Elfish, Julie Steimle [chrysanthemum read aloud .TXT] 📗

for cougar-dating, but Daniel just had a hard time respecting women under the age of twenty. And why date someone he couldn’t respect?

He headed to the door.

The waitress followed him. “Hey! Are you leaving now or—”

“I’m not checking out yet,” Daniel said, turning. “I’m going to have a walk around, get some fish and chips at lunch, then hopefully meet my friend before the evening.”

“Your friend?” the waitress looked confused.

“Yeah,” Daniel said, “He has a friend who lives here. He’s how I know the stories and why I’m here.”

“Do I know him?” the waitress asked, concerned if not just curious.

Daniel shook his head. “I doubt it. He said he rarely comes by. It has been a while since the last time he was here, so…”

She nodded, turning. “Do you plan to check out tonight?”

“Probably tomorrow,” Daniel said with a nod. “Unless you decide to… you know, otherwise.”

The waitress seemed annoyed. Apparently she was not going help him after all. Her entire posture said she was waiting for him to leave, and wanted him to go. That was not a good sign.

He went out.

Daniel spent most of the morning strolling the streets, filming the area, and searching out the library. I was cooler indoors, besides. In the library, he spent much of the time reading town annals, taking notes and trying to piece together what had happened involving the Elf. He noticed the records did not mention the Elf directly, but it did note the incidents connected to the Elf and the land the town was built on. He mostly wanted to know about that corner of trees.

Why had the Elf not retreated into the depths of the wood to the north? There was plenty of wild land to hide in. Elves would be happy for any wild land. For pity’s sake, there were faerie folk in central park, according to those guys from Gulinger Private Academy. Howie swore to it at least. And Matthew Calamori had confirmed it. So why guard a small collection of young trees in the middle of a neighborhood? What was so special about those trees? Daniel wanted to see them for himself.

“There you are.” Puck strolled up to him, this time in the form of a young man, his face familiar, but no dreadlocks this time. His clothes were the latest fashion. Daniel wondered if that was what Puck was truly wearing, or just what he was making everyone’s eyes see. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Then I thought, ah, where would a bookworm go?”

Daniel snorted, closing the book he was in. “Sorry. I had to do more research.”

Smirking, Puck shoved his hands into his pockets. “Never enough, huh?”

Shaking his head, Daniel then jerked up his chin. “Did you see her?”

Puck shook his head and drew up a chair, sitting down. “Nope. She was out on errands. She actually left a sign on her door saying she won’t be back until later. Can you believe it?”

Daniel nodded. “I can.” Then he recounted the conversation he had with the waitress that morning. Puck put his hand over his mouth as he listened, his elvish eyes flashing obsidian for a moment before going back to his green human irises.

“Interesting…” Puck heavily sighed. “You know, I broke into her place to make sure she wasn’t just avoiding me. It was overgrown as she liked it, so I knew she had not changed that much. But the forest she had replanted is not in good shape. It was wild, but I could tell something is wrong. The neighborhood smells funny. Like they are trying to poison her trees.”

That was not good. Daniel stiffened. “So… they think if the trees die, she will leave?”

Puck shook his head. “Fat chance of that. It will just make her mad.”

“Why those trees?” Daniel asked. “There is an entire forest to the north.”

“But not hers,” Puck said.

Daniel listened.

“Her forest was below it, where the town is now. It sort of kissed the Mendip Hills.” But then Puck shook his head. “No. Uh, that’s a lie. I should not lie to you. All of this used to belong to her. All of England.”

Eyes widening, Daniel leaned nearer. “What?”

Nodding, Puck said, “She was… glorious before she left. And when she came back, I was one of the few she remembered. I took her home to where Glastonbury is now. I… rested her in a bunch of trees which became her haven. Her home. Those trees are the ones she is protecting.”

“But I was told—”

“They were bull-dozed over, yes,” Puck said. He shook his head. “I wasn’t there. I came after I found out. But… she replanted, to build it again. When they were big enough, she was going to move back into it. Her apartment simulates those trees. You should see it.”

“Should we go now?” Daniel rose to do so.

Puck shook his head. “No. Let’s go to lunch. I can hear your stomach growling, and you have ignored it long enough.”

Daniel shot him a side look.

“Besides,” Puck said, “We should not be in there when she comes back. She’ll take us for a bunch of robbers.”

Nodding, Daniel agreed. He would have, too.

They walked to this place on Tucker Street that sold fish and chips. Daniel had found it on Google Maps. On the way was St. Cuthbert’s Church and a place called Strangers with Coffee. Most of the trip was backtracking his route toward the bus station.

“She lives this way,” Puck said when they entered the shop, pointing down the road westward.

Daniel nodded. “Do you want to head there after lunch?”

Puck nodded. “Yes. I think… it is best.”

As they were in the middle of some tasty fried fish and well done ‘chips’ (which Daniel debated with Puck over why fried potato slices were called chips at all), in walked the blonde from earlier, along with a different, matronly sort of woman. Shivers ran down Daniel’s back as he breathed in a whiff of familiar spices and herbs, ones his ex-stepmother, the witch, always smelled like. It was a visceral response. Daniel looked over at them.

“What is it?” Puck casually snatched a ‘chip’ from Daniel’s plate.

