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�I grant you the ability Night Vision,� Darkara said before disappearing in a puff of smoke. I stood up, feeling chilled from the magic. I was all alone in the moonlit clearing, hearing only the almost inaudible swish of leaves in the breezeless night. I stood a moment, watching the last wisps of the purple smoke curl and dissolve, then shook myself from my reverie.

I slipped back to my den, still feeling like a block of ice. When I got there, I had a cup of warm tea, which helped melt the frosty feeling, and some strawberries and honey. Then I crawled into bed to dream of friends and family I had never had.

**********

Before I tell you any more, there are some things you ought to know. For one, I�m an orphan. I have no idea what happened to my parents, but the faeries, or rather, a faerie, raised me. Starla is still more like a friend than a mother, though. But I get to know other faeries �cause I do quests for them.

Anyway, about a week ago, I became level two, and it�s a good thing I did! Darkara badly needed my services, as she had forgotten a simple spell and didn�t want to let anyone else know. But before, she had no way of rewarding me.

I live in a simple burrow underneath the roots of a tree. From the entrance, there is a small tunnel leading into the living room, and from there three tunnels to my bedroom, kitchen, and storage room. And just in case a human ever came looking for wild neopets, I have an escape tunnel in the back of my kitchen. Not that that will ever happen.

My name is Zayl. I am a green Zafara, and in this uninhabited place I doubt I�ll ever have any other friends than Starla.

**********

When morning came, I looked in my storeroom for breakfast and found I was low on dandelion greens. I sighed as I had breakfast while re-planning the day. I had been hoping to visit Starla, but in light of my depleted stores, it looked like I�d best go foraging instead.

When I was done, I squeezed out the door to be hit by the light of a midmorning sun. I hadn�t thought it was that late out! I hurried through the woods, heading for a field Starla had recommended. After an hour or two I found it, but it was worth the walk. It had a stream on one side that was plentiful with watercress and crayfish, plump strawberries, and even some mushrooms! I quickly set to work. I scavenged for twigs and dried grass to make traps and was finished by noon. After a quick lunch of strawberries, I set the traps, then piled two mushroom heads on top of each other and heaped the top one with as many strawberries as I could. I walked slowly to keep from dropping them, but still had to stop twice to re-gather my berries as I tripped over roots and rocks.

It was midafternoon when I finally reached home. I walked over to my storage room like I was walking on glass to discover someone curled up in the corner. I dropped my load. Two of my berries rolled over to bump into my visitor, and the creature leaped up like it was stung by a bee.

�Excuse me�� I started. The red zafara gaped at me for a moment, then started an incessant flow of rapid apologies that took me a moment to decipher, she was speaking so fast.

�I�m so sorry, I didn�t take anything, I swear, and I was so tired, if�n I�d known you were coming back so soon I wouldn�t�ve been here, seriously, and I didn�t touch anything, either-�

�That�s okay,� I said.

�I-what?� she asked. I repeated myself. There was a moment of silence. Then-

�Really?� she inquired, brightening up perceptibly.

�Really,� I replied, �You can call me Zayl.�

�I�m Merva,� she answered, �Do you have anything I could eat? I�m starving!�

�Help yourself,� I responded, waving around at my stockpile of food, �The kitchen�s the middle tunnel when you face all three.�

�I know,� said Merva, �I came in through the kitchen entrance. And are those mushrooms in the doorway?�

Merva and I got along almost immediately. She was cheerful almost to the point of annoyance at having made a new friend, for if we weren�t friends by nightfall, I knew we would be by noon the next day. Fortunately, it didn�t take that long.

**********

The next morning I took Merva to Starla�s after breakfast. Like the day before, the weather was clear and sunny with no breeze, but it wasn�t hot. Merva couldn�t decide whether she was nervous or excited about meeting a faerie.

�I�ve never known if faeries live only in Faerieland or burrows or houses or what,� she chattered, �Anyway, what should I act like? What if I get on the bad side of her and she curses me?�

�Starla won�t,� I assured her, �and she lives in a house in a bush. Faeries live in houses according to their size and according to their liking. For example, Fire faeries tend to live in hot, dry places and Air faeries are likely to dwell in open windy areas.�

I decided Merva was mostly nervous about meeting Starla.

