10. Jacks
Jacks
The child stood in the center of room, as if the wind had blown it in. Its feet were bare and covered in vines. Its black hair was tangled with flowers and twigs, its face was heart-shaped, and its eyes were round and a little too large for its face, making it appear doll-like.
It lifted its small head and looked around at the glass bottles behind the bar, the massive fireplace that took up half a wall, and the scattered tables and chairs, as if it had never been inside a tavern before.
“We don’t open until tomorrow,” Jacks called.
“Jacks,” Evangeline whispered. “She’s just a child.”
But it wasn’t.
Jacks saw ears with pointed tips, slow, calculated movements, and eyes that took in far too much and looked far too old to belong in such a young face.
Poison’s visitor.
He had contacted a fae.
Jacks hated fae.
He’d find another way to stop Evangeline from growing older. But now that the creature was here, Jacks couldn’t kick it out. Not without offending it.
Fae were among the most dangerous creatures to offend.
Jacks was unfortunately quite familiar with this. Thus his deep disdain for them.
He wondered how Poison had tracked one down. Fae were nearly impossible to find these days. Most people thought they were a myth, and the few who remembered they existed believed that they had left this world entirely.
What had it cost Poison to find this one? Although knowing him, he had probably said that Jacks would pay the full price.
“Can we get you something to eat?” Evangeline asked sweetly.
“That would be lovely.” The fae tilted its head toward Evangeline’s precious wall of pies. “Do you have anything that’s not pie?”
Evangeline’s face fell.
Jacks hated the fae a little more.
“Well—” Evangeline looked out toward the clock in the hall. “In a few minutes it should be time for—” She broke off, clearly realizing the clock was about to strike Honey Pie. “I can go back and fetch you something from the kitchen.”
“You are very kind. But the garden would be better. I’d like a fistful of the reddest berries you can find.”
Evangeline’s smile wobbled. For a moment, she looked as if she regretted letting the child stay. But then she quickly composed herself. Jacks imagined she was probably reciting some lines from her Happy Innkeeper’s Guide about how to handle strange and difficult guests.
“I’ll be right back,” Evangeline said.
Jacks tightened his hands around her waist. He couldn’t let her go. Not with this creature here.
“This only works if I am fed,” said the child.
Evangeline’s eyebrows lifted. She was clearly taken aback by what she must have thought was very odd behavior, but she didn’t let it show in her voice. She was perfect for this job already. “Of course we’ll feed you.” Evangeline’s hands touched the ones Jacks had wrapped around her waist.
He still didn’t want to let her go, but to hold her any longer would risk offending the fae.
Most of the dragons left along with Evangeline. Once they were all gone, Jacks forced himself to ask, “Would you like to take a seat?”
The fae shook its head, and then it was turning from a child to a woman, tall and willowy with a crown on her head, formed of the twigs that had been in her hair.
“I have been summoned, so I am here, but I cannot keep this form for long. By the time your human returns, I will be gone, and her memory of me will vanish as well. You can try to repeat this conversation, but I must warn you that any attempt to do so will mean that you too will forget.”
She smiled another disturbing smile, a little too wide for her slender face. The few remaining dragons flew out the window. “Now tell me what you wish, and I will tell you what to do.”
Jacks needed to choose his words carefully. When he was younger, he’d heard of children making wishes to fae that were granted on the spot—the words, combined with the magic of the fae, were enough to make the exact wish come true as soon as it was said. For better and for worse.
“The girl who was just here is human, and I would like to stop her from growing older, but keep her human and alive, so that we can spend our lives together.”
Another gust of wind blew in, blowing away strands of the fae’s long, knotted hair and making her just a little transparent as she considered Jacks’s words.
“I cannot stop her from growing older, but I can bind her life to yours, which will have the same effect. As long as you two are bound, her aging will stop. But her life will be forever tied to yours. If you die, she will also die, and if she dies, so will you.”
Jacks didn’t even have to think about it. “How do I do this?”
The fae looked pleasantly surprised, and more flowers started blooming in her hair as she said, “Are you certain? Don’t you want to consider?”
“No,” Jacks said decisively. “I want to do this.” He was determined to keep Evangeline from dying again, and he was very good at staying alive. “Just tell me what to do.”
“There are tests that you and your beloved must pass. But I must warn you, if any test is failed, then—” The fae waved her hand, and as she did, her fingers disappeared. “You should say goodbye before the test—”
“No,” Jacks cut in.
The fae looked nonplussed, on the border of being offended. “You just told me you want to do this.”
“I don’t want her tested,” Jacks said, forcing his voice to be softer this time. “I’m doing this to keep her safe. I won’t do anything to put her in danger.”
“And what is being human if not to be at risk at all times?” said the fae. More pieces of her started to fade. Her bare feet disappeared, leaving her long dress fluttering above the floor.
“I’ll do the tests,” said Jacks.
“It must be both of you.” The fae held out a sheet of paper in her one remaining hand as long locks of her hair began to disappear. “All you must do is give this to her.”
Jacks looked at the page. It was an advertisement for a place called The Emporium of Else. The paper was pink and violet and covered in the sort of whimsical art that Evangeline would be immediately drawn to.
He shook his head. “I will not give this to her.”
“There is no other way,” said the fae, whose face was now half-gone.
But if Evangeline had taught Jacks one thing, it was that there was always another way. There was endless potential for infinite endings.
He would find one of those other endings.
At least that’s what he thought then, as he sent the fae away.
Now, hours later, Jacks was in the Hollow with Chaos, feeling the stark absence of Evangeline.
Chaos looked excited, perhaps hoping he would have an enemy to fight who wasn’t his older brother. But Jacks suspected this was not going to be that type of battle.
A dragon flew into the cellar, the same one that Jacks had sent to follow Evangeline. Bruce. His wings were flapping frantically, telling Jacks what he already knew. That something was very wrong.
A piece of violet-and-pink paper waved from the dragon’s paws. A gust of wind blew into the cellar as Jacks took the sheet and read the words The Emporium of Else.
It was the same page the fae had tried to give him. And as he held it in his hands, Jacks swore he heard the fairy’s voice say, Your beloved human’s first test has begun.