Firestone (39 page)

Jeraine put his arm around Tanesha while
Rodney went to the driver’s seat. Yvonne rolled down the
window.

“
What is it, Mom?” Tanesha
asked.

“
I don’t think you’ll be
able to go back in,” Yvonne said. “I felt like
we . . . went through a barrier . . .
I don’t know, something. I think you need to try to get back
inside.”

“
I will, Mom.” Tanesha
nodded.

“
That’s my girl,” Yvonne
said. “Love you, Tannie. Jer.”

She rolled up the window, and Rodney pulled
away from the house.

“
What do you think?”
Jeraine asked.

“
I think
Alma’s
going to have
hell to pay if I can’t get back in there,” Tanesha said.

Jeraine gave her a thoughtful nod.

“
What?” Tanesha
asked.

“
I was wondering if we had
to go back inside,” Jeraine grinned. “That place, that
woman . . .”

“
She’s a trip.” Tanesha
nodded.

“
But . . .”

“
Heather’s inside with
Mack and Tink,” Tanesha said. “Sandy and Jill are there. Katy and
Paddie too. We can’t leave them.”

Jeraine kissed her cheek.

“
Of course not,” Jeraine
said.

They went u[ the walk toward the house. They
walked and walked and walked. Tanesha stopped.

They were standing on the sidewalk where
they’d said goodbye to Rodney and Yvonne.

“
Are
we . . .?” Jeraine touched his forehead. “I’m sorry,
Miss T, I must be high. I don’t know how it happened. I’ve been
really careful and going to meeting and my therapy
and . . .”

“
I’m not high,” Tanesha
said. “And I’m still standing on the sidewalk too.”

She looked at her watch. Five minutes had
passed.

“
Fairies?” Jeraine
asked.

Tanesha shook her head.

“
What would break through
this . . . magic?” Tanesha asked.

“
Not fairies, because you
would have broken through,” Jeraine said. “Right?”

Tanesha shrugged and shook her head.

“
It’s that Alma, I know
it,” Tanesha said. “She wouldn’t dare go against Fin. But get rid
of us?”

Tanesha nodded.

“
I just have to figure out
who inside can help us,” Tanesha said. “Get us back
inside.”

“
Heather, Tink, the
baby . . .” Jeraine said.

“
Mack,” Tanesha
said.

“
Jill and Katy and the
kid,” Jeraine said.

“
Paddie,” Tanesha
said.

“
Sandy,” Jeraine said.
“I’d bet Sandy can open the door.”

“
Why?” Tanesha
asked.

“
Because she’s so loving
and warm.” Jeraine nodded. “Call her.”

“
I don’t have my phone,”
Tanesha said. “It’s inside. Do you?”

Jeraine checked his pockets and shook his
head.

“
What about in the car?”
Tanesha asked.

They went to his car and got inside. Jeraine
began digging around in the car. Tanesha closed her eyes and rested
in the seat.

“
You’re angry,” Jeraine
said, more as a statement than a question.

“
No,” Tanesha said. “I
feel this pressure building. A kind
of . . .”

She looked at the house. When she did, she
saw Tink open the door. The teenage girl peered out. In her side
mirror, Tanesha saw Charlie walking down the sidewalk. Tanesha got
out of the car and met Charlie at the walk. He waved to Tink.

She kept looking from side to side.

“
I don’t think she can see
us,” Tanesha said.

“
Tink!” Charlie
yelled.

Tink seemed to hear his voice, but she
seemed unable to see him. He ran toward the house. A moment later,
he was still standing next to Tanesha.

“
Tink!” Charlie
yelled.

Tink gave a quick shake of her head.

“
I was supposed to meet
her,” Charlie said. He glanced at his watch. “At exactly
now
. I’m trying to work
on my timeliness. It’s my goal this month.”

Charlie looked up when Jeraine joined them.
He smiled at Jeraine, and Jeraine nodded.

“
He can’t get there
either,” Tanesha said.