After about half an hour of walking, a blackberry bush about three or four feet tall loomed in front of us. Squeezing through a gap in the thorny shrubbery invisible to human eyes, we emerged in a clearing under the arched branches. In the center of the bush, a low, white cabin curled around the trunk. Soft moss served as a lawn, turned an unbelievable shade of green by the emerald sunlight that filtered through the leaves above.

�Now I know why Starla as a light faerie chose to reside here rather than in Faerieland,� Merva breathed, awed. I was slightly awed too, as I was every time I visited Starla.

I knocked on the door, turned a delicate, almost lime green by the light.

�Zayl! And who is your friend?� Starla asked as she opened the door, the clearing brighter from the light that shone from her wings and reflected from her garments. I had to introduce Merva to Starla, as Merva was momentarily frozen with awe.

Merva almost immediately got along with Starla, and her fear of being cursed quickly vanished. We had lunch at Starla�s, which consisted of a wonderful cress and nut salad and candied blackberries.

Afterward, Starla showed Merva and me around her cabin and taught Merva the alphabet. She also pointed out the path to Wishing Hollow, the closest settlement of faeries, and blessed Merva, giving her the ability Magic Torch before talking with her the rest of the afternoon.

When dinnertime drew near, we politely declined Starla�s offer of another meal. Starla was reluctant to see us go, but gave Merva several books to read and told her to visit anytime. We happily waved good-bye and started back to my burrow. As soon as Starla�s bush was out of sight, Merva unreservedly prattled on and on about how nice Starla was, why couldn�t we stay for dinner, how pleasant Starla was, and how she couldn�t wait to see her again. I was content to listen with half an ear, admiring the beautiful dusk around me and enjoying Merva�s company.

We had just entered the kitchen to fix supper when a yellow elephante looked up from her meal of my food. She looked like a sulky, self-centered, and cowardly thing. Just looking at her made me want to scowl. There was a moment of silence.

�Who are you?� I finally asked, trying hard not to frown. I glanced over at Merva and saw that she was making no such effort.

The elephante cleared her throat like she was about to give a speech. A �pity me� look came into her eyes.

�My name�s Saylen, uh,� Saylen began, briefly pausing over how to address me, �I was lost and starving, I wouldn�t have touched your food otherwise. Um, sorry.�

Saylen�s speech sounded a lot like Merva�s, but less sincere. But she did have a hungry look about her, so I decided to forgive her for stealing my chow. There was another moment of silence, broken only by Merva�s quiet snort of disbelief. I spoke again.

�Would you like to stay the night and I�ll point you in the right direction in the morning?� I inquired, feeling like I was almost reading a script. Saylen looked a little relieved.

�That would be great!� She replied, letting some gratefulness slip into her voice.

�Okaaay,� I said, �You can sleep on the couch, and Merva will sleep in my bed. And no midnight snacks; I only have so much food.�

�But where will you sleep?� Merva asked as Saylen nodded agreement. I shrugged.

�It doesn�t matter,� I said, �On the grass, maybe. Merva, would you set the table, and Saylen, please get some water; there�s a stream nearby. You�ll hear it.�

Saylen frowned, but complied, and Merva shot a nasty look at her back as she left. At last we sat down to dinner, or in Saylen�s case, seconds of dinner. The meal passed quickly as nobody said anything and Merva fixed Saylen with a look that could kill. Saylen wisely avoided Merva�s gaze.

As I did the dishes, I hoped that Merva and Saylen wouldn�t kill each other overnight. Thankfully, they were both intact the next morning.

**********

The next morning, I pointed out the way to civilization to Saylen, then went out mushroom hunting with Merva. I had a wonderful day with Merva, glad that Saylen was gone. Merva and I were fast becoming good friends.

�I didn�t trust that elephante,� Merva said, her voice partly muffled by the shrubbery she was peering in to.

�I didn�t really trust her either,� I replied, briefly straightening up to look around, �but nothing happened, thank Fyora.�

As we entered the living room with two mushroom heads apiece, we noticed a soft glow coming from the living room. We walked into the living room to find Starla standing with her back to us, her light as shaky as her voice.

�O-oh, Zayl,� she whispered, her speech half-strangled by a sob in her throat, �I am in such big trouble!�

We immediately dropped our mushrooms and ran over to her. We sat patiently by her until she stopped sobbing enough to tell us her story.

�Well,� she began, �after lunch I had nothing to do, so I decided to come over and see how much Merva had gotten done.�

Merva shifted and studied her paws. She had read about one sentence so far.

