A Fair Fight (Fair Folk Chronicles Book 3) Read online

  She was grateful that her mother had become more and more easy-going the past year. She seemed able to relax, to enjoy art and music, to have lunch with old friends or with Mrs. Kahale. Nevertheless, Sheila O'Reilly still put a lot of emphasis on grades, organization, and planning for college. A year ago, talking about art school as the college of record would have been unthinkable, and she remained nervous about the general idea. She was even less sure about telling her mother about her secret life. With war coming, her father a regular part of her life now, and having actual apparent responsibilities enough in Faerie that she could walk in on high level diplomatic meetings, she was sure she really should.

  For now, she just figured she might start with art school, before getting into Faerie Princess things—if she could work up the courage to start.

  Her mother greeted her not long after Megan got in the door. “You had fun with Lani?”

  “Yep. Is it still okay I go back for another night?”

  “Sure. I hope you're getting a lot of studying done. You'll need to make your decision about the University of Washington sometime this week, to get the paperwork in.”

  “Mhmm.” Well, that made discussing art school harder.

  “Well, that was noncommittal. I'm not going to make this decision for you, Megan. I know there've been times when I wasn't always the easiest to talk to, but I'd like to think we've gotten past that.”

  “Yeah. I agree. Just going to take another day or so to think.”

  "Anything I can help with in the thinking? It's a good school. I know some people who could help you along getting into any music electives you want."

  "I know, and if I go with U-Dub, I'll take you up on it. My grades have been good enough, I have a few options, I guess."

  "You're not thinking of going out of state, are you? I know the University of Washington campus is just a few bus stops away, but I'm not going to come embarrass you. Besides, if you wanted, you could stay at home for a while. Free food, free laundry, your own bed. I know it's not the big college experience, but..."

  Megan smiled and moved to hug her mother. "I promise, I'm considering it. I'm not going to go out of state. I like it here, and Lani has committed. I just have a lot to think about. I'll make a decision soon, but it'll be close."

  Sheila hugged Megan back, sounding more reassured, even if she still seemed to have reservations. Apparently it was enough to prompt a change in subject, though. “Okay. And how's Justin managing?”

  “Still a perfect gentleman, Mom.”

  “Never doubted it. I was wondering about his scales. On the bass.”

  Megan smiled. “I'll ask him tonight. We're going to have a quick date before more studying with Lani. Speaking of scales, though, how's the recording software working out?”

  Sheila smiled as she patted her laptop. “Very nice. Fun to fool around with. Can't get too caught up, though. I've got a day job and all.” Megan was a little surprised that her mom voiced no further boyfriend concerns, but Justin had apparently really been making good impressions.

  "That's good. Once you figure it out, maybe I can use it a little?"

  "Just what I was thinking. We ought to make you a demo tape."

  "What? I was just thinking fooling around. I'm not joining a band or anything."

  "Maybe not, but you might be in a college music program—I'm not trying to step on your visual arts stuff, but this is what minors are for. You're really, really talented, Megan. Your professors are going to notice. Not telling you to go join a band or anything, but you should use your voice for something."

  Megan blinked, barely managing not to say anything about using her voice for inspiring soldiers, and calling up windstorms.

  "Okay, once you figure it out, we'll do something. Especially if we can play together."

  "Let me play with the software a little more, and I'll figure something out. This will be fun. Can you get me a song list of some of your favorites, so I can make sure I can play them? I've been listening to Sax & Violins, but let's mix it up a little, okay?"

  "Yeah, sure thing,” Megan said, and then something in her stomach went cold. “I can get kind of weird and picky sometimes,” she admitted. How, she wondered, do I say 'I can't sing anything with an F# in it, because I traded that to a goblin doctor to try to help your brain'? She had no idea. That was several steps away on a list she didn't even have the nerve to start.

  “That's okay,” her mother said. “You know what we should try, for Lani's sake, at least? That folk song the Kahales all love, the one based on a Kipling poem about engineering.”