Tink took a step out of the house onto the
porch. The light around her bent as if she’d stepped through a
membrane or some kind of bubble. She took another step, and she was
standing next to them.

“
There you are!” Tink
said. “Come on, let’s . . .”

She turned to gesture to the door she’d left
open and realized she was at the end of the walk.

“
What?” Tink asked. The
girl’s anxiety became palpable. “But Heather . . .
she . . . and I . . .”

“
Sandy’s inside!” Charlie
said. “I’m supposed to bring her home!”

“
It’s okay,” Tanesha said.
“We’re all in the same boat.”

“
What do we do?” Tink
asked.

Alma came to the door of the house. She
looked out and then closed the door.

“
We wait,” Tanesha
said.

~~~~~~~~

Monday evening — 8:42 p.m.

“
Mommy?” Katy asked
Jill.

She climbed up on Jill’s lap, and Jill held
her close for a moment.

“
Paddie and me, we’re
getting sleepy,” Katy said.

“
We can go anytime,” Jill
said. “Auntie Heather seems okay
and . . .”

“
It’s time,” Katy said.
“That’s what I’m saying.”

“
Time?” Jill
asked.

Katy nodded.

“
You should get the baby,”
Katy said. She looked at Sandy. “You need to get your dad. He’ll
know what to do when the man comes.”

“
Man?” Jill’s voice rose
with concern.

Katy threw her arms around Jill’s neck.

“
Love you, Mommy,” Katy
said in Jill’s ear.

As fast as the hug came, Katy jumped off
Jill’s lap and ran to where Paddie was standing.

“
Katy?” Jill got
up.

Paddie drew his wooden sword. The air filled
with the sound of a bell. With the sound, the sword turned from
wood to shining gold and steel. Intricate designs appeared on the
blade and handle. The child’s arm strained for a moment until he
got the feel of holding the weight of the blade.

Fin and Abi gasped. Alma ran out of the
kitchen. Jill tried to stop her, but Seth beat her to it. Seth
grabbed Heather’s mother by the shoulders.

“
Where did you get that?”
Fin asked.

Fin took two quick steps and towered over
the boy. Paddie set his feet and held the sword in front of
him.

“
He’s a child,” Sandy
said. “You will step back.”

She got between Paddie and Fin. Surprised,
Fin looked at Sandy. She pushed at his shoulders, and he stepped
back. He gave Sandy an assessing look. Jill moved to Sandy’s
side.

“
I got it at the smelly
dead place.” Paddie smiled. “From the guy with white
eyes.”

“
We found it!” Katy
said.

“
The guy with the white
eyes said I could keep it,” Paddie said.

“
Why?” Jill turned around
and knelt down to Paddie.

“
I don’ know,” Paddie
said.

“
Do you know what that
is?” Fin asked.

“
What is it?” Seth asked.
His grip remained tight on Heather’s mother.

“
It’s a shiny sword.”
Paddie gave them a gap-toothed grin. “I have it to protect
Katy.”

“
It’s the Sword of Truth,”
Abi said. “It’s a legendary sword that is supposed to have been
made by Manannán himself before he met Queen Fand. It cuts through
all lies and fabrication. All magic is useless against
it.”

She reached down to take the sword from
Paddie. Lightning shot from the sword at her. She yelped.

“
So it’s yours,” Fin
said.

“
The man with white eyes
said I could keep it,” Paddie repeated.

“
What is this?” Heather
asked Alma. “Why do you care about some stupid sword?”

“
You cannot understand,”
Alma said.

“
Mom!” Heather said. “What
is going . . .?”

Katy ran to the door. Before anyone could
stop her, she pulled open the door. Paddie jogged after her. Katy
pointed, and Paddie used the sword to slice at the door’s opening.
Katy and Paddie ran back stand with Jill.

“
Close that door!” Alma
said.

A huge lightning storm began outside. The
house rumbled with the power of thunder and the yard lit up with
lightning. Tink, Charlie, Tanesha, and Jeraine ran inside.

“