�Well, as I passed the open area on the path, I saw�a human!� She said.

�What?!� We both jumped.

�But Starla,� Merva spoke for both of us, �there aren�t any humans around here! It�s too deep in the forest.�

�Aren�t supposed to be,� Starla corrected.

We sat in shocked silence for a moment.

�I wonder if Saylen really went northeast,� Merva mused aloud.

�Who�s Saylen?� Starla wanted to know.

�Just an unexpected visitor,� I replied, �Though she may be mixed up in this. Have you seen a yellow elephante with a pouty face, Starla?�

�No,� she answered, �The only people I�ve seen today are you, Merva, a human, and Windred.�

�Really?� I asked, forgetting about Saylen. �Where?�

Windred was an Air faerie who visited Starla occasionally.

�Just outside Wishing Hollow�s Briar Wall,� Starla responded and started weeping again.

�Oh, Zayl, I�m really sorry,� she managed to say between snuffles, �When I saw the human I ran. You know the price humans have put on us! And I led him here! He knows where the front door is, too. I�m really sorry!�

�It�s okay, Starla,� I said. �We came in the front door and everything was fine.�

�B-but that�s not the worst of it,� Starla continued as if she hadn�t heard me, �before I ran here I ran straight for Wishing Hollow!�

Her sobs came so thick and fast she started choking.

�You what?!� I whispered, growing deathly white under my green fur. It was only when she didn�t answer that I realized she couldn�t breathe.

�You calm her down,� I said, turning to Merva, who didn�t realize how serious this was, �Do whatever you like, but make sure she can breathe.�

I turned and went to my bedroom. I needed to calm down too.

**********

The next day dawned bleak and stormy. Starla was breathing again, though she wouldn�t speak, and we had to coax her into eating.

Around noon the thing that Starla had most been dreading happened. At the knock on the door she gave a squeak of fright. I opened the door to an Air faerie. She paused, as if not knowing what to say, then blurted out:

�The Council of Wishing Hollow, headed by Lady Fewdla, has sent for the light faerie Starla. They want her to arrive A.S.A.P.,� she added, as if tired of being formal. Starla uttered a small whimper unheard by anyone.

When the Air faerie had gone, I turned slowly back to Starla and Merva, thinking an odd thought for such a grim situation.

�A Dark faerie would have fit the atmosphere better,� I mused. Starla and Merva simply stared.

�I mean, with the fear, and tension, and all,� I added hurried on, flushing slightly.

Silence.

�Never mind,� I sighed, �Well, let�s get going.�

Starla nodded mutely and went to the door.

When we came to the Briar Wall that hid and protected Wishing Hollow, we could feel the hundreds of eyes on us, most of them unfriendly. I swallowed hard. As we passed through the gates, I remembered the last time I had been here. I had been 2 months old; now I was nearly 14 months. It had been Windred who had saved me, found me starving and orphaned, then petitioned the Lady Fewdla to let me live among the faeries.

I stepped through the gate and into the coolness provided by a semicircle of five giant trees. Around each trunk a faerie mansion had been built for each member of the Council, and stairways wound themselves in spirals upwards towards the leaves. To my immediate right was a giant oak: Lady Fewdla�s chosen tree. She was a Light faerie and head of the Council. To my left, equal in size to the oak, was a fireflower tree, around which curled the mansion built for Lady Ambyr and other Fire faeries of high class in Wishing Hollow. Behind the oak was a colossal Negg Tree with the home of Lady Brithen and the other earth faeries coiled about its smooth trunk. Behind the fireflower tree was a small pond and a weeping willow that trailed its branches in the water. Lady Brinna and the Water faeries of Wishing Hollow had made their homes circling the tree and the pond. Thin rope bridges spanned the distance from the four trees like a gigantic spider web with houses of cloud-mists lodged on the web to swing in the breeze. The Air faeries of Wishing Hollow, led by the Uber Air faerie Queen Adlae when she had time, had connected their city to everything possible except one tree that stood in the middle of the arc of faerie trees and towns. Between the willow and the Negg tree, a black maple stretched dark limbs over a manor cast in pitch-black shadows by the dead, dark leaves that still clung desperately to the branches. A few pinpricks of light could be seen here and there in the great, dark house, but not many, for the faeries of the night dwelled there, led by Lady Listra, second only to the Uber Dark faerie Sarfale.

