached fish.