Whispering, Daniel said, “I did tell you once that my sister Silvia is witch, right?”

Puck nodded, shivering. “Yes. I distinctly remember you also swearing she had left her coven.”

Daniel nodded. “My friend Peter is extremely good at spotting witches, as they used to harass his family all the time. When he told me how he does it, I felt so stupid as it was the world I was so familiar with when growing up—all because of my ex-stepmother. It was the water I swam in on a daily basis, and I did not even recognize it. It just smelled of home.”

Stiffening, Puck nodded. He also understood. He could smell it too.

In a low voice, Daniel whispered, “What if…?”

“…They’re here for her?” Puck shivered more. “That is bad.”

“That girl did say they were desperate to get rid of her.”

“Don’t they learn from their history?” Puck murmured.

Daniel raised his eyebrows at him. “Aren’t you the one who once said, ‘What fools these mortals be?’”

Puck rolled his eyes at him. “That was Shakespeare. He was just putting words in my mouth—which, yeah, I probably would have said in any given circumstance.”

Chuckling, Daniel nodded to him. “I think… we should pay and go now.”

Agreeing, Puck headed toward the door.

Both women also rose, the blonde feigning to bump into Daniel. He dodged, letting her fall, as he refused to make contact.

“OW!”

“Aren’t you going to help her?” the woman with the blonde said, shocked, if not put out. “What kind of gentleman are you?”

Blushing, Daniel grabbed a napkin and put it around his left hand, helping the blonde up. Several eyes widened, staring as he did that.

“She’s not carrying germs!”

“Well, technically we’re all carrying germs,” Puck interjected gleefully, hopping on the balls of his feet. He was so much like Tom then. Daniel started to wonder what if would be like if he introduced them. Would it be chaos or pure fun?

“What are you? A germaphobe?” the blonde said, rising with a dirty look on Daniel. He had spoiled whatever they had planned.

“Not at all,” Daniel said, smiling at her.

“Immunocompromised,” Puck interpolated.

Daniel shot him a slightly dirty look. Puck was having too much fun with this. He realized this was the hobgoblin’s defense mechanism.

They both went out.

The women followed him.

“Not into fish and chips?” Puck asked them, walking backwards. It was such a Tom thing that Daniel started to wonder what trouble they would get into. Then again, Puck had survived centuries if not millennia. He knew what he was doing.

“Should we go now?” Daniel whispered.

Puck nodded, keeping his voice low. “I have a bad feeling.”

They started immediately down Tucker Street toward Burcott Road.

The woman followed them.

“We’ve got stalkers…” Puck murmured. “Can you go any faster?”

Peeking to him, Daniel replied, “Not without magic. And that would give us away.”

Nodding Puck considered that. “True. But I get the awful feeling that you at least, already gave yourself away.”

Halting, Daniel closed his eyes. Damn. He was right. If that town had hired witches, if that waitress had showed them his card, it was too late.

“Ok, we run there—or you do what you have to do—” Daniel said.

Puck winked at him. “I’m a pookah. And you can ride.”

Stepping back, Puck shook off the form of that young man and became a gorgeous stallion—including livery—right there on the street.

The ladies yelped, watching Daniel in that moment mount onto the animal without hardly a thought. As the horse broke into a gallop, the women chased after them.

Puck-the-horse took them straight along the curve of the road. The sparse few people on the street got out of their way as they rode in, taking the curve just past the fire station into Balch Road. As the horse ambled up to a brick three story building, they saw a crash, glass from the top floor bursting out. Flying through was a giant crow, zipping into air with an unnatural fury.

“That’s her!” Puck-the-horse shouted.

“Should we follow her?” Daniel called back, staring into the sky in the direction where the enormous crow had gone. It was black speck in the sky, heading south.

“Ah no! She’s faster than me on wings!” Puck-the-horse shook Daniel off, rearing. Daniel dropped to the ground the same time Puck shivered back into Robin Goodfellow, the man who ran the tea shop in Stratford-upon-Avon. “But she looks damned mad. What do you think upset her?”

Daniel shook his head, rising to his feet. “I couldn’t say, except….” He looked to the road they had come from. He knew those witches were coming. He then turned his eyes to the apartment. “We should go in. There should be clues inside.”

Robin nodded.

Following him indoors to the third floor apartment belonging to Heather Wood, Daniel noticed right away the smell of deep forest and moss. Even as they were outside her doors on the stairs, he could see the moss growing on the walls, and the vines which, in human terms, would be a structural nuisance. Perhaps the owners were thinking about the value of their property. Who would want to rent from a house with these sort of conditions except an elf?

Robin pushed the door open easily. Stepping in, Daniel breathed the thick oxygen filled air. Plants were everywhere. And yes, there was no floor that did not have dirt on it. It was odd, really, as there was a kitchen with a refrigerator, sink, and stove to one side—electrical lights and outlets, including a modern TV, sewing machine, and even an electric kettle. But it was more like looking Angkor Wat than a modern home. The forest had taken it over.

 “Does she sleep in a real bed or in some kind of tree hammock?” Daniel murmured.

“Good question,” Robin replied, heading in that sort of direction.

Daniel followed him in.

The bedroom was something else. Clearly no Lord of the Ring elves built her room. Real living branches made her bed. It was a hammock, but made