The Great Hall was huge. Standing on one side, you could barely see what was happening at the other end. It was like standing in Neopia Central and trying to look up at Faerieland. The great double doors through which we entered were ornately carved with images from Wishing Hollow�s past. A beautifully woven rug paved the isle through the legions of faeries here to witness Starla�s punishment. Silent, still faeries, all staring, just staring. We walked the entire length of that beautiful rug, silent as the faeries surrounding us. We finally reached the other end of the Great Hall, and on a platform sat six lovingly carved chairs. The air in front of one of the center ones bent, rippled, and Lady Fewdla stood before us.

�So, you have finally come,� the Light faerie�s voice was clear and bell-like, but hinted at no emotion other than a trace of amusement, perhaps. �You certainly took your time about it.�

Starla and I both bowed, and Merva hurriedly followed us.

�I see you have brought two friends, Starla,� Lady Fewdla said, �I had expected Zaylwyrn, but not the other. Who is she?�

�Merva,� Merva piped up before either of us could say anything, �Merva Amaraine.�

Her ladyship�s eyes lighted with a sudden recognition.

�Ah,yes! Lady Merla�s daughter,� she answered. �I knew she looked familiar. But come, I know you are anxious to know your punishment.�

Starla paled, and I glanced at Merva. I wanted to know how Merva�s mom knew Lady Fewdla, or vise versa. Merva looked started and incredulous, and I quickly comprehended that Merva had never known her mother. I had rather assumed that when I first met Merva.

Lady Fewdla clapped her hands, and the room twisted and melted into a different one, the roar of the crowd alleviated of its entertainment quickly dying. The new room we stood in was square, and much smaller, but still about the size of my whole house put together. Around a circular table were eight chairs. A Fire faerie, Water faerie, and an Earth faerie already occupied three of them. Lady Fewdla frowned.

�As I was expecting just two of you, I suppose, Merva, that you could sit in Adlae�s or Listra�s seat,� she said. Merva promptly sat down in the Air faerie�s chair. I didn�t blame her. Who�d want to sit in a Dark faerie�s spot?

�We have learned, Starla,� Lady Fewdla began as the three other faeries sat down with her, �that you have practically led an enemy to our gates.�

�Yes, your ladyship,� Starla replied in a monotone.

�Well, we have decided that the best way to punish you would be to send you on a quest to undo what you have done,� Fewdla said, �And don�t look at me like that, Starla, we will give you help, of course.�

�Right,� Ambyrn the Fire faerie chimed in, pulling out from under the table two nondescript, brown bags, �These bags will hold anything and still look and weigh like they�re almost empty.�

Starla accepted hers silently, and so did I. Fewdla must have been a master reader of a person�s character, knowing that I wanted to go with Starla. Merva sat awkwardly in Adlae�s chair. I almost felt sorry for her, but I knew that she probably didn�t want a part in this anyway.

Brinna the Water faerie gave Starla a cloak to hide her light, and Brithen the Earth faerie gave both Merva and me the abilities Magic Berries and Negg, despite the fact that Merva was only level one and I one level above her.

�But you�re not going!� I protested when Brithen gave Merva her gifts. ��are you?�

Merva just looked at me.

�But this has nothing to do with you! You could go home, or-�

�In case you forgot, I don�t have a home to go to,� she replied, an edge on her voice. �Besides, I like you and Starla, you�re my first friends, so I intend to help out.�

�But-� I began again. Then a slender hand was laid on my shoulder. I looked up into the face of Lady Fewdla.

�You have no control over her,� the faerie whispered in my ear, �If you leave her behind she will follow, or say that you happen to be going in the same direction as her. Let her come, and she will probably be safer with you and Starla.�

I sighed and started to sulk, but the faeries weren�t over. Fewdla made Starla�s power stronger, and her light shone a little brighter.

�Any questions?� Brinna asked.

�Yes,� Starla said with such conviction that I looked over at her. She seemed to be finally getting over what she had done, perhaps because she now knew the retribution.

�How exactly are we going to �undo� my mistake? Go back in time?� she asked.

�The �exactly� is up to you,� said Lady Fewdla, �but we thought you might go to Adlae, at Ciris Odaeon, and get a Forgetfulness Spell. Then perhaps you�d track down the human and use the spell on him.�

�How much does a Forgetfulness Spell cost?� Starla inquired.

�For you, nothing. Adlae has not yet given you her gift,� was the reply. Lady Fewdla clapped again, after she was sure we were ready, and the council room melted into my front door. We went inside and got ready for the next day�s journey.