  Megan grinned. “Yes. We should.”

  “All year, I've never had the nerve to ask her mother how they reconcile being such Kipling fans with his racial attitudes.”

  Megan almost related one of Mr. Kahale's jokes about 'The Menehune's Burden,' but stopped herself. “Yeah, well, they've got a sense of humor about it.”

  Megan paused a little bit, trying to convince herself to bring up any of the hard topics. They were on such a good note, though, and she didn't want to ruin it. She'd get to art school soon, and then it might be easier to get on to even more complicated things. She knew she would have to eventually, especially if she was going to keep getting herself into dangerous situations, but she just couldn't manage it right now. She hugged her mother again and headed for her room, with explanations that she had to get ready for her date.

  Megan got everything together that she could fit in her duffle bag, including the old music books she'd been working with, durable changes of clothing, and her boots. If she'd learned anything in her quests so far, it was that it was really important to have comfortable, durable boots, though her tennis shoes worked better for going for pizza.

  Chapter 6: A Perfectly Normal Pizza Date

  “So you have to handle all the bath stuff, right?” Megan asked as they headed to their usual pizza place after Lani dropped them off. Everything had been packed into Lani's car for the trip, and they were heading directly for Cassia's for the night, to take the portal to Faerie in Fremont first thing in the morning, but as long as she had the chance, Megan wanted to actually get the date in.

  “I don't know why you think that's difficult. Victor loves water. So has every dog I've ever been thoroughly acquainted with. And I'd rather do it myself than wake up to a mechanical dog-washer halfway made with LEGOs.” Justin shifted the bass case over to his other shoulder and opened the door for her.

  “Okay, Mack would do that. I've never had any pets,” Megan admitted as they walked in the door.

  The woman at the counter looked up and saw Megan. “Personal pizza with artichoke, hot sausage, and pineapple?” she asked.

  Megan nodded, and Justin got out his wallet and added, “And one with hamburger over garlic sauce, extra meat, please.” He paid and sat down with Megan. “More than a year now, and I can never quite get over how easily one can just get more meat with any meal.”

  “It's weird how you always get the garlic sauce.”

  “No offense, Megan, but are you really in a position to be confused by other pizzas, considering your standard?”

  “Got it once when I was six, never felt the need to stop. At least I stick to normal tomato sauce, though. Guess I'm old-school.”

  “Old school? Tomatoes hadn't been discovered when I was a kid. That, my lady fair, is old.”

  Megan was about to respond when she was briefly distracted by sudden movement at one of the windows. "What's going on there?" she asked Justin, pointing out the movement.

  A moment later, the lights went out. Megan went immediately for her cell phone and its flashlight, while others in the restaurant acted with more confusion. Justin, however, was on his feet and moving, grabbing the bass case, then Megan's shoulder. She had just gotten the light on when he pulled her from the booth.

  A moment after she got to her feet, the place erupted into chaos, as multiple four-legged, dark shapes came crashing through the front window of the darkened restaur
ant. Glass flew everywhere, a few people started screaming, some diving into hiding places, while most tried to evacuate.

  Justin, calm as ever in a crisis, kicked over their table and pulled Megan down behind it with him as one of the black shapes came at them. There was a heavy crash, and the sound of the wooden tabletop cracking, and the table crashed back into the two teens as a heavy shape smashed into it.

  Thinking quickly, Megan hit Lani's number on speed dial, but wasn't able to do more than that before a large, black, canine head appeared over the top of the table they were taking cover behind. As it was about to lunge at them over the table, Megan swung the flashlight up, shining it in its eyes, causing the thing to retreat for a moment. A second later, a growl signaled that another beast was circling the table to get to them, ignoring the rest of the patrons of the pizza place.

  Luckily, Justin noticed what Megan had missed: there were three attackers, not two. While the pair drew attention, a larger one had moved toward Megan’s other side. Justin swung the bass case at it, smacking the creature aside as it lunged, despite the awkwardness of the weapon.