Tink!” Heather met her
daughter at the door. “What happened? I’ve been calling all over
for you!”

“
We were stuck outside
and . . .”

There was a bright crack of lightning and a
man stepped through the door. He was as tall as Fin and wore a kind
of leather tunic. He had olive skin and dark curly hair. He looked
ancient and young at the same time. He was lovely to look at but
had the fierce look of one not to mess with. He had an arrow
notched in his bow, which he held in front of him.

Alma broke loose from Seth. She reached out
her arm and grabbed Heather’s shoulder.

“
NO!” screamed
Paddie.

Paddie jumped toward Alma and Heather. He
flicked the sword, and Alma let go of Heather’s shoulder. The man
raised his bow and arrow.

“
NO!” screamed
Paddie.

The boy turned to the man just as the arrow
took flight. Fin raised his hand to divert the arrow but his magic
couldn’t stop its path. Paddie deftly knocked the arrow from the
air.

The man gave the boy a hard look. He was
reaching for his quiver when Tanesha knocked the arrows out of his
hand.

“
Enough with the arrows,”
Tanesha scolded.

Sandy grabbed the arrows and held them to
her chest.

“
Mirth,” the man said to
Tanesha.

“
Splendor,” he said to
Sandy. He turned to Jill.

“
Where is my daughter,
Good Cheer?” the man asked.

“
In the first place,”
Tanesha sneered at the man. “I’m not Mirth.”

“
I’m not Splendor,” Sandy
said. Her voice had an edge that made Charlie move to stand next to
her. He took the arrows and held them close.

“
I’m not Good Cheer,” Jill
said.

The man stepped back to assess the
women.

“
Can you believe this
guy?” Sandy asked Charlie in an artificially indignant voice.
Charlie gave her a confused look.

“
Dude here thinks we’re
the Three Graces.” Tanesha shook her head. “We’re
human.”

“
You’re a fairy,” the man
said. He gestured to Jill and said, “And she’s . . .
ah shit.”

The man hit his hands against his thighs and
spun in a circle saying, “Shit! Shit! Shit!”

The man reached to take his arrows from
Charlie just as Jill’s father, Perses, walked in the door. Charlie
pushed the man away from him.

“
Hello,” Perses said. The
man dropped to a knee.

He looked from person to person. Perses
grabbed the front of the man’s tunic and pulled him to his
feet.

“
Did you aim an arrow at
my daughter?” Perses asked.

“
I . . .,
uh . . .” the man said. “I am very sorry, sir. I
didn’t realize she was your daughter. I thought she was a
Grace.”

“
So it’s all right to
point your arrows at my aunt’s children?” Perses’s voice
rose.

“
No, no, no,” the man
said.

Perses scowled. As if he was reading the
situation, he looked from person to person.

“
Put the blade away,
Paddie,” Perses said to Paddie. “I will take care of
this.”

“
Not yet,” Paddie
said.

With the man in one hand, Perses walked over
to Paddie. The towheaded boy looked up at the man. For a moment,
the child and the Titan stared at each other.

“
May I?” Perses
asked.

He easily took the sword from Paddie. Still
holding the man in one hand, Perses held the sword before his eyes
and looked down the blade.

“
Nice sword,” Perses said.
“Where did you get it?”

“
From Maughold,” Fin
said.

“
Isle of Man?” Perses
looked down at Paddie.

“
It’s a magic sword,”
Paddie said. “That’s what
he
said.”

Paddie pointed to Fin. Perses turned.

“
What’s your stake in
this?” Perses asked Fin.

“
Stake?” Fin
asked.

Perses looked at Fin and then turned to look
at Tanesha. He gave a knowing nod.

“
I never would have put
that together,” Perses said. He smiled at Tanesha. “She’s been my
daughter’s friend most of her life.”

“
Yes, sir,” Fin
said.

“
G’mpa, give Paddie his
sword back,” Katy demanded.

“
Katy,” Jill pulled her
daughter to her.