**********

We woke at dawn. We didn�t have to say good-bye to any friends, as we were all the only friends of each other, and Starla didn�t want to face the occupants of Wishing Hollow to find Windred. So we started right out, the grass wet with dew, Merva and I with the bags, Starla with her cloak.

We traveled for nearly a week without incident, unless you count the time Merva was conjuring a negg and a wasp flew near her. With her burst of fear, she lost control of the spell and the negg blew up. We were so tired, we settled for just berries for dinner. Finally we came to the foot of a small mountain and made camp there.

�Winth�l mountain,� Merva said, looking at the map. �There should be a trail leading up to Ciris Odaeon right over there.�

We all turned to look in the direction in which Merva pointed. Sure enough, a dirt trail twisted out of sight among the trees.

�Nice,� Starla sighed, �but let�s climb it in the morning.�


The next day we started out, and soon we heard the gurgling of the stream we had camped by, or perhaps another one. Water tends to look the same. The path followed the sound of the stream, but only came in view of it when we had to cross it once, an hour from the trailhead. We traveled for another hour before we gave in to the sound and went to find the stream so we could dip our feet in. It turned out that it was easier wading through the water or on its narrow banks, so we left the path behind and followed the water to the top of Mount Winth�l.

We reached the summit at noon, tired and hungry, but cool. We had a leisurely lunch and found some wild blueberries. Brithen�s ability hadn�t provided blueberries yet, so we ate all that we could find. Finally, we sat down to have a talk.

�So where in Neopia is Ciris Odaeon anyway?� Starla asked.

�Maybe it�s underground,� Merva suggested.

�If so,� I said, �the entrance must be somewhere.�

I shook my head. I hadn�t wanted to split up, but it looked like we had to. We all picked a random direction and started walking, planning to meet back where we had lunch in two hours. I just hoped we�d all be able to find our way back.

**********

For half an hour I meandered in a general direction. Suddenly, I stumbled and fell. I stood up and looked down at what had tripped me. It was a stairwell, made of some crystal-like substance. I peered closer at it and realized it was mica! Apparently there was a solid chunk of mica underneath the topsoil, and someone had carved stairs in it! I followed the straight stairway downward until the glittering walls were above my head.

I ended up in a solid mica room dug into the ground. The room was roofless and shaped like a box, and a raised box served as a table in the center of the room. It was solid mica too. In fact, the only thing that wasn�t mica was a cream-colored bowl on the table.

I went over to the bowl and peered over the rim. It was filled with a watery substance that was never still, even though there wasn�t the faintest of breezes in the mica room. It looked the way wind would, if you could see it, like invisible water with a slight sheen that shines silver if the light hits it at a certain angle, but almost wispy.

I stepped back to get a better look at it, its dizzying play of light making me blink, when something else caught my eye. The flat rim of the bowl was carved with runes, which in a blink of an eye swam and blurred before forming letters I could read. They said:

Don�t Take What�s Not Yours; It Neither Is Nice, Nor Turns Out Nice

Strange, I thought, and straightened.

�Well?� a voice behind me commented, �Aren�t you going to take it?�

I whirled to find Queen Adlae the Uber Air faerie staring at me curiously.

She wasn�t exactly what I expected. For one thing, her face was rounder, but still dainty, not chubby. And her eyes were a crystalline blue, like the sky, her lips a periwinkle that matched her clothes. The biggest difference was her hair. It was periwinkle like her lips, and fell in neat, wavy locks to her shoulders. She was also tall for a faerie. Almost five inches.

�Well?� she said again, �Aren�t you going to take my gift?� I turned back to the bowl for the third time. This time I didn�t look at the bowl or the water-wind, but looked through the liquid at what lay beneath it.

It was a small sphere of glass, marble size, and filled with a sparkling, glittering, white powder, ground so fine it almost looked fluid. It was swirling and whirling in a miniature sandstorm, busier than the water-wind that spun outside its glass case. I reached through the water-wind, light and dry as air, but which pressed against my fur with the coolness and heavinessof water, and drew the sphere out. I found that a minuscule silver chain like a spiderweb was attached to it, and gingerly slipped it over my head so the sphere bumped against my chest.

�The chain will break only when you need it to,� Lady Adlae said nonchalantly. Why was it that all faeries seemed to have the ability to read minds?

