My heart pinched at the sound of my mom’s name and I nodded. The guy grinned, pulling out one headphone. “You look just like your mom. You girls living here now?” He was clearly feeling chatty and I didn’t want to be rude.
I bobbed my head, but was unsure how to explain our current living situation.
“Off and on between here and Milan. We’re models.” Elle put a hand on her hip, tilting her chin up.
The dude gave a slow grin. “I can see that. Yeah. Cool.”
Bashur barked, tugging at the leash and the dude reeled back. “Damn, little homeboy has some lungs on him.” He looked down at Bashur’s feet. “Don’t you, cutie pie?”
Elle and I grinned. Chihuahua illusion worked. “Yep, he’s excited for his walk. Hey, it was nice to meet you…?”
“Derek, I’m from Brooklyn, but anything you need, just ask.”
“Cool. Thanks!” I yelled as Bashur yanked me towards the door and we all headed out into the bustling city. We took a right and I peered up at the street. Madison and 79th. I’d memorized the map of Central Park my mom had on the counter. Our apartment was right at the entrance of Central Park, and maps were something my photographic memory took well to.
Elle looked back at our apartment. “This place probably costs five grand a month.”
I frowned. “I wonder where my mom got the normie money from.”
Elle shrugged, that’s obvious. “It’s gotta be illusioned.”
That felt wrong, but then again, if they never knew it was counterfeit … it was still in circulation and wouldn’t really matter, right?
There were so many people around, all walking head down and fast paced. I’d never seen so many people in one place in my life. The entirety of Faerie’s population was probably in one city block. It was loud and overwhelming. I’d been out to Earth as part of our training, but I’d never been to New York City. We pumped our legs, letting Bashur weave us in and out of the people. It was just a short walk to the entrance of the park, and then we went through an archway. One second we were in a concrete jungle and the next I was surrounded by rolling green hills and thick trees. My little Fae soul relaxed a little among the nature and I got my bearings, comparing it to the map in my head. We continued on 79thpast Turtle pond, keeping our eyes peeled for the garden Mara spoke about.
“Should you try connecting with the Earth?” Elle whispered.
I could take off my boots and put my feet in the grass. No one would notice I was doing magic or anything, but I really wanted to see if this seeker stone was real.
“If we can’t find it, I’ll try that,” I told her.
Elle nodded.
“It should be up here on the right. Shakespeare Garden,” I told Elle.
Bashur was smelling everything and had stopped to pee three times already. It’s like he was saving it up and spraying it all over everything, but Elle held his leash while I referred to my photographic memory of the map.
“Here!” I exclaimed and then gasped when I saw the intricate archway of Shakespeare’s Garden. An iron arch spread stood about ten feet tall with flower and petal detail work that any Fae would appreciate.
Elle was inspecting the work as well, while Bashur took this time to pee on the corner of the arch.
“Hey! Don’t do that.” I smacked his rump and he looked up at me and barked.
“Wow, this is lovely.” Elle stepped into the park, pulling Bashur after her. You could almost forget that Faerie was dying and that I needed to look for the remaining five crystals. I could almost just … be a tourist. Almost.
“Alright, I’m going to have a look around.” I winked at Elle. There was a couple sitting on a bench reading; huge red rose bushes flourished behind them. Another lady and her little girl were dancing around the garden in joy. This place was special; it almost had a Fae quality to it, and I wondered when it was built and by whom.
As I walked the edge of the garden, passing little plaques with quotes from Shakespeare on them, I searched for the one Mara spoke of. It wasn’t until I got to the largest one, the one that announcedShakespeare Gardenin huge lettering with aRomeo and Julietquote above, that I could feel the power of magic pulling me.
Gotcha.
Stepping up closer to the plaque, I suddenly became overwhelmed with emotion. Knowing my mother had stood in this very spot not too long ago had an ache forming in my chest.
“Help me, Mom,” I whispered, and rubbed my thumb over the necklace at my throat. That pull was so strong, the plaque was … shimmering bronze and I felt the irresistible urge to touch it. When I placed my hand flat onto the plaque, it glimmered a reflective shiny purple, sending a jolt of buzzing magic up my arm. The words that once stood there were replaced as an image of a map formed in its place.
With a gasp, I removed my hand and stared at the purple glowing map. It took me a second to understand what I was looking at. The upper section was of Earth and all of the countries here, the lower section was … Faerie and my village. That lower portion was a tiny little map that showed the Tree of Life and an etched picture of seven crystals that rested on its base.
“Whoa,” I breathed, leaning closer. I scanned the US map and my eyes stopped on Australia. There was a crystal symbol directly over the right side of the country. Damn, my Earth geography was shit. It was on the tip of my tongue.