  With the table not doing much with the creatures climbing over and moving around it, they stood, Justin trying to keep himself interposed between Megan and the small pack as they were herded towards the nearest wall. As soon as there was nowhere else to go, the two smaller, but still massive, dogs tensed, readying themselves to pounce, while the largest circled to their front. The rest of the place was emptying out, save a few people huddled under tables or paralyzed by fright and surprise.

  "Can't you go all dog-whisperer on them or something?" Megan asked, nudging Justin while she tried to keep an eye on all three dogs at once. This was, after all, the boy who had gotten hand-sniffy with the hounds of the Wild Hunt.

  Justin tensed, eyes shifting as he sought a way out, holding the bass case like a very awkward shield. "Look at their eyes, my lady. These are not real dogs." Indeed, with Megan shining her light at them, the creatures' eyes were all a pupil-less red.

  The largest snarled, and the deep, throaty sound turned into a guttural voice, "Very good, boy. Hand over the blade, and you may live."

  "Not a chance!" Megan responded right away.

  That was all the creatures needed. One of the smaller pair lunged, catching an elbow in the head from Justin. The young knight didn't wait for them past that. Instead, he rushed the biggest of the dogs, just as it was leaping at him. Justin swung the bass case like a bat, taking advantage of the greater reach it afforded him. The creature was knocked aside, though not nearly far enough for Megan's tastes. She ran after Justin, just avoiding the snapping jaws of the third.

  Justin let her run ahead of him as he fended off the biggest pursuer again, smashing it with the case, to little effect. With the limited room he had, Justin tried to get the instrument case open, fumbling with the tabs. With the attackers focused on Justin, Megan went for a weapon of her own, throwing one of the chairs. The impact left one of the creatures stunned for a moment, giving her a chance to grab another chair. Trying to focus on self-defense, she did her best lion-tamer impression, hoping to buy Justin some time and space to get to the Claiomh Solais. The Sword of Light would be a far better weapon against whatever these dog-things were, she was sure. When one of them caught the chair, she did her best to hold on tight, playing tug-of-war until the powerful jaws destroyed it.

  The case, while well suited for disguising the fact Justin was carrying one of the legendary weapons of Ireland, was not exactly designed for quick-draws. Justin ended up having to use it to defend himself again. This time he wasn't quick enough, and while the jaws didn't latch onto Justin, they did manage to catch hold of the case. The teeth went right through the plastic with a crunch. There were a few moments of struggling for it before the case flew open, and the sheathed sword went skidding across the floor, sliding under a booth-table.

  The biggest creature let go of the case when the apparent prize was revealed. The dog-thing was about to go after it when Justin, his makeshift weapon now free, hit him with the case again, smashing the big creature to the ground. One of the other two knocked the young knight off his feet with a lunge. Justin grabbed his attacker's throat before it could sink its teeth in, leaving them wrestling like that.

  That left Megan and the other dog-thing both going for the sword. Unfortunately, it beat her there. Megan grabbed for its hindquarters, pulling it back. The dog-thing whirled, snapping. She pulled her hands away fast enough that it didn't get a good hold of her, but the teeth did leave deep scrapes in her arm. As she stumbled back, the creature turned and dove under the table again, more focused on fetching the sword than on Megan. Rather than grabbing for the dog-thing again, she switched tactics, going for the one weapon the place had in abundance, picking up a chair. She hefted it, then waited. This time, instead of playing lion tamer, she went full-on pro-wrestling, smashing the chair across the thing's head when it turned to get out from under the table. The good part was that breaking the chair over its head had the intended effect, making it drop its prize. The down side was that the blow set the sword skidding along the floor again.

  Still wrestling with the dog-thing on him, Justin managed to get a foot under its stomach, kicking the creature away hard enough that it crashed into another table, knocking it over. By then, the biggest dog-thing had recovered, leaving it in a race with Megan and Justin for the sword. Justin dove, grabbing onto the big monster's back legs, holding on desperately to buy Megan a few extra moments. The dog-thing tried to turn and snap, but Justin managed to keep hold of it, using a tight grip and quick reflexes to stay out of reach of the jaws for the moment.