�When you have found the human, tear the sphere from its chain and throw it at him,� she continued, �The glass will break only then. All you need is to get one grain of the powder on him, though it is safer if you manage to get more.�

�Th-thank you,� I stammered, turning to face the Air faerie.

�Don�t thank me, complete your quest, Zayl,� Adlae replied before rippling and vanishing. Silently, I slipped up the crystal stairs to our meeting place to wait out the rest of the hour.

**********

We reached the foot of Winth�l at dusk, and chose to camp in the same site we had woken up in. Merva set out for wood as Starla and I set up. We had scarcely unrolled the tent when Merva came hurrying back.

�Look,� she said, and held up a yellow feather.

�So?� I asked.

�I have a feeling it�s Saylen�s,� she said.

�That�s ridiculous,� I replied, �It could be any neopet�s yellow feather.�

We argued. Finally Starla, who was tired and wanted to sleep, performed a magic to see whose feather it had really been. It was Saylen�s.

�And that�s not all,� Merva said quickly, �I found this near it.�

She opened her other hand to reveal a scale so dark, it looked like it was made of shadow.

�I should have known,� breathed Starla, staring at the scale but not touching it, �Shadowcreatures. So Sarfale is involved.�

�What�s a shadowcreature?� Merva asked for both of us.

�Yeah,� I said, �And who�s Sarfale?�

�A shadowcreature is a creation of the Uber Dark faerie, Sarfale,� Starla said slowly. �A shadowcreature was once a pet, but is turned into a�a pet-shaped shadow that is real and does her bidding.�

She hesitated, like she didn�t know what to say.

�You can touch them, and they�re very strong, some can speak, and some can think,� she continued, �and they have glowing white eyes with neither pupils nor irises.�

She shivered and fell silent. It was a minute or two before I realized we were just standing there, lost in horrific imaginings. I began to set up camp again.

�G-good idea, Zayl,� Merva said in a voice higher than usual, �I-I�m feeling a bit chilled.�

A little later that night we managed to loosen up a bit from the shock of shadowcreatures. We were still uneasy, though, so without saying anything, silently sharing a feeling and idea, I took first watch.

**********

The next morning we moved quickly and quietly along the path Starla�s magic had indicated the human had used. It was dotted with the occasional shadowscale or yellow feather. When midday came, we ate a silent and hurried lunch. By dusk we had reached another campsite and had collected three feathers and five scales.

�It�s almost like they want us to follow them,� Merva said.

�Yes,� Starla agreed. �The last scale was in a patch of sunlight, and it isn�t natural for normal scaled pets, much less shadowcreatures, to shed this much.�

�But if there was a whole lot of them, then we would�ve noticed tracks of some sort,� I put in.

�Should we camp here, or keep going?� Merva asked, switching the subject.

�Here�s fine,� I replied, �But I�ll take first watch.�

Starla took second and Merva took third, but we all spent a restless night, dreaming of shadows within shadows and glowing white eyes. When dawn finally came, we were all ready for the light.

Merva was still sleeping when I got up to look for water. Starla was just waking up. For a moment I dithered, not wanting to accidentally meet a shadowcreature by myself, but then started off, telling myself that they were ahead of us on the trail.

I had a delightful sunny walk that turned into a delightful sunny breakfast as I chanced upon a strawberry patch near a stream. I filled the bucket I had brought with me half full of water and half full of strawberries. My good mood vanished as I approached camp; I became uneasy. I heard no voices, or even sounds. There was no smoke from a campfire, and everything was deathly still. I melted into the foliage, dropping my bucket so I could use my paws unencumbered. I snuck up to camp to find it deserted. I waited for a bit, but the birds began to come back so I knew I was the only one around.

As I crept into camp, wondering where Starla and Merva had gone, my eyes fell on the scattered firewood. It had been neatly stacked when I left; Merva was somewhat of a perfectionist. But now they lay dispersed irregularly, in the opposite direction from the fireside.

I spotted our blankets, two green, rather thin, cloths. I picked them up, and something fell out of their threadbare folds. I picked it up. It was a shadowscale.

**********

I was tired. I had been traveling for a day and a night, following a trail of black threads Starla had pulled off her cloak. When the sun�s first rays blinded my weary eyes, I curled up under the arching branches of a nearby fern and immediately fell asleep. I was up by mid-afternoon. After a few handfuls of strawberries (I was smart enough to collect the bucket and drain it of water so it would weigh less), I started off again. I noticed that Starla�s trail of threads coincided with the trail we had been traveling, and eventually the threads petered out.

