“We won’t be ready by the time they arrive, but certainly before the end of the summer,” said Alison.
“Then it’s settled,” said Keir. “Alison, I wanted to catch Aras before he leaves.” Keir gestured to Aras, who had taken a seat on a table near the front of the forge. Aras caught his signal and fluttered over, his tiny white wings flapping so quickly that Alison could only see a blur behind him as he moved.
“Would you mind walking with us a moment, Aras?” asked Keir. “Or flying, I suppose.”
“Of course,” said Aras.
Alison said her goodbyes to Weyland, gaining his reassurance that he would be alright before joining Keir and Aras as they left the forge and turned back into town.
Once they were out of earshot, Keir turned to the small man floating between him and Alison. Aras looked exactly likea human, other than his Eighthling stature and green hair streaked with white.
“Aras,” said Keir. “Over the past few weeks since our ordeal, have you noticed any changes? Anything out of the ordinary? Things you haven’t been able to explain?”
Alison looked at Keir, puzzled by his inquiry.
Aras seemed puzzled as well. “What do you mean? It’s been a perfectly ordinary spring for me. The winter crops produced well this year, and the summer crops have just gone in. The lambs were good this year as well.”
“Extraordinarily good?” asked Keir.
“No, not extraordinarily. Just slightly better-than-average. A few more twins than usual.”
“Twins,” Keir muttered.
“Why do you ask?”
“No particular reason. There’s just been a good bit of luck about lately. Just wondering if it was affecting you as well.”
Aras was not so easily fooled. “Ah, I see. You’re wondering if my experience in the old magic’s dream world had some kind of lasting impact on me. Well, if it has, it has escaped my notice. Has it had an impact on you?” Aras looked from Keir to Alison, piecing something together before Alison managed to do so herself.
“Just a better-than-average year for the crops for us as well. Perhaps the ash from the vine has been the difference. I thought it was worth asking, and maybe keeping an eye out in case anything were to change.”
“I appreciate your concern,” said Aras. “Since you asked, I’ll tell you what I didn’t have a chance to during our ordeal. Most of the fairies gave up the old magic along with the old ways long ago when we joined the other peoples. But there are some of my people who resisted the change, who prefer to keep tothemselves in the wilder parts of the world. You can find such a group not far from here if you know where to look.”
Alison couldn’t understand their meaning, but she did see a potential use in making contact with the fairies: their magic could prove useful in whatever plan they concocted to halt the dam’s construction. “And where should we look for them?”
“They’re easiest to find in the moonlight, particularly under a full moon. They enjoy the cowslips in the pastures, although their time is pretty much done for the season. Around this time, you’ll often find them near foxgloves, though only those growing wild. And be careful if they offer you food or drink—foxgloves are delicious to our kind, but they’re deadly poisonous to you. I’m sorry I can’t be more specific. They are wanderers and won’t be spotted in the same place twice.”
“Are they dangerous?” asked Keir.
“No, not intentionally. But they don’t understand the differences in our kinds, so be on your guard. And beware if they lead you into the woods at night. There are other, fouler things than fairies there.”
“Thank you, Aras.” Alison shook his little hand, and Aras flitted back to the forge to rejoin his family.
Only once they had turned down the lane towards their cottages did Alison confront Keir.
“What was that about?” she asked. “And don’t try to tell me it’s nothing or good luck. I saw the look that passed between you.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to conceal anything from you. I thought you would have guessed my meaning.”
“I haven’t noticed anything unusual about you. Any lingering effects from the vine.” Although Alison had only met Keir long after he’d accidentally summoned it and wouldn’t have known the difference, truth be told.
“It’s not me,” he said. “It’s you.”
“Me? That’s absurd.” Things hadn’t been exactly ordinary for Alison, but that was due to the wild upheaval of her life and lifestyle for a completely different kind of existence in a short period of time.
Wasn’t it?
“There’s the business with the pain reduction,” Keir began. “One occurrence is unusual, but two in just over a week?”