  Megan got to the blade first, as the other creatures were, respectively, recovering from the chair smash and disentangling itself from the fallen table. Both charged, readying to lunge at her, but stopped, turning and watching the sheathed sword fly over their heads as Megan did her best to throw it to Justin. The blade hit the ground a foot away from him, making Justin the new focal point of the whole pack.

  He released the biggest dog-thing and dove, grabbing onto the Claiomh Solais, and rolling away, without enough time or room to get back to his feet. When one of the dogs caught up, he managed to interpose the sheathed sword, letting it bite down on the indestructible object. Justin pulled the flaming blade clear with one hand. The dog-thing holding the sheath quickly let go in time to dodge away from Justin's first swing.

  The young knight fended the three off, making wide sweeps with the blade. Justin managed to maneuver himself to intercept her as he tried to get clear for a run at the door, while the creatures tried equally hard to cut them off. Megan swept up one of the broken chair legs from the floor, arming herself as best she could, to try to better guard Justin's flank while they retreated.

  They finally made it to the door, and were about to make a run for it, when one of the dog-things leapt out through the broken window they'd entered through, cutting off the escape attempt. The three closed in, trapping the two in the doorway, feinting, trying to get Justin to over-commit and leave an opening.

  There was a roar of an engine as Space Ship! jumped the curb and crashed into the monster that had cut them off, sending it rolling. Lani leaned over, opening one door, shouting, "Get in!" Megan let Justin take the open door as she pulled herself into the car through the open back window, fitting through it much more readily than Justin would have. As soon as they were both in, with Megan still trying to right herself in the seat, the car took off again through the Seattle streets. Looking out the back window, Megan could see the three canine forms in pursuit for a while, but once Lani pulled onto I-5, they left them behind.

  Once Megan was sure they were well on the way to Cassia's, with no sign of giant dogs or police giving chase, Megan finally got her wits about her enough to ask. "Not that I'm arguing, or anything. But that case is kind of, well, awkward to take on a date. Why did you bring the sword along, anyway?"

  Unusually for him, Justin started laughi
ng.

  Finally, as he appeared to be catching his breath, Megan followed up. "What's so funny?"

  "The Kahales had pointed out all of the things stolen from cars here in the city. The trunk was full. So I brought the sword with me to protect it from thieves."

  Chapter 7: A Game of Go

  The sun was rising behind the mountains in the realm they'd reached only via two mushroom rings, a lodestone circle, and a very shiny infinity-symbol fishpond.

  Megan hoped that the pizza parlor wouldn't have too much trouble repairing the broken window. Did insurance cover acts of dog? Especially when they weren't really dogs?

  The crisp Spring air smelled of flowers, especially cherry blossoms, and lots of them.

  Megan hoped no panicking onlookers in the distance had lingered to see Justin end up drawing the sword—or gotten out phone cameras. Fortunately, it really seemed like there hadn't been time.

  The girls sat on a bench along a stone path, the brilliant white rock almost blinding in the sunlight, just alongside an open-air shrine. Justin and Cassia stood on either side of the bench, mostly looking ahead but occasionally making bizarre eye contact with various people that Megan assumed were security staff. The leopards lounged in the perpetual-morning sun.

  Despite the beauty of the surroundings, Megan couldn't get her mind off the night before. “I really want to know who those guys were,” she muttered.

  "Way too many options to list," Lani said. "Shapeshifting is a pretty normal trick for Fomoire and sorcerers both."

  "What about bards. Can I do that stuff?" Megan directed the new question to Ashling, who was hiking on foot the few feet over from the shrine.

  "Oh sure," the pixie responded cheerfully, accepting Megan's hand up onto the bench. "Chasing cars, attacking people tooth and claw, tracking down your enemies. But all of that would sure be easier if you could turn into a giant dog-thing first. Bardic magic doesn't do that part."