Night came again, and I was so tired I stopped to lean against a tree for only a moment, but woke up cramped and sore the next morning. Conversely, it was only an hour later as I jogged around a bend in the trail that I was forced to throw myself headlong into the bushes as quietly as I could.

Ouch! I thought. What felt like half the bush�s branches were poking into my side and limbs. I winced at the crackle I made. I had come upon a small clearing in the woods to the right of the path, with a simple white cottage at its center. The whole scene was quite innocent, except for the unusual patch of darkness in front of the door. As I watched from my bush, the shadow developed a pair of glowing white eyes and looked at my plant suspiciously. Then it slunk inside.

I took the chance. As quietly as I could, I extricated myself from the foliage and worked my way around to the opposite side of the cottage. The cottage itself was rectangular in shape, one of its long sides parallel to the path. The elongated side opposite the path was a blank wall; the corresponding side had a door and a window. The shorter side I had first come upon had a chimney, so I surmised that there was a fireplace in the same spot inside the house. The other short wall, the one I faced now, had only one window.

It was to this window I crept now, hauled myself up almost onto the ledge, and peered in.

I almost threw myself right off again. Directly underneath the window was a small table with two chairs. On one of those chairs sat a human, supposedly the human we were after. I felt Adlae�s vial grow warm on its chain. Then I noticed that he was preoccupied, struggling with something in his paws. It looked like a light faerie. Starla! He was trying to put Starla in a jar!

I saw rows of faeries in jars on a shelf along the blank wall, but had no idea where Merva was when suddenly a red blur made a dash for the other window. Unfortunately, two shadoweyries swooped down on Merva before she was halfway to it and pinned her to the ground. When the human turned to look, Starla wiggled out from between his hands and made a beeline for my window. I hunched down as quick as I could and looked up in time to see Starla shoot out of the window only to be caught in a net that the human had flung after her. As she was drawn back inside, I heard him shout at Merva:

�Next time you try to escape, I�m going to have the shadowthings knock you out!�

I peered inside again to see the human throw bits of chewed-through rope away and tie Merva against the table leg with the last of his rope. I smiled as I thought a congrats to Merva that she�d never hear, then sat back down beneath the windowsill to think of a plan. After a few milleniumic moments, I stood up, as ready as I�d ever be.

Quietly, I walked around to the door and knocked on it before rushing back to my window and climbing over it while the human puzzled over the lack of reasons for the knock. I pulled Starla, still entangled in the net, over the table and under it to join Merva. Mercifully, neither of them made a sound.

�Chew on this,� I whispered to Merva and handed her a corner of the mesh that covered Starla, then set to work untying the ropes that bound Merva like a spider�s prey to the table. We both finished at about the same time as the human finished inspecting the clearing just outside the door.

�The window,� I whispered, pointing across the room, �Now!�

We sprinted for the window and were almost there when a black flash blinded our vision and a high-pitched cackle filled our ears. I barely had time to think How clich� when we were yanked back to the center of the room with such ferocity that I knew it had to be powerful magic. As I opened my eyes to a pebble�s point of view, I saw Queen Sarfale, the Uber Faerie of Darkness.

She was wreathed in the shadow of her own terrifying power and had a curious wand clutched in her outstretched hands from her magic just moments ago. Behind her stood three shadowscorchios, eyes glowing even brighter in their mistress�s aura of night.

�One down, two to go,� she giggled in a triumphantly cruel voice. My glance at Starla confirmed her boast; Starla was breathing heavily and struggling to rise. As I watched, one of the shadowscorchios bounded over to her and slowly but surely started converting her weak golden defense bubble to black.

Suddenly, two hands that were winter personified gripped me like vices, bringing my attention with a jerk back to the Dark Queen. She had lowered her glowing, neon yellow-green wand to point at me, it�s odd shape making it even more ominous. Instead of a simple slender stick, it had two edged blades forming an arrow shape for the tip, and another piece of the yellow-green glass had been bent into a two-inch circle, which had been melted onto the wand a short way from the razors.

�You�ll be the 10,000th shadowcreature of mine,� she crooned gleefully. �Fitting, isn�t it? The 10,000th shadowcreature one of the ones who dared defy me!�

Yellow-green light shimmered along the wand�s length when a red blur crashed into the Dark faerie, sending her staggering. The sickly looking bolt of magic flew up into the sky after sending the roof up in sparks of black and white. I didn�t notice any of this, my awareness totally fixed on the deadly Queen.

She threw Merva off with a scream of rage before focusing on me again. By now, my arms were numb from the shadowscorchio�s wintry hold. I began to notice tiny details as fear often makes you do, like the way Sarfale�s light from her magic seemed to swallow all others.

Except for the flash of purple, gold, and periwinkle that swallowed the yellow-green spell speeding for me. Although I couldn�t see anything, temporarily, I could hear and feel well enough. With shrill shrieks that disabled one of the four senses remaining to me, I felt the two shadowscorchios disappear as feeling returned to my arms in a wave of pain accompanied by a cry that no one heard over the keening of the shadowcreatures. I sat down hard as I waited for both sight and sound to return.

When I thought my eyes were working again, I opened them, then closed them quickly again. What I had managed to see through the glare of magic was the Uber Light and Air faeries and the Queen faerie Fyora trying to wrench Sarfale�s wand from her with magic. Suddenly, it was dark. I opened my eyes tentatively to find the reason it looked like night was because the Queen faerie had won, so the light of powerful magic was gone. I also found that I could hear again too.

�I am disappointed in you, Sarfale,� Fyora said. �I knew you craved power; all dark faeries do. But this! I know it is a dark faerie�s nature to cheat, lie, and betray, but this is too far! Deliberately telling a human faerie-hunter where to find faeries in exchange for an allegiance is unacceptable! What about the First Pact that the first faeries set down? Even the Dark faeries saw the sense in it and agreed!�

�The first faeries were weak,� Sarfale replied, staring fixedly at her broken wand in Adlae�s hand. �Over time we have become stronger. But to become stronger is to become more like Evil itself.�

She raised her eyes to Fyora, hatred burning hotter than the sun in them.

�Watch out, Fyora,� she whispered. �You will pay. I will become stronger than I am even now, for Evil knows no rules in the game of power.�

All three faeries threw a magic attack at Sarfale, but she had already disappeared. I slumped back, my mind feeling numb. There was something important I was forgetting, but I couldn�t figure out what. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the human lying stunned, and remembered. But even after I broke the vial and spilled the potion over his body, I still felt that nagging insistence. Then I remembered. Merva.

I hurried over to the fireplace as fast as my tired body allowed me, and collapsed rather than sat beside the red zafara. Her eyes were half closed and vacant, her jaw relaxed and almost open. Her head was tilted to one side, and there was one paw in her lap. I clumsily seized the paw nearest me and searched desperately for a pulse. Then I checked her neck. Then her chest. Nothing. I had neither a piece of glass nor a blade of grass to check for breathing, but I knew that I wouldn�t need either. She was dead.

I sat there stupidly, tired in body, numb in mind and spirit, and hurting at the heart and eyes where I fought to keep in the oceans wanting to flood my face.

There was a rustle of movement behind me, and I looked up, then looked quickly down. Even without using her magic, the Uber Light faerie still shone too brightly to be looked directly at. She knelt on Merva�s other side and gently took her paw with two glowing hands. She looked at Merva�s face for a few moments in silence before saying,

�She�ll live.�

I almost looked at her in disbelief, but wanted to keep what eyesight remained to me after the faerie�s battle. Instead I found Merva�s pulse and just felt it until Merva groaned and withdrew her paw, saying:

�Yes, I�m alive, though I probably hurt more than you. What happened?�

**********

Everything returned to normal when Merva, Starla, and I came back to Wishing Hollow. Starla was off-color for a month, and Merva hurt almost constantly for the same four weeks, but we all got better eventually.

Starla kept her tattered dark-cloak and set about mending it. Merva dithered around my house for two months, assisting me in replenishing the larder and just generally helping out until I finally figured out why she had stayed and formally invited her to stay as long as she liked. After all, my friend had nowhere else to go, and nowhere else she wanted to go. Following that she was considerably more cheerful.

We all enjoyed the peacefulness of Wishing Hollow for another year, but the next spring�s adventure is a different story. Merva finally finished the book Starla had lent her, but never really developed a love for reading. Instead, she got along great with the other faeries, and probably could�ve started a quest business, but never bothered. I don�t know why, really. Starla said it was a great idea. Perhaps because she couldn�t read the titles of the books the Water faeries were so